grad_wannabe

Not hearing ANYTHING is maddening. I mean, I know that at this point "no news is good news" and that as soon as I get the first inevitable rejection I'll look with fondness back on this time when all possibilities were open and the world was my oyster ... but that doesn't quell the anxiety of the unknown.

I likewise am refreshing my academia page every two minutes. A couple hits in the UK, which bodes well for my app to Oxford, but otherwise it's full of red herring hits in Istanbul, Jakarta, Moscow, Islamabad, and Lagos.

Same here. Some people from one of my programs have started receiving rejections. I refresh my Results Search page monitor about every three minutes, my email every two minutes, and have my phone sitting directly in front of me. I've also very deliberately stopped talking about it with friends and coworkers. They're all getting sick of my constant prattle about it.

I wish I could just be put in cryogenic refrigeration until April.

Welcome to the club!

YES exactly! I thought I was going to pass out when I started reading that sentence. My hands were shaking.

seedless grapes

Holy cow THANK YOU for pointing that out. I was indeed still checking the application page. Still, no decision yet. I felt like I was going to throw up when I pushed the "application decision" button, especially the bit about "USC is pleased to offer you ... the ability to view messages about the status of your application!": "One or more of your applications is currently under review, so a decision has not yet been posted. Please check back periodically for an update."

I would try to bring up the verbal a bit, up to at least 90th percentile (163+). But for those fields, your Statement of Purpose and writing sample will be far more influential.

No letter on my page. Same as it's always been: "Application status: Submitted." Tentatively hoping that means I made it to the next round?! Good thoughts to us all. This is beginning to get really thrilling/mortifying, as the responses are picking up steam. Pedanticist -- that's HILARIOUS.

I have not received any notice whatsoever from usc. Refreshing my email constantly ... You guys received emails to check the website?

I LOVE the idea of school-specific swag! I gave each of my writers a small gift and thank-you note already, but the swag is such an adorable way to tell them where you're ending up! Thanks for the idea!

Pop fly

I have a question for everyone: are your status web pages actually showing any progression? All of mine still just say "submitted." Is anyone else seeing any changes? (I'm really asking if it's worth it to keep checking those pages or if I should just ignore them.) Other than that, I'm getting back in the swing of work. I asked my boss (who wrote me a rec letter and helped me with my SOP), if I still had a place with him "if this application round should prove less than fruitful." He said "that's not going to happen." I tentatively said "well, um, but just in case.." He cried out "we are thinking GOOD THOUGHTS!" I think he's anxious too.

Sounds like Henry Jenkins at USC might be a good match. He's preeminent on fandom and audience culture.

Just happened to me. An unknown number left a voicemail. Heart pounding out of my chest, I hit the 'play' button. "hello, I'm calling to confirm your haircut appointment this Sunday..." ARGH.

Last fall when I was visiting schools and meeting POIs, I dreamt that I got into a car accident on the way to one of the meetings. It was SO vivid. I can still see the wreckage of the car in my mind.

congrats hermes!!

blood brothers

I applied to 7, but many of my coworkers who are in quantitative fields (mostly economics) applied to at least 15. They said they focused on getting perfect GRE scores and then just sent out a wave of app clones. Didn't contact any POIs, and didn't bother tailoring the SOP for each school.

Hi Roguesenna, Can you tell us how your usc interview went today?

I likewise met with my usc poi, last fall when I visited campus. Not sure what effect that has on the process.. I also got 4 hits to my academia.edu page in Los Angeles yesterday, but then again usc is not the only LA school to which I applied. Staying hopeful!! Autumn -- sorry to hear about Wisconsin! but at least that will make your ultimate decision easier since you're getting interest from many campuses!

I wondered precisely the same thing. At least we know the committee is still convening.

rude awakening

For any other USC Annenberg applicants, I emailed their admissions office today to inquire about interview invites: "Please note that not all applicants will receive an invitation to interview. Interview invitations are at the discretion of the admission committee which is still convening."