Friday, June 23, 2006
Hoya, Hoya Saxa!!
Wow... what can I say? We were in DC looking for a place to live and had found a very nice little studio apartment five blocks from George Washington. It's expensive, but in DC everything is expensive. Anyway, on Monday morning the friend who has been staying with us for a little while calls and we talk a little bit. Towards the end of the conversation, I jokingly ask if, by chance, anything had arrived from Georgetown (thinking he would have mentioned it by now if something had) and he tells me "oh... there was a FedEx package when I got home Sunday. I was out of town all weekend. But I didn't look to see who it was from. I'll let you know when I get home after work." I almost went nuts... I couldn't believe he hadn't noticed who sent it ?!?1!!
To make a long story short, I figured out that if I could login to the Admitted Students portion on the Georgetown Law website, it was a pretty sure sign I was in. So I did and I could!! I didn't want to jump the gun and run over to GULC (Georgetown University Law Center) without being 100% sure and make a complete fool of myself, so I waited for him to call back that evening. He did and it was confirmed.
I AM IN AT GEORGETOWN!!!
I don't know exactly how to describe the mix of emotions. When I received the email last week asking to reconfirm my interest, I was simply excited. Now that I am actually accepted, it's still very exciting but with both relief and anxiety swirled in at the same time. I'm relieved because I feel like I put in a lot of time and energy during the whole application process (LSAT prep class, brainstorming and essay writing, follow-up letters of interest, etc.) and this acceptance justifies the effort. I'm anxious because I know I will be attending classes completely full of brilliant, driven people and I don't know how I will stack up against them. After a few days or weeks, I'm sure the anxiety will wane as I get to know some people and realize we're all in the same boat. For now, I'll combat the tension by trying to focus on finishing up all of the little details I need to do before classes start (resending financial aid, official copy of undergrad transcripts, making moving arrangements, etc. etc.).
It's also worth mentioning the small twinge of sadness I felt while talking with the lady at George Washington to tell her I was going to be withdrawing. I was lucky (?) enough to be able to explain my situation to one of the admissions committee members face-to-face and she was very friendly and sincere in wishing me the best. It is a great school and would have been a very good fit for me and I know I would have been very happy to have attended. I have nothing but good things to say about it. But all along I've said that I truly wanted to attend GULC and I wouldn't pass it up for anything.
In related news, my wife had an interview with a well respected research team at Johns Hopkins Medical Center up in Balitmore on Monday while we were there. It went really well, apparently, and she was very pleased with both of the PIs she spoke with. However, we found the distance to be quite daunting and she's not sure she wants to make that trip every day for the next three or four years. So, although it is still a very possible option (if they extend her an offer, of course), she is going to continue to look at places like the National Institute of Health and the National Cancer Institute ( NCI ). She also told me that now she will feel comfortable looking at what would be available at Georgetown as well. She told me, before, she would have felt bad if she found a job at Georgetown and I hadn't been accepted so she wasn't even going to look! I think that's pretty considerate of her and think it goes a long way to show what she is willing to do to support me at this time! What more could I ask for? I think we're going to do well.
P.S. No one really knows what, exactly, a "Hoya" is... what rocks?
P.P.S. The mascot at my undergrad was a bulldog too.... curious.
P.P.P.S. I received notice today that I no longer have to worry about being pulled off of NYU's waitlist. Good to know!
To make a long story short, I figured out that if I could login to the Admitted Students portion on the Georgetown Law website, it was a pretty sure sign I was in. So I did and I could!! I didn't want to jump the gun and run over to GULC (Georgetown University Law Center) without being 100% sure and make a complete fool of myself, so I waited for him to call back that evening. He did and it was confirmed.
I AM IN AT GEORGETOWN!!!
I don't know exactly how to describe the mix of emotions. When I received the email last week asking to reconfirm my interest, I was simply excited. Now that I am actually accepted, it's still very exciting but with both relief and anxiety swirled in at the same time. I'm relieved because I feel like I put in a lot of time and energy during the whole application process (LSAT prep class, brainstorming and essay writing, follow-up letters of interest, etc.) and this acceptance justifies the effort. I'm anxious because I know I will be attending classes completely full of brilliant, driven people and I don't know how I will stack up against them. After a few days or weeks, I'm sure the anxiety will wane as I get to know some people and realize we're all in the same boat. For now, I'll combat the tension by trying to focus on finishing up all of the little details I need to do before classes start (resending financial aid, official copy of undergrad transcripts, making moving arrangements, etc. etc.).
