Anyone else losing their damn mind?

[Lilac13]

So... interview tomorrow. Commencing panic attacks.

That is awesome news! Good luck!

[RubyBright]

I hope that Sansao's interview went well... and good luck to everyone else starting to hear from their schools.

[sansao]

That is awesome news! Good luck!

Thanks EW! So... I seriously just got a third interview request, in my email, just now. This is absolutely unreal. I feel like I must have somehow cheated... or they all must have the wrong application. One of my LOR writers hasn't even submitted his letter yet. Something really weird is going on, and I think I might be having chest pains, lol. Okay, breathing...

[PhDreams]

Thanks EW! So... I seriously just got a third interview request, in my email, just now. This is absolutely unreal. I feel like I must have somehow cheated... or they all must have the wrong application. One of my LOR writers hasn't even submitted his letter yet. Something really weird is going on, and I think I might be having chest pains, lol. Okay, breathing...

 

OMGGGGGG Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhh! Yayyyyy! That's so awesome! Just. keep. breathing.

[w8inggame]

@sansao Congrats on the multiple interview requests! I hope you do well on your interview as well.

[viggosloof28]

Thanks EW! So... I seriously just got a third interview request, in my email, just now. This is absolutely unreal. I feel like I must have somehow cheated... or they all must have the wrong application. One of my LOR writers hasn't even submitted his letter yet. Something really weird is going on, and I think I might be having chest pains, lol. Okay, breathing...

Congratulations on the interviews, and best of luck to you again!

[laura_b]

A question for everyone - If the tracking on my application packet says "delivery status not updated," does that mean they lost it? I'm about to cry. I sent it USPS Priority Mail.

Edited January 4, 2013 by laura_b

[Miskina]

Laura_b, I think it simply means they didn't update the delivery status on the website, so hopefully they received your application packet but didn't confirmed it yet.

[Bearcat1]

A question for everyone - If the tracking on my application packet says "delivery status not updated," does that mean they lost it? I'm about to cry. I sent it USPS Priority Mail.

 

I sent my materials to Toronto the same way, and they were updated as received in the application system about a week after I sent it. A week after that (2 weeks from mailing date) I got an email from USPS saying they couldn't locate the package. (This was after I signed up online to be notified of delivery.) So it could be delivered and the system is just off. Also, for schools that are closed over the break, a lot of them have mail held at a post office because there's no way to get into buildings to deliver it, so it could just be sitting at a post office. Don't panic yet, but I would maybe give the department a call. 

[nohika]

I'm not sleeping well. :(  Haven't been able to fall asleep for two+ hours the past couple nights (up to midnight or so), and I'm up at 6am or so. Trying to go back to sleep doesn't work much.

 

Ugh, I just want this to be over. I almost wish I didn't care so much about this - it would make it soooo much easier to deal with.

[viggosloof28]

I'm not sleeping well. :(  Haven't been able to fall asleep for two+ hours the past couple nights (up to midnight or so), and I'm up at 6am or so. Trying to go back to sleep doesn't work much.   Ugh, I just want this to be over. I almost wish I didn't care so much about this - it would make it soooo much easier to deal with.

Hang in there, nohika! :-/

[PhDreams]

Ugh, I just want this to be over.

 

I really would like it to be March already. It would amazing to be able to make plans.

[nohika]

I really would like it to be March already. It would amazing to be able to make plans.

 

Agreed. Told a friend and a professor that it'll either be the best semester ever...or the worst semester.

 

Mentor just informed me she's having me come do a 20-min guest lecture for one of her parent-child lectures that deals with foster parents, since it's my current research area.

 

...yikes. Ironically...it's on April 15th.

[ion_exchanger]

I would love for it to be April 15th. I'll know where I'm going, or even if I'm going, I can relax, enjoy my break. I just thought about it while typing this...my job ends in the middle of April. Good thing I love it there, or I would tell everyone to kiss my entire

Edited January 4, 2013 by ion_exchanger

[PhDreams]

Who else is excited to hear back from sansao???? How was the interview??? :D

[Faraday]

Who else is excited to hear back from sansao???? How was the interview??? :D

 

I'm excited as well. I know those interviews can be stressful, but I'm sure if he got an interview this early he must already have his foot in the door so he should be on the right track!

[amlobo]

As a non-science applicant, I feel like I am living vicariously through the science folks for the next few weeks.  Perhaps it will take my mind off my own applications to fixate on others'... lol...

[viggosloof28]

As a non-science applicant, I feel like I am living vicariously through the science folks for the next few weeks.  Perhaps it will take my mind off my own applications to fixate on others'... lol...

 

Absolutely!  On one hand, it would be nice to have interview invitations to give us some sense of progress/feedback.  On the other, I just imagine how stressed out I'd be if I had to contend with interviews on top of everything else! :-S

 

Congratulations and best of luck to sansao all you interviewing science folks!

