1. Your heart rate and bp increase every time someone casually asks if you've heard from your schools yet? Try to very politely and tactfully scream NO, NO I HAVEN'T THANKS FOR REMINDING ME.
2. You can recite the exact dates people started hearing from your schools last year (12/28, 1/8, 1/10, 11/23 then 12/8 for me)
3. when you type 'f' into your web browser, the first suggestion is forums.studentdoctor.net. Second is facebook.
4. You worry that your application has been lost, your schools have forgotten you, you clearly messed up something since you haven't heard anything from them in weeks...even though you rationally know you shoudn't be hearing anything yet (see #2), and you got 'application complete' notices from all of them.
5. You've started watching obscure programs from your childhood on youtube to calm you down before bed. (Anyone remember Dinosaurs??)
6. You feel like you need a defibrulator everytime you open your e-mail or or phone beeps saying you have an e-mail just to realize it is junk mail. Or you open up your spam 5,000 times a day just to be sure your interview invite isn't in there, even though the spam folder has had the exact same five e-mails for a week.
7. After compulsively checking your e-mail 10,000 times including your spam folder you wonder if you shouldn't call the schools just to be sure you haven't been forgotten or just to be sure your interview invite didn't get lost in cyber space.
8. You're so distracted that your roommates make fun of you for putting your container of uncooked oatmeal in the refrigerator (yes, I just did that)
9. You've actually screeched at your father to stop mistakenly sending you emails meant for your mom about stupid stuff like bills and groceries. It's not your fault he doesn't know how to use his new Droid and is giving you heart palpitations
10. Even though you know deep down it's too early to hear from schools and you haven't failed to gain admission yet, you're already writing a new PS, searching for more productive jobs, looking into more volunteer experiences and, last week, baked a very large chocolate cake.
11. Are continuously thinking of things that could have been better on the application or things you potentially forgot on the application.
12. Have gotten to the point where you refuse to go on any first dates for fear of having to talk about your future educational and career plans AGAIN, which currently are hanging by a thread on the edge of a very precarious tree limb.
13. You stalk the mailman and run to the greet him the minute he shows up at your box to see if he's brought a letter from a vet school, even though you know it's 2-3 months too early. And when there isn't, you ask him repeatedly, "Are you sure you don't have any other mail for me?"
14. You dread when you log on to SDN and your heart sinks when you see the interview invites thread toward the top (or any thread from any of the schools you've applied to) because others may have gotten interviews/accepted and you still are sitting, waiting impatiently....
15. The people at Starbucks (or other local coffee shop) know you by name, know your drink order, and all you have to do is hand them your cup and credit card.
16. Ditto for the liquor store (jk, jk!
)
17. Your want to punch the next person who tells you it will all work out ok.
18. Waking up in the midddle of the night after having nightmares that you didn't get in and will have to wait another year to apply and then another two years until you can potentially start
19. You've had a dream where you walked into your interview and your interviewers were your main veterinary mentor and your grandfather. Then you wake up disappointed that is wasn't real.
20. Every time someone so much as mentioned the STATE one of the schools you applied to is in, you go bonkers.
21. You have to make your roommate get the mail.
22. You have a dream that you show up at your interview with oatmeal on your shirt.
23. You submitted your application over two months ago, but your PS is still on the 'recent documents' list in Word. Because you open it at least once a week, sure you've made some terrible, admission-suicide worthy error.
24. You know the time is coming that you will be refreshing your email for hours straight, even though it refreshes itself automatically. And you hope to put off that obsessive email refreshing until letters actually will be coming, but there's no way that will happen.
25. Your whole body cringes and your eyes begin twitching whenever someone asks you, "So, have you heard from vet schools yet?"
26. In response, you make a disturbed facial expression (that was supposed to be a forced smile) and make eye contact just long enough to respond, "Not yet."
27. You either break down and start crying or scream at the person when they ask you what you're doing next year. WHO KNOWS???
28. When even though its the weekend, you keep checking your mail/phone/SDN hoping that an admissions office will start sending out interview invites.
29. In an attempt to pass the time yet keep a positive attitude, you go to craigslist to research places to live in the cities you might be moving to.
