Things to Do While You Wait for Decisions

[Dr. Old Bill]

1. Twiddle your thumbs
2. Binge-watch a show on Netflix / AmazonPrime / Hulu
3. Check GradCafe once an hour
4. Do distance searches on GoogleMaps between your current residence and each of your desired programs
5. Find out when your desired programs' Admitted Students days are and check flight or drive options
6. Get super invested in a video game (online or otherwise)
7. Re-read the Harry Potter series (because of course we've all read it at least once)
8. Take up knitting
9. Take up jogging
10. Take up mud wrestling
11. Get a massage
12. Buy a crossword or sudoku book and immerse yourself in words or numbers
13. Make mix CDs or playlists, and really think about how songs can go together
14. Buy a cheap musical instrument and teach yourself to play
15. Spend quality time with a dog, whether it's a friend's, a neighbor's, a family member's, or your own
16. Do the above with a cat and pretend it's reciprocal
17. Make lists of favorites - favorite books, movies, TV shows, songs, albums, potato chips - and share them with friends
18. Create spreadsheet inventories of your books and other media
19. Do a serious top-to-bottom cleaning of your room / apartment / home
20. Go to a local coffee shop for an hour a day and imagine yourself as someone from a different walk of life each time

...

By no means an exhaustive list, and mostly tongue-in-cheek...but feel free to add to it!

Edited January 4, 2017 by Wyatt's Terps

[Caien]

Write the Great Irish/American/Scottish/French/Canadian/Japanese/Indonesian/Sudanese/etc. Novel

[JessicaLange]

22. Google search "What do I do if I don't get into grad school?" a dozen times

23. Get a tattoo

24. Plan out how expensive a dog would be and if you can afford it on a stipend

25. Make an Amazon wishlist of all the books you might need in Grad School

26. Watch clips from the Wendy Williams show

27. Drink

28. Pick up drawing, realize you can't draw, draw anyway

29. Change your Grad Cafe profile ever so slightly

30. Consider doing work for next semester, but ultimately blow it off

31. Google admission statistics even though they're pretty unreliable indicators

32. Learn Nicki Minaj's verse in Monster

33. Bake your friends something

34. Did I already say drink?

35. Buy a planner

36. Test all of your highlighters and pens and throw out the ones that have dried up

[stereopticons]

37. Plan your wedding...apparently. 

[biyutefulphlower]

20 minutes ago, stereopticons said:

37. Plan your wedding...apparently. 

I 2nd this one.  (A little over 100 days to go.)

[stereopticons]

6 minutes ago, biyutefulphlower said:

I 2nd this one.  (A little over 100 days to go.)

Ooh you're much closer than I am. I just got engaged like two weeks ago. 

[biyutefulphlower]

Congratulations @stereopticons!! That's really exciting.  Have fun wedding planning - I mean that sincerely - and try not to get stressed out by what other ppl think you should or should not do.  It can be a good time and can take your mind off checking your application status, haha.

[stereopticons]

13 minutes ago, biyutefulphlower said:

Congratulations @stereopticons!! That's really exciting.  Have fun wedding planning - I mean that sincerely - and try not to get stressed out by what other ppl think you should or should not do.  It can be a good time and can take your mind off checking your application status, haha.

Thank you! Congrats to you too! I keep trying to remember that it's our day and no one else's, haha. 

[jungThug]

Write a thesis and get a Master of Arts in English 

[Yanaka]

Play the Sims 3 and breed horses.

[othersamantha]

19 hours ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

4. Find out when your desired programs' Admitted Students days are and check flight or drive options

Sorry to bring this a bit back into the realm of seriousness, but this made me think -- does anyone know if programs pay for flights for admitted students to come to these days, or is it all out of your own pocket? Anyone have any experience with this?

(Also, it is so nice to have time to catch up on Netflix binges and indulge in rereading Harry for the xxxxxxxxxth time)

18 hours ago, JessicaLange said:

25. Make an Amazon wishlist of all the books you might need in Grad School

This is a great idea too! Want to share what's on your list? (Maybe we could make a separate thread for this, too.) I've decided that even though I'm incredibly nervous that I won't get in anywhere, I should plan/act as if I will, so I've been thinking about what I might want to read in preparation. Other who are already in programs, maybe you want to weigh in here too? Are there any foundational texts, reference books, thinkers, etc, that you would recommend being familiar with?

