Bopie5

Having been on here for two separate cycles, I can't agree more! So many other forums have weird competitive energies or are plagued by trolls. I have always appreciated how supportive and empathetic and encouraging this particular thread is. It may sound trite, but I genuinely am rooting for everyone on here. It makes me so happy when any of y'all get acceptances, and sad when bad news comes in. There's a good sense of "we're in it together" here, which makes me excited to inevitably cross paths with some of you at events, conferences, etc--someday, when those things are possible again.

Having been on here for two separate cycles, I can't agree more! So many other forums have weird competitive energies or are plagued by trolls. I have always appreciated how supportive and empathetic and encouraging this particular thread is. It may sound trite, but I genuinely am rooting for everyone on here. It makes me so happy when any of y'all get acceptances, and sad when bad news comes in. There's a good sense of "we're in it together" here, which makes me excited to inevitably cross paths with some of you at events, conferences, etc--someday, when those things are possible again.

Having been on here for two separate cycles, I can't agree more! So many other forums have weird competitive energies or are plagued by trolls. I have always appreciated how supportive and empathetic and encouraging this particular thread is. It may sound trite, but I genuinely am rooting for everyone on here. It makes me so happy when any of y'all get acceptances, and sad when bad news comes in. There's a good sense of "we're in it together" here, which makes me excited to inevitably cross paths with some of you at events, conferences, etc--someday, when those things are possible again.

I feel the same/do the same. I have read through a bunch of forums that are years old or in different disciplines and I also go to the results page that just has the most recent entries generally and read the comments. There have been a few where I see a comment and go to that specific program's results page and follow the drama ?. It has made me really appreciate this thread and how nice and supportive everyone is. A few other disciplines (mostly STEM) seem to have some really nasty and competitive people. But it makes for a good distraction ?

I think ice cream is a healthy way of dealing with both acceptances and rejections.

Just repeating something I read somewhere else on here: an acceptance is personal, a rejection isn’t. 

Thanks for making the thread @jadeisokay! I don't know about anyone else, but I'm definitely already very anxious about the impacts of COVID-19 on admissions, funding, etc, etc...freaking out extremely...it's fine!

Hi! I also applied to University of Washington but didn't get the January 25 email. Did you submit the "Teaching Assistantship or Fellowship Consideration" form with your app when you applied? I was wondering if that potentially had something to do with it. Could be wrong though! 
It could also just be that I'm out of the running at this point (aka, not in the top 15% or whatever that post said!). Sending good energies your way--I hope good news comes soon!

This is so relatable. Am I happy during my gap years? NO. Are these two years meaningful? Definitely. I'd say that they are even necessary for me to figure out what I really want to do with my life.
I also really appreciate this little community we have here on gradcafe (The result page gives me panic attacks, but the forum makes me feel less alone and keeps me going). Hang in there, friends. You are all such wonderful people!

I HATE when people say you won't come back after a gap year.  I took 2.5 years off after undergrad (hooray December grad) and have taken another 2 years if I were to start this Fall. I was told at my MA institution that it was a benefit on my application. The vast majority of the people in my MA cohort had taken a gap year. It shows dedication and passion for the field coming back. 
This time off allows you to find something to do that builds both your resume and CV if you can. I worked as a software trainer both times, and while I don't *love* it, I can say I've had 4 years of teaching/training experience, something that's always needed. I've taught lots of classes, done one-to-one work, and have completely redesigned classes and written assessments. 
Are there drawbacks? Sure (hello GRE scores that are expiring this Fall, looking at you if I need to apply again). But its not the end of the world that everyone makes it out to be. It's challenging, not going to lie I've had a lot of tearful nights because I don't like what I'm doing and am very anxious to make a switch back into academia again, but I wouldn't change how I did things. You learn a lot of "real life" skills too, which are so important. 
Long story short, I'll repeat @cassidyaxx in saying that you are not your results, and it will suck if I don't get admitted anywhere this year, but taking time off is not the end of the world and can end up being beneficial in the long run. If you want to talk to me about my time off/getting back in, shoot me a DM.

