WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

[haltheincandescent]

Sometimes my job annoys me, but, all the same, everyone there is so awesome. I was worried about taking time off to visit places, and: "just do what you need to do, we're excited for you!" Yay.

[SnpStark]

I've been reading you guys for a while so I figured it was about time I joined in!

I hear and share your whining - I applied to roughly 20 programs while working for 40+ hours and it was insane. Plus I decided I would not tell anyone I was applying until I had a positive result (if ever). Well of course my girlfriend, whom I'm living with, and my best friend know, but that's it. They're pretty busy with their own stuff so I don't really have anyone to talk about it. This wait is killing me!

Oh btw I am a Spaniard myself, so reading @piglet33 's  "quiero que todos los tacos" made me laugh my head off! Please @rhombusbombus do not learn that sentence haha. I'll have to admit that "hola, dos cervezas por favor"  will get you a long way though... 

[RCtheSS]

22 minutes ago, haltheincandescent said:

Sometimes my job annoys me, but, all the same, everyone there is so awesome. I was worried about taking time off to visit places, and: "just do what you need to do, we're excited for you!" Yay.

That's exactly how my employer has been! My supervisor and executive director both wrote rec letters on my behalf. All of my colleagues have been very supportive of my next steps; I feel like I lucked out working here, seeing as it's my first job post-undergrad.

[gingin6789]

48 minutes ago, SnpStark said:

I've been reading you guys for a while so I figured it was about time I joined in!

I hear and share your whining - I applied to roughly 20 programs while working for 40+ hours and it was insane. Plus I decided I would not tell anyone I was applying until I had a positive result (if ever). Well of course my girlfriend, whom I'm living with, and my best friend know, but that's it. They're pretty busy with their own stuff so I don't really have anyone to talk about it. This wait is killing me!

Oh btw I am a Spaniard myself, so reading @piglet33 's  "quiero que todos los tacos" made me laugh my head off! Please @rhombusbombus do not learn that sentence haha. I'll have to admit that "hola, dos cervezas por favor"  will get you a long way though... 

Welcome! 

I have no idea how you did it ... applying to 20 programs and not working at all would be tough enough! Plus, holding it in and not venting about it to anyone except your girlfriend? You are awesomely strong!!

Oh wow, I don't know what that means in Spanish, but I saw the word tacos. And now I am hungry.

I think this thread was talking about things we've got planned to celebrate acceptances. My idea of celebration is always food. Always trying to find an excuse to get some delicious food. It's actually one of the only ways in which I spend unwisely ... I'm usually quite frugal, but once I see food, it's all over ... 

[katpillow]

52 minutes ago, SnpStark said:

I've been reading you guys for a while so I figured it was about time I joined in!

I hear and share your whining - I applied to roughly 20 programs while working for 40+ hours and it was insane. Plus I decided I would not tell anyone I was applying until I had a positive result (if ever). Well of course my girlfriend, whom I'm living with, and my best friend know, but that's it. They're pretty busy with their own stuff so I don't really have anyone to talk about it. This wait is killing me!

Oh btw I am a Spaniard myself, so reading @piglet33 's  "quiero que todos los tacos" made me laugh my head off! Please @rhombusbombus do not learn that sentence haha. I'll have to admit that "hola, dos cervezas por favor"  will get you a long way though... 

I know exactly how you feel about applying to a large number of programs while working a full week. I'm so glad that part is over... but now I keep feeling like there is something I'm supposed to be doing in my downtime. The restlessness is strong.

[123hardasABC]

Hello, all. The interview season is creeping up on us. What are your post-interview plans?

For me it's:
If it goes poorly: cheap beer, pizza rolls, and Legally Blonde
If it goes well: evening with the beau at a nice cocktail bar (I got a gift card there for Christmas; I'm too poor to splurge for real) 

Whatever the case, my interview is on a Friday so I'm getting drunk as soon as I get home. 

[katpillow]

@123hardasABC assuming I get anymore interviews...

1. Ribs and beer on Sunday-special at a pub near my apartment if things go well.

2. Heated up frozen veggies and frozen chicken breast if things aren't so great.

I anticipate doing well though, should I get other chances.

[rosali]

@rhombusbombus Duolingo's great for practice/maintaining level! I also learned a lot by reading books I was already familiar with (bonus: it helps a lot with spelling). I actually think I have a PDF of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Spanish on my computer somewhere if you want it!

