TheGnome

You will be fine folks, no need to fret so much, seriously. Internationals: there are options aside from phone plans that require you to pay high deposit fees (virgin mobile anyone?). The department that sponsors you can help in terms of references for rental leases. In fact, in many cases, you won't even encounter that hurdle. Obviously, you won't be very high on the food chain while living on your stipend, but you are also not doomed to "super-cheap houses, no extra expenses etc." In fact if you can be a tad careful, you can live a life that is reasonably comfortable on most stipends. Improving cooking skills a bit would definitely help .

Hahah! Soyuzmultfilm for the win.

This is great, thanks! Mother: Choose now! It is either him (referring to the cat) or me? Father: Well, I've known you a long time so I choose you... My favorite still is Vinni Pukh though. The cartoon has so much character, the characters have a lot of soul, and the dialogues are so well constructed. Oh and Vinni Pukh himself isn't giving this bizarre impression that he is half naked in this version - admittedly, it might be just me who thinks that way about the American Winnie. Youtube videos: I am just pasting the youtube link and it just appears that way. I wasn't aware of the etc magic

And a UCSD rejection.. Is it Trololololololol? If so, I wonder why UCSD is the troll favorite of the year..

Profit! for you

You are right of course, my bad. No idea why I had that preconception. Maybe they used to have an IPE group? Anyway, without pushing my luck any further, correction: WUSTL doesn't have an IPE group. Man, one can't get away with BS-ing even for 20 mins around here.

Hope is alive sylark, it is alive. Still, even if you don't get an acceptance there, you have many great outstanding applications and a good profile. Don't let anything get under your skin. Also do not discount your probability of getting into other places if you get a rejection. With all due respect to Reverend Bayes, this is probably the worst thing we can do to ourselves, yet we all do it. Also hearty congrats to WUSTL admits. Great place, great training. I didn't apply there myself, since IPE is not my cup of tea, but their program is surely mouthwatering.

Oh sorry ma'am, I wasn't thinking. Damn you patriarchal society and systematic cognitive bias! You know this is pretty funny, but it kind of left an unpleasant aftertaste.

Yes I guess nasty response = run away. OR you can go and give a lot of hugs to that person and use an internet blocking software to prevent him from going to PSR.

While I do not necessarily disagree with the conclusion "wouldn't encourage you to apply somewhere with unresponsive professors," I want to caution inferring that based on one or two e-mails. People can be busy, they can forget, stuff happens.

You should attach this message from the Grumpy Cat to your message the next time, of course:

I am part of the Wisconsin bloodbath. Sorry for everyone who got a rejection today.Those who did not get good news from anywhere yet: Hang in there, we have a long ways to go, this is just the beginning. So chin up folks, and let's get back to refreshing our e-mails like there is no tomorrow. I hope you guys will hear the good news very soon. Certainly by the end of the next week, I feel.

Jeudepaume, this post of yours represents the soul of gradcafe. I love it! I love it because I caught myself really thinking whether that means anything to give a meaningful answer to your question. This is what the process did to us. We were normal human beings once.. And I don't have an answer. It probably doesn't mean anything

Made me crack. +1 sir!

I am all for going with whatever turns you on. If you feel good thinking of yourself as old and wise, go for it. If you feel good looking at others and feel like you are ahead in life because of your young age, that's cool. Do it. On average, rejection and failure happens more often than success. We all have to cope with it. We all have to find ways to make ourselves feel better.This is a real need. More often than not, we do not get what we want. We frequently have to deal with the fact that our situation is not the ideal one, given the probabilities. It usually sucks, but it is OK. I think the key is not to take yourself too seriously. It is pretty bad when that happens. World is a harder place to live then. On a completely irrelevant note. Did you guys know about the Russian version of Winnie the Pooh? You can find it in youtube. My Russian is terrible, so I hardly understand anything, but watching it is strangely a great way to relax, I found. Just try to watch an episode the way you sit down and listen to a really nice song - it might make you happy .

Thanks everyone for the congrats. After seeing the MSU results on the board, I was ready to assume an MSU rejection as well. I can say that every piece of my application is different (apart from the undergrad transcript). My research interests are also different. PM me if you want details - I'd be happy to discuss them.

Hm I just got into MSU. That was unexpected

Sorry if I seemed like whining. I am very grateful and happy about my acceptance. However, while being accepted somewhere is relieving, it does not reduce the anxiety at all. At the end, we all put a lot of time and effort into this process. So we all want to get the best result we can, to go to the best possible school for our interests. Anyway, I digress. Thanks a lot for the kind reply but I think I'll just assume that I'm out at Wisconsin. My subfield is IR btw. Hang in there xuejia, one rejection does not mean anything. In fact, while we tend to think that getting a rejection reduces our probability of getting into other places (isn't it partly why rejections sting that much?), it may very well not be the case. It may just be a fit issue (which, I understand, is extremely common), it may be that a professor you wan't to work with is not active in the department / is leaving / not taking on students etc. etc. There are many reasons why one can get rejected from a school that has nothing to do with the objective competitiveness of his/her file. So, hang in there, we are pulling for you. Also - congrats to Duke admits, especially the anxious_one!! Second timer power!! Unfortunately I am out of positive points again, dang! EDIT: CONGRATS xuejia!! Duke was faster than me

OK so there was a flood of Wisconsin admits here. Great for the people who got them, congrats again, I am genuinely happy for you (especially for the gradcafe buddies who have been around for a while now, go folks!). It is a bummer for me though, because I didn't get one. So, the logical thing here would be to count Wisconsin as a potential rejection. However, there is also this stuff about the postal service and e-mails coming from POIs as opposed to being automated system notifications. I know that I am reading tea leaves and stretching it as far as I can to avoid striking Wisconsin off my list, but is it possible maybe my letter is on the mail, and that my POI just didn't email me? (you should say *yes* here, but convincingly please)

Hahah congrats jazzrap!! You can take a deep breath and relax a bit now

Congrats to all Wisconsin admits. That's one great program you got into. And here is to hope that those of us who didn't receive an e-mail yet have POIs who are just lazier than the others

Aaaand it has began. Wisconsin is trickling in. Buckle the seat belts! Congrats AHL, that relief is well earned.

Because their strengths do not overlap. Rochester is known for ethnographic research and participant action, whereas Northwestern is a positivist stronghold with a strong emphasis on formal theory. (wink)

I was not asked this question directly but in both conversations I had, the person talked about the other schools to which I applied. You know, the list you are supposed to fill in the application form. It seems that they do pay attention to the coherence of that list in terms of your research interest - though I don't think this has anything to do with their decision. In any case, I would suggest the future applicants to pay attention to what schools they choose to include in that list, just to be safe. I wouldn't write Rochester and Northwestern, for example.

Reasons may include: - not getting in anywhere - getting in somewhere but not getting funding - getting in somewhere but in the meanwhile learning that you can improve your file significantly next year - so instead of enrolling you go for another round - getting in somewhere but life happens in the meanwhile, so you try again after life gets out of the way - getting in somewhere, but then transferring I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. You are welcome to add to the list