Mal83

@George2248, this is the government affairs forum, you need to post your profile in the engineering forum...or maybe the planning one not sure which is most appropriate for your program of choice.

Sigaba...that's great advice and provides a new and mature perspective on what grad school is supposed to be. I get the impression that many of us here were the kind of undergrads that would freak out about getting a 98 on a test instead of a 100...I just don't have that in me anymore...well, at least not to that same degree. Some us are finishing up our first grad level midterms so this is going to be the first defining "are we really cut out for this" moment. I'm nervous about how I did on my economics midterm, the class in general hasn't be going well for me but I did as much studying as I could in the time I had and it really was less terrible that I thought it would be, but still, I keep seeing flashes of a big red D- on the test or something. But thank god this is the only quantitative course I have to take so I'm just going to really have to work at getting a grade that doesn't make me look like an idiot, then I can move on and not have to worry about classes that are totally outside of my comfort zone. But I'm not going to beat myself up over it, if I did badly on the midterm that will be disappointing but not too surprising. It will be a guide as to what I need to do to improve during the second half of the course.

This particular thread makes me really grateful that I have never even realized that companies like this existed let alone considered using one...it pretty much descends into complete madness at around page 3. This one alone would make never ever want to even create an account there...yikes! These people should be ashamed of themselves...all of them.

http://www.essayscam.org/Forum/9/essay-town-atrocious-service-poor-essay-2371/

I had a bad experience with a young adjunct professor in undergrad, it was more of a personal dislike for him rather than anything he did academically. Although I felt that he also didn't like me and was less forgiving with me than he was with some of my classmates who didn't seem to deserve the grades they got...of course I am admitting honestly that this is mostly my perception, I never looked at or critiqued their written assignments, but when participating in class discussions it was like..."did you seriously just say that and you're getting an A in this class?" He also clearly had his favorite which was just annoying because he would let her ramble on and on about nothing class after class, she sounded like a high school junior rather than a college junior, but somehow that earned her top points for class participation. I know that this particular classmate's work, while she tried, was mediocre because she ended up in my senior capstone class a few semesters later with a different professor who I actually liked and respected (thank god) where we all reviewed and critiqued each others' work. None of us could believe she ended up with a B on her final paper, it was deserving of a C at best...but everyone else in the class received an A...I think the professor, who was fantastic, just wasn't going to give anything less than a B to seniors on their capstone projects...

The adjunct prof was probably the worst teacher I had in a long time...he was new, he cursed a lot in class...it was an International Organizations class for crying out loud, not sure what there was to get so fired up about, but he'd go on these little rants laden with profanity....all I remember from him is..."well fuck the League of Nations..." Are you for real? He also brought up the fact that he did indeed have a girlfriend and taught at Princeton as often as he could....my only thought was who let such a jackass into a Princeton classroom to teach? I was even confused as to how anyone let him teach at my school.

Then he had the audacity to keep me and another classmate after class and inform us that we weren't participating enough and if we don't understand the material we should be seeking extra help. Uh, this isn't quantum physics here ok pal, this is an upper level course and I paid for the class so don't tell me I need to do this that or the other. If he was genuinely concerned it sure didn't seem like it, he was such a snot about it, it seemed more like he was just annoyed that we weren't overjoyed to be in his class. Then at the next class I actually offered my opinion on something and he was just like "I wouldn't say that." With the way he said it he might as well have said "don't bother next time." At that point I was done bothering, and the semester was almost over.

He gave me a C+ which was devastating at the time, and still stings a little. I didn't even think about going to talk to anyone about him, I just let it rip on his evaluation. He was a total awkward dweeb who didn't command my respect. Told him to tone it down on the cursing and we're all big kids now and don't need to be kept after class to be accused of not understanding the material. I was a quiet student at the time and my strong suit was writing papers, which we did plenty of. Not a single other professor ever bothered to tell anyone that they're not participating enough, they know that we know what we need to do and if we don't do it we deal with the grades we get and that's that. I hate a professor who tries too hard to be liked, it's just annoying. I'm not sure if I had any grounds to go to someone about him, but like I said, didn't even think about it at the time, but I'm glad that I didn't because stirring up trouble over a personal dislike wouldn't have gotten me anywhere. I did tell my adviser though the reason I dropped a stats course, the professor was moving way too fast, had no patience for anyone who wasn't keeping up and yelled at someone for sighing. He actually yelled... "DON'T sigh in my class!" He was also teaching things that were in the course descriptions for more advanced classes, not sure if anything came of it, but again it was no skin off my back and never had to see him again.

