rowlf

I thought I would comment on this since I keep bumping into this thread. Just to clarify, yes, your FAFSA is based on last year's tax return. However, the marital status is 100% your status as of the day you file the FAFSA. If you file while married, but use a tax return from when you were single, you will still need to put your tax information along with your spouse's. Your spouse's income will contribute to your family adjusted gross income. On the other hand, if you complete and submit the FAFSA the day before you get married, you are single for that year. My advice to anyone who is marrying someone who makes more money is, if possible, to file the FAFSA before marrying. Of course, that will only delay it one year and many people get married in the summer so probably do that anyway.

Out of those who are going, how are you paying for it? Does anyone know more detailed about what the estimated cost was based on? It seems a bit too high to just be the cost of tuition/books, but way too low to include living expenses based on the tuition schedule and estimated student budget.

How is this decision going? I am in a similar position. I was admitted off the waitlist to my second choice program without funding. It is pretty common for people to have to pay for the first year at this school, but I am not sure if I want to. This is the only acceptance, so my choice is between paying or reapplying next year and hoping funding comes through (along with acceptances, of course).

I speculate that the poster is in a worse position than he/she would have been if everything was provided up front: that the chances of acceptance in the first place is greater than the chance of there being no consequences to this. Bottom line is that this course of action is not recommended to anyone considering the same actions. To anyone reading this in the future, always be as honest as possible in the application process. If there is a concern from your past, then take the time to explain it in the application. However, this is the position that the poster is in already. I don't think it is helpful to simply liken him/her to every academic fraud. Let's encourage the poster to do the right thing and be strong facing any consequences that may come. Again, good luck coming forward with this. Just think how much better you will feel going forward without this hanging over your head.

I would not simply turn it down, but definitely disclose this to them before starting. They may react strongly the way most people here have and they may see it the way I do which is in the grey area. Either way, it's better to know that reaction now than to risk them finding out and feeling really tricked. Depending on the unknown details of your situation, I think the severity of your situation may vary. I, for one, did not send transcripts that did not directly contribute to an earned degree. Looking back on it, it would have only helped my application, but it didn't even occur to me that I should send them. It seems like you knew you should have sent them at the time and just made a poor decision. What is done is done and I think you should just do whatever you can to set the record straight. When you tell them, make sure you explain the reasons you withdrew from the previous programs (obviously), why this program would be different, and reaffirm your enthusiasm about this program. Be respectful and demonstrate character, and then just hope for the best. Good luck!

I feel you. I have been in a similar situation and have, at times, felt at the bottom of despair. Don't give up. I try to think of historical figures or personal heroes whose trademark was persistence even in the face of adversity. I know that when looking at abstract stories of others can be a bit difficult since we are faced with superficial values all around us. The thing that has made it so much harder for me is that I define my self worth through accomplishments. I have been working on redefining myself to something more healthy for years, but it is a daily struggle. I had no idea that I did that until I fell from success. To make things worse, I think it is really reinforced by TV, a weird abundance of bullsheet articles in normally legitimate journals about our generation being bums because we're unemployed and have to live at home (the lamestream media, haha), and facebook friends bragging and exaggeration about how well they are doing. Still, for the past few years, I have been focusing on genuinely keeping up my confidence, not just superficially being confident, and it has really helped. Though my situation still has a way to go, it has improved and I know it will continue to improve because I am opening myself up to more opportunities than I did at my bottom. And I am just happier in general. Just know that you are not alone and that it will get better. It could be tomorrow or in a few years, but you will be where you want to be if you keep at it. And I agree with Ameonna. When it happens for you, you will be in a better position to deal with the hardships that come with that success and graduate school.

I was hesitant about applying to one program because it was so lowly ranked even though it was such a fitting program. I don't normally pay attention to rankings, but comparing my profile with the profiles of the typical students there was like playing a game of which one doesn't belong. I went ahead with the application focusing on the great fit and other good qualities of the program, thinking I was just being superficial and I would get over it. Besides, I felt lucky to have such an appropriate program to apply to that was a total shoe-in. The day after my first rejection, I got another one: from this program! Talk about a blow to the ego. I know a lot of people say that there is no safety school for graduate school. They are all competitive and it's all about fit. Well, I was a great fit and I refuse to believe that it was too competitive for me. I started my applications a little late and decided to forgo the programs with super early deadlines so I could focus on the others and not rush them. If I don't get in anywhere this year (which is likely at this point), I am going to try and think of that rejection as an opportunity to apply for those other early deadline programs, which are typically very elite, because damnit(!) just because I couldn't get into #327 doesn't mean I can't get into #1.

This topic came at the right moment for me. After hearing nothing for months, the silence was broken with two surprise rejections from the two program that I thought I had the best chances at acceptance. I have another implied rejection, one psuedo-waitlist that is not looking good, and the other is really competitive and does not provide anyone funding. After these rejections, realizing that my chances are whittling down, I straight-up broke down. I quit my horrible-for-my-mental-health job while applying to graduate school hoping for a brighter future, leaving me with what feels like no other alternatives. It took me a long time to find that job in the first place and I am so sick of unemployment. I came from an unlikely-to-succeed background (e.g., low-income household, single parent, community where few people graduate college let alone a good one). When I managed to do well at a top undergraduate school, I felt like I had made it: the American Dream. Now, between my apparent inability to get an appropriate job or get accepted to graduate school, I feel like it was all for nothing. There have been times that I have questioned if this forum can make this process more aggravating, but I am sure that this would be so much worse without it. There are so many people in their second or third cycle; it is amazing. Just knowing that there are people who are in the same position as I am who do not give up makes me feel like I can do it too. Now if I can figure out what to do for the next year...