30. A coworker says that she'll add you to her 'prayer list'.
31. When you are more nervous for other people getting letters than you are about taking 1st semester finals(for all of us first years).
32. It is t-minus 3 days until your supplemental app is due and t-minus 8 days to your only interview and you can't stop watching re-runs of "Cash Cab" because it's the only thing that makes you feel smart.
33. You're thankful it's Sunday because you're guaranteed not to receive a rejection letter in the mail.... but you still check the box anyway (just in case the mail lady felt like being that spiteful or you forgot to completely empty the box on Saturday...)
34. You keep SDN open in the background while you do hw and refresh the page every ten minutes or so.
35. At first the official rejection list only made you sad, now you're starting to resent it for reason #17 on this list.
36. You have a friend who is in a class that you aren't in, but this class has a lot of pre-vets who applied this year. You and said friend get together regularly to study for statistics. You both are behind and are scrambling to learn the material for the midterm because you spend your study sessions having her tell you all the "hot gossip" she overhears from these other pre-vets, including who got interviews, who got accepted to other schools, etc.
37. You have to go out of town for a training for a few days and your biggest concern centers around who will be getting the mail while you're gone....
38. You're planning winter vacation and are trying to make it as short as possible since no one will be home to check the mail...
39. You applied to pharmacy schools (me) and you get accepted to a top 10 Vet school instead.
40. You have talked the vets ear off you do ride alongs with because it's all you can think about, dream about, ect. I actually apologized to him about 4 times thus far.
41. You secretly hope that if you don't check your e-mail all day you will get an interview because you were so good.. (This is fading fast).
42. You write secret love letters (or more like pleading letters) to the veterinary admissions committee on your facebook status.
43. You find yourself irrationally annoyed when someone posts in the official interview invitee/ official rejection thread an it is not an official invite/rejection..
44. Compared to the torture of waiting and waiting, you start to think that waterboarding doesn't sound so bad.
45. You catch yourself relating waiting for vet schools to waiting for test results for some life threatening disease, as if not getting into vet school is as bad as literally dying.
46. You read this thread to blow off steam and now realize that you will most likely 1.) Have dreams including Conan O'Brien 2.) Start checking the spam folder of your email (never thought of that) 3.) Hope you get into a top 10 Pharmacy school if you don't get into any of your Vet schools?
47. You talk to your roommate about your stress level and she walks out of the room only to return with her bible and reads "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" ....While the whole time you stare at her thinking "how is this helping me at all?"
48. When you're feeling bummed about not hearing back from places, you dwell on what you need to do to create a stronger application for next year.
49. you fork over a few dollars to get the forum app on your phone to facilitate easier sdn stalking.
50. you have your husband call admissions under a bogus name to ask when letters/invites go out because you've called admissions one too many times yourself and are afraid they'll recognize your "crazy applicant" voice...
51. And you irrationally conclude that if they do recognize you and label you as a "crazy applicant", they will for some reason deduct points from your application just because you were "bugging them" (even though you probably aren't, and most schools are very nice about answering questions!)
52. You bury yourself in a ridiculous amount of work and activities because you know any free time would be spent refreshing SDN and panicking about admissions.
53. You irrationally conclude that your e-mail server is selectively deleting certain emails (from vet schools) and that your mailman is withholding vital pieces of mail from you.
54. You revert back to comforting childish behaviors (presently, eating macaroni and cheese and watching Aladdin) in order to forget the stress and pressure that you're currently under.
55. You've begun taking an antacid every morning with your vitamins......mmm... chalky!
56. After reading this thread to take your mind off the waiting, you find yourself doing some of the things on here. (If you hadn't before, you are now.)
57. You and the other Purdue applicants are seriously discussing what counts as "mid-week", because that's when they said they'd send out interview invites.
58. Whenever you fall asleep (in class included), you end up dreaming that all your schools accepted you early without interviews. Yes this has happened to me multiple times. Waking up sucks.
59. When the admissions portal adds a "box" for some people for transcripts, we all lose our minds.
60. Your dreams about Vet School are starting to have levels, like Inception. Dream self A got admitted to CSU. Dream self B then woke up (within the dream, still) and realized it was a dream. Then I actually woke up and was totally weirded out.
