Danger_Zone

I'll PM you with a few more details when I've written this but long story short, yes I've experienced similar. I found that making sure I had a "safe space" to retreat to, and someone to confide in really helped. My bedroom in my apartment is mine, and mine only. No one is allowed to come in it at all, and when the world is feeling too much I know that I have my space that I can go and do some meditation and breathing exercises in. Yoga has helped so much I want to make everyone who's every had any self-doubt, body dysmorphia, eating issues, depression, anxiety ANYTHING like that to give it a go with a supportive and encouraging teacher. Something like hatha where the focus is on the breath, your own practice and self-acceptance. I honestly cannot tell you how much it's helped me start to feel okay again.
Find a councillor, and go see them before you start having flair-ups. Build that relationship before you're in a vulnerable state so if you do have a relapse, there is someone there who is trained and can help you. I also have friends, who although they know about my past, don't know that it's still an issue at times. If I feel the common signs I will go to my friends house, sit with her with a cup of tea and a teddy bear and just vent about anything, nothing, everything. I'm not sure if you have a friend like that but it helps having someone who is totally non-judgemental. She doesn't counsel me about anything, just is there.
Other advice I can give very much depends on you, and your experiences so I'm not going to suggest it. Some people will take it well, for others it makes their symptoms worse. 
Totally switching tracks now, @rhombusbombus I will happily do doggie walks  This can very much be arranged. We will need to do a grad cafe meet up where we can finally meet each other in person come August. There seems to be loads of us going to PSU on here!

I'm sorry to hear you went through that. I think it's actually really common for grad students to experience mental health issues. If you aren't already talking to a professional about this, remember it's definitely an option and you should never feel ashamed. Take the time you need to take care of your mental health before something happens, whether this means talking to somebody or managing your time effectively in order to make sure you can pursue hobbies, spend time with friends, relax when you are feeling particularly stressed, etc. This is important for every student, not just people with mental health issues.
I dealt with some depression and anxiety during undergrad and did not do anything I said above. My life and GPA ended up suffering, but now I'm going into grad school with the knowledge that sometimes these issues can resurface, so hopefully I am better equipped to deal with it. I think I am mostly better but still deal with some socially-related anxiety, but I've been taking this issue day by day. It's really helpful to make small, realistic adjustments instead of expecting myself to be perfectly better right now. Rambled a bit but I hope that makes sense and maybe helps.

I'm sorry to hear you went through that. I think it's actually really common for grad students to experience mental health issues. If you aren't already talking to a professional about this, remember it's definitely an option and you should never feel ashamed. Take the time you need to take care of your mental health before something happens, whether this means talking to somebody or managing your time effectively in order to make sure you can pursue hobbies, spend time with friends, relax when you are feeling particularly stressed, etc. This is important for every student, not just people with mental health issues.
I dealt with some depression and anxiety during undergrad and did not do anything I said above. My life and GPA ended up suffering, but now I'm going into grad school with the knowledge that sometimes these issues can resurface, so hopefully I am better equipped to deal with it. I think I am mostly better but still deal with some socially-related anxiety, but I've been taking this issue day by day. It's really helpful to make small, realistic adjustments instead of expecting myself to be perfectly better right now. Rambled a bit but I hope that makes sense and maybe helps.

I'm just kind of curious if people here have family members, relatives, etc. who are/were academics or if they are the first in their family to be pursuing grad school. I know a lot of people end up going into professions similar to their parents, so I wonder how true this is of academia as well. I am the first of anyone in my family (relatives included) to go to university (both for an undergrad degree and graduate degree.) Both of my parents got jobs out of high school and I'm the only one of my siblings to finish high school. Essentially my family does not place education very highly, whereas it has always been something very significant to me. So I felt a bit alone and unsure of myself in the process as I initially viewed a doctorate degree as something only attainable to the most highly knowledgeable people, and never dreamed I would be going to grad school myself. For those of you who do have family members in academics, do you feel as though this is an advantage (having somebody close to go to for advice, who knows the process and has gone through it themselves, etc.) or a disadvantage (being pressured to pursue academia, or feeling like you must live up to higher standards)?

I published a paper I wrote for an equity in education course from undergrad. My professor suggested the journal and it didn't need much work after peer review. A lot of people say you shouldn't rush your first publication, but I don't think there's any harm in publishing a paper in a decent journal. At the very least, fixing it up will get you back in the Groove of school. If you want to get in touch with your prof, perhaps ask which journals they might suggest and you can see where it fits in. Plus, you can always cite yourself in your course papers - like a real academic!

Tell me about it! I have a 10 page single-spaced list worth of 'em to read by the end of next summer. (And this not counting anything for courses!) (Admittedly, really not complaining though--always happy to spend some more time with Shakespeare or Faulkner. It is, like, my job now, or something.  )

I wouldn't be so quick to judge somebody who does this while initially learning about grad school. When I was a junior in university I had just begun to think about grad school myself, and was full of a lot of questions, doubt and confusion. I don't think reaching out for advice necessarily means that they can't think for themselves, but maybe that they are overwhelmed or a little unsure of if they have the right credentials. I wondered myself if my grades were high enough for grad school (3.7 major and 3.3 cumulative, the latter of which was caused by some problems earlier on in undergrad). I ended up talking to one of my professors who said I did have a chance, especially if I worked on other aspects of my application. So while you cannot definitively tell somebody whether or not other credentials can offset a bad GPA, it can still be reassuring to ask and know what kind of chances you may have based on others experience.

