Someone is reading my application right now

[stereopticons]

16 minutes ago, DBear said:

The interview already happened?! I'm not even going to do the whole "Im sure you did great, don't worry" thing (though my gut tells me this is true) because Oh gawd, I'd be replaying it over and over in my head..!!  

 

Yeah, it was Monday. Out of nowhere, I started worrying that my answer to what research I would do in her lab wasn't satisfactory. 

[PhDorBUST]

4 hours ago, stereopticons said:

@PhDorBUST bam bam bam bam I wanna be sedated  

 

Right? I need to break out the Ramones and rock it out.

4 hours ago, Yanaka said:

@PhDorBUST 

 

Yanaka if you still have finals to study for, consider yourself lucky! I have a good GPA for my MSW (so far), but my undergrad was crap. Plus, I can't help but worry that the fact that I'm applying to CJ and Criminology programs coming from psychology and social work might work against me in the process.

If you guys have parents that even REMOTELY get it, good for you. Be thankful for them, cuz mine still don't know what social work is, let alone why one would ever need to get a PhD in anything (it's not like you'd be doing real science or anything *rolls eyes*); then again, one of the advantages of being closer to 30 than 20 is you know with a lot more certainty who you are and what you want.

Does anyone else go through random periods of total optimism and complete fatalism? Like "H*LL YES I GOT THIS B**CH" then five minutes later "I can't believe I wasted hundreds of dollars for six rejection emails...."

[stereopticons]

31 minutes ago, PhDorBUST said:

 

If you guys have parents that even REMOTELY get it, good for you. Be thankful for them, cuz mine still don't know what social work is, let alone why one would ever need to get a PhD in anything (it's not like you'd be doing real science or anything *rolls eyes*); then again, one of the advantages of being closer to 30 than 20 is you know with a lot more certainty who you are and what you want.

Seriously. My parents can't understand why I "want to go back to being a poor student again". No understanding that I can't do what I want to do without a PhD. 

[PhDorBUST]

8 minutes ago, stereopticons said:

Seriously. My parents can't understand why I "want to go back to being a poor student again". No understanding that I can't do what I want to do without a PhD. 

Right??? I fought to convince them of the MSW program and they're like why don't you just get licensed? Umm...because I don't want to do clinical work right now....

I guess that's what happens when your parents are in sales...

Hey what part of Texas are you in stereopticons?

[stereopticons]

1 hour ago, PhDorBUST said:

Right??? I fought to convince them of the MSW program and they're like why don't you just get licensed? Umm...because I don't want to do clinical work right now....

I guess that's what happens when your parents are in sales...

Hey what part of Texas are you in stereopticons?

Yep. "Why don't you do counseling?" Because I don't want to? Both of my parents are in fields that don't require a graduate degree at all, so they really don't get it. 

I'm in central Texas, near Austin. 

[PhDorBUST]

8 minutes ago, stereopticons said:

Yep. "Why don't you do counseling?" Because I don't want to? Both of my parents are in fields that don't require a graduate degree at all, so they really don't get it. 

I'm in central Texas, near Austin. 

 

Exactly. I applied to Sam Houston and I'm from PA...the prospect of living in Texas is a bit scary to me...I survived Tennessee, but BARELY. My clinical internship supervisor is from Texas and she's like, if you go to Texas we need to have a chat because sarcasm will very likely get you killed. 

I live on sarcasm.

[stereopticons]

31 minutes ago, PhDorBUST said:

Exactly. I applied to Sam Houston and I'm from PA...the prospect of living in Texas is a bit scary to me...I survived Tennessee, but BARELY. My clinical internship supervisor is from Texas and she's like, if you go to Texas we need to have a chat because sarcasm will very likely get you killed. 

I live on sarcasm.

I moved here from Philly, so I know what it's like. I don't know how to function without sarcasm and I haven't died yet! The culture shock of moving from Philly was...significant. 

[eternalwait]

Hello, fellow anxious applicants!

I'm new here, although everyday I check the Search section just to have a look at results, even though they're not from my area. I should be receiving notifications by the end of January - start of February, but I can't wait.

And as someone said, I thought that after I submitted all my applications I would feel relieved, but nope, it's actually worse.

 

I'm nervous

Edited December 22, 2016 by eternalwait

[DBear]

16 hours ago, PhDorBUST said:

Does anyone else go through random periods of total optimism and complete fatalism? Like "H*LL YES I GOT THIS B**CH" then five minutes later "I can't believe I wasted hundreds of dollars for six rejection emails...."

