BuddingScholar Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 I know it's a little too early for that, but I thought it would be nice to start--what seems to be an yearly tradition--our waiting room thread. So let the commiserating, nail biting, heart pounding, anxiety-laden, grueling wait begin. I am hoping that we will get to share tons of great news this year... I surely need that for my health sake. Let the 2014 Hunger Games begin! Borden 1
Borden Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 I have an interview in three weeks and I'm already losing my mind. BuddingScholar 1
BuddingScholar Posted January 7, 2014 Author Posted January 7, 2014 I have an interview in three weeks and I'm already losing my mind. Ugh, I can imagine... But already having an interview scheduled is a good sign, right? I hope you will knock their socks off! Keep us all posted... and good luck!
Maleficent999 Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 I'm in the "second-guessing everything" stage. I have to actively force myself not to re-read any of my SOPs.
annie_lull Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 I'm in the "second-guessing everything" stage. I have to actively force myself not to re-read any of my SOPs. i filed away all my application material in a folder and hid it. what's done is done and i cant even imagine reading my apps again! it'd make me cringe.
annie_lull Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 I have an interview in three weeks and I'm already losing my mind. i can't believe somebody has an interview scheduled already! care to share which school? totally fair if you don't want to talk about it until after the interview
annie_lull Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 I know it's a little too early for that, but I thought it would be nice to start--what seems to be an yearly tradition--our waiting room thread. So let the commiserating, nail biting, heart pounding, anxiety-laden, grueling wait begin. I am hoping that we will get to share tons of great news this year... I surely need that for my health sake. Let the 2014 Hunger Games begin! thanks for starting this thread! i thought about starting one earlier today but thought maybe it was premature. it's totally not! the waiting game is just too much.
Maleficent999 Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 "Faculty" posted in a thread on the Sociology forum saying things will start heating up for us at the end of January. Based on the results search I agree but it's not going to make this month any easier. It'll either be the slowest or the fastest month. I haven't figured out what way it will go quite yet.
Borden Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 i can't believe somebody has an interview scheduled already! care to share which school? totally fair if you don't want to talk about it until after the interview It's a UK school and they operate on a slightly different system with regards to timing and involvement in the application process- it's not Oxbridge or the Courtauld or anything like that, though. It's my first choice and I'm trying not to jinx it too badly, but I will at least say that when the person I'm interviewing with first answered my emails, I was so stressed/elated/freaked out that I had to have someone else open the email for me because I couldn't believe [redacted] wanted to talk to me.
Borden Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 Ugh, I can imagine... But already having an interview scheduled is a good sign, right? I hope you will knock their socks off! Keep us all posted... and good luck! It was nuts, I sent in my application on a Monday and on Friday they scheduled my interview. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is a good sign. Now I just have to wait on the rest of my schools!
annie_lull Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 i was going through last year's results, and it seems like the first responses started coming in mid-January, but the bulk of the results were posted at the end of Jan through the whole month of Feb. I think we should expect at least 2-3 more solid weeks of silence. eeeks!
m-ttl Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) I'm still debating on whether or not I'm applying to my 7th school. I have one late deadline in Feb, but another coming up in a few days and after visiting and having an informal talk with a POI...I was really disappointed. I'd have to scratch my SOP and rework it completely, not to mention if I got selected for a "Real" interview they'd prefer for me to buy a plane ticket with 2 weeks notice so I can fly across the country. Felt more like a school for trust fund students than scholars. :/ But there were other merits to the school that I liked... ETA: I feel stressed that I don't feel more stressed, oddly enough. Perhaps I'm too laissez faire with my SOPs but I don't want to look at them after I've submitted an app. Edited January 7, 2014 by m-ttl
chagallgal Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 best of luck to everyone, and good vibes to all! Borden and BuddingScholar 2
Borden Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 Perhaps I'm too laissez faire with my SOPs but I don't want to look at them after I've submitted an app. No, I haven't looked at any of mine since I turned my last application in last week. It doesn't help at that point. I'm not letting myself be actually properly stressed until the last week of January, and then I'm not allowed to be frantic until CAA, and in the mean time I'm watching a lot of wildlife documentaries to stay calm. fragonard32 1
Maleficent999 Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 No, I haven't looked at any of mine since I turned my last application in last week. It doesn't help at that point. I'm not letting myself be actually properly stressed until the last week of January, and then I'm not allowed to be frantic until CAA, and in the mean time I'm watching a lot of wildlife documentaries to stay calm. I'll be checking around until then but, agreed, I won't start freaking out until the end of January and I won't start pulling my hair out until the end of February.
