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VincentH

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Everything posted by VincentH

  1. Hi friends. Hope everyone is eating some chocolate and practicing some death yoga to destress during the coronavirus chaos! I've searched for over an hour on the forums trying to find a post I saw much earlier on in this year's app cycle (back in November, I want to say) with a sample email somebody had whipped up for someone else looking to decline their spot on a waitlist. I'm going to be contacting two of my waitlist schools soon to ask to be taken off the waitlist (out of courtesy to those students who may also be on the list). Can anyone remember where that sample language was for how to word this respectfully, or offer any advice on wording? Thanks in advance for any help!
  2. I had such an amazing time during my visit! Everyone I met was so warm and welcoming, and I so enjoyed getting to know the students who attended meals with us, shepherded us to and fro, and let us sit in on their seminars.
  3. Went to an absolutely lovely visiting weekend at WashU in St. Louis a few weeks ago and was so looking forward to my Rutgers visit... Like most others this late in the game, the Rutgers open house has been cancelled. I'm crushed because after deciding UC Davis wasn't for me, I'm really deciding between WashU and Rutgers... I was really thinking Rutgers was the program for me, and wanted the visit as an opportunity to confirm that... to feel how it feels to be on campus, and to really begin picturing myself there. Now I feel robbed of that opportunity, and the decision feels infinitely harder. How on earth am I supposed to give both programs equal consideration when one school was able to roll out the proverbial red carpet for me and the other school is now scrambling to set up skype interviews? At the risk of sounding whiny and/or ungrateful, it just feels so unfair! I'm of course so thankful that I'm currently safe and healthy, and so are my loved ones, but... We've worked so hard to get to the point when we can celebrate our acceptances at these visiting days, and now because of all of this chaos we don't even get to enjoy it! I know I'm probably preaching to the choir...
  4. Thank you for this insight, @Regimentations ! I've heard these same sentiments about WashU echoed elsewhere from other mentors/folx I trust... This is going to be a tough decision, for sure!
  5. Wow!! I join the other lucky folx who have heard good news from Rutgers!!! One of my top programs and the email could not have been any lovelier! So personalized and thoughtful... I teared up a little bit reading it tbh. :') I suspect I got emailed instead of called because it's a Saturday, but we're setting up a time to chat on the phone soon! After a string of rejections (six in a row, oof), what a pleasant and unexpected surprise. Hearty congratulations to my fellow Rutgers peeps!
  6. Got an email acceptance from the DGS at UC Davis yesterday! Details still pending but I’m so thrilled Congratulations, @StormChild @ecogoth @Indecisive Poet @Cryss !!!
  7. Yes, absolutely! I'm going to make every effort to be there.
  8. Oh my goodness!!! I just got a phone call from WashU, too! My first acceptance... I'm over here ugly-crying. Congratulations to you! Who knows - maybe we'll be future cohorts! Now off to update my signature! haha
  9. Here's to hoping your season's news only gets better and better from here onward!
  10. Re: WashU - Just received a friendly but neutral email encouraging me to apply for the Chancellor's Fellowship (didn't think I was eligible)... Said they had "read my application with interest" but as of yet have not made any decisions. The email was signed off with "best wishes, and you'll hear more from us in the coming weeks." Hopefully that helps piece the puzzle together a little clearer? Seems like we've got a bit more waiting... but soon!
  11. Congratulations, @Rrandle101 and @pinkfruit !!! I'm sure it's so exciting to hear news (even if it's just on the portal) so early on!
  12. Oh, wow, that's... terrifying? ? Super glad I don't have to see that on any of my app portals - that would seriously set me on edge!