[hippyscientist]

@SnpStark ooops! Please tell me what I said! It's been a while since I've studied spanish properly, and I only ever learnt castillian. 

Celebrating if things go right will be mexican food post gym with my nerds (my group of friends doing my masters course, we're all super nerdy and we gym together too i love them!) and many margaritas. 

If things don't go according to plan I will have buckets of tea and be round my friends house playing assassin's creed, taking the frustration out on the controller. 

Edit: Just noticed I'm a mocha on the grad cafe rankings! Mmmm I do love a good mocha.

Edited January 19, 2016 by piglet33

[haltheincandescent]

If the friend I've been going through the application process gets in, there will be many many beers and celebrations. If he doesn't get in, drinks will probably still be had, but more sad ones. We've been running through this whole thing together--applying, but also taking classes, co-authoring blogs, constantly bouncing theory ideas off each other--so even though I'm in at least somewhere, it won't be quite the same if he's not around too (well, by around, I mean in a PhD program--he wants west coast, I want east coast, so even in the best possible case, it'll be a little bittersweet).

Also, yes to duolingo. I got through the whole tree for German, and feel pretty good about reading short stories and essays, though still with reference to a dictionary for outlying vocab.

[raaawr]

I'm using duolingo to try and learn French for just the fun of it. lol.

If I get an interview and it goes poorly which is what I'm expecting at the moment, I will definitely just hide in my room for 3 days while eating junk food with the lights off and watching Friends reruns. lol. I kind of wished I applied to more schools but due to a limited budget and limited options I just focused on my priority school. No safety nets.  

[Neist]

17 minutes ago, raaawr said:

I'm using duolingo to try and learn French for just the fun of it. lol.

If I get an interview and it goes poorly which is what I'm expecting at the moment, I will definitely just hide in my room for 3 days while eating junk food with the lights off and watching Friends reruns. lol. I kind of wished I applied to more schools but due to a limited budget and limited options I just focused on my priority school. No safety nets.  

Nothing wrong with not applying to safety net schools. I really didn't, either.

What's the point attending a program for years and years if you won't be happy with the result? I concluded that I'd rather reapply next cycle instead.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

I took the opposite approach; I applied to 12 schools (~6 of which were safeties), and my very first offer was a great fellowship to a top 10 university (in my program). I'm wishing I had saved the extra $500 or so.

[raaawr]

@NeistYou're right. I actually already thought of just reapplying next season if I don't get accepted. At least I'm better prepared for it, at least I hope so. Lol

@Pink Fuzzy BunnyWhich school is your priority school? Congratulations on getting accepted into one of the top 10 though  It sounds so exciting! Just think of the 500 as an investment into your future.

Edited January 19, 2016 by raaawr

[sjoh197]

7 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I took the opposite approach; I applied to 12 schools (~6 of which were safeties), and my very first offer was a great fellowship to a top 10 university (in my program). I'm wishing I had saved the extra $500 or so.

Better to have spent the 500 and wish you hadn't than to have  not applied and gotten rejected from your current acceptance and than be in a hole of stress and worry

[hippyscientist]

I wish I could have applied to more schools but I was restricted by funds and also by schools that would accept me without officially graduating from my masters programme. I "officially" graduate in December 2016, but will have finished all work associated with the degree by the end of July. It means I'll have an uber quick turn around, but you'd be surprised at the number of schools who said that I'd be an outright reject as I hadn't officially left. That immediately narrowed down my choice of schools, because I really don't want another "gap year" - I already took one between leaving school and starting university, and one between graduating undergrad and starting my masters. 

It's always a tough balancing act, and until we have an acceptance, the neuroticisms continue. Should I have applied to more schools? Less schools? Did I make a silly spelling mistake? Did I come across as aloof (big one for me)? 

[123hardasABC]

3 minutes ago, piglet33 said:

Did I make a silly spelling mistake? 

According to my Masters application, I went to "UC Berkekeley" for undergrad. :X

[Neist]

41 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

Better to have spent the 500 and wish you hadn't than to have  not applied and gotten rejected from your current acceptance and than be in a hole of stress and worry

Part of my issue is that I fit better into Science, Technology, & Society programs over History of Science, and there's simply not many of the former. 

