Venting Thread

[la_mod]

2 hours ago, LurkyLurker said:

I'm so sorry :((( 

I think there are still programs accepting applications, and if not--take the year to buff up your writing sample/statement of purpose and research more programs. This is not the end!! 

Can I ask how many programs you applied to? Just the one MA and several PhD I'm assuming? (I did the same) 

7 doctorate, 1 MA

[Yanaka]

13 hours ago, la_mod said:

Didn't even get into the MA program I applied to as a backup! I am beyond devastated. I don't know what I'm going to do.

I'm sorry you didn't get in anywhere, not even your backup. I understand how that can hurt, and how lost you must feel! We're here for you if you need to vent  

[anxiousphd]

14 hours ago, la_mod said:

Didn't even get into the MA program I applied to as a backup! I am beyond devastated. I don't know what I'm going to do.

Possible silver lining: many of my professors/advisors have told me that they prefer--and many people they know on other admissions committees prefer--for graduate students to have taken at least a year off at some point. They think that students who have some time 'off' are less likely to get burnt out and are more likely to complete their dissertations than students who go straight from BA to MA to PhD. My professors also explained that it was beneficial for them to take time off, and they highly recommended I do the same (I'm trying my best not to, but that's another story). So, even though it's painful now, you may become a better graduate student and scholar in the long run because of what seems right now like a setback. Don't give up. I'm sure that you're well-qualified and would be extremely successful in an MA or PhD program, and after taking a few months to refine your application materials, I'm sure admissions committees will agree. 

[eyeshadow]

I haven't heard from Brandeis.. i've seen many rejections on the results board last week + two acceptances (via Phone). I'm an international so I'm guessing I won't be receiving phone calls, but should I be guessing that I'm somehow rejected but not notified yet? I am tired of waiting and seriously want to move on from all of this. Anyone in a similar situation? 

[steve3020]

On 3/12/2017 at 9:19 AM, la_mod said:

Didn't even get into the MA program I applied to as a backup! I am beyond devastated. I don't know what I'm going to do.

I see you got waitlisted at UCLA - have you heard back from there yet? Anyways even if you don't get in there either, a waitlist at a top institution means you are pretty good. Don't lose faith! And I wanna second what @anxiousgrad said cos my gap year after BA helped me develop both academically and in terms of personality. 

[LurkyLurker]

7 hours ago, eyeshadow said:

I haven't heard from Brandeis.. i've seen many rejections on the results board last week + two acceptances (via Phone). I'm an international so I'm guessing I won't be receiving phone calls, but should I be guessing that I'm somehow rejected but not notified yet? I am tired of waiting and seriously want to move on from all of this. Anyone in a similar situation? 

This guy! *obnoxiusly points to self with both thumbs* 

I asked about those acceptances on the 2017 acceptance thread but crickets so far. I don't know what to think. A part of me wants to believe those acceptances were faked by a troll, but maybe we're just waiting longer for our rejections letters /: or, on a more positive note, maybe a waitlisting! What do you think?

[Silabus]

@LurkyLurker @eyeshadow

I definitely got a rejection from them! So they've definitely sent those out to folks!

I really want you two to get in! Somebody from the GC should!

[eyeshadow]

@Silabus that is so very sweet and kind of you <3 Thank you! 

I actually did get a response tho. I'm on a waitlist

If the same email came to me like a month ago, I might have been more excited to hear that I am on a waitlist. But after all the weeks of waiting desperately, I'm not sure what to feel about it now. I do have an acceptance from another school so I guess I'll figure things out. 

Fingers crossed for @LurkyLurker ! 

[Silabus]

2 minutes ago, eyeshadow said:

@Silabus that is so very sweet and kind of you <3 Thank you! 

I actually did get a response tho. I'm on a waitlist

If the same email came to me like a month ago, I might have been more excited to hear that I am on a waitlist. But after all the weeks of waiting desperately, I'm not sure what to feel about it now. I do have an acceptance from another school so I guess I'll figure things out. 

Fingers crossed for @LurkyLurker ! 

I would have been down for a waitlist...I think...then again maybe not. The schools that did accept me have given me some pretty sweet offers.

I really wanted to work with John Plotz at Brandeis though---so color me green when you get in!

[LurkyLurker]

38 minutes ago, eyeshadow said:

@Silabus that is so very sweet and kind of you <3 Thank you! 

I actually did get a response tho. I'm on a waitlist

If the same email came to me like a month ago, I might have been more excited to hear that I am on a waitlist. But after all the weeks of waiting desperately, I'm not sure what to feel about it now. I do have an acceptance from another school so I guess I'll figure things out. 

