Let’s just TALK about it...

[pataka]

Basically just repeating "all good things to those who wait" all day every day, watching other people receive interviews and acceptances while I sit here with my empty inbox 

[ArcierePrudente]

22 hours ago, physthrowaway1234 said:

I think it might be useful if we all swapped 'survival tips' that eased the stress of waiting.

Something that works for me is this saying: "If you haven't given up yet and you are still trying, nobody can tell you that you have failed." Also the general idea is that it's an endurance test, and that you have to have an independent, strong and calm mind in order to succeed. 

In the day, what helps me with the waiting is doing research while listening to calm music. I recommend LOTR soundtrack, available on youtube  

Other things that currently help me are: taking long sleeps (8 hours at least) at night, and doing something fun and relaxing before sleep such as watching youtube videos to distract from the waiting. I recommend David Blaine's specials (which are on youtube)...he's a magician who always thinks of unexpected and daring tricks to do. One special is called 'Beyond Magic', it's really very good and makes me forget about all of this grad school stuff temporarily!

 

 

Your body lets you sleep? I envy you... 

I'm one of those people who can't be still when stressed (or, um, ever, maybe), and fortunately I get to stand/relocate around the office throughout the day. Physical activity helps a lot; preferably something taxing enough to render you unable to think beyond survival mode, during the worst of it. Anything martial arts related that requires skill as well as speed is helpful. I also bought myself an under-desk elliptical for Christmas and a treadmill computer 'shelf,' so maybe I'll take a page out of your playbook and watch YouTube while running. 

[phyanth]

I’m currently painting a large canvas and it is definitely helping me relax... barely... 

i just want results! Good or bad! But seriously, just one acceptance and I’d be over the moon ?

[realllllJulia]

1 hour ago, phyanth said:

seriously, just one acceptance and I’d be over the moon ?

Me too! Checking my inbox and reloading the result page again and again are driving me crazy!

Even one acceptance can calm me down.

Crossed fingers.

[Bayesian1701]

Right now I am freaking out about interview invites from one school.  Basically, every report I have found on here has them coming out the week they come back in session.  That is this week.  I haven't seen anything on results but I am still worried that they already went out and no one has reported it yet.  

Besides a possible interview invite, I shouldn't hear anything about from my other programs for another few weeks.  Waiting is so hard!

[BlueberryMerfin]

I don't know why, but today was particularly bad for me. I found out another school I applied to already sent out invites. I applied to twelve schools, 2 have given me interviews, 5 I am pretty positive have not, and I am waiting on the last five. I am very excited about the interviews I have received, but it's hard not to see things as a numbers game, and wonder if I only get these two invites I only have two shots to get in. Normally I am able to stay positive and focus on putting my best foot forward, but I think compounded with financial stress, a new project at my job, and an inability to focus on my second job (which allows me to save money), I feel overwhelmed. No matter how much I save, I feel like something bad always happens, like my car breaks down. Seeing my savings account go down has been much more stressful that I realized it would be. I still have a buffer, but it is too small for comfort especially with another flight to book and expectations of buying food and socializing at the interviews. It seems like all of my family is struggling financially right now too, so I don't feel like there is anyone to lean on if things get murky for a while. I know it will all end up fine one way or another, but I hate having this additional stressor take up all my mental energy. 

[FluffyPancakes]

2 hours ago, Bayesian1701 said:

Right now I am freaking out about interview invites from one school.  Basically, every report I have found on here has them coming out the week they come back in session.  That is this week.  I haven't seen anything on results but I am still worried that they already went out and no one has reported it yet.  

Me too!  I only applied to a couple of schools this year and everything I've read says invites should be going out this week. I am obsessively refreshing the results page, but terrified to see that they have already been sent.  I feel anxious all of the time.   Not knowing if it is safe to keep imagining a life with my dream career in it is so stressful.  Sometimes, I convince myself that checking my email every two minutes and browsing forums all day will not change the outcome of my circumstance, but then I realize that is stupid.

