astroturf

I made the trek earlier this month from TX to FL (have to take summer classes for my program, so I had to get there pretty quickly). There was a lot of stuff I didn't want to part with at first, but the cost of hauling all of it across the South just kept getting more and more expensive as we kept packing more and more stuff up. It's easy to think you don't have that much, but then the boxes keep piling along with the cost. I ended up making piles of what absolutely had to come, what I wanted to come, and what could go if need be and sold the rest. It got to be such a hassle as the move approached that only the stuff I put in my "absolute needs" pile really ended up making it and a few of the "wants" that I could shove in the back of my pickup.. I sold the couches a week before the move and threw the bed away the morning of (it was old and decrepit, there was no way I could sell it). I couldn't bear to get rid of my books so I did a light pruning,sold those for a bit of cash at a used bookstore, and sent the rest ahead of time media mail. It saved a ton of room and I didn't have to give up my books, so it was pretty win-win. Everything that couldn't be sold but was too cumbersome I either gave away to friends and family or left in a box next to my old apartment's dumpster for everyone else to paw through.

I went to North Texas for four years (English BA) and lived in Denton exclusively for about five. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

My husband and I will both be attending FSU this fall! We're both really excited to be attending. As far as housing, people in our department have advised against living too close to campus. We found a place about two miles off near the region we were told most of the graduate students in our field live.

I don't know if I'd call it not fair, but it does seem like they would lose many stellar applicants for their English program if you need to be top 10% in MATH for admission. I mean, if they stated the wanted top 10% and one of your scores did not make that I wouldn't call it unfair, but a program that takes that much stock in standardized testing (especially the math portion for an English major) would make me a tad wary.

It was a surprising application season for me. I applied to the same departments/cities as my partner, and for awhile it looked like we'd only have our undergraduate institution admitting the two of us together. In fact, we had both been settling down to do our MA there when we both got two acceptances to the same schools right after April 15th. We did not get in together to some of our top-choice schools, but when these offers came and we sat down to look at the programs, we realized one program that was honestly near the bottom of our list we completely underestimated. They offered us both full funding and had a program very tailored to our interests. I guess that was the biggest surprise for me- I didn't really realize what schools were the best fit for me until near the end of the application season. I don't really feel bad that I didn't get in to some of my top choices anymore, because now I wonder how great a "fit" I truly was for these departments. I am very thankful I took one of my professor's suggestions and applied to the school I ended up accepting because it was better for me than I realized. I guess that's my one regret- I feel like I lucked into a fantastic program when I really wished I would have investigated the programs I applied to for "fit" more thoroughly. I also wish I would have utilized these lists of funded MA programs on this forum more and investigated more funded programs. Now that I'm at the realistic, planning my finances stage of this, I don't know how I would have gone to some of these programs if they hadn't have offered funding. There were a few road bumps with departments. I won't name departments, but we talked back and forth with the graduate director at the other program we ended up declining and when we sent a polite email declining the offer, they became very rude. It was surprising because we were going to keep this department on our list when we started the search for PhD programs, but now we're not so sure. The whole correspondence with them they seemed too bothered to answer our questions and then their last rude email makes us wonder if we should knock them off the list. And one program sent a rejection letter that seemed way more harsh than necessary. But, oh well. All in all, this was my first time applying and I am very thankful both me and my partner got into an excellent, funded MA program together. There were definitely mistakes we both made that kept our number of acceptances low, but I feel like I understand the process better now and will be able to put together a much better PhD application in a few years.

Thank you for explaining, Hadunc, that result took me off guard as well since I just got an email from them saying they were still reviewing files.

All of my advisors seemed pretty convinced I wouldn't hear much before March, and true to that, I've only received one rejection letter so far. Two of my schools have emailed to say not to expect any kind of decision till at least early March as well. So, I do think we have a slightly longer wait. I'm sure sifting through all those SOPs and writing samples takes awhile for any English program.

So far people have posted results for two of the schools I'm applying to. I've received one rejection in the mail and no other word than that. It does make me anxious, but then I have to remind myself that I still have 6-7 schools I'm waiting to hear from and most of them said not to expect an answer till at least March. Both times I've seen people posting acceptances for a program I applied to on here, I went through the whole frantically refreshing my email, checking my application to make sure I didn't put the wrong contact info down thing and of course there was some jealousy, but there was also a sense of completion. I've debated if I'd rather quit this site and live in blissful unawareness of my prospects, but I think I'd rather know the reality of the situation, no matter how it might sting.