Fingers crossed for @LurkyLurker ! 

Same

And thank you @Silabus! We'll def keep you updated. 

[la_mod]

19 hours ago, steve3020 said:

I see you got waitlisted at UCLA - have you heard back from there yet? Anyways even if you don't get in there either, a waitlist at a top institution means you are pretty good. Don't lose faith! And I wanna second what @anxiousgrad said cos my gap year after BA helped me develop both academically and in terms of personality. 

I have not! I'm expecting the worst... I know that a gap year will allow me some time (and that I look WAY young on paper — I'm only 20), but sheesh

[steve3020]

1 hour ago, la_mod said:

I have not! I'm expecting the worst... I know that a gap year will allow me some time (and that I look WAY young on paper — I'm only 20), but sheesh

You never know then! By all means don't get your hopes up too much - I was in the same boat last year, being waitlisted at one place and rejected from the rest, but I wasn't accepted eventually. Still there's a chance so it's too early to despair!

And yeh, if you are 20, you are probably the very youngest among applicants. And I think you can reasonably assume that universities would prefer someone with more life experience if they have to make a choice between people who are academically comparable. I was 20 when I first applied too, and I'm still very young. So I suspect that's why I wasn't offered admission directly this year either (I'm on the waitlist for three places). 

[Dr. Old Bill]

Anyone else annoyed / repulsed by the pictorial clickbait ads that now pop up on the results page? No, I do not need to see one "odd" trick to cure erectile dysfunction, nor would I be "shocked" by Barron Trump's IQ...

Maybe they've been there all along, and they've just recently found a way to circumvent my ad-blocker, but I'm seriously looking at the results page far less because of them.

[FeetInTheSky]

1 hour ago, Old Bill said:

Anyone else annoyed / repulsed by the pictorial clickbait ads that now pop up on the results page? No, I do not need to see one "odd" trick to cure erectile dysfunction, nor would I be "shocked" by Barron Trump's IQ...

Maybe they've been there all along, and they've just recently found a way to circumvent my ad-blocker, but I'm seriously looking at the results page far less because of them.

I too wanted to mention this but didn't quite know where. The venting thread is certainly an appropriate place. 

Just all very icky. 

[zombiekeats]

1 hour ago, Old Bill said:

Anyone else annoyed / repulsed by the pictorial clickbait ads that now pop up on the results page? No, I do not need to see one "odd" trick to cure erectile dysfunction, nor would I be "shocked" by Barron Trump's IQ...

Maybe they've been there all along, and they've just recently found a way to circumvent my ad-blocker, but I'm seriously looking at the results page far less because of them.

Yeah, I noticed that too--if you have AdBlock, click on the icon on your toolbar, and there should be something that says "Block an Ad" (or something similar) in the dropdown list. If you click that, you can highlight the ad you're seeing and it'll generate new code to block it. 

Edited March 16, 2017 by zombiekeats

[Yanaka]

I've no way to avoid them on my phone and they've been an annoyance all along! Rrrr.

On another note: why do some people (whom aren't even interested in doing a doctorate) think it's relevant to spend 15 mn telling me how hard and difficult it is to do a PhD, how every PhD candidate looks exhausted and sad, how they wouldn't imagine sacrificing their social life, etc etc. I mean unless you're a PhD student yourself and want me to hear you vent, why would you tell me all this? Like I don't know yet?! Oh and the conclusive "well hang in there, good luck!"?! This girl just now doesn't even want to do a thesis (thèse--PhD level), so why would she give me the whole sermon?! Aaaarrrggg

[.letmeinplz//]

1 hour ago, Yanaka said:

I've no way to avoid them on my phone and they've been an annoyance all along! Rrrr.-

You can, it is just a little more involved than a chrome extension.

I mean I guess they changed the way they deliver their ads (it used to be those hijack ads that would open app store / play store to some app or to a "device has been infected, please download this virus to fix"), but I'm not sure rotten tomato and upskirt ads are much better.

3 hours ago, Old Bill said:

Maybe they've been there all along, and they've just recently found a way to circumvent my ad-blocker, but I'm seriously looking at the results page far less because of them.

They changed the domain that the ads are served from to thegradcafe.com (rather than the usual domains that are already blocked by easylist/etc).

