martizzle

true...quite late, but still, (like other users have commented) my response was unprofessional and immature. Thank God I got into a school this year.

Yesterday, I received this (via email) from a school: And in my very finite patience for stupidity and people wasting my time/etc, I wisely (and childishly) replied: Result: I got an email first thing in the morning: Apparently the person who I replied forwarded the email to the department (CC'ed me). I don't even know why I sent that email...I just felt that it was really stupid of anyone to actually send a rejection letter a month into the semester for which a student applied. I am definitely not going to said school/applying there for anything. It's a shame because the school is literally about 20minutes from where i did my undergrad...they may start negatively viewing applicants from my school... Anyway, done is done...what possible outcomes could come out of this? how much overboard do you feel I went? (if that was correct english lol)

First off...this is my second time around applying & I thought it SUCKED big time. It's April 15th & there are still a number of programs I have not heard from. One school lost my transcript twice, and as of monday, told me that they still had not seen my transcript, but that they were currently processing a lot of stuff so it would take a couple weeks (the usualy crap, yes; but its wayyy too late in the game for said school to be so stupid/unprofessional). 1/12??? This is the worst feeling ever. I gave up a LOT in undergrad, did mad REUs, was TA for 3 years, RA for 2...the ultimate geek...1 out of 12 just doesn't seem fair after all that. Ah well, i got in somewhere so its all good (for now lol). (wow, my post -this one- kinda seems boring lol...when i thought of this, i imagined it to be everything: cool, lol funny, thought provoking,...everything but boring. so hopefully, someone else can do a better job than me)

Its April 15th (its practically/almost over) for PhD applicants looking for funding...idk about the situation with MS applicants. What were your experiences this year? Did you nail that no. 1 school? Did you hear back from all the programs you applied to? What school(s) pissed you off with their lack of professionalism, miscommunication or stupidity? How do you feel about your getting multiple offers/rejections? Who got accepted/rejected across the board? Anything crazy happen during the application process (since September)? Any break-ups/new significant others? How many couples got accepted into the same program? Anything and everything....share whatever.

FML - i love that website/app on the iphone...ok moving onto the serious topic...well the school app thing...its rough. and to make matters worse, these idiotic schools dont even care to inform us of their decisions on time. i mean, wtf! it sucks bcuz i actually sold my xbox360 and games to pay for a couple of my apps; only to have 1/2 of those schools turn around and ignore me...it blows. next time around, im going to start emailing/calling/stalking/insulting people, i dont care how unprofessional it is, but thats just me. if i get another offer and said school hasnt gotten back to me, i will inform them in no uncertain terms, how unprofessional and mean it is to not update applicants regularly & on-time. about ur bf...forgive me, but he sucks my gf dumped me on this past saturday/sunday (although we made up...or rather, she did & i was too easy/desperate for love)...anyway, this got me thinking. applying to grad schools is a difficult and stressful process for most applicants. if our significant others can't be here for us during this trying time (and bid their time to break up with us lol)...idk...are they "the one"? Obviously, there's always other stuff going on, but still...us gradcafe users have to stick together right lol. i wish you the best (in both ur proffessional/academic life as well as your private life).

congrats to u & ur hubby...now u both get into the same school at the same time...NICE sorry about that. I wish you the best though at least those two (waitlists) schools tot u capable enough to put you on their waitlists. so through all of this, your self-confidence should still be high....(idk if that helps, but thats just what I think. I wasn't put on any waitlist, so i think the fact that you got on one means your stats -gpa, previous research/what not - are nice)

apparently, i didnt read ur whole post lol

He/She meant the comment thingy: positive/negative on the bottom right of yang's post (i think). I just got some info about a fellowship within the school, that I could apply to. Hopefully, that works out. idk if it would be possible for me to get both that fellowship & this grad assistantship...that would be AWESOME. The only reason I worry is that living on such a meagre amount (lemme explain) is that in the event of ANY unforseen circumstance, we - the grad students - are done for. If I get sick, get into a car accident (i dont have a car, but thats not the point lol) or something, then there's no money to pay for that. All of a sudden, I'm stuck in debt -- not something I want lol