61. you had to edit this post b/c you can't count and started with 54 again.
62. You can't eat breakfast, you're in such a rush to get to work and check your e-mail, only to discover it empty. HURRY UP PURDUE!
63. Even your family is going crazy. Case in point: my mom came home from work this morning and saw I was on SDN and the first thing she said to me was "So has anyone heard anything? Is there any news???"
64. You lie awake most of the night planning and replanning your life for the immediate future, first with the "I get into vet school" outcome and second with the "I don't get into vet school" outcome.
65. You think about what exactly you are going to say on your facebook status if you get in, as well as the order of the people you will call as soon as you find out...
66. You would rather spend your time obsessing about SDN and getting in then doing what every other crazed bride-to-be is most likely doing (you know obsessing about other stuff.... (is there such a thing?)
67. You find yourself sifting through threads on SDN that are 100% irrelevant to you just so you can fill time while waiting for an interview/to hear back from a school....
68. You dream that your in-state vet school, which is supposed to give you an automatic interview, calls your SO before you even interview to say that you've been rejected.
69. You thought signing up for SDN was a great way to help you in becoming a veterinarian. Now you just think it's a great way to help you in becoming a basket case!!
70. You had a mediocre interview, and even though you don't have an acceptance, you haven't been rejected. Every time you open up your portal online or check your email and there's not a rejection, you think "Congratulations, you're still in the running towards becoming Ohio State's Next Vet Student!" in the style of America's Next Top Model.
71. You check your mail... You see that there's a thin, white, business-size envelope in the mix... You nearly barf in the hallway... Then, you realize it's only the electric bill.
72. You walk twice in the pouring rain to your mailbox before the the time the mailman usually comes, knowing that there aren't even any letters supposed to be coming yet. And yes, definite heart attack seeing that business envelope in the box. Stupid bill.
73. You just harassed one of your professors because he put the wrong grade on your transcript he already hates, and he doesn't understand that this is your whole world at stake! How will schools understand if it doesn't change in time and I have to send them my transcripts.. I mean it's an A- instead of an A but he said it should be an A. So I want my darn A!!!
74. You lock yourself out b/c you are so distracted, then pay a locksmith $222 partially because you have no other choice, but also because you know e-mails are going out today and you NEED to get back to your computer.
75. You resort to superstitions and personal talismans of every kind, including those that are new to you and you are probably doing wrong... and watch videos on YouTube about how to be positive and get the universe to give you what you want
76. When other people receive emails that you don't, you start having paranoid thoughts that your gmail account is working against you and selectively deleting these emails. In fact, you're completely convinced that gmail has a life of its own.
77. You've become so hung up on your grades that you stick around after your final to have a beer with your ochem prof simply to take the edge off.
78. You come back from an interview, think about some of the stupid things you said in reply to your interviewers' questions, and become convinced that you have quietly slipped into complete ***** status.
79. You have been invited to an interview, have not even had the interview yet and are already looking up the c/o 2014 acceptance thread so you know around the times to start having panic/heart attacks; which for me will be the entire month of February and half way through March.
80. You half feel lucky to see the rejections thread and not have any yet, but know that barely any of your schools have started sending out anything and the flood of awfulness will come soon. So you continue to obsessively check the rejections thread to know when to expect yours.
81. You check your mailbox on a Sunday, knowing logically that you got Friday's mail, Saturday was Christmas, and no mail comes on Sundays. But what if the vet school fairy magically dropped a letter in? Must check!
82. USPS now delivers mail on Sundays (atleast they do here) - justifying camping out by the mailbox
83. You check the status portal on multiple computers/devices/browsers to make sure it's not a cache error that your status hasn't changed in months.
84. You get so into this thread, you go through and copy and paste pretty much every single point and make a new list so that it is all in one place and you can easily compare yourself to people who were applying to vet school when you were graduating high school (sorry if the numbers got all messed up. I was doing this during class
)
<- That would be me, tip-toeing out of the Ohio thread ehehe. (If only G2D would tell us I could leave you all be!)
