I did a thing

This morning I submitted an application to the University of Cambridge for an MPhil in English Studies. The screen says there are 85 days to go, but the screen lies. The deadline was today for the big scholarship for US students. There were a zillion little pieces, and some really big ones, like the 5-7K word writing sample and the four essays for the scholarship. And they all got done. Mostly by me, but with recommendation letters from some really kind people, and editorial help and tech support from my spouse, who figured out why my hanging indents wouldn’t hang, and how to work around the annoying application requirement that had bad instructions and worse functionality.

This is my third year applying to postgrad programs in literature. The first year, I applied to one school. I wasn’t able to complete a full research paper in time. I didn’t get in.

Last year I applied to eight schools. I was able to complete a draft of a research paper because I’d presented it at a conference, tricking myself into getting it done before the deadline. I got rejected seven times. I got into one school. Cambridge. But I didn’t get funding. And I’m not going to grad school again unless it is funded. So I withdrew my application in July, and reapplied today, early enough have a greater likelihood of funding.

Maybe I don’t get in this year. Maybe I don’t get funding. