DBear

@phdthoughts, if it makes you feel any better, one of my letter writers was two weeks late with two of my letters. The schools didn't seem to be surprised/annoyed by this. So once the technical difficulty is resolved, the fact that it is late by a few days shouldn't matter! Also, issues with the online system seem to be pretty commonplace, so the school probably already has a quick fix ready (a real person on the staff the letter can be emailed to). It's nice you're considerate of the staff on the receiving end, not everyone gets it. I'm sure the universe will reward your kindness!

Spare tire

@Yanaka this is like watching some sort of sports match lol

@.letmeinplz// lol way to find the invisible silver lining! Adorable penguins by the way. Looks like they're lining up to get into grad school.... Or maybe I'm just projecting...

@stereopticons why am I not surpised it was something completely the student's own fault?! Now I'm worried- everytime I've had to teach students or even train people at work, I turn into scary-lady-with-stick-up-my-arse. I'm so gonna get fired, aren't I? Hahaha... Ha....

Geez, kids nowadays!! What could you, @stereopticons, have done to warrant a trip to the Dean of Students?! I mean, putting myself in a student's position, I've encountered plenty of professors I didn't click with or who I thought were terrible. But short of physical abuse or gross misconduct, I don't think I'd ever go and complain about someone. Even with evaluations, I've always been frank but have also tried very hard to be objective and a lot of these issues are subjective matters of personality and style. Damned kids!

@Forest Owlet, seems to be everyone but me o.O I have seen one interview notification in my field (Communication) and that's completely freaking me out.

@GeorgeC07 same here, I finished submitting my applications exactly a month ago even though some aren't even due yet. The anxiety of having an unsubmitted SOP in my laptop was killing me and I thought I'd be relieved to submit the documents and put myself in a position where I had nothing left to do. Hahahaha.... I just ended up replacing one source of stress for another. Hope Lunar New Year home cooking helps!

Prime rib

I was thinking the same thing as @avflinsch and then remembered that @viveke was an international student and perhaps the Professor (due to different cultural norms) thought that the hyperbole was actually useful. I had to help a friend edit a LOR she received and noticed that there were many hyperbolic statements as well. One of the letters was super religious and personal, going into detail not only about her family, but her inlaws as well! I think that ad comms may be surprised by such statements, but if it's coming from a non-native English speaker/ non-American, I think they'll be sophisticated enough to take into account cultural differences. I think that if I were you, I'd leave the hyperbole and awkward comments as is - if you edit it too much, the phrasing may end up sounding too much like your SOP. The inaccurate comments about the classes and such I would fix, and if there's stuff he's left out, I'd add it and get his approval. Just be sure to thank him for his efforts and also trusting you with edits. Good luck!!!!

brain fart

@GreenEyedTrombonist quite similar to yours - online communities and construction of identity

@GreenEyedTrombonist Welcome! I recall telling people about my research interests and getting asked "why don't you apply to Anthropology programs?" I think there's a lot of overlap in subject matter and what you are looking at is really interesting! If I knew even one thing about Anthropology and research approaches, I would have applied but was too scared to venture into such uncharted territory. Good luck! @DeniWK, I think you've got the wrong forum, but my MA happens to be in International Policy and sounds like the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey would be a good program to look at as well. Their GRE requirements are very lenient but you need to be able to speak at least two languages. Good luck

@phdthoughts OH NO!! I'm so sorry this happened to you - I'm more than confident that it will be resolved, especially since she'll be contacting the school directly but I can imagine how stressful it is having this curve ball thrown at you!!

New neurosis that has set in today - I check my application status once a day and until today, I did it without thinking there would be any changes. However, even though I know there won't be any updates until next month, most likely, I found myself fearing that I'd see the words "rejected" or "declined" when I opened the online applications today. Now that it's January, people may really be reading my application and now I fear that they'll read the first line of my SOP or look at my transcripts and just immediately press the "NO" button..GAH... I'm lucky enough to have lots of things to do to occupy my time, but still having these episodes of despair!

mind games

Cat call

Judgement call

Baseball bat

Hope diamond

Yes! Please put us out of our misery (but with good news) I was feeling less anxious knowing schools were closed.... But now.... The anticipation is so much more intense. I've been trying to keep myself busy. I have some freelance work I can easily do from home but I make it a point to drive all the way to school which is around 1.5 hr drive away. Wasting time in traffic actually is soothing now... :/

Last hope

@W.Churchill fitting, since I feel like I'm on death row ... Last dance

Last call