What is you application nightmare?

[pikatopia]

knowing about my "best fit" program (in terms of research interests) one day after the deadline - and frantically trying to to shift my application to that program (from a different program in the same univ.) ... oh wait that nightmare is still on :roll:

Argh -- I feel your pain! I only JUST found out about the program that has all my research interests nicely packaged...after having all materials/scores/transcripts/letters sent to the other one. I've been on the phone/email a LOT...and had to pay GRE scores twice...ughhh. And the deadline was 1/15. I already have an acceptance elsewhere, so I'm not freaking out about this as much as I would be otherwise...but it is still a giant headache!!

[tnk0001]

Mine is that I arrive at the interview that I've been invited to at my top choice school only to find out that either a)It's a huge practical joke or b)They've confused me with someone else and when they realize who I am crack up laughing

[socialpsych]

Okay well...I just *had* a nightmare about this last night. It was that my top choice school told me they're not taking anyone this year.

Benign, I know, but you didn't ask about my *worst* nightmare...and don't I get bonus points for actually having had it, like, literally, while I slept?

[MissH]

The other night, my admittance required showing how to correctly remove surgical gloves. Selena Gomez was judging me, and I was flipping out over whether I used the right fingers.

[goomba25]

My nightmare would be that I submit my apps and hear...nothing. Silence. The apps online all check out, but there's glitch so the app never gets to the right school/department/person/etc,

Or, that I get rejected because of something out of my control, like a lack of funding, or profs who are busy, or the whole program being cut in half.

[aforman1]

A few of you have mentioned the "being told I was accepted, only to find out it was the wrong student" scenario, which actually did happen to me during my MA application round.

I was applying to Tulane, and had contacted a professor in the department while I was applying ... I even drove down there to visit the school! (Oh, how young and naive I was!) I heard back from all of my other schools by spring break, but never heard back from Tulane. I emailed my contact in their department, and she responded quickly with an email saying that I had been accepted into their program, which was a PhD with full funding ... my top school! Cue my endless excitement, right?

Then, I received a second email from her, and the subject header was, "My bad." Seriously. She told me that she had been looking at her notes from one of the first faculty meetings, where they had apparently decided to admit me, but then during a later meeting changed their minds. My bad. I had no idea what to do/say/think ... I'm not even really sure what the email I sent her back said. I know I didn't say anything mean, but I could not believe how unprofessional the entire situation was. To this day, I've still never received an official rejection notice from Tulane.

Of course, I got it the other way around a couple of years later on a fellowship application, where it was addressed to me but had another student's name on it. Cue another frantic misadventure of calling, emailing, trying to figure out what happened (again, during spring break). But this time, luck was on my side: it was actually addressed to me. U of Boston accidentally sent out all of their fellowships to the same person, just different addresses. Fun clerical errors.

I just want each of my applications to get in, on time and completed, with minimal issues with sending transcripts, scores, and recommendation letters. I just found out that I messed up in sending my GRE scores, and had to resend all of them today (my first deadline is Dec. 15, so there's still plenty of time for those to get there). I also still have a transcript that may not be there yet, but it was requested on Nov. 17, so I'll call tomorrow to see what the status is there. As much as I don't want to sit around and wait, I know I'll be really relieved once everything is in and completed and I don't have to worry about what I still have to do anymore!

[Eigen]

Wow, that part about Tulane really sucks.

If this was a couple of years ago, was it not too long after Katrina? I know we went through a lot of reorganization then, and it took a few years to get things back on track- they got rid of the "graduate school" as an entity, and dumped all the admissions process on the departments/deans with almost no warning and no additional staff.

[dm242]

Youre all being a bit childish. If your app isnt complete they will call you, if you get rejected it is by letter, email, or brief call from some undergrad. Do any of you honestly think coordinators, and advisors have time to deal with the rejects. Come on, they have to tie all the loose ends from the non-rejects. Just saying, grow up, and lighten up.

My biggest application fear, 8 apps, 8 rejections.

Just saying.

[contretemps]

Got in to two schools last year. The first one I was waitlisted, then a student backed out so I took his place. After much preparation and (almost) applying for a visa, that student came back so I was rejected. The second one, I was accepted. 2 weeks before my flight and I was all packed and ready to go, when the admissions coordinator told me that I am not qualified for that degree. I told almost everyone that I am leaving, and imagine the explaining I had to do when they saw me, still in the country, jobless.

I hope the "confuse me with someone else nightmare scenario" doesn't happen to me. ugh.

