Kilos

Yep, must be only for Ed.M. considerations. Odd that the financial aid staff isn't aware of this.

Just got an email back from financial aid about this (copy+pasted response): GSAS Financial Aid <gsasfinaid@fas.harvard.edu> 4:57 PM (8 minutes ago) to me Hello, You should be all set if you have submitted your application in full. I am not aware of any email about financial aid going out to applicants at this stage. There is no separate application for financial aid. It is possible the supplemental data form was missing from your friends’ applications and they were being prompted to submit it. To confirm your contact info with the Admissions Office, please contact them directly at admiss@fas.havard.edu. Best, Harvard Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Office of Financial Aid Smith Campus Center, Suite 350 1350 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 617-495-539 So, to be clear, according to HGSAS, there is no separate application for financial aid. What people must be referring to is the "Supplemental Data" application that you were supposed to fill out with your initial application. Hope this clears up some confusion.

Yeah, that's who I initially called, but they transferred me to the GSAS admissions office. I'm not sure what the disconnect was--I thought I clearly voiced my inquiry, but they didn't seem to think I had anything to worry about. They also told me (twice) that they were unable to give me any kind of admissions decision over the phone (which I never asked for, and even explained I wasn't seeking), which leads me to believe that they're probably inundated with phone calls about application statuses, and weren't really listening for the specifics of my question.

Ok, just got off the phone with the admissions office and they told me that they have "no idea why financial aid information would have gone out" so soon after submitting an application. She noted that in most situations financial aid info or applications would only go out to those who had been accepted, and that what I was saying "just sounds weird." Ha. Okay. I was very clear about the fact that I was talking about financial aid applications, not funding awards. I'm wondering if perhaps she didn't understand what I was talking about. Oh well, I'm more confused now than I was before. Like I said, I got emails confirming my app was submitted--they obviously have my info, so I'm not sure why I wouldn't have received subsequent correspondence. Edit: @goldenangel1 (or anybody else who's interested).

Yeah I'll try that. It's a bit worrisome, though; if for some reason my application didn't make it into their system it's too late for consideration now.

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure what the issue is, but I never received any kind of financial aid email either. I submitted my completed application in late November, and got emails confirming that everything was submitted. Interesting.

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody seemed convinced so instead of going swimming they

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody

Sexual education

Cutting board

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!"

Yep, I won't bore you with my life's story, but I'm a 32 y/o nontraditional student finishing up a B.A. I've been working full-time since I was 17; I finally got my life settled down enough to go back to school and finish. I'm applying to a small handful of Ph.D. programs in my field. No clue what my chances are, but I figure it's worth the time/money/anguish. I can absolutely understand why you find this insulting/sexist/degrading, but I genuinely don't (and I'm a raging feminist who constantly seeks out things to harp on) . These POIs/AdComms have one priority above all others: making sure the people they admit (and typically fund with large sums of money) finish the degree. I worked with a guy who told me a similar story--he was probably late thirties at the time, married, and they asked if he had kids (he did) and how he would handle that commitment. He rationally explained that he understood the time commitments, had a partner to help out with the kids, didn't believe that it would interfere with his teaching/research, and understood their hesitance. He ended up getting fully funded. I'd liken the situation to me stating that I had a 50/hr a week salaried career, and I really loved it, and there's no way I could possibly quit while going to graduate school; I wouldn't expect this to rule me out, or even negatively affect my chances, but I'd find it odd if they didn't ask about my outside commitments (when they had reason to believe those commitments might exist). Raising kids (as I'm sure you know) is more than a full-time job, and many people would argue that completing a Ph.D. program in a timely fashion is also more than a full-time job. Working two full-time jobs is going to really, seriously, severely wear on somebody over 4-6 years with minimal breaks. They're just covering their bases to make sure their prospective candidate understands what they're signing themselves up for.

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers

Yeah, that's a really good point. I know I couldn't afford the time/money to travel across the country. I'd make it happen, no matter what, but it would put me in a tight spot. I did some quick googling/searching (as I'm sure you did as well) and couldn't find anything about reimbursement of costs. I'm sure that if (when) you get your interview they'll go over the possibility of reimbursement.

Yeah, I believe their website states that Ph.D. interviews are done via Skype, as @cogdog noted. Pretty convenient, if you ask me!

