WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

[hippyscientist]

Just now, geobsessed said:

Yes indeed. If I don't get full funding, I'm willing to take out a small amount of loans if I have to, as right now my loan debt isn't that bad at all compared to most, and with my degree I expect my return on that investment to be pretty high. But if I don't get any funding... all the schools I have applied to are out of state, and I am just not willing to go into that much debt.

I don't have the luxury of taking out loans as an international student, i'm reliant on departmental funding for all my programmes. It definitely makes it a little more nerve-wracking! I haven't applied to any PhDs in my home country...:/ 

[geobsessed]

3 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

I just found out that I need another root canal... as if this week wasn't long enough.... now I have that to look forward to. 

Ugh that sucks, I am so sorry! I just found out I may need oral surgery, like I have the money for that right now... ugh! Hasn't been my week either but I'm trying to keep my chin up! We can do it!!

[sjoh197]

@geobsessed Mouth stuff is expensive. My last root canal cost me $700... like 3 months ago. This one will be $850. I really hate asking my dad for stuff, but I will probably ask if he will pay for it. Otherwise I will have to get a payment plan. The worst part is my next and very last tooth to be worked on is a potential root canal too. (That's why we saved it for last) So this is just a kick in the nuts really. 

[Neist]

2 minutes ago, geobsessed said:

Yes indeed. If I don't get full funding, I'm willing to take out a small amount of loans if I have to, as right now my loan debt isn't that bad at all compared to most, and with my degree I expect my return on that investment to be pretty high. But if I don't get any funding... all the schools I have applied to are out of state, and I am just not willing to go into that much debt.

I think I can do go to BSGU with maybe an extra 10k in debt, if I'm frugal. I think a masters degree is probably worth that, to me. It's not like there's a ton of well-funded MA programs. OU's history of science program offers pretty decent funding in their MA (if you can get it, which is hard), and it follows directly into the programs PhD, so I wouldn't have to start over at another program. However, at this point I'm still wait listed.

I'm not disappointed with any of my prospects, but I would like to know the final decisions from my two final applications so I can either consider them (or not).

[geobsessed]

5 minutes ago, hippyscientist said:

I don't have the luxury of taking out loans as an international student, i'm reliant on departmental funding for all my programmes. It definitely makes it a little more nerve-wracking! I haven't applied to any PhDs in my home country...:/ 

Ugh oh man! Well I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

[Need Coffee in an IV]

I have zero debt so I'm willing to take out loans. Only small ones though. I really want to get accepted. I won't be crushed but I'll be really sad.

[cpctc1]

47 minutes ago, Phiner. Determination said:

JUST GOT AN OFFER!!!!!!!! I am in tears! 

Congratulations!! Well deserved, I am sure Hoping to know the feeling some time soon! 

[aid]

1 hour ago, Euler said:

Whether it's late or not depends on the programs- I've heard back from 1 school out of 11 applied, whereas some here have heard from every school where they put in applications.

If it looks like acceptances are being done in waves, I would just wait it out. If there are a whole bunch of acceptances/waitlists at once, and you haven't heard anything back, there's no harm in emailing though.

@iloveOM @Neist @hippyscientist  Thanks for the advice. Have to keep on thinking positive thoughts in the meanwhile.

[The Interdisciplinarian]

Ugh, debt and loans and funding is so scary. If I get in but with no funding, I can't do this. I have hefty loans from my MFA (most MFAs have almost nothing in the way of funding), so even though my BA is all paid for long ago and my MA was funded, I do NOT want additional debt and in fact am kind of banking (ha ha) on being able to defer my MFA loans while doing the PhD.

Which puts me in mind of asking some advice. As this week creeps along with no news, one option I've considered is a one-year graduate certificate. I have a couple already (one in women's studies and one in instructional design), but those were basically free, as I did them at the school where I work. I'm looking at an online cert in Book History/Digital Humanities from Texas Tech, and it is incredibly appealing, but I'd want to pay out of pocket. On one hand, I think getting a more diverse set of credentials would look good if I wait a year or two and try for PhD programs again, but on the other hand, would this scattershot educational history make me look unfocused and a bit all over the place?

