SolKit

I lived in Davis for a few years. There are venues, events, and campus groups that are geared toward meeting others in the LGBT community. It's an affluent, bigger little college town.

If your remaining three chances don't work out, you could consider sending a personalized thank-you letter via snail mail with a Starbucks gift card. It might be a nice gesture anyway as they've already done it twice. Hopefully you won't need to apply next year, but if you do you could include an employer as a fourth LoR.

mashed potatoes

Work towards securing a plan B, C, etc. More baskets for your eggs. Research jobs that you can get in your area now with your current resume. Do a projected budget analysis to make sure that the lower tier of income for these jobs will be marginally livable. Polish the generic/skeleton resume and make notes on how you want specifically tailored versions to look. Consider the job application time-line: when should you apply to line up interviews so that they could be scheduled after a reasonable number of rejections? Then look at jobs that you could get if you had just one or two more skills/qualifications/volunteer positions that can be secured without spending outside your budget - it must be free for me and I assume many of us. Broaden your backup plan job search to include these qualifications. Are there other jobs, an ample amount, to go with these new CV bullet points? Or would it benefit an extremely long-term perspective in some other fashion? Begin working on these skills/qualifications/positions in a way that can be externally verified beyond word of mouth. You always need to be able to cite your sources. If it suites your circumstances, apply for the "I can get now" jobs. Working on the other skills for the next level will provide a good talking point in the interviews. Think positively and selectively so that your state of mind is conducive to employment, you can sort your thoughts after you put food on the table. If you end up in an unfortunate scenario where schools/now-jobs are not an immediate option, you have established a behavioral foundation for personal growth that will help formulate a new plan. If all you're after is short-term distractions: take a walk, hit the gym, podcasts, Netflix, yoga, vidya, practice meditation, clean your apartment, learn to cook something new, develop a skill with no financial benefit. There's still a good month of responses for many departments. I haven't heard anything from the schools I've applied to, but in my field you generally need to be published to get a first-wave offer. There are unofficial waitlists that will make March the exciting/devastating month for many of us. I do hope you get in, good luck.