Mal83

Yeah I haven't signed any papers either, the deadline for accepting/declining is not until May 15th, maybe they're waiting until then for the more concrete stuff. I googled false grad school admits and there are several articles about the University of Delaware falsely admitting every single applicant that applied, these are undergrads though, the computer system sent out acceptance emails to 20,000 plus applicants, on April Fool's Day no less. The email included a link to RSVP for some campus visit and they started noticing that rejected students were on the list, it turns out that 12 of the non-accepted students RSVPed...they are so lucky it wasn't many more, but anyway, admissions noticed the mistake within a few hours and then promptly sent out the real decisions and disabled the link. Man, what a blunder, at the very least they should have refunded the students' application fees...unreal. I think my head would explode if I was one of them. But I just don't get how you can go through every step of the enrollment process without someone saying hey, this person was never accepted. I tried to find the story here but couldn't. I'm so curious though about his story.

Yes, I've already registered for my classes, 2 start at 7pm and the other is at like 4:30, something like that. So I feel like that a job is a must. I don't necessarily want to be in class until 10pm, but that's what it is and it really is best for getting a job. You have a full load though with what you're doing, that's good. I don't want to be one of those students who just goes to class and that's it. I'm going to both get a degree and to start my career as early as possible.

I'm wondering if anyone here has any advice for the first year grad student who plans on getting a part time job of some sort not associated with school. I'll be pursuing more of a professional degree so I won't have any research to do in a lab or a TA, but I know it will be way too tight on loans alone. My basic plan is to get some type of part time job, ideally related to my field in anyway possible and take my classes at night. I'll have Washington DC at my fingertips so it should happen for me sooner or later. Fortunately I have some money saved up to use for the costs of moving and getting started so it won't be too desperate financially at least in the beginning. But that sounds reasonable doesn't it, the part-time job and classes at night? That's what people do right?

If you already have an adviser and they responded to your email with "glad you're coming" then I really would forget about the possibility of a mistake. So what's the story with the guy who relocated to Texas? How did he get through the whole enrollment process without actually being enrolled?

The only paperwork I've done so far is for financial aid other than confirming my acceptance via email. Then I received an email telling me to create a school email account and then register for classes, which I've done already. I also got an email from the director of my program welcoming me to the school and so on and so forth. So is there anything else to expect? How long ago did you accept? It all happened for me very fast, mostly because a lot of it came through email. I too have to do all of those huge things that you mentioned, except buy a car, thank god. I guess anything is possible but I wouldn't worry that your acceptance is a mistake...you could always call or email to make sure they've received your confirmation..

I'm not sure that comparing James Franco who is like a productive member of society by educating himself to be better in his chosen field or fields to a pathetic train wreck like Charlie Sheen who's brain couldn't even handle the ABC's let alone a Ph.D is fair. Or if he just wants to be a professional student that's his business. That's not to say that I'd want a movie star in one of my classes, that would be a major distraction I'm sure, but regardless of that I feel like if he's getting into whatever program based on merit then it shouldn't be an issue. Also, if I wanted to go to school for directing or film making you better believe I'm going to get a rec letter from famous directors I've worked with. It's not like he wants to go to medical school and got in because of a rec letter from Sean Penn.