Woop woop! Awesome news.

I'm with you--I'm doing everything I can to stay positive. I'm actually an absurdly up-beat person; I've never had any process affect me like this has. Sorry about Vandy. I anticipate that this HGSE rejection/interview will be my first result of the season, so I'm not entirely sure how it's going to feel one way or another. I only applied to six schools total--and five of them are absurdly competitive. I'm starting to think that I approached this whole process a bit too optimistically from the outset.

Ahhh! My pessimism is at record levels. Hard to be excited when you're certain you'll be rejected. I'm excited for the possibility of a positive outcome, I suppose!

@jmaroon and @Espeon: *earmuffs*

Congrats! I've got a ways to go before I hear back from any of my English/Lit programs. Blargh.

Great thread and reminder! A major precipitating factor in people experiencing overwhelming (debilitating) anxiety is the feeling that they're losing control, having some kind of mental break, or losing their sanity. It's important for people to understand that these kinds of feelings of inadequacy or being an "impostor" are normal, common, widespread, and likely a psychological byproduct of the intense stress of academia coupled with the weight of future unknowns. I think these troublesome scenarios are compounded and intensified by the fact that graduate application cycles typically come about at pivotal moments in students' lives, when many are feeling especially vulnerable about their futures. I also believe that it's incredibly taxing to concisely compile the entirety of your life's achievements into a small stack of documents only to then mail them off into an opaque void where groups of strangers judge you and decide your future. It's an incredibly humbling (potentially devastating) thing to pour your being out for somebody to rubber-stamp "accept" or "reject." It's rough. Never forget that it's rough for everyone. Just take to heart that you're not alone, you're not nuts, you're not losing it; we're all going through it to varying degrees, and if you weren't feeling a bit volatile that would be the real cause for concern. Keep your chin up!

This is great, thanks! I'm gonna have a craaazy February. ha. ha.... ha... somebody kill me?

It's normal! Worrying about it only adds to the stress, perpetuating the cycle. I'm actually doing the exact same thing. One day I'll feel like there's no way I can get rejected, the very next morning I feel like I'm an idiot for even trying or wasting the money on applications. Based on what I've seen and heard from others (during undergrad, in the workplace, and here on these forums) countless others feel the same way. Our shared experiences seem a bit too similar to be coincidence; I'm assuming this kind of cyclical self-doubt is probably a psychological byproduct of laying your entire life's achievement out in the open for groups of strangers to judge. It's an incredibly humbling (potentially devastating) thing to pour your being out for somebody to rubber-stamp "accept" or "reject." It's rough. Just take to heart that you're not alone, you're not nuts, you're not losing it; we're all going through it to varying degrees, and if you weren't feeling a bit volatile I'd be more worried. p.s. Seeing a shrink is never a bad thing if you can somehow afford it. There's a stigma associated with therapy that I'll never understand; in my experience there are few things more valuable than a good critical listener who's trained to help you understand misaligned thought processes. I wish I had the time and resources to sit down and talk to somebody once in a while!

Love the sentiment! The only thing any of us here can really do is to make sure you know you're not alone in your anxiety. About six months ago, when i'd finalized my list of prospective schools, I was feeling exhilarated and invincible. I was ready to knock out the applications and sit back and reap the rewards of a decade of hard work. Somewhere along the way--whether it was the GRE, or the essays, or the application fees, or the intensely competitive nature of this very opaque process--I lost that indomitable spirit. I know some people have it worse, as I don't think I'm to the point where I'm obsessing or rethinking everything like you are, but it's really all I can think about. I think my wife's going to strangle me if I bring up one more "what if" hypothetical. Here's what helps me: Understand that everything is now 100% out of your hands. Life is full of mistakes, and if you made some, so be it. You've done what you needed to do; you completed your end of the deal, trudging through the arduous process of submitting the applications. The entirety of the outcome is out of your hands. Relax and try to move on. You'll get the notifications one way or another, positive or negative, and you'll be just fine win or lose. If you get into one of your schools, fantastic! If you don't, you'll have learned valuable lessons and gained experience that you could not have found anywhere else; you can use that experience to make sure you get in somewhere next cycle. All the best to you--just try to get back to life until you get some feedback!