Raputa

Have you filled out a FAFSA? It's something you'd have to pay back (eventually) but I know that under certain circumstances you can apply for a loan revision/extra funding. You should check with the school's financial aid office. For example, I'm on a full fellowship, but since I filled out the fafsa this year, I still got loan offers. Obviously you should try to find some free money, but this might be an option if you're really stuck--way better than credit card debt. www.fafsa.gov

I'm glad someone started this thread. I currently have a macbook that I use to take notes, but I don't like sitting behind a laptop in class (especially in a seminar); also, even though I have a new-ish macbook, it's really heavy to lug around. How easy is it to mark up/annotate texts/pdfs on the ipad? I have to write on articles &etc--are you able to quickly annotate, or is it a pain? I'm considering waiting a couple more generations before getting one...

I'm declining Rutgers, and I've taken myself off the wait-lists for SUNY Buffalo and UPenn. Going to Michigan! Good Luck and congratulations everyone!

Haha! I hope so, SP! -- I was aghast at myself!

I started talking about Led Zeppelin---at a table of profs, current students and admits during a fancy open-house lunch. Yes, I did. I called them "Zep," even!

Yes. I studied the Nortons for the subject test and did fairly well---but the test I took absolutely did not resemble either of the practice tests (ETS & Princeton Review). People came out of that room traumatized! All the lit test says about you is that you've read some books. You know how to analyze a paragraph. The actual statement of purpose and writing sample should say as much--we don't need this test. I'm glad some schools are setting an example by not requiring it!

I got a wait-list email this morning as well. Pretty surprising as I just assumed I was rejected. I'm already sitting on a couple offers that are an excellent fit for me, so if I don't get in to UPenn I won't be upset about it. Good Luck to everyone! Jprufrock--I hope you get in if it's your top choice--UPenn does rule. It looks like you're going to be taking your pick!

I applied to UCSB & haven't heard anything. No change on the website either. Sheesh. I just checked the results for 2010: a couple acceptances in early Feb & the rest in early March. So, maybe next week?

Intextrovert, I noticed that you're at UM. I've just been accepted there. I hope you don't mind my asking, but how do you like it there? What is your area? I also have an offer from Rutgers (and am still waiting on a few), so I'm trying to weigh things/get info. Oh yeah, PM me if you don't want to say too much on the board. Thanks!

I applied as well. I did get an email in January that said decisions would be made mid-to-late February....but I still haven't heard anything either! The area around Ithaca is SO beautiful!!

I got a call today as well--totally shocked! Congratulations to everyone else! Anyone going to the visit day March 22?

I also want to chime in as a 33 year old applicant! I just got in to an amazing program (that obviously knows my withered old age! ) and am very happy. So I'll be 40 when I finish--so what?! A friend of mine once said, "You can be 40 with an amazing degree, or you can be 40 without a degree." Makes sense to me. We can do what we want--we shouldn't feel pressured to have EVERYTHING accomplished by 30. Life is too varied and too rich. To everyone in their early early 20s--if you feel like you need to take a break, do it! I waited over 10 years and I'm so glad that I did. We all have different time-tracks. Anyway, best of luck to those on the 2nd & 3rd round (and 1st round, obvs)!

Oh man--I haven't heard anything fro NYU yet....probably a bad sign! Congratulations to everyone who got in so far!

Yeah. The waiting is driving me insane at this point. I was pretty zen in, say, January. Not so in Feb. I haven't heard anything yet and it's put me in this weird mental lull. Though I haven't heard anything official, I take it from the SUNY Buffalo posts/thread that I'm not going there. Well, I wasn't that great of a fit with their program anyway...

Seriously. If I at least knew something about my plan for next year, I feel that I'd get into gear and re-motivate. But as it stands, I spend waaaay too much time online (hello?), drinking wine, laying around, eschewing my actual Homework That I Have to Get Done and (this above all) pointlessly speculating on any and all kinds of case-scenarios (acceptance to top program, award-winning dissertation and TT job? Career waitress? Who can say?!). It's this feeling of endless, sluggish stasis. Purgatory. February is the cruelest month!

Yeah, it's pretty much been decided that the SO will not be coming with me (that is, if I even get in anywhere! aarrghh)--SO does not want to live in many of the areas/cities where I applied, so that's about it. It'll add a nice depressing note to the happiness (and shock) I'll feel if I get in somewhere. Geez. On ne peut pas tout avoir.

My ways (note: I'm still going crazy) --Definitely cooking. Elaborate, experimental and time consuming recipes for the SO. --Wine. You can cook with wine and drink while you cook; also, I was given a flask as an xmas gift from someone already in grad. --Endless episodes of Madmen and the like from Netflix. Escapism! A show about drinking! --Working out. I really does help with the stress. Sweat out the toxins. --Oh yeah, I'm also finishing up my final UG semester, so I'm trying to throw myself into my classes (I'm taking a grad eng class--woo-hoo!). Because I'm taking the grad class, I obviously feel that I'm getting ready for grad school proper, you know--actually buying books in my field, rather than just reading from the library and such. Yet, this has only served to make me extremely paranoid that I'll be rejected across the board--and then I imagine the bitterness I'll feel when I see my field-specific texts on the bookshelf after having been rejected! The paranoia! The magical thinking! Sadly, they've both set in. The weather here is not helping--it's about -100 degrees and 3 feet of snow. It's turning into "The Shining" over here.

You're probably right. Yeah, it definitely isn't the strongest C18 program that I applied to, but it's depressing that the rejections have likely started!

Oh yeah, when I checked my status it said that my application had not been reviewed yet. Good sign or bad sign?!

I applied to Buffalo's PhD program for C18 & Irish studies...and haven't heard anything yet.

Man, I know how you feel. I applied to eleven and haven't heard anything yet. I'm strangely fluctuating between nail-biting obsession and a kind of zen-like calm. In the end though, I'm trying to actually enjoy these days when all possibilities are still open--no disappointment yet! Anything could happen at this point, and though it's stressful, it's also exhilarating in its own way.

OP, I agree that you should definitely visit the campus--but I understand your concerns. I applied to a few Ivies (no word yet!) for Fall '11, and have had some of the same hesitations. Such as, "if I get into ____, will I actually want to go there?" I'm from a lower middle-class family in a widely lower mid-class & just straight-up poor region. The climate/culture Ivy universities is something that I've never experienced personally--and perhaps you haven't either--which is exactly why you should visit and get an idea of the place. Decisions are better made after we replace our preconceptions with reality. Good luck and congratulations!

I've been thinking the same way: I applied to 11 schools, and, when I really think about it, I'm not sure I'd actually want to relocate to a few of these places. I don't want to spend six years (at least) of my life in a place I don't want to be. In addition, I didn't apply in any kind of 'range'; I applied mostly to top programs. I'm in the humanities & it's true--there are no safety schools. The prospect of re-applying next year seems incredibly daunting. The sheer expense of applying to 11 schools pretty much bankrupted me!