antecedent

Any bets on whether waitlist notifications come out before or on the 24th? That "by" is too ambiguous for my current level of neurosis and anxiety

I actually think all your memes are appropriate. I just saw this one and died. Sorry to be off topic!

Well the have to reject me somehow if they aren't accepting or waitlisting me, so I'm expecting something in the mail, even if it is bad news. Oh jeez, if I get rejected from UT Austin AND UIUC in one week I may just puke.

So I'm wondering if anyone did receive word via post? This is one of the few times I'm crossing my fingers that being in Canada is delaying the mail

I revised my plan: I took a day off, got hammered, and stretched my septum from a 16g to a 14g (not simultaneously!). Once I decide where I'm going I'm getting another tattoo and a new lap top. ...and then I'm never spending money ever again.

I think what my acceptances have taught me is how woefully underprepared for this process I was. I had a professor who just figured that, coming from the program I did, all I had to do was send out an honest application with some killer references and I'd be whisked up by some PhD bestowing god, handing me a cushy funding package and a pat on the head. I thought that was fishy at the time, but now I'm sure that attitude is just a relic of the old boys(or ladies) club mentality that doesn't really fit anymore. Instead, I'm looking at two (likely three) unfunded MAs in, granted, very interesting departments. At the beginning of this though, I just didn't expect I would have to figure out how to cover 40-80k of tuition and living costs out of pocket, on top of dealing with the feeling that the universities must have not funded me for a reason. At this point (and barring any miracles/catastrophes), I'm pretty much planning on taking a masters and regrouping. I hope that getting more experience in my field and in academia will strengthen me as an academic/researcher and that this strength will be reflected in my PhD applications in two years. I already have a bit of an idea of what needs to change in my apps for the next go around, and I think a masters will only help me clarify and focus my studies. I'm afraid the choice this time around will boil down to a great MA with no funding or an unknown MA that I can afford, but I'm trying not to start counting those chickens just yet...

If any of you are interested in learning how to fix remote control helicopters (or, but some interesting coincidence, already know how) I know of a certain Canadian seller-of-things who will be looking for a glorified CSR in about six months. Could be an interesting year abroad?

This whole thread has made me want to laugh, cry, and hug you all. It's also made me feel a bit belligerent about wanting to go to grad school, goddamit. It turns out that saying fuck the haters is easy when my main concern is fuck the price tag.

I think I need to ban myself from the UT Austin thread. It only sends me back here every time, even though I have two decent offers.

I hardly slept last night for a similar reason. The first, which is unrelated, is that I'm sick. But the second is that my phone makes a beep noise when I get emails, so every time I got an email last night I woke up, convinced myself it wasn't important, laid awake imagining but what if until I finally got out of bed to check my phone. It was never an acceptance email, for the record.

I've heard from two Masters and I'm still waiting on two Masters and a PhD. I'm trying soooo hard not to let it get to me.

My top choice school gave out all their acceptances on the 15th and are sending out waitlist emails next week (and even put a little notice on the website saying so). I haven't heard anything yet and my status still says "In Review'. I'm trying hard to stay optimistic but it's a bit of a struggle! Cokohlik, I also drunk posted in the lit forum somewhere and gave a shout out to you - I really hope you get in somewhere good! Also, yes to all of this.

I am right there with you. Are you in school in SF? Do you mind if I ask where? I applied to SFSU for an MA and I'm curious about living/studying in the city and the break down of institution demographics there. Feel free to ignore/PM me if you want

I applied to Edinburgh in late November (with my American apps) and was accepted two weeks later in December. Good luck with Oxbridge, Mr. Grimwig! It looks like you're piling up a good set of acceptances though. Well done!

I haven't heard back from all my schools yet, but I love the UW-Madison program so I'll likely be accepting. Who else is moving to Wisconsin in the fall? I'm moving from the West Coast of Canada (though I am American) and I'm nervous about 1) finding a place to live and 2) the weather.

Yeah I'm legitimately worried about the weather. I grew up in California and have spent the past 5 1/2 years in Vancouver B.C. I can handle earthquakes, torrential rain, and forest fires, but intense heat and feet of snow are totally foreign to me. I don't even know how to dress for the snow, other than wear lots of clothes Weather issues aside, I am super excited about the prospect of living in Madison though. Do you mind if I ask what your specialization is?

This is for marlowe - I'm working down magnum #2 of red wine! Thanks GradCafe Or Perrykm2 or cokohlik and or whomever...yay for drunk gradcafe. I love all of you..including those of you I can't spell with my limited capacities. And goodnight!

Oh boo! Well, hopefully the shortlist works out for you. I'm crossing and double crossing all my fingers and toes for a spot on the waitlist for UT Austin, both for the program and the funding! It's my top choice, but UW Madison was a close second. Unfortunately I haven't been offered funding ANYWHERE (I actually started a thread about unfunded MAs in the Lit/Rhet/Comp forum cause I'm facing the possibility of an unfunded MA) but I'm still waiting on 2 schools that might include even partial funding. I also can't drink lattes, but I did say fuck it and called in sick to work today for my first "holiday" in months, which felt very decadent Good luck on all your PhD apps!

I swear NONE of the MAs I applied to said they weren't funded. They all said that all their MA/PhDs were offered funding or something ridiculous like that, and then neglected to mention that English Language MAs are NOT considered part of the MA/PhD, despite offering a Language PhD. I hate how the only way you can actually glean any knowledge about this process is about asking other people on GradCafe. I mean, I love that GradCafe exists, but I hate that it's sometimes my only resource.

Hahaha yeah buddy! I'm both shocked that I got into two excellent programs and shocked that I'm still feeling gloomy about the potential outcome. Fuck pessimism, I'm gonna go take the longest hot shower of my life and try to remember how to be human again.

Thanks ComeBackZinc! Looks like next week for UT Austin and two to three weeks after that for UIUC. Blargh. Soooo sick of waiting!

Thanks! Yeah I'm totally mystified as to where the lang/ling folks are. Apparently not at GradCafe... I guess all we can do at this point is cross our fingers and hope to be waitlisted.

I'm testing for food intolerances so I currently can't eat dairy, gluten, legumes (including soy), nuts, and seeds. I used to be vegetarian but I had to start eating meat because of it. So all of the tasty burrito and pizza ingredients are off limits. Which kills me cause Mexican food is pretty much my favorite. Ever.