[Izulde]

Sent everything off today that I had left over and filled out the FAFSA and what is essentially the Ivy League graduate financial aid application (for $28).

So just to recap:

The Schools Applied To
1. UC-San Diego
-Already rejected me. Small program plus major bias to in-state students = gut feeling I didn't have much of a chance anyway. UCSD, by the way, is the second UC school to ever reject me. UC-Santa Cruz did the same thing when I tried transferring there during my undergraduate years.

2. Columbia
-I'd rate my gut feeling as 50/50 whether I get in or not. Financial aid, of course, will be a concern, particularly in the first year. But if I get admitted, I'm going. I don't care if I have to drown in student loan debt to do it. Columbia has become for me what Princeton was for my undergrad years, and even though I'll be devastated if they reject me, at least I can say I tried and not play the What-If game I've had to do with Princeton all these years.

3. Old Dominion
-I'm getting the same vibe here that I did from UCSD. Small program and I just don't think I'll be accepted. Anything's possible, though.

4. UNLV
-Yeah... this one I shocked myself when I applied to it, because I've always had this love/hate relationship with Vegas, but they've got a really sweet focus on international literature, as well as a required study abroad component. I feel like there's a match in scholarly interests as well. I've got a hunch that I've got a good shot at getting accepted here.

The Schools Formerly Considered But Dropped

1. University of San Francisco
-The more I looked into it, the more I realized their whole specialty is creative non-fiction, which isn't my bag. Plus, I really, really don't like San Francisco as a city. I'm all about San Diego.

2. McNeese State
-Good program with a lot of nice things about it, but the university's overall academic reputation is terrible and I'm too much of a snob to ever feel happy about going to a school like that.

3. University of Florida
-I kept going back and forth on this one, but ultimately, I'm tired of college towns and want a major city to be in. If, by some chance, I don't get accepted anywhere, I'll bring them back to the forefront for the year after.

And that's all I'm going to say about that. There's other schools I'd consider if I don't get into any of the places I applied, or if I do and they don't offer financial aid or, if, after visiting campus, I don't like the place after all, but I don't want to think about that right now. I'm just trying to stay positive and focused.

In other news, the thesis isn't progressing as quickly as I'd hoped and bipolar disorder has been kicking the shit out of me lately. I need to do something about it, but such is the curse of the disease that it's a struggle just to get the energy to do something about it.

Hopefully the next update, whenever it comes, will bring better news.