I did apply to graduate school, didn't I? Did I just dream that?

Congratulations, MonkeyPants! (Btw, I so love your name.)

Congratulations! I would definitely try to clear it up. If there is a chance that they calculate GPAs in a way that would significantly lower yours, find out how they calculated it and double check it yourself. I had to calculate my GPA according to different schools' standards and it different ~.15 as a range. If there is no chance that the disparity is from a slight calculation difference, make sure they have the right transcript. I saw on this forum someone who had posted maybe a year ago about a school saying his/her GPA was an entire point below what it was. It turned out they mixed up the transcript. Unfortunately for this person, the school wouldn't reconsider the rejection they sent due to someone else's low GPA. Regardless of what happens in sorting this out, your acceptance is definitely good news.

I'm really sorry. Not only is it terrible that they withdrew an offer, but also that they can't offer you admission because you don't have enough undergraduate coursework when you have a masters degree! That seems like a really unreasonable policy given that many people change their field between undergraduate and graduate school, and that is partially what a masters is for. If it is true that the policy is in place because Canadian Ph.D. programs don't include as much coursework, then your masters degree should more than compensate. I agree with nullsymbol and cyberwolf, definitely push it further but don't get too hopeful, which I am sure you won't after what happened.

The wait. The worst thing about emailing them. It turns the rate of checking emails from the usually rate of 1/10min to 1/1min. I have called one program 4 times. Now that it is crystal clear that I am rejected, I want to call them more to give them an incentive not just to ignore the rejects, (The sooner they tell us, the sooner we stop harassing them.) but haven't received any notification from anywhere yet. Since I don't want the first notification to be a rejection from a school I already knew I was rejected from, I'll sit tight for the time being.

Oh no, there has been some mistake. Take this back and bring me an acceptance letter from my first choice graduate program. It's okay; I'll wait here while you get it. Thanks. Those damn renter insurers, such teases!

I'm going to send the school that has rejections and acceptances on the results survey the following email: Dear graduate coordinator, I know you already gave me a timeline and said I would hear by mid-April, but we both know that wasn't a real timeline for acceptances. Several people have posted on Grad Cafe. So, if they have heard already, why haven't I??? That's not fair! Sincerely, Rowlf

Did you ever find out what it was?

Did those waves of decisions include rejections and acceptances, or just acceptances? I am right there with you, buddy. My number one concern has sent out two waves of acceptances and rejections, yet I haven't heard anything. What does that meeeean? The only school that I have really moved on from because of an implied rejection is a small program that did interviews way long ago and is known for letting rejections linger. Other than that, there is enough ambiguity to have hope. It sounds like that is more like your situation. I would be insanely antsy, but still hopeful.

Heather Hoffman, you were accepted to your first choice program? Congratulations!!!! That's such good news. Personally, I don't subscribe to the do-not-poke-the-monster theory. I don't think a school would reject you because you rushed them or bothered them. It may be true that you weren't quite on the official rejection list when you contacted them but I don't think that contacting them would have any effect on your standing. They don't admit someone because they are afraid that student will have no other options. Now you can look forward to your number one school without any more waiting. I hope you are thrilled and this admit makes you feel at peace with all the little decisions we have all been obsessing over.

I have seen a lot of people posting information they got from contacting a department like that they were on the waitlist or rejected, or that the department sent out the first wave of interview invites or acceptances. For those of you who have done this successfully, how did you ask? I have contacted departments by calling and asking for an update on my application status. They tell me it is under review and I will hear by April 15th. I started being a bit more blunt and just ask if they have sent out the first wave of acceptances or if they have already done interviews and they either give me as little information about possible or, more typically, refuse to answer. It seems like there is some subtle way of asking that makes them spill all their beans, like a password. Is the password "password"?

Hear, hear! I know that it will be over soon, blah, blah, but let's face it: this process blows.

I agree that trying to convince yourself that it's not coming this week helps. On Monday two weeks ago, I thought, "This is the week!" Nothing. The following Monday, I thought, "This is it. Rejection or acceptance, either way, I'm bracing myself." Nothing. This week, it's hard to expect anything even if I tried... and it's helping! Still, I'll have to contend with the occasional "School X already sent acceptances but no one has posted it on GC and everyone else is rejection" and "School Y sent acceptances and rejections but didn't consider me important enough to reject" thoughts this week.

After more results appeared on the result survey yesterday, I broke down and decided to call one of the programs. For some reason, I decided I should call about some other trivial thing as an excuse to contact them and then lead into the status question. (I have asked them point blank before, but I think the heat of potential impending rejection is causing me to be crazy.) They answered the trivial question--"yeah" was the entire response, because it was a truly non-substantial question--and then I choked about asking my status or how many waves of acceptances/rejections they have gone through. I just hung up. I feel like a 13-year-old boy, calling to ask that girl who sits next to me in history class to be my girlfriend, who just freezes up and breathes over the phone.