Coping with Waiting. Last night, I had a nightmare.

[darjeelingtea16]

I had a dream that I got accepted into a couple schools, and the one I chose to go to told me they were going to pay for my flight and everything to come a couple days before the start of the term. I get there, and there's a reception for all the new PhD students, and I'm all excited but then I start noticing that everyone is looking at me funny. Then the head of the department comes up to me and asks who I am, and I tell him, and he says "oh my gosh, I am so sorry. You must've got an acceptance letter by accident. Please go home immediately." HORRIFYING.

At the risk of sounding like a weirdo, has anyone else been sleepwalking? I woke up the other day in front of the front door to my apartment (still inside the apartment though), sleeping on top of shoes. No idea why I was there. God I must be stressed. This is not good.

[jynx]

I hadn't had any grad school dreams until last night. And last night was pretty bad...

I attended an interview weekend last Sunday and Monday, where they told us that offers would be made over the phone within the next week (probably within a couple of days) and that everyone else would be informed of rejections/alternate status by email a little bit later. Since I haven't heard anything yet, I'm anticipating a rejection, which is a total bummer because I really want to go there. Anyway, last night I dreamed that my POI called me, and I was so thrilled because I knew they wouldn't call unless they accepted me, but she actually just called to deliver the rejection personally. She totally insulted me, gave me a long list of reasons why I wasn't accepted, and laughed at me for being stupid enough to think I could get in. What a nightmare

I like to think I've been doing an okay job of managing my anxiety about this process, and being at peace with not getting in anywhere, but apparently I'm not doing as well as I thought...

[explodingstressball]

I've had at least three dreams where I was accepted to my dream school, and I was so excited I woke up. The first time it happened, I was so giddy that I was about to roll over and tell my significant other that I had been accepted ... when suddenly it hit me that it was all a dream.

Ouch.

[gradgirlwannabe]

I had a dream that I was pregnant, but then i had a miscarriage - thick with symbolism.

[NadaJ]

This thread/forum has really affected my dreams--I did not dream about admissions when I applied for my M.Ed. So, last night I dreamt that I was conditionally accepted. My application was a mixed bag of great LORs, SOP, and graduate GPA, but my UG GPA and GRE scores were less that they were accustomed to rceeiving, so they offered me funding, and acceptance for 1 year to prove that I was worth the investment.

It felt so real-I was so emotional, I couldn't even speak. I don't know if I accepted or not. But now I'm worried that I'm so over confident I will be accepted...

[EricaMarie]

Back when I first sent in all my applications, I had a run of dreams where I was told that I was rejected because my applications were incomplete, so I spent an awful lot of time checking my online applications to make sure they were complete.

Last week, I got an email from one of the schools I applied to stating that they were missing an extra document and my GRE scores....nightmare come to life!

[RDX]

Two days ago I dreamed I was rejected of all schools. Today I dreamed I was rejected by Stanford, TWICE...

[jaxzwolf]

It seems like a lot of people dream about Stanford, here-- even those who didn't apply! Wonder why that is?

Maybe Stanford has secret control of the dream universe, and they are using it to subconsciously influence us to do.... something. I don't actually know what.

[katemiddleton]

I'm not sure if this was a nightmare or not: I dreamed that I was at UCSB as the comittee was making the decisions. The building where they met was long and flat, and had only one story, so if you snuck outside and sat under the windows, you could hear what they were saying about your application. Now, student's aren't 'supposed' to do this, but everyone knows that they do, so the professors on the committee would just call students inside if they decided to admit them. In my dream, I didn't hear my name called...and then I woke up...

[qbtacoma]

I'm not sure if this was a nightmare or not: I dreamed that I was at UCSB as the comittee was making the decisions. The building where they met was long and flat, and had only one story, so if you snuck outside and sat under the windows, you could hear what they were saying about your application. Now, student's aren't 'supposed' to do this, but everyone knows that they do, so the professors on the committee would just call students inside if they decided to admit them. In my dream, I didn't hear my name called...and then I woke up...

Does anyone remember a comedy where people being laid off have to stand outside the office in the parking lot, and the executives point at them through the glass wall to let them know whether they have a job? Was that from The Office?

[selphie]

I had a dream I got an email that said "What are you a retard?" it had attached files and I had to open them. The first was the comment above with a large red arrow pointing to my GRE scores. the rest was my SOP marked in red.

At the bottom it said "Congratulations, you were the least stupid of the stupid applicants who applied, you are accepted-idiot"

talk about a nightmare

Thanks for lifting the bleak atmosphere for a short while.

I don't mind how harsh the letter reads, if only for that critical sentence in a fat envelope. Maybe waiting has driven me nuts.