  13. Thank you so much for responding! This really sets my mind at ease. Congrats on getting all your apps in! Sending good vibes re: your letter submissions. ❤️
  14. Hey y'all! Posting here wondering if anyone who applied to Stanford is suddenly having their app status show up as "incomplete" - even though all of their materials are submitted? That's the boat that I'm in currently, and I'm trying my best not to panic about it. All of my materials (including my recommendations) have been submitted, paid the app fee, etc. The only thing I don't see populating on my status screen is a confirmation of my GRE scores (which I sent to everyone in early November, and which have been received by ALL of my schools except Stanford). There's no information about GRE scores at all ... it's simply not mentioned one way or another on the status screen. I'm thinking this is just a system error, as the message that appears when I check ApplyWeb tells students that "Stanford will do its best to have all application information updated by December 20, 2019." I've also heard from a few different sources that Stanford is notorious for contacting/notifying late, and being a touch disorganized at times. All of my other applications are good to go. So I shouldn't worry......... right? ? Anyone else experiencing the same thing with Stanford?
  15. Great advice, thank you! I'm glad folks are saying "brief" = 750-1000 words because honestly, the 500-word limit has been excruciating for me! Best of luck on your applications! Hopefully we'll both end up on the other side of this cycle with some good news and bright roads ahead.
  16. Ha! Honestly, I've been staring at these SoP drafts for so long they're tormenting me like only monsters could... Glad to hear my 1000-word guesstimation was in the right range. Oh my gosh, I know. I've given up asking any of my classmates/friends to read anything for me... regardless of the length of whatever it is, they make me feel so guilty! I'm on the same schedule - hopefully submitting everything early next week so I can finally relax over Thanksgiving! Best of luck to you, too!
  17. Oh, perfect - that was my exact plan, too. I posed the question to a friend and they side-eyed me, telling me that 1000 words isn't "brief." But they're not a writer by any stretch of the imagination, so I suspect they were just reacting to how they would feel having to write 1000 words! Meanwhile, I feel like I blink and my wordcount triples... Different worlds, I guess. haha Thanks for your help!
  18. Yep, definitely think I'm going to have to lose a "point" or several... sigh. I don't usually struggle with cutting during editing but I guess since it's more personal it's harder? Thanks for the tips - this is super helpful! Any thoughts on the "brief" SoPs? What would you consider brief?
  19. Hey, everyone! Final part of my app process is trying to finish up these damn statements of purpose... but I'm really struggling to get my 1000-word SoP down to 500 words and still say everything I want to say, answer all of the questions, and talk about the program in question. I honestly can't believe some of these schools ask you 6 questions and expect you to answer adequately with 500 words! Luckily, only three are being so stringent... and another two ask for "brief" statements, without any defined word limit. What does "brief" mean? 500 words? 750? 1000? And any tips on how to cut the fluff? I'm struggling massively with this... Thanks!
  20. This is so smart! I've already done much the same with sending my letter writers my list of schools (did this a few weeks ago) and their respective deadlines (as well as lots of supplemental info about me and a reminder of some of our highlights together). I aim to have everything submitted by November, as well. If not the 1st, at least by the 15th! No way I'm carrying all of this stress and anxiety through Thanksgiving... Great idea about how to organize the writers' checklist - so efficient. Totally stealing that. I wish you the best of luck with your applications Onward!
  21. Hey all! As the December deadlines for fall 2020 applications loom closer, I'm making an effort to stay on top of things and as organized as I can be. But for many of us applying to more than just a handful of schools, it's difficult sometimes to keep it all straight (at least it is for me!). Right now, I've got a subpar spreadsheet on Google Sheets going that's been working fine enough, but I wondered if anyone has any tips or tricks for keeping track of each application and all of its respective moving pieces. Any apps/websites/programs out there that you've been using that could warm my type A heart? Bonus points for color coding options!
  22. Follow-up question I've been worrying over: how soon is TOO soon to enter in our letter writer info and thus send them the automated email? I'm trying to strike a balance between being proactive and starting things early and not breathing down my writers' throats. Plus, I'm worried that if the emails get sent now in October (for all of my December deadlines), they'll get buried in their inboxes... Advice on this?
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