Yeah, your undergrad story is pretty similar to mine, I was miserable during those periods of transition, like oh god here I go again changing it up, eating up more time and money. And I always have that sense of urgency about me just like asking that question...when is my life actually going to start? I've been held up in Arizona for over a year and a half now, I've been staying with my parents ever since I got back from Ukraine until I could get on with the next phase of my life, which I assumed would be a job in my field in DC. But that just didn't happen, I couldn't make that happen. Sending in resume after resume for over 8 months yielded just about nothing. I spent most of my life in NJ, real close to everything I could want, but now that I'm ready to utilize it I'm almost as far away as I could get because my parents moved out here while I was gone. This has been depressing, frustrating, and daunting. I had a pretty tough time at first adjusting to my new status as "unemployed, stuck in the desert, hopeless" that's definitely how it felt for a long time, hopeless. Then after that 8 month period I had enough, I got an automated reject email from a study abroad organization here that I spent over 3 hours interviewing with and just snapped. Snapped in a good way I guess, I was like "no more, I'm not doing this anymore." I decided that grad school was my way out, it's not the same monster as finding a job. I knew I wanted to go eventually anyway, so might as well be sooner rather than later. I got a job at preschool and have been there 8 months now...I've totally had it, checked out, can't stand it anymore. I feel like pulling my hair out when I'm there. You'd think it wouldn't be that way but it is. I'm done in 5 weeks though...Hallelujah. The "oh my god I just want my life to start" thing has been raging ever since I got back and I finally just now am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. So my point is, that I'm the only one that has decided on these various stages in my life, no one said yes or no. I mean of course my parents have been there devotedly regardless of their feelings about my choices...they knew the bottom line, I'm a good kid and all I want is to be a productive successful member of society. I noticed you asked awvish who gave permission to do PC....well for me it was...me! Were my parents even remotely thrilled about it? Uhh...nope. I went up against more opposition from them when I presented them with my brilliant idea to study abroad in Russia years back...they were like "what the hell? you want to go to the Soviet Union and get nuked?" Once they saw that not only did I make it through the semester but also loved it and grew up a bit then I think they realized I could handle this international thing. But I did the Peace Corps for myself, quite frankly I didn't care what anyone thought, sure I wanted my fam to be proud, and they were and they supported me 10000% while I was there, but asking them if I could do it, them saying no, and actually obeying the no part didn't even enter my radar screen. If you have some kind of inclination to do a volunteer program of any sort, man, you really should do it. You grow up a little or even a lot by doing these things whether it is related to your field of interest or not and despite the resistance you might face from family. Plus probably needless to say, putting a some volunteer time on your resume always improves your prospects. I know it's easier said than done, but if you want to do it than you'll make the right decision based on that.

Congrats! Not that it matters much I guess, but that was really quick considering their deadline for accept/decline was what yesterday? I wish GWU would be that quick.

This was my first application season, this forum has been a tremendous help during such an emotionally arduous process. My decision has been final for weeks but I keep coming around, it's like something to do now. I too hope to "impart some of my newly acquired wisdom."

Russian's great if you're really into it, I have been for a long time, studied it for 4 semesters at school and a 5th one in Moscow. Then I spent 2 years in Ukraine for the Peace Corps where I finally went from being good at in my classes to using it to live in Ukraine. It's a very tough language and I know I've lost some of it since being home, but at the very least it helped me get into the Global Affairs program at George Mason, they require foreign language proficiency. Not that I'll ever go into translating, but I feel like be able to put that on my resume will provide a bit of a boost, you never know how it will come in handy one day and give you that edge over someone else.

glad I could provide a bit of reassurance, I do tend to yammer in threads like these, it just flows out then I post it and I'm like yikes who's going to read this? But anyway, of course if I could change anything at all about my years as a drifting undergrad it would simply be not jumping into some course of study only because it was completely opposite of what I found to be too difficult. Like I felt like I took the cheap easy way out. I would have just allowed myself to drift, but that's what was scary at the time...drifting. As for the rest of it, sure it was a little more costly, in time and money, but I don't have any regrets and I'm not sorry about it, all of it led to me to a point where I'm at peace with the direction I'm going in. So what's your next step? Are going to school?