BuddingScholar Posted January 7, 2014 Author Posted January 7, 2014 I am a mix of anxiety and indifference. I struck out last year, so it's all-or-nothing for me this time around -- at least I feel this way. Though I think I fixed all the major problems with last year's app and am confident that my background is considerably stronger this time, one aspect of my app (GRE) still concerns me -- I am afraid this will be my demise. Well.. at least there are no Ivys on my list, and no PhDs either. So we shall see! I had promised myself that this season I would be "only" lurking around gradcafe. Well... it hasn't worked thus far as you can tell. For some reason, this stressful process seems a little more bearable when I know that there are many others going through similar pains. Besides it does cheer me up when people start to receive good news -- I am very vicarious! ChurchLover and m-ttl 2
Borden Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 I'll be checking around until then but, agreed, I won't start freaking out until the end of January and I won't start pulling my hair out until the end of February. Yeah, I'm checking once a week or so just to see if they've updated the online system to say "in consideration" or whatever, or if anyone's had a phone call they've reported, but last year I was a wreck all January and February and it didn't do any good. I think it being my second round helps with the stress factor a bit.
m-ttl Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) I am a mix of anxiety and indifference. I struck out last year, so it's all-or-nothing for me this time around -- at least I feel this way. Though I think I fixed all the major problems with last year's app and am confident that my background is considerably stronger this time, one aspect of my app (GRE) still concerns me -- I am afraid this will be my demise. Well.. at least there are no Ivys on my list, and no PhDs either. So we shall see! I had promised myself that this season I would be "only" lurking around gradcafe. Well... it hasn't worked thus far as you can tell. For some reason, this stressful process seems a little more bearable when I know that there are many others going through similar pains. Besides it does cheer me up when people start to receive good news -- I am very vicarious! I do find myself on here quite a bit more than I thought I would! But this is my first application season and so I'm not sure how stressed I should be. (if that even makes sense!). I split my applications between MAs and PhDs. And since striking out is a possibility... I'm going to have to start looking for jobs, too. Both of the jobs I have right now are student jobs, and only one of them can re-hire me after graduation. Not sure if I should wait to start doing that after I get all the decisions. I've decided to try to angle all my stress towards my current research project I'm doing for a professor/local art collection and practicing my languages. If it's alright to go off topic -- does anyone here use ipads? I just got a mini with retina display (after some saving up!) and I'm seeing what apps I want to download/use for classes, research, language practice, etc. I've been downloading anything I think will help organize me or force me to practice languages. The problem with language apps is that you have to pay for so many of them... Or more broadly, do you have any new year's resolutions regarding school? Edited January 7, 2014 by m-ttl BuddingScholar 1
BuddingScholar Posted January 7, 2014 Author Posted January 7, 2014 Pandora decided that I needed to listen to the following by Jewel -- and I thought it was quite fitting after all. If I could tell the world just one thing It would be that we’re all ok And not to worry because worry is wasteful And useless in times like these I will not be made useless I won’t be idled with despair I will gather myself around my faith For light does the darkness most fear SMDance131 and annie_lull 2
BuddingScholar Posted January 7, 2014 Author Posted January 7, 2014 I do find myself on here quite a bit more than I thought I would! But this is my first application season and so I'm not sure how stressed I should be. (if that even makes sense!). I split my applications between MAs and PhDs. And since striking out is a possibility... I'm going to have to start looking for jobs, too. Both of the jobs I have right now are student jobs, and only one of them can re-hire me after graduation. Not sure if I should wait to start doing that after I get all the decisions. I've decided to try to angle all my stress towards my current research project I'm doing for a professor/local art collection and practicing my languages. If it's alright to go off topic -- does anyone here use ipads? I just got a mini with retina display (after some saving up!) and I'm seeing what apps I want to download/use for classes, research, language practice, etc. I've been downloading anything I think will help organize me or force me to practice languages. The problem with language apps is that you have to pay for so many of them... Or more broadly, do you have any new year's resolutions regarding school? My new year's resolution is to start grad school, but then, I had the same one last year and here I am. Maybe I should choose one that I can actually control the outcome. Will be thinking about it. Anyway, I do have an Ipad, but have only used apps related to my photographic work and my teaching (gradebook). Of course, I have the usual dictionary, kindle, nook, etc, type of apps but nothing more specific.