Got into my top grad school, and now I'm going to Disney World in a few weeks!! This is the best year ever.

Well all of my documents were acceptable and I will be receiving my visa documents soon! I'm really relieved.  

I found out a few days before the April 15th deadline that I got in off the waitlist at William and Mary.  After much thought and consideration, I accepted their offer!  It was a tough decision, but I'm very happy with my choice.

I also found out right on the 15th of April that GWU offered me a place for a PhD in History, after having spent a good 2 months on the waitlist. Being one of my primary choices, I accepted happily!

Ugh... the nerd shirts.
I could never bring myself to don the "Geology Rocks!" or "Gneiss going" or any of the other geology puns.
However, our department had these t-shirts that were pretty bad. Our building was the Howe-Russell Geo-Building. And there was a t-shirt with an old black and white photo of Dr. Howe with these photoshopped on sunglasses and hat.. and a quotation of him asking "Howe you doin?". 

That's awesome, congrats!!
My program is offering a class on archival theory in the fall and I've been considering taking it. It sounds really interesting! I'm so indecisive about what my final course for the semester should be though.

Committed to Michigan State...great environment and I was offered a great fellowship!!!

I will be attending Northwestern! 

I will be attending William and Mary!

Going to the University of Chicago, but through their MAPSS program. They gave me a decent scholarship. Also, a POI, who I was not in contact with, sent me an email out of the blue saying that she was interested in my application and wanted to work with me. Pretty excited about that!

Western Washington! My situation is a little different, as my program is technically an Archives and Record Management program, but it's a certification on top of a MA in History and I will be taking History courses. 

I wouldn't be so quick to judge somebody who does this while initially learning about grad school. When I was a junior in university I had just begun to think about grad school myself, and was full of a lot of questions, doubt and confusion. I don't think reaching out for advice necessarily means that they can't think for themselves, but maybe that they are overwhelmed or a little unsure of if they have the right credentials. I wondered myself if my grades were high enough for grad school (3.7 major and 3.3 cumulative, the latter of which was caused by some problems earlier on in undergrad). I ended up talking to one of my professors who said I did have a chance, especially if I worked on other aspects of my application. So while you cannot definitively tell somebody whether or not other credentials can offset a bad GPA, it can still be reassuring to ask and know what kind of chances you may have based on others experience.

I think it's normal to have some apprehension. It's a big decision, after all!
From what you've written, it sounds like you've made the right choice. And although I don't know your discipline, it's always possible that you can converse with scholars from Duke via correspondence. In history, this is not necessarily uncommon. Specialty circles can be small.
I'm not expert, but I think you're fine.  

Used to be you had one excellent option and you took it. 100% of options utilized to the full! Now you have two excellent choices and you have to give one up, 50% of your chances feel like they are going away and you worry about what might have been. This is completely normal, and would have happened no matter what choice you would have made. Give yourself time, but eventually you just need to remind yourself that there were reasons why you chose one school over the other, and they sounded reasonable and well thought out. A lot of what will come out of your grad school experience depends on you and what you will make of it, and at the end of the day it'll work out, one way or the other. 

Your decision was based on sound logic and several good reasons. Obviously both places would have individual advantages. It is a very difficult decision and no one really knows how it will work out. I think about my first grad school decision in 2010 and am still not sure about whether it was right. My career could have been markedly different with the other decision. Yet, I think it has worked all right for me. There were sound reasons for my decision then and I stand by my reasons as well as my decision. As fuzzylogician said, what matters is what you make of grad school.

I think it was the right call, don't doubt yourself! I had similar thoughts in my process but I think we pick our schools for a lot of reasons. Its easy to forget them!

Choosing between two excellent schools is a good decision to have to make  I don't think that you could have made a bad decision here. I recently had to decide between two programs and received some advice that was very helpful: you'll never know what your life would have been if you had chosen the other one.
Congratulations on being accepted to two excellent schools and best of luck in the future!

I wouldn't be so quick to judge somebody who does this while initially learning about grad school. When I was a junior in university I had just begun to think about grad school myself, and was full of a lot of questions, doubt and confusion. I don't think reaching out for advice necessarily means that they can't think for themselves, but maybe that they are overwhelmed or a little unsure of if they have the right credentials. I wondered myself if my grades were high enough for grad school (3.7 major and 3.3 cumulative, the latter of which was caused by some problems earlier on in undergrad). I ended up talking to one of my professors who said I did have a chance, especially if I worked on other aspects of my application. So while you cannot definitively tell somebody whether or not other credentials can offset a bad GPA, it can still be reassuring to ask and know what kind of chances you may have based on others experience.