Apogeee

Your GRE score is only a small part of your application porfolio. How good is your personal statement? Do you have a great writing sample of a paper that can show how how your writing is? Work with your advisors to get a short list of 10 schools you will apply to. Research the schools to find out names of professors you want to work with. Sometimes you can find out their GRE cut scores. Write to these schools telling them a little bit about you (not your grades or scores, tell them about your research interests).

I know this feeling. The first thing I do is work while I'm working. Otherwise, guilt is a driving force with me. So that when I am done working for the day, I don't have to feel concerned about my progress. Set up a schedule of a certain amount of writing about what you research. Perhaps 250 words a day. This will give you something tangible for you to have, and you can incorporate some of this writing into later work. Even if all you write is a summary of what you read. Don't forget interesting quotes, page numbers, and bibliography. Schedule a couple of activities during the week for a break. Something social can be good, unless you're an introvert. Perhaps meet friends for some activity that is fun and low-key. Swing dancing is a thing. Things you do inside your head are harder (movies and tv even with friends, the coffee shop when you're alone, etc.) because they aren't really engrossing. I have found great success by reading cheap mystery novels in the bathtub (has to be a book you're not afraid of dropping into the water, so no library books.) The reason for the bathtub is that it's harder to just get out. There's some inertia to overcome. I also have a scheduled bedtime. I think about taking a walk along the ocean and listen to ocean wave sleepy-music. (I bought some sleep music - it's not really music, just the waves.) And the deal I made with myself is that if I wake up needing to work, I just get up and do that. Even if it's 3 am. But when I'm going to sleep, I just tell myself, now it's time to sleep. You can do the rest tomorrow. Keep a pen and paper by the bed if you must write something down. Also, make sure you are getting some physical exercise, and I don't just mean a lap for coffee and the bathroom once an hour.

Did the schools who rejected you give a reason, or that nice letter that says nothing about you or your qualifications but mentions "strong candidates"? Have you looked at your personal statement to see if you can make that stronger? If you can afford that test and you want to take it again, consider taking it, but first, you will need to build up your confidence. Reading comprehension can be a big part of that. Take some timed practice tests, and perhaps work with a reading tutor. You can also work to build speed in the mathematics. Things can become automatic. It is possible that you are going a little slower than you have to, just from being worried about going too fast. But from all of this, I don't think you should apply to programs that don't interest you. What is your goal when you get out of grad school? What is "plan b" if for some reason you don't finish? I think if it were me, I would go to the school that accepted me. But you're not me. And that's important. Good luck.

Hang in there. There are some difficult people in the world. The weird thing is that we miss the difficult ones when they're gone, too, even though we did our best with them. Just keep on doing your best, while respecting your own boundaries. You won't regret it.

I am not trying to be nosy, but, do you know the reason for the slowness? Is it that you check and double check? Is it anything else that you can account for? Because you could learn to do the test more quickly, if this is the case.

I'm sorry you feel like a failure. This has been called impostor syndrome. A lot of graduate students have it. Please continue your therapy. I would consider the thesis option. For one thing, once you are done with classes, you are going to have to write a dissertation, and that is a huge, lonely process, full of more opportunities for impostor syndrome to flourish. But when it hits, you will have a masters degree to point at and remind yourself of all you have done. And you have accomplished a great deal. Don't compare yourself against some ideal - it's a waste of time. And don't minimize the value of what you have done. The job of your school is to get you to the point where you are an expert in your field. If you were already an expert, why would you go to school for it, after all. Good luck in your classes. Please keep venting here, if you find it helpful. We care.

Congratulations on your acceptance! Is it funded? If it is not, do not pass go, do not pay for a degree. If it is funded, well, what do your advisors say to do? And what is the problem with your GRE? Is it just a matter of not being a good test-taker? And how will this play out in your PhD program? Also, can you write to the new department and ask them about the possibility of a cross-over degree? Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

Don't stress so much about the GRE. Review the basics of math, including statistics. Read to improve your vocabulary and writing. I think the most stressful part of that test is the heart attack the fee gives you!

It's amazing to me how much literature there is that I barely even know about. And a lot of fun. I don't know... that sounds like a fast pace for the summer! Enjoy it!

Congratulations on your graduation! Grad programs will look at each institution, and each of your GPAs, separately. How's your GRE score? Have you started work on your personal statement and application materials? I thought the personal statement was the hardest part.

Thanks for asking about Posselius - he wrote letters, orations, and other works, in both Greek and Latin. Greek wasn't written to the extent that Latin was during the Renaissance. I've also been having a look at some of his funeral poetry. The plague was devastating, and he responded to the deaths of so many friends and students. You've got a great deal of work to keep you going in the summer. How are you keeping up that incredible pace?

