Submission Anxieties

[Procaffeination]

Hi all,

I'm super nervous about even being accepted to grad schools because of my lower than average GPA (3.4 overall) and an unfortunate academic dishonesty case last year. I was accused of A.D. after turning in a rough draft of a paper for the honors section of a class. It contained material that was not appropriately cited. I wasn't maliciously trying to take the authors' work, I cited it poorly. To make up for it, I had to go through a restorative justice program which was a conversation with Academic peers and mentors to discuss happened and how we can mend the harm. After the program, I put on an academic integrity seminar for my dorm (as I'm an RA). My disciplinary record will be stored as "non-disciplinary" by my University, but I still put "yes" I've been reprimanded by my school on CSDCAS. I've explained the situation in a matter of fact way, trying not to dismiss it as less than it is. Honestly, it keeps me awake at night. I've definitely learned from my mistake, and I believe that I made a good effort after the fact to repair any harm that was done. CSDCAS only gives you 500 characters to describe the problem, so I really wish they'd give me more. 

Obviously, to attempt to better my chances I applied at a wide variety of schools (23... which is nuts!). I think my stress about my applications is also coming from the fact that CSDCAS has yet to "verify" my academic update grades, and I've submitted my apps... Though, I do know that schools don't even begin looking for a couple of weeks because CSDCAS processing times do take a while and I submitted everything from my end. Besides that, I've been told I am a competitive applicant... uGPA: 3.46, CSD GPA: 3.75, Last-60 GPA: 3.80, GRE: 157 V, 154 Q, 4.5 AW.

I am a CS&D major with an Education minor.  I have been involved in 2 research labs during undergrad; one for three semesters studying bilingual language acquisition and language development and the other studying Parkinson's Disease using rat models. I currently serve on the executive board of NSSLHA as the Secretary. I was a Camp Counselor at an overnight summer camp for kiddos on the autism spectrum. I am working as a conversation volunteer in our school's speech and language clinic. I also am enrolled in a service-learning course as a mentor for children in our public school district who experience homelessness. Finally, I have been an RA for our dorms for the past 2 years. I think I have a diverse amount of leadership and research experiences which could help that lower GPA.

Anyways, do any of you have advice to get through this waiting period? I have tried to pick up reading for fun and I know that I should try and limit my time on social media especially with decisions around the corner...

[flowerbloom]

Hello! I'm sorry to hear that you are having added anxiety to this already strenuous process. When I was waiting for application results, I thought about it constantly and checked the Grad Cafe results page way too much (which I don't recommend because it made me even more anxious). Even in grad school and my job, it's hard to separate thoughts about work when I go home. I would try to incorporate some meditation and breathing into your day, even for 5 minutes just to center your thoughts in the present and to keep them from drifting. It was also really helpful for me to have someone to vent my worries and anxieties to. I checked with my campus health services and found that they gave free counseling sessions. It was so nice to have to have a third-party to help process my feelings with. I was worried about not getting in anywhere and then not having a plan, so I also gave some though into what I would do in that case so that I had a little less to worry about. I also exercised a lot during that time to release some stress so maybe joining a gym or a recreational league might help. I hope this was helpful, best of luck!