Things To Do While "Waiting It Out."

[Minnesotan]

Bob Marley has been keeping me sane, lately.

"No worry about a thing. Every little thing gonna be alright!"

[DUguy333]

I took the advice of some website and bought a chiapet to watch it grow

...just kidding

I work and take 23 credits so not much time to fret

...only in my sleep :roll:

[nailbitingnmiserable]

I work during the day, attend night courses during the week, and I'm planning a wedding, yet I still seem to find lots of time to fret about grad school and check this forum several times a day :cry:

[Lizzy23]

I think my bf seriously wants to tape my mouth shut. All I do is fret and whine about Graduate School. Well, it's easy for him not to fret, as he has already been accepted at a great department, with more than decent funding: an offer I'd kill to have... *sob* *sob*

[deadparrot]

I've had one official and one unofficial acceptance, but the thing I'm most excited about at the moment is being invited to an Interview Weekend at one of my top choices (one that I thought was a complete and utter reach, and so just being invited to interview was a shock). Since getting the letter on Saturday, I've been trolling the school's website, flight comparison sites, and the chamber of commerce page for the small town in which the program is located. Talk about your time wasters--I have internship applications for this summer to complete, yet I spend more time just picking up the letter and rereading it instead of doing actual, you know, work. Gah.

[Cornell07]

I think I'm driving my girlfriend, parents, and co-workers up a wall with me fretting over grad school admissions. I swear I'd lighten up a zillion percent if I just had one acceptance to lean on. (1 rejection so far, waiting on 8 more.)

[whentostop]

Does anybody else's mailman come inordinately late in the day? And did anybody else discover this only in the last few weeks? I just sit here and listen for the creek of that metal hinge...and listen...and listen...

[crossedfingers]

listen for the creek of that metal hinge...and listen...and listen...

lol! metal hinge? really? I live in an apartment complex, so no idea about the creaking mailman hinges, but i do smile at every UPS/Fed Ex guy I see in my neighborhood. Just to ( you know), spread the warmth, a little good karma maybe!!!

desperate. I know.

i started checking apartment listings on apartments.com/craigslist to most of the schools I applied

lol.. sad life

[rising_star]

i started checking apartment listings on apartments.com/craigslist to most of the schools I applied

lol.. sad life

lol, me too. I stick mostly to craig's list though my ideal situation is probably a condo within walking distance of campus and another grad student (outside the dept or at least in a different subfield) to share it with.

[whentostop]

Oh indeed! My wife has a veritable flow chart of contingencies for living arrangements depending on which of the ten cities I get admitted to. I just kind of nervously smile and wonder what it will feel like to be rejected ten times and watch that list of details about where to live and how to live fold into the trash can.

[lucifer2]

A religious person I never was but I've sunk so low as to have had tarot readings and fortune tellings about my applications. Bad influences from some new acquaintances that are very superstitious (just kidding). I think I need to ask for forgiveness from God. He won't blame me for my moments of weakness, will He? I certainly hope not.

Right now, I'm a fairly regular visitor of this place. It will be at least half a month later before I start getting offers and rejections and I'm freaking out already. I sincerely thank my family for putting up with my fretting. And words of comfort from trusted friends definitely help make my day.

[crossedfingers]

I think I need to ask for forgiveness from God. He won't blame me for my moments of weakness, will He? I certainly hope not.

I'm confused. I'm not Christian, but are tarot readings and fortune telling considered sins? Hmm... interesting. I always thought I'd get jinxed if i said out loud that I didn't really like either of the two. But if they are sins.. guess there is no jinxing.. ahh

aka the jobless mind.. :?

[Intaglio5]

A religious person I never was but I've sunk so low as to have had tarot readings and fortune tellings about my applications. Bad influences from some new acquaintances that are very superstitious (just kidding). I think I need to ask for forgiveness from God. He won't blame me for my moments of weakness, will He? I certainly hope not.

Right now, I'm a fairly regular visitor of this place. It will be at least half a month later before I start getting offers and rejections and I'm freaking out already. I sincerely thank my family for putting up with my fretting. And words of comfort from trusted friends definitely help make my day.

My grandma has been lighting candles for me. I just wonder what I'm going to do with the first 1-2 hours of my workday when I don't have grad school forums to ready. Hopefully I'll have Craigslist real estate listings to read.

[sarah4153]

I just wonder what I'm going to do with the first 1-2 hours of my workday when I don't have grad school forums to ready.

Yes, I'm sure I would be horrified to know how many times I hit the refresh button on my email and the results page. :-D

[lucifer2]

It's really nice to have a place like this from where I can get moral support at this moment. Me and my colleague were talking earlier and while I was telling him how nerve-wracking I find about still not hearing anything yet, it just struck me how nice he has been for listening to me talk about my applications every day.

[crossedfingers]

I'm glad my roomate is applying to grad school this year as well. Sometimes we spend hours talking about what ifs and how it will all work out. Its really great that we have a common ground to pour all our frustrations. It certainly does help. I was completely oblivious to this forum and its people till the start of this year- but I'm glad I found it. There is some soft of comfort u get from reading the posts:)

[sudhar_v]

Glad to find kindred folks out here.

first thing after you hit the submit button: google "grad admission results"

login to the first link and you know what to do after that!

and nothing comes close to the frustration when you have a day job. when you dont know if you make the cut or end up becoming the wannabe .... gaaah the endless obscurities

man i will thank anyone who teaches how to remain sane while waiting for the decisions and working!

good day!

sudhar

[DUguy333]

To those waiting it out still, I've found Green Day's "Brain Stew" to be the most apropos song created for those waiting to hear from graduate schools...

[crustaceangirl]

For graduate admissions songs I'm fond of Teenage Lobotomy by the Ramones --

Guess I'm gonna have to tell 'em

That I got no cerebellum

Gonna get my Ph.D.

I'm a teenage lobotomy

...as a neuroscience person I have to respect any song that rhymes something with "cerebellum," even if that's not the part of the brain that gets removed during a lobotomy.

[canadiana]

I watched the eclipse tonight!

[rising_star]

I watched the eclipse tonight!

Me too!! But for some reason, it never looked like a full eclipse... maybe I missed the magical 30 seconds?

[Minnesotan]

I had a league match tonight. We lost, so maybe I should have watched the eclipse instead.

[lucifer2]

I have been having strange thoughts these days. I've been analyzing the psychological makeup of people around me that are also applying for grad school through my observations (which could also just be my projections of course). Also, now that I think I am kind of safe, I start thinking whether a PhD will do me much good. What if I get into a lesser-known program, how would others see me? Do I care? Is a PhD still worth getting given the possible prospects?

My friends are great and my family is very supportive but none of the people I feel I can talk to care or know much about getting a PhD so there's only so much support and advice they can give. I feel lonely sometimes. To make things worse, I have some toxic friends that make me feel worse than I already do. I know I can stay away from them, but the damage's been done.

Sorry, I really need to vent.

[FastForward]

Does anyone check Embark's application website for admissions results ? My understanding was that Embark only did the application and that results, when announced, would appear elsewhere.. or do they appear on Embark as well under some well-hidden link (which contrasts the huge font showing my application is received + the incredibly high app fee is paid) ???

[Cornell07]

While I find the process of secretly notifying acceptees early while those who are rejected sweat it out to be excruciating and frustrating, I would welcome a process of notifying rejects as soon as their decision is made and then waiting until the last minute to tell the acceptees. :twisted: