kyjin

I believe you and I are freaking out about the same program right now. Hang in there comrade! (And I am totally doing the exact same thing.)

Dear Berkeley admit, come out come out wherever you are~ (Meanwhile I'll be in the corner trying not to think about it. Know it's a long-shot, but still!)

Happy birthday almost birthday-twin! Dear admissions offices: please send us acceptances as gifts. We'd really appreciate it.

Oh man, I wish. My birthday's on Monday, so maybe I'll get news from somebody then?

YES MY MAILBOX UNFROZE ENOUGH FOR ME TO OPEN IT! Sadly, no admissions things, just a birthday card. Back to obsessively checking my email.

Totally agree on the inability to focus. I gave up yesterday as a lost cause and watched Disney movies on one screen and constantly checked my email in the other. (I have a problem.) Heading out of my apartment to do thesis work today to prevent a repeat.

I tend to focus better with background noise like you find in coffee shops (weird, I know), but noise-canceling headphones are a wonder when you really need the quiet. I have JVC noise cancelers that allow you to use the noise canceling function without playing any music. I also recommend using 8tracks to find some instrumental study mixes to play if you don't have noise canceling headphones.

I think the universe hates me. I know I'm more likely to hear from email rather than snail mail, but I've been checking my mailbox regularly anyway. The problem is that it's so cold in Alberta right now, and my mailbox is outside, that the lock froze shut. I can't check my mail even if I wanted to! D:

Depends on the department and how much funding they have. My department has 19 MA students, and I think 7 or 8 of us are fully funded with RA/TAships, and most everyone else has partial funding through TAships. But compared to US schools, Alberta has a ton of funding available for MAs.

I was invited for an interview at Princeton last week, but when I applied for MAs two years ago, Ivies were the last to let me know. I think my Columbia acceptance wasn't till the beginning of March! So you probably have a long wait. :/

Non-WGS wise, I got an invitation for an interview at Princeton in February. (East Asian Studies). Really excited since they're covering all my expenses, and it's my top-choice program.

Repeatedly refreshing my email again *sigh* It's going to be a long week. Least favorite ice cream? Definitely mint chocolate chip. (I find chocolate and mint together to be an abomination. My friends don't mind since they get to steal my chocolate mints at restaurants ) And for sock color: Purple! I have a lucky pair of purple socks. (They are lucky because I got to meet my favorite tv actor while wearing them~)

Tumblr. If you follow one of the big fandoms on there, prepare to lose your entire social life. /sigh

It varies department to department- I'm over in East Asian Studies, not Econ, so I can't say for that department. They only look at the GRE for scholarship considerations, since there are some university-wide ones that compare with the GRE. That won't stop your department for awarding money though; my GREs aren't great either, but I got full funding for my MA, including tuition and a living stipend. I really like the university as a whole; there is a huge international community here, and the on-campus housing is decent. (I live in the Graduate Residence, just built 2 and a half years ago.) Edmonton isn't a bad place to live. Really freaking cold, but the campus is built in such a way that you can easily cut through buildings to get to classes. Plus there's West Edmonton Mall, which is the largest mall in NA. And you get a UPass, which gives you unlimited rides on all public transit in the city, so you don't need a car. Not sure what else to say, I like it. ^^;

Don't lose hope yet! UofA is notoriously slow with their decisions. (Well, FGSR is anyway.) I'm finishing up my MA there now, so if you have any questions about the university, let me know.

Thanks all for the advice and congrats! New England Nat: The town is actually one of the reasons Princeton is so high on my list. I'm from Philly originally, and the campus is only about an hour from where my parents live. (So the visit is also a free trip home for me for a couple days.) viggosloof28: All great points, especially the ILL system. (The system at my current school is less than stellar.)

Guess stalking my email paid off today; got a request for a visit/interview at Princeton! (East Asian Studies, not History! Sorry!) Does anyone have any advice for interview/visits? When I applied to MAs, I just had a skype interview and an in-person when a prof was visiting Tokyo while I was there. Visiting the campus though is a whole other story.

Got an email for visit and interview today from Princeton! Looks like someone else did as well from the results.

You know it's bad when you start checking when results came out from your schools in previous years. Having said that, I might hear from USC this week or next if they are on the same schedule as last year. Ahhhhhhhhhh~

Yep. All my programs were due December 1st, so I got everything in the last week of November. Now just waiting.

I applied to the combo Women Studies/History PhD at UMichigan. (Also three other programs in History and 1 in East Asian Studies.) We'll see how it goes.

I agree with theregalrenegade. The fact that you can do research in a second-language and that you have experiences in archives is really important.

East Asian Studies- 4 My advisor is fabulous, the classes are great, and I really love all the staff and faculty in my dept. Only disappointments are the city (it's really really cold and not a very exciting place to live) and the lack of comradery in my cohort. (Basically, I am close to a couple people, but a majority of my cohort are Chinese and don't tend to speak English when they're in the office.)

Bribe yourself with something delicious. I hardly ever get frappachinos, so when I was working on my diversity statement for the umpteenth time, I went to Starbucks and got a caramel frapp while I worked. It actually helped!

Profs sent in my last two recommendations right before the deadline. Whew! I guess that means I'm actually really for real done. Crazy. Good luck to anyone still up finishing stuff for tonight's deadline, and everyone else with deadlines in the weeks ahead!