Haha...that's good too, and wise, although the less rounding up we have to do the better.

Totally in agreement with the "sadistic obstacle course" thing. I feel that first and foremost for most of us what makes the application process, from start to finish, so difficult is that we simply want to get in...obviously, but we really want it, we're achievers, we're driven and motivated to go farther than others. Getting an acceptance holds a great deal of significance for us not only because we want to advance our education and careers, but also because it's some sort of validation of what we've done so far...not getting in doesn't define your self worth, but let's face it, we all kind of feel that way during the height and frenzy of the process. It's the significance of the outcome that makes it so emotionally arduous. If it's one of those "eh, I'll just see what happens" kind of things then of course you're not going to be so stressed out by it. But for me, it's practically everything, I hate everything about my current situation and grad school is my ticket out so I can move on with my life how and where I want to. So each step was a royal pain in the ass. I knew what I wanted to do and the location I wanted to do it in, so that wasn't really an issue. It was the uncertainty of how I stack up against everyone else, the unbelievable competitiveness...after all of this am I really going to get in? If I don't I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. So those questions, along with fantasies of being a productive happy student at my dream school, seeping into every waking thought made for a miserable 7 or so months.

I decided I wanted to pursue grad school back in July and I guess I really dove into the applications in September/October. I was excited and ready for it when I first started, but as I got into the months of studying for the GRE I started to get stressed out. I don't even want to rehash that nightmare other then it was AWFULNESS like I never even imagined...that sort of thing is just not my strong suit. I generally embraced it as just something else I had to do, but I couldn't wrap my mind around relearning 4 years of high school math in a matter of months just to add some other number to the already large application package required by grad schools. But anyway, when I was satisfied with my OK score the second time around I did have a sense of relief and it was a small victory. From there I figured everything else would be easy...haha. I sort of liked working on my SOP, however like for many others, garnering LORs was scary. I had 2 professors in mind from the get-go, plus I already had one from my supervisor from the Peace Corps. Well, I just sent out those little emails to my profs assuming that they'd both be happy and ready to do them only find that while one was, the other just said "it's good to hear from you, but I'm doing enough of those already, please ask someone else." That stopped me in my tracks, here it was, am I really not going to get anyone to do this, something beyond my control will throw this whole thing off? The "I'm not in control of this aspect of my application" thing is very unnerving. I had no idea who else to ask...I had graduated back in '07 and I only spent 2 years there because I did my first half at a community college. I emailed another professor but he never got back to me...other than that one I didn't even really remember anyone else, well I did, but I hated one of them. I had taken 3 major classes with the one who said no, she wrote me a letter for the Peace Corps even...I couldn't believe it, I was beside myself. So I thought and I thought, the only thing I could come up with was to get in touch with one of my community college profs, the one with whom I took 3 classes and was head of the department...and also a ph.D. That was so long ago that I was scared he would have no idea who I was or even still accessible. Plus I was unsure of how an LOR from a cc prof would be considered. I found he was still teaching there and with no other choice I emailed him...he said yes and it was nice getting back in touch with him as he was someone that influenced me in my course of study. So after finally securing all letters, it was again a sigh of relief and a small victory.

But...the relief didn't last long as it got closer and closer to the deadlines and they weren't submitted. I was in panic mode when one of them didn't submit until I guess about 7 hours before the deadline...I was sending desperate emails to him because I wasn't getting anything from him...finally he let me know that he was struggling to get them all done but to rest assured that it would be in. It got done. So when all 3 were in I was satisfied. I guess that was generally the end of the application process for me as I submitted what I had to before hand. There was some sense of relief when it was done...but that didn't last long...