Edited March 16, 2017 by .letmeinplz//

[Dr. Old Bill]

1 hour ago, Yanaka said:

 

On another note: why do some people (whom aren't even interested in doing a doctorate) think it's relevant to spend 15 mn telling me how hard and difficult it is to do a PhD, how every PhD candidate looks exhausted and sad, how they wouldn't imagine sacrificing their social life, etc etc. I mean unless you're a PhD student yourself and want me to hear you vent, why would you tell me all this? Like I don't know yet?! Oh and the conclusive "well hang in there, good luck!"?! This girl just now doesn't even want to do a thesis (thèse--PhD level), so why would she give me the whole sermon?! Aaaarrrggg

That's annoying!

For what it's worth, that hasn't been my experience at UMD at all. Some of the Ph.D. students are tired and stressed, to be sure, but virtually all seem amiable and happy otherwise. Stress and tiredness comes with almost every job (and I can say that with a lot of confidence -- I had a lot of different jobs throughout my teens and twenties), and it makes a lot of sense to simply think of the Ph.D. pursuit as a job. Because it is, really, in all the ways that matter. 

The wheat and the chaff get separated pretty early in these programs. Often there's a mandatory graduate research course and/or literary theory course that needs to be taken in the first or second semester, and they're usually quite demanding...sometimes called "weed-out" courses. And weed out they do! But once you get through a semester or two, you can almost always get through the rest. In other words, don't listen to people like the one you mention. 

Edited March 16, 2017 by Old Bill

[brontebitch]

Has anyone heard back from Villanova concerning funding? I thought we would have heard by now since we're well into March. I know we have until April 15th to officially decide, but I am eager to accept another offer. I am, however, curious to see what (if anything) Villanova will offer me in funding. 

[waitinwishin]

Well, I finally got my Brown rejection. A part of me thinks they lost my application and only found it when I asked about my status. Hurting. 

[Yanaka]

3 hours ago, natalielouise said:

Has anyone heard back from Villanova concerning funding? I thought we would have heard by now since we're well into March. I know we have until April 15th to officially decide, but I am eager to accept another offer. I am, however, curious to see what (if anything) Villanova will offer me in funding. 

From everything you've told me, I'd say forget about Villanova and enjoy reveling in accepting an offer  

[brontebitch]

1 minute ago, Yanaka said:

From everything you've told me, I'd say forget about Villanova and enjoy reveling in accepting an offer  

I am so curious though!!! Have you heard back from them at all?  

[Yanaka]

41 minutes ago, natalielouise said:

I am so curious though!!! Have you heard back from them at all?  

Naaaaah! They told me March 15 and it already feels like a long time ago! Haha

[Bumblebea]

On 3/16/2017 at 10:14 AM, Yanaka said:

 

On another note: why do some people (whom aren't even interested in doing a doctorate) think it's relevant to spend 15 mn telling me how hard and difficult it is to do a PhD, how every PhD candidate looks exhausted and sad, how they wouldn't imagine sacrificing their social life, etc etc. I mean unless you're a PhD student yourself and want me to hear you vent, why would you tell me all this? Like I don't know yet?! Oh and the conclusive "well hang in there, good luck!"?! This girl just now doesn't even want to do a thesis (thèse--PhD level), so why would she give me the whole sermon?! Aaaarrrggg

As someone not only on the other side of the process but also on the other side of a degree, I want to say that grad school was absolutely the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life. I loved getting my PhD. And the farther along I got in my degree, the more I actually enjoyed grad school. (Most people who gripe talk about really enjoying coursework and hating their dissertation--I was the exact opposite.) 

Grad school is definitely not for everyone, but I also got annoyed by people who were constant Debbie Downers about the entire thing. For me it was really worth it, no regrets. Even though I haven't gotten a TT job yet, I still don't regret it. Seriously just ignore those people. 

[Yanaka]

30 minutes ago, Bumblebea said:

As someone not only on the other side of the process but also on the other side of a degree, I want to say that grad school was absolutely the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life. I loved getting my PhD. And the farther along I got in my degree, the more I actually enjoyed grad school. (Most people who gripe talk about really enjoying coursework and hating their dissertation--I was the exact opposite.) 

Grad school is definitely not for everyone, but I also got annoyed by people who were constant Debbie Downers about the entire thing. For me it was really worth it, no regrets. Even though I haven't gotten a TT job yet, I still don't regret it. Seriously just ignore those people. 

Thanks for your encouraging answer! I, too, am looking forward to writing a dissertation! Is that a good sign? hahaha  

I mean, I get it if they think they're the first ones to tell me that a PhD is hard, but insisting on it although they don't even want to do one? The whole thing baffles me. Plus, the PhD candidates I know are utterly tired because on top of teaching classes and studying and writing, they're involved in organizations and charity work! No wonder y'all are exhausted!