It was a long process for me too, a lot of years as an undergrad led to my realization of love for the International Affairs/development world. At 17 I graduated high school and thought I had it all figured out, I proudly declared to everyone that I was going to be a....drum roll.......pre-med major! My parents were beaming, my grandparents nodding with approval and everyone else quite satisfied...especially after I was toying with the idea of going into music....gasp! So I was delighted my first semester at as an undergrad at school A, it was great, a quite calm small campus in the middle of nowhere but close enough to a major city and I got an A in my first bio class, sunk in chemistry, but oh well. By the time I was well into the second I started to lose steam, the novelty was wearing off, chemistry was getting worse, genetics was interesting but got a B only due to a very generous curve, and I had to work way too hard in pre-calculus just to get a C. And after the first semester the other classes that were to come later only scared me, organic chem, calculus, it just wasn't as clear to me anymore. That's when I panicked. I mean panicked. I thought I'd just stay a 3rd semester and take some random classes and figure it out that way and perhaps transfer for a fresh start, but my parents' financial situation changed and they could no longer afford to keep me there. I had to come home. They suggested I take a semester off, I said no way...that was not an option because I was terrified I wouldn't go back or be embarrassed to not be in school. I was an academic, that's what I was good at, just not in that field apparently. I was doing well in the humanities that I was taking. So the panic manifested itself in the choice that I made about my next course of study. I came home and went to a community college, not the one in my county, but a better one next county up. I was happy about it, but the choice that I made, to take up interior design, was just out there. It represented my sense of loss, I had it all figured out see, and I told everyone as much, now I had nothing figured out and I just wasted a year of my life. The only real reason I can muster is that I wanted something completely opposite of the sciences and I thought, "hey, I like decorating, why not?" I did OK my first semester, but it was way more involved than I wanted it to be, it was so not my thing it was absurd. The interior design class was fine, but I hated drafting, like actually drawing plans...wow, not what I ever even thought of doing. I couldn't believe that I was spending money to do it. After my second semester I dropped the major like a hot potato and was embarrassed by my blunder. I needed something intellectual and more meaningful to me (I'm in no way ragging on the major or the field, it seems like a fabulous way to make a living if you can do it, I can't) During that time though I branched out a tad and started liking the history and political science classes I was taking. I also got it in my head that before I started at this cc that I wanted to go to Russia, I've always been intrigued by it and it is my heritage, it turned out that this community college had a great study abroad office, my 3rd semester was in Moscow, this decision was a turning point for me. I realized my love of all things international, something very specific that I just wanted to do for no apparent other reason than to satisfy some curiosity was actually the first step toward my arrival. After that I declared a major in International Studies, this wasn't something I even knew of before going to this community college, this was a fine institution really, it was there and it was everything I needed at the time. So I didn't necessarily have it in mind to seek it out, it was just there waiting for me. So I finished up with 2 AAs...simply because I acquired so many credits while figuring it all out I just had enough for another one in social science...almost meaningless though. My GPA was such that I just glided into a highly reputable college in state to finish up my BA in International Studies. Now it was here that I had my epiphany, 2 semesters in I guess. I was having a really shitty week, I realized I hated one of my professors, the work was getting to be harder than I ever dreamed and I was starting to get tired of school for the obvious reasons. I was in class and I zoned out for a minute pondering my woes while for a split second I was like "is there something else I can do?" The answer I immediately arrived at was "NO!" Thank god. It happened, I realized I loved what I was doing despite my little tribulations. This was it. International Studies was it for me. I didn't really know what I could do with a BA in IS other than join the Peace Corps, which is what I wanted to do more than anything and did. Over those 2 years I had plenty of time to narrow down my options, while completing service and being productive I arrived at my decision: International Development, but there are so many avenues to take that I'm still open enough to be happy in just about anything that could be considered ID...so that's it, going for my Master's in Global Affairs after not being able to find a job, ecstatic about moving to the DC area, ready for advanced academia, and ready to start the next phase of my life. It doesn't have to be the same winding journey it was for me, but I like sharing this with others because I feel so fortunate to have found out how you truly know what you love to do...even on the crappiest, most frustrating annoying day when it still pops into your mind that there's nothing else you'd rather be doing then you know you love it. Don't try to figure out the rest of your life right now, try something you're interested in, who knows what opportunities will pop up that will lead you to that realization.

