JTJ2011

I applied to 2 programs, and geography weighed heavily in my decision. I applied to Georgia State's MA program in Political Science, and I recently applied to the University of Nebraska-Omaha's MA program in Political Science as well. Yeah, I know the assumption is that you should make certain that your potential department is strong before you make any decision on where to apply. But I have to live in the city that I study and conduct research, and the thought of living another 2-4 years in Iowa was too much to bear. Yes, Omaha is right across the river from Iowa (LOL), but it is 6-7 hours west of my current locale, and it seems to be a fairly stable metro area that's not the biggest, but not the smallest metropolitan area as well (800,000 residents vs. 375,000 residents in my current locale). On the other hand, Atlanta is a great international city that dwarfs Omaha by comparison, as far as socioeconomic diversity's concerned, with a wonderful transportation network to get me to and from various areas for research, and has a great climate and cost-of-living for an area of its size (5.0-5.5 mil.) to boot. In any event, you asked what would I do once I received my rejection letter. I can imagine myself opening my mailbox soon, pulling out an admissions package, and running into the house and tearing open the package like a kid on Christmas Day. Then I imagine receiving a letter in the package stating "Thank you for applying to Georgia State's/Nebraska-Omaha's Master in Political Science!! Your application was strong. Unfortunately...", by which time a huge smirk will start to come across my face, and my heart will absolutely sink. Then I'll fool myself into believing that I didn't want to study and live in Atlanta to begin with, and that Omaha's just a larger version of my home metropolitan area. I'll knock down a bottle of Mountain Dew, and begin laughing to myself about the entire process. Then reality will sink in: I am a 33 year old man that has been living at home with his parents since graduating with my BA in 2007, and that my dreams of moving away and studying in a field that I love will have been vanquished. Then I will just move on with life, and try again next year.