Oh absolutely! I have one waitlist so far but pretty much implied rejections from everywhere else with only three schools left to notify at this point (and one of those is Yale LOL). The things I tell myself every day to stave off mental despair and tears:
-This cycle is competitive. Crazy competitive. Undergrads don't even have to deal with these percentage of acceptances when they're applying to Ivy Leagues, yet most of us have submitted applications to schools with acceptance rates of less than 5%. The fact that you're a strong enough scholar to even compete means that you're most likely in the right place.
-Even though it will suck (and as someone who has done 3 cycles now, it will def still suck), you can apply again. That causes me dread, too. I don't want to do this again. BUT, I took a gap year after undergrad and the year flew by, and despite people saying "if you take a year off you'll never go back!"-- yes you will. I did, many people do. If you're committed, you will try again even though the process sucks. 
-Ooh boy this is the hardest one to tell myself and it's still not solidified, but your worth as a person (and as a scholar!) does not change simply because you were rejected or had a shutout. You are still smart. You are still kind. You are still dedicated, or motivated, or funny, or talented, or whatever you believe is best about yourself. People who love you don't think you're a failure. They know you are these wonderful things, and you will try again if need be, and you will still be successful regardless of the outcome. 
I am perhaps just writing this post to make myself feel better, but maybe it will make some of you feel better too, even if for a fleeting second. While gradcafe undoubtedly causes me great anxiety at times, I am actually really thankful to have found this website. A lot of people on here are really kind and supportive, especially in the Lit section (shout out to this thread!!), and I find myself truly happy to see people receive acceptances, even if it means I receive a rejection, because I know they're feeling the same exact way as myself. I don't even know most of you by name, wouldn't recognize you on the street, yet we have somehow forged a small community here that is supportive and helpful and really quite wonderful. 
I sincerely hope all of us receive some good news. I've seen cycles where people believe they're shutout until April 15th, or have gotten rejections from every school and then receive an acceptance from their reach/dream school out of nowhere. Anything can happen, which is both a blessing and a curse for those of us ridden with anxious tendencies. Here's to making it through these coming weeks, which I'm sure will be challenging for us all. Good luck, everyone!!!

Omg the amount that I relate to this. Last night I spontaneously made banana bread because I was like "I have to do something with myself that's not writing my thesis, refreshing GradCafe, or marathoning Mad Men" lmao

Y'all need to be less articulate; my instinct when I visit this forum is to post, every time out, something like "I'M utterly DYINGGG G urghrghsgjhfhgfjdgdfhjj!!!!!!!"
Good luck everyone this is so much

Omg the amount that I relate to this. Last night I spontaneously made banana bread because I was like "I have to do something with myself that's not writing my thesis, refreshing GradCafe, or marathoning Mad Men" lmao

Yes oh my gosh. I ate mounds of pasta last night just to get off GradCafe and Reddit... This is my second round so I knew more what to expect this year, but for some reason it has been even more grueling. All of my logic and rationale left about a week ago 

Omg the amount that I relate to this. Last night I spontaneously made banana bread because I was like "I have to do something with myself that's not writing my thesis, refreshing GradCafe, or marathoning Mad Men" lmao

YES. It's been so hard to navigate what I rationally know about this process (decisions come in waves, there's tons of different factors, it's all about fit), with what feels like a constantly evolving emotional rollercoaster. Especially when we know that this application season is bizarre in about a thousand different ways that we can't anticipate!! 

Any one else already feeling decision season fatigue? I keep having to remind myself that we're just getting warmed up... The amount of cookies I've baked and consumed in the last three weeks (to both stress eat and take my mind of everything) is absurd.

Literally could not sleep last night because I kept hearing the song "Jolene" except instead of Jolene, it was "Cornell" over and over again. We're in for quite a week I think! Congrats to those accepted!!  

Granted, I'm on the east coast, and granted, neither of these are in English...but I got my rejection from Berkeley at 10pm and my acceptance from Michigan at 1am lol!

Granted, I'm on the east coast, and granted, neither of these are in English...but I got my rejection from Berkeley at 10pm and my acceptance from Michigan at 1am lol!

You saved my butt. Thank you, this isn’t horribly far from where I live, and it seems like a realistic option.

I also want to recommend resisting the urge to contact anyone at this stage. I know the first wave of acceptances is stressful but there is still so much time left in this admissions cycle! When I was applying to programs, my first notification was a rejection from Duke, which absolutely crushed me. I was convinced this one rejection was indication that I'd never get in anywhere. 
And then literally a week after that, I was accepted to the program that I'm now happily attending. All this to say — you never know what is coming next for you! You are all well-qualified, smart applicants and there's still a lot of time left. Hang in there!!

Congrats to everyone accepted!
To all of y'all expecting to hear back in the coming days, stay strong! It's a crazy process and you should be proud of yourselves for getting through it, regardless of the outcome. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!!