pannpann

Right? I'm from the Hudson Valley so we get quite a bit of cold (it was -2 yesterday, but that's more exception than norm) and I can't imagine being somewhere even colder! It looks like such a great program though, I think I could handle it for two years. And drownsoda, I went to NYU for undergrad (hence the debt) and the faculty are just phenomenal. Good luck to everybody though! It's hard seeing everyone getting decisions, knowing the MA programs won't respond for another month or so!

I applied to 7 PhD programs and one MA as a back up (UVM). They offer teaching fellowships so I thought it would be a solid plan b if I don't get into the other programs. I'm avoiding paying for grad school because my undergrad loans are so high. What programs did you apply to? How much importance did you put on funding and faculty (since having a POI isn't the same as a doctoral program)?

I find doing my nails ultra therapeutic. Also I took up knitting and it's a huge help for stress and anxiety. It's funny, we're obviously intellectuals if we're applying to PhD programs, but it can't be denied how great it is to do something with one's hands.

With two rejections today, I am trying to play this on repeat (well, in my head, as I'm at work). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii6kJaGiRaI

Mine starts with "P," I think we're giving them too much credit thinking it's alphabetical. I'm betting there's just a stack of papers somewhere.

Honestly, DramaDuck, if you applied then there must have been something about the program that appealed to you--so I think it's worth giving a try, willing you don't get in anywhere else. I say this because while, yes, PhD. programs are long, you are never really stuck anywhere. I think a lot of people forget that if you aren't happy with your program you can absolutely transfer. A lot of people wait until they've passed their qualifiers and are award a Masters to transfer, and this seems like the best bet, but if you've just got a semester of grades under your belt it still doesn't sound like the worst option as long as your grades are good. Just my two cents. I didn't like where I ended up in undergrad and transferred my sophomore year to be a much better school than I would have been eligible for right out of high school. I have a friend in physics who transferred from RPI to UC Irvine last year and although there was a rocky patch re: transfer credits, I think overall he's really happy with his decision.

That's rough. I got two in five hours after not hearing a peep from anywhere. I know rejection is a part of life but, damn, it shouldn't cut this deep. Although of course it does.

I feel like I've already burned down the banana stand! Ah well. My status said "In review" all day but I've been checking it religiously and it changed to "Denied."

And in a super fun follow-up I just got rejected from Austin.

Just heard back from CUNY. This is my first time applying to PhDs, I'm two years out of undergrad, and while this program was low on my list it still hurts. I just wish the first school I heard from wasn't a rejection, but so it goes. Now just more waiting.

Two of the programs I applied to are in cities that I know we'll need roommates to afford (CUNY and BU). And the reason I'm always strapped for funds is my student loans, which I won't be paying when I'm a full time student again. I'm really hoping I get into Hopkins or Indiana because besides the programs looking amazing, they also have reasonably priced studios and one bedrooms. But I guess we'll see. Thanks for the advice, I'm definitely trying to save more than I'll need, and I'm hoping he does the same.

It does sound promising though. Maybe call the DGS and inquire? I mean they contacted you first, it's not like you're nagging them or calling out of the blue. Let us know how it goes!

Everything by The Wonder Years has felt really apropos this year of applying. But especially Suburbia: I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing (oh yes that's an intentional Ginsberg reference). That band has the perfect balance of angst, social anxiety and "what the hell am I doing with my life?"

This thread is such a huge comfort! I've been out of undergrad nearly two years and after having to move back to my hometown I started dating a friend-of-a-friend. It's been a year and a half and we're sure we want to stay together, and we decided that if he didn't get funding for school this spring (he's currently working toward an associates, but plans to get a nursing degree in the future) that instead of joining me when he graduates, he's going to move right with me in the fall. Well, his funding fell through, and he is 100% behind moving with me. He never went away to school, he's been working since high school, and he feels this is the perfect opportunity to finally leave the house and "be an adult." I know he's willing to move, and I have consulted him about the schools/areas through the whole application process, but I'm so worried about uprooting him. What if he hates it there? What if I hate it there? We're both (perpetually) low on funds, and he's currently unemployed. We've agreed we each need to save up enough for half a year's rent. I'm excited he wants to take this leap with me, but there's so much pressure! Plus, now I'm panicked that I won't get in anywhere and we'll be stuck in our hometown for another year, both living with our parents, because right now it's dependent on me that find somewhere to go. (And I can't afford to leave my current job because my student loans are so high from undergrad, so until I can defer as a full time student I won't be able to leave the area anyway.)

I mean, considering that the NFL is also a nonprofit, ETS is not a huge surprise. I remember when I was in high school and I got very self righteous and totally blew off the SAT. "If a school cares more about what I did in four hours than what I did in four years, I don't want to go there." I got a lousy score and didn't get into any of the schools I wanted, so when the GRE came around I bought books and made flashcards and watched Shakespeare adaptations (did anyone else just love Joss Whedon's Much Ado?). And my scores are okay. Good, not great. But to get them there I had to retake both the general and the lit exam. Doing that alone is nearly $700. That's insane. Anyway, good luck to everybody hearing back now. I applied to nine schools and I haven't heard a peep since Indiana, Austin and Hopkins told me my app is complete and being reviewed. I am a bundle of nerves.

Currently in the middle of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence and it's phenomenal! I'm trying to read books on the "I should have read this but it was never assigned" list from undergrad, and besides hating Love in the Time of Cholera, loving Invisible Cities and being greatly underwhelmed by Gulliver's Travels I have to say I am absolutely delighted with Wharton. I can't believe I hadn't read her before.

Okay, well thanks Echo449! And good luck.

Just joined the site yesterday, looking up decision results. I thought GC would make me freakout and become more obsessive, but seeing all these wonderfully qualified applicants who are just as panicked as I am has been oddly comforting! In latest freaking-out news I see that a lot of Lit applicants have heard from CUNY, but only those who were put on the waitlist. Is this normal? I'm certain now that I can't possibly be on the waitlist because I've heard nothing, so I'm either accepted or (more likely) rejected. Do waitlist e-mails come in waves the way that acceptance ones do?