Get a PhD

A Personal Essay Maybe Some Advice

It is now the middle of December. I have all of my applications finished. I applied to twelve schools, and I want to go to every single one.

Well, for the most part. I am still trying to get a straight answer from one school to see if they need official transcripts before they will consider my application.

I hope they do not. Everyone else wanted unofficial transcripts, and it was nice to just upload pdfs and be done. This was a bit different from the last time I applied to a bunch of graduate schools at once. Back in 2004–5, I had to get the packets together myself. Everything was on paper. It was probably easier for my letter writers since they just wrote one letter and ran it off. I think they gave me copies to put in the packet. I remember writing checks for the application fees and feeling like sending those packets off at the Morgantown post office was the scariest thing I had ever done.

It was the second scariest thing maybe since it was the second time. When I graduated, that year I applied to four MFA programs and did not get into even one. I actually got a thick envelope back from Oregon. However, it was about housing. I waited for the formal acceptance, but their next correspondence with me was a single page rejection letter.

I did not know what to do with myself then because graduate school was literally my only plan. I wanted to get out of Morgantown, and needed somewhere to go. Then I did not get in anywhere so I ended…