The waiting began, I thought I'd happily go about my days at work just content to know that I was all done with the application process and be happily waiting for the acceptance letters to come in...WRONG. I was that way for a few days, then I was miserable and stressed out, anxious, and obsessively searching forums like this for information. I started to get sick and tired of everything, my job, living with my parents, and also waiting, waiting to start my life. It was really bringing me down. Of course the emotional frenzy kicked into high gear in March when I knew I'd hear from my dream school...March 11th...waitlisted..was totally crushed. But the crazy thing is that I got over much quicker than I thought I would, I started to experience relief, like some weight had been lifted, it wasn't the answer I wanted, but it was a result. At the time it was like a rejection because the letter said I wouldn't know anything more until mid-May...so I put it to rest like it was a reject. But then I started getting much more obsessive about my 2nd choice and seeing post after post here about acceptances was really freaking me out. Waiting for the mail every single day like my life depended on it. That mental battle to stay sane was really hard. I tend to try to prepare myself for the worst, that's tough when you're hopeful and want something so bad.

Believe it or not, for about a week or so after getting my acceptance I felt a sense of loss...like "what do I do now?" I don't have much more to obsess about, I don't have to wait and hope for a packet in the mail or dread a small regular envelope. I don't have to troll around forums and sites for information. Well I moved on to obsessing about financial aid, if I didn't get those loans I wouldn't be going anywhere...I had borrowed close to the limit as an undergrad so I was nervous, plus I was confused about tuition costs and the Grad Plus Loan due to the lack of current information on the school's website...after many emails back and forth with the financial aid office I finally got it and finally got everything that I need to go....phew. It's only been a few days that I finally have been really at ease and just flat out happier, not stressed or anxious. I'm more than ready to get the hell out of my job, but even that's more tolerable now. I'm registered for classes and my financial aid is secure...it kind of makes me tear up when I allow myself to stew in that thought...it's nice. We should be proud of ourselves just for having the perseverance to complete the application process. Months and months of effort for something that might not even pan out says a lot about us.

I started reading the threads on this particular forum, it's just insanity, the amount of trolling, spamming, bickering, and advertising that went on there, not to mention those who have expressed regret at paying hundreds of dollars for a paper that's been plagiarized anyway or not delivered on time. Someone payed 1250 pounds for a dissertation, he believed that the service would provide him with an ORIGINAL dissertation in 48 hours, of course it was not delivered, and then proceeded to express outrage what was delivered was not up to par. I couldn't even imagine being that desperate or foolish.

I started reading the threads on this particular forum, it's just insanity, the amount of trolling, spamming, bickering, and advertising that went on there, not to mention those who have expressed regret at paying hundreds of dollars for a paper that's been plagiarized anyway or not delivered on time. Someone payed 1250 pounds for a dissertation, he believed that the service would provide him with an ORIGINAL dissertation in 48 hours, of course it was not delivered, and then proceeded to express outrage what was delivered was not up to par. I couldn't even imagine being that desperate or foolish.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090429151030AA3vN4H Holy Mackerel

It's plagiarism as runonsentence has said, even if you were to call it something else, you are still duping a professor into thinking you did the research, you had the ideas, you had the skills necessary to compose an academic paper, and that by doing so you've successfully completed a requirement for the course. That's called lying, cheating, and academic dishonesty. And I'm not sure what else besides the unethical nature of the pay-for-essay service and how to combat it, there is to talk about revolving this issue. We all know that people cheat, lie, and steal, and all of them will never be stopped, that's a matter of fact, but shouldn't we get into how unethical, wrong, and dishonest this is? It's a valid topic of conversation just like any other and directly relates to education, which is why we all frequent this forum. You tried to get into the business yourself so it's obvious why you wouldn't want to. Your lack of judgment for the accused could be understandable in different circumstances. But we're not talking about stealing a loaf of bread to feed your starving family, which I think just about anyone would do. We're talking about a complete and utter lack of respect for higher education, it's a privilege to get an education beyond a high school diploma, no one needs a BA, MA, or phD to make a living and lead a productive life. If there is truthfully a degree of desperation on the part of the student then they should realize that coming clean to the professor and accepting the consequences is the honest and mature way to handle the situation. These people, students and "writers" alike are making a mockery of this privilege and weakening the code of academic honesty and integrity that most of us respect.

