WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

[anthrostudentcyn]

1 minute ago, nevermind said:

It seems like it's a super casual thing, if he's not setting up an appt. in Outlook or anything. My advice? Just roll with it. S/he contacted you for a reason...but professors (especially this time of year) have hectic schedules and other things on their minds too. 

The interview time will probably be confirmed with an email, something akin to "can you swing by at 3:30?" (when it's like 2 p.m.). I had a professor set a time for a (second) Skype interview and didn't show up, so I had to send a follow up email, just stating that there must've been a miscommunication and suggesting an alternate time to meet (He forgot about the meeting and apologized). The lesson? Professors are human. Applicants probably aren't even on the top 3 things on their radar, so cut them a little slack. If you don't hear from them later today, then just send a follow up email.

 

Thanks! Yeah that's true. I sent him a follow up email that clearly laid out 4 different day/times that we could meet. So hopefully I'll hear something. 

 

[passenger47]

Whine: The racket of sending transcripts and the extortion money I've had to fork over for my own transcripts. Okay, I guess it's really not THAT bad or the end of the world, but I HATE paying $10 more to regain access to the PDF (!!) of my own transcript. 

Whine done....I feel better already!

[The Interdisciplinarian]

Ugh, the results search isn't that helpful when you log things super casual like four days later! COME ON, PEOPLE. Who are these folks who are like, "Oh, right, I got accepted there. That was last week. I should probably update that."

(Sorry. I'm sure it was literally no one reading this thread. It's not even for my program, just a different PhD at the same school.)

[Neist]

3 minutes ago, The Interdisciplinarian said:

Ugh, the results search isn't that helpful when you log things super casual like four days later! COME ON, PEOPLE. Who are these folks who are like, "Oh, right, I got accepted there. That was last week. I should probably update that."

(Sorry. I'm sure it was literally no one reading this thread. It's not even for my program, just a different PhD at the same school.)

I was told they'd have decisions for PopC around late February. We've already made it one third of the way through the month.  

I do have to admit that I'm getting somewhat bored. I don't like to be bored.

[iloveOM]

I have a missed phone call from Illinois, where I did my interview 3 weeks ago. I sweat out a lot and call back... A woman voice appear : Here is Amazon.... Agrrrr

This application cycle really puts me on roller coaster of emotions.

 

[gingin6789]

4 hours ago, Neist said:

You know what I did? Go buy the cheapest box fan you can find. The cheaper the better. 

Box fans are advertised with silence as a positive, but cheap ones are usually noisy as hell. My neighbor might be watching a movie on the other side of the wall, yet I hear nothing.

It's wonderful.

@anthrostudentcyn, Congrats! Hope it goes well!  

Ha fans are so handy, mainly in the summer! However, I'm in the basement in the winter, so having a fan on this time of year wouldn't be good! I do thank you for the suggestion though.

[raaawr]

Hi guys, I need advice. Should I email the school and ask if they sent out interview invitations to the finalists of my program yet or just wait it out? I'm getting super anxious. I don't know if I should just wait for a rejection email or an interview email that may never come. Ahhhhh! It's 3am my time. I'm going crazy. Lol

[Effloresce]

19 hours ago, aulacrimosa said:

How do those of you with mental illnesses deal with the waiting period? I feel my depression and anxiety levels escalating like crazy, as all of my applications are now out of my hands. Still waiting on 7 decisions......at least nobody else has heard anything from the programs I applied to yet. 

i wonder this too. my anxiety levels haven't been as bad, but i'm in the middle of a pretty bad depressive episode which isn't helping at all. granted, i don't have any more waiting to do (except for my last interview which is in march), but i still work full-time in a pretty demanding lab. coupled with the fact that a colleague passed away recently, i'm kinda just plodding along. 

what i've been trying to do though is focus on self-care -- trying to not push myself too hard and take things a day at a time. i've been trying to make sure i sleep regularly, eat regularly, and engage in some sort of leisure activity (i game, so i've been doing that a lot :P). also surround yourself with friends!! don't isolate yourself during this time.

[Neist]

7 minutes ago, gingin6789 said:

Ha fans are so handy, mainly in the summer! However, I'm in the basement in the winter, so having a fan on this time of year wouldn't be good! I do thank you for the suggestion though.

I point mine at a wall. 

