0% Confidence of Acceptance

[jilly11]

Hi all,

I'm not an English MA/PhD person...but I came across this thread and I am so glad I'm not the only one that feels freaked out about all of this. Like others in this thread I am trying to feel positive and put the good vibes out there but also trying to stay realistic - it makes me feel exhausted!

I am just about to submit everything and then the dreaded waiting game begins D: D:

Anyone have any tips and tricks to stay sane (and not refresh this website every 2 seconds closer to the date) while waiting?

Thanks!

[LLajax]

Hi all,

I'm not an English MA/PhD person...but I came across this thread and I am so glad I'm not the only one that feels freaked out about all of this. Like others in this thread I am trying to feel positive and put the good vibes out there but also trying to stay realistic - it makes me feel exhausted!

I am just about to submit everything and then the dreaded waiting game begins D: D:

Anyone have any tips and tricks to stay sane (and not refresh this website every 2 seconds closer to the date) while waiting?

Thanks!

Lots of chocolate. Alternately, alcohol.

Also, trashy tv makes me feel better (its not hard to seem stable/smart/sane in comparison to the people on trashy tv).

[antecedent]

Plan B for me is joining the French Foreign Legion.

Hahaha I had a similar reaction upon first graduating from my undergrad and before I was 100% committed to grad school, and my Dad's response was "Don't waste your time. Just join the circus and get it over with."

Thanks for the unwavering support, Dad!

[Sparky]

Anyone have any tips and tricks to stay sane (and not refresh this website every 2 seconds closer to the date) while waiting?

TV Tropes.

[indalomena]

this is all starting to feel impossible I have no time to work on my applications, working a 6-day week and exhausted in the evenings! but this is the month of deadlines and, inevitably, staying up all night to get it done. SOP is such a challenge. Who would have thought these things would be so challenging to articulate?

[Medievalmaniac]

I was shut out my first year of applying, and everyone was shocked (4.0, perfect GRE essay, 89th percentile English, publications, stellar recommendations and teaching experience). My second year applying I applied to two schools and was accepted full funding to the one I interviewed at - and it is not a top school, but it is the best possible placement for me. Then I got cancer and had to defer enrollment. Anxiety didn't do me any good through any of that - but I felt it keenly all the way through both application seasons, and was riddled with doubt and insecurity even after I was accepted. Honestly, I think part of what makes us good candidates is that we DO care so profoundly, though, and I've just worked hard at channeling all of that energy into my research and writing (and beating the cancer). So far, it's working well. My Gradcafe blog details all of the gory details, if you're looking for a "yeah, I've been there too, and it suuuuuucked!" affirmation.

[perrykm2]

Have a drink, eat a cupcake, go see The Muppets.

This is a proven success.

[cquin]

TV Tropes.

...What have you done to me? I still have edit my writing sample!!!

[Timshel]

Have a drink, eat a cupcake, go see The Muppets.

This is a proven success.

The Muppets movie was amazing, and I am so glad I took a break last weekend and saw it. It was much needed!

[perrykm2]

Yes, I loved it. It's a very good distraction from the miserable process of preparing applications. I was really surprised by how true to the original Muppets Show it was. Also, Fox News wrote up an article about how it was communist propaganda.

[Timshel]

Yes, I loved it. It's a very good distraction from the miserable process of preparing applications. I was really surprised by how true to the original Muppets Show it was. Also, Fox News wrote up an article about how it was communist propaganda.

That article from Fox was laughable and only made me love the movie more!

[silentskye]

Hahaha I had a similar reaction upon first graduating from my undergrad and before I was 100% committed to grad school, and my Dad's response was "Don't waste your time. Just join the circus and get it over with."

Thanks for the unwavering support, Dad!

Ha! I got the same thing from my mom in a roundabout Polish way when I accused her of being unsupportive: "Of course I'm supportive of everything you do. Even if you join the circus I'll be supportive."

[ecritdansleau]

Ha! I got the same thing from my mom in a roundabout Polish way when I accused her of being unsupportive: "Of course I'm supportive of everything you do. Even if you join the circus I'll be supportive."