[stmwap]

As a non-science applicant, I feel like I am living vicariously through the science folks for the next few weeks.  Perhaps it will take my mind off my own applications to fixate on others'... lol...

 

And as a science applicant, I am living vicariously through one of my non-science friends who is still turning in applications to take my mind off of my up-and-coming interviews that are stressing me out.  

[laura_b]

I found out today that the application I have been freaking out over was received and processed, so the post office didn't eat it. Now the long wait until April 1.

[amlobo]

I found out today that the application I have been freaking out over was received and processed, so the post office didn't eat it. Now the long wait until April 1.

Hooray! What a load off! I freaked out about an unreceived GRE score (I have already had to re-submit to one school, ugh)... and emailed grad admissions about it. They emailed me back and were like "you submitted over Christmas break, so we just now matched it up." D'oh. Perhaps I'm a bit overeager and on edge

[piano5115]

Doing a bit better since i last posted  I basically took the week of the holidays off to enjoy time with family and friends which reminded me that life does not equal grad school app process.  It was weird, like I was honestly annoyed that the adcom people weren't going to met until jan but SO RELIEVED at the same time that I didn't have to check my email ever hr like a maniac.  

 

Now that we're in Jan and basically at the start of the flood of responses for science majors (i'm a biomed phd hopeful) I'm starting to get anxious again.  Cue to nightmares (legitimately dreamed that it was march and everyone rejected me, and the school that had already asked me to interview called to rescind that offer)  crazy email habits and checking the results page of this site every 5 sec lol.  

 

I do feel a bit different from last year though.  I'm starting to get less terrified of the end results and more excited about the random cities i'll be visiting and ending my senior year with a lot of fun memories  hopefully this excitement can carry me through the next couple of weeks!  Best of luck everyone!  

[biotechie]

Doing a bit better since i last posted  I basically took the week of the holidays off to enjoy time with family and friends which reminded me that life does not equal grad school app process.  It was weird, like I was honestly annoyed that the adcom people weren't going to met until jan but SO RELIEVED at the same time that I didn't have to check my email ever hr like a maniac.  

 

Now that we're in Jan and basically at the start of the flood of responses for science majors (i'm a biomed phd hopeful) I'm starting to get anxious again.  Cue to nightmares (legitimately dreamed that it was march and everyone rejected me, and the school that had already asked me to interview called to rescind that offer)  crazy email habits and checking the results page of this site every 5 sec lol.  

 

I do feel a bit different from last year though.  I'm starting to get less terrified of the end results and more excited about the random cities i'll be visiting and ending my senior year with a lot of fun memories  hopefully this excitement can carry me through the next couple of weeks!  Best of luck everyone!  

 

You're not the only one having nightmares. A couple of nights ago, mine was that I had to walk to an interview at my dream school in heels through a rainforest with a machete. Then my old marching band director started yelling at the applicants. We would only make it to the next interview if we could adequately isolate mouse cells for fibroblast culture. If we couldn't do it, we got thrown out a window (which was where the incubator is in my current lab). Everyone got thrown out, and I isolated mine correctly, but couldn't find any DNase... so I broke the heel off of my shoe and got DNase for the samples. I got thrown out the window, and then they published some paper from those cells. Apparently I started working at my old school as a janitor because they took away my Master's degree (which I'm trying to finish) and shunned me from science. Weirdest dream ever.

[Bearcat1]

I found out today that the application I have been freaking out over was received and processed, so the post office didn't eat it. Now the long wait until April 1.

YAY!!! I was worried for you (worrying about other people's apps allows me to worry less about mine...I think).

[nohika]

I'm doing a bit better as well, although we'll see how well I sleep tonight...

 

Had an hour-long chat with one of my letter writers, who I'm TAing for this semester. Sweet lady and she totally gets where I'm coming from in terms of anxiety combined with the wait and gave me some tips to try and reduce it. Also hashed out my responsibilities when it comes to TA work! I get to GRADE THINGS! I feel so cool. Had this conversation with my mentor:

 

Her: "Getting nervous [about grad school] yet?"

Me: "Yeah. Just working myself into an anxiety attack all weekend."

"Well, I'm adding to it. I'm talking about foster parenting in my parent-child class on April 15th and I want you to come in and guest lecture." (My independent research is on foster parents and transitions in their care)

"Well, that doesn't scare me as much as I think it should."

"Good. I'll put your name in the syllabus."

"...that scares me."

 

Then I realized the presentation was literally like two weeks before graduation, and if people don't like it, they can bite me because I'm awesome. So there.

 

Oh, and I found out that at least one of the two students I can't stand was universally hated by the entire department. Apparently she told each professor to THEIR FACE that she didn't know how they kept their jobs [because they sucked so bad]. Then wondered why they hated her...