toasterazzi

Yeah one of my acceptances is from OSU, and I've already started to feel a bias against Michigan...

I believe in picking your battles, and cell phones are not the (losing) battle I want to take up. Participation is 10% of the grade in my class, so they automatically lose their participation points if I see their phones. No warnings or anything along those lines. They just lose the points and it wreaks a bit of havoc on their grade eventually. Some of them learn and some of them don't, but the policy is in the syllabus so they have no excuses.
 
I also have some colleagues who automatically mark them absent if they the phones. 
 
Honestly though, unless the phone is ringing, which has only happened a couple of times since I started TAing in 2012, I don't personally care that much if they're screwing around on the phone because I feel like they have to be held accountable for making themselves pay attention at some point. And if they miss info because they're compulsively playing Candy Crush, then that's on them.

I believe in picking your battles, and cell phones are not the (losing) battle I want to take up. Participation is 10% of the grade in my class, so they automatically lose their participation points if I see their phones. No warnings or anything along those lines. They just lose the points and it wreaks a bit of havoc on their grade eventually. Some of them learn and some of them don't, but the policy is in the syllabus so they have no excuses.
 
I also have some colleagues who automatically mark them absent if they the phones. 
 
Honestly though, unless the phone is ringing, which has only happened a couple of times since I started TAing in 2012, I don't personally care that much if they're screwing around on the phone because I feel like they have to be held accountable for making themselves pay attention at some point. And if they miss info because they're compulsively playing Candy Crush, then that's on them.

Too much.

I went to California twice last year, and the good Mexican food was probably my top (or very near top) reason for loving it there. On one of the trips, I was in San Diego for about five days and I ate almost literally nothing but Mexican food. It was delightful

You know what’s interesting? All of us in here are stressing about getting into the “best possible” PhD program and are often feeling glum because, though we have acceptances, they aren’t what we were hoping for (I’m including myself in that, by the way). 
 
According to the 2012 US Census, though, only 3.07% of Americans hold a PhD. That’s it. 
 
No matter where we end up, we still kick more academic ass than 97% of the population.

Mead. Went on a mead tour in Denver and have been sold since. Beyond that, St. Germaine and cognac.

I'm also eating a lot of meat and potatoes. Mmm...

Protip: if you aren't a whiskey person yet, grad school will probably make you one. I went from a white wine to a Black Label girl in 6 months. Not that I'm complaining.

That’s what happened to me with UC-Davis. I had four of their grad students looking at my profile. So weird, huh? I asked about that in another forum and someone said that professors often solicit grad students to the social media/presence checking for them. 

Winner for most hardcore goes to toasterazzi.

I got accepted to Purdue! Good god I had given up hope on my entire career and future.

Benedict Cumberbatch looks like what happens to a potato when it's left in the cupboard for too long.

Accepted into UPenn! Received a phone call from the DGS!

The most helpful tip I've received from my current and former professors is that I should learn what to read, what to skim, and what to skip. Several professors pointed out that at the PhD level, assigned coursework reading is secondary to my own research. So, when I'm reading for class, I look at the abstract, closely read the introduction. From there, I decide if I am going to just skim through and find the main ideas, or spend more time really absorbing the article and thinking about how it applies to my own research questions.
 
Also, I annotate the crap out of anything I read. That may take up more time in the initial read, but it saves time during class discussions and my writing. 

GUYS ANOTHER WILD UVA ACCEPTANCE APPEARED! *throws masterball at it*

I got in! I checked my spam box for the hell of it and the e-mail was in there!!

You and I are very similar in our interests

Accepted at U Michigan Ann Arbor! 
 
I may have accidentally danced my way across campus when I heard the news. This is my first acceptance, and before I got an acceptance...well, the mind goes to dark places. Like, "I'm not smart or qualified enough to be an academic; I'm a fraud; I should give up this fanciful dream of academia and manage a Chipotle" sorts of places.
 
Good luck to everyone else who applied!

I got my first acceptance tonight -- Southern Illinois -- and I'm just insanely happy to have an offer. I had pretty much given up hope, and even though it's not my top choice, it's still a choice and I'm happy to have it. Don't give up just yet everyone who hasn't heard good news; your offer can still come!

The lack of seasoning would make me so unhappy. I mean, I still want to go there one day, but that'd be a sad food experience. I love flavors and seasonings. And not just salt and pepper either. Garlic, onion, chili powder, cumin, allspice, oregano, basil, curry, various peppers, thyme...
 
See now I'm hungry...

Thank you for your replies! I really love the program even though British lit is not their strength. The funding package is just not the greatest because I have to pay back a loan but I'd really love to go there. At least I'd have GOOD FOOD which is very important when I'm crying about a paper.

I got into Rutgers! !! I can't believe it!

(Lying, obviously)

I think some people are lying.

I did get into Michigan State with very uncertain (likely no) funding, though.

I still have ten schools that are wide open. I promise y'all I won't lie on here or the results board about acceptances, rejections. I wonder what the point of doing so is. ...??

I just got a phone call from Tufts University! First acceptance. Beyond excited.

Just got an acceptance from Bowling Green (American Culture Studies)
 

Mozel tov! I'm here as an MA in Literature but I've taken many ACS courses--please let me know if you have any questions!