yayspace

You are completely right, however it is very difficult for me to "just relax." Coming to this discussion forum and venting is what helps me. Different people react differently to rejections and logically I know you are right - it doesn't reflect on my identity as a writer. But I won't apologize for being anxious about it. Part of working through my emotions to logic is coming here and posting and reading other posts. 
And I know very well that a PhD program will not be "glorious" - that's not why I applied. I applied because I want to do a lot of homework, read a lot, etc. Just because I want it badly doesn't mean I'm delusional. Also, please don't assume that you know about my circumstances and what is or is not possible for me if I get rejected. 
I appreciate your advice and that you shared your experiences, however you are writing from the viewpoint of someone who has been accepted to schools, whereas I have not. Our situations are different and our thoughts/feelings are equally valid.

I'm a black, trans, queer, low SES, non-Christian woman. I literally hit every diversity marker out there!  Trust me, y'all don't wanna deal with what I go through to claim affirmative action. 
I'd say FU to anyone who calls me a token diversity. I work my ass off and am damned good at what I do. Even in the off-chance I was chosen because I'm a minority, let me revel in that small slice of victory. You (whatever majority is downplaying me) have the whole privilege pie to eat.

I am traveling 2k miles with two dogs, a huge goldfish, and a husband. I am not comfortable taking my dogs, fish, or husband on a plane haha. We are traveling with everyone in our two vehicles. As a former vet tech, there are "railroads" across the country in which vet techs and other animal lovers volunteer their time to get pets safely to their new home. This could be another option for you but it can take longer.

My dog does great in the car. I agree with @rising_star about using La Quintas. They're usually great, you get a free breakfast, and they're always pet friendly. I've read too many stories about dogs dying in the cargo holds of airplanes to even consider it, and I have a big ole doggy who would be way to expensive to fly anyways  
@yayspace - My cats fight sedation too, and it makes them awful to drive with. I found that if I don't sedate them they'll start to settle down about an hour into the drive. If you can make it through that first hour with music/podcasts/selective hearing, you may be fine. I restrict their food the night before and the day of so they're not pooping all over the place, but if I stop for a lunch break I'll give them some water. I'm also doing my longest drive this time around and am going to invest in a Sleepypod carrier that can be buckled in to the seats for safety. One of my cats really likes to be able to see what's going on, so the mesh top is helpful. They're also waterproof and come with a washable liner which I hope will contain any accidents. Like I said above with the dogs, there have been instances where pets have accidentally died or been let loose at the airports. Also, I don't know how the relocation services work, but not only do airlines sometimes restrict whether or not pets can fly in the cargo hold (because of extreme high temps that might be a factor in Louisiana summers!) but sometimes they only fly to the closest major airport. The one time I flew my cats because I didn't have a car, the closest airport I could fly in to with pets in the cargo hold was New Orleans. Then I had to have someone pick me up and drive me and the cats the remaining three hours to my destination. It was a pain! 

If we can survive the grad application process, I'm sure we'll survive meowing cats!
They don't seem to mind too much, but if I'm stopping at a hotel I'll make sure to leave food out for an hour or so. It gives them time to eat, but also restricts them enough that hopefully they've expelled what they need to before we start driving again the next morning. The worst experience I had with moving them was after I shipped them via airplane and had to drive them afterwards. We had to attach little things of cat food to the carriers in case they were delayed/stuck somewhere, and some kind soul decided to feed my cats at some point during the shipping process. Two hours in to our three hour drive, my female cat had a not-so-solid bowel movement that I'm sure happened both because she needed to poop but also was fed while super stressed out. We didn't have a great place to stop, so we just kept going until we hit home. Her first experience in our new home was a bath because she walked all over her mess. My cats won't die on a restricted diet for a few days  Water, obviously is another deal. I'm thinking about laying down some disposable pee pads just in case. 

@yayspace I second the temporary cushion ideal- if only! My cat has the really bad habit of pooping when she's upset, so I'm just hoping that WILL NOT HAPPEN on the drive!  Cats are certainly unusual creatures, that's for sure. Or fur sure, because that's also a definite.
And @Citizen of Night Vale just make sure your cats don't invade any local community radio stations! Who knows what hijinks could occur then. Hopefully they will manage the trip without too much stress.

This is awesome. Thank you. If we do end up sticking them in the car with us, this is very helpful info to have. I like the idea of putting food in the carrier beforehand. I plan to put a blanket and one of my pajama shirts (worn a few times) in with them, too. Poor critters. I wish I could just be a Harry Potter character and turn them into cushions or something for the ride!

