surprisecake

1) Prepare ingredients
2) Take rohypnol
3) Bake cake
4) Fall asleep
5) ??????
6) Wake up
7) CAKE?! CAKE! Where did this come from?! ..... SURPRISE CAKE!!!!!!

I don't even remember what happened in the last 7 years. Right out of school, I started down the path to mass media (I was already working as a journalist). Now i'm a veterinarian. What the? 0_o

Hahah. Whoops.
I got sick of getting dreamschool's voicemail and called the admissions director's office. After I hyperventilated and babbled for a while, she told me I just had to have taken the test by the deadline. Its ok if the scores come later.

Apparently the first guy who had replied to me hadn't even read my mail, or didn't care enough to give me the right information.

Phew, my top 2 schools have okayed the situation. I'm only worried about one of my meh schools, because i've already spent the time and (lots of) money on them.

Crisis averted! Sorry for the drama, gradcafe. I will still keep everyone posted about what ETS offers me as a solution

I applied to 5 schools...some were slightly reaches but all in all they were not unreasonable...Now as March is trucking along and I have no acceptances yet I don't know what to think!
I know it is not over yet but I feel like my freak out is right around the corner...Doesn't help that my mother's 'clairvoyant' friend says I'll get in. Oh gee, thanks. Are you sure Jupiter is in alignment with Telesto and not Calypso? AAHHHHHHH I"LL BE LIVING IN A BOX ON THE STREET

I scored 480-490 on my first few practise tests. I memorised 2200+ words that were totally new to me in two months and ended up with a 740 verbal score. Just sayin!
I also think i've retained about 40% of my new vocabularly. One of my (science) programs at Berkeley plainly said your GRE+GPA is 50% of your decision...for local and international students.

Heheh I'm sure red-faced, teary eyed potential grad school applicants around the world are being reminded of Japan by their friends and family. I got that line myself thrice

Heheh I'm sure red-faced, teary eyed potential grad school applicants around the world are being reminded of Japan by their friends and family. I got that line myself thrice

I agree. My puppy kept me awake until 4AM because she was scared of the rain, so only adopt a puppy if you really want to be licked, jumped on, and regularly chewed, if you are prepared to provide cuddles on demand, to clean up excrement, and to arrange your grad school schedule around a dependent creature who can't talk. In return, you will be treated like a hero by someone who thinks you are the center of the universe and doesn't care a wit about your research progress.

But don't adopt a puppy just to pass the time until you hear from grad schools. Adopt a puppy (preferably from a rescue or humane society) because you want someone to love and to be loved for the next 10-18 years: I hope mine are still here when I receive tenure. That's a commitment!

ppl don't always get what you dream of. This is just how life is. So stop crying and move on. You didn't get in so what? Maybe that dream school of your is not a perfect fit for you after all. Cheer up alright. Think of those ppl who are suffering in Japan and those who got rejected by all of their dream schools. You are way better off than they are.

Yes, I did quite conveniently leave that part out
These days, each field has its own common entrance test for that subject and your program ranks you according to your score. Of course I much prefer the holistic application system they use in the States, but in India, this system is a great leveler. There are opportunities that lower income and rural students just don't have compared to city kids. They simply never have the chance at extra curriculars and meeting prestigious recommenders. Thats why I love the common entrance test system- you get in based strictly on your aptitude for THAT subject. Our academic system is so cut-throat because of our huge population; if admissions included intangibles, our schools would be filled with privileged city kids.

What would work better is a hybrid of both our systems. I believe the program I applied for at Berkeley uses a kind of numbers system. 60% of your application is your GRE and GPA and 40% is your LORs, SOP and CV.

In India we rank every single application based on merit and then release "merit lists".
For e.g. if there are 50 spots open, they first release the top 50 names. If 20 accept, they release the next 30 names for the remaining spots. They release a new list on a weekly basis until all their spots are filled! Its very time-bound and things get done a lot quicker.

In India we rank every single application based on merit and then release "merit lists".
For e.g. if there are 50 spots open, they first release the top 50 names. If 20 accept, they release the next 30 names for the remaining spots. They release a new list on a weekly basis until all their spots are filled! Its very time-bound and things get done a lot quicker.

letting me pay the rest of the postage for an absurdly large acceptance letter to a program I did not apply for.



Sincerely,

Catherinian

I planned on making a paper mache' version of the rejecting school's mascot -- and then burning it. But I've only gotten email/website rejections, so theres nothing to mache'. Plus, the logical, reasonable, more sane me knows that once I made that paper mache' mascot, I would likely become fond of it, even start to love it, making my rejection worser still since I would never get to meet the real thing.

Would you really rather hear someone tell you that "your failure is making me uncomfortable, so I'm going to try to say something nice..."?

I applied to both schools as well. Let me see...

When the decision at UCLA is made, they send you this generic link: http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/gasaa/admissions/applicat.htm
There is a 'Decision Status' section there. All you need to log in and see the coveted decisions is your e-mail.

As for Columbia, they send you this link: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=col-gas
They also enclose a PIN number in the e-mail (but you know it anyway since it is given to you when you apply); you use the PIN and password to log in and see the decision.

I hope this helps!

The very best with your applications!

My acceptance letter from IU-Bloomington said "Space may be limited, so please reply as soon as possible!"

What. The. Hell. does that mean? It's not like i'm booking a cruise, IU. You'll hold my place til April 15th and you will damn well enjoy it!

This must surely rank as one of the geekiest threads I've seen in a long time. I'm fairly certain that at the moment you typed "intellectual infatuation" millions of schoolyard bullies around the globe suddenly halted in their tracks or bolted out of bed and pounded their fists into their palms, not knowing why, but consumed with a desire to hurt somebody somewhere!

My acceptance letter from IU-Bloomington said "Space may be limited, so please reply as soon as possible!"

What. The. Hell. does that mean? It's not like i'm booking a cruise, IU. You'll hold my place til April 15th and you will damn well enjoy it!

My acceptance letter from IU-Bloomington said "Space may be limited, so please reply as soon as possible!"

What. The. Hell. does that mean? It's not like i'm booking a cruise, IU. You'll hold my place til April 15th and you will damn well enjoy it!

There's nothing legal holding the school to their acceptance... That said, it's not common for them to take it back.

I love my 12 hour time difference!! I can spend my days in peace, knowing nobody is going to contact me and there's no point in checking my email. The only waiting I have to do is from the time I wake up in the morning to rolling over and checking my iPhone. If there's something in my inbox- Yay! If there's nothing- get on with my day because there's not going to be any movement until the next morning. I'm productive all day and go to sleep excited! Exclamation points!

(But to be fair- this only applies after I got my first admit, before which I was nervous 24/7, no matter what)

My favourite rejection so far, courtesy of one European joint doctorate program: "We encourage you to work harder"

I love my 12 hour time difference!! I can spend my days in peace, knowing nobody is going to contact me and there's no point in checking my email. The only waiting I have to do is from the time I wake up in the morning to rolling over and checking my iPhone. If there's something in my inbox- Yay! If there's nothing- get on with my day because there's not going to be any movement until the next morning. I'm productive all day and go to sleep excited! Exclamation points!

(But to be fair- this only applies after I got my first admit, before which I was nervous 24/7, no matter what)

I scored 480-490 on my first few practise tests. I memorised 2200+ words that were totally new to me in two months and ended up with a 740 verbal score. Just sayin!
I also think i've retained about 40% of my new vocabularly. One of my (science) programs at Berkeley plainly said your GRE+GPA is 50% of your decision...for local and international students.