jaxzwolf

I definitely had a dream about this recently... I received an email from my top choice school saying I'd been admitted, and right after I'd informed all my family members of the wonderful, exciting news I received a second email informing me of a huge mailing mistake, and notification that I'd actually been rejected. It would be TERRIBLE if something like that actually happened. I feel horrible for those international students who thought they were accepted. I, too, hope that nothing like that happens to anyone else!

I'd like to do field research, hopefully tied to conservation. I would love to work for a big conservation organization-- WCS, WWF, NWF, TWS, WCI, etc., or perhaps a government organization, such as the Smithsonian.

1) Classic English literature. Not sure why... it's not a genre in which I've previously had any interested. But since Christmas, for some reason, I've been all about it. Started with the Bronte sisters, then Shelly, then Dumas. Have now moved on to working my way through Dickens. 2)Drawing, sketching, and cheap at-home screen printing 3)Learning to solve a Rubik's cube 4)Obsessively browsing school's websites, while fantasizing about what my life would be like if I were accepted and went to school there. I really need to stop doing this. 5)Watching new episodes of Psych (yay!) 6)Pretending I have $3000 to dump on camera equipment, and deciding what to buy.

Received my first rejection today in the post. I'm not sure what hurts more... the rejection itself or the paper cut I got ripping open the envelope. (Probably the rejection.) I haven't heard anything from any other school up to this point- no requests for interviews or notifications that my application is going to committee. I suppose that's what makes me really nervous. Good, on the one hand, because I probably wasn't rejected outright at the other places. But certainly not comforting at all for it to be this late in February already without having heard anything, then getting a rejection as the first response. Don't seem to be too many other ecology folks around here, so I'm not too sure what the norm is for notifications for my field. Guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed and try to keep my hopes up, at least a little. I just need one acceptance, right? Just one would be good enough for me!

Ditto... this is my biggest fear. I can handle toiling through the admissions process again. I won't be too ashamed to ask for LOR again, and I could stand to improve my GRE scores and change the angle on my SOP. I'd probably be able to further narrow my research interests. But finding a job in this market? And with fairly limited experience? Earlier this year I applied for 27 different jobs in my field, and didn't get a single one. Every one was the same story- hundreds of applicants for a single position. I was lucky to find the short-term job I did. But, not to stray too far off-topic. This is indeed an inspirational story, and it's nice to hear that hard work does pay off. Congratulations!

Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band contest. Everyone plays on 'expert.' Each candidate plays a set of five songs, three they pick themselves and two chosen by the admissions committee. In addition to points awarded by the game, the ad com gives extra points for focus, style, enthusiasm, and grace under pressure. Top ten scores are admitted, top seven get RA's/TA's, top three get fellowships.

Part of me would like to do this as well- completely disregard the idea of getting a PhD and then move on to other things. To be perfectly honest, I've spent a lot of my time lately looking into other options. But when it comes down to it, if you really want a PhD, you're going to stick with it, even if you do suffer the dreaded "Failed Application Year." I know that, even if I do get rejected from all the schools to which I applied, I'll be at it again next year. It doesn't please me at all to think of another spring spent cramming for tests and trying to thwart the GREs, another summer spent contacting potential advisers, another fall meticulously combing through SoP, requesting transcripts and test scores and LoR. But I know I will do, because I really do want a PhD. Depressing to think about facing another year before grad school, but if it's something you actually want, you'll carry on and try again. If not... well, then, maybe it would be better to make the cut, say goodbye to the idea, and move on with your life.

I was just curious this morning to see how many other grad school applicants have been tormenting themselves silly with fantasies of grad school acceptances/rejections, in the form of dreams, daydreams, lucid dreams, conversations with friends, or otherwise. My brain has been non-stop lately, and it's really just setting me up for disappointment. Come on, brain, let's be realistic here! For example, the last three nights I've dreamt about positive responses. Three nights ago it came in form of three successive dreams: one where I checked a website to find "Admitted!" written in bold red letters across the top of the page, one where I received an email, and one where FedEx came with a spiffy envelope containing a gushing letter of acceptance and a plane ticket to come out and visit the campus. Now every time I hear a car drive by I think, "It's FedEx! They've come with my acceptance letters!" Two nights ago it was a dream about coming in to work to find balloons, a cake, and a hooded sweatshirt representing my third-choice school. Evidently I'd been admitted, but somehow I didn't know it and everyone at work did. Last night was the worst- a gorgeous scene played out where I was already installed at my top-choice school and having a fantastic time. Loving my classes, my advisers, my research, my campus... everything about my new "grad school life." It was the worst of the three because it was such a nice dream, and, seeing as how the school held interviews more than a month ago and I wasn't invited, I'm pretty much guaranteed to not be accepted there. WTF, brain? It probably doesn't help that everyone I know is just convinced that I'll get accepted everywhere. They don't realize that there are hundreds of applicants with similar experiences/backgrounds/academic records applying for a dismally small number of positions. Anyone else having these issues? Anyone been accepted somewhere but having nightmares about the program? Any other delusional fantasies being concocted during this, the most trying month of the year?

