Fiona Thunderpaws

I guess the administration wouldn't let the department make first round offers to more than their approved class size (20), so some people who in a another year would've had first round offers ended up on the waitlist. Which is a little strange, but you won't hear this girl complaining. I think you should visit us, Trip!

Officially accepted my offer! Not that it's a huge surprise. To think I started this whole crazy process almost 11 months ago! School: University of Texas at Austin Field(s): Gender studies, post colonial, and popular culture Username: Fiona Thunderpaws

Dislike! That seems quite a bit different from what they were telling you before. But CUNY is a really great school, and you get to be in NYC instead of New Jersey. Not that New Brunswick is a bad place, but it's no NYC! Sorry to hear that, Swagato. But I bet next time around you'll get into ALL the places.

Congrats, AA!!!! It is definitely true, don't let the doubts get you! I am so excited for you!! And congrats to Germaine as well. What IS it with Friday the 13th and waitlisted people? Now we just need ALL the schools to make offers to everyone still waiting.

Marlowe--congratulations! So happy you'll be joining us! UTA is going to be awesome this Fall. Does UTA have the biggest number of GFers there thus far of all the places we've applied to, or is that my lingering UTA OCD just making it that way?

I will help you edit if you want, and hand deliver your application to the DGS himself! I know!!! It's like a page out of some crazy grad school fairytale!!!! And judging by the people on TGC already going, the Fall 2012 class will be awesome!

Thank you so much everyone!!! All the support and inspiration here kept me going through all these weeks. If TGF was a bar, I would get the next round for everyone!

It worked guys, I'm in!!!!!

I GOT INTO UTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to both Wikichic and GuateAmfeminist!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think it's great so many GFers are getting in! I think Trip's right about this being an exhilarating and terrifying thread for the next few days. Hazelbite--alas, I declared women, gender and lit at UTA! But hey, you never know how these departments play out. Congrats on Harvard, by the way!

What the hell? GF says I still hit my quota of 1s for the day otherwise I would like that a million times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GF says I used up my quota of positive points, or whatever they're called, so I just wanted to say congratulations to everyone who made their final decision today!

Thanks guys! I really believe if this works out for me, it'll be because of the collective good vibes from my fellow GFers! GuateamFeminist--his exact words were they're waiting and pressuring people to get back to them, but that's all he can say at this point. The suspense!

Heard back from my DGS. I'm at the top of the list in my field. I'm exhilarated and terrified.

I understand how this goes. When I told my parents after I graduated that I was applying to PhD programs, they were worried I was doing it to take a vacation from "real life." People didn't take my decision seriously because I had never tried to do anything other than be in school. Sometimes I wonder if my youth was a strike against me in this application cycle.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the visit! Best of luck with your decisions--you have some excellent choices, and I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

UTA has an unranked waitlist, and maybe some of Adam's schools have a similar setup. It makes sense for UTA since they encourage interdisciplinary research among their cohort. Unfortunately, UTA also has a closed-lips policy when it comes to responding to queries from both waitlisted people and their acceptees. I guess it made sense to a point, but this late in the game, it does seem weird. If I had other offers I'd need to know how likely my chances of admission were! I emailed them almost a week ago asking when I might hear back, but there was no reply. I'm assuming it's because they're making a fellowship just for me. It's called "Thunderpaws--the Coolest Cat on Campus" and it's a one shot deal. Yep. That's what they're doing all right.

This is the story of my year off. I definitely felt kind of shamed of moving back home at first, but not having to dig up rent money let me work part time while I audited a grad course and worked on applications. Goddamn undergraduate loans.

Awesome! As long as you left a spot for me.

You lived in Rochester as well? Awesome! Glad to hear they're somewhat comparable (but with Austin winning weather-wise). They bring out an actual longhorn for football games? I'll have to go just to see him if things work out with UTA.

Ugh, yes, my school will tell me nothing either. If it were not for the lovely GFers, I wouldn't know a thing and would be losing my marbles. But no one has gotten in off the waitlist according to the results survey either. I just going to assume I'm still in the running until I hear one way or another. I kind of hope we all hear by today or tomorrow, but my one professor seemed to think it could likely go into next week as well. Looking at last year's results, the 16th was a popular day as well. I don't know how much longer I can last.

I emailed a program asking if I could send in a longer sample because there was no way I could cut it down to the limit and not have it be butchered, and they said it was fine. I think as long as you ask a head of time most programs won't mind. If/when I apply again, I think I'm just going to work on making a truly exceptional paper without worrying about the limits and see how it goes. Last summer, knowing I was working on my writing sample made the whole process much more difficult and made me question my own skills. I think things would have been easier for me if i was able to worm my way out of the 'oh no, it's my writing sample!' mindset.

What is one getting into exactly if one moves from the Northeast and movies to Texas then? I seriously know nothing about Texas. I've never even been within three hundred miles of a Texan border. All I know is that a Longhorn is a seriously scary looking creature, and it puts Buffalo's buffalo to shame. EDIT: As a Buffalonian, I am compelled to note that the Buffalo buffalo is in fact a bison and was never indigenous to western New York. Don't ask me why--I just live here.

Thanks for sharing guys! These just made my night. Does anyone else spend their last days of waiting/deciding glued to their laptop with a favourite cocktail in hand?