A decent amount of free time and grad school seem to me to be mutually exclusive. Maybe it's just different in your discipline. But I have a great deal of outside reading to do, and although I am a fast reader, I feel like it's hard to keep up with all of that in order to become an expert in my field. Still, as to how to manage tasks and avoid procrastination, I got rid of my tv set. A friend of mine got rid of social media, but I haven't taken that plunge yet. Give yourself off one hour of free time a day, every day. No saving up. Take the time every day to do something that recharges you Allow youself one day off a month (I like weekend days for this) for special occasions and really recharging. Take off one week per semester to visit family and friends. I also take some time to write every day, either about books and articles I have read in my field, or my new writing in my field. In terms of procrastination, it's the starting that gets me. So I make myself start. I also spend more time in the office and less time at home, as I am more likely to work in the office. I begin projects the day they are assigned, and work on them a little at a time. Again, it's all about overcoming the inertia, for me. Good luck.

I think that you should consider reading some basic books in the field.

Would a one-bedroom place be a good compromise? On the other hand, if you are in an apartment building, or multi-dwelling home, it's not all as private as you might think anyway, so it might be the same if you can find a like-minded person and have a room mate. If it were me, I'd choose to live alone, if I could afford it, but try to go with a lower rent and a one bedroom place.

It's not too late. I say go for psychology.

I took it once. It's expensive and time consuming, and utterly removed from reality. FWIW, I only took the SAT once too. Wow, not true. I took it twice, because you have to take it every 5 years now. My old scores from 12 years before were no longer valid.

I don't think this is a stupid post. It's a real life, "how do I survive" post. People have to take care of each other. If you're worried about this, it's taking away from your life energy. Coming up with a solution that works for you isn't stupid. Quite the contrary. And you don't have to wear the shorts all day - take them off and put the other pants on in the bathroom. People do this everywhere, especially if they are walking for exercise during lunch, for example. You'll be much more comfortable, and this will help you to look as professional as you are.

Do you want a career that requires graduate school? If you do, then take the advice of your professors and apply now, because you are more competitive now than you will be a year from now. You will have some time to refine a thesis and gather a team for the PhD, as this is a good 4-5 years down the road, and perhaps 7-8 years away. I believe that you are putting the cart before the horse, to some extent. That being said, graduate school is a high-pressure environment. You seem like the kind of person who puts a lot of pressure on yourself. If that's true about you, you're being wise to pull back. Maybe academia isn't for you, and that's okay. On the other hand, if you decide to take the advice of your advisors (who have nothing to gain or lose by you going to grad school, so their advice is utterly neutral) choose 10 schools to apply to. Think about what you, the right now you, wants to work on in terms of a thesis. It's subject to refinement later, and you're not going to be locked in unless you lock yourself in. Think about books you've read that fascinate you, the now you, and look to see who is writing with those items in the bibliography, and who is writing on those topics. It's not all going to happen at once. Don't be so anxious!

I think you are going to have to find someone in your school to discuss this with. Is there an office for international students? And do you have someone in the USA you can talk to about a transfer? Perhaps your undergrad university professors will have some insights. I really think that for this, you need experts on the ground, as it were. And chances are, those experts aren't going to be other graduate students.

Probably, but not as easy, professional-looking, and effective as just changing your pants, though. What, 30 seconds? A minute if you follow the method of the military and use a baby wipe?

What are you working on this summer? I'm finishing some odds and ends from the spring, and then I'm starting to do research on a renaissance author named Posselius. I have a few other unformed ideas. I should probably decide and stick with one at a time!

Bring clothes to change into. Also, baby wipes or something similar to briefly wash with before you change can be helpful to avoid chafing later.

Remove yourself from this situation. Just do your own work, and don't let people bring you into their drama. If you are asked directly for help, suggest that if the person is genuinely afraid for their well-being, they contact the police immediately. If they don't follow up on your advice, stay out of it. If someone doesn't ask you for advice, then don't give it. If you believe a crime has been committed, report it. Don't talk about it with others: report it. I also suggest that you find a way to delete your main post. Even without names, publication in any way could hamper the wheels of justice trying to help the person who asks for it. Also if you report this to the police, as with all writing in graduate school, just stick with the facts that you have observed. If you haven't observed anything, then it's not a fact. If a victim told you he was victimized, that's a fact, as their firsthand report is something you have observed. Do not jump to any conclusions based on what people are saying about someone else.

Ask your department. Without my knowing too much, I have the following suggestions to guide your thinking at this juncture: do you have to do anything other than your classes (such as TA, RA, outside work?) If that is the case, take the minimum permitted full-time courseload. If you don't have to work, take that courseload plus one. Because you know how the semester goes. You start out able to handle it, and then the deadlines start to kick in, or you get the flu... things happen. Grad school is stressful. Don't make additional stress until you see how the first semester goes.

Write to your department and ask them what they suggest you do. Just tell them what you said here, and be very polite. Make sure to tell them that you didn't make your decision lightly, and that you wanted to give them plenty of time to offer a spot to other applicants (unless you declined within a week or two of the final deadline, then just say the part about not making your decision lightly, but nothing about giving them time!) Edit to add: and don't quit the job until you have another one or until you get this acceptance! Good luck.