That is true indeed, when you make up that much information and post it all over the place I'm sure some of the "facts" get a little blurred.

Even though this is an old topic I just love the use of subjective words like "mediocre" and "low." It makes me chuckle inside when someone shamefully admits that they got a 'mediocre' 1300. "My quant score of 720 is 'low' might retake it." "My 1250 is pathetic, surprised I got in anywhere." It's a little absurd if you think about it. I mean OK I know certain programs and areas of study rely on the GRE more than others and phD programs have a higher requirement than MAs, but when you start throwing around words like "mediocre" to describe a score that's actually really good it just makes me want to say..."seriously? are you really serious?" I hated the idea of the GRE, like admissions committees really need one more number aside from an already large application package? But once I accepted it I embraced and got very into the studying. I actually kind of liked studying for the verbal section, that's something that's useful, but for me, relearning 4 years of high school math in a matter of months was a nightmare. I still ended up with an "OK" 1120, V570 Q550 W4.5. Luckily for me my area of study isn't so concerned with the GRE which is the way it should be. But even with that score I got into a top MA program in my field...off of the waitlist that is, but still got in. I doubt that my GRE score was a deciding factor. And I don't have any problems revealing my score so that others can see that it might not matter as much as they think, depending on the field of course. I was always relieved to see a post with a declaration of acceptance despite a GRE score on the lower end of the spectrum.

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.

Just my 2 cents...I've found the posts about discouraging students to apply for grad school just because they either didn't make an impression in your particular class or because...gasp...they got unremarkable B's in 2 classes, rather disturbing. I completely understand if for whatever reason a professor/teacher is not comfortable doing a letter, I don't feel like they are obligated to do so, but to declare that that student is unqualified based on his/her performance in your class alone is pretty shortsighted. If you don't know that student very well then you have no idea how they're doing in other classes. You might think well that's a no brainer...that student shouldn't be coming to me for a letter, they should be going to a professor for whom they performed better. But it's not always that easy. They may have gone to them and they said no because it's too late and they don't have the time to do any more, which is something that happened to me. They may be out of undergrad for a while and now have limited options because they can't track down the professors who gave them A's.

I got a C in one of my major classes and it was pretty devestating, completely disliked the professor and I would have never gone to him for anything let alone an LOR for grad school, I could so see him not only declining to write it, but disuading me from applying even without knowing a damn thing about me other than the one grade I got in his class. But sure, as a C would indicate I didn't exactly perform in a stellar fashion in the class, I'm not unaware of that. While that was the only C I'd received, I was no almost 4.0 student. I ended up with a 3.35 in International Studies, which included that C, a B- or two, B's, B+'s, and a few A's in my major classes. Those are mostly "unremakarkable" grades according to a few of you, fortunately for me as I was out of undergrad for a while I was able to get ahold of the professors who gave me A's. But if I couldn't do that I hate to think that I would have gotten some "you're not qualified at all because you got a B in my class" lecture from the others. Don't sell those of us who weren't "stellar" in your class short, we're just as capable of succeeding in grad school too. If I was a 3.35 kind of student in undergrad and I don't do much better than that in grad school, I'll still get my Master's degree just the same as the 4.0 students.

You might not be obligated to write the letter, but for those students who express to you that you are one of their few or only options, then I believe that you are obligated to work with them to see if you can muster up something good to say. If they comply with your requests for writting samples, goal statements, and whatever else, that means they're committed and ready to make their impression on you. It's not easy for many students to approach a teacher for a letter, I personally absolutely hated doing it.