I'm not going into academia, at least not at this point in my life, but I don't necessarily think that you're calling it quits or anyone who is no longer a dreamer is either. You've just realized that your other goals, interests, and preferences outweigh the desire to do it. That's the reality of your particular situation. That's not a bad thing, people realize that all of the time. If teaching was your number one mission in life you'd stop at nothing to get there, but maybe it's not...that's ok. I've always considered myself to be a realistic dreamer, when I set my mind to something that's kind of far out there I have to decide if it's actually within reach, if so, I'm going for it. Everyone's reaching limits are different. I've wanted nothing more than to get out to DC and work in International Development for a good 3 or 4 years now, not living in the area made it seems far out there to me, I lived in NJ my whole life, not far, but while I was in the Peace Corps my parents moved to Arizona, I had to stay with them while I got myself back on my feet after returning to the states. I figured I'd have no problem getting a job out there and I'd just pick up and get on a plane...8 months of resumes and cover letters got me one phone interview in DC and 2 interviews at study abroad organization here in Arizona...both resulted in absolute disappointment. I had to change my plan big time, my desire to do this far outweighed the reality of my situation however. I could have given up or put it on hold to just settle out here (that's not what I'm suggesting you did) and for a bit a I considered it. I decided I needed to go to grad school, the job search was just too hopeless and I was loosing my mind. I decided to look into schools in the area but found very little in what I want to do. I found one school here that had a geography program with an international focus along with a Peace Corps fellowship that basically amounted to a full scholarship, I almost settled on it because it would just be easier to stay here with the support of my parents, not moving across the country, and paying much less for school and living expenses. I even went to visit the school. I left with an OK impression but after a few weeks I had come to my senses. This isn't what I wanted, I didn't want to study geography at all, I wanted ID or at least International Affairs. And mostly I wanted to be in DC. Worst of all, what if I didn't get into the school? What if I didn't get the fellowship and I'd be paying for something that I wasn't sure about? There is nothing in this area of the country for someone who wants what I want. So I had to again switch gears, except this time it was toward what I really wanted all along. I applied to 3 schools in the DC area knowing full well that I'd have to take out major loans to actually go, I was worried because I had borrowed a lot as an undergrad and there's a limit so it's just been a big old crap shoot ever since I started this whole thing...am I going to get in anywhere? Will I get the financial aid I need to actually survive? Well finally a few days ago I found out that I'll be getting all of the financial aid to survive living on my own in the DC area. I made the decision back in July that I would do the grad school thing and it was literally 4 days ago that everything has become reality. We all have had to make adjustments in our goals and aspirations, it's when you decide there are no more adjustments to make that you realize that the dream is for real....cheesy maybe, but it's true for me.

I've been doing nothing but working so I'm calling it quits at the end of May so that I can actually plan and prepare for my cross country move. I'll be extra careful about spending because you're right the amount of money it will take to make the move will be pretty high, but I'm so ready for it. I absolutely can't wait to be done with work, it has nothing to do with my field whatsoever and it's literally just a paycheck so to have a good 2 months of not working just to get ready is really exciting.

This last bit that you said is so true for me...I just never really wanted to admit it until someone else said it. I mean seriously if I'm "into" a professor it just gives me that little extra push to do just a little better than I ordinarily would. Not so much in hopes that he'll develop a long lasting love for me, just so that he'll notice. I didn't actually have anything that resembled a crush on my senior seminar professor in undergrad but I liked him, I was impressed by him and his style. And when he used the word remarkable in front of the whole class to describe the beginning stage of my senior project it literally propelled me to do work that I was really proud of. I think I was more proud of that paper than anything I had done before. Got an A on it and for the class. I had a female professor that I really respected and I suppose if it were her saying that I probably would have been just as propelled...probably.