Mostly I just hate not being in school this year. This is the first academic year since 2004 that I haven't at least taken a class somewhere, even if it's just for fun. I've done non-degree language coursework in the past, just to stay fresh with my French, and have taken random things that I'm curious about, like economics and world poetry. I've heard that doing too much random coursework, though, makes you look like a dilettante or something.

[nightfarmer]

Thanks to the support group here. I finally have an official acceptance in hand... A long road to be sure.

[hippyscientist]

46 minutes ago, nightfarmer said:

Thanks to the support group here. I finally have an official acceptance in hand... A long road to be sure.

WOOHOO  

[rosali]

On 2/22/2016 at 10:41 PM, hippyscientist said:

Yeah see I'm not American and I've travelled to quite a few African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries for random times, and I've been in and out of the US quite a lot recently (and for like 2 months and a bit at a time). I also had a period of 3 years where I didn't live in the UK so my passport probably raises a fair few flags. 

I've even had the UK border patrol take acouple of looks at me. The downside of having the travel bug I suppose

Yeah, customs officers in the US aren't especially nice to foreign travelers. I've seen them be kind of rude to people with foreign passports, only to be really nice to me once they see I'm American. "Welcome home!" and things like that. It's a weird juxtaposition.

I wonder how reentering is going to go for me this time. My visa situation is kind of weird (because Andorra doesn't issue visas), and I think that's something they look at. Also, a good number of people think Andorra's a made-up country...

[Need Coffee in an IV]

1 hour ago, The Interdisciplinarian said:

Ugh, debt and loans and funding is so scary. If I get in but with no funding, I can't do this. I have hefty loans from my MFA (most MFAs have almost nothing in the way of funding), so even though my BA is all paid for long ago and my MA was funded, I do NOT want additional debt and in fact am kind of banking (ha ha) on being able to defer my MFA loans while doing the PhD.

Which puts me in mind of asking some advice. As this week creeps along with no news, one option I've considered is a one-year graduate certificate. I have a couple already (one in women's studies and one in instructional design), but those were basically free, as I did them at the school where I work. I'm looking at an online cert in Book History/Digital Humanities from Texas Tech, and it is incredibly appealing, but I'd want to pay out of pocket. On one hand, I think getting a more diverse set of credentials would look good if I wait a year or two and try for PhD programs again, but on the other hand, would this scattershot educational history make me look unfocused and a bit all over the place?

Mostly I just hate not being in school this year. This is the first academic year since 2004 that I haven't at least taken a class somewhere, even if it's just for fun. I've done non-degree language coursework in the past, just to stay fresh with my French, and have taken random things that I'm curious about, like economics and world poetry. I've heard that doing too much random coursework, though, makes you look like a dilettante or something.

No idea if it makes  you looked scatter or not but I don't think it would hurt you! I applied to Texas Tech so we can worry about that together ha. Plus they have a really long deadline, mine was June. But of course I turned in my application weeks ago. Its weird thinking how long I've been in school. I've spent 17 years of my life in school from 1st grade to a senior in college.

[The Interdisciplinarian]

10 minutes ago, Need Coffee in an IV said:

No idea if it makes  you looked scatter or not but I don't think it would hurt you! I applied to Texas Tech so we can worry about that together ha. Plus they have a really long deadline, mine was June. But of course I turned in my application weeks ago. Its weird thinking how long I've been in school. I've spent 17 years of my life in school from 1st grade to a senior in college.

@Need Coffee in an IV, good luck! I had noticed they had a really far-out deadline, so I figured I could still apply for the fall once I get rejected from my target program.

Look at me, thinkin' positive-like.

[Need Coffee in an IV]

14 minutes ago, The Interdisciplinarian said:

@Need Coffee in an IV, good luck! I had noticed they had a really far-out deadline, so I figured I could still apply for the fall once I get rejected from my target program.

Look at me, thinkin' positive-like.

Exactly! Plus I'm not sure if it will matter since you are applying online but everyone I talked too seem really friendly/nice. Boulder was the chilliest in their response so I'm not too hopeful for that school.

