Mal83

Just got this from admissions: All of the decisions will have been sent by the end of this week. You should receive your decision by next week. If you do not hear anything by end of next week, please feel free to contact us. I know this probably illogical, but I just get a bad vibe from this. And I don't know if this means that some decisions have already been mailed and there's still a chance that some of us will receive letters this week or what. "by week next" to me implies that I could receive something within this week also. That response was of no help whatsoever.

We're even waiting on the same program...I know, I've had it, absolutely had it with this dreadful process. As tired of my job as I am, I'm sort of glad to have a place to go Monday through Friday and be really busy, it's just about the only place/thing that takes my mind off of it for a while...a little while. What I don't get is why was George Washington able to get all of their decisions made at the same time and out weeks ago when their deadline was later? Even if they sent them snail mail we all would know by now instead of still wondering if our applications have even been looked at yet. So when did you submit/complete your application? The theory is that the batches correspond to that time. I submitted the very end of December but my 2nd LOR wasn't until 7 hours before the deadline. I was told that I would hear from them "by the first week in April." And also, they're still accepting applications according the website. I know they do that rolling thing, but what, they don't have enough applications already? Sheesh.

Exactly, I wish I were home in order to check the mail right when it comes, I have to trudge through work all day though.

Here Here!! This is what I'm doing before I go to work in the morning and after I get home at night. When I've gotten nothing in the mail yet again except my Amex bill my gut reaction is "grad cafe, stat." You know, quick, before it registers that I'm going to go through another 24 hour period of decision purgatory before I get to check the mail again.

Your parents reactions and responses were just plain old god awful...as if you don't already know that. But obviously what the hell do they know? Not much about this process that's for sure. Take comfort in the fact that one of these days you will indeed be moving on to bigger and better things than they could probably imagine. If you're driven enough to apply to grad school and take it so seriously as to be crushed at rejection then you'll apply again next year and get in. I think I would have punched whomever said that to me in the face when I was waitlisted by my dream school. I don't remember what my mom said, it was something like..."well it's not a rejection, just have to wait and see." Oh...wow...really...I have to wait and see, thanks for that bit of wisdom mom, quite the sage you are. But I had to realize she doesn't know anything about it. Not that she's not supportive or hopeful for me, but ignorant about this process she is definitely. And that's ok, she's never done it or thought about it before, why would she be knowledgeable in this type of thing? My dad was a little better, he happened to be right here when I got the waitlist notice, he watched me literally throw my head in my hands and break down sobbing. He came in, patted me on the back, and emphatically pounded it into my head that it's not a rejection, that I'm on par with the others, and I should be glad I still have a shot. I had come home from work sick that day too. Man I was crushed. Now I'm sort of indifferent about it, won't know until the middle of May if I can go there, I was accepted to my safety school and at this point that feels amazing, still waiting to hear from my second choice...but I have had enough of this waiting crap, I've had it. But the strange thing is that I got over the waitlist thing faster than I thought I would, I stopped crying after maybe 10 minutes and by the end of the day I wasn't devastated anymore. I think it was just because there is always at least a modicum of relief that comes with finding out either way. Like at the very least I didn't have to think about it anymore, I didn't have to count down the days obsessively until the time for expecting a decision came around..that kind of thing is exhausting. This process is unbelievably tough, if you're just giving it a shot to see what happens then you don't have a whole lot of stock in it, but if it means the world to you then sure you're going to suffer through it and be devastated by the rejections. That actually says a lot about how much education means to you and how driven and motivated you are to accomplish great things. You will make it happen for yourself.

best shot

I just sent them an email asking exactly what batch my application is in and if that batch is under review or if decisions from said batch are being mailed. The more information I have at this point the better. I'll basically ask anything short of my own status, I can't handle a reject email. I also asked if there will be any more of these grad day events for those who will eventually be accepted. I figure their response will either give me hope or cause for just starting to let it go. I'm almost positive I'm in the 3rd batch because of how late my final LOR was submitted (7 hours before the deadline), but I want to know for sure and I want to know if they're reviewing yet. I was waitlisted for GW and I'm a returned Peace Corps volunteer, which American loves. So I have cause for confidence, but I've had it. To be fair, every time I've emailed a question they've gotten back to me in a matter of hours, I think maybe one time was the next morning or whatever. So I can't complain in that department.