OMG - I thought that was just me - there are times I'm like "Schools are gonna be fighting over me" then immediately (almost), that's followed by "Even I wouldn't want me  " 

I'm also switching fields so there's that added anxiety of not being sure what committees in the field I'm applying for are actually interested in seeing in a SOP. 

I also have more work experience than academic experience so I'm afraid people are going to take that to mean I'm not passionate about research/ grad school. On the flip side, when I'm in the "I'm the best candidate that ever applied for grad school" mood, I feel like all that is going to make me more interesting and stand out... so.. yeah.. This whole process feels like I'm dissecting my whole life and my existence on earth

@stereopticons Ooh.. Philly!! that's where I want to wind up most of all (applied to U Penn and Temple) Let's hope I'll need to ask you for tips on navigating the city. All I know about Philly right now is the them song from Fresh Prince of Bell Air, the movie Philadelphia, Boys II Men, cream cheese and cheese steaks.. oh and there's that bell.. think it's famous even though it's got a crack in it..... 

 

Welcome @eternalwait - your name says it all.. lol

@LadyScientist - I so know what you mean about feeling 'strange' about hearing about people hearing back. I was initially freaking out when people started talking about interviews, not because I haven't been offered one yet - but because I had never even considered that I might need to take an interview. All the people I know who went through this process are English dept people and no one ever said anything about an interview and now I'm applying for Communication studies and I don't even know what the norm is. I scoured this whole forum looking for any indication on what the norm is when  it comes to interviews.. so yeah.. completely freaking out.. hahah

Edited December 22, 2016 by DBear
Forgot something, oops, my bad

[stereopticons]

3 hours ago, DBear said:

OMG - I thought that was just me - there are times I'm like "Schools are gonna be fighting over me" then immediately (almost), that's followed by "Even I wouldn't want me  " 

I'm also switching fields so there's that added anxiety of not being sure what committees in the field I'm applying for are actually interested in seeing in a SOP. 

This is where I am, too. Today is a "why am I doing this I'm not good enough" day. And I'm switching fields too, so I'm imagining committees looking at my app and being like, why is this person even applying she's never taken any epi classes!" 

Interview did not go as well as I thought. No in person invite. I can pinpoint at least three things I could've done better but ugh. I'm not prepared for yet another round of rejection. 

Also @DBear let me know if you're headed to Philly!! I applied to Penn too and I actually used to work at Temple. It's a pretty fun city!

[eternalwait]

I would get truly nervous in an interview, I imagine it's pretty normal :S

There's a song called Eternal Wait by a band called Ensiferum... I share some of the lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/eternal-wait-lyrics-ensiferum.html

Over the forgotten sea
Voice of angel is calling for me
Somewhere where the mountains collide
That's where I'll find my new life

 

[DBear]

@eternalwait the violent image of mountains colliding seems like an analogy for this icky application process we need to cross to find our new lives!

 

@stereopticons Gah! Kindred spirits for sure! I sooo hope I can pick your brain for Philly tips - better yet of we both end up at Penn! 

Did they tell you during the interview that the next step would be invites? Maybe not hearing back from them is normal? I really hope I'm so hoping I won't need to go through interviews. I'm deathly afraid that it'll be glaringly obvious that I'm from a different field and I won't even know what the equivalent of "epi" for my field. Let me join you in the "I'm so not qualified zone" 

[stereopticons]

2 minutes ago, DBear said:

@stereopticons Gah! Kindred spirits for sure! I sooo hope I can pick your brain for Philly tips - better yet of we both end up at Penn! 

Did they tell you during the interview that the next step would be invites? Maybe not hearing back from them is normal? I really hope I'm so hoping I won't need to go through interviews. I'm deathly afraid that it'll be glaringly obvious that I'm from a different field and I won't even know what the equivalent of "epi" for my field. Let me join you in the "I'm so not qualified zone" 

Nah, I got an email saying that I wasn't invited but I'm an alternate. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

[PaU^_^PaU]

1 hour ago, eternalwait said:

I would get truly nervous in an interview, I imagine it's pretty normal :S

There's a song called Eternal Wait by a band called Ensiferum... I share some of the lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/eternal-wait-lyrics-ensiferum.html

Over the forgotten sea
Voice of angel is calling for me
Somewhere where the mountains collide
That's where I'll find my new life

 

eternalwait, that song will play in my head, instead of the holiday songs. 

