florentinoariza

@serenade glad to hear I'm not the only one. We will be fine. We'll be fantastic. @kaykaykay this was also so, so comforting. Being here during application/response season was such a good feeling, as the community was so warm and supportive, so thanks for keeping that going and for the great advice. The fence seems very high from the other side...

Thank you both very much, @fuzzylogician and @rising_star . These were really helpful, sensible replies, and you're both so sweet. I know it's all probably going to be OK, it just all seems so high-stakes at this point, which I hope will account for my very frantic tone above. I need to remember that I actually have no reason to believe I'm not doing well, or any evidence for it. It's just impostor syndrome and anxiety. I'm going to take a deep breath and set to it: I've already followed a lot of the steps that you suggested, so I just need to get things moving. I'm really grateful to you both.

Hi all. I'm in my first semester in an Ivy League English program, and I'm three weeks away from submitting three 20-page papers. I'm trying really hard to put together interesting topics and do good, meaningful research, but every time I try to sit down and write I am consumed with the fear of failing. I'm 22, straight out of undergrad, in a small cohort which is mostly older students with Masters degrees already. I know I wouldn't have been accepted if I were the total idiot I actually feel like, but I'm just so, so scared of handing in these papers and getting disappointed responses and bad grades. I can't stop catastrophizing. There's one paper in particular, from a class that has been very challenging, that makes me feel nauseous and panicky every time I think about it. I graduated first in my class from my undergrad institution, and I'm not a horrible writer, but I've never done graduate coursework and everyone else just seems so much more competent and clever than I am. The deadlines are creeping closer and I swing from feeling confident and engaged (rarely) to paralyzed with dread (usually.) Any advice?

me too! Funny. Also, waitlisted at Yale! Does anyone know how long the list is?

You guys are amazing. I love the energy on this board. So many congrats to all the new admits!

YAAAASSSSSS Hannalore! So happy for you! also congrats to allplaideverything! I have a really good friend at Syracuse and she LOVES it.

Congrats Lycidas and Gnossienne! Love hearing all the good news (:::

Thanks Hannalore!

Unræd that's so exciting; we might be in the same cohort! Fingers crossed for everyone else's inboxes pinging. (::: Thanks kurayamino, hope one's on its way to you too!

GUYS! I just got into Cornell! I can't believe it!

Thanks descendingblue, I just heard further and looks like that's right. I probably am not going to be able to make those days, because I'm across a big cold ocean from Brown in March. Let me know how it goes!

Hey guys - this is my first post on GradCafe, as I figured it was time to stop lurking and join in. I'm one of the Brown admits; absolutely floored. Does anyone know if they usually do an admit weekend? I'm an international student and so this is all very muddy water for me. Empathy for all those in the red from Columbia, I'm there too.