1Q84

I'm wondering that too. That's why I said there's conflicting information.... but I guess there are early admits? Pretty sure the grad chair said that they're making ongoing decisions.

Does anyone want to claim the "Loyola" English MA acceptance? Is that Loyola Chicago or Loyola Marymount?

Don't know if anyone else is applying to Calstate LA. I talked to the graduate chair and he said they're looking at apps an ongoing basis. The admissions clerk said that departments need to report back admissions to the admissions office by Mar 1 so decisions will start rolling out after that. I did some weird conflicting information but I think after Mar 1, I can start feeling a lot more anxious than I am now.

I'm having a mini-stroke because the online status of my application at Calstate LA is stated as "incomplete" although I did get a letter a long time ago from the department stating that my application was "complete" in their eyes. The online site has 3 different categories: incomplete, complete and accepted. Why am I incomplete?! <existential crisis?

I didn't think it was budget increases so much as a bandaid fix to ensure that current levels of funding are maintained. California is still in a dilly of a pickle.

I don't know about that generalisation. Knowledge is good, yes, but the way they seek to present it in this case, however, is a bad thing. I mean Dal has a point in that it can be used practically and realistically but the Democratic co-sponsor of the bill already stated that it's not about a neutral gathering of and compilation of information but an "introduction of market forces." Commodifying all of higher education in such a cynical way is bound to have terrible consequences for funding allocations, etc. I mean I'm under no illusion that many already see it as such but if it's being introduced into law and shoved down people's throats...

Although I gather this will affect undergraduates, it still says a lot about how the US is choosing to perceive and deal with higher education. I find this highly disturbing for many reasons... the least of which is the complete backwardness of "introducing some market forces into the academic arena." Not to mention the fact that the statistics won't include grads who moved out of state, work for the US government or are self-employed. I can imagine this is probably hurting the brains of the statisticians among us right now. Read the rest here.

I'm curious: does working at community colleges and other post-secondary institutions count as "outside academia"? I would be more than happy to do so but I hear jobs are scarce even there.

Best avatar ever.

Yes! All of this. Plus someone posted this in another thread (sorry, forgot which one) and I feel super validated because I knew there was a reason why I felt like garbage when I slept at 11:30 and woke up at 6 as opposed to just staying up a bit and sleeping at midnight. http://sleepyti.me/ It's a life changer!

That's the thing. Not everyone is petty like you, as was proved by the pretty harsh reaction to your suggestion that well-wishers are just fakers. I have nothing but good feelings for people who have been accepted. Why would I feel otherwise? I'm talking about people who have faced rejection and you're clearly not understanding that. Yawn.

Well, this strange non sequitur coming from the person who is convinced that people who are happy for other peoples' acceptances are just "faking it" should not surprise me, I guess. I already stated that I'm trying to take part in the anxiety-game that everyone else is playing. What that has to do with being happy or upset about peoples' good news is beyond me.

So the strawman saga of this thread continues.... My one and only point is that invalidating someone's angst during rejection is not helpful no matter how puerile or immature said angst may be. I recall your outbursts at your first rejection being filled with profanity and pointlessly melodramatic. Did anyone say as much to you? No, people commiserated and comforted you and quite kindly, as I recall. They didn't pontificate on the "proper" and "productive" way to deal with defeat because that would probably just make you feel worse. PS. You wanna talk about passive-aggressive? You're the one downvoting me and upvoting yourself. God... this stupid voting system is the definition of passive-aggression.

As always, you have mature and thoughtful words to contribute. Brava.

What I'm trying to say is that while your advice was positive, it also came off as paternalistic, pedantic and a little condescending. Obviously, I'm not speaking for tracyjacks but that's the feeling I get from the interaction. Would you have liked it if someone said what basically amounts to "grow up" to you while you were in the throes of your hissy fit? It'd probably just make you feel even worse, especially coming from someone who is just recently enjoying the benefit of securing their future for the next 6 years. There's a time and a place for this kind of advice but I think the moment of rejection is not that time. bluecheese kind of did the same thing to me. Everyone else was whinging about how they were so stressed over hearing back from schools and I contributed that I was stressed even though, from what I can tell, my schools only notify in April. I was told to just forget it and "do something productive" instead. Everyone else is allowed to be whiny and stressed, though? Well... maybe I was just trying to join the conversation and partake in the camaraderie-thru-stress that everyone else was experiencing. I understand the advice probably comes from a good place but there are other factors to consider when receiving paternalistic advice.

I like this philosophy and I think you're offering positive advice. That being said, I do recall you throwing a tantrum and swearing and shame spiralling on the board when you received your first rejection of the app cycle. I gather from other threads that now you've received some more positive news (congrats!) but you should also remember that there is some emotional/cathartic value in completely hissy fitting at the first sign of bad news. I'm sure you know that as you probably felt quite a bit better after your wallowing. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people give "look on the bright side" advice when _they_ are in a good place, expecting others to be emotionally aligned to receive said advice. All I mean is, there's a time and a place.

This is seriously too exciting! Congrats everyone... love all the triumphal life narratives going on!

I'm guessing because she or he meant that now there won't be 6 more years of debt to pile on top.

Don't hate.

Same here. Make it or break it this year. Ain't gettin any younger....

Tell me if you'd kick back and relax if you were in my shoes! If so, you're a better woman/man than I.

Apparently the schools I applied to only notify in April... I don't think I can take 3 more months of compulsively refreshing a website... :/

Not really. It's really hard to put a pin on McCarthy's style (especially since it shifts so much in this one) but stream of consciousness is not part of the palette!

McCarthy's Child of God. Nice and "uplifting"... in the sense that things could be worse. A lot worse.

Me too! Despite some pretty unfeminist lyrics, she's got some pretty awesome feminist leanings in some of her interviews. You guys... just make your tweets protected and change your avatar to something innocuous (if it's not already). Although I would proudly show off my Seinfeld quotes...