mb712

So you're expressing dislike of people considering opinions from others that may or may not be relevant when making one of the biggest life choices ever by...expecting these people to consider your opinion that may or may not be relevant... Okay. "Dream school" =/= right choice. They aren't gross, selfish, or awful by carefully considering their opinions instead of pouncing on an acceptance out of emotion/excitement.

I had a major imposter syndrome moment freak out during this entire process and then eventually calmed down. Maybe that will happen for you, or maybe this is a level-headed thought from you, in which case here's my advice: 1) Don't freak out about asking for more letters next year. First of all, not starting something because you don't think you can do it/not wasting a bunch of money is a responsible decision. Second, a lot of people don't get into graduate school their first application cycle. Letter writers have to do a repeat year all the time. 2) Like Karoku said, ask to defer a year for health related reasons. If they say no, you aren't in any different of a position that you're already in. There's no harm in asking at this point, right? If this is a freak out like I had, here's my advice: 1) Chill. You wouldn't have been admitted if you weren't qualified. The reason for graduate school is to continue learning and to build on your current skills. You're right, you don't have the ability to do everything right now, but you've been accepted into programs that are designed to give you those skills or at least the opportunity to develop those skills. Graduate school will definitely be hard, but you wouldn't have been offered admission or a government grant if people didn't think you were competent. 2) Chill. Sit outside, have a beer, think about how awesome it is that you've been accepted into multiple schools and received a government research grant. YOU DID IT. It's awesome. (I can't speak confidently on the transferring programs question.)

My best guess is 5pm local time, since that's probably the end of the work day for graduate admissions/financial staff. You could always email somebody at the program and tell them you will be hearing from another program at noon on the 15th and ask if that afternoon is too late to inform them of your decision.

Congrats to both of you! It's exciting to see people get into the schools they have been hoping for

I think at least a phone or video chat interview is necessary. Any school that even remotely showed interest in me contacted me about talking on Skype or phone interview, even if it wasn't declared an interview. (Then again, this could just be my experience, but it sounds like others are echoing the same thing.)

After I started doing research, I realized that I never want to stop. The academic job market is notoriously less than stellar but after weighing my desire to get to the next level in terms of research against easier job attainment/probably more money, it was a no-brainer. I've had to claw my way to where I am now, and because of life stuff it took 8 years of my life to do what should have taken 4-5, so I also know I have the will-power to at least deal with the tough circumstances. I guess my advice would be to consider whether grad school seems more like difficult work or like a chore to you. If it's the former, considering the grad school route is probably a good idea. If it's the latter, I'm not confident in saying it's the best option for you (unless you can't see yourself being happy wihout the PhD or JD). When I was a junior, I was working toward applying to graduate school in a different area than I ended up applying. In the fall I'll be pursuing a graduate degree in a different field than I've been planning on since I was 14, and I'm unbelievably excited. Because of this, the other advice I always give people who are considering grad school is to never narrow yourself so far down that you don't see other opportunities.

Thank god I'm not the only one. I assumed that once applications were over and decisions were out, the stress would go way down. NOPE! I go through an internal struggle daily over what school I want to go to and the countdown until April 15th feels way worse than application deadlines. Like you said, it's a great problem to have, but I'm also so worried about making the wrong decision. I was pretty sure I was leaning towards School A, then I learned faculty at School B had a million great things to say about me which of course caused irrational tears and a reevaluation. Sometimes I wish I had only been accepted at one place haha.

