Chrysanthemum

....Some people just want to vent their frustrations and talk about their concerns, and what better place than here? No offense, but positivity's easy once you've got an acceptance under your belt.

I'm having trouble deciding which recommenders to use. My undergraduate degree is in a field that is slightly related to my intended graduate program, but I've had to take several post-bacc classes to be eligible to apply. I have three professors from my undergrad who I know would write excellent letters, but they would all be for classes that are slightly related. On the other hand, I have two professors from my post-bacc classes who could write decent letters. I've only had them for one class each, though, and have known them for such a short time that I don't see how they would be able to write very much. But they are classes that are part of my intended field, and I have done well in them. Most programs only ask for 3 letters, so I was wondering how I should divide this up. Here are the options I've come up with: a. Three excellent letters from professors outside the field b. Two excellent letters from professors outside the field and one decent letter from in the field c. Two decent letters from professors in the field and the best letter from my undergrad d. Use all recommenders for a total of five letters I want to emphasize that my undergrad classes are relevant to my intended program, it's not like I'm going from one field to a completely unrelated one. I'm tempted to use all five, but I am worried that some admissions committees will frown on this. (None of the programs specify a maximum on the admissions requirements page, but I haven't personally checked with the departments.) Thank you for any advice!

Yay, I have officially heard back from all of my schools! Accepted to 2 and wait-listed at 1. I'm very happy overall; this season seemed super competitive. Now to make a decision...

omg I am so sorry!! It just seems so unfair that we pay all this money and they don't even bother letting you know if they're missing (or think they're missing) something from your application. Seriously, that's so messed up. Maybe they'll be able to do something, though? I truly wish you the best!

Congrats!! That's fantastic, I'm so happy for you!

Re: Vanderbilt: I received the email from Penny as well as a rejection letter in the mail. I do live about 20 mins from the school, though, so I'd probably be one of the first to hear. The letter said they had a 20% increase in applications this year; I'm guessing the rejections went out first as I'm assuming they used GPA/GRE cutoffs to whittle down the massive amount of applications.

Well first, congrats on being accepted! That's a pretty huge accomplishment and you should definitely be proud. As far as your concerns, they're definitely legitimate. Obviously your academic future is important, but you also need to be happy where you are in order to succeed. The reality is that if you're going for a PhD, you're going to be there for a fairly long time. I think a big part of your decision should also be if you're able to find a job right now. If you receive an offer for a job that you like and is relevant to your area of study, then you should definitely consider it. If, however, you're not really finding any jobs, then grad school might be the better option. Basically, if you can find a relevant job now, I feel like that would only help your chances of getting into other programs in the future--and possibly programs that are a better fit (geographically, personally, etc). As someone who had never been away from my family for long, moving across the country was really tough for me. I cried some that first week and wanted nothing more than to go back in time and reverse my decision. But after that first week, it got SO much better. So I wouldn't worry too much about making new friends or finding your way. The important thing is to get out of your room and not be by yourself for that first bit. But if you're pretty serious with your boyfriend, then you need to figure out if you could make a long-distance work, or if he would consider moving to be with you at some point. It sounds like you plan to go to grad school at some point, so I wouldn't worry too much about regretting not going right now. Getting more experience can only help your resume, in my opinion, and personally I thought taking a year off after undergrad was great. Good luck!

Thank you! Getting two straight rejections was definitely not fun, but now that I have an acceptance I'm so much calmer about this month. I haven't taken any prereqs yet, so I'll be doing a ~3 year progam.

Yay I got my first acceptance!! I'm definitely going to be an SLP! I'm so happy and excited right now

I haven't heard anything either and it's kind of freaking me out I'm taking it as a bad sign, but that could just be my inner pessimist. I haven't found the courage to email them yet...

I know a girl who went to Appalachian State, and she did not recommend it. She said they were very limited on placements and students had little to no input. Overall she just felt it was a bit disorganized and like they didn't care that much about the students. But, she did graduate and moved away and has a job she loves, so you'll still become an SLP, just maybe not the best grad school experience.

I agree completely. Considering that we are paying them for this (and it's not exactly cheap), a notification should always be sent, and if it's not, they need to say so somewhere on the application/website. I mean, it's really not that hard to send an email. I would expect that kind of behavior to happen from maybe one or two schools, but four?? Wow, that's just really inconsiderate and kind of unprofessional.

One of my schools sent a second rejection letter. Apparently both the department and the graduate school send one. Lovely.

I'm so sick of people who have an acceptance (to somewhere they want) talking about how nervous they are to hear from other schools, and how they're having such a hard time waiting, etc etc. I'm just like, at least you're in. Put on your big boy pants and stop complaining.

Same here. I should probably stay off these boards because all they seem to do is make me depressed and paranoid.

As another southerner who did undergrad 20 mins from my hometown (and now want to get out), I can sort of understand how you're feeling. Here's my opinion: I know it would be cheaper to stay in Georgia and I'm sure you'd get a good education, but if you don't want to be there and have the option to go somewhere else, then you should. Sure, the academics are important, but so is your personal life. I know it's a hard decision to make, but good luck and I hope it works out for the best!

My current/permanent address are the same. I've been out of school for a year.

Thank you! I hope you receive better news!

My letter is dated 3/2. I wasn't expecting news this early.

First rejection. I knew when first applying that I was bound to get several rejections, but damn, it hurt when I saw that anemic-looking envelope. I feel like if I could get one acceptance somewhere, then the rejections wouldn't hurt as much. But I can't be sure of that since I have yet to be accepted anywhere.

Well, I just got my first notification and it's a rejection I went into this expecting plenty of rejection letters, but it's still frustrating. Memphis was actually kind of high on my list, so... Boo.

I'll do the same as well! And good luck--how awesome would that be if we both got in?!

I'm actually really glad you said this because I haven't heard a peep out of them either, although they did cash my check. According to the gradcafe results page, it looks like people started hearing from UPacific near the end of March last year. Their accelerated program sounds so appealing, and I would love to be in California. I know it's an expensive school, but the faster I get out of school the faster I can pay back my loans and have a "grown-up" life haha.

I absolutely despise spam callers right now. I get so excited when a number I don't know calls me and then I want to kill someone when I hear "Lower your interest, etc." I know that most of my decisions will be via email, but still...

*sitting here extremely jealous of all the people hearing back from schools.* Seriously, though, congrats to everyone who's gotten in somewhere!!