It's not just you, every year it gets harder and harder, especially in this job market. I think there are a lot of people out there who couldn't get jobs so they're going to grad school instead so that adds to the competition. I certainly hoped to work for a while before going, but that didn't work out and after realizing that I would never get a job I applied to grad school and I'm ecstatic I got in somewhere because now I can move on with my life and create more opportunities...obviously. But talking about competition, I applied to the International Development program at my dream school, I got waitlisted, which was of course at first disappointing, but in the letter they said that over 2,100 people applied for 350 spots in the entire school of international affairs, not even just this one program. So I'm sure there were a lot more than 350 very qualified applicants in there. I'm happy to have gotten that far with them, never mind funding.

Yeah, I would call up admissions at the schools you really want to attend and just express your interest in them as well as your concerns about stats or overall application requirements. If you plan on reapplying to the same three next year you should also call and ask for feedback on your applications, this will pinpoint exactly what you will need to address next time, plus what have you got to lose? You certainly don't want to go through the whole process all over again doing the exact same thing. Taking a course as a non-degree student seems like a really good way to show your commitment and to do well would give your application a fresh and relevant boost, much more relevant that a slightly higher GRE score anyway and maybe you'd be able to get a new letter of recommendation from that professor. It's also a way to kind of get going on your academics despite the lack of acceptance. Most programs allow you to transfer those credits right? I'm not sure about it, but even so, it's seems like a good thing to do. Are there any other schools you can apply to for spring admissions?

@wtncffts: That's fine really, if you were irked at something I said and how I said it then it's not my place to tell you to not feel that way or that your gut reaction was wrong. And yes I found the lecture by you and HandsomeNerd irritating especially because in post after post I've been attempting to clear up my intentions, what I meant and how I meant it. And I passionately did so in order to diminish the impression that I'm some spoiled entitled jerk. This process, as almost everyone would probably agree with, is long and emotionally arduous. All of that stuff was swirling around in my head in regards to that particular school, whether it was true, perceived, or totally misguided it was still there driving me crazy. And I've said several times, I'm aware that it was mostly perceived. Overall I wasn't pleased with American's process, which I've stated in a past post in this thread before I got my decision. If I felt any sense of entitlement I'd have major complaints about every school I applied to, twas not the case. But I won't apologize for or further justify my emotions and reactions to the various stages of this process,other than I never said or thought that being in the PC guaranteed admission, but yes I felt confident in my application as a whole, hence the negative reaction to the decision. Other than that I feel I have clarified enough already. Just for the record, the anti-American thing is so far off the mark that we can't even see it anymore...yikes, that would be insane if that actually entered my mind, thank god it didn't because that would be a sign something is really wrong with me. The answer I have to the legitimate "why I felt anger, resentment, slight insult" question is probably, well obviously not satisfactory, I just did, that's all...but as I've said over and over again it was mild and brief, if I believed myself so entitled I'd still be dwelling on it and most likely expressing outrage. But anyway, I simply didn't appreciate the Dr. Phil moment from HN, "I ought to look inward more than I lash outward," like what the F, who's lashing out? So I've said my bit and you've said yours. And yes, good luck to you too...we'll both be fine I'm sure.