yeah...i know the head of the dept is from ghana, we sort of met (i doubt he will remember; i actually only barely remember meeting him years ago at some conference). anyway, congrats on your admit Yeah, i understand about the transcript thing...i was lucky: i did my undergrad here in the US, so i didn't have to have mine reviewed/translated. about me accepting howard...i've no other choice (yet ) so...I will probably call them up and accept it early next week. Funny thing, I applied to Howard as a last minute thing...so lucky i did of all my applications, they are the only ones that accepted me. well good luck to you too at South Carolina

that sucks guys...all these schools aren't professional (in my opinion). what's the big deal, why do they keep people in suspense? there are so..............many people in similar situations: is it so hard to just send an email or do an online update (the schools that use the online apply thing-y)??? good luck to you & others in similar situations

nice....i'm prob going to use some of your ideas to same some $ @ dacey: if you are always in areas with wifi, you could switch to wifi instead, and 'stop' your iphone from using the data plan/Edge thingy (there's a website that automatically does it - completely reversable, you can turn it on/off anytime) = you guys could change your plan from the monthly 160 to about 100 or less (depending on your minutes plan). Oh yeah...you lose your visual voicemail when you change your plan from the iphone plan to another one . I have been doing this for the past year or so...going broke apparently gave me lots of ideas love the comments, keep them coming

I just wanted to see if anyone out there wanted to share experiences and thoughts (funny, random, anything, doesn't have to be related to my direction - see below-) : What is your stipend? (9mnths/12?) How are you going to live on only your stipend? (No eating out?) What will you be doing during the first year summer months (research at your school? outside? how does that affect your rent/leasing agreement?) -- Me? well let's see... 16K I can't believe I will have to tone down my chinese take-outs (crap ). Probably small apartment or utility (I love this - I can actually have my own place again - I had to come back home for about a year now.) No car, so...idk how I would work out the whole transportation thing. But I'm an explorer and I look forward to future experiences in the subway/bus/transportation No idea how I would work out the whole leasing thing, most renters want a year contract; but some do give some leeway to students. Plan to intern at a national lab or a bank during the summer (not close to my school), so I may have to live elsewhere for the summer.

but yeah, in retrospect, that was kinda long...

dude, i waited for a month its an honour (considering that i think more highly of this, than my current (only) acceptance

to everyone still waiting: hang in there. all hope is not lost until it is absolutely over. good luck i still hope that the schools that i'm waiting on put me on a waiting list, and sometime this week or next, I will get an acceptance naive thinking? idk -- let's see how it goes, fingers crossed

It's not about making anyone sad; its about sharing your experiences. I'm sorta in the same shoes you are: the school that accepted me isn't that great, but being on an international student visa & not willing to go back home just yet, I may have to take it - yeah mixed feelings lol. But one way or the other, this past year has been a life experience I doubt I would easily give up. It has not been totally worth it (if I get into one of my big-name schools, then it will ), but I will make it work somehow...& so will you. one day (soon i hope) you will look back and realize all the little ways this experience changed you/made you more determined & you will realize...perhaps it wasn't bad afterall. (then again it is more likely I'm just playing pretend-shrink glad i could help & thnx (u flatter me). It might seem weird, but after reading & replying to so many posts, you begin to feel like you are friends (e-friends) with everyone else & before you know it...people are being there for you (wishing you luck, just listening - or in this case, reading - ) & next thing you know, you are returning the favour. True...it makes it much harder; but it also gets us back to our feet quicker (sometimes). If you can, go see the Tyler Perry movie: it is hilarious...interesting ending, but it was really good. I didn't plan on seeing the movie EVER, but somehow, I got swindled into seeing it with my sister & it turned out to be great. @ ootg: you made it first month in the forum, first place on the list. Nice (even though I let you win lol)

