stella

YagglesSnaggles, my bother in both cultural studies and love of Infinite Jest...could it be possible we have also applied to all the same schools?!?!? 8)

For OSU I went to the site linked in an email they sent after my application was complete (you'll need to use your OSU ID and password also provided in email). My status still says "Academic Review" .....but since I started seeing posts for acceptances I've been compulsively checking every 4 minutes.

Love this topic! I'm am currently CRAZY about a prof of mine. Totally irrational, I know, but I can't think of a single thing I wouldn't do for this man. He's BRILLIANT, handsome, charismatic, an exceptional instructor, well respected in the field.....I'm completely baffled as to why he's single.

shoutout, bubotuberpus! 'cept mom is dead and dad's not so cool... my friends are incredible, though.

I could have written your exact post (just switching out a few schools). I am in agony. I am so glad I'm not alone. I was even entertaining the idea that I broke the 'refresh' function... but I'm not yet crazed enough to be that irrational. :roll: ack.

YAY!!!!!!! Congratulations!

The Office, The Daily Show, and Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia get the lion's share of the credit for keeping me sane.

I L O V E that you posted this! I actually called and arranged a hair appointment today, and just the act of making the appointment felt like a splurge!! I am teaching a new section of comp and finishing a thesis, so I don't necessarily have oodles of time on my hands (but that doesn't stop me from checking on status, etc, multiple times a day.) Other luxuries in which I've engaged: 1) gave my dog a bath 2) made 4 playlists on my mp3 player that will keep me motivated to run 6 miles (we'll see how this actually works) 3) made 6 miis that look EXACTLY like my friends 4) searched for apartments in every city I applied (this technically might not count, but it's SO irrational I'm considering it a luxury) 5) made mix cds for 4 people--yeah, I make mix cds, still--so what?? :roll: Activities I would still like to do: 1) clean out my car 2) file all of my articles/work/research 3) watch a Northern Exposure marathon 4) lose 10 pounds 5) organize all my digital photos so i can find one when I need it 6) watch every movie I've missed in the past 2 years yay.

Thanks Thanks a lot.

Anyone have info about Norman for 09-10? :?:

I think I love you. This all makes perfect sense, and I know we've all heard variations on a theme of how Adcoms work, but at this juncture of the process I am embracing affirmation in all its forms.

I don't want to get in the middle of the name calling. I just want to declare, for the record, that a) I did 4 months of research and visited 4 schools 2) I started saving when I was accepted to my MA program in anticipation of applying for my PhD because I didn't want to have to do it again. I agree, there is more than one way to go about this, and this was my method. THAT is hilarious, misterpat. Thanks for this--I'll use it as my badge of honor in the face of ultimate humiliation

I applied to 16. One of my professors who I really respect applied to 14 when he was getting his PhD, and he got accepted to 2, only 1 w/funding, and he had some amazing stats. There are far too many variables at play in any application season, and to my understanding, most of what occurs in the process is far from logical. Last February he told me to apply to as many as I could afford (both time and money) and only to programs/schools that I truly felt good about (no bottom of the barrel stuff). I spent over 300 hours researching, writing individual personal statements, filling out online forms, checking and double checking, etc. I am crazy broke now, but I tell you what, every time I start to get overwhelmed with anxiety, thinking about my odds chills me out a little. I don't know about you, but that kind of peace of mind is priceless, especially as I'm finishing a master's thesis. Bottom line: 1) how many schools do you feel sincerely good about? 2) look at the amount of time you can dedicate to each one (no sense shelling out $$ for a half-assed app). 3) how much can you realistically afford (take into consideration app fee, ETS score report fees, transcript fees, mail fees, ink cartridges (I went through 3!) Ideally, you'll also want to visit schools... 4) how supportive is your community? ex. You'd have to ask 3-4 profs to write letters. (I put together a very organized folder with specific directions and envelopes for each school, wrote sincere thank you letters, etc) Look at the answers to these, and you'll get an idea of what's right for you. On the flip side, the same prof told me if I got rejected from all 16 he'd laugh for days. :roll:

That's so encouraging, yionin! Her work heavily influenced the trajectory of my master's research, particularly my thesis. Even just taking one of her classes would be AMAZING. Sadly, my GRE scores are horrifying. I'm incredibly proud of my SoP and my writing sample, but if UVA has any type of initial numbers cutoff, I'm out in the first round. No delusions of grandeur here.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess it just comes down to keeping my mind off of it... I received an unsolicited email from Indiana today telling me that they received my last LoR, and my application is now complete. I was certainly not expecting to hear from anyone this week (or next), so that was a pleasant surprise. and as far as alcohol's concerned, THAT'S my backup plan

Hi everyone! I'm coming to the table a little late--a friend just introduced me to the site. I really wished I'd known about this place earlier. I just finished applying to 16 schools; a professor I really trust and admire told me to apply to as many as I can afford (both the time to dedicate to quality SOPs, as well as $$). I am now FLAT broke, and it was the most excruciating, stressful professional experience I've ever had, but this is my dream, and I'm feeling good about it we'll see how good I feel after 16 rejections, though.... I was able to visit 4 schools, and after conducting some pretty extensive research, I am convinced that I will be happy at any of the institutions I applied to. For the record, if I had to pick a top choice it would be UVA. I would give an appendage to work with Jennifer Wicke. However, this wasn't one of the schools I visited because they "receive so much interest that attending to visitors during application season would be impossible." This response seemed a bit chilly, so I'm glad to hear that at least one of you have such positive things to say about the department. Now that it's all out of my hands I'm driving myself crazy running every possible scenario through my head. Do any of you have advice about how to handle the next couple of months? Is there anything else I should be doing? I got receipt confirmations from 9 of the 16 (the other 7 refused to confirm or said they'd get back to me later). Good luck to you all!