Thank you! I thought the same thing, hence expressing myself here. @ HandsomeNerd: And just to reiterate for the last time, like I said in some form or the other in every post thus far, I got over it quickly and I wasn't outraged or "lashing out" in anyway shape or form, I was mildly irked and slightly resentful. And yes, anger was something I started to feel toward the end of the waiting process and through registering the rejection. Just like EVERYONE else who has posted in this here thread dedicated to "Anger." And through these posts on the subject I feel I have explained myself thoroughly enough. So yet again, "I was in the PC, gimmee gimmee" is NOT how I meant to come off. Again, like I said at least twice already, of course I did not know exactly how it all went down inside the admissions committee's room, I never said that I did. But based off of all the chatter and theorizing going on in the "American SIS" thread that's what it felt like...I did NOT just dream this up in order to mask my own rejection. This should have been clear based on the fact that I used phrases such as "it seemed, it felt like, and I perceived..." If it wasn't how it actually was, and I acknowledge that there is a real good chance that it wasn't, I'm fine with it...now. In my original post I used the past tense to describe how I felt about it and the "I got over it" at the end should have been a good clue that I no longer have any feelings about it or anything close to entitlement. There was nothing in my original post to indicate that I felt "Tragically wronged." That is over the top, as is the idea that I'm lashing out, the fact that I expressed my dissatisfaction, like so many others have done here, is a far cry from lashing outward. That would be over dramatizing what I've said. I'm also well aware of the flaws in my application, no reminders necessary. And at first I was peeved that you'd suggest I need to "look inward," but now I've decided it's really just comical that you feel I should reassess my own personal feelings on something that happened to me...OK, if I'm being honest I'm still peeved, I have never even thought of telling anyone in this forum to do such a thing...we're all here to rant, vent, and purge our frustrations as well as share experiences in order to inform each other. In a thread called "Anger, anyone?" I don't feel it's anyone's place to judge how others experience any part of this process, especially after several posts have gone by dedicated to clarifying what I meant and what I didn't mean. If you consider me defending, clarifying and justifying my expressions based on my experience in response to being judged as lashing outward, then perhaps you ought not cast reproachments such as the one you cast at me at the end of your post because it came off as rather smug and self-righteous.

the source of my resentment was not simply rejection by this or that program despite being a PCV, it was the way in which I perceived American's process of filling up all of the acceptances before reviewing thoroughly every single application whether it was submitted the first day possible or on the day of the deadline. That's the slap in the face, that I got in my application just like everyone else but it was just an extra rejection letter for them to send out at the end of the cycle only because I submitted it on the later side. I never declared anger and outrage at my dream school for waitlisting me, I know how they handled their admissions process, I know it was fair, I know my application got just as much review as the others, I've expressed satisfaction that I made it to the waitlist rather than wallowing in anger over not getting an outright acceptance, hence my lack of false entitlement. And yes maybe I do feel deserving of a spot in a graduate program with some kind of international focus, just like everyone else, like you say, who has worked hard in their undergrad career and field in order to compete as well as win their spot at the next level. Why shouldn't we feel deserving? We can't experience anger at rejection for whatever reason? It only has to be "well Ok, I feel fine because obviously everyone else was more qualified then me?" I know we all worked hard, every time someone posts their stats I wonder how the hell I'm going to compete with or stack up against them. I highlighted my PC status because of the special consideration specifically at American in order to illustrate yet another layer of confusion and dissatisfaction over their process..and yes even a tad bit of insult over my own rejection, won't justify my gut reaction to that rejection letter. I'm not going to say with any honesty that it was some honor or privilege just to have had my application reviewed and be content with that. I'll feel how I need to feel about it and move on. You're entitled to boil that down however you like, but this thread is for those who feel dissatisfied or resentful about the process of admissions, results included. "I was in the Peace Corps, now let's begin the welcoming parade" is not my sentiment nor my reason for posting.

For the school I'm waitlisted at their deadline for declining/accepting admission offers is May 1st... so they won't even know until then exactly how many spots they'll have. They explicitly said that we'll know by May 21st. Maybe your school also has a later deadline.

Inculcate humility? Actually I'm proud of what I did as is every volunteer I ever came into contact with and the 3rd goal of the Peace Corps mission is to spread the word, to educate, to express the value of the experience, and if you so choose, use it as a foundation to enrich your own life, whether it be professionally or personally. The idea that people become volunteers simply to be inculcated by humility is a little naive, we do it to spread our values, gain experience in ways we never would here, to satisfy our own need to contribute, to advance our careers and create opportunities for ourselves. Don't get me wrong, we've all been humbled at times, gained an insight and appreciation for things we never would have otherwise. I'm someone who takes that very seriously, but let's be real, no one becomes a volunteer to NOT put it on their resume. And perhaps if you knew what professional program I had applied for you'd see the obvious connection instead of mischaracterizing my feelings of mild anger and slight resentment at a rejection from an International Development program which grants special consideration to Peace Corps volunteers as a "sense of entitlement." I'm not sure if there's any better base than Peace Corps to prepare you for a graduate program in ID so I think it has a lot to do with it. I spent over 2 years of my life in Ukraine, I'm grateful for the experience, but I also worked hard enough to earn the right to feel mildly resentful at a rejection from this particular program that I felt quite strongly about...there's a big difference between feeling entitled just because you are who you are and feeling that you've earned something and experiencing disappointment when those making the decisions don't agree. Like I said, of course I don't know exactly how admissions did what they did, but I have a feeling, just a hunch, that I was at a disadvantage simply because of when I submitted my application. Was I angry at the thought of it? Damn straight. Like I also said, I got over it. And I wasn't the only one puzzled by the situation.

