Someone is reading my application right now

[clarwyn]

Congrats @GeorgeC07, @eternalwait, @Feanor, and anyone I missed! Sooooo sorry you had to resubmit @Marshall, that's unbelievably awful :(((((((  I hope the letter acquiring process turns out not to be so bad!

Out of my four apps (why oh why did I think that was enough?!) I've had two rejections, and one school that I've pretty much given up on since I know they did interviews the beginning of January. So I'm really only waiting on one more school, which was my least favorite choice, but at this point I'll take it! Trying to see what I can do to improve my chances for next cycle; I've mostly given up on this one. But I'm still checking my email every 20 minutes, so I guess some part of me is still hoping

[eternalwait]

6 hours ago, clarwyn said:

Congrats @GeorgeC07, @eternalwait, @Feanor, and anyone I missed! Sooooo sorry you had to resubmit @Marshall, that's unbelievably awful :(((((((  I hope the letter acquiring process turns out not to be so bad!

Out of my four apps (why oh why did I think that was enough?!) I've had two rejections, and one school that I've pretty much given up on since I know they did interviews the beginning of January. So I'm really only waiting on one more school, which was my least favorite choice, but at this point I'll take it! Trying to see what I can do to improve my chances for next cycle; I've mostly given up on this one. But I'm still checking my email every 20 minutes, so I guess some part of me is still hoping

Thanks :). 

Never give up on your hopes! Sláinte!

[GeorgeC07]

7 hours ago, clarwyn said:

Congrats @GeorgeC07, @eternalwait, @Feanor, and anyone I missed! Sooooo sorry you had to resubmit @Marshall, that's unbelievably awful :(((((((  I hope the letter acquiring process turns out not to be so bad!

Out of my four apps (why oh why did I think that was enough?!) I've had two rejections, and one school that I've pretty much given up on since I know they did interviews the beginning of January. So I'm really only waiting on one more school, which was my least favorite choice, but at this point I'll take it! Trying to see what I can do to improve my chances for next cycle; I've mostly given up on this one. But I'm still checking my email every 20 minutes, so I guess some part of me is still hoping

Thx.

I had the same feeling about the number of schools I applied earlier. One of my friends applied to 18 schools so that he could be close to his wife since they are both applying. And then I realized that most programs in my field had just started reviewing the materials so 9 is sufficient. 

Don't give up, I won't give up, Don't give up, no no no 

[Marshall]

23 hours ago, clarwyn said:

Congrats @GeorgeC07, @eternalwait, @Feanor, and anyone I missed! Sooooo sorry you had to resubmit @Marshall, that's unbelievably awful :(((((((  I hope the letter acquiring process turns out not to be so bad!

Out of my four apps (why oh why did I think that was enough?!) I've had two rejections, and one school that I've pretty much given up on since I know they did interviews the beginning of January. So I'm really only waiting on one more school, which was my least favorite choice, but at this point I'll take it! Trying to see what I can do to improve my chances for next cycle; I've mostly given up on this one. But I'm still checking my email every 20 minutes, so I guess some part of me is still hoping

Thank you! It went as smoothly as this type of situation could. I resubmitted on Sunday evening, all of my letters were back in by Monday afternoon.

I did receive an email today by that institution titled, in all caps "GRADUATE ADMISSION APPLICATION UPDATE" with a pdf file in it. I felt so nauseated as I was waiting for the pdf to load, all for it to be a pdf about the server failure and how my info was potentially compromised and i need to check with the 3 credit reporting agencies and possibly put an alert on my credit record.

 

Sigh. 

[GunningForGrad]

@Marshall that suuuuuuucks. I can't even imagine! As your doctor, I highly suggest you take two (or three) drinks and don't check your email again until morning.

[Marshall]

1 hour ago, GunningForGrad said:

@Marshall that suuuuuuucks. I can't even imagine! As your doctor, I highly suggest you take two (or three) drinks and don't check your email again until morning.

I've never been one to turn down a doctor's orders.

[DBear]

@Marshall Even if it's not a doctor's orders, why would anyone turn down such sage advice as @GunningForGrad's, right? Glad the re-submission went smoothly and hope you get some closure on that soon! 

I checked my email today and saw the name of a program I'm applying to and my heart skipped a beat. I opened it and .. it was the school's newletter. I forgot I was even subscribed to it.. ARgH

[DBear]

On 2017. 2. 1. at 4:19 AM, clarwyn said:

Congrats @GeorgeC07, @eternalwait, @Feanor, and anyone I missed! Sooooo sorry you had to resubmit @Marshall, that's unbelievably awful :(((((((  I hope the letter acquiring process turns out not to be so bad!