Since discovering this morning that the few Grad Student Day events for American U have already been or soon to be held and I haven't heard yet, I've gotten angrier. How is that fair? I didn't even know there was a few of these things going on and the one closest to me already happened, I still wouldn't have gone, I'm not going to get on plane to go to one of these things, but still why are these events being held before all of the decisions are being made and sent out? I know generally that all decisions have yet to be made...so why are these events going on already? Some people have actually gotten their email invites before getting their acceptance letters in the mail. What is that? I've actually just emailed them before finishing this post because I decided that I can't take it any more. I asked what batch I'm in and if it's under review, plus if there will be any more of these grad student days for those eventually accepted...I figure the response to that will either give me hope or cause to start letting go. I need to know either way so that at the very least I can start getting excited about my one acceptance and also planning how the hell I'm going to relocate across this country....which I am very ready to start planning for but can't seem to get to it without a decision from this school. Ok...breathe.

Does anyone else think it's kind of strange and a little unfair that the new grad student day events for American are being held before all of the decisions are even made? The one for DC is April 11 and the date to RSVP is the 1st, all of the other events across the country (there aren't that many) have already been or are just about to be held. I know there's still a possibility that acceptances are being made but the waiting is just getting really old.

Nah, you didn't add to my anxiety...I've been anxious to the max anyway. I flipped out last night when I got home and saw a white packet on the counter that was not from any school, but just some organization. Although I still have Mason to fall back on and I have to be grateful for that. I am for sure. I think if I don't get anything today I'll email for a little more information, like what batch I'm in (2nd or 3rd) and where they are in sending those decisions out. Or maybe I'll just do it now, it always makes me feel better to gather information. But it's kind of odd that all of these events are being held before all decisions go out.

That's interesting about the consortium, but like you said, I don't think it would feel right or like it would just make me wish even harder that I was an actual student there. That's kind of discouraging for me to learn that the RSVP deadline for the graduate day at American is this Friday...I haven't heard anything from them yet other than an email saying I should hear from them "by the first week of April." Does that mean April 1 or the end of the week April 8? Are there several of these things? I mean I'm in Arizona so it's not like I'd go, do they take proximity into consideration when emailing these invitations?

I think what makes this process so hard is not knowing, most of us have absolutely no idea how the admissions committee does things. For example, someone in the Government Affairs forum informed us that American University makes decisions in batches and sends them out accordingly. They also mentioned that the admissions person said that the batches have no relation to acceptance or rejection. Now once I learned that only a few days ago I was like "Ok, that makes sense, now that just because a lot of people here have heard and I haven't doesn't mean I'm in the reject batch." The deadline was Jan 15. Plus the admissions person let them know that they just started the second batch. So again, that bit of insight makes the whole thing less mysterious. Why does it have to be some big secret mystery? I mean I guess we could all call and just plain ask what their process is like, but could you imagine if the school just clued you in like this right from the get go? Like put that in the email that comes with "thank you for submitting." They don't have to provide some play by play but just a brief description of the process, that's all. "We make decisions in batches and they don't correlate to rejection/acceptance." Bam...there, I now know how they do it and don't have to be devastated every time someone posts their acceptance and I haven't heard anything. It would also be good to know how the batches are put together, i.e. by date of submission, program...or whatever. You know? That way I can have some vague idea that since one of my recommenders didn't submit my LOR until 7 hours before the deadline than that means I'm most likely in the last batch will be one of the last to be notified. Just a simple and quick description of their process would be so insightful. Plus they'd probably get fewer phone calls.

GWU's Elliott School of International Affairs had 2,100 applicants, they accepted 350. I have no clue how many they offered a spot on the waitlist though.

This website is like my little sanctuary filled with people just like me, emotions flying, sick to death of waiting, wondering, and calculating scenarios. I just wished I had stumbled across it sooner, the information that I've gotten here as well as just reading the posts about the drudgery of waiting has been therapeutic to say the least. This process has been dreadful, there were a couple of highs after finishing with the GRE forever and actually completing the applications but mostly it's just been full of anxiety. I'm still waiting on my second choice school and I know at this point it's literally any day that I'll find out either way, which feels good on one hand but on the other when I came home to again nothing in the mail I was like "my god, when is this going to end?" It kind of feels like never. But getting into my safety school last week has been tremendous, so at least I know I'm going to grad school in the DC area. We just have to hang in there for a couple more weeks and we'll all know everything we need to know. It just feels like crap now more than ever because it just seems endless and on top of that there's post after post declaring acceptance to this or that school...which is great, but those of us who haven't heard yet can't help but think..."oh good, one less spot for me."

