miratrix

Obviously full funding would be great, and I wouldn't take on debt for five to seven year PhD programs, but one of my top choices is an MA program that offers tuition remission (w/an assistantship) and no stipend. I could live off savings and part time work for the first year, so it would be manageable to take on loans to cover living expenses for the second, or work full-time and become a part-time student while writing the thesis. The school is local and full of people I would absolutely love to work with, which adds to my sense of "worth the money"

My "weekends" don't line up with normal people's, the forum definitely quiets down when I have time to get on! I totally forgot about it Saturday and Sunday, but now I have time to refresh the page, check the mail, and otherwise be obsessive! I'm trying to think of this as a month to NOT obsess, though, one where I can not think about school and just enjoy life and work and friends. Probably won't hear back for another few weeks, might as well appreciate the status quo.

When sitting around the house, I listen to my old favorites, New Order and the Jesus & Mary Chain, which tend to not annoy my roommates. When I'm on the train, running, or in the house myself, I listen to lots of Scandinavian metal, especially Sonata Arctica and Tyr. They do tend to annoy...other people.

To the OP: sounds rough - it can't hurt to try to get another emergency rec at this point. Good luck! To everyone else: I would never try to get my mom involved with the application process, but she actually did at one point and it was a godsend. Someone from a school I applied to tried to call me and tell me the vast majority of my materials were "not received" (i.e. lost) and they needed them by 5 PM that day, but I was at work so my phone was off, and she called my mom instead (I think the weird online app asked for emergency contacts, can't imagine how else they got the number). By the time I was able to return calls over lunch, my mom had gotten permission to send electronic copies of everything and persuaded my undergrad to immediately email copies of my transcript (Mom: "I played the [uncommon ethnicity we share with the registrar] card" [WTF?!]). All I had to do was resend my SoP and resume and get in touch with two of my recommenders to email their letters, which was manageable over my lunch break. So moms can be great if they happen to get involved

If I get in anywhere with funding, I'll go. If I only get into one place with no funding, I won't, I just can't take on that level of debt. Only getting in to one school would at least make the choice easy!

I'm already too poor and cheap to buy junk food. I figure my diet will remain pretty much the same: eggs, $.59 mac & cheese and beans, pasta, and a vegetable binge every couple weeks when I'm like "uh oh, I'm going to get scurvy."

I watched Lars and the Real Girl a few days ago, it was pretty good.

What a question! I am fine with naming other schools I applied to, but not ranking them, especially because they're not ranked in my mind. I have three or four top choices that are too different to choose between at this point in the process, so I just wouldn't fill that out.

Tuesdays? What? That's so random....

Consider the Lobster is so good! I love all of DFW's essays. I also approve of Weber, he's a good old social theorist. Right now I'm reading The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bola

February is the worst month. Waiting for grad school news is only going to make it worse. Oh man I hate February, thank goodness it's short.

February is the worst month. Waiting for grad school news is only going to make it worse. Oh man I hate February, thank goodness it's short.

Not if it's via email! Apparently Cornell did this recently, can't remember if it was for undergrad or grad though.

It really depends on your field and your financial situation, I think...in studio arts, what kind of difference in careers exists for top-tier and mid-range graduates? What kind of jobs are you aiming for? (I'm afraid I have no idea!) Would the difference in earnings and opportunities over your lifetime make up for the cost? And can you live on your husband's salary alone? It's so different in every case...I wouldn't take on private school tuition for a PhD as debt, but having a partner who works could perhaps make things easier. (What would I do in a similar situation? Well, if a good, expensive school that also funds only a couple students a year lets me in but doesn't fund me, that's probably not something I can pay for in loans. If a decent school with assistantships that pay for tuition but no living stipends admits me, that might be worth taking on for the duration of an MA, especially if said school is AWESOME. If I got in somewhere with full funding, though, it wouldn't have to be the top school.)

I applied to seven, well mixed in terms of MA/PhD & overall reputation but all decent fits with a good chance of funding. I'm happy with the number, but once in a while wish I'd gone ahead and applied to U.Alaska at Fairbanks. I didn't because I thought picking up and moving to the middle of Alaska for five to seven years, and specializing in something that would make it hard to ever work on the east coast again, was too much of a risk...but I also I think it would also be fascinating...*sigh*

I'm taking two years off, and it really feels like nothing. I was abroad for the first year + a few months after graduation, so I've only settled down again in the last few months. I really value the experiences over that year - especially the good ones - and I'm glad to have gotten some experience of what the job market would be like if I didn't go to grad school, but I feel like to have meaningful work experience, I'd need to stay at least another year. I'm applying anyway because I'm impatient to get started, and I don't want to stay longer here only to make it more emotionally and financially wrenching when I do make the next big move, if I have to leave for grad school.

I miss reading and discussing ideas, school vacations, and getting up later than 7 AM (my constant sleep deprivation in college didn't go away after graduation because it turns out I just like going to bed too late, but I'm STILL not a morning person). I really don't miss always feeling like I'm putting off homework, or the worry that after school people will see me for the useless fraud I am and refuse to hire me, or exams. So I'm excited, but also seriously dreading grad school...in most ways, my life is more carefree now than it will be then.

Awesome fantasy! I was thinking "quit my job" when I saw this topic, but I know I actually can't do that...I will quit a couple months early, though

Same here! A hot sailor would be an acceptable alternative, though. (What, you mean there's the Naval Academy within commuting distance of one of my top schools? Gee, I hope they like my application....)

I'm applying with just a BA as well. It might hurt our chances but I don't think it will destroy them anywhere, none of the schools I visited take only people with MAs. More depressingly, at one of my schools, they said they only have a couple of fellowships each year, and they're trying to offer them to people with just BAs more often but the MA students are often just so well-qualified. Oh well! I'm also applying to 3 MA programs Honestly, I'd be surprised by rejections everywhere, but I'm quite concerned about funding....

I check my email between zero and two times a day at work, since I don't work on a computer. When I get home I waste some time on the internet, and grad cafe is one of my longest but last stops. Procrastinating on my last application is no longer part of the routine, since I sent it in yesterday! I'm DONE! Now I can watch movies with my roommates guilt-free. I've been cooking a lot too, but this is nothing unusual or anxiety related! I'm just craving vegetables this week, so I'm using them in simple ways like pasta casserole or stir fry. I'm the "make sure everyone eats a balanced meal" type of cook most of the time, rather than the "bake a cake" type, just because you HAVE to eat dinner every day. If anyone has any fantastic dessert or vegetarian meal recipes, do share!

Your theory is wrong. They will answer with "hello" if you are accepted, rejected, waitlisted, or your status is not yet determined. If they answer with "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" it means they have caller ID and want personal vengeance.

Same here. There are only around 6 strong PhD (plus a couple MA) programs that I know of in the sub-specialty I'd like to study, and only two of them are at schools that have fantastic reputations. (Also, US News doesn't even do anthropology rankings....) It helps that I'm also looking at careers outside of academia, though, and connections to other cultural organizations and agencies is something I looked into when researching schools.

Yeah, if it involved being on TV I would definitely be out. I'd much rather be judged by a small group of people I may never meet than, you know, the entire country's viewing public.

Yes, it's just a generic email. The wording implies "hi, we've just gotten around to sorting papers out in the offices," which implies there's no way the committees have had time to make decisions yet.