[Neist]

45 minutes ago, Need Coffee in an IV said:

No idea if it makes  you looked scatter or not but I don't think it would hurt you! I applied to Texas Tech so we can worry about that together ha. Plus they have a really long deadline, mine was June. But of course I turned in my application weeks ago. Its weird thinking how long I've been in school. I've spent 17 years of my life in school from 1st grade to a senior in college.

I began college in 2001, and I've spent at least 12 of those years in school. I'm just now graduating with my undergrad.  

It's been a long road.

[Need Coffee in an IV]

Just now, Neist said:

I began college in 2001, and I've spent at least 12 of those years in school. I'm just now graduating with my undergrad.  

It's been a long road.

No shame in that! My boyfriend graduated last year, he's spent 7ish years getting his degree. That's due to him joining the navy first, then changing majors/schools. He's now waiting on me so he can apply to jobs. We don't want to do long distance. He tried grad school but felt like it wasn't for him and felt tricked by his advisor.

[Neist]

9 minutes ago, Need Coffee in an IV said:

No shame in that! My boyfriend graduated last year, he's spent 7ish years getting his degree. That's due to him joining the navy first, then changing majors/schools. He's now waiting on me so he can apply to jobs. We don't want to do long distance. He tried grad school but felt like it wasn't for him and felt tricked by his advisor.

As long as you finish, right?  I married in my early 20s, so a lot of my length is due to financial considerations, but I certainly don't regret getting married. I love my spouse and my daughter, and I wouldn't change anything.

At any rate, I'm a way better student than I was when I began. Way better. Way better.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Neist

[nevermind]

12 minutes ago, Neist said:

I began college in 2001, and I've spent at least 12 of those years in school. I'm just now graduating with my undergrad.  

It's been a long road.

I graduated college in 2004. Graduated in with my first Master's degree in 2008, second Master's degree in 2012. Now I'm class of *maybe* 2021.  So let's not talk about this. 

[Need Coffee in an IV]

1 minute ago, Neist said:

As long as you finish, right?  I married in my early 20s, so a lot of my length is due to financial considerations, but I certainly don't regret getting married. I love my spouse and my daughter, and I wouldn't change anything.

At any rate, I'm a way better student than I was when I began. Way better. Way better.

That's his motto as well! He graduated with a 4.0 with a BS in geology. He was able to support himself through grants/scholarships along with the odd job every now and then. He took longer so he could live comfortably. Besides I think as a society we are to focused on rushing everything so we can get to the "next stage on time".

[The Interdisciplinarian]

I feel better about taking time off between degrees now. Finished my BA in '97 but waited until '01 to start my MA and until '13 to start my MFA. I didn't start feeling like a true geezer 'til I realized I was the fifth oldest person in my MFA cohort.

[jdot104]

On 2/16/2016 at 1:24 PM, flop said:

I'm seriously having a panic attack. I just checked my application on ApplyWeb and saw that the "date completed" changed to today... I know it's probably false hope, but I'm hoping to hear something from the school SOON. AHHH. My palms are sweating.

Even if I don't hear back at all today, at least I'll be receiving a package. I splurged on a nice coat, even though it's 91 degrees in LA, lol.

Hi (again) all! I'm  working on becoming more active in the thread, but I noticed this message and wondered if anyone else had seen something similar. This just happened with my UMD application and I've been trying to rationalize it for the past few days. My GRE score was the last thing checked off on my application, and I had the scores sent when I took the test in October. Weird!

[nevermind]

Finally got my funding offer from UCSD! "This financial package represents the highest award that the Department offers and is a tribute to your outstanding qualifications for graduate study." SUPER excited for 5 years of guaranteed support AND no TA-ing my first year. 

San Diego sunshine is looking better and better.

[magnetite]

@nevermind Congrats! That's an incredible funding package.

[nevermind]

6 minutes ago, magnetite said:

@nevermind Congrats! That's an incredible funding package.

Thanks! This admissions cycle has been so up and down for me. Reading the letter and knowing I can just focus on studying...it's amazing and something I've never really had the luxury of doing before.