Wow, that's one hell of a story. It's always good to see how other people have arrived at their decisions after wandering a long and winding path. My path was a long one too. Not that it's any less rewarding for the person who achieved their goals after a more cut and dry experience, but I feel like I really made it despite all of the confusion and uncertainty of the years following high school graduation. I don't mean like I'm now set for the rest of my life or anything, but the satisfaction and peace that comes with really knowing what you want to do in life is something that I'll be eternally grateful for. The validation of my efforts by my dream school just happens to be the icing on the sweetest cake in the world.

Wow, that's one hell of a story. It's always good to see how other people have arrived at their decisions after wandering a long and winding path. My path was a long one too. Not that it's any less rewarding for the person who achieved their goals after a more cut and dry experience, but I feel like I really made it despite all of the confusion and uncertainty of the years following high school graduation. I don't mean like I'm now set for the rest of my life or anything, but the satisfaction and peace that comes with really knowing what you want to do in life is something that I'll be eternally grateful for. The validation of my efforts by my dream school just happens to be the icing on the sweetest cake in the world.

Excuse you, suggestions for what? that's what's missing. What do you mean categorize? You put a few facts about yourself down and then a list of schools, what is anyone supposed to do with that? Are you asking about your chances? Do you want someone to go down that list and say which is a good school and which one is not? Don't you think you should do that? If you want someone to compare a few programs that you've already looked into and can't decide which is more in tune with your interests, that's one thing, people can and will be happy to help you with that. And judging by the -4 on your post, I'm clearly not the only one who thought of this as just another one of those posters who's not really serious and won't do their own research. And thus far you haven't gotten any real suggestions or advice due to how you presented your question and/or request. Think of it this way, it is hard enough for an admissions committee to decide to admit or reject you and they have your entire application package in front of them...you're giving us a few bits of background information, your GRE scores, and list of schools that you know of...how could we possibly tell you about your chances or programs that might suit you best?

Who knows...probably hasn't moved on to much of anything if she's still raging about it here 2 years after the fact. It's weird and sad. Oh well.

Thanks for the info.....I'm gonna go take a nap till the 14th...

Just my 2 cents...I've found the posts about discouraging students to apply for grad school just because they either didn't make an impression in your particular class or because...gasp...they got unremarkable B's in 2 classes, rather disturbing. I completely understand if for whatever reason a professor/teacher is not comfortable doing a letter, I don't feel like they are obligated to do so, but to declare that that student is unqualified based on his/her performance in your class alone is pretty shortsighted. If you don't know that student very well then you have no idea how they're doing in other classes. You might think well that's a no brainer...that student shouldn't be coming to me for a letter, they should be going to a professor for whom they performed better. But it's not always that easy. They may have gone to them and they said no because it's too late and they don't have the time to do any more, which is something that happened to me. They may be out of undergrad for a while and now have limited options because they can't track down the professors who gave them A's.

I got a C in one of my major classes and it was pretty devestating, completely disliked the professor and I would have never gone to him for anything let alone an LOR for grad school, I could so see him not only declining to write it, but disuading me from applying even without knowing a damn thing about me other than the one grade I got in his class. But sure, as a C would indicate I didn't exactly perform in a stellar fashion in the class, I'm not unaware of that. While that was the only C I'd received, I was no almost 4.0 student. I ended up with a 3.35 in International Studies, which included that C, a B- or two, B's, B+'s, and a few A's in my major classes. Those are mostly "unremakarkable" grades according to a few of you, fortunately for me as I was out of undergrad for a while I was able to get ahold of the professors who gave me A's. But if I couldn't do that I hate to think that I would have gotten some "you're not qualified at all because you got a B in my class" lecture from the others. Don't sell those of us who weren't "stellar" in your class short, we're just as capable of succeeding in grad school too. If I was a 3.35 kind of student in undergrad and I don't do much better than that in grad school, I'll still get my Master's degree just the same as the 4.0 students.

You might not be obligated to write the letter, but for those students who express to you that you are one of their few or only options, then I believe that you are obligated to work with them to see if you can muster up something good to say. If they comply with your requests for writting samples, goal statements, and whatever else, that means they're committed and ready to make their impression on you. It's not easy for many students to approach a teacher for a letter, I personally absolutely hated doing it.

