Good luck y'all

[gdl2015]

Not going to lie, the stress of this application season is getting to me more than I'd care to admit. Applying to 10 PhD programs for next fall. Good luck to you all in the same boat. Here's to hoping we stay sane and positive  

[1Q84]

[EmmaJava]

I'm totally right there with you. I finished an MA a while back and for personal reasons, I've had to wait until this cycle to gear up for a big round of applications, and I spent the interim trying to be productive. I've had my eye on this cycle for so long (2 years) that I began to obsess, and now I'm at the point where things feel rather "all or nothing." That's not all bad. Two years is a long time to pull things together, and in that respect, I've enjoyed a luxury that I'm guessing most others haven't. I've had a chance to really get my head around all that this process entails, as well as what might happen in my life it I get "nothing" instead of "all," and I've been very intentional about reminding myself to enjoy this whole thing. It should be special, it should be fun. It sure as hell is intense. And yes, as much as I've insisted on having fun, it's been crazy stressful, way more than I expected. 

Here's something that I figured out. It's pretty hard to be as ahead of the curve as you plan. Take recommendations, for example. My recommenders not only write me letters, but they are my main source of feedback on my SoP. Having two years to get your ducks in a row doesn't really mean anything when your recommenders don't want to think about this cycle until this cycle. I found myself, strangely, late to the game in a number of respects.  Crazy. 

So like I said, I'm right there with you. I'll have applied to 22 schools after the January 15 deadline. I want gdl2015's sanity, positivity, and luck in massive doses for everyone.