Ahhh, parents' roundabout support, indeed. My mom was like, "I hope you don't make it into any schools but School A" (school A=about 40 minutes from my family. All my other schools are actually more than 500 miles away). And then I try to explain how I will be lucky to make it into any of my schools!

[rawera]

The other end of the spectrum isn't so much better: "I'm sure everything will be just fine."

[ecritdansleau]

There's also: my mom said if I don't get in anywhere, we can get a puppy, lol. I have to say, I like her solutions.

[bdon19]

I am right here right now. 2 hours until Duke's app is due, and my writing sample is falling apart. I thought I only had to write two more random connecting paragraphs, but I can't come up with a title, which is signifying to me that I don't really have a thesis. l;kja;lksjd;lkfja;lksj;dlkfj;lakjs;kjd;fja;lskjdf;lkjas;dlkjf;alkjsdf

[TripWillis]

I am right here right now. 2 hours until Duke's app is due, and my writing sample is falling apart. I thought I only had to write two more random connecting paragraphs, but I can't come up with a title, which is signifying to me that I don't really have a thesis. l;kja;lksjd;lkfja;lksj;dlkfj;lakjs;kjd;fja;lskjdf;lkjas;dlkjf;alkjsdf

Call it "Duke Sucks: An Ecclesiontological Vaccination of Structural Subversive Bodily Entities in Emergent Proto-Queer Cycles in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight"

[cquin]

I am right here right now. 2 hours until Duke's app is due, and my writing sample is falling apart. I thought I only had to write two more random connecting paragraphs, but I can't come up with a title, which is signifying to me that I don't really have a thesis. l;kja;lksjd;lkfja;lksj;dlkfj;lakjs;kjd;fja;lskjdf;lkjas;dlkjf;alkjsdf

Yes. This. Mere hours ago I thought my SOP was THE shit. Now it's just shit.

[antecedent]

I just had a thought: what if Grad Cafe is the closest I'll ever come to getting into Grad School?

And I'd been having such a "grad school is gonna LOVE me" afternoon!

At least there's this:

Call it "Duke Sucks: An Ecclesiontological Vaccination of Structural Subversive Bodily Entities in Emergent Proto-Queer Cycles in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight"

Thanks TripWillis, for keepin' it absurd.

[TripWillis]

I just had a thought: what if Grad Cafe is the closest I'll ever come to getting into Grad School?

And I'd been having such a "grad school is gonna LOVE me" afternoon!

At least there's this:

Thanks TripWillis, for keepin' it absurd.

I bet you'll get closer than I ever will, and I'm actually in grad school (M.A.).

[fredngeorge]

Call it "Duke Sucks: An Ecclesiontological Vaccination of Structural Subversive Bodily Entities in Emergent Proto-Queer Cycles in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight"

Love it!

[Origin=Goal]

There is NO WAY I will print out my applications. When they are done - they are DONE! I'm even mildly tempted to delete the SOPs and stuff off my computer when I'm done.

Now there is some sanity! I'm really glad to hear this process has been as grueling for other folks as its been for me...especially for those of us who are writing finals, writing/grading papers, trying to graduate, etc.

[antecedent]

Now there is some sanity! I'm really glad to hear this process has been as grueling for other folks as its been for me...especially for those of us who are writing finals, writing/grading papers, trying to graduate, etc.

Though to be fair, it's just as difficult to apply to grad school while working a full-time non-academic job, particularly one where few are sympathetic to the compulsion towards higher education. It's a different challenge, to be sure, but a grueling one nonetheless. I guess it's fair to say that if applying to grad school is easy and or fun, you may very well be doing it wrong.

[litjust]

Today, I feel confident. Tomorrow, not so much. Is applying to graduate school truly supposed to mimic symptoms of bipolar disorder?! It really is a day-to-day process and I, too, have to rationalize the notion that I may not get accepted anywhere. I say things to myself like, "Now, I'll be able to save up more money!" "There's always next year!" or my favorite, "Now, I'll be able to apply at the awesome school I overlooked during this round!" But these are just chains of words to appease my ego. Rejection bites.

[cquin]

Today, I feel confident. Tomorrow, not so much. Is applying to graduate school truly supposed to mimic symptoms of bipolar disorder?! It really is a day-to-day process

Day-to-day? You're far more stable than I am. My confidence varies by the hour.