[PsychedSloth]

The program director for one of my backup plans says that they only have one of my letters of recommendation. They were submitted 1-2 months ago and I don't know how to react. 

[FluffyPancakes]

6 hours ago, PsychedSloth said:

The program director for one of my backup plans says that they only have one of my letters of recommendation. They were submitted 1-2 months ago and I don't know how to react. 

That happened to me last year.  I would ask if you can resubmit.  It may have been an error on the school's part.  For me, the portal showed all of my letters in, but one did not show as submitted to them.  The school contacted me and then I contacted my professor and she resubmitted the reference.  I was offered admission at the school.

Edited January 12, 2018 by FluffyPancakes
Error

[Nerobliss]

Applied for public health masters at University of Cambridge, not a word since December 1st. Wondering if it's just me. Likewise my international health and tropical medicine at Oxford. I am an international student from Nigeria. 

[phyanth]

Feeling like a nutter butter right now. Interviews are slowly being posted in the results page, and though none are from the schools I applied for, I'm compulsively checking my e-mail in hopes of an interview. It doesn't help that there isn't much activity in my specific forum right now, so I have no one to talk about this with

[Bouton]

Feeling really impatient.  I just want the rejection from this one school so I can stop worrying about it.  I called and they said they are still sending things out, but I'm not sure how much truth is in that statement.  I don't want to annoy them, but at the same time, I just would appreciate a word about my status so I can find out how I can improve my application for next year.  

Edited January 12, 2018 by Bouton

[PsychedSloth]

9 hours ago, FluffyPancakes said:

That happened to me last year.  I would ask if you can resubmit.  It may have been an error on the school's part.  For me, the portal showed all of my letters in, but one did not show as submitted to them.  The school contacted me and then I contacted my professor and she resubmitted the reference.  I was offered admission at the school.

I asked the program director to look into it and sent a screenshot showing when my letters were submitted. I got an email this morning saying they have the missing letter after all! Now I'm back to the waiting game, but this is reassuring. Thanks! 

[surprise_quiche]

I have a montra "You can only panic for 20 minutes" which is a misconception I learned as a teenager about panic attacks, but it seems to help remind me that it'll eventually pass. I think I need a better coping mechanism for dealing with this application season.

[ShewantsthePhD101]

I tried talking about my concerns about not getting in anywhere with a friend also applying for PhDs and he told me I was the equivalent of a girl who gets complimented on her outfit and points out something wrong with her hair. So, essentially, my cohort is full of jerks.

[ClinicalPsychApp]

I'm so happy that I came across this thread. Seeing the Results tab and hearing about how some of the schools I've applied to have been sending out interviews really hurts. I'm not sure if any of you have experienced this, but it is extremely frustrating/difficult to discuss this with my family members/friends/partner. When I started college I was (in a round about way) a first-generation student with parents who have not attended graduate school. Anytime I bring the topic of my applications up, I'm greeted with a seemingly harmless "I'm sure you'll get in somewhere. You're a great student and need to stop worrying." While I appreciate the optimism, they do not understand that I have a much larger chance of receiving all rejections than one acceptance. 

You work so hard to achieve a goal, really believe you have what it takes to succeed based on your current qualifications, only to be left feeling so hopeless and unimportant. How do you all stay motivated enough to apply again? Getting my doctorate has been a goal of mine since I was 16 but after this, I don't think I have it in me to do this again. Can anyone else relate?

Applications: UT Austin (Counseling Psych); University of Houston (Clinical Psych); University of Louisville (Counseling Psych); Florida International University (Clinical Psych); Clark University (Clinical Psych); Harvard University (Clinical Psych); USC (Clinical Psych)

Acceptances: ?/7; Interview Notifications: ?/7; Interviews: ?/7; Rejections: ?/7 (Assumed USC, Harvard, UH)

Edited January 14, 2018 by ClinicalPsychApp

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

@ShewantsthePhD101 Yeah, that sucks. It's frustrating when people just don't get it.