It's also worth mentioning the small twinge of sadness I felt while talking with the lady at George Washington to tell her I was going to be withdrawing. I was lucky (?) enough to be able to explain my situation to one of the admissions committee members face-to-face and she was very friendly and sincere in wishing me the best. It is a great school and would have been a very good fit for me and I know I would have been very happy to have attended. I have nothing but good things to say about it. But all along I've said that I truly wanted to attend GULC and I wouldn't pass it up for anything.
In related news, my wife had an interview with a well respected research team at Johns Hopkins Medical Center up in Balitmore on Monday while we were there. It went really well, apparently, and she was very pleased with both of the PIs she spoke with. However, we found the distance to be quite daunting and she's not sure she wants to make that trip every day for the next three or four years. So, although it is still a very possible option (if they extend her an offer, of course), she is going to continue to look at places like the National Institute of Health and the National Cancer Institute ( NCI ). She also told me that now she will feel comfortable looking at what would be available at Georgetown as well. She told me, before, she would have felt bad if she found a job at Georgetown and I hadn't been accepted so she wasn't even going to look! I think that's pretty considerate of her and think it goes a long way to show what she is willing to do to support me at this time! What more could I ask for? I think we're going to do well.
P.S. No one really knows what, exactly, a "Hoya" is... what rocks?
P.P.S. The mascot at my undergrad was a bulldog too.... curious.
P.P.P.S. I received notice today that I no longer have to worry about being pulled off of NYU's waitlist. Good to know!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
And the wait goes on
I can't really say anything has "happened" since my last entry here, but I'm getting more and more anxious to have a 100% sure answer as to what is going to be happening. Yesterday, I received an update from Columbia saying I was still on their waitlist and that they will once again review the people on the list in July and see if they have any openings. I'm really glad to be on the waitlist here and NYU and NU, don't get me wrong, but it adds just enough uncertainty to this situation that it's starting to get to me.
The reason I'm thinking about it at this moment? Well, we're on our way back to D.C. this week to find an apartment. We'll have to put down a nice sized deposit along with our first months rent as well as sign a lease of some length (six months minimum I would guess). Now if someone in NYC calls us around August 12 or so and says they have a spot for me, we're going to be in a little bit of a pinch to get relocated in less than a week. But we've determined that if something like that happens, it will be worth while to overstress ourselves for a month and make it work.
On the other hand, I did get what I hope will turn out to be some exciting news today... I received an email from Georgetown asking me to confirm my interest and that I am "one of a small group of people [they] will turn to in the event of an opening". Having been following the recent activity on the message boards, it seems like this email is the prelude to an offer of admission. Other people received an email saying there are no spots available and they would reevaluate their files sometime in July. They told me they would let me know by next Tuesday.... luckily, we'll be in D.C. already and I can then personally go over to their office and shake their hands :-) Of course, this is all speculation, but now I really do have my hopes up and don't even care that just yesterday I sent my $800 second deposit to GWU (okay, I still care but not as much as you would think)!
The reason I'm thinking about it at this moment? Well, we're on our way back to D.C. this week to find an apartment. We'll have to put down a nice sized deposit along with our first months rent as well as sign a lease of some length (six months minimum I would guess). Now if someone in NYC calls us around August 12 or so and says they have a spot for me, we're going to be in a little bit of a pinch to get relocated in less than a week. But we've determined that if something like that happens, it will be worth while to overstress ourselves for a month and make it work.
On the other hand, I did get what I hope will turn out to be some exciting news today... I received an email from Georgetown asking me to confirm my interest and that I am "one of a small group of people [they] will turn to in the event of an opening". Having been following the recent activity on the message boards, it seems like this email is the prelude to an offer of admission. Other people received an email saying there are no spots available and they would reevaluate their files sometime in July. They told me they would let me know by next Tuesday.... luckily, we'll be in D.C. already and I can then personally go over to their office and shake their hands :-) Of course, this is all speculation, but now I really do have my hopes up and don't even care that just yesterday I sent my $800 second deposit to GWU (okay, I still care but not as much as you would think)!
