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I actually feel like my MA hurt me more than it helped. I loved my courses, had top essay marks all year, then fell flat on my face in exams. It was a 100% exam-based program. (The essays were considered "coursework" - if you replicated them on your exams, you could expect roughly similar marks, but they didn't count towards your final grades.) To add insult to injury, I flubbed my dissertation. Six months of original research, hitting archives weekly (except while studying for the exams - hey, I tried) and meeting with my awesome advisor, grinning like an idiot because the damn thing was shaping up to write itself. Then my "housing crisis" hit. I was too embarrassed to tell my advisor I was homeless and essentially being held for ransom by dodgy estate agents who had my bank details. What kind of intelligent person gets herself into that kind of mess? By the time all of that finally resolved, I'd lost a month and a half of writing up time and started panicking. The final paper came nowhere near doing justice to the source material (which felt insulting to the subjects, honestly) and it was a mess. Revising it this fall... I was humiliated for my former self. I came out of undergrad with distinction and accolades, a publication, a great record of community service and participation... And came out of my MA a mess. The point of my sob story: experience can be a disadvantage. Your nontraditional track makes you an awesome candidate. You can put a wholly positive spin on it, and going into something with a clear, level head is always better than having to explain how you "learned from your mistakes" etc.

Congrats to the Brown acceptances (and commiserations on all the shitty news from Princeton)! Hey, we're not even halfway through the week yet. Let's hope there's plenty more good to come.

Congrats again Ashiepoo!! You're killing it.

Damn. That sucks. That one was another good fit based on POI emails and referrals to other faculty. Thanks for the update

Just some mild paranoia, but did anyone else apply to USC? I looked through the thread and saw a note from mid-Jan about decisions coming out. In previous years the admits were out by early Feb... I spent the morning working on a job application with an "ongoing" deadline, only to receive a response saying the position closed on Friday. I really need a win, guys. Or at least a beer.

Congrats to all the Chicago admits, and congrats on the awesome offer Chiqui! It's pretty great coming online after a day away and seeing so much good news happening. Let's hope it's a sign for a good week to come. Welcome aboard Aubstopper. I had the same issue with Davis (not getting my MA transcript and not accepting a digital replacement), so totally feel your pain. Really hoping there's some good news for us late admission review folks after the courier costs ate my grocery money Had a job interview today, got email rejections for 2 jobs while I was there. All I want is an acceptance and a job to see out the next few months. If both could come through this week, that'd be swell...

Congrats!! Fingers crossed for funding.

HELLS YES!!!!!!!!

Sigh. Checking in on a break from the job hunt, a parallel world of silence... I was expecting to be gutted about Northwestern, but in a weird way, it's not a terrible thing being rejected from a school. The most annoying thing about looking for work is the number of doors slamming because of citizenship. At least with applications, we can polish our writing samples, take a new angle on the SOP, find a crucial detail to strengthen our research proposals over the summer... In so many ways it's out of our control, but there are a lot of opportunities for resilience, too. What's everyone else up to today?

Thanks for the heads up Ashiepoo. I've just checked and mine's a rejection, too. I think I'd really talked myself into believing it was gonna happen. It was by far the best fit (a point raised by a POI at a school I didn't apply to). Is 7 AM too early for bourbon?

It's natural we're all feeling a bit "meh" by now, but I think the reach is what will make the eventual acceptances so worthwhile. I feel like any school is gonna be taking a chance on me. My MA dissertation grade was totally lacklustre. I lost a month and a half's writing up time to what I politely referred to as a "housing crisis" - a rather unexpected, unpleasant period during which I got a lot of use out of my favourite Bela Lugosi impression ( ). We've all dealt with life getting in the way at some point and come out the other side. It's what makes us interesting candidates, and it's what'll either get us in, or give us what we need to get through bad news. What doesn't kill you and all that nonsense. And the very fact that we're all here overthinking this stuff means we care. That's gotta be worth something.

Eeek! Congrats to the Northwestern admit. Anyone else having difficulty breathing with an eye on the inbox?

Congrats to all the Stanford admits!! It's way past my bedtime. Keeping my fingers crossed for more good news from you lot in the morning.

So many acceptances happened overnight! (Well, our night.) That's amazing! Man, when I did this the first time around, I only applied to LSE. (Well, LSE and culinary school. Life could've been very different.) It's way easier waking up to the good news than tossing, turning and checking your apps till 2 am! On the bright side, the amount of coffee I've had so far today bodes well for the future

Nice one Ashiepoo!! Congrats!!!

Awesome news KBHistorian!! Congrats!!

Sigh. I was an editor managing travel and fitness content for big international brands. Left and went freelance, which was great for the application period (mad flexibility). Now I've spent a full month applying for jobs and hearing nothing except the odd rejection. I know it's likely down to visa issues (I can only work in the UK for one more year) and a tough economy, but it doesn't always put you in the best mindset for waiting out acceptances. This is why support networks (i.e. you guys) are awesome.

