gradgirl Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Last night, I had to physically disconnect my computer from the internet in order to get any work done. I have the willpower of a sick jellyfish right now, and no work ethic to boot. I can't stop checking message boards and email. This week has been my spring break, and I stayed in town planning to write a bunch of my thesis and catch up on my grading, and instead I've managed to diddle away the whole week with grad school anxiety. Even when I finally got an admit letter, they still haven't let me know about funding yet so I STILL have no peace of mind. I've also been really tired all week because whenever I sleep I have nightmares about getting rejected, or getting in somewhere that turns out to be awful for me, or getting an acceptance letter to my dream school after I've already agreed to go somewhere else. I'm scared of a) having no options, or having options and making the wrong decision. How is it possible that it's almost the third week in March and I've still only heard from 2 of my 9 schools; one with a wait-list and the other with an acceptance but no word on funding? If next week passes and I've still had no news, I guess I'm going to have to start assuming that the remaining 7 are going to be rejections. I'm feeling really worthless...I mean, I just had 6 days off and all I have to show for it is a pile of sources I dug up, about 7 pages of notes, and a couple of outlines. This has to be a CHAPTER by Monday. None of my usual tricks to get myself writing are working...coffee isn't, reading isn't, music and candles aren't, talking about my thesis with other people isn't. I have the ideas for this chapter, I just need to WRITE IT. If I think about it logically, ANY acceptances will be meaningless and useless unless I get my act together and finish what needs finishing this semester. And, I'm so eager for a sense of accomplishment and having all of this work done. You'd think THAT ALONE would motivate me, but I'm paralyzed by fear. A very large part of me just wants to crawl into bed and curl up and not deal with any more of the not knowing and waiting...but anytime I actually allow myself to do this, I fall still further behind on work. Any advice on kicking the anxiety-induced circle of procrastination I'm now finding myself in? How are you all coping with work during a time when the future is so indeterminate? :cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETRAL6 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I am in the same situation... don't know what to tell you, except that you aren't alone. Good luck getting motivated and I'm sure everything will work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rising_star Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I have the willpower of a sick jellyfish right now, and no work ethic to boot. I can't stop checking message boards and email. ... I have the ideas for this chapter, I just need to WRITE IT. If I think about it logically, ANY acceptances will be meaningless and useless unless I get my act together and finish what needs finishing this semester. And, I'm so eager for a sense of accomplishment and having all of this work done. You'd think THAT ALONE would motivate me. I need the advice too. I haven't a clue. Because my thesis work is going poorly. I haven't had spring break yet, instead I have midterms next week and no motivation to prepare for them. *sigh* This senioritis thing is not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest please Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 My situation is quite similar to. Applied to 11 places, 1 reject and haven't heard from any other. Almost all my batchmates have multiple offers and grappling questions like what to choose as their email id to their new school. I am sick of all this now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETRAL6 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 What programs are you all applying for? I am applying at various psych PhD programs. I am accepted at U Chicago for biopsychology, rejected at UCLA and Berkeley for Social Psych, waitlisted at UCSB for evolutionary and waiting to hear from Arizona State for social, and U Texas-Austin and U New Mexico for evolutionary psych. I am starting to get sick of hearing from law school and masters programs friends who have at least heard from all their schools. Chicago seems great, but I can't commit until I hear from the others (I feel that only ASU and UCSB might have any chance of persuading me). *sigh* I'll just keep obsessing and checking this site, the admissions sites, and my e-mail 50 times a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest please Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I have applied for a PhD in applied mathematics. I am so desperate now, I will even go without aid. I had mailed profs in these univs before applying, and all of them seemed positive. Wonder why its taking so long. What do you think are the chances of getting accepted now?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETRAL6 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Well, I am not sure about mathematics. May be a completely different game. But, it is still *possible* some schools haven't made any decisions yet (this is why this site may help, because you may know). Also, you may get a thick letter in April if you are secret waitlisted and someone else declines. That is, they may wait to tell you yes or no until they know if their top choices are coming or not. And, it could be that there is an applicant or two who are holding spots at a few schools and will eventually reject offers opening spaces. So, do not give up hope until that April 15th deadline that many schools share. Also, if you have no offers by then, it is possible schools will contact you after that if they have neither accepted or rejected you. Chances? It's like telling a dying person. You never know. You could die tomorrow (be rejected everywhere) or live a long and prosperous life (get a great offer!). Good luck and remember that you may have to unfortunately wait until others make their decisions to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rising_star Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I have applied for a PhD in applied mathematics. I am so desperate now, I will even go without aid. I had mailed profs in these univs before applying, and all of them seemed positive. Wonder why its taking so long. What do you think are the chances of getting accepted now?? Did you apply to US or Canadian schools? I have a friend that's heard back from several Canadian schools already... