The Whistler

Aqualung! Now I'll have to listen to it. Oh, NO!

Thanks <fangirling> Jethro Tull is probably my favorite band in the universe. </fangirling> Anyways, congratulations people who got Penn, I'm really, insanely jealous.

Congrats!

Me three (not productive), which is obvious, because I'm flooding the thread. Sorry for flooding the thread, but I talk (type) a lot when I'm nervous. It's 7 pm over here, my pilates class starts in 45 minutes, and all I do is f5 f5 f5 f5. Luckily, my work for today is done, otherwise it would be a disaster.

What's wrong with Philadelphia? This is a serious question. My town (and I say town, but I really mean crappy town) doesn't even have a movie theater. Give me a library and a theater, and I'm happy.

I is for international, U is for international with a US degree, whatever that is. Undergrad? MA?

I also think it's possible that this is a real acceptance. I haven't been this nervous since the day I found out that Northwestern thinks I suck. Also, any Victorianists applying to Penn? I just want to know whose application is going to kick my application's ass this year. Congrats in advance, by the way.

OMG, Penn acceptance on the board. I am SO not going to get this one...

Reading Sense and Sensibility, I somehow avoided it all this time. And, risking rage from any romanticists out there, Marianne is an extremely annoying character. I'll need to re-read Lewis' The Monk or Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde after this, I need to recuperate.

Thanks, I'll need it. I hope we all get in everywhere, that would be the best solution ever.

Awh, I'm sure there's something to show. I mean, even getting to applying means you did well up till now, it's just that everything is a black pit of desperation and self-pity while we're waiting. I actually have a job that I like, but the problem is that there's something I like even more (much, much more), and I'm not getting it. Therefore, I also feel like I've done nothing. At all. Ever. Someone taking pity actually sounds like a great plan for me. Might work better than the application I submitted. That said, I used the word "pity" far too many times in my last two posts. I need a drink.

Wow, pim, congrats! Does it feel like riding a unicorn sliding down a rainbow from a pink, fluffy cloud?

I'm sorry anyone else has to feel this way. I mean, basically, I still have 5 schools to hear from, it's just that three of those are assumed rejections. But the worst part is that, if I had to choose, I'd still choose at least three of the schools I applied to this year. Is that crazy? I mean, I really, REALLY want(ed) Northwestern, Penn or NYU. I know I'm not the only one, and there is probably a huge amount of applicants who are better than me, I just can't help it. I have a feeling that I'll be applying to three schools for, like, five consecutive years. How pathetic is that? I'm 26 now, I'll be applying untill I'm 40. EDIT - I don't actually think that 26 + 5 = 40, I just like to exaggerate things.

Hey guys, joining the pity party. I guess that's going to be a "no" from Minnesota as well, didn't get anything yet. Two more of my schools haven't notified, and they're... Wait for it... Wait for it... COLUMBIA and UPENN. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. I should probably start crying right now, and get it over with. The worst part is that I really, really did search for fit. I didn't apply because these schools were top 20 or whatever they are. I just looked for professors whose work I've come across before and thought of as interesting, and they happened to be at all these top places. I mean, there's no way I'm not going to apply to Northwestern and UPenn again this year, after I get rejected from all the schools in the universe. Especially UPenn. Perfect POIs at these two places. Of course, at Columbia as well, but I won't be so naive again, and think they'd actually accept me. This is so unbelievably frustrating.

Well, my POI's on sabbatical and not reviewing applications, so he was only able to tell me what he heard. But it doesn't seem that improbable to me. Penn is an excellent school, by far my best fit. Unfortunately, looks like it's everyone's best fit. Exactly what you've said. It's a lottery. I believe they just cut everyone whose area of interest they don't need this year, and that they're choosing from the lucky ones that made the cut. Of course, I don't know that, but that's the only logical way that comes to mind, because we had to write general areas of interest on top of our SOPs.

I was kind of whining about this on some other thread yesterday, not really because I think that the departments are not doing their job, but because I'm really nervous, and tired of being stressed. I actually asked one of my POIs if it would be OK to e-mail the department and ask about my status. He was kind enough to say I shouldn't do it, because these six or so people in the committee are overwhelmed with a huge amount of applications, and might see the e-mail as asking for special favors. And I understand where he's coming from, I mean, if there are 600 applications, why would I be so special and know right now, if other 599 people can wait? I understand people who are angry about not knowing, since I am one of them, but I can't really blame the departments. It's just that this applying business is a huge mess of stress and anxiousness, probably on both sides.

Oh, if I got a funded MA, I'd definitely take it. But if it's unfunded, unfortunately, I have no possible way of paying tuition. I actually think an MA would really help me with skills needed for graduate studies. If nothing else, I'd get a hang of how things work over there, and I'd improve my writing skills.

Well, I work as a translator, maybe that could be an option for some of you as well. I mean, I have an MA in translation studies, so that's a possibility I have, I have no idea how it works in the US.

Thanks, jazzy and HHEos. In my application I said that I wouldn't want an MA position, simply because it's unfunded, and I can't afford it. Therefore, that is an offer I most probably won't get. The reason I asked is simply because I am fairly sure that I'm rejected, but there is still a sparkle of hope left that I can't get rid of. Which is not good for my mental health. I wish they'd just get it over with.

So, does anyone know why programs wait so long to send out rejections? My assumed two are NYU and UChicago. I've checked out the board, and last year it took them a month to start rejecting. I know they are terribly busy, and prospective graduates are not the most important thing in the universe, but if you know someone's not accepted, the sooner you tell them, the sooner you can get on with other business, right? I mean, I have no idea how this works, which is why I'm asking.

So did I, until last week. Got my first rejection, had a fit, and wanted to know right away that I was rejected everywhere. So I e-mailed everyone. Ever. He was actually super nice.

You could get a hook, but it's still not enough to be the pirate king. You should hurt your toe tripping over a parrot and get a peg leg. You can also poke your eye out when you hit your head on the oven you mentioned (while you're falling, of course), that will get you an eye-patch too. And as for the GRE, I feel like wasnt on it even when I should have been.

I'm too lazy to go back one page and quote the person who got UT Austin, but congratulations!

Maybe even longer. I contacted my POI last week, he said that there was about 600 applications, and that they're still reading. EDIT: then again, he's not in the committee this year, so he just told me what he heard.

I'll soon get a rejection from NYU too. I did give up hope when I didn't get an acceptance a week ago, but every waitlist posted on the board still stings a bit. Ah, well, life's a bitch, and then you die. Three more rejections, and I'll start working on my new WS.