annie_lull Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 If it's alright to go off topic -- does anyone here use ipads? I just got a mini with retina display (after some saving up!) and I'm seeing what apps I want to download/use for classes, research, language practice, etc. I've been downloading anything I think will help organize me or force me to practice languages. The problem with language apps is that you have to pay for so many of them... Or more broadly, do you have any new year's resolutions regarding school? Try Evernote if you haven't yet. it helps me organize my notes and docs. Kindle app is good since you can send to it long articles you dont want to read right away. and the dictionary app was very useful when i was studying for the GRE...
m-ttl Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 Try Evernote if you haven't yet. it helps me organize my notes and docs. Kindle app is good since you can send to it long articles you dont want to read right away. and the dictionary app was very useful when i was studying for the GRE... I have evernote! Tentatively downloaded: Quip, Evernote, Cabinet (PDF editor), Google Drive, Dropbox, Planner Plus, Topnotes, Moleskine, Studypic (for those image based flashcards), and Talkboard (though I have no idea why I'd need it right now). I also have duolingo and a variety of SRS rep apps for languages. I wonder if Anki is still a paid app. I have it on my computer and I use cloze-deletions to study. (Basically your flashcard has a full sentence and you delete the information you need to memorize, like the artist's name or the date.) Every once in awhile my professors still want things memorized outright...so I figured out how to make it stick. I'll be completely honest and say I didn't study very hard for the GRE vocab. A lot of it felt like review more than anything else, but my school district had a comprehensive vocabulary curriculum. I felt like I studied more to understand how the questions were asked than the actual material on the exam. (Although I still did terrible on the quant portion and I tried to learn the material. But...I haven't done math in three years and even then only one trimester.)
stephd016 Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 Just finished sending in all of my applications! I took a year off after I graduated because I just didn't know what I wanted to do. Finally decided that graduate school was right for me and chose seven programs to apply to, both MA and PhD. I'm terrified I am not going to get in! To anyone who didn't get in their first time around, what sort of programs did you apply to and what did you do once you had to take a full year off again to build your resume? The job market is just so bad that I can't envision continuing the search. Every company I find that I actually want to work for will not take on anyone who doesn't have a masters or 10 years of experience. Good luck to all!
m-ttl Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 Yes, I am curious about what everyone's plans were if they struck out their first round of apps. Related: I just double checked a submitted app, and they told me they don't have my GRE scores! I had to call ETS today anyways...who confirmed I sent my scores to the very same University in October. I emailed the general graduate admissions help email about it (including with the batch number the ETS lady gave me), but it's been over 24 hours and there should be no reason for why they don't have my scores pulled up. :/ How frustrating! This is one of my top choices.
annie_lull Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 Yes, I am curious about what everyone's plans were if they struck out their first round of apps. Related: I just double checked a submitted app, and they told me they don't have my GRE scores! I had to call ETS today anyways...who confirmed I sent my scores to the very same University in October. I emailed the general graduate admissions help email about it (including with the batch number the ETS lady gave me), but it's been over 24 hours and there should be no reason for why they don't have my scores pulled up. :/ How frustrating! This is one of my top choices. i have the same issue, but on my status page it also says to allow the admissions office 3-4 weeks after the deadline to fully update the status info. The likelihood is that they received your score but are still in the process of matching the scores with the applications they received. im not sure what the deadline was for your app, but i wouldnt freak out over it. maybe check in with them later this month?
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