Out of my four apps (why oh why did I think that was enough?!) I've had two rejections, and one school that I've pretty much given up on since I know they did interviews the beginning of January. So I'm really only waiting on one more school, which was my least favorite choice, but at this point I'll take it! Trying to see what I can do to improve my chances for next cycle; I've mostly given up on this one. But I'm still checking my email every 20 minutes, so I guess some part of me is still hoping

It's not over til the fat lady sings. I have a friend that applied to 13 schools and got 11 consecutive rejections before finally getting that one admission and one wait list. I personally think that as long as you've put a lot of thought into the school selection process and applied to 3 or more schools, that's fine. I actually had one professor tell me to apply to 3. Some people say the more the merrier, but then I don't think that's even possible in some cases. I looked only for fit and any school that's not in the South or Soutwest (I can't deal with heat and humidity and other factors) and I had a list of 100 schools that I started with but still could only find 7 programs that "fit" well and I was qualified to apply for (one required an MA from the same field in order to apply for the phd program and I didn't have this). Some fields are just bigger and there are more programs to choose from, but this really isn't the case... so you may not have been able to find more schools worth applying to even if you had tried. 

Hang in there, I hope you and your entire family don't have to go through this all over again. It's still really early in the game!!!

[Coffee Snob]

My poor heart skips a beat every time I receive an email notification

I even wake up in the middle of the night just to check emails

Help! 

[DBear]

3 minutes ago, SEAsianInternational said:

My poor heart skips a beat every time I receive an email notification

I even wake up in the middle of the night just to check emails

Help! 

I did that too... Being in a different time zone kinda sucks... Sorry...  I have no idea how to fix that....

[DogsArePeopleToo]

18 minutes ago, SEAsianInternational said:

My poor heart skips a beat every time I receive an email notification

I even wake up in the middle of the night just to check emails

Help! 

Hahaha. That's me right there.

[Coffee Snob]

Have I mentioned that I called in sick today? I'm blaming my lack of sleep from waking up in the middle of the night several times having an impulsive urge to check my email. 

I've got nightmares too. Last night my nightmare was being chased by a gigantic school bus -- some kids (or racoons, can't remember) drove the bus!

[GunningForGrad]

@SEAsianInternational something that really helped me was reminding myself that an acceptance wouldn't disappear if I didn't click it the moment it came to my inbox. And I'm trying to remind myself that a watched pot never boils. I haven't gotten to the admissions portion of application season, but the two interviews I've landed were when I had finally allowed myself to stop thinking about it. 

It's so hard not to click that refresh button-  but try to remember that any emails aren't going anywhere. And you want to be awake and alert enough to celebrate when good news comes your way!

[ak547]

5 hours ago, SEAsianInternational said:

My poor heart skips a beat every time I receive an email notification

I even wake up in the middle of the night just to check emails

Help! 

I TOTALLY get it! In the same damn boat! Can't focus on work either.

[Feanor]

Another rejection. Sad.

[CoffeeFueledAnxiety]

55 minutes ago, Feanor said:

Another rejection. Sad.

I was talking about rejections and wait-lists and all that few days ago to my family, then my dad reminded me that all I need is that one acceptance to a program that I have thought good enough to apply to.

I know it's always nice to have options and I am still looking forward to other decisions in the making, but I felt much calmer afterwards because it is true. 

[clarwyn]

18 hours ago, GunningForGrad said:

@SEAsianInternational something that really helped me was reminding myself that an acceptance wouldn't disappear if I didn't click it the moment it came to my inbox. And I'm trying to remind myself that a watched pot never boils. I haven't gotten to the admissions portion of application season, but the two interviews I've landed were when I had finally allowed myself to stop thinking about it. 

It's so hard not to click that refresh button-  but try to remember that any emails aren't going anywhere. And you want to be awake and alert enough to celebrate when good news comes your way!

That is really good advice! I don't know if I can stop myself from refreshing  But you're right, the emails won't disappear if we don't see them right away. Buuuut....I want to KNOW right away

[GunningForGrad]

@clarwyn you'll know when you're meant to know! I am totally a hypocrite about this because I obsessively check this forum and refresh my email, but when I find myself jumping down the rabbit hole, I close out of everything and make myself focus on the present. What good would it do to find out half asleep when I can't fully celebrate? What good would it do to find out at work where no one knows I'm applying? I can't force the letter to come faster by refreshing. The world brings us news when we're ready to handle it- good, bad, or indifferent.

[CaffeineCardigan]

It's nice to see I'm not the only one obsessing over every email. My current struggle is time zones. I'm living in Japan and applied for programs in Arizona, the UK, and Ireland, so even though I know when I'm awake and functional during the day the admissions people are all not at work I still can't stop myself from checking my email 15 times a day "just in case." Three of my four applications are "pending" and just knowing they are currently making a decision or have already made a decision and it's coming snail mail to Japan is driving me crazy! 