Edited February 9, 2016 by Neist

[raaawr]

1 minute ago, Effloresce said:

i wonder this too. my anxiety levels haven't been as bad, but i'm in the middle of a pretty bad depressive episode which isn't helping at all. granted, i don't have any more waiting to do (except for my last interview which is in march), but i still work full-time in a pretty demanding lab. coupled with the fact that a colleague passed away recently, i'm kinda just plodding along. 

what i've been trying to do though is focus on self-care -- trying to not push myself too hard and take things a day at a time. i've been trying to make sure i sleep regularly, eat regularly, and engage in some sort of leisure activity (i game, so i've been doing that a lot :P). also surround yourself with friends!! don't isolate yourself during this time.

Aw. Sorry to hear about your colleague.

I'm kind of spiraling right now too. I don't have the energy to work, and I'm just holed up in my room all day. I'm freelance so I work on my own time but the anxiety is getting to me. I am kind of isolating myself lately, I think I need fresh air. Too much netflix is bad. Lol

[Demeter]

I tried the whole 'stay of the internet' for a few days. It did not help. However, I'm re-watching all of Doc Martin so that's something. I just want to know something, anything. I keep checking Maryland's portal like nobody's business, but none of the programs that used SOPHAS actually have portals to check obsessively and I really wish I had something to look at for these schools. 

 I am telling myself not, not, not, to email anybody. It will reek of desperation. I know this because I admit to my desperation. I am clinging to what remains of that voice in the back of my head that says "No news is good news." 

[The Interdisciplinarian]

3 hours ago, Neist said:

I was told they'd have decisions for PopC around late February. We've already made it one third of the way through the month.  

I do have to admit that I'm getting somewhat bored. I don't like to be bored.

I know, that's kind of what I'm gleaning from last year's results. I'm not so much bored as feeling like I can't really plan certain things past summertime, including starting on fall syllabi, since I have no idea where I'll be. Grumble grumble.

[Neist]

5 minutes ago, Demeter said:

I tried the whole 'stay of the internet' for a few days. It did not help. However, I'm re-watching all of Doc Martin so that's something. I just want to know something, anything. I keep checking Maryland's portal like nobody's business, but none of the programs that used SOPHAS actually have portals to check obsessively and I really wish I had something to look at for these schools. 

 I am telling myself not, not, not, to email anybody. It will reek of desperation. I know this because I admit to my desperation. I am clinging to what remains of that voice in the back of my head that says "No news is good news." 

You should watch the timeless classic of our generation: R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet." All 33 chapters.

If you can make it through that then the wait will seem luxurious by comparison!  

[Cat_Robutt]

2 minutes ago, Neist said:

You should watch the timeless classic of our generation: R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet." All 33 chapters.

If you can make it through that then the wait will seem luxurious by comparison!  

Isn't that the timeless classic of every generation?

Also, @raaawr, due to my work schedule I spend much time at the apartment, and honestly it is incredibly hard to focus on my work. I pet my cat, have started watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, drink lots and lots of water, and play Undertale or Portal if things get too hectic. At the end of every day, I force myself to write down 5 good things about my day and 5 things for which I'm grateful. It sounds trite, but it tamps my anxiety down enough to where I can go to sleep and it tends to get me out of the house so my list isn't just "Netflix" written over and over again.

The hardest thing for me is trying to write during this whole ordeal. It seems like my research/reading/writing skills have disappeared in a vortex of self-doubt.

[Demeter]

1 minute ago, Neist said:

You should watch the timeless classic of our generation: R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet." All 33 chapters.

If you can make it through that then the wait will seem luxurious by comparison!  

Haaaa, I'd forgotten all about that! I think I will pass, respectfully, and will now crank up some Bohemian Rhapsody to help myself forget. 

I said I was desperate, but even I've got limits. I think that "rap opera" is like a fanfic that the author can't bring themselves to end, so they keep updating, and people who had the work on update go, "Wait, they're still updating that thing?" 

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

Rap... opera?

[FoxAndChicken]

7 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Rap... opera?

I haven't heard of it. But I listen to rap in French, Spanish, African(?), Swedish, and Korean. Rap in other languages sounds super awesome. 

[Neist]

10 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Rap... opera?

Have you seen Trapped in the Closet? It's free to watch on YouTube.  

Check it out!

[nevermind]

1 minute ago, Neist said:

Have you seen Trapped in the Closet? It's free to watch on YouTube.  

Check it out!

been down that road. twice. Yet. the waiting seems infinitely longer to me. 