Gee thanks! I didn't get anything in the mail today, tomorrow would be great because I've had just about enough of this waiting business. I suppose I could email, but I just have this wacky fear of doing that, like it'll change something or maybe it's the idea of not wanting a reject email. I don't think I could call, someone over the phone telling me no is not something I can deal with. If the date to RSVP to the admitted students thing is April first that's pretty close and I haven't heard anything about it. I just want to know either way.

I've been fortunate thus far to have not received an official rejection...although it sounds funny to me to say that I'm "fortunate" because up until late last week this process has been what I consider to be the "dark ages' of my life. Grad school means everything to me for a bunch of reasons and the waiting has driven me to new depths of depression, anxiety, and obsessiveness. I received my wait list notice from my dream school back on the 11th of March, I had come home early from work that day due to illness and I had just gotten settled in bed with my computer to just kind of putter around and relax. I did not in anyway expect to see an email from them so soon. There it was..."Your decision is waiting for you, check your account." My dad was right there and I was like "oh my god, I can't do this right now." I did..and then I saw the lack of Congratulations and was crushed. The wait list thing wasn't even on my radar screen and so many of my fellow returned peace corps volunteers were already attending that I was at least somewhat confident. I just put my head in my hand, tugged at my hair, and cried while my dad watched me, and had to console me by saying..."but that's not a rejection," it felt like it to me. I won't know until the middle of May if I can go there. But last week I was accepted to my safety school and knowing I'm going somewhere is amazing.

I'm really hoping to hear from American any day now. I also applied to the ID program, I was waitlisted by GW so I'm hopeful for an acceptance. I've been accepted by George Mason's Global Affairs program but that's my safety school and I haven't received my packet yet so I don't know if they're giving me any money...I doubt it. So for me it's a no-brainer. I'm so used to the idea of having to fund my entire grad school education with loans that it's like I'm just going to the best school I get into and that's that. I worked very hard to earn an acceptance and if I get it I'm going to take advantage of it. But of course at this point I don't have a school offering me 19K, so I completely understand wanting to take advantage of that.

Also sort of in the same boat, I've been accepted into my safety school and waitlisted at my dream one. I won't know about an offer of admission until the middle of May, which is way past any sort regular deadline for accepting/declining. I certainly cannot and will not decline both the offer from my safety school and a potential offer from my second choice (should hear within the next 2 weeks). But should I get an offer from my dream school in May, at this point, I easily imagine myself accepting the loss of a deposit and whatever other hassle I may have to go through in order to retract my acceptance. It just depends on how strongly you feel about this other school. I know from a financial aid perspective that there will be no consequence. So really what could there be other than a somewhat pissy person on the receiving end of that phone call? And who cares about that, you have to do what's best for you because no one else will. Things happen to people that don't always come before some deadline, you might have to withdraw for any sort of reason, I'm sure these schools are used it...they get a deposit out of you at least.

HAHAHA! if only it were as easy as completing a child's puzzle. I work at a preschool...kid puzzles are really easy, you would have gotten in....although the other day I couldn't quite figure one out...just kidding. I was sitting in my classroom at my preschool with another teacher during rest time. I had my ipod touch with me on which I have internet access, I don't have access to the school's internet but every so often it'll pick up some other wireless network in the area and it'll provide me with just enough time to check my email. I was expecting a response from George Mason simply to explain when I would hear from them about a decision. They had processed my application only 2 days before but didn't give me a time frame, I fully expected a good month at least. I emailed the coordinator of my program, she didn't get back to me the next day and was a little discouraged, waiting for the smallest bits of information was really getting to me. However, that day she did. She said, "I hope you are well! We just started making decisions and you should receive a very exciting letter in the mail next week!" "Very exciting" and lots of exclamation points were not what I was expecting. When I saw that and it registered I just blurted out "Oh My God!" The other teacher was like "what?" I proceeded to shakily explain what just happen. We were chatting for a few minutes after that, all the while I was just flabbergasted, which is the word she used to describe how I looked. Weeks prior I had been waitlisted by my dream school and still haven't heard from my second choice. I was depressed, couldn't take the waiting and my job was getting on my nerves. So after she left for the day being that it was still nap time I decided to call my dad because I needed to tell more people and of course my parents deserved to know before anyone else. The kids in my room were still sleeping but when I flipped the lights on I started to happily wake them up, I was so happy I wanted the kids to wake up...that's a new feeling for me. When I emailed her back to thank her for the exciting news she said I'm very welcome and if I have questions in the meantime to not hesitate to ask...the more I reread that email and the more it sinks in that I'm actually going to grad school in the DC area the higher up on that cloud I get. I cannot wait to get that packet in the mail.

