willtherebestars

Bueno, felicidades a vosotros(as?)! Qu

Breakfast food is by far one of my biggest weaknesses... especially because where I live, the only places that are open 24 hours are breakfast-serving establishments. Speaking of breakfast...

This does not form a binding contract, of course...

Hooray for Peter Segal!

I have rekindled my love affair with Iron and Wine. Particularly a couple of songs: He Lays in the Reins (w/Calexico) and Sea and the Rhythm. Just beautiful. I'm also in the works of choreographing a dance piece to a song from the Wicked! musical. Silly but fun. Also been a little obsessed with Songs: Ohia. Feeling a little mellow/meh these days.

So, I finally got that Sidekick 2008 so I can start to check emails when I don't have the sweet glare of the computer screen readily available...! Perhaps I've only made it worse.

I wasn't sure how to weigh in my fianc

Text books - lots of Latin American plays + an ethics book + a Guatemalan novel from the forties and a lot of research on genocide and its warning signs (thesis). For fun: re-reading HP six and seven in preparation for the movie that's coming out this summer. For fun / prep for potential interviews: books on Spanish history, history of Spanish literature, history of the Spanish language, and literary criticism. If I get time: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky, Don Quijote de La Manca, Gabriel Garcia Marquez stuff, and basic Philosophy stuff. Weew. Great thread!

I was planning on 8 or so, but I only ended up having money for five! But really, after I decided what I really wanted to work on and with whom, it was easy to make the choices. The only problem is that they're all extremely competitive programs...! So now I'm wishing I had at least applied to some masters programs. We'll see! Good luck to everyone!

Hola Caballero, Bueno, lo siento que yo sea tambi

Bueno, felicidades!!! Cual era la fecha para entregar la solicitud? Puede que fuera mas temprano que las otras universidades, y por eso ya terminan con las desiciones... Que la entrevista te vaya muy bien! Mucha suerte! Y gracias por la informacion.

Ay que mal! Si, casi tuve que re-mandar los GRE scores a Columbia, pero luego me dijeron que los tenian y simplemente necesitaron ponerlos en mi archivo. Pues. A esperar! He visto dos respuestas en la pagina de results - una de la entrevista mencionada por arriba (de Vanderbilt) y otra de aceptacion (de Pittsburgh). Asi que no he solicitado estos programas... todavia me quedo con dudas. Para mantener la cordura, leo sobre la historia de Espana, la literatura medieval, etc. para preparar. I should really be writing my thesis, but procrastination is my weakness.

Hola ninasiesta, Suerte con las solicitudes! Sigamos esperando... la parte mas dificil de todo esto! Pense que despues de tomar el GRE, todo seria por lo menos un poco mas facil. Pero ya veo que no es asi! Bueno, nos tenemos que apoyar. A ver lo que pasa!

I'm not done with classes until about 4 every day, but then the mail doesn't come until like 5:30! So around then, I start to lose steam. Makes it really hard to get all my homework - including writing that thesis - done.

On a similar note, I found myself talking about how email was such a great form of communication to my new employer at a private tutoring company. Afterward, I thought to myself, "Wtf?" So, hopefully I won't do any of that if I get an interview. Part of it will most probably be in another language, which helps because I can't possibly be as awkward in a language that isn't my first.

Hmmm started off in Spanish, eh? Sounds like they want to catch you as off-guard as possible! Haha. Well that's great for you; congrats! I hope it bodes well. Did they ask you to elaborate on anything in your SOP besides your research plans and why you were interested in their program? Anything weird or personal? You mentioned one professor; was it somebody you mentioned wanting to work with in your SOP? Did she offer you a visit or anything like that? Muchas gracias por la informaci

I would always go with Prof. ______. I wasn't sure what to do at one point because a professor who was probably going to be on the adcom for my application signed his emails with his initials, and referred me to other professors doing work I would be interested in by their first names. Surely these people know how awkward it is for us, and they just like to see how we respond.

Waiting on the duplicate PIN... gets me every year!

From what I've heard, the graduate school application process used to be a lot simpler and a lot less likely to cause anxiety in applicants. I think this accounts for some professors' lax attitudes toward letters and acceptance chances in general. When I told one of my professors what the GRE entailed and that it was adaptive, he admitted that he was very glad he didn't have to go through what current grad applicants do. I'm very thankful for this little community because I only know ONE person at my current school (small southern LAC) who is applying to grad school, although she is in a different field. We will be presenting at the same conference, so I'm sure the entire trip there and back will be spent complaining and wondering uselessly about all the aspects of admissions. Although, the conference is in late Feb., so maybe one of us will have heard something by then!

I think it's only safe to ask if all materials have arrived. I was really worried about one school because their deadline was Dec. 15th and my online status was still showing a couple of documents missing in late January, so I wrote to the gsas (following the instructions offered on the website EXACTLY, including all requested info. and the appropriate subject line) to ask how I could remedy the situation. They took about a week but responded and were very helpful. Then, of course, I followed up with a thank-you email. One school emailed me to let me know that all materials had made it in, and I just responded with a thank you. I didn't want to come off as aggressive or anything.

I got a (superb, thank goodness) letter from my advisor, who is also my thesis advisor, professor, and the Department Chair, a former advisor/professor who knows me well personally, and a current professor who also knows me well personally. For dream school, I got a 4th letter from a former professor of mine who is currently a visiting fellow at that dream school. Hopefully that will be helfpul! Waiting brings on the worries that these letters won't mean anything because my SOP was weird or too long. That was a terrible part of the app. Writing about myself is severely uncomfortable. In response to the person considering buying a G1... I feel you! I have been looking on eBay, imagining myself reading important emails on my Sidekick 2008... Also, congrats t_ruth!

Thank you!

Hmmm... I never requested to talk with somebody by phone, but many professors did offer. I was far too intimidated for that, so I chose to correspond via email. It's more helpful to me, anyway, because then I have a record of their advice for the future. Plus... in my applications it actually *asks* which professors you talked with, if any, about your program and on what date! So... it truly varies.

I literally cannot imagine what I would do. Something about going to the nicest Spanish restaurant in town and enjoying several tapas and sangr

As far as the interview questions, I've been wondering the same thing!! Are they going to ask really complicated grammar questions, or make the student give a detailed account of their research interests, even though we're supposed to be somewhat flexible at this point... ??? Are they just going to ask personal questions? And yes, I would REALLY like to know if it's going to be held in Spanish. Not that it matters significantly - and in the case that I get an interview (hopefully!) I will most assuredly by preparing in both languages, but it's just one more variable that is driving me slightly loopy. Bueno me tengo que ir a dormirme. Esto no puedo soportar por mucho m