I was angry due to my rejection from American University because they do the batch system and in the thread dedicated to this school everyone who was in the first 2 batches got accepted and then those few of us left waiting until the bitter end just got reject letters. It feels like they just did some kind of rush job through the 3rd batch, if there were any acceptances in that one, no one here posted it. A few people were told the batches had no significance whatsoever, if that was true why would there be a mostly reject batch? One such person in the 3rd batch had been already accepted to 2 top notch schools and had been waitlisted at American, it just seemed to go hand in hand, if you get into George Washington or Georgetown for anything IR related, you should be in at American. Plus I had been waitlisted at a GW, yet was rejected by American. Almost everyone who was waitlisted or even rejected by those same 2 schools that post here had gotten into American, but they were in the first 2 batches. So as we began figuring this out it seemed that the batches were created based on timing of application submission, all of us in the 3rd one submitted pretty close to the deadline. My hunch is that most or all of the acceptances were made during the review of the first 2 batches while if there happened to be any space left over or whatever they'd be given to the few lucky applicants in the 3rd. I don't know if that's exactly how it went down, but it felt like it and was a tad bit insulted due to the fact that I'm a returned Peace Corps volunteer, which American values enough to waive the application fee for us...but to not even get on the waitlist was like a little slap in the face.. But I quickly said "whatever, to hell with 'em" and shredded the reject letter and felt satisfied with my acceptance to another school and even if I don't make it off the waitlist to my dream school I will still feel privileged to have gotten that far with them.

The first thing you should do is ask school B for an extension, if they give it to you then you have a little more time to wait things out, it'll take the pressure off while you weigh your options better. You have to consider what you want most of all...the job, school A or just going to grad school for the sake of going at school b. What if you don't get the job? Will grad school only serve as something to do while you search for another one, not that I'm knocking that, I thought for a while that I'd work first in my field, didn't happen and now I'm going to start grad school, which is what I absolutely know I want to do. But you might not want to dive into it if you're not sure, it could be a big expense and hassle when you figure that it's not what you want right now. Anyway, I don't know what risks there will be for backing out, my situation is similar in that I've already accepted an offer from School B but have been waitlisted at my dream school, I won't know anything more about it until the middle of May which is so beyond any deadline that I figure I have to go along with school B because I won't just hang on to the sliver of hope I have for getting that dream offer. I have no idea what my chances are but if I get an offer I will back out of School B. I know that there won't be any consequences as far as financial aid goes, so what other risks there could be, other than loosing your deposit if you've sent it already or dealing with not-so-sympathetic staff I don't know. You might have to back out for any number of reasons and doing what's best for you is one of them.

See I know that the word loans tends to make students cringe, but for me, since I will have no funding whatsoever, it's my only resort. I'm not thrilled about it, but I am thrilled that they will allow me to move on to the next stage of my life. Applying for other types aid is uncertain, how could anyone be sure if they would get a fellowship or other scholarships? So unless you have some major blemish on your record or have borrowed the absolute max as an undergrad at the very least you know you'll have the Stafford and Grad Plus loans as a safety net. And you can also cancel the loans at any time should you acquire other sources of funding. Maybe there are links to other scholarships on your schools financial aid website. When I relocate for school finding a job will be at the very top of the priority list.