Would you rather...

[khamylak]

Would you rather get an quick rejection or hear nothing until the week before the decision is due?

I personally would like a quick decision, but not wanting to put bad "getting in" karma out in the universe I will say I would rather a horrible, painful waiting period to be accepted in the end.

[Dr._Robotnik's_Shadow]

If I end up being accepted I'll take take the painful waiting any day over a quick rejection. The happiness of the acceptance will erase the pain and be worth it in the end. The acceptance might even feel more "worth it" after a long period. It makes for a great story....Me: "After months and months of painful waiting, ocd email checking and glazed eyes from staring at the gradcafe on my computer screen.... I finally got in!!!" My Attentive Audience: "Ohhhhhh, Ahhhhhhh.....Hooray!"

[johndiligent]

I like the waiting. There's a certain freedom of infinite possibilities in the waiting that I've come to relish.

[curufinwe]

if thats a definite no, i'd rather have it immediately so that i can plan ahead. but if there is a good chance i'd get in with the march results, then i'd wait (duh!)

[anxiousapplicant]

Why in god's name would I ever want to get a quick rejection insteading of having to wait for an acceptance? The two final outcomes are not even comparable in terms of the relief you might feel and what's at stake.

[grad_wannabe]

A friend of mine, who is almost done with her grad work at Bowling Green, described this interim period as the ultimate break:

"You've done everything you can possibly do. As soon as you get an acceptance, or as soon as you get all the rejections, you have to start making plans and moving on with your life. For now, you get to just chill! Enjoy it!"

So, trying to look at it with that frame of mind, I'd rather wait it out. I'm actually thinking of trying to get a second job to pass the time and save up some money, cause I'm gonna need plenty of that whether I get into grad school or not.

Edited January 29, 2010 by grad_wannabe

[AmyJ]

Ah, but my life is already in progress (out of undergrad 10 years). So what I'm waiting for, really, is "does your entire life change radically?" If I'm rejected everywhere, then I can just keep on keeping on with what I'm doing. Which, in a way, is nice because there's no pressure. But in a way, it feels extra-excruciating, because it's a choice between no-change and radical-change.

[grad_wannabe]

Ah, but my life is already in progress (out of undergrad 10 years). So what I'm waiting for, really, is "does your entire life change radically?" If I'm rejected everywhere, then I can just keep on keeping on with what I'm doing. Which, in a way, is nice because there's no pressure. But in a way, it feels extra-excruciating, because it's a choice between no-change and radical-change.

Ah, I just finished my UG last June and I still live with my parents. My life will be changing quite drastically this year whether I get into grad school or not. An acceptance just shifts the direction.