[eternalwait]

15 minutes ago, PaU^_^PaU said:

eternalwait, that song will play in my head, instead of the holiday songs. 

Good for a change, I hope.

Don't worry, we'll find our new academic lives in a great place. It remains to see where....

[dpowe003]

On 12/21/2016 at 1:14 PM, PhDorBUST said:

Exactly. I applied to Sam Houston and I'm from PA...the prospect of living in Texas is a bit scary to me...I survived Tennessee, but BARELY. My clinical internship supervisor is from Texas and she's like, if you go to Texas we need to have a chat because sarcasm will very likely get you killed. 

I live on sarcasm.

@PhDorBUST Hey, I'm a Sam Houston student! Huntsville really isn't such a bad place. I've been living there just fine for the past year and a half (home for Christmas right now), and I'll be finishing my MS with the forensic science department in May. However, I must admit coming from Northern California, the change of scenery really was a culture shock and I'm quite ready to move back home But Sam is a decent school. I've had some good opportunities there which will hopefully help my PhD application at UC Davis. Good luck with your application for Sam Houston!

Edited December 22, 2016 by dpowe003

[GeorgeC07]

@PhDorBUST Dude, I just open mail and keep it online on my macbook. Now everytime I hear the email alert sound I'm like oh damn what it is this time. I'm sure this is getting on my nerve. But, nothing's gonna happen before the Christmas vacation's over. 

[PhDorBUST]

39 minutes ago, GeorgeC07 said:

@PhDorBUST Dude, I just open mail and keep it online on my macbook. Now everytime I hear the email alert sound I'm like oh damn what it is this time. I'm sure this is getting on my nerve. But, nothing's gonna happen before the Christmas vacation's over. 

 

Legit email never closes. Just in case. Besides life's no fun without a little masochism...

[stereopticons]

1 hour ago, PhDorBUST said:

Legit email never closes. Just in case. Besides life's no fun without a little masochism...

Me every day: "oh mail updated 2 minutes ago? Time to update again! Maybe I got an email!" But when I do get emails, it's inevitably junk. I'm a little scared to see how much data I've used in my phone this month...

[LadyScientist]

Yes, @DBear it is incredibly nerve-wracking. The entire process is.

I got my first rejection letter yesterday when I woke up, and I may or may not have spent a number of hours laying in bed walking myself through that 7-stage cycle of grief, haha! But I have not heard anything back from the other schools I applied to, so... I am just trying to hold onto a shred of hope that I have been wait-listed or something. But in the meantime I will be revamping my resume and getting ready to apply for jobs if it comes to that.

[fadedfigures]

The last time I applied for graduate school, I was notified of an interview on December 17th, and accepted a few months later. It was good to tide me over while I was waiting the weeks for the other schools to contact me. 

I haven't heard anything yet this time around, and so the paranoia is real. EXTREMELY real. My email is checked multiple times a day across my laptop or my phone. I check the GradCafe Admissions log multiple times a day. My phone is on ring (when it is typically in vibrate mode), and that is checked multiple times a day. (I even got a call from a telemarketer and thought it was a grad school giving me a call.) 

Point being, they've read my application. And I am waiting to see exactly what they think.

But yet, no news is good news. Anxiety-inducing, but still good. 

[eternalwait]

Oh yeah, I have my smartphone to get me notified when an email arrives. I get very nervous when I hear that ring, even though my program's notifications are usually sent until January. I'm not sure if they have started reading my applications, at least in the USA.

Sorry for that rejection :S

 

[PhDorBUST]

37 minutes ago, eternalwait said:

Oh yeah, I have my smartphone to get me notified when an email arrives. I get very nervous when I hear that ring, even though my program's notifications are usually sent until January. I'm not sure if they have started reading my applications, at least in the USA.

Sorry for that rejection :S

 

 

Same for me with the email on my iphone. It makes a very specific noise for a new email. I can't tell you how many things I've unsubscribed from just so I will stop being disappointed when I check after hearing the french horn sound (email!).

[GeorgeC07]

@LadyScientist Gee you've already got a result?  The schools I applied have already started their vacations, and they don't even reply to my emails regarding the reference letters. I look forward to the rejections from the top schools already, just to make myself numb to them. Sorry about your rejection though, hope you get satisfying results.

[eternalwait]

Once a girl in my lab had as whatsapp sound the one I have for my email notifications... It was horrible