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest please Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 I have applied to US schools only. Finally got a reject from caltech. Its weird the reject is making me feel much better than no response. At least now I know what to expect. Also, found out that I won't be in Brown in round 1, though there might be some chance in round two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungdaddy Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 I haven't heard from ANY of my schools either. I am training for a triathlon which keeps my mind off of things however brief it may be. This is spring break week and I had hopes of a relaxing week with nothing to think about except which book will I read next. As ,uch as I tell myself I won't turn the computer on, I know I am simply not strong enough. Good luck to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest please Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Yes thankfully there is work to keep me busy too. Yet, this is just way too much pressure. You can easily see that from the number and frequency of my posts. Its like you want to take your mind off it and think about it at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest blah Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 I don't know if this will be helpful, but I was in the same position as you guys until Friday. For three weeks I struggled to get anything done on my thesis and instead spent all day checking my email 9000 times and stalking the mailman. I felt miserable and useless and panicked as to whether I'd ever finish my work. On Friday I heard from my last school, and even though it was a rejection, it meant the process was over. It was like waking up from a bad dream. I've since written five pages of my thesis and done a lot of translation. In other words, I'm completely back to normal now that the process is through, and it happened pretty quickly too. So while you're lurching through things now, perhaps it will also be quite easy for you to get going again once you've heard from everywhere and you will also regain whatever ground you've lost. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest please Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 so what are your plans now? might help me as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Samantha Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 I'm in the same boat. I just realized that I'm sitting at work, staring at my gmail inbox. STARING at it. As if looking at it hard enough will make something pop into my inbox. All 3 places I applied to said they are going to notify by email or through their website. Holy shit, I hate this email notification business. At least with the postal service, the mail comes once a day and if it ain't there, you can forget about it until tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest please Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 its getting more and more painful by the day. just learning to live with it now. got another wait list from michigan. what field are u applying to samantha? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Samantha Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Electrical Engineering PhD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest please Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 two more rejects for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gradgirl Posted March 18, 2006 Author Share Posted March 18, 2006 Less than a month until Doomsday (April 15), eh guys? I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing. Sigh. I hope I'm going to be receiving a looooooot more information between now and then. Good information, that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History_Nerd Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Ja, I have a feeling most people that apply for graduate school think that they have to make a ton of really difficult decisions to make, and then, come April 15th, most of the decisions are made for them. After I was accepted to my first graduate program, I started to view each rejection as another tough decision I didn't have to agonize over. One month. . . wow. . . . then maybe I won't think about this constantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennesy Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 gradgirl I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one in your situation! I'm at the end of my spring break and I did absolutely NOTHING but sit on the computer checking grad websites, blogs, etc., running to the mailbox, and worrying what I'm going to do if I don't get in anywhere. (Of course, I don't have a plan yet.) I have 64 papers to grade and classes to prep for (I'm a TA) and I graded about 15 and prepped for ZERO classes. I had a dream that someone from Rutgers called me and offered me admission. I can't seem to function without knowing where (or IF) I'm going. In all honesty I'm scared to go back to school next week because I don't know if I can teach and interact with people! Agh! Shouldn't they have told us by now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skitzo Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Hey Samantha.. I'm also applying to EE PHD. Got rejects from MIT, Stanford and Berkeley.. waiting on Caltech but since it's already March 19, I don't think it's looking good for that school either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Samantha Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 I applied to Caltech too. I haven't gotten any sort of notification, but if you check the thread about EEs in the "applied sciences" part of this board, there's apparently word that Caltech professors will notify accepted students by phone. So if you haven't heard by now, then.. probably not. Although I would have appreciated earlier notification. I called the EE office 2 days ago and the secretary told me that some research groups in the EE department (namely the one i applied to) were admitting NO ONE this year! WTF? sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now