snes

Hello!
I just hit panicky about my applications and started searching online for "University of Maryland graduate acceptance letters" and "Music performance letters acceptance UMD oh god please" and "ahhhhhhhhhh I think I'm going to be sick please please please give me something...UMD" which led me here amongst the anxious.

I got my tax return today and was disappointed that it wasn't a letter. I think I'm going to have a heart attack.

Got my thin envelope today! Reject me once, Harvard, shame on you. Reject me twice, shame on you again!

I have to say, one of the most endearing, but also tragic, aspects of these boards is the way every member here is infinitely capable of supporting and encouraging others, but can't seem to extend the same kindness to themselves. (See posts above for excellent examples of this )

Perhaps that's why I feel like I fit in so well here.

Hooray for the generous and self-doubting, for we shall inherit the earth!

If they correct their stance and say it was a rejection, just send them a counter-rejection letter, saying that you must stick with their first decision, and agree to their terms of calling you the new name they made for you

But, really, that's gotta be a roller coaster of emotions right there.

It's an interesting theory, and I wholeheartedly approve of all theories that allow me to continue to hope that my yesses are coming, despite all evidence to the contrary.

No news from Harvard or Yale today, so to distract you, here's an amusing image I found on Facebook:

This has been my desktop background for weeks now:

Maybe today will be the day! (probably not!)



Here's a youtube video fitting for the mood of the day:

Hi,

i have a little bit of a weird situation. I got accepted into one of my top choices (after interviewing) but I already made plans/reservations to visit other schools prior to receiving the admissions offer. Should I mention something to the other schools or not? I can't cancel my visitation trip completely because I already book the plane ticket and I can't afford to be on the hook for all the airfare (reimbursement comes afterwards). I would certainly consider still going to the other schools if I end up getting a good fellowship, I'm just not sure if there's something I should mention to the schools.

Also in the meantime, should I reply back to my top choice school and give them a date for making my decision? In the admissions offer, they mention that it's rolling admissions so they would like to hear back from me as soon as possible.

Oh, I hate the name issue. It never ends! I'm from a small liberal arts college in the Midwest too, so I'm accustomed to calling a lot of my professors by their first names as well. As far as I can tell, it's okay to use a first name when they either introduce themselves that way (just their first name, no last name) or sign an email with just their first name. Initials as a signature or first name + last name still mean that you should call them doctor or professor.

It's possible that the grad students weren't using her first name because they assumed that she didn't want you to use it. That happened at my last interview. I was never given any indication that I should use first names for professors at that school, so I don't. The students would call them by their first names unless they were speaking directly to us prospective students, in which case they would refer to professors using their titles and last names.

A professor at a different school signed her emails to me with her last name until she invited me for an interview, when she immediately switched to first name. When she switched, I did too. Her grad students use her first name and her undergrads use her title and last name, so I think it was a nice gesture to switch to first name with me. My point is, it meant something. Definitely be careful with the name thing, in all contexts! I think that students like you and I have to be particularly aware of it because we come from schools where first name is the norm.

love theme

(happy valentine's day)

I used to daydream about being a top pro athlete, and about being a rock star...now I day dream about being accepted to Yale, Columbia, Penn and Princeton and still not have heard from my top choice ??!!?? Totally insane. Just like I wanted to be Emmitt Smith when I was growing up, I now want to be Safferz!!!!

...btw, Safferz, instead of just declining your Penn admission, can you assign to one of us?? We can decide on a lottery basis or by way of a special essay contest...or by who has the best stand-up routine (throwing you a bone, oseirus)...

Honestly, Philly is definitely scary when it comes to parking and school districts and crime, but I would give ANYTHING to be moving back there right now. I love, love LOVE Philadelphia more than any other city in the world, and I have lived in a lot of cities. It's an amazing place with tons of different people, great food (including some awesome vegan places, and I'm not even vegan), and of course, it's the best sports town in America.

+1 for the tag on this topic.

Thanks for sharing! I'm down 1.5 interviews, 2.5 to go, so I'm still stalking these fora to help prepare myself. I'll share some of the general questions I've gotten so far:

Where do you see yourself and your interests 5 years down the line?
Slightly more generally - what future avenues do you want to take with your work? (EVERYONE asked me this.)
What are you working on RIGHT NOW?
What have you done since graduating?
Questions about methodologies, which I need to prepare a less incoherent answer for.
And a lot of really specific questions about my work.

And not a lot of questions about why I see myself fitting into their program, although I'm still preparing to answer questions like that, that focus more on them than me.

It's really all been about turning my SoP into a long, extended conversation.

And YES!!! Be prepared to ASK QUESTIONS! Don't be afraid to ask hard questions either, because you're pretty much at the stage where you are feeling out the school for your own fit, too.

Sunday night! What shall this week bring? A slew of interview-requesting emails from Yale, I trust, and no small envelopes from Cornell. A few phone calls from Harvard should ring their way into everyone's ears, and Princeton will realize they forgot to accept anyone this year.

Sunday night! What shall this week bring? A slew of interview-requesting emails from Yale, I trust, and no small envelopes from Cornell. A few phone calls from Harvard should ring their way into everyone's ears, and Princeton will realize they forgot to accept anyone this year.

The antsy weekend leaves me forlorn. Can't wait to wake up on Monday morn'!

Thanks for sharing! I'm down 1.5 interviews, 2.5 to go, so I'm still stalking these fora to help prepare myself. I'll share some of the general questions I've gotten so far:

Where do you see yourself and your interests 5 years down the line?
Slightly more generally - what future avenues do you want to take with your work? (EVERYONE asked me this.)
What are you working on RIGHT NOW?
What have you done since graduating?
Questions about methodologies, which I need to prepare a less incoherent answer for.
And a lot of really specific questions about my work.

And not a lot of questions about why I see myself fitting into their program, although I'm still preparing to answer questions like that, that focus more on them than me.

It's really all been about turning my SoP into a long, extended conversation.

And YES!!! Be prepared to ASK QUESTIONS! Don't be afraid to ask hard questions either, because you're pretty much at the stage where you are feeling out the school for your own fit, too.

Answer: ... "here's my fist! in your face! now tell how many fingers did I use?" ....and scene!

Hi everyone---


I've been lurking around this forum forever, and after a horrific round of universal rejections (my first attempt), I've wallowed for a week, and am now ready to look forward to next year. I wanted to start a thread where others can join in the momentum of Fall 2013 applications, with ideas of what they can do differently next year.

For my next round of applications, I want to...

...improve GRE scores and take the subject test
...focus my SOP more on fit, focus, future
...make a note in my SOP as to my less-than-great undergrad GPA (I worked full-time in college)
...apply to more schools
...make contact with more professors beforehand, especially with those that are the graduate directors

and also to present at at least one more conference.

Anybody else out there already having an eye towards the next round?

I noticed no one has posted a thread. Although it's five hours since the breaking news, I am still at a loss of words. Whitney Houston has died.

In my childhood (1990s), I used to have Whitney posters on my wall and videos of her concerts. She was simply amazing with the golden voice. Her songs were also very uplifting and filled with joy, love and faith. Despite her struggles with drugs, she released over 20+ hit songs and several popular films in her 30-year career. More shocking, she died in February, the month of Black History Month.

In my opinion, she will always be the Queen of Pop. At the time of her death, Houston was the most awarded female act of all time (total of 415 career awards as of 2010). She also sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She was extremely talented and will be missed!

Does anyone have similar condolesences and memories of her?

comp12! You seem familiar, but have you lost weight?