cokohlik

I did the same thing - caution meant applying to 11 PhDs and 2 Master's programs. Here's to seeing where that leads!

I personally don't think them waiting so long to tell you means that they threw out your application or lost it and just now discovered it. They're probably just really busy. Last year when I applied to grad school, some schools didn't even begin reviewing applications in my department until shortly after February had started! Talk about agony!

Thank you! I really appreciate the encouragement! From all of you Does anyone else feel like negativity and anxiety just creep up on them, even if they're normally happy and carefree? Because I do! I wonder if psychologists have ever released a study about the effects of waiting to hear from adcoms on us grad hopefuls.

Haha! This did make me laugh. You're right, I'm not sure why I'm stressing out about the MA programs when I only ever applied to them as "just in cases" and the PhD programs are generally great fits. Thank you for the laughs!

Not one, but two emails from the two master's programs I applied to stating that they didn't receive my official GRE scores, and one of them also did not receive my official transcripts. I sent both of these documents to the schools in early October. I sent them the confirmations I had and scans of my unofficial documents, but they still want me to re-order the docs and send them to them. How will I know if they get there successfully? Obviously something got lost in the process, and both programs verified that I had used the correct addresses and school code IDs. And my confidence in myself and my chances of being admitted was already shot by the unofficial rejection I got this morning about Emory. (Their welcome weekend is Feb 2-4 and I wasn't invited. Pretty sure that's a no-go sign.) Anyone have any encouragement or jokes?

Thank you so much! That helps a lot I suppose I just need to be patient and not assume anything too quickly.

I'm in the exact same boat. Getting a PhD in my field is my biggest dream. This is my second time around. I don't think I could improve my application. Inevitably, there are people who are smarter/look better on paper than I do, but I am really hoping that my CV, thesis, and the interviews that I had with my POIs last year make me look like a strong candidate to adcoms. Doing this again isn't even an option. I applied to 13 programs this year and with all the fees, sending GRE scores, transcripts, and writing sample hardcopies, I spent about $1100. Huge investment, and I hope it pays off. I wouldn't be able to do this again emotionally, either. Applying is exhausting and anxiety springs forth when you're writing the app, talking to POIs, waiting.... My husband and I have a Plan B. We'll stay here and work for a year or two while paying down my student loans from undergrad and saving for a home. Then we'll move somewhere that isn't populated with 3 million people, and I'll get my teaching credential and teach in high schools - hopefully AP Art History. It will be bittersweet at first, but in the end of course it would all be OK because what really matters to me is my life with my husband. Still hoping to get accepted to a PhD program though! I feel like it would be unlikely that I'd get rejected from 11 PhD programs, but I'm scared of getting my hopes up.

Amazing! I took a screenshot of this so I can read it fondly throughout the day.

Haha!! You should send this as a suggestion to PhD Comics.

I love me a good writing sample about Nazis! What niche did you focus on? If anything, adcoms should think you're diverse and awesome... Biblical Hebrew. Nazis. Saint Cults. FTW!

I was looking at the Grad Cafe Survey page and noticed that some people have been asked for interviews this month. I emailed all my POIs and was lucky enough to speak to all of them last year, in late September/early October. I still keep in touch with them. My husband thinks that the people who were contacted this month have a better chance of getting in, since they probably haven't spoken to their POIs as of yet; their POI simply read their application, was impressed, and sought them out, versus the other way around. I see his point and I even agree with it, but it's unsettling and would like to get the opinion of the wider graduate-hopeful community. Is it better that I've already spoken to my POIs, or are the people who have just recently been asked for interviews the ones in the better position? Or am I, in my delirious and impatient state, just reading too much into this? Thanks in advance for any insight!

Thank you so much Llajax! That's encouraging. I found that the manual data entry stuff went by rather quickly thanks to AutoFill. I took your advice and shoved all my written documents into a file folder and haven't looked at them since Saturday night. That's a long time for me Good luck getting your materials prepared! It's nice to 'meet' another art history buff

The biggest thing that helped me with expressing fit is speaking with POIs. They often gave me "insider" information about the department, school, and special opportunities that they provide to their students. Because of a conversation I had with a "safety" school POI, this school is now in my Top 3. If you can get information about what matters to you (for me, this in part was research resources), talk about that and how excited you are utilize what's offered to School X's students. I'm more of a question-asker myself, but I thought I'd give your thread a try because it was something I struggled with in the beginning. I hope this helps!

I volunteer! I love blogging!! And the graduate school admissions process!

I'm applying to 11 programs this year. So far, I've submitted 2 full applications and I gave all of my application materials a thorough overview for spelling errors/typos/etc. I even had my husband, in-laws and parents look over my materials for anything erroneous. We came to the conclusion a couple days ago that my materials were in great shape and I was ready to submit. I can't shake the anxiety that I'll go back and look at my freshly submitted applications and find some stupid spelling mistake or grave error (like calling Professor X a 'she' or something horrible like that!) Any advice for getting over paranoid anxiety?