Monday, December 10, 2007

Admissions Office Evil

One of my hobbies during application season (first undergraduate, now graduate) was to fantasize about all the evil things I would do if I were a director of admissions. Normally, when I'm faced with a stressful or unfair situation, my mind turns on how to alleviate the burden for the people who will come after me (this is why I like judging debate). But for some reason, the application game brings out my sense of malice.

Previous entries in how to be an evil admissions director include posting "abandon all hope, ye who enter here" above my office door, stuffing rejection letters with packing foam, and making interviewees make their best case for why they shouldn't be admitted. Today, courtesy of a school-that-shall-not-be-named, I have another example: send me a nice thin letter a few weeks after I submit my application, then, after my heart has stopped, reveal that it is merely an acknowledgment of my application.

Heart restarted, but I'm keeping a wary eye on you now.

3 comments:

PG said...

It's a bit early for rejection letters, isn't it? (Or do I just think that because I procrastinated my applications so long?)

David Schraub said...

Well, I suppose that depends on how bad my applications are, doesn't it?

One of my friends already has one admission and one wait-list under her belt, but she applied much earlier than I did. Also, this was a Ph.D. application, so I really have no idea how that works.

It probably is too early, but nerves have an annoying quality of being irrational in this respect.

Cara said...

Hey David,

I got one of those too! It was horrible.