Oh man you guys, feels like I missed the party on here this weekend! I came down with some sort of flu on Friday and ended up in a feverish loop of checking the survey results and then each application status until my partner in crime confiscated all wifi-enabled devices. So cruel. He did make me loads of tea, though. So what's the deal with the snow over there? Are we expecting some closures today? Things are looking pretty dicey back home, but that's Canada, so most uni campuses are probably open regardless. Personally, I'd like to think the "delay" in acceptances compared to last year is down to our collective awesomeness. Too many awesome applicants to choose from! Fingers crossed for some good news today...

Oh man, congrats to all the new admits!! And Ashiepoo, amazing news about Davis!!!

Transcript now safely (oh how I hope) in the hands of a courier. There's one bit of anxiety sorted. Ashiepoo, I totally meant When Soldiers Fall, I guess that's less recent now. It's on my reading list, do you recommend?

Ah cheers Heimat, found it. Wow. Just seeing the word "accepted" that many times is enough to get a girl's heart pounding... Also, totally get what you mean about exploring other programs at this point. Is it too early for back-up plans? Knomina, it's crazy, eh?! The weirdest thing about job hunting at this stage is not knowing how long you can realistically commit to a role. Thanks Ashiepoo! I think Professor Casey may have been on sabbatical while I was at LSE; I definitely didn't meet him, but I think he supervised a friend who attended the year before I did. Have you read his most recent book? It looks really interesting! Also, how cool would it be if some of us ended up crossing paths at conferences in the future?

Whoo!! Thanks guys On the bright side, everyone at Davis/LSE has been really nice about this. Very reassuring to deal with cool people on the inside. Doubt I'd be nearly as awesome about handling rapid fire emails from a frazzled applicant. Maybe Dry January is just a UK thing? (Can anyone confirm?) It's exactly what it sounds like: no booze till the clock strikes midnight on Saturday. Last night we paired steak with ginger ale. Blaspheme. Ashiepoo, I'm shifting gears towards 20th c US cultural history (post-WWII and mainly post-Vietnam cultures of violence if we're getting down to the nitty gritty). Also, dumb newbie question: where are all of these magical results coming from (apart from you fantastic people reporting on this thread)?

Hey guys, Congrats to everyone who's had good news so far, and commiserations to those who've had the opposite. I've been lurking since fall, and it's finally time to unleash my nerves on someone other than my friends/flatmate/parents/partner in crime. (Or at least split the anxiety... I'm a month into job-hunting limbo, so my whole life kinda revolves around waiting for good news!!) Current crisis: my MA transcript didn't make it to UC Davis!! I'm not sure whether to blame Royal Mail or the USPS (I'm Canadian, so no allegiances either way) but LSE swears up and down that they sent the thing in mid-December, so it must've fallen off a mail truck somewhere along the way. Davis needs it by 4 Feb to mark my app complete (otherwise, no chance at funding)... So tomorrow I get to spend my last pennies on courier service from London to California. Is anyone else doing Dry January? After this manic week, I'm so looking forward to a beer...

Hi! I'm in a totally different field, but as a Torontonian living in London (with degrees from U of T and LSE) I have some potentially helpful insights... 1) Support system. The North American system offers a hell of a lot more. U of T is generally known for its hands-off approach. (Other Canadian universities generally taunt U of T undergrads by saying "you're just a number.") That said, there's a lot more reading guidance than you'd get in the UK. Over here, there's a lot more independent study from a young age. This really weighs in at exam time. If you're kind of shit at exams (like me) and used to getting serious, helpful prep (whether in an SAT setting or a TA session before finals), exams over here are going to suck. Check on how your program weights them. My course at LSE was 100% exam based, which meant going from "Distinction" (A) coursework to "Merit" (medium-to-low final marks. I had amazing, supportive profs at LSE, but the system is really different and it can seriously impact your grades. 2) Location. Living in Toronto and commuting to UTM WILL be cheaper than living in London. Hell, living in Toronto and eating gold will be cheaper than living in London. London is awesome. London is also expensive as hell. Take every expense you usually have and switch the $ for a £. (At the current exchange rate, that means you're pretty much doubling your costs.) There are fantastic free and cheap things to do in London, but your biggest expense - rent - is not one of them. Also, the cheap things are still more expensive than any cheap thing at home. I was home for Christmas and went out with an old friend in the Annex (student area). We paid $22 for a carafe of wine and two beers. That's roughly £11, which will maybe cover the two beers if you're somewhere really cheap outside central London. All of this said: London is still London. Walk across the Hungerford Bridge at night and tell me it's not worth every damn penny. Sorry, pence. These are my starting points, happy to answer any questions. Last thoughts for now: sunny and below 0 in Toronto > +5 in London. The air over here is mad wet. Don't be fooled by the numbers.