I'm driving from coast to coast with my cat, so around 55 car hours total. Here are a few things we did on our first bi-coastal move that she liked, but YMMV:
Get a carrier that is comfortable; she has a soft-side carrier with lots of visibility (it's a Sherpa Delta one). Place food in it each day for a few weeks beforehand. Have favorite toys and objects in the carrier as well. Make sure cat has plenty of food and water along the drive. We have Buster's foldable silicone bowls, and at regular intervals (rest stops), I place some water in a bowl and dry food in another. Even if your kitty doesn't want water, having it readily available is key. If cat starts panting, that's a sign of nervousness, heat, and/or dehydration; stop as soon as you can and get them some water. Speak regularly with your cat during the drive. It may sound stupid, but talking to them, touching them, reassuring them can help. If you can travel with another human being who can sit with cat in the backseat and help you out, it makes the trip so much easier. I hope none of this seems obvious or stupid; I've traveled and moved several times with my 15 lbs. very VERY unstable rescue cat and we've somehow managed to figure out a way where neither of us get terribly mangled due to travel. She adjusts a little better now, and I don't have hours of wailing and scratched arms!

Sounds like a good plan! I might add (though I am a dog person and don't know much about cats!) that they might be more comfortable with you around, even if it takes longer. Additionally, pets don't quite seem to process time in the same way that we do, so maybe the 5 to 15 hour difference won't be as noticeable for your cats? Not sure, but maybe something to think/ask about!

Just as a suggestion... We road trip with our cats sometimes... And I bought a dog kennel... The wire crate kind with a puppy divider. Just small enough to fit in our backseat.
You take the puppy divider and place it horizontally rather than vertically to create a 2 tier cage with room in the front for them to get from one floor to the other. And then we put a disposable litter tray and food bowls on the bottom level, and a blanket for them on the top level. And we put a thin blanket over the top so they couldn't see out the window and didn't have sun shining on them.
The amazon basics ones are like $40. We use ours often. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QAVO29I/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1460317132&sr=8-3&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=dog+kennel&dpPl=1&dpID=617rCTjjYAL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1
 
Also, there are calming sprays you can get to help calming.
And I don't know about you, but we have 2 cat harnesses for transporting them outside the crate.

They did surprisingly well. Both of my cats typically scream during the entire ride to the vet's office (which has always been a short drive), but they were relatively calm during the trip. First off, we rented a relocube to transport the majority of our things (furniture and banana boxes full off clothes, books, movies, etc.). I highly recommend it for very long distance moves - it can work out to about the same price as renting a uhaul truck (depends on how much stuff you have), but you don't have to pay for gas (or worry about driving a big truck around). It also helps that I have a Subaru Forester, which has quite a bit more space than a car. We crammed the back "trunk" area with the majority of the stuff we were taking by car, and also had stuff on the floor by the back seats and some things on the seats (mainly suitcases and duffel bags). I had canoe paddles forming a barrier between stuff on one side of the car and where the cats where placed in case something shifted.
Each cat was in its own carrier and I lined the bottoms with puppy pads for accidents. I didn't bother trying to take them out during the day to use the litter box. The general wisdom of the Internet was that they wouldn't use it and taking them out of the carrier in the car is risky (mainly because you might have to open the car door while they are out). They screamed their little heads off for about an hour on the first day, then got tired and just gave sad little mews now and then. Every so often they'd break out into loud meowing, but it would usually be brief. I made little dishes from the bottom of coffee cups at a gas station and put ice cubes in them for the cats to lick during the journey and to prevent a big watery mess. At the hotel each night, I let them roam around the room and I made a travel litter box out of a big tupperware container with a lid... I put it in the bathroom at each hotel since it's fairly easy to clean up spilled litter from a tiled floor. I also sprayed the carriers with Feliway each morning before leaving... it's supposed to keep them calm. I also added a few drops of some Rescue Remedy to some treats before leaving (also designed to calm).
So overall, moving the cats wasn't hard. Packing the car was very tricky and I don't think the way we packed it was particularly safe if we got into a high speed accident (then again, I'm not sure there's really a way to pack a car to be safe for a high speed accident unless you tie everything down). However, we obviously didn't get into any accidents and I had to keep the speed down anyway due to the canoe and kayak on the roof creating amazing drag at speeds above 60 mph. My gas mileage was so bad between all of the stuff in the car and the boats killing the aerodynamics.
FYI - all La Quinta hotels are pet-friendly and they don't charge pet fees or require pet deposits. I stayed at a mix of places - La Quinta, Sleep Inn, Travelodge, Comfort Inn... you just need to check out websites and look up the pet policies. 
I feel like no one wants to deal with that kind of hassle nor would they want to deal with the liability. 

@yayspace when I moved my ex from NY to CA we sold stuff, put sentimental things in store or with his family and took the rest with us in the van (which we converted into a camper). Like @Need Coffee in an IV we tried to make a bit of an adventure out of it, taking a more circuitous route, staying with friends or in the van as we went. I think the longest day of driving was 14 hours (across texas...that was hell. Started out in College Station, ended up the day in Las Cruces, NM) but we always stopped for food, curious side-trips etc. In terms of stuff, we took very little - just clothes, surfboards, bikes, fishing rods, camping equipment, cooking stuff and a big refrigerated chest for our cold stuff. We also had his mattress on our convertible bed in the back. I mean it's not going to work for everyone, but if you think you'll use a camper beyond a moving trip it makes life pretty fun! 

They freak out along the way . We moved my boyfriend to Alaska from Virginia and now we are moving from Virginia to Texas. We like to think of it has a productive vacation, yeah we are moving for a reason but we will still stop at parks, tourist sights, etc. We found that its doable to drive 8 hours a day. If we drove more, we will get annoyed/cranky and less than that just extends the trip.

I GOT ACCEPTED. OMG. IS IT OKAY TO FREAK OUT HERE BECAUSE I'M DOING IT!
Side note: Anyone familiar with Lafayette, Louisiana? 

I am. I know it's not ideal, but it's probably the best program in the US for what I want to study. And it's a dual degree and the library half is rarely funded anywhere. 
I think I'll be okay. It was too good of an opportunity, and I can always get a PhD elsewhere.
I'm sure you're capable of it. I believe in you!
Congratulations!

Yay! Congrats!
--
In other news, I'm @g.harvard.edu official now. So excited. Still antsy to get started on the rest of registration, but, have to wait until I have a good picture of myself to submit the stuff for an ID!

I'm guessing you got in at UL.... since there isn't anything else actually in lafayette. 
It's hot and humid... just like the rest of the state. There's not a whole lot going on in the city, although you'll be busy school wise anyways. Lots of rural tract people, and a lot of the people there are big into hunting and fishing (It's the only outdoor activity available unless you play football). 
People there "like" the ragin cajuns but in reality they're all still LSU football fans. 
I've been told the area around the uni is mostly safe, but I don't really know a lot of people who go there... just people who live in the lafayette. 

YAY!!!! Congratulations!!

Congratulations!!! And, yes--this is the freakout place! I'm still dancing about it occasionally, and it's been 3 weeks since I was accepted!

I GOT ACCEPTED. OMG. IS IT OKAY TO FREAK OUT HERE BECAUSE I'M DOING IT!
Side note: Anyone familiar with Lafayette, Louisiana? 

I GOT ACCEPTED. OMG. IS IT OKAY TO FREAK OUT HERE BECAUSE I'M DOING IT!
Side note: Anyone familiar with Lafayette, Louisiana? 

I love that I got down voted for this response. LOL. Wow. 

I understand your intentions were to help put things in perspective, which I appreciate. You didn't call me delusional outright. I was inferring this from your comment about what grad school is really like, in your experience and your statement about it not being glorious. I also inferred from your comment about trying again next year/getting a job in the field, etc. that you are assuming you know something about my current life situation. 
In other words, you may have written a well-intentioned comment, but came off a little like you were telling me how I should be reacting, telling me my emotions are not valid responses, etc. Hence my response. 

You are completely right, however it is very difficult for me to "just relax." Coming to this discussion forum and venting is what helps me. Different people react differently to rejections and logically I know you are right - it doesn't reflect on my identity as a writer. But I won't apologize for being anxious about it. Part of working through my emotions to logic is coming here and posting and reading other posts. 
And I know very well that a PhD program will not be "glorious" - that's not why I applied. I applied because I want to do a lot of homework, read a lot, etc. Just because I want it badly doesn't mean I'm delusional. Also, please don't assume that you know about my circumstances and what is or is not possible for me if I get rejected. 
I appreciate your advice and that you shared your experiences, however you are writing from the viewpoint of someone who has been accepted to schools, whereas I have not. Our situations are different and our thoughts/feelings are equally valid.

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny Here's what I've got:
Dear Dr. XXXXX,
Thank you again for letting me know about the status of my application in the Creative Writing PhD program. While I appreciate this is a very busy time for you and the department, I want to let you know of my continued interest in the program. If there is anything further I can do in the meantime, please let me know.
Thank you for your time,
Best Wishes,
yayspace (but my real name instead)