I'm applying to three, and there's maybe six dedicated graduate programs in the US? Besides Cornell, RPI, and Drexel, there's Arizona State, MIT, and... maybe that's it? I'm sure I'm missing a couple.

Several schools have graduate certificates, but very few have dedicated programs. It's a very similar situation as Egyptology programs in the US, which I think we have three.

[sjoh197]

@piglet33 It's amazing the trouble that institutions will give you over the most common sense stuff. So my mother is a professor at a large state school, and she has a Masters, which was sufficient to become tenured faculty in her field. Last semester she decided she wanted to go back to get her PhD, which is provided by the Uni, with time off to continue her education. But she had to go back and take 2 undergrad math courses to be eligible. 

And boy did the the undergrad college admissions give her all kinds of hell. "We can't admit you without SAT scores from 20+ years ago" and "We need the transcript of the community college you went to at 17 for one semester even though you already have your Masters and are faculty here." 

The best was "Since you don't have proof of your childhood immunizations... you can't come to class if there's a sickness" And she asked them.... "Does that mean I get to skip teaching the class I am a Professor for too?" That one stumped them. 

[hippyscientist]

@sjoh197 I mean I understand it's their policies, and for those who've worked under red tape it can be just as frustrating enforcing it, but it still doesn't make much sense! It would be great if common sense prevailed but alas we have to go with the lowest common denominator. 

That's awesome though that your mom is a professor! I bet she's supportive through this? Neither of my parents ever went to uni (well Dad did but got kicked out), nor my aunts/grandparents so I'm the first in the family and no one has a clue about the frustrations and excitement that accompany it. "So you're going to be a professional student and never go out in the real world and work?" "Yes dad, because all the work I've been doing since I was 14 on top of school and training wasn't real work, and working 50+ hours a week dealing with departmental politics isn't work and potentially being on the cusp of awesome breakthroughs aren't real work" ehhh I'm preaching to the choir here. Always envious of those with parents who get it!

[sjoh197]

@piglet33 My mother isn't unsupportive.... but (and I really don't want to step on anyones toes) she got a degree in social science that didn't have to be funded at a place where basically everyone got in for that program. So she doesn't understand why it is so much more difficult to apply to a hard science where your lab and department needs the funds to support your research. That's why I was rejected last year. My first POI at UH said....  I really like you and your app was great, but I just don't have the funds I thought I would to support you.... bummer. 

You would think being in a university she would be more understanding.... honestly, my father, who never went to college is super duper supportive and has asked me about it all along the way and even offered to pay any tuition costs throughout the entirety of my degree. 

[artsy16]

I wonder if people going to medical school get those kinds of responses from their parents (being a pro student, not doing real work etc). I assume not. Kind of funny how parents want their kids to excel & be financially stable, yet aren't always supportive of the journey to get there!

Edited January 19, 2016 by artsy16

[haltheincandescent]

9 minutes ago, artsy16 said:

I wonder if people going to medical school get those kinds of responses from their parents (being a pro student, not doing real work etc). I assume not. Kind of funny how parents want their kids to excel & be financially stable, yet aren't always supportive of the journey to get there!

Most of my extended family, when I told them I was going to get a doctorate, still think I'm going to be an MD. They are all excited for me.

My dad, who knows what I'm doing, was, for a long time (until I very carefully laid out a defense of my decision and a larger one concerning the importance of humanities studies), less thrilled. 

So, from my half-experience, there's more support for people studying medicine, though definitely because there's a clear career path there, whereas before I even decided to apply, my dad would constantly berate the very idea of a humanities PhD: "what job could someone even think they'd get with that? As a person who hires, I wouldn't even consider someone with a ~cultural studies~ degree, just out of the pure fact that they clearly don't have any common sense or general understanding of what's important in the real world." Needless: it took me a long time to build up the courage to tell him I wanted to study English Lit, instead of, say, law or business. (After explaining it, though, he's excited now--also because he might get to visit me in NYC or Boston).

[123hardasABC]

Even though I'm pursuing a PhD in medical sciences, I get raised eyebrows. People question why I didn't just apply to medical school because MDs make X more than PhDs do. You just gotta do you. People are gonna put you down regardless of your choices.

[nevermind]

First hit on my academia.edu page! ahhhhh.