How to tell family you're accepted

[Kleene]

I just called my parents individually, and my grandmother. I have been abroad for 4 or 5 months now and have never called them. At some point during a silent moment my mum just said "Well, we are no talkers, are we? That's why we never call or skype." So true. We send messages almost every day and never have face time, but I guess this warranted a call.

 

My grandma finds it hard to have me so far away, so my parents have been preparing her for the fact that I would be staying abroad longer (PhD after MSc). However, she was a bit startled when I told her it would be for years while she was thinking about one semester.

Edited February 19, 2015 by Kleene

[Kleene]

I am postponing telling anyone from my undergrad institution. I want to tell my friends, my study advisor, my supervisor, and my LOR writers, while I do not want any of them to hear it from someone else. xO

 

If I get accepted, my parents might say "oh that's nice."

[Amayan]

Not to reveal exactly where I live but, if I get accepted, at least one aunt is going to say "well that's a fine how do ya do!"

 

And the humble crowd will break out in murmurs of "you betcha" and "gosh that's nice"

 

And my pasty-white cousin will burst from the doorway with "dang, yo -THAT'S DANK DOG!"

 

But maybe that's just my family.

[jujubea]

Not to reveal exactly where I live but, if I get accepted, at least one aunt is going to say "well that's a fine how do ya do!"

And the humble crowd will break out in murmurs of "you betcha" and "gosh that's nice"

And my pasty-white cousin will burst from the doorway with "dang, yo -THAT'S DANK DOG!"

But maybe that's just my family.

Lol

[Wishful Thinker]

Start a random talk then pop "I got accepted at XYZ Uni"

 

Imagine their reactions when finally they process this   

[HistoryGypsy]

I have an unusual situation:  a few of my students have applied to some of the same schools that I did.  In fact, I even wrote LORs for them!  So if I end up accepting an offer to one of those schools, I'm planning to go up to the student who has also applied there and tell him/her, "It is your destiny to be forever within my power, little peon-who-aspires-to-be-a-minion.  Mwa ha ha!"  Or something of that general nature.

[Kleio_77]

I received an acceptance yesterday with really good funding and I cried like a little baby. I called my mom and she thought something terrible had happened. She was incredibly happy for me but also told me to pull myself together. Haha. 

[HistoryGypsy]

I found an anonymous ultrasound photo online and then used my Pixelmator program to edit out the baby in the womb and replace it with a teeny tiny dissertation (I also labeled it, just like they do a baby).  Then I put the program info at the top where the hospital info would be, added the line "Fully funded + 25k Fellowship", and sent it out to my friends and family with the subject line, "I've got an announcement to make . . . "  Everyone loved it!

[insaneinthemembrane]

My parents have no idea about any of the schools on my list other than the ones in NYC since that's where we live so here are some of their best reactions so far: 

 

"Where are you going to analyze DNA next?" (I think they thought that there was a practical component to the interview) 

 

"oo that's nice, you seem to have quite a few of them"

 

"I have to get on a plane for how many hours to visit you?" (my mom is afraid of flying)

 

They continuously confuse Stanford, the university with Stamford, a town in Conneticut

 

"Can you just tell me when you decide where you're going?" 

[Humulus_lupulus]

I just got each of my parents a "mom" and a "dad" decal from the school and put each in an envelope and had them open it at the same time. They pretty much already knew where I was going (only applied to two and got one offer that was way better than the other).

[GharisGharis6]

Depends of what jokes your family loves) 

[Sword_Saint]

Me:  Hey, so I got accepted to my #1 school in Canada, great funding, amazing faculty. I'll have the time of my life there.

 

Mom:  Are you sure a Canadian degree will count the same?

 

 

[so much for telling family.]