[raaawr]

1 hour ago, Demeter said:

I tried the whole 'stay of the internet' for a few days. It did not help. However, I'm re-watching all of Doc Martin so that's something. I just want to know something, anything. I keep checking Maryland's portal like nobody's business, but none of the programs that used SOPHAS actually have portals to check obsessively and I really wish I had something to look at for these schools. 

 I am telling myself not, not, not, to email anybody. It will reek of desperation. I know this because I admit to my desperation. I am clinging to what remains of that voice in the back of my head that says "No news is good news." 

I keep telling myself that "no news is good news" but it's hard to convince myself when I know they request interviews for all finalists. I want that interview so bad which is surprising for me cause I have social anxiety and will probably bomb the interview but I would like the chance I guess. Haha. I guess I really just have to wait.

1 hour ago, Cat_Robutt said:

Isn't that the timeless classic of every generation?

Also, @raaawr, due to my work schedule I spend much time at the apartment, and honestly it is incredibly hard to focus on my work. I pet my cat, have started watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, drink lots and lots of water, and play Undertale or Portal if things get too hectic. At the end of every day, I force myself to write down 5 good things about my day and 5 things for which I'm grateful. It sounds trite, but it tamps my anxiety down enough to where I can go to sleep and it tends to get me out of the house so my list isn't just "Netflix" written over and over again.

The hardest thing for me is trying to write during this whole ordeal. It seems like my research/reading/writing skills have disappeared in a vortex of self-doubt.

The self-doubt is crippling. I think I'll start writing down my plan B so I can start tackling things right now if this grad school thing doesn't work out and I could feel productive somehow. I will try writing good things about my day too and maybe it will ease my spiral of doom. Lol

[nka93]

Guys, I am seriously so impatient that I just considered making another email account just to ask schools about their timelines without them knowing who I am, which I realize is ridiculous. One school had a priority deadline of Dec 1st, and an actual deadline of Feb 15th. According to their website they start making decisions of Feb 1st. I just want to be admitted to one school and I will be happy. I'm going crazy.

[iloveOM]

25 minutes ago, nka93 said:

Guys, I am seriously so impatient that I just considered making another email account just to ask schools about their timelines without them knowing who I am, which I realize is ridiculous. One school had a priority deadline of Dec 1st, and an actual deadline of Feb 15th. According to their website they start making decisions of Feb 1st. I just want to be admitted to one school and I will be happy. I'm going crazy.

The schools with Dec deadline are usually late ( or does it implies that I am rejected?), I received 2 interview from schools with 15 Jan deadline but haven't heard anything about the school with 15 Dec deadline.

On the other hand, I bombed my Northwestern interview today... yay..... Considered come back to binge eating As an international student, I do not have the luxury of having a pet. So sad. I think a cat/dog might help me through this difficult time.

Edited February 9, 2016 by iloveOM

[Demeter]

54 minutes ago, iloveOM said:

The schools with Dec deadline are usually late ( or does it implies that I am rejected?), I received 2 interview from schools with 15 Jan deadline but haven't heard anything about the school with 15 Dec deadline.

On the other hand, I bombed my Northwestern interview today... yay..... Considered come back to binge eating As an international student, I do not have the luxury of having a pet. So sad. I think a cat/dog might help me through this difficult time.

 

Good thoughts to you! Your interview might seem different after a bit of reflection, and even so, a bombed interview doesn't always mean an outright rejection. Interviews are funky, you never know what they're really looking for in a question. 

Thinking of you. This process is tough, but you're not alone. 

Edited February 9, 2016 by Demeter

[Foreveronward]

6 hours ago, raaawr said:

Hi guys, I need advice. Should I email the school and ask if they sent out interview invitations to the finalists of my program yet or just wait it out? I'm getting super anxious. I don't know if I should just wait for a rejection email or an interview email that may never come. Ahhhhh! It's 3am my time. I'm going crazy. Lol

I wouldn't. If they're still making decisions, you don't want to bug them. There's a whole thread in this subforum where people posted replies to this question. Check it out if you need more convincing. Trust me, I want to email them too. I'd love to just make up some fake email and ask how far along they are, but all we can really do is wait.

[bugabooo]

Being accepted somewhere is great.... the fact that I have up to three months between that acceptance and final funding decisions is SO NOT GREAT. GUYS. How can I make a decision in April if I might not hear about final funding until MAY?