wikichic

It's been fun chatting with you Singwaya and Safferz- I am going to try to get some sleep, but will surely return to lurk more tomorrow. If I sleep, does that mean the decisions will come faster? Will the admissions fairy leave an acceptance under my pillow? Maybe I should just go into hibernation for the next 3 weeks....

I suppose it really just sort of depends on the program how the GREs are assessed. Hopefully if the POI wants to work with you, that would be the mark of an acceptance, but you can never know for sure. When you said 158 I was like- Oh my gosh! How did Singwaya score below 200?! Then I realized- the new test, duh! I'm still on the old test scale. But a 158 is a very respectable score! Don't worry too much about it anyway- they probably don't even know how to assess these new GRE scores yet, making them an even more worthless portion of the application than usual. Plus no one ever cares about the quantitative either. Sounds like an awful testing experience- I'm so sorry. But you made it through that. Now if we could just make it to February...

It looks like we're in the same boat, Singwaya. I'm confident in almost every part of my application EXCEPT my GRE scores, which are delightfully mediocre. I too have research experience in my country of interest, and have presented at some conferences, etc. I've got some other things on my CV that I don't want to go into specifics about, but I hope they'll help me too. I've heard from some of the professors I've applied to work with that the GRE means very little to them. I think the GRE might make the difference with the grad committee, but perhaps not the individual POI you're applying to work with. They told me that the writing sample was by far the most important component, so hopefully that will be a source of comfort for us both. My writing sample was strong enough, but it sure would've been nice to have a completed thesis to submit. I've resigned myself to be okay with whatever happens. It is, after all, a total crapshoot, but no matter how many times I tell myself that it does not help me to feel any less anxious.

My subfield is European, but I'm not a modernist. Sorry to be so vague, but I'm paranoid on top of being neurotic- you never know who could be looking on these sites. It's part of the reason why I was so hesitant to post in the first place. I GREATLY appreciate that you both are on here at 2am. It makes me realize that there are others out there going through what I'm going through and that's a real comfort.

Worry not- I don't believe we are in the same subfield. And besides- we aren't applying to any of the same institutions. I'm glad that I don't have to directly compete against most of the people on this forum- you all seem to be so well-qualified and I'm sure your applications are nothing short of fantastic. In short- I'm rooting for you all. From what I can tell so far, I haven't seen any applicants in my subfield on this board yet (could this be good?). Perhaps they are just less neurotic than I am and don't feel the need to obsess... sigh.

Hi all, I've been following this forum rather obsessively for the past month or so, so I thought I would post. I applied in a previous cycle, and was universally rejected from every PhD program I applied to. I got into a wonderful funded master's program, though, and I think my scholarship has strengthened as a result of two extra years of graduate-level study. I also think I have a stronger application, which will hopefully help. I have had the opportunity to meet and interact on a professional level with every POI I applied to work with. Whether this will help me or not, I'm not sure. But when I e-mailed them last September/October they said that they remembered me and encouraged me to apply. Perhaps the best benefit of contacting professors, especially meeting him/her in person, is that they will remember your name/face when they read your application. You aren't just a name on a page- they know that you're a real human being. I don't think that not meeting or contacting your advisors beforehand will hurt you- but I think it does certainly help if you decide to get in touch with them. Due to circumstances largely beyond my control, there are portions of my application that aren't as strong as I would've liked them to be. I've sort of come to terms with the fact that if I'm not accepted this time around, I will come back with an even better application next year with a completed master's thesis in tow. It's not that I'm giving up- it's all about trying to be realistic. So if I get in to any of the programs that I apply to, I think it will largely be due to the fact that I've met the professors, have great letters of rec, and have completed two more years of study at the grad-level. I think it's really wonderful that so many of you have had such positive news already! I can't wait to see how this turns out you all. For better or worse, we're all in this academia thing for the long haul. Good luck to everyone. Is it Monday yet?