What were you doing when you received your acceptance?

[lasgirl]

I'm in training for a new job (that I will be quitting to start grad school!) and had basically given up on my top choice, since they said they would send out information the first week of February and this was yesterday, Valentine's Day. I checked my phone and saw a missed call and a voicemail from a number I didn't recognize, but realized it was from the same city as this school. I ran out of training and checked my voicemail, which was from the program director asking me to call him back to discuss the status of my application. I did, and not only did I get in (which I wasn't even expecting as this was a reach school) BUT I got funding/a stipend and a travel grant for the summer in between my academic years!

I immediately called my dad after, started crying while I was talking to him, pulled myself together and went back in for my last hour of training, then called my best friend and started crying again, hahaha

[jprufrock]

It was Tuesday morning and I was sleeping like a sack of bricks. I got up at 6:00am to take our puppy out and came back inside without checking my e-mail on my iPhone because I was too tired. Fast forward 2 hours later and my alarm blared throughout the room. I promptly slammed SNOOZE and didn't bother to check again.

An hour later, now at 9:00am or so, my puppy woke me up by licking my face. I groggily nudged her away and laid in bed for 5 minutes before reaching to check my e-mail on my iPhone. I fumbled through my Inbox to find a letter from one of my grad schools. My heart half jumped--somehow drowsiness cut away at my anticipation. I read the letter thrice almost half-heartedly, trying to decipher the meaning of a then-incomprehensible ACCEPTED.

It then all flourished into a leap out of bed and a few bounds of joy. My puppy took the chance to dance with me too, as if it would result in a treat. And it did.

And then, on Wednesday, the same scenario happened again with a different grad school.

[Salsero22]

I was just getting home from work and ready to go to sleep early because I've gotten a terrible cold. I checked my email just before bed and there was an email with the subject talking about UIC Sociology Graduate Program and Recruitment Day. No where in the email did it say I was accepted just "Congratulations of your successful application". I thought it was just saying congrats for successfully submitting my application, but they attached my award letter. Then it was real! Now I know I'm going to grad school at least. Just waiting to hear back from other schools.

[shemeno]

So i had emailed mu top choice earlier in the week to check on time line. I was told that i should hear by the end of the week, more likely within the next 2 days, and if i didn't hear back to contact them again. So it was the end of the second day. I was sitting in work study checking my email every 3 minutes. I had given up, granted my school is an hour behind my time. I went to dinner with a friend, in the dinning hall. She got up to grab dessert, I figured i would look at my ipod to check my email once more. Then i saw the title of the email: Congratulations on your Admission!. I almost passed out then and there. However i got up and danced around the dinning hall.

[Herbie]

Came home from work around 1130ish @ night and checked my e-mail because someone who is not I put my Lost Odyssey video game in my Netflix movie pouch and sent it out. T_T Saw an e-mail that said "Congratulations." I read the first two sentences - started crying and my mother thought something was wrong. Happy tears! Started dancing on my bed, when really I need to replace the mattress. Called my friend at UF's grad Art History program and apparently she was shimmying on the other side - she would listen to my woes and brighten my dismal nights. Did an obligatory "no moar retail" FB status update, broke some new dances moves I could never imagine doing. It was great. (:

[Thorondor]

Getting back from the day's classes. I (naturally) checked my emails before preparing my dinner, and I saw something about a Student Visit Day. So basically, I knew when I opened the message that I was accepted. I then called my parents, aunt/uncle & grandparents, told a few friends, and went back to work. Fraking Java.

[newms]

I found out unofficially via a skype talk with a POI. The next day I got the email saying I had been recommended for admission - I was driving at the time and I got the notification by SMS on my phone. An hour later I got my second admit which I happened to notice just after I finished forwarding my first admit email to family.

[space-cat]

My first acceptance was a phone call from my professor of interest. She also happens to be someone whose work I've admired since undergrad. So, the first 20 seconds of that phone call was me trying desperately to avoid going all fangirl on her. (I very nearly interrupted her introduction to yell I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! I swear I'm normally very well spoken.) I was rejected or consolation prize-d across the board last year, so hearing high praise from her was the best possible way to kick off admission response season. I was halfway through my workday at the time, and had to go run around/happy dance outside until I calmed down enough to hold it together for the next five hours

Second acceptance was also a phone call, and I was much more composed this time around. On the other hand, I did stare at the phone in disbelief for 4-5 rings before picking up. I remember just watching the little Android animation and thinking, "I don't know that number" (pause) "Wait...is that Awesome U?" (pause, check cheat sheet with contact info for all my schools) "Oh my god, it's Awesome U" (pause, fidget in chair, pause) "I should answer that" (suddenly feel paranoid) "OH NO IT'S BEEN RINGING FOR FOREVER THEY'LL THINK I'M CRAZY" (answer). Fortunately, this call was at the end of the business day, so I could go be crazy at home.