Haha, this is exactly what happened to me. I saw "Dear Applicant" and froze for a few seconds. I thought it was very thoughtful as well- not many of my other schools have given any kind of time frame so far so this is refreshing.

I ended up applying to eight schools, which I think is the right amount for me at the time. My schools range from the super selective to schools that I believe have great programs for what I want to do, but are ranked lower. Maybe if I had the energy, time, and money to devote to applying to 10+ programs I would have done it, but I think anything above eight would have come off as hurried applications done out of desperation rather than interest in the school. I like all the programs I applied to, and hopefully I'll get into two so I at least have some sort of choice.

Same here. Seeing more and more English acceptances everyday is making me despair about my own prospects, even if there's really no reason to.

Compared to last year, it seems that some people in my discipline are hearing much earlier. I was expecting to not hear anything until late Feb/early March, and some people on this forum already have 1-2 acceptances! So, it does seem to vary by department.

I think it's good to check just to make sure that it doesn't say they're missing any materials, but it's so easy to get obsessive about. I had to stop myself because even if I did know a few hours earlier or so, I'd still be refreshing my email all night looking for something to verify the website.

I'm wondering this too. Most of the departments I applied to said something to the effect of "don't contact us, we'll contact you if something is missing/we require more info." Two schools did contact me about missing materials, so I guess I thought that's how the system worked. Reading this post is starting to make me paranoid that I should be checking up, especially since the applications I can access say they're complete.

Hahaha, this happens to me daily. I see some of my top schools postings results and I just freeze in panic...then realize I'm applying for English, not Aerospace Engineering.

Yes, I asked one of my advisers about how much I have to worry about people trying to avoid a bad economy, and he said something very similar. I'm trying to find a little comfort in that.

I received an e-mail from Bev Hankins shortly after I submitted to say the department had all my materials. I am also applying for the MA, though.

This is nice, seeing that many people have a few weaknesses and it's not just myself... - My GRE scores are underwhelming. The day I took the test was a really bad day, and then the testing center was so hard to find I was in a panic by the time I got there. I was taking a lot of hours at the time to finish my undergrad degree, and just didn't think I'd have the time to study and re-take the GRE before the first applications were due. I regret that decision now. - I double majored with a minor during undergrad. I explained in my SOP how the other major and minor are relevant to what I want to study, but now I'm doubting if I explained as well as I wanted to and I'm afraid it'll come off like I don't really know what I want to do. - One school wanted a SOP and a Personal Statement and I just felt completely stalled on the Personal Statement. I finished it up last minute and while I thought it was pretty good, I think it may have come off more casual than I was intending.

I believe most of my programs said late February or March, so I'm in the waiting boat too. Every time I get an email from one of my schools my heart seizes a tiny bit.

Yes, this. I started out with only the amount of transcripts I thought I'd need to apply, and ended up making frequent visits to my school's registrar for more. By the time I ended up mailing my materials, I had stacks of every material on my desk, in double the amounts I thought I'd need, just in case. I guess the biggest advice I would give is not to get down on yourself. When I was in the midst of applying, I'd see people touting GPAs or GRE scores or whatever else that made my own stats seem like dirt and I'd get so bogged down in comparing myself that I'd forget everything else that made me a good applicant. Although it is a competition, work on selling YOU rather than becoming preoccupied with someone else's stats. I will also say that when I first started looking at graduate schools, everything that needed to be done seemed so overwhelming I doubted if I'd ever get an application in! It helped me to make a list of everything that needed to be done and by when (GREs by October, LOR writers confirmed by November, etc.) and just take it step-by-step. Otherwise, I think I would have been too panicked to function!

At this point, most of the people that I would want to share my excitement with are on Facebook, so I will definitely be posting about it. It won't be an update every time a school accepts or rejects me, but there are definite schools that everyone knows I'm excited/nervous for and I will keep them updated. I vented my frustrations with the application process via Facebook, so I don't see a need to stop now. Getting into graduate school is the major goal of my life right now, and if anyone begrudges me for making a post in celebration of meeting this massive goal, they're free to take me off their feed. To echo other posters, I read every time a friend buys a house, or their kid does something, or they start a new job. I don't really see sharing the important aspects of my life any more obnoxious than that.