Just my 2 cents...I've found the posts about discouraging students to apply for grad school just because they either didn't make an impression in your particular class or because...gasp...they got unremarkable B's in 2 classes, rather disturbing. I completely understand if for whatever reason a professor/teacher is not comfortable doing a letter, I don't feel like they are obligated to do so, but to declare that that student is unqualified based on his/her performance in your class alone is pretty shortsighted. If you don't know that student very well then you have no idea how they're doing in other classes. You might think well that's a no brainer...that student shouldn't be coming to me for a letter, they should be going to a professor for whom they performed better. But it's not always that easy. They may have gone to them and they said no because it's too late and they don't have the time to do any more, which is something that happened to me. They may be out of undergrad for a while and now have limited options because they can't track down the professors who gave them A's.

I got a C in one of my major classes and it was pretty devestating, completely disliked the professor and I would have never gone to him for anything let alone an LOR for grad school, I could so see him not only declining to write it, but disuading me from applying even without knowing a damn thing about me other than the one grade I got in his class. But sure, as a C would indicate I didn't exactly perform in a stellar fashion in the class, I'm not unaware of that. While that was the only C I'd received, I was no almost 4.0 student. I ended up with a 3.35 in International Studies, which included that C, a B- or two, B's, B+'s, and a few A's in my major classes. Those are mostly "unremakarkable" grades according to a few of you, fortunately for me as I was out of undergrad for a while I was able to get ahold of the professors who gave me A's. But if I couldn't do that I hate to think that I would have gotten some "you're not qualified at all because you got a B in my class" lecture from the others. Don't sell those of us who weren't "stellar" in your class short, we're just as capable of succeeding in grad school too. If I was a 3.35 kind of student in undergrad and I don't do much better than that in grad school, I'll still get my Master's degree just the same as the 4.0 students.

You might not be obligated to write the letter, but for those students who express to you that you are one of their few or only options, then I believe that you are obligated to work with them to see if you can muster up something good to say. If they comply with your requests for writting samples, goal statements, and whatever else, that means they're committed and ready to make their impression on you. It's not easy for many students to approach a teacher for a letter, I personally absolutely hated doing it.

Look, I think it's fair to say that some people here who have been through it already and who are in a similar field can offer up some advice and encouragement when it comes to the "what are my chances" question. We might be able to tell you that you are competitive because your stats are on par with the program's averages or higher, we might be able to tell you what your weaknesses are such as lack of relevant work/research experience, or that you most likely have no chance because this number or that number is just too far below any general cutoff. But really, all you have to do is look into your programs' stats, accepted applicant profiles, and the information provided on their websites, that's what is going to give you the best gut feeling for your chances. If you've done that already then it's time to contact the admissions office with your concerns and ask them what you can do about them, that's what they're for. No one here will ever say, don't worry, you're in. Like someone said in another one of these threads, for many applicants, it's a surprise which schools accept them and which ones don't. Don't be concerned with those "I have a 3.9 GPA and a mediocre 1300 on my GRE, will I get in anywhere?" posts, there are so many successful applicants that have stats no where near those, I'm definitely one of them. You have to remember that the application is a package that represents you, there are a lot of parts to it and they are weighed differently by every program. Like Red Bull said, if you want it bad enough you're just going to do what you have to do to give it your best shot. If you're basically in line with the stats for the programs, then clearly you have some kind of a chance, as does everyone else. It's up to you to put together a strong SOP and make sure your recommenders know exactly what you're doing so they can craft strong LORs. You'll have to relate any research and work experience to the program, how has it prepared you for this next step? How well you do all of that is what will set you apart from all of the other applicants with similar or even higher stats. It's kind of like the preference for someone with a 3.5 GPA plus years of relevant experience over the one with 4.0 and zero experience. In my field anyway, the relevant experience is a must. The type of schools you apply to depend on your priorities, if it's the best or nothing then should you get rejected, you will be satisfied with working to improve your application for the next year, but if grad school in general is something you want to do as soon as possible then you should apply to at least one school that's not quite as competitive to sort of broaden your chances. It takes effort to find the schools that fit you, but make it a priority and it'll get done. There is a wealth of information here on all of the components of grad school applications, you will get a lot of help and advice when you're ready to ask about them.