I just had a panic because I got an email from a program director at my second choice school (at 11:00pm my time) but the email was just to assure me they're processing my application as quickly as possible. Nice to hear something but it's not the cure for my obsessive email refreshing! 

[siitrasn]

@CaffeineCardigan Hello, fellow Japan-er! (Couldn't think of a better way to phrase that...)

I totally feel your pain and frequently end up getting up way in the morning to check emails. I actually ended up having some application issues and spent a few nights calling schools in California... Staying up until 3AM to make calls is definitely not the most fun, but I guess that's what happens.

Quick question though: I would assume most programs notify people by email or phone these days, so would snail mail actually be a factor for you? If the school is nice enough they might expedite the shipment, but I can imagine that being tortuous.

Edited February 3, 2017 by siitrasn

[CaffeineCardigan]

@siitrasn The school where I did my undergrad actually still likes to send important things via snail mail. The admissions people emailed me last week to make sure my mailing address was really in Japan, which I think would have been a pretty big error on my part. It could just be for other promotional material. I guess I'll have to wait and see! 

[Charlsa]

On 2/2/2017 at 1:35 AM, DBear said:

It's not over til the fat lady sings. I have a friend that applied to 13 schools and got 11 consecutive rejections before finally getting that one admission and one wait list. I personally think that as long as you've put a lot of thought into the school selection process and applied to 3 or more schools, that's fine. I actually had one professor tell me to apply to 3. Some people say the more the merrier, but then I don't think that's even possible in some cases. I looked only for fit and any school that's not in the South or Soutwest (I can't deal with heat and humidity and other factors) and I had a list of 100 schools that I started with but still could only find 7 programs that "fit" well and I was qualified to apply for (one required an MA from the same field in order to apply for the phd program and I didn't have this). Some fields are just bigger and there are more programs to choose from, but this really isn't the case... so you may not have been able to find more schools worth applying to even if you had tried.

I only applied to four programs on the basis that they all be within 400 miles of my hometown and are somewhat open to studio courses (for art history).* This is not advisable, but I had issues with being 10 hours away from any friends or family. 

Unfortunately no responses yet. I nearly lost my breath when I saw three large envelopes in the mail, but they were all false alarms.

(*I don't even particularly want to take studio courses; I just don't trust an art history program that discourages its students from learning to make art.)

[DBear]

@CaffeineCardigan & @siitrasn I applied from Korea, so I believe we're in the same time zone. My whole body clock switched so I ended up staying up all night here on the forum or checking my applications. I recently came to the U.S. on vacation and am in almost the same time zone so if any notifications come, they will come during the day time. I still find myself waking up in the middle of the night to reach for my phone - the habit of waiting all night for notifications seems to be having some lasting effects. Hopefully I'll be able to start sleeping through the night, but I know how it is applying from Asia. 

Also, another thing that happened with me was that on Monday, I'd think "oh, it's a weekday now, maybe I'l hear something" but then I'd realize it's still Sunday in the U.S. and be disappointed. It just made the weekend feel really long. Hopefully this torture will be over soon. 

In terms of admissions notifications - I've received 3, all via email. Most of the schools that I have been admitted to have not changed their online application status (they all say "pending" still). The one school that updated the status didn't send me an automated email to go check the status either. So how you get notified, I think, is really unpredictable as well - Sometimes the results page would be a good indication on how a particular school issues notifications, but especially for int'l students, I wouldn't expect a phone call simply because of the time difference. 

[CaffeineCardigan]

@DBear Ah the Monday thing. It's hard sending an email on Friday night and thinking "Well, I probably won't hear back until Tuesday!" It does make the weekend feel really long and makes me even less motivated to get up and go to work on Mondays. 

It's good to hear that just because the application status is "pending" doesn't mean they actually aren't looking at the application yet. Thanks! I feel like I'm flying blind doing all of this by myself from another country. I'm glad I finally joined this forum! 

[DBear]

@CaffeineCardigan Right?? Waiting until AT LEAST Tuesday!! Always sucks. 

Yeah, I applied to 7 programs and none of them changed status from the initial "pending" or equivalent status even while I was interviewing and sometimes even after I'd been offered admission. The one time my status changed was when the final decision was made. So no updates in between. I found that once all the materials were submitted, those online status pages really were useless. At least in my case. 

I've found this forum super useful. I know that it's not easy applying from outside the U.S. Even though I know quite a few people applying for U.S. grad schools from Seoul, the approach to the whole process is so different. Also, the field I'm applying to is relatively new/ unknown in Korea so I've found information to be limited. Welcome to the forum, hope it's as helpful to you as it's been to me!