My plan B is simple, really. If I'm rejected by all 6 schools to which I applied, I will simply wait until the end of March for the NSF to politely inform me that I've been awarded a GRF, in which case I'll contact all 6 schools and say, "What now, schools!? I have my own funding!" After they hear that, of course, they'll all be clamoring to admit me, and they'll begin having inter-school wars about who gets me. They'll fight it out whilst I stand on the sidelines, deigning to grace them with my presence, and waiting for the victor to come crawling over, bloodied and covered in muck, on hands and knees, kissing my feet and begging me to attend in the fall. After all, everyone knows that a GRF makes you untouchable and golden. If only it were that simple...

My top choice would be Princeton, although I'm fairly certain that I'm not going to get in, lest something incredible happens (interviews were held early January, and I wasn't invited). I spent a ton of time researching Princeton's program, campus, courses, professors, as well as the city itself and the surrounding area. I went to a college with relatively small departments (~60 students), so the idea of a graduate program with only 30-40 grad students appeals to me more than those with 150+. I'm also really keen on a lot of the research they're doing right now, and I like the way that their program is constructed, with very few course requirements and research starting early. I have family in the northeast, and Princeton is close to the coast, NY, skiing, D.C., etc. The town isn't huge, which I'd appreciate, and the campus is supposed to be gorgeous. I love the architecture. In reality, though, I'm starting to feel as if my chances of being accepted anywhere are slim to none. So I suppose I'm like many of the rest of you- the school that chooses to admit me will quickly become my top choice, and I'll have to abandon the (admittedly romanticized) notion of attending an Ivy League school.

I wish these kinds of analyses actually worked. The problem is that each year there are new variables to contend with, so average acceptance rates from years past won't necessarily reflect acceptance rates this year. Along with the host of other factors (instant Ad Com rejections, personality conflicts, fit issues, etc.) this year we have to contend with a terrible economy and an impossible job market. Schools have been reporting increases as high as 50% in overall applicants... people who have been laid off and can't find work are thinking of returning to school, and undergraduate students are looking to avoid the job market as long as they possibly can. So just imagine: If last year, for a given program, there were 200 applicants for 10 available spots, that's a 5% acceptance rate. But if that school received 50% more applications than last year, then this year there will be 300 applicants for 10 available spots- 3.3% acceptance rate. All conjecture, of course, but it's still depressing to think about.

Lately, I've taken to visiting the Magic Eight Ball online, and asking it over and over again if I'll be accepted to grad school. Sometimes it says, "Definitely!" or, "Ask again later." Most of the time, however, it says, "My sources say 'no'," or "Outlook not so good," or even more frequently, "No way!" Thanks a lot, Magic Eight Ball.

I'm glad you posted this, because I feel the exact same way. When I was applying I was excited, confident, and eager to hear results. My curiosity piqued a couple weeks ago so I started doing internet searches that literally made my stomach drop... several of the schools to which I applied held interviews in early January. Students had been contacted by these programs as early as the week before Christmas. I've yet to hear anything from any program. I suppose in some ways it's better than outright rejection, but it's still depressing to think that I'm already out of the running at half of my prospective schools (all three of which were at the top of my list). When I was applying I kept thinking of everything that made me a sure bet to get a spot somewhere- great GPA at a good undergraduate institution, decent GRE scores, solid research experience, working knowledge of a variety of field techniques, defined-but-not-too-defined research interests, good writing skills, stellar LOR, etc. I also emailed prospective advisers at each school and received encouraging replies. My undergraduate advisers boosted my confidence by saying things like, "I'll bet you'll have several choices. At least three schools, for sure!" After reading about all the interviews/campus visits/acceptances people on this forum have already had, as well as gleaning information from other sites and current grad students, however, I've had a hard time convincing myself I have any chance of getting accepted anywhere. My hopes have been almost completely shattered, and I keep reminding myself now about all the things that will work against me. Maybe I haven't had enough research experience, I can't afford to visit campus to meet prospective advisers face-to-face, I didn't call prospects to speak with them, my GRE scores could have been better, I didn't apply weeks before the deadlines, I'll be out-competed, I aimed too high, I didn't apply enough places, etc. My employment is short-term and I've been planning everything around the idea that I'll be starting school again this August/September. The "failed application year" isn't something I'm prepared for, and I can't even imagine how I'd handle the situation. I've been looking forward to grad school for years now, and waiting another year and a half to start would be an extreme setback. My boss had been asking me every day if I'd heard anything. This week I politely told her I'd let her know when I received any notification, either way, and to stop asking. Every time she asked it simply reminded me that I haven't been accepted yet and likely won't be.