RubyBright

You guys are awesome. Your words of support mean a lot to me!

You have my sympathies.  My 7-year marriage ended without warning in August of last year.  As if the divorce process itself isn't stressfull enough, I suddenly found myself being a single parent to a teenager and having to work full time to afford my last year of undergrad. 
 
Grad school is my bright spot.  It's my fresh start.  I'll have a new apartment with all new furniture (cheaper than moving my existing things half-way across the country).  I'll be at a school I love, doing work that I love, and I won't have to deal with the fear of bumping into my ex-husband every time I leave the house.  My son is excited about the move, and while he has to leave behind friends, he sees it as a fresh start as well.   
 
My advice is to look into activities in the area around your grad school.  What better time to get out and try something new?  You'll need a break from studies anyway.  Why not make this the year that you learn how to knit or tap dance or even join a roller derby team?  You'll be giving yourself the opportunity to grow as an individual and expanding your social circle in the process.
 
I won't lie and say that any of this is easy or that I'm not at all scared about making things work this fall, but I try to look at it as the incredible opportunity it is.  After a few months I've also come to be very grateful that things ended when they did.  I have had time to pick up the pieces, and I most of the beurocracy will have been handled before I leave the state.  Better that it happened last August than in the middle of preparing for qualifying exams or getting ready to defend my thesis.

This is a tangential aside, but I hope you'll find some amusement in this.  I moved from Boston to Chicago when I got my master's.  I thought I was leaving a lot of stuff behind me - no!  The guy who never gave me closure back in Boston... ended up going to the same university, at the same time.  I kept seeing him on campus.  Once I had to share a plane with him.  Another time, he was coming up a stairway while I was coming down.  UGHHHH! 
 
Chances are, this won't happen to you!

First of all, http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qB5pDmqRTIc/TwNIEpTXCVI/AAAAAAAAE0Q/mgvSRpKk1VA/s1600/ryan+gosling+run+hey+girl.jpg Think of all the men that will be lining up for you....jealous.
 
Second of all, I'm so sorry!  That's a bummer and it's never fun to go through a break-up while going through a life transition.  I don't have experience with this particularly with school but my ex and I broke up the week I moved 1,000 miles from everyone I know when I moved to Boston alone.  That was really hard and I thought I would feel lonely, but it actually ended up opening up so much time for me to throw myself into my new jobs.  I'm actually glad that it happened so early after I moved because it motivated me to meet people and not stay in my little bubble and talk to my boyfriend all the time.  Not that you would do that, but it might help you put yourself out there if you don't have that familiar "crutch." 
 
Hopefully, you can take the next couple of months to grieve and be ready to kill it when Fall comes.  I know you will! 

I was wait listed at my top choice school last week after no notice for 3 weeks post-interview. I emailed them back telling them that it was my first choice. I got an acceptance today! I'm so happy. I thought it was the best fit for me and I'm so glad they had faith in it as well. I think as long as you fit the school, it should happen. =) Good luck everyone!

Another week begins... May all the accepted people at my waitlist school receive other offers. 

Waitlist School, O Waistlist School, where art my decision??

I just got this gem yesterday: "Oh, so it's like, doing a second undergrad, right?"
*facepalm*

Ahhh! Congratulations, Sansao! I'm excited for you!   (GradCafe needs that partying emoticon that Skype has!)

Ahhh! Congratulations, Sansao! I'm excited for you!   (GradCafe needs that partying emoticon that Skype has!)

At last, my first fully funded acceptance! Tuition, health insurance and a $1600/month stipend. I am so happy right now. I just interviewed a few hours ago, and the letter was in my inbox shortly afterwards. YAY!!!!

Hi, mtjamieson! Welcome to our (very little) corner. If you're looking at east coast schools, you may find that many of the schools only do combined master's-PhD programs. Don't be scared off from that - you can definitely still go into industry with a PhD. Plus, you're a lot more likely to find funding in a PhD program than in a master's program. If you do see a school that supposedly offers a terminal master's, do some digging and find out if the program is actually active. 

All right, guys - it was a good sign after all! I just got an email from the school accepting me!

I got accepted into my first choice YAY!!!!  I'm happy.  I went right on and pressed the "accept admission" button.  Woot!  Very happy.
 
They are not a super competitive program, but decent  They said they received triple the number of applicants -- so that makes me feel even more special that they chose me.  Woot!

Hopefully it will amuse someone that, while considering what to do (waitlisted at top school, accepted at un-affordable out-of-state PhD with no funding, and accepted at a backup master's program that would be a sensible-ish choice), I just thought to myself, "Don't expect too much, this is no fairy tale..."
After a pause, it occurred to me that of course this is no fairy tale. To the best of my knowledge, there are no grad school admission fairy tales. Somebody should get on writing one of those.

I already have items (sweatshirts, t-shirts, and the all-important coffee mug!) bookmarked from the school's online store for my two top choices... glad to know I'm not alone!

I gave up my spot at the program that wasn't offering enough funding for me to afford to go. I'm hoping someone really deserving gets off the waitlist...
... Karma? Do I get good karma for this?

Depends on how rich you are. If you are poor, choose the funded program. If you are rich, choose the unfunded one. (To determine if you are rich or poor, answer the following question - Do I have a butler who helps me dress up in a batsuit.)

Please tell me I'm not the only one who was super excited to go to the school's bookstore and buy a sweatshirt, tshirt, pen, etc!!!!!!!!!!!! I know I was just accepted but I will be attending in the fall and I just want the world to know where I'm going. Not too weird, right? 

I gave up my spot at the program that wasn't offering enough funding for me to afford to go. I'm hoping someone really deserving gets off the waitlist...
... Karma? Do I get good karma for this?

I declined an offer today because of insufficient funding. It made me really sad, but then I cheered up when I realized someone on their waitlist is going to get an offer now. 
Now I'm just hoping someone at the school I'm waitlisted for does the same! 

I declined an offer today because of insufficient funding. It made me really sad, but then I cheered up when I realized someone on their waitlist is going to get an offer now. 
Now I'm just hoping someone at the school I'm waitlisted for does the same! 

I declined an offer today because of insufficient funding. It made me really sad, but then I cheered up when I realized someone on their waitlist is going to get an offer now. 
Now I'm just hoping someone at the school I'm waitlisted for does the same! 

Hopefully it will amuse someone that, while considering what to do (waitlisted at top school, accepted at un-affordable out-of-state PhD with no funding, and accepted at a backup master's program that would be a sensible-ish choice), I just thought to myself, "Don't expect too much, this is no fairy tale..."
After a pause, it occurred to me that of course this is no fairy tale. To the best of my knowledge, there are no grad school admission fairy tales. Somebody should get on writing one of those.

Wow! The schools I applied to don't exceed $13,000... before taxes.   Granted, you get tuition remission, but the numbers you all are quoting seem extravagant in comparison!