Congrats to everyone who has all of their apps in, and good luck to everyone still wrapping up!

Edited January 5, 2017 by othersamantha

[tvethiopia]

40. Obsessively research apartments and neighborhoods in the cities you may be relocating to

41. Prep for CCCC (anyone else going???)

42. Crush your own high score in Tetris

[stereopticons]

5 minutes ago, tvethiopia said:

40. Obsessively research apartments and neighborhoods in the cities you may be relocating to

Hahaha yep. I've been doing this. Padmapper is my best friend. 

[lesabendio]

36 minutes ago, othersamantha said:

Sorry to bring this a bit back into the realm of seriousness, but this made me think -- does anyone know if programs pay for flights for admitted students to come to these days, or is it all out of your own pocket? Anyone have any experience with this?

(Also, it is so nice to have time to catch up on Netflix binges and indulge in rereading Harry for the xxxxxxxxxth time)

This is a great idea too! Want to share what's on your list? (Maybe we could make a separate thread for this, too.) I've decided that even though I'm incredibly nervous that I won't get in anywhere, I should plan/act as if I will, so I've been thinking about what I might want to read in preparation. Other who are already in programs, maybe you want to weigh in here too? Are there any foundational texts, reference books, thinkers, etc, that you would recommend being familiar with?

Congrats to everyone who has all of their apps in, and good luck to everyone still wrapping up!

Most programs pay for most if not all expenses related to the visit, including the cost of transportation and hotel. My dept., for example, reimbursed me for the gas I used driving up to Northern California and put me up in a hotel near campus. From talking to the other admits, I know that my dept also comped across-country flights, too. Be aware, though, that public universities in particular may not have the funds to cover all expenses. 

I don't think you need to buy any books in advance. You're going to have enough to pay for in terms of moving expenses, campus fees (esp. if you're attending a program at a public university), and coursework texts. Besides, once you're paired up with your adviser, you'll get an idea of what texts are important to your field and in what timeframe your adviser expects you to read those texts. My advice would be to avoid trying to anticipate your program's expectations -- just wait till you're there; you'll save a lot of time and energy*. Just think: you're probably going to be there for 7+ years. You'll have plenty of time to do research. Enjoy the time between application submission and your first semester/quarter. I read a bunch of shitty sci-fi and short stories and spent a week backpacking up in the mountains before moving up north to start my program.

*I will make one book suggestion, though. Get a copy of Eric Hayot's Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities published a couple years ago. My DGS used it in our Intro to Grad Studies course, and I found it extremely useful and honest about the professional forms of writing we are expected to master as scholars. Among other things, it also covers techniques on how to develop productive work, writing, and reading habits. 

Edited January 5, 2017 by lesabendio
Book suggestion

[othersamantha]

 

15 minutes ago, lesabendio said:

Most programs pay for most if not all expenses related to the visit, including the cost of transportation and hotel. My dept., for example, reimbursed me for the gas I used driving up to Northern California and put me up in a hotel near campus. From talking to the other admits, I know that my dept also comped across-country flights, too. Be aware, though, that public universities in particular may not have the funds to cover all expenses. 

I don't think you need to buy any books in advance. You're going to have enough to pay for in terms of moving expenses, campus fees (esp. if you're attending a program at a public university), and coursework texts. Besides, once you're paired up with your adviser, you'll get an idea of what texts are important to your field and in what timeframe your adviser expects you to read those texts. My advice would be to avoid trying to anticipate your program's expectations -- just wait till you're there; you'll save a lot of time and energy*. Just think: you're probably going to be there for 7+ years. You'll have plenty of time to do research. Enjoy the time between application submission and your first semester/quarter. I read a bunch of shitty sci-fi and short stories and spent a week backpacking up in the mountains before moving up north to start my program.

*I will make one book suggestion, though. Get a copy of Eric Hayot's Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities published a couple years ago. My DGS used it in our Intro to Grad Studies course, and I found it extremely useful and honest about the professional forms of writing we are expected to master as scholars. Among other things, it also covers techniques on how to develop productive work, writing, and reading habits. 

