Pink Fuzzy Bunny

I love, love, LOVE teaching at the university level (I've been a TA for ~15 courses now as a senior). There is nothing quite like being able to teach kids WHY gravity works the way it does, or why electricity can charge your cell phone, or to discuss with them the deepest questions (Is time really continuous? Or discrete?). I also have quite a bit of research experience and I absolutely love it, but I'm not sure that I have the brains to contribute meaningfully to any field of physics. Nonetheless, there's nothing else that I can see myself doing but studying physics more.

To be fair, I assume most of us are in our twenties. I think your twenties is the time where you aren't entirely supportive of your OWN personal decisions

@123hardasABC Your parents sound quite similar to mine. Also very financially and emotionally supportive (though fortunately I don't need much of the former). But if I were to move in with my boyfriend, I'd be very surprised if they ever spoke to me again. They're great though Just remember, it's your journey not his. And one day you will have a real job, and you will be a million times happier

I 100% support the picking of this nit. I doubt anyone would argue that people who post those things are assholes. Some people, after being rejected, wallow in sadness for awhile. Others feel the need to belittle others (or even the school they were rejected from) to make themselves feel better. It's a shame...

WOW! I'm seriously impressed. The area code thing really got me yesterday. I got a phone call from my current town... thought it was a friend whose number I didn't have. Boom... professor from a great university nearby

Oh, I also did this. I'm glad to see I'm not the only crazy one Most of my programs (except for the ones I've been accepted to, who historically send out acceptances early in my field) don't send out decisions until mid-February, like yours. But also consider this... I've been also checking another physics-specific forum (physicsgre.com) and a lot of people have gotten acceptances from places who, according to the results here, haven't made a move yet. So I really think that the sample size of people posting their results here on gradcafe is much smaller than you imagine... so don't be so anxious - I'd say you could hear back any day now.

@raaawr My priority is Boulder... but with a standard offer I don't know that I'd be able to afford to live there I'm honestly surprised that some of you have parents that are less than supportive. I'd be curious to see how parents' education level affects their opinion of their kid getting a PhD, you know? Neither of my parents graduated high school and they both acknowledge that I should do whatever the hell I want with my life, as long as they aren't paying for it As long as I pop out a kid somewhere along the way, they're pretty supportive.

I took the opposite approach; I applied to 12 schools (~6 of which were safeties), and my very first offer was a great fellowship to a top 10 university (in my program). I'm wishing I had saved the extra $500 or so.

Wow! Nice

Me every time I get an e-mail that isn't concerning admissions: Seriously though, this thread will make you laugh until you cry:

The getting admitted. Though I'm quite excited to quit the job too

That's hilarious, because I have started brushing up on ancient Hebrew for this exact reason. Learned it in high school but haven't done anything with it since.

Fortunately, getting admitted is mostly not "pure chance". So yes, the chance of getting accepted is A LOT less than the chance of getting admitted, but they aren't drawing names from a hat.

Why be afraid of that? If you saw a Mexican immigrant who was struggling to speak English, would you be somehow insulted, or would you help them? They will probably love that you are learning their language, and they'll help you.

Nah... Illinois. They also pushed back ours, but like you why push back the inevitable? Although, maybe by the time that deadline rolls around, we won't be in the same states (= not same licenses?) Oh right! I remember you talking about that a dozen or so pages back... the talk is in a different department, right? You'll be great And I mean, if they're paying for you to go there, they clearly love you.

Wow, not even attending yet and already learning Spanish Now that's what I call motivation! A tip. I took Spanish for 6 years but it all went down the drain when I started actually conversing with Spanish-speakers. So in addition to "learning from the book", there are some excellent online resources where you can voice chat with a native speaker so that you won't sound like a complete fool

@anthrostudentcyn That sounds terrifying. Is the lab a backup (in case grad school doesn't work out)? Regardless, good luck!! @rhombusbombus I also am getting a passport! Of course, that's because my state government is full of idiots so soon our drivers' licenses won't be enough ID to fly with... but oh well Do you have a trip coming up or something?

I'm confused. They specifically told you to contact the department to see how long it would take? If so, why wouldn't you?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH A professor just called me from one of my top schools "just to chat" (he's not even on the committee, just someone who I would love to work with). I didn't remember who he was or what he did or what he talked about when he came to visit ~3 years ago, and it totally showed. I'm so mortified right now. Fortunately, the conversation lasted for 30 minutes and I learned a lot (and I think, asked somewhat good questions). His work is super interesting to me so hopefully that showed. Hopefully he won't remember the embarrassing part

@Neist This is going to sound cheesy, but reading that really warmed my heart. I sincerely hope you do well!

Wow... 3 pages of new thread in one day? Come on guys I'm really glad that no one (that I know of) in this thread is in the same field as me. I love rooting for you guys and hearing about your acceptances when your dreams get fulfilled But, like someone else said, if we were in the same field, I would secretly be hoping that the universe stomps on your head. <3

I agree! I feel like I rarely get to interact with people outside of my own field. I'm also amazed at how different the admissions process is for various fields. I never knew that anyone in any field cared about the general GRE (here we take it as a formality... unless you flunk it, no one cares about anything other than the subject GRE). I also didn't know that interviews were required in a lot of fields. I'm learning a lot And @piglet33 - I'm with you 100%. The wind chill today is -22F (-30C) and even though it's a holiday (= no class), we still have a research meeting so I need to drag myself out of bed as well

Physics (specifically, atomic/molecular/optical). I think it'd be pretty ballin' to get a professorship somewhere... haha... haha... I wish.

@nightfarmer I appreciate your convenient adaptation of Eisenhower's words. Good luck to everyone. I doubt we'll see much action tomorrow because of MLK, but the rest of the week we march onwards!

Congrats @gingin6789! Have a happy day. I also toast my morning coffee to you.