zanmato4794

Dear UPenn, Tomorrow's my birthday. Don't worry if you didn't get my gift quite yet. I know just the thing. Best, -Z.

Looking at the results boards, I'm proud that I haven't seen the brattiness in posts of English rejections that I see in some of the other fields. Sheeesh! Entitlement!

A few things: 1) I find myself wondering if B.A. to PhD is becoming less common as it becomes harder for students working their way through college to have the time to study since working your way through college requires more hours of work every year (and by working your way, I actually just mean having money to live off of if mommy and daddy aren't footing the bill--keeping up with tuition while enrolled at a university without loans is nearly out of the question for most students). 2) I also think the field is being made more competitive by students taking gap years, which is potentially in turn making gap years more popular and almost necessary as candidates keep doing things to beef up their numbers and CVs. I took my sweet time applying to both M.A. and PhD programs, and I think it helped me. Basically I think we're seeing a process unfold, not uniformly and with definitely exceptions, but I do think I see the age of the average PhD candidate potentially ticking up for economic and competitive reasons. Also, to make you perhaps feel better: there were many extremely happy 40+ PhD candidates where I did my M.A. One of them was getting her PhD in creative writing, and from what I could tell, it felt like she basically had a career (she started publishing like crazy during the program) and it seemed like taking classes was just something she did for fun and writing her dissertation was just another project among many she was doing. Perhaps you will be able to streamline your professional self with your student self as a PhD candidate so that it doesn't feel too bad to be a student. Also: I don't know how you feel about doing your PhD at UMD, but I bet if you stuck around there for it, they might pop you out in four years since you'd have taken many of the classes.

I don't know what your attitude on gap years is--they seem like they suck but, having taken two in a row, I can tell you it's not so bad--but I bet with one more year you could reapply and, having strengthened your application, get that funding. Further, I bet you'd feel better about it in the long run, and your future selves would be glad for it. I know you must be anxious to move on with your life, but my vote would be for you to spend another year becoming an even more stellar applicant while putting away money for your eventual move and having time to study and also to travel or something.

I had entirely given up on this season. I had so given up that I ALREADY SIGNED UP FOR THE APRIL SUBJECT TEST. And here today a UCSB acceptance lands in my email. I'm so happy and so relieved. I was considering quitting academia! What nonsense!

Rejected from UT Austin. This was the one I thought I really had a shot at. Tonight I sulk. Tomorrow I start my first serious weekend of getting ready to apply again in the fall.

I'm starting to act out. I want to spam DGS email with pictures of cats. UT Austin pweeeze. I wuv yoo.

It's asking a lot, but I will drink the alcohol for you. Feel better!

I see UT-Austin in a lot of people's signatures. I'm thinking we'll start hearing from them in the next three days.

You seem to know the weak spots in your application, and I have a few ideas about mine. I think if we both do get shut out this year, we should bounce ideas off each other and maybe even start a topic for a kind of a tough love camp for next cycle.

My sabbatical from GradCafe was kind of nice, as a little self-control exercise. If any of you are stressing about waiting for acceptances (especially if you haven't gotten one yet), I suggest taking a break from the site. I did notice my stress levels kind of go down, and I stopped obsessively checking email and the results page and was able to focus on other things. Obviously, everyone here this year is super nice and supportive, but watching everyone else get life-changing acceptances while you kind of piddle around and wonder if you're out of their league is pretty disheartening. Is there any consensus on UCSB, does anyone know? I have the feeling that the first round admits have all been contacted already. I go between, on the one hand, accepting that fact that I think this is a shutout year for me and actually having a good attitude about it, and, on the other hand, hoping that I still might squeak in this year while also dreading the idea of rejection and not knowing if I'll have the energy to apply again. Emotions!

True Life: I'm in a Samuel Beckett Play

I upvoted it to make the post happy again.

oh goodness oh goodness. UCSB is technically my lowest-ranked pick and they seem to be notifying. here comes full-blown panic! i'm a pisces and am currently willing to believe anything!