Who has more social obstacles to break through, a white woman first-gen student from a low SES or a black woman first-gen student from a low SES? Just because things happened to work out for you when you put in the time doesn't mean that everyone from any minority or disadvantaged group has the opportunity to even attempt to do the same. Say I'm at a concert with two friends, one who is 5'0" and one who is 6'2". I let the shorter one stand on my seat in order to see the stage. Does that mean I'm altering the advantages or disadvantages of/creating a bias against the taller friend? No.

white cheddar

Related personal anecdote: I had a couple video calls with the POI from one of my top choices in between application submission and school decisions. It was a good chance to talk more about what my future plans were and ask this person what their future plans were. We actually meshed really well, had some great conversations and I think our personalities would have lined up perfectly. BUT, the more we talked, the more we realized our interests didn't align as well as we had thought in emails. Am I bummed it cost me one of my top choices? Yes. Am I bummed I'm not going to be able to work with someone who I seemed to get along with better than a lot of people? Yes. Do I think it was a good idea for me to be honest? Absolutely. I don't want to fake it through 5-6 years of graduate school. I want to do what I'm interested in. A Ph.D. doesn't do me any good if it trains me for something I don't care about. I can do something I don't care about without 5-6 years of additional school, moving to a new place, etc. So anyway. That's my rambling. Unless someone's goal is "I want a Ph.D. from NameBrand University" I can't imagine lying would be a good option.

I wish I would have studied for and taken the GRE over the summer instead of trying to do it in October. I didn't take it as seriously as I should have, and I think it cost me an acceptance or two.

library books

I've been wondering the same thing. As long as my acceptances don't depend on a May graduation instead of August graduation (which I didn't see a caveat about but I haven't specifically asked), I almost want to stick around my undergrad institution and take a class or two over the summer. Edit: I looked at my offers and it seems like a diploma by enrollment date is the only specified requirement. "We are confident you will be able to fulfill these requirements before enrollment." The only problem now is that my graduation date would be the weekend after I'm supposed to be on campus for one of the schools. I'm not sure if that matters though since the first couple weeks are orientation and training? Hmm.

"The University of xxxx is pleased to offer you.... ...the ability to receive online messages regarding the status of your application decision." How kind and generous, thank you for the email.

I've seen people on the psych board say they weren't necessarily rejected because of their GRE, but their POI wasn't able to secure funding for them because of GRE scores. Splitting hairs since neither is an acceptance, I know, but there's kind of a difference.

Up until yesterday I felt like this. A couple times I wanted to tell people to stop giving opinions because it was just making me stressed. Then I went into the office of a mentor and basically word vomited for an hour, we talked about how I felt about the two programs I'm deciding between and he offered great advice after we did some additional research on various aspects of each school. Based on what I said above, in addition to this quote I also feel unbelievably lucky I have people I can talk to about this decision. Basically, I am spoiled rotten haha.

An external harddrive. I've been putting it off for too long. School-themed thank you gifts for my LOR writers (well, I would have given them something even if I didn't get in...) and going out to one of my favorite restaurants that happens to be relatively expensive so I don't go very often. I would like a new tablet or laptop but it isn't a necessity yet so I'll see how much the move sets me back first.

One of my programs has a little caveat in the offer saying I'm not allowed to work more than x amount of hours a week (which is about 2 more hours than required through TA/RA work). So, if I go there I'm allowed a ~2hr/wk outside job haha. I understand it's a financial need some people have based on stipends, etc. but I think if push came to shove I would rather take out a loan. Grad school is a one time thing for most people, I wouldn't want to risk not giving it my all because of an outside job. That's just my personal preference though.

Absolutely. I've recruited some friends to a beer and pro/con list making session on Saturday. I'm too overwhelmed, I need some help.

True. This isn't poli sci rumors until someone acts like women and Asians are going to be the death of mankind as we know it.

This post is why the mobile version needs an option to up vote.

Ha. Enjoy:

Hope you guys brought refreshments! Haha. It's a mess over there. I don't really know why somebody down voted your comment, MyDogHasAPhD, but now I'm sad I'm out of up votes for the day.

Between this and the throwdown happening in the political science forum, wow. People are a little pissy tonight. (The poli sci one is way more entertaining... incase anybody wants to see a total meltdown haha.)

This is one of the last places on the internet I thought I would see a temper tantrum. What a meltdown. This is fantastic, I should have popped some popcorn.