[mj53]

Quick question for those who have been accepted for an interview by phone. When your professor called did any of you have the number come up as unavailable on your phone? I'm just wondering cause yesterday I temporarily lost my phone and got 3 calls from some unavailable number, no messages were left. Naturally, as Im pretty paranoid, I now assume this was a professor and I just blew it because my phone wasn't on me. What sucks is I can't even call back the number because it's unavailable.

[HyacinthMacaw]

Quick question for those who have been accepted for an interview by phone. When your professor called did any of you have the number come up as unavailable on your phone? I'm just wondering cause yesterday I temporarily lost my phone and got 3 calls from some unavailable number, no messages were left. Naturally, as Im pretty paranoid, I now assume this was a professor and I just blew it because my phone wasn't on me. What sucks is I can't even call back the number because it's unavailable.

It's OK, not to fret--if it was a professor, he or she would have likely left a voicemail or resorted to a secondary contact number or email. I was called from an office phone on the university's campus, and the ID displayed an unfamiliar area code rather than "unavailable." All the best!

[C'estLaVie]

I received my first notification of admission today during an appointment with my councilor. I had tried silencing my phone (which is forwarded any email containing the word "Congratulations" in it) but somehow failed to do so. Mid-sentence, my phone went off and lo and behold was an email from admissions! My councilor let me hop on his computer and we spent the next 15 mins letting me sit there stunned, excited and relieved! Ironic because a few weeks before, the topic of my session was about the end of the world anxiety I was having over grad school admissions!

[TaraDanielle]

This happened today (!): I was sitting in class listening to a lecture on martyrdom in Islam. My phone buzzed. When I saw that it was from NYU Graduate Admissions, my heart stopped, and then I opened it and saw "We are pleased to offer you" and I just started grinning like a fool. My eyes even teared up.

My professor either thought I was really emotionally invested in her lecture or crazy.

[grinsngiggles]

I was soaking in the tub, in the morning, reading. My phone, of course, was safely perched on a chair near the tub and I noticed that it began blinking to tell me there was a new message. It took me a while to register that it was an acceptance e-mail. I nearly dropped the phone in the tub, then got dressed without washing my hair and headed downstairs to share the news,

[Gunner24]

Before heading to work, decided to check "App Status" webpage one last time...for the last couple of months a little bar said, "...your application has been forwarded to __________ for review". This time, however, it said, "We're pleased to inform you that you've been accepted to _______________. It's a pleasure to welcome you as a graduate student." I got the official email a couple of hours later...haha. Pretty cool.

[arkel]

I was in the middle of an interview for another school...

I was visiting the lab, and something came up, so my POI was talking with his students for a few minutes to fix a problem, and they said I should feel free to check my email on the computers... so I did and it was there, with she subject line "Good News from X University"! Needless to say, I had to contain my excitement for this one, and I had to save my re-reading of the email for later

[LJK]

I haven't received an official acceptance yet, but I did get two emails from different POIs that heavily suggest an admit will be forthcoming from one particular program. I received the second of said emails (which was the one that convinced me I wasn't reading too far into them) at 6:30am on a Friday, after it was sent late the night before. I was hosting a prospective student for my current school who was staying on a spare mattress on my bedroom floor. I took my computer out of the room with me so as not to disturb the prospective and brought it to the bathroom where I could perch on the (closed) toilet while reading my email prior to taking a shower. That's right, I found out that I will be going to grad school next year while sitting on a toilet! Then I had to sit around for 2.5 hours in just my bathrobe (didn't think to take any clothes with me when leaving my room) before anyone was awake to tell!

[Red Bull]

I got my acceptance by email on my smart phone right before class. I ran out of class and called my mom, who began crying because I got full funding. I then went back to class and had to squirm for an hour and a half while pretending to listen to a lecture about Streetcar Named Desire. After class I ran to my department and grabbed a friend as well as a professor and went out for beers.