WornOutGrad...seriously, you clearly have a lot more to live for than just grad school or academia...give yourself some time to sleep on this and reflect on your situation, how you feel about it, and try to imagine taking both courses of action. Try to imagine what it would feel like leaving grad school behind, going back home and doing something else, if that feels good and right then maybe that what you should do. Think about yourself staying in school and examine the feelings that brings up. People try things that don't work for them all of the time, this isn't any different, it's just a very big investment that might be rather difficult to give up, but that doesn't mean sticking it out to the point you're contemplating suicide, it's just not worth it. If you're saying that you can be happy doing something else then consider that a positive thing, some people just trudge through life never figuring out what makes them genuinely happy. Maybe you need to put academia on hold for a little while, give yourself a break and allow yourself some time to decompress. You might find that grad school is something that you just can't let go of because you're so passionate about your studies or that you really are fine and happier pursuing something else, either way you can take comfort in the fact that you've figured it out. We all go through these trial periods of doubt and uncertainty, our interests and priorities change along the way, of course the anxiety caused by this is great and unsettling, but not a cause for ending your life. You're just at a point in your life where it's time to make a decision, granting yourself the time to reflect on your next course of action would probably be one of the best gifts you can give yourself.

Does Yale really need to advertise? Doubtful. And what publicity is coming out of him being there except for a few internet articles? Is it in the news? I had no idea until I read this thread. I'm sure Yale or any other school gets something out of a movie star attending their programs, but I don't think it's fair to assume that he's a total dolt and has been admitted purely because he's been in a few movies. He has to be relatively up to par with their standards. And it's also not as if he has taken up something that is a total departure from his work experience, wouldn't that be a hell of thing to put in your SOP for some kind of artistically oriented program.."I was in a major motion picture with Sean Penn....and was good." The movie Milk is the only one I've seen. We're always talking about how our work experience is just as important if not more so than an undergrad GPA or a GRE score. This is his thing. If he got into medical school because he was in a movie then yeah I might be bitter about it for a minute...you know along the lines of "it's all just so easy for those damn rich celebrities."

I think the idea that he's cheapening the process or adding to a perceived sorry state of university affairs is kind of bogus, in fact, I find what he's doing somewhat refreshing. So many celebrities are consumed with only their image, demanding more money per episode of whatever stupid sitcom their on, and living as extravagantly as possible. Here's one, who's young and current getting advanced degrees when he's not acting...his fans just might look up to him for it. I'd rather see Franco and his academic escapades covered positively in the news once and a awhile instead of just one more second of the train wreck that is Charlie Sheen and his disgraceful meltdown of epic proportions.

If we found out for sure that Franco has taken a more qualified applicant's placed based only on the fact that he is a movie star then there would be cause for complaint and outrage...but without that I too just don't see it as a negative.

What's the difference what his GRE scores are? Not everyone needs good GRE scores to go to grad school, if you have exceptional experiences then I would say that offsets any bad score on a standardized test. Those with great work experience or super high GRE scores can offset low undergrad GPAs for example, and that is true for anyone. We don't know what his test scores are like or what his application looked like as a whole, but just judging by the advanced education that he has I'd say it's probably pretty good.

Plus I don't understand the use of the word "enabling" here, you enable someone to continue taking drugs or drinking alcohol excessively. You can enable someone to continue engaging in bad behavior. How does a school enable someone to get an education? You're assuming that he's taking advantage of something or that he's not fulfilling the requirements of his classes or majors and that these very high profile schools are just allowing it because he's James Franco...what evidence is there of this?

You're saying that you get bullied in graduate school for being passionate about your major? Why would anyone do that to you or Franco? Why would anyone at an institution of higher learning get bullied for learning?