@ClinicalPsychApp My parents like to tell people I'm applying for my doctorate. I then had to explain to those people (until I got the first acceptance) that I'd be going for my doctorate if I got in. Then they'd be confused and I'd have to explain that I didn't get in last year and it was just all kinds of awkward. 

As far as all rejections go, I had school to distract me (and I was still eating breads and processed food then, so I think I went to town on some Mexican food). I gave myself some time to mourn and then I picked myself up and started researching programs and planning my app for the next cycle. 

[ShewantsthePhD101]

19 minutes ago, GreenEyedTrombonist said:

@ShewantsthePhD101 Yeah, that sucks. It's frustrating when people just don't get it.

What's more frustrating is that he's going through it too. There's no need to be an ass. I changed disciplines between undergrad and my MA, and so OF COURSE I'm going to be less secure than those who have been doing the same thing for the last 6 years.

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

@ShewantsthePhD101 Ah. Chances are, he's lashing out because he's worried about his apps (and he may see you as more competitive than him). Still not ok though.

That being said, I'm changing disciplines now (was anthropology for BA and MA and now going for Communication) so I definitely know where you're coming from with that concern. 

[ShewantsthePhD101]

5 minutes ago, GreenEyedTrombonist said:

@ShewantsthePhD101 Ah. Chances are, he's lashing out because he's worried about his apps (and he may see you as more competitive than him). Still not ok though.

That being said, I'm changing disciplines now (was anthropology for BA and MA and now going for Communication) so I definitely know where you're coming from with that concern. 

He and I aren't applying for the same programs. He's not competing with me. It's absurd.

It's difficult, but also kinda fun to figure out how to market your past experience. e.g. "I did abc but learned efg and decided instead to turn my focus to xyz"

[cashewmilk]

I really hate this whole waiting thing... 

[bluebird8]

13 minutes ago, cashewmilk said:

I really hate this whole waiting thing... 

Same  I am still waiting to hear from most of the schools I applied to. I'd like to at least have options in case I screw up my only interview.

[Bayesian1701]

On 1/11/2018 at 6:07 PM, Bayesian1701 said:

Right now I am freaking out about interview invites from one school.  Basically, every report I have found on here has them coming out the week they come back in session.  That is this week.  I haven't seen anything on results but I am still worried that they already went out and no one has reported it yet.  

Besides a possible interview invite, I shouldn't hear anything about from my other programs for another few weeks.  Waiting is so hard!

I got the interview invite today from the program I was worried about.   I shouldn't hear anything else for two weeks so I can safely stop the constant email checks.

[cashewmilk]

3 hours ago, bluebird8 said:

Same  I am still waiting to hear from most of the schools I applied to. I'd like to at least have options in case I screw up my only interview.

I feel the exact same way!!

[sicm18]

I'm needing some advice for a few programs that I'm spooked about.

I had a prof email me before the New Year complimenting the strength of my app and asking some prelim questions. He wanted my responses to those questions by the 5th of January. I replied the next day and have not heard anything back; I saw ONE person get an interview invite to this same program, although with a different POI and different concentration, but their interview date is Feb 2... Should I be concerned? Should I reach out to this POI to follow up?

Additionally, for another school, I applied to work under an affiliate faculty from a different concentration (which they said was fine if I reached out to the prof... I had emailed her in the summer and she said she wasn't sure/was considering taking a student from another concentration). They have two sets of interviews, one early Feb and one mid/late Feb. I haven't heard anything yet.

For UA, I have seen them send many invites, but their website still says they are reviewing applicants. Should I reach out to the coordinator and double check? Or just be patient?

Sorry to be so paranoid, but I got my first rejection the other day and it's been making me panic. I have no clue what I will do if I don't get in.