Sound advice -- thank you! I'm definitely planning to catch up on all the "fun" books that I've been stockpiling over the past few months!  And I will be sure to check out Hayot's book -- this was actually recommended to me once before as an undergraduate, but I haven't actually gotten a copy yet :/ . Good to know someone else finds it useful!

Edited January 5, 2017 by othersamantha

[Ramus]

26 minutes ago, lesabendio said:

I will make one book suggestion, though. Get a copy of Eric Hayot's Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities published a couple years ago. My DGS used it in our Intro to Grad Studies course, and I found it extremely useful and honest about the professional forms of writing we are expected to master as scholars. Among other things, it also covers techniques on how to develop productive work, writing, and reading habits. 

I'll second the recommendation for Hayot's book. It should be required reading for everyone entering a doctoral program in the humanities. In addition to doing the things @lesabendio mentions, it explains the structure of article-length essays, which a lot of early graduate students struggle with. And in general, it does a good job of answering your questions about the formal features of academic prose directly, without the hazy bullshit ("your article's introduction should be as long as you think it needs to be") you may get from some of your professors. 

[Dr. Old Bill]

Okay, so...

43. Order and read Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities.


This should arrive on my doorstep on Saturday. Thanks, Amazon! And thanks for your recommendations, @lesabendio and @Ramus! I've got three books on my nightstand that I keep pretending I'm going to read during the break, but this one I actually will.

[Yanaka]

Cool suggestion!! That will help me tremendously too, being some kind of foreigner and all  

[cloudyword]

44. Start Duolingo. I guess we'll all be too overwhelmed to learn (pack in) one or more languages in the first two years. 

Any advice on other language learning tools?

[Glasperlenspieler]

7 minutes ago, cloudyword said:

44. Start Duolingo. I guess we'll all be too overwhelmed to learn (pack in) one or more languages in the first two years. 

Any advice on other language learning tools?

I like Duolingo a lot, but I think it's better for review or at least for after you have the basic grammar down. Then again, I like to understand the overall system of things first, so maybe that's just my learning style. Combining Duolingo with a good grammar handbook could be a good way to go.

[tvethiopia]

6 hours ago, cloudyword said:

44. Start Duolingo. I guess we'll all be too overwhelmed to learn (pack in) one or more languages in the first two years. 

Any advice on other language learning tools?

i've just recently started using babbel to work on my french; i took french classes as an undergrad (enough to satisfy my MA language requirement), but i retained very little. this past summer i went to paris for the first time and was completely blown away by how much i loved it, so i'm trying to use this time to improve my conversational skills for when i get back there eventually! i haven't used babbel long enough to give much of a review of it, but it's definitely well-suited to true beginners. i'm still kind of cruising through the basics i already know, hoping it will refresh my memory and prepare me for when it starts ramping up.

[cloudyword]

Thank you @Glasperlenspieler and @tvethiopia for the advice. Yes, I think I'll learn better with background knowledge first. I've been trying to figure out grammar rules (even French pronunciation, how naive!) simply by doing and re-doing my Duolingo sections. I guess it's time to strengthen it with more beef.

Actually, I've been thinking about adding: 45. Figure out the big picture of the graduate years ahead. 

I'm reading Graduate Study for the 21st Century, hoping not to ruin my graduate life with stupid/rude mistakes. Most know-hows in the book might still sound vague and distant at this stage, but I do think a big picture of time-frame to graduation and workload to fulfill requirements in time would help alleviate my shock, if I ever get in.

Any other useful guidebook/blog/article to read? 

[Hayyamyy]

I've been reading Getting What You Came Here For- The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Master's or PHD. Some of the tips are outdated since the book was written in the 90's, but the advice is pretty sound (e.g. what to look for in a thesis committee, how to work efficiently, etc). It's pretty funny when the author describes the importance of having access to a computer and word processing software.

[Yanaka]

I have to say, it's very, VERY american to read books like that  

[DrNutty]

Ha ha! I have tried almost every single one of these suggestions. (except for planning my wedding and a few others.)

So funny!

46. Learn a new language