[surefire]

I'm hoping that the anxiety/worst nightmare dreams hold off for at least a few more weeks while I finish all my submissions...

In the meantime, I had a kind of funny funding-related dream a few weeks ago, wherein my graduate advisor called me on the phone. The conversation went like this:

Advisor: You won all of the funding!

Me: That's amazing! Which ones?! (Some of the funding bodies I applied to have multiple categories of awards and won't let you hold some in tandem with others)

Advisor: All of them!!

Me: Wait...what?...

Advisor: ALL OF THE MONEYS!!!

And then I realized I was dreaming. My partner poked me and asked who I was talking to. I told him about the dream and now it's like a running joke:

Me: My advisor e-mailed me...

Loving partner: Is it about the moneys?

...

Me: I'm considering this project for one of the university's research centres, I'll have time for it if I have funding...

Funny partner: Don't worry! You're getting ALL OF THE FUNDING!

...

Yeah, I'm choosing to pretend that that dream was a good omen.

That, or I'm dwelling on funding prospects too much while reading the Hyperbole and a Half blog.

[Safferz]

I'm hoping that the anxiety/worst nightmare dreams hold off for at least a few more weeks while I finish all my submissions...

In the meantime, I had a kind of funny funding-related dream a few weeks ago, wherein my graduate advisor called me on the phone. The conversation went like this:

Advisor: You won all of the funding!

Me: That's amazing! Which ones?! (Some of the funding bodies I applied to have multiple categories of awards and won't let you hold some in tandem with others)

Advisor: All of them!!

Me: Wait...what?...

Advisor: ALL OF THE MONEYS!!!

Hilarious!

My worst nightmare would be something along the lines of this, which I seem to read about happening somewhere each year (though on a much smaller scale than this):

Or this, this and this. This part of the Northwestern article in particular always works its way into my nightmare:

"Northwestern University's prestigious Kellogg School of Management this week erroneously sent notices of acceptance to 50 applicants it had decided to reject. The applicants are not happy.

One of them, a 28-year-old Chicagoan, excitedly phoned his parents and enjoyed a celebratory dinner Monday after being notified by e-mail that he had been accepted. But the next morning, when the Lincoln Park research analyst logged onto the college's Web site to learn more about enrolling, he found out he actually had been rejected.

"It was pretty embarrassing, to be honest," said the young man, who asked that he not be identified because he has applied to other schools and not informed his employer. "It's like you won the lottery and had the rug pulled out from under you."

Edited December 7, 2011 by Safferz

[Loimographia]

I have a nightmare I'll think all of my schools have a later deadline than they actually have, and so all the deadlines will pass before I turn in my applications, and thus get rejected before I even get to try. . . (obviously, this could be solved by turning them in NOW but then I feel I won't be able to make each SOP and WS as perfect as they could be.) My other nightmare is that I somehow sleep through a deadline after staying up all night editing my SOP (It sounds insane, but it's something I would totally manage; I nearly slept through a final exam once and it traumatized me)

Edited December 7, 2011 by Loimographia

[OnceAndFutureGrad]

I resurrected this post because something gods-awful just happened and as I was frantically fixing it, I said to myself, "I gotta post this on the Café!"

My first application was due January 1st. I had asked one of my LoRs as early as July, and gave her a final list of schools in mid-October. She requested that I send her reminders frequently, so I set up a system where she'd get either an e-mail from me or a reminder from the applications every other week. I also sent her my writing sample, SoPs, and so on.

Finally it was the end of December and I was contacting her multiple times a week (as requested). On January 1st - Sunday - after I had already submitted my applications, she said that my writing sample seemed to be missing some pages. I checked the .doc file and it was fine, so I was confused and thought that she was giving me unsolicited editorial advice at the very last minute. She insisted that I look at it, so I opened the PDF I had sent to her and my programs, and HOLY SH--- I had made a PDF of an earlier draft! Ahhh!!

I sent her the correct .doc version, and attempted to contact my schools - you guessed it, no one there on Sunday OR Monday. One part of me knew that things could be rectified, but why not be terrified, right? On Tuesdays I have a full-day internship but it's casual and volunteer, so after five hours of worrying about it I told my boss that I couldn't stand it anymore and went home. The good news is that all of my programs have clear guidelines for fixing information on already submitted applications, so within two hours every sample was corrected.

Huge sigh of relief.

The best news is that I only had to deal with the graduate application offices, rather than the academic program itself, so hopefully it doesn't reflect poorly on my chances with potential advisers. I did have a mental shake-up, wondering if I had subconsciously sabotaged myself or if it was an ominous sign, but I'd like to think it was just a reminder that I'm only human.

