ResilientDreams

I just submitted my last app! It was for a linguistics program haha, but at least I'm now finally done like all of you guys.

Happy New Year to you too!

The OP ended up retaking the GRE and improving their score.

Wait... I'm butting in here but...it seems unprofessional and an abuse of power that he asked you for information regarding your mental illness in the first place, especially in an email format which is inherently not confidential. It's also highly inappropriate that he uses students' mental illness to ridicule them. I'm not sure what the best course of action is, but this sounds like something that should be reported somewhere.

Following!!

Not really grad school related, but I thought it would be nice to have a thread where we talk about the stuff we like to do when we're not studying/working/applying to grad school/etc. I like to dance and have done ballet since I was really little, and I also really like teaching myself languages.

Yay!!! You did it!

We're going to the Caribbean after New Year's!

...am I looking forward to the end of my break? No not especially haha.

I really would like a response of some kind from a grad school...or maybe just the rest of my grades from fall semester....

Oh, you have a graded outline! That's perfect. Use that to show him how you followed your outline, which he described as being worth an 85. Then center your discussion around how you believe you adhered to your outline and covered all the points, so you were surprised it received a lower grade than what he deemed the outline to be worth. (But try if you can to make it more about the content of the paper rather than the grade once again-- professors can get annoyed if you're too overly focused on the grade. Maybe wait until talking a bit to bring up the grade.) In other words, if the rubric is unclear, use the outline as your rubric.

I'm a TA and honestly, essay grades can be pretty arbitrary. Professors will have guidelines for what a C, B, A, etc is, but usually the distinction between a 75 and a 79 (which I'm assuming is the difference between a C and a C+) isn't much. Rather than focusing on the grade boundary, you should just articulate to your Prof why your argument was sound. Talk about the topic, not the grade.

I don't have my GPA on mine either. I'm still in undergrad so my GPA at the time of my application wasn't my final GPA anyway. I don't think they'll find it burdensome because I'm pretty sure all our application materials get combined into a single file and they usually ask for GPA in another part of the app and they also have your transcript.

Has Temple sent out invites for all areas?

Oh, @Adelaide9216, I'm so sorry to hear that happened. If it makes you feel any better, I think more people wished me happy birthday on Grad Cafe than in real life...even my friend that I've had since I was five forgot to text me.

Dance! And now hand washing my dance leotards, although it's debatable whether that's making me feel BETTER.

Well....for some dumb reason I decided to redownload a dating app while I was in my hometown and I met this really great guy who was interested in me...but of course I'm hardly ever IN my hometown, so he said it won't work because of the distance.

Oh okay, sorry! I had never heard of this before. I don't think my programs do that.

What do you mean? Being short listed means you're on the list of people they're really interested in. And I don't think you can be really wait listed until after an in person interview because it means they want to take you but don't have a spot.

The thing about grad school is that at the PhD level in particular, it's about more than learning. It's about CREATING new knowledge, which is something that you've presented yourself as being opposed to. I was simply pointing out that I don't think academia is where you'll find fulfillment, and rather than worrying about how to backtrack to something that you already know isn't for you, you should focus on how to get what you want. You like learning and you like teaching/mentoring. That's great. You don't like research. That's fine. But the structure of academia isn't going to change to meet your interests. I agree with @placeinspace that you should use your time in your social work career to reflect critically on what it is you want. I'm not telling you to settle for an unfulfilling life because you don't like some aspects of academia... I'm telling you you should avoid academia so you don't have to deal with those aspects at all, because you know you'll be unhappy. Also the comment about it not being grade school anymore wasn't meant to be condescending. Rather, it should be freeing because now you have the power to direct your own life.

I'm going to be honest and say that you don't sound like a good fit for academia, which you've actually expressed yourself. The worst reason to go to grad school is because you don't know what else to do. What you miss is being in undergrad classes, which is not what grad school is. I really don't think you should be worrying about transitioning into academia later in life because even though you admit you don't know what you want to do, you make it pretty clear that it is NOT academia. Also. Honest truth, some people never "find themselves". Sometimes your job is just your job and that's okay. You can explore other avenues of interest after work, take extra classes on the side in things that interest you, etc. Your job doesn't have to be your end all be all source of fulfillment. Finally, 25 is not late to start a master's. This is no longer grade school when you have to have a certain level of education completed by a certain age. People are all on an individualized timescale now.

I don't think I'll hear from most of my schools until January...

Happy birthday!!!

Aw, thanks for your reassurance everyone... I'm just feeling a little discouraged because that quant score is a real thorn in my side, but I worked so hard and I really really hope I at least get some interviews. ???

Meh. Guess my scores will keep me out of all my programs then...would have been nice to have known before I applied.