[selphie]

It seems like a lot of people dream about Stanford, here-- even those who didn't apply! Wonder why that is?

Maybe Stanford has secret control of the dream universe, and they are using it to subconsciously influence us to do.... something. I don't actually know what.

LOL....

so... at least my sanity is slightly protected by that rejection letter received yesterday?

[snes]

It seems like a lot of people dream about Stanford, here-- even those who didn't apply! Wonder why that is?

Maybe Stanford has secret control of the dream universe, and they are using it to subconsciously influence us to do.... something. I don't actually know what.

Actually now that I think about it, when I was applying for undergrad, I had a dream about Stanford...and I didn't even apply. It wasn't even on my radar...

[shepardn7]

It seems like a lot of people dream about Stanford, here-- even those who didn't apply! Wonder why that is?

Maybe Stanford has secret control of the dream universe, and they are using it to subconsciously influence us to do.... something. I don't actually know what.

Hey, D.J. Tanner also had a dream about Stanford. She was taking her SATs and everything was going wrong so she freaked out and failed. Then Vanna White told Kimmy she was going to Stanford and D.J. that she was going to Clown College by spelling out the glittery letters on the chalkboard.

Now I'm wondering how many people here are old enough to remember Full House.

[kotov]

It's gotten to the point where I even dream about being drunk, if that tells you about my coping strategies.

[MoJingly]

Now I'm wondering how many people here are old enough to remember Full House.

Meh. I'm 22 and I remember. Full House isn't THAT old!

In other news, I feel like banging my head up against the wall

[TMP]

I had a dream last night about Penn. I was told that I was accepted to Penn and I would be visiting. And I did and I was basically checking with every single person if I was truly accepted to Penn. "Really? I got in Penn?! Seriously? I'm in?! Penn chose me?!" I felt quite excited and just so happy that I got into Penn! I wanted to scream! And when it was time, I thought, to meet my adviser, for some reason she was MIA and I ended up with someone else who had an interest in my project.... Then the alarm clock woke me up.

Except I didn't apply to Penn for this round. I did in my first round. But how Penn made it to my dreams is beyond me... although it felt very, very exciting....

Yeah I'm spending too much time here.

[waiting123]

Ugh the nightmares started last night. First was one in which I had been accepted to my top choice, but then I woke up and was very disappointed. I then had another dream where I was in a group interview. I needed to perform a monologue and didn't have one prepared. It was awful...

[shepardn7]

Meh. I'm 22 and I remember. Full House isn't THAT old!

In other news, I feel like banging my head up against the wall

Haha okay. I'm 26, which is likely the age at which you will also start feeling old, even though it's not actually that old.

[mscongeniality1]

I had a dream I flew out to one of my "top schools"...with my school's basketball team. Not really a nightmare but really weird nonetheless.

And I'm 22 and STILL love the greatness that's Full House.

[the once and future grad]

I had a dream that someone on here had gotten hold of lists of applicants from a bunch of schools with the committee's notes on them...so I'm on gradcafe scouring the lists for the schools I applied to, and all of them, next to my name, say indecipherable things like "not now" and "beach" except the one school that I really think I have a shot at, which says "no."

Oh, and I had completely forgotten about DJ's dream, but that kind of made my day:)

Edited February 9, 2011 by the once and future grad

[Tiglath-Pileser III]

My strange dream was not a nice dream; really it was more of a nightmare. In my nightmare, I got an envelope with an acceptance into my dream program. I was absolutely elated. Then, seconds later, I got a phone call from my doctor informing that I had bone cancer in my leg and would have to cancel all of my plans to pursue a doctoral program.

Poor health, overwork, poor nutrition, high anxiety, and deep-seated belief that I'm not going to get in yet again have taken their toll upon me.

[gradgirlwannabe]

Last night I had a dream that one of my classmates and I were both accepted to Rice. We received our thick envelopes at the same time, and we were SO excited. As we poured over the materials included, she showed me a pamphlet on student housing options, and on-campus housing was AMAZING. It was cheap, spacious, and beautifully decorated/landscaped. There was a maid service and free room service and it was right on the beach. All students had plenty of free time and living stipends were enormous! We perused the literature SO enthusiastically, but when I turned to the front cover, I realized that it was for their undergrad students. She was in the process of transferring, rather than starting grad school. Graduate housing was expensive and cramped, funding was terrible, and grad students were driven to the ground like slaves. Reality check... =P

[mixolydian]

i dreamt about watching inception

[selphie]

It's gotten to the point where I even dream about being drunk, if that tells you about my coping strategies.

You are not alone. I've been stocking up on beers in the fridge for a month. 10 cans and counting... and yes, it helps a lot at the end of a long tiring day as a RA.