[R Deckard]

I resurrected this post because something gods-awful just happened and as I was frantically fixing it, I said to myself, "I gotta post this on the Café!"

My first application was due January 1st. I had asked one of my LoRs as early as July, and gave her a final list of schools in mid-October. She requested that I send her reminders frequently, so I set up a system where she'd get either an e-mail from me or a reminder from the applications every other week. I also sent her my writing sample, SoPs, and so on.

Finally it was the end of December and I was contacting her multiple times a week (as requested). On January 1st - Sunday - after I had already submitted my applications, she said that my writing sample seemed to be missing some pages. I checked the .doc file and it was fine, so I was confused and thought that she was giving me unsolicited editorial advice at the very last minute. She insisted that I look at it, so I opened the PDF I had sent to her and my programs, and HOLY SH--- I had made a PDF of an earlier draft! Ahhh!!

I sent her the correct .doc version, and attempted to contact my schools - you guessed it, no one there on Sunday OR Monday. One part of me knew that things could be rectified, but why not be terrified, right? On Tuesdays I have a full-day internship but it's casual and volunteer, so after five hours of worrying about it I told my boss that I couldn't stand it anymore and went home. The good news is that all of my programs have clear guidelines for fixing information on already submitted applications, so within two hours every sample was corrected.

Huge sigh of relief.

The best news is that I only had to deal with the graduate application offices, rather than the academic program itself, so hopefully it doesn't reflect poorly on my chances with potential advisers. I did have a mental shake-up, wondering if I had subconsciously sabotaged myself or if it was an ominous sign, but I'd like to think it was just a reminder that I'm only human.

Cool story, bro.

[TooMuchCaffeine]

well besides the obvious "get rejected across the board" nightmare... that i get accepted only to my last choice school, with no funding. I almost think that scenario would be worse than getting rejected because I would have to decide between putting grad school off yet another year, or going to a school that I am lukewarm about and paying full price for it. I think part of me wouldn't want to give up grad school, and another part of me would worry about regret if I did go ahead with it.

This is exactly what my worst nightmare is!!

[habanero]

I applied to no backups, so my greatest fear is being rejected everywhere. I am very worried.

[gellert]

^ This.

[OnceAndFutureGrad]

I don't think there is such a thing as a backup in graduate school. Perhaps some kind of low-profile university terminal MA program without funding? Even then there'll be people who don't get in and are disappointed.

[curls215]

Ditto @habanero. I'm supposed to hear from one of them in the next two days, and it's killing me.

Additional nightmare: Getting accepted to my top choice and then not getting funding (which would mean not going).

[starstuff]

I'm glad I'm not the only one freaking out about being rejected everywhere...such a terrible feeling to have had since mid-November when I finished submitting my applications.

What sucks more though is watching my terrible nightmare of 10/10 rejections creep toward becoming reality; with each additional rejection and each day passing without an interview invitation, the chance of being accepted anywhere is looking more and more grim.

I know I'll be trying again next year, etc etc., but my most agonizing application nightmare has to be applying for several years in a row, improving all I can, and then still having a low gpa from undergrad years ago bar me from ever pursuing a PhD.

[fenderpete]

I went pretty high-risk too and only applied to schools I'd love to go. So now the fear is setting in of what I do in June if I don't get in somewhere with funding. 2 months to go. Ack. Worse still, I'm somewhere with very sporadic email access so I may not find out until a week after hearing.

[wasistdas]

the "good" nightmare: my wife and I are accepted to our dream schools.... her in Texas and mine in D.C.

the bad nightmare: full 8/8 rejection and back to the drawing board

[coonskee]

Had my first *actual* grad school nightmare last night... I was gonna get up at 6:00am to get to the lab today, but upon waking up at 5:45 after that dream, I decided to let myself have another 45min of actually restful sleep

Anyway, long (and very weird) story short (you know how dreams are), I dreamed that I forgot to go to my interviews I got an email from a PI with whom I'm interested in working (who also taught me during undergrad) saying "Ummm...where were you? You should probably stop by and talk to people. Not that you have a chance at getting into the program anyway - sorry for getting your hopes up."

Awesome.

[Zitro6]

My nightmare is going to visit the school I got accepted to. They take one look at me, and then decide to reject me because I'm not who they expected.

Edited January 16, 2012 by Zitro6

[LLajax]

Additional nightmare: Getting accepted to my top choice and then not getting funding (which would mean not going).

Oh my goodness. This is terrifying. That would definitely be more tragic than just simply getting rejected.