wow...thnx for the stats Barista. It took so long getting up that I was beginning to think that I was so unlucky that it would be the month that I was supposed to make the list, that the admin (bgk, Barista, etc) would stop posting the stats special congrats to ootg; he actually just joined in this month - & he made no. 1 (i let him win though lmao) for some weird reason, i still can't believe i'm actually on the list, or that i made number 2. the last couple days, i figured ootg would probably win & i would be a close second, but still....seeing it & believing it after doing the numbers (stalking all the other "famous" posters' profiles and seeing who made the most posts in march ) are two different things. At the beginning of march, i had a couple rejections, no one to confide in, & one day i saw the february stats & i thought: well if i can't change my chances of getting into grad programs now, perhaps i will feel better by getting on the list - it was something within my power. However, along the way, i met (electronically lol) so many people it soon became about sharing experiences and being part of other people's, and not just about getting on the list. You would be surprised what a simple word or two from someone in the same shoes as you could mean to you (and vice-versa). As a former tutor, I always thought the best feeling ever, was when I taught someone something and they finally got it (after hours of not getting it)....well that changed. The best feeling ever, is when you give someone hope...they believe things could get better & voila: things actually get better (usually an acceptance letter is involved lol). To the newcomers: idk...be inspired like ootg; connect with people. To the old-timers: you know the drill...keep posting

grad schools don't seem to care once you give them the money for the application Is good customer service too much to ask for? Wow, 11th...but respond in 4 days...well you have to hand it to the school, they were still working right up to the end Imagine if you hadn't gotten in anywhere, and that was your first choice - but it wasnt though, was it? lol ...hang in there, it will be over soon. I wish you the best Clasworth...and while a positive outlook may not always guarantee a positive outcome, it helps us to cope through difficult times. Its the weekend, sit back...on Monday, you can get back to worrying about the future, but for now...enjoy the present - I must sound like a 70s pot-head lol

where are the stats for March??? I'm dying to see who got first place. I suspect it was ootg - and he just joined in March too; impressive

I have not yet heard back from them. But I would probably take them up on it if I get in...idk yet, but probably. To you & others denying it: Please try to let them know as early as possible so those on the waiting list can get offers & make their decisions....Don't procrastinate or wait long...if you know you are turning them down, please do it soon (now .) Thanks.

not quite the same boat, but i totally understand. last year, i turned down physics offer from lehigh (the dept act rejected me, then the prof i had done an REU with a couple years back came back from a sabbatical and pulled some strings to get me in...but by that time, i was 100% sure my career path lay elsewhere so i spent a year & a half doing nothing (got a wack REU summer gig, n did some home tutoring but nothing serious). my plan was: get into IEOR phd prog, pursue a finance track....i had no source of income, to make matters worse i lost 3 job offers because i am an international student (on visa) and had no permanent work permit/authorization. walmart didnt hire me -- i had done 4 REUs, spent 3 years as a teaching assistant & walmart wouldnt hire me! lmao life is hilarious but yeah, with everything going sideways, i knew what i wanted to do/the best way i could get to where i needed to be. so...did my parents approve of my choices about pursuing my chosen career path?. No. still live with them. yes. Do I have money? Hardly. A specific/safe/guaranteed plan? Not really. Am I closer to knowing which career path I should focus my attention to? Abso-darn-lutely. I guess that like you, I was too stubborn to settle for anything less than what was right for me. I gave up a year of staying in the US...while on a student visa, without knowing if i would get accepted anywhere this year...but i still risked it all Would i do it again? In a heart beat. Like you said, its all about character (being relentless/determined). So to everyone out there who risked it all for a dream...be proud, you have character & you will succeed (the world just hasn't realized it just yet) Same here Its going to be Irish Cream - my fav