crazygirl2012

People actually say these things? Even if you're paraphrasing, they're terrible! Although I have to admit to laughing a bit at the second one, about the cat and the murder, just because it's quite a combination. That one sounds like something a mom might say!

I am so sorry to hear that! The same thing happened to me last summer, but obviously on a much smaller scale. You sound like a great person and worker who has had some really bad luck. I hope that all these doors are closing because you're meant to find something better! Keep us posted?

I keep forgetting that I'll still be a student! I keep thinking of grad school more as a job (which it is), and thinking of all the research and TAing, but I forget that I'll be taking courses for a few years. I am looking forward to my coursework (I think). But now that I'll be getting paid instead of paying, I'm viewing it differently.

I ended up getting a new pair of glasses as my treat. Totally nerdy. I love it.

So true! I think I got to the point of: "Hey, how's it going?" "No! It's not! I'm staring at my email! Nothing is happening!" "Uhh... okay, hope your day gets better!" Run away, well-intentioned person innocently saying hello to a grad applicant. Run far, far away.

Because I ended up not having a decision to make at all, I need to stop allowing the rankings to influence how I view myself as a person and, more importantly, how I view my new program. I keep having a pity party about my friend getting into a program ranked slightly higher than mine, even though I always believed she would "win" anyway. I also came very close to a top 30 program and was ultimately not accepted, so that is screwing with me. Stupid rankings. Stupid ego. Stupid me. Okay, I'll stop now.

I didn't follow an outline at the time, but looking back, here's a rough description of what I did for each paragraph. I'm going to a Ph.D. program straight from undergrad, if that makes a difference. 1. Fluffy intro about how I got interested in research and in my topic in general. For me, this was high school. 2. My first experiences in psychological research working as an assistant in a cognitive lab. 3. Why I transitioned from cognitive into neuroscience, and what I did in the neuroscience lab. 4. Why I transitioned from neuroscience into social, why social is the best fit for me, and how I began my thesis. 5. Details about my thesis and how I plan to present my research. 6. Why the school, the program, and my potential advisor would be a good fit-- how they would help me, how I would help them, the significance of my proposed research. It ended up being about a page and a half double-spaced, depending on how I tailored it for each program. I basically went in chronological order and told my story up until the present, finishing with future directions and why I should pursue those goals at X university. 6.

I've tried refreshing my email even though new emails pop up automatically. It makes me feel better, okay?!?

That's the impression I got from it when I was there for my interview. Do you know of any good (or halfway decent) coffee shops in Toledo? The current students in my new program said that Toledo is very much lacking in good coffee. That makes me so sad, but at least it will be easier to live on my stipend if I'm making my own coffee rather than indulging in deliciousness all the time.

On the results page, I posted that I was rejected from the Rutgers Social Psych program after emailing my POI. Someone posted after me asking who my POI was. That person's post was deleted from the results page, but if you are that person and you still want to know, PM me and I'll tell you.

On the results page, I posted that I was rejected from this program after emailing my POI. Someone posted after me asking who my POI was. That person's post was deleted from the results page, but if you are that person and you still want to know, PM me and I'll tell you.

1) These are fantastic. 2) My rejection from my dream school is still stinging a bit. It has only been 2 days. I was all alone on a plane that was about to take off when I got my acceptance, so all I could do was smile for 2 hours! I should probably do something else when I'm over the rejection. When I got THAT one, I cried in a restaurant. I'm cool like that. 3) When I get back to school, there's a nearly full bottle of girly cake-flavored vodka with my name on it. (Hey, I'm still an undergrad for another 7 weeks! I'm allowed!) I guess it's a celebration/consolation thing? I won't be done with spring break for another week, so hopefully by then it will be more of a celebration. 4) After that, I want to get a new ear piercing. It's nothing too fancy, but it will commemorate my acceptance. I have a hard time rewarding myself for anything, so I'm taking it slow!

If it's any consolation to anyone, the craziness can go away pretty quickly once the process is over. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I open my email inbox (yes, looking for that "inbox (1)" in gmail), but I probably only check it 10 times a day now. For me, that is practically baseline!

You're right-- it did turn out okay. Everything will fall into place for all of us eventually, right? Right.

Thanks! And yes, I think yours counts as a good week.

Thank you! That was a helpful answer and things make a lot more sense now.

That's terrible! You have every right to be mad. It sounds like you really like this program, but the fact that you've had multiple problems like this may be a red flag. Over time, as a student there, you might get increasingly frustrated with it.

One of my recommenders is now at a different university, so I no longer see her in person. I'm definitely going to send a thank you, but I can't decide if I should do an email or a card. Cards are really nice, but maybe I should send an email in case she wants to reply? I guess if she wants to contact me after receiving a card in the mail, she can email me. Thoughts?

Mine felt like an awful week, but it ended in me accepting an offer, so I guess it wasn't so bad. I'm happy with my new program and relieved to be done with the process.

I don't know what their problem is! Out of the 10 schools I applied to, I have only gotten two "official" rejections so far. I wonder if I'll get any other emails, or if I just assume that the majority of the schools I applied to will never tell me anything at all.

Hi all! I just accepted an offer at University of Toledo yesterday, for the experimental psychology Ph.D. program. If you're going to Toledo too and you want to chat, let me know!

I haven't found a thread for Toledo on here. Does anyone have information about the city that they'd be willing to share with me? I'm going to contact the current students in my new program, but the more advice I can get, the better!