[dolphin]

My friends usually collect mails from the PO box and I didn't give a damn about that till recently. I was having my dinner at home with friends. Suddenly, my friend said 'you have got mail from X university'. I was like... really? so early? (it was only one month since I applied).

friend: what do you think it has?

me: no idea!

friend: should I open or any sentiments?

me: please do, no issues

da da da da da da..... da da da da da....... have been accepted..... da da da da da da..... (i was only waiting to hear the three important words).

It was my first admit for the season!

Congratulations to all those who got lucky to be admitted at their place of preference!

since that day, I never lost interest in checking mails but haven't heard from other schools. yet.

[katemiddleton]

I got my acceptance by email on my smart phone right before class. I ran out of class and called my mom, who began crying because I got full funding. I then went back to class and had to squirm for an hour and a half while pretending to listen to a lecture about Streetcar Named Desire. After class I ran to my department and grabbed a friend as well as a professor and went out for beers.

Red Bull, I'm also doing Islamic studies! Do you mind me asking which program? I'm waiting anxiously for MA decisions, was yours a PhD admit? and of course, congrats!

[Scottielass]

I totally wasn't expecting to get an acceptance email on a Sunday night on a holiday weekend. I was buying my wedding dress online and *poof*, there it was. So, Sunday was a really good day for many reasons.

[naturemorte]

I was working at the @pple store, where I've been a "personal trainer" for three years. When found out I was accepted to one of my top-choice PhD programs, I took a long look around the sales floor and breathed a deep sigh of relief, as I will never have to sell iPods on Christmas Eve again. This memory I will certainly carry with me in my studies of a reminder of what this opportunity means.

[megamanatee]

It was my birthday last night, so I decided to sleep in. I woke up with a severe chocolate hangover, and as I normally do, checked my phone for admission emails. I saw one from UC Boulder Admissions and thought that I was dreaming, so I went back to sleep. When I figured it out, I sent out a mass text and started dancing around like a crazy person. This is the best feeling ever. I'm on a high- I'd honestly given up hope!

I'm cracking out a bottle of wine for me and my roommate (and probs getting her a massage from our wellness center for putting up with my crazy!) and some treat seed for my conure who seems to be very worried as to why I'm frantically jumping around the room.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, I have been looking at this thread obsessively for the past couple weeks with absolute jealousy! Yay I can finally stop and develop a healthier habit!

Edited February 24, 2011 by megamanatee

[adelashk]

I was at work, when at 11;30am I received an email to check the website for the decision. I stood up and left work without talking to my manager. I did not care at all about the consequences. Spent the next 3 hrs calling up friends on the phone.

[cokohlik]

I was at work, when at 11;30am I received an email to check the website for the decision. I stood up and left work without talking to my manager. I did not care at all about the consequences. Spent the next 3 hrs calling up friends on the phone.

Classic!!!! Congratulations!

[HatedByTheRegulars]

A moment I will NEVER FORGET...

I had been studying in the library, and got home around 1am on February 1, 2011. I went to check my mailbox. I saw a letter in there...I assumed it was a rejection letter (by this time, I had heard from two other programs, and both had rejected me), because it was so thin. I'm working on my third degree now...each acceptance letter from those programs was a part of a PACKET...so I thought "surely this flimsy envelope contains a rejection letter..."

I took a deep breath (preparing for the worst), walked into my apartment, and opened the letter from Penn State (dated January 25th), which said (in part):

"It is my pleasure to inform you that your application for admission into the...PhD program...has been reviewed and you have been recommended to the Graduate School for admittance to the program. You can expect to receive a letter of confirmation from the Dean of the Graduate School within the next few weeks...."

Initially, I couldn't read anything past that first paragraph. I completely broke down. I cried for almost 10 minutes. I then pulled myself together enough to get back in my car and drive back to campus to tell my friends who were studying in the library what happened. I then called my best friend (who's a 2nd year doc student) and told him the news, I called my other best friend (but he didn't answer...he was asleep). I created a facebook status that night...and I called my mom the next morning. As a "Thank You Note" to my recommenders, I scanned the acceptance letter, and sent them emails with a copy of the letter attached.

I received a letter from the graduate school later, which said (in part):

"Congratulations! We are pleased to grant you formal admission to the Graduate School at The Pennsylvania State University. You can take great pride in your admission as it reflects not only your past academic achievements but also your potential as a scholar and professional..."

Edited February 25, 2011 by Penn State PhD Bound