MDLee

Or how abysmal my GRE scores were in comparison to EVERYONE else Or what a NICHE I'm studying LoL...and how hard it is to fund a niche!! hehe My biggest freakout though probably came when I started getting rejections and for two seconds thought that they were ALL going to be that way. Sigh. I'm still down for joining ye olde traveling circus if it doesn't work out. :wink:

And a round of celebratory drinks for the GradCafe!

Here I sit. It is the end of February and my string of rejections (that were coming almost daily for a couple of weeks there) has dried up and I've heard nothing for nearly 10 days. I am daring to imagine that somewhere out there there is a school that is genuinely interested in my work and really thinks that despite my fallings (there are a couple) I am still a good candidate worthy of funding. So, being optimistic for a moment... Those of you who have been accepted...anywhere. What was your reaction when you first got the notification? Those of you who haven't...what will your reaction be when the notification arrives? I imagine I will do a happy dance by the mailbox...then I envision myself dancing like Jim Carey through the cul-de-sac to my house...then perhaps taking the rest of the day off of thesis writing. I know we're all stressed and waiting...but let's be positive for a minute. Couldn't hurt. :wink:

Hey Mebosket--join the club, we've got jackets :mrgreen: I have still got SIX apps out with no word...but I've heard that some of them are taking longer because they're still considering...and some of the state schools aren't sure how much funding they're going to have next year so they're holding out. Just in case. I'm willing to let em keep em. An app that's still out is a rejection that's not in my hands.

I know, huh!! So...they all accepted my $ without offering me full disclosure of their ability to accept me. Then some of them can't even admit students this term--much LESS with funding! Ponzi scheme? If it weren't higher education I'd say so. Since it is higher education, however...I imagine this is just par for the course.

::humming wedding march::: Nice to know you English types are as nerdy as us history types. Match made in GradCafe Heaven

LoL! Sounds like my life. You can join me in the cross country trucking business Tiger

Has anyone figured out why having a degree and a job is not enough...why it has to be a specific job? My mom will never be happy until I am a journalist or a lawyer. Neither particularly impress me...guess we're at an impasse. :roll:

:::STANDING OVATION:::

Where's my guide to writing sonnets? That's my next endeavor...a SoP sonnet!!

Amen to all of the above. Especially the rejections thing. I've received 4 rejects...sigh...but I also have a thesis chapter waiting. Must focus. Must focus

I agree with this one entirely

Not when your mom says it. As in..."Kid, you've been living at home too long. Figure out what you want to do and Get The F*** Out!"

I had a prof sit me down and tell me that I was ill suited for their program (two semesters in). Gave me a nervous breakdown. I got better

I know...its all normal and natural, hun. You're not doing anything the rest of us haven't done a million times over. Once the sticker shock of the whole situation wears off you'll be able to go out and celebrate. Have a blast for me. I'm still waiting to see which train I'm getting on :wink: BTW: Gratze It is a very cool program. Very, very small and very, very new...but the idea is out there at least. And it has me fascinated. I hope that I end up with something good--if only for that purpose

I've never heard of anything like that unless you knowlingly committed fraud. In which case, you should be expecting it. Calm down. For a minute take a breath and realize you're worth even more than they think you are...and they are just scratching the surface of what you deserve for being academically gifted.

www.sporcle.com!! The world's best trivia games. That and the LoLcats (Icanhascheezburger) are my favorite places to waste time... aside from thegradcafe.com

I fully feel like this process is like pimping yourself out...and then you give yourself to the highest bidder. So dirty!! :roll:

My typical day looks something like this: Get up in the morning. Check email. Check status reports. Check phone. Check email again. Post three to ten times to GradCafe. Work or school. Contemplate rejection. Contemplate acceptance. Talk to people about both. Check email. Check status reports. Check phone. Check email again. Post to GradCafe. Over lunch (which is probably ramen noodles since I'm a broke college student), decide what my call sign would be if I became a highly educated cross country trucker. Go back and forth between "Dr. Driver" and "Mother Trucker". Check email. Check status reports. Check Phone. Check email again. Post to GradCafe. Try to do homework/be productive at work. Go home. Once there, check Idealist.Org and wonder if it would just be best to join the PeaceCorps. Contemplate taking the LSATs and doing international law. Contemplate joining a band of gypsies. Contemplate the truck driving again. Go to bed. Start over. Its exhausting...

One of my committee members actually suggested that this was a GOOD thing to do. Especially if you end up doing a second round...then you can apply again and fix their issues.

While we're all sitting around waiting for the answers to come back anyway... When I was writing my SoP for my many, many applications, I had a really hard time talking myself up in 3 pages or less without sounding overly confident and without sounding just like everyone else. In my insanity I composed the following ode, which I would like to share with you now Feel free to laugh. Cry. Throw your computer in empathetic agony. Enjoy! Ode to My Statement of Purpose Oh Statement of Purpose the one missing link.... The only thing that I need to complete a perfectly decent grad school packet. Strong in all aspects

Hey Yellow--maybe we should've put that in our statement of purpose..."This Application needs a HUG!" see where it gets you.

I always take no news to be good news. By all means, Dr. BigTimeUniversityChair...hold it. Hug it. Get to know it. Then, once you've been out to coffee a few times with my application OFFER ME FUNDING!.... you ever feel like you're totally pimping yourself out to these places? I'm there...

I know, huh! I'd have to sit down and actually think on it for a while to figure it out! Crap....that being the case...maybe luck has run out