You say that, but for many of us there is no other option. After 8 months of relentless job searching after I returned home from Ukraine as a Peace Corps volunteer I could not find a job in my field, I had one phone interview. Then I started just applying to any kind of office type job opening and got nowhere. I finally ended up a preschool. I work at preschool and I have a BA in International Studies and 2 years of Peace Corps services. I do not have the funds to go to grad school without loans. If I don't do grad school in DC I'll continue to get nowhere in my field of International Development. So for me the loans are a godsend. They will allow me to move on with my life. The idea of massive debt is unappealing to everyone but if they mean me reaching my professional goals than I'm not going to stagnate in my current situation any longer. To me that's worse than sinking into debt.

fool proof

The word "consumed" is all too familiar, I'm consumed by it too. With the exception of the last 2 days the past few weeks I think have been the hardest emotionally, just really depressed and of course "consumed." I was very much the same way when applying for the Peace Corps...which is, if any of you have done it, a far more painful process, at least it was for me. It took a year from the time I submitted my application to the time I got accepted for an assignment. Anyway, I always find it comforting to see that others are as emotional about this as I am, grad school means everything to me for a variety of reasons. Back on the 11th I was waitlisted for my dream school and was crushed. Then I got over it a little realizing that it's better than a rejection and that I'm still waiting to hear from a school in the same great city of DC with practically the same reputation and standing. But I saw post after post about acceptances to that school and I come home every day to find nothing in the mail and I just started to lose it. I started to feel it physically too, just felt down, really down. I should hear from this school no later than the end of the first week of April...it's 2 weeks away at most. Thank God. However, the last 2 days have been amazing. I got an email from my safety school that said I should get a "very exciting" letter in the mail next week. Yes, it's my safety school, but wow, that was like a thousand pound weight vanishing from my shoulders in an instant and I'm still overcome by it. I know I have somewhere to go in order to move on with my life and it has made waiting for the other school much more tolerable. If the waiting is really getting to you, contact them, ask about your status, there's just no need to suffer over this. It usually made me feel better just to email someone at the school, knowing that I'd get a little information out of them was always comforting. I didn't do it often though. And yes, my GPA was a concern, it's 3.35, and by the way, I wouldn't call that terrible, I know it's below my top choices' averages, but by just a bit. But I have the Peace Corps experience and I figured I had a shot at my top choice school for International Development...being waitlisted sucks, but the one thing it has done for me is give me the confidence to think I still have a shot at my 2nd choice. I won't hear from my top choice until the middle of May...I'm so grateful that I don't have to wait until then to know if I can go to grad school. I don't know if I could take it. For most of us the waiting has to come to an end within the next few weeks, the process from the beginning has been much tougher than I could have imagined, but we're almost there...just a little longer.

Hmm, that's strangely worded, I mean if they're "willing to offer you a place" just without funding why would you have to ask to be "considered for an unfunded place?" Doesn't that mean you've already been considered and offered a place? I don't know much about it but I looked into studying in the UK very briefly a while ago and when I discovered that you have to prove your ability to pay tuition in it's entirety without the need for employment I just stopped thinking about it. I would email them for clarification and just put it plainly..."Is this an acceptance or not?"

Still waiting to hear from American University, people started posting about their acceptances in that thread back on the 14th so of course I started really expecting, getting nervous and that whole bit. It turns out that they make decisions in batches and send them out accordingly. That only led to all kinds of speculating and theorizing about what the batches mean and why would you be in the first as opposed to the 2nd or 3rd...yada yada. Someone said that the admissions person said it has no significance whatsoever, but they have a feeling it does. Does it? Hell if I know. Before the post about the batches we were comparing our locations and figuring mailing times and maybe it had something to do with geography. Yikes, it's enough to drive you nuts, but you know I'm glad this forum exists because I feel like knowing what other people are going through is helpful enough to keep some semblance of sanity. I would still be waiting to hear from George Mason also if I hadn't emailed my program's coordinator and asked when I can expect to get a decision, she told me I should be receiving a very exciting letter in the mail next week. Being waitlisted by the only other school I applied to even an unofficial acceptance at this point is amazing. I was a little surprised that she gave it away like that, she could have just said you'll hear next week, but that was such a welcomed email, it sure did make my day.

decisions are pretty tough...it's tough still waiting to hear from American. I don't live in VA so if I get in to American that's definitely where I'll go, out-of-state tuition will make it just about the same. Plus I really want International Development and George Mason doesn't offer that, Global Affairs seems to be the closest, which will do in lieu of an acceptance from American. This process has definitely been a lot harder than I thought it would be.