B. Blumenstrauss

Totally! Mutant classicist with a social life. My dream.

Wait wait wait! My food would be cheese (Brie or Camembert would work perfectly) and the object for the hand would be a little dispenser of smoked salmon. With my new hand and my eternal supply of food I could organize nice little cocktails for my friends.

Question: should I identify ISAW with NYU Classics or not?

You're right. By the way, it's Argentina.

I am in fact quite surprised of the way I startle and jump (from a chair, from the bed, from wherever I am) when I hear the "ding ding" of the Gmail inbox. The cat is not handling well this new attitude of mine.

Well, what you can do is basically improve things that any program would welcome. For example, I am planning to improve my German and my Latin in the subsequent months. And for the coming weeks I have planned something to avoid frustration: I'll travel to the public library to end my thesis there. If I stay here at home, I'll live nervous and unproductive, hitting the F5 like a robot. We can do this a little bit less stressing. We just have to try...

Oh, I know how you feel. Applicants from lousy countries, assemble! My president "has suicided" a prosecutor that was investigating her and I fear that this event affects negatively my application. Ok, maybe my worries are too far fetched. But they are still here.

Of course. In fact, my policy is to hope until an e-mail with a rejection is sent (I am an empiricist). That's why I did not change my signature at all. By the way, something that can help for future generations of classicists (?): Stanford's faculty particularly stressed the quality of my writing sample. My GRE grades are not fantastic (stupid math, stupid test, stupid ETS, stupid earplugs, stupid weird words, stupid essay about nonsense), but they did not care much. Ergo, if you have to decide between learning more math/words or polishing your WS, focus on the WS.

In fact, I had two interviews. One with the "Greek side" and one with the "Latin side". I think both were almost perfect. However, since my profile is stronger in Greek, I found myself more comfortable on that interview. The questions were standard: general presentation, why Stanford, background. I dedicated extra time to explain them that in my country the Classics degree and PhD are nonexistent: Classics is a branch of Literature here. So this explains why I come from Philosophy, why my transcript is not full of Classics' courses and why I am seeking to be a classicist. As a result, my interview was quite atypical. But wait. How can an interview go wrong? What symbols or attitudes can let you know that it all went the wrong way? Cause maybe I am here all happy and jumping around while I blew it all like a drunken princess.

Me too... but we must not give up! In fact, let's wait until the end of this day to give up (maybe they are calling one candidate at a time). Chicago, come to us.

All brains

(locks the cat in the other room)

... you write a mail with the heading "Dear Prof. Professor Irving". I realized twenty minutes ago (and sent it one month ago).

fancy ketchup

walk fancy

Just in case: folk music from my country sucks.

You know what is great? It is great to arrange a telephone conversation with a world-class scholar of your field only to discover that, when you pick up your phone, instead of hearing the tone needed to answer a phone call you hear a radio of folk music. I love my third world problems.

Oh wow. Good to know: I'll re-focus my energies on other universities.

Yes, I was the one who posted and yes, I applied to the AP program, but I do not know if they send all the interview requests at the same time. Maybe they cover the fixed number of applicants one program at a time. Thank you!!! But being nervous + trying to think too much too fast + speaking in English will be quite a challenge for me. I'll try hard not to appear as a stuttering Jennifer Lopez after a stroke.

Stanford e-mailed me to arrange an interview. I am terrified right now: ruining an interview sounds worse than being rejected, don't you think?

All waiting and no play makes Beatrice an obsessive chart-maker. Red: day of first rejection in 2014 -(Gradcafé results)- Green: day of first acceptance in 2014 Berkeley 17 Jan 3 Feb Brown 7 Feb 17 Mar UChicago 3 Feb 1 Mar Harvard 26 Feb 8 Mar NYU 14 Feb 6 Mar Stanford 27 Jan 31 Jan Texas at Austin -> Beware: sometimes they DO NOT send e-mail with rejection 31 Jan 19 Fed UToronto 8 Feb 27 Feb Yale 21 Feb 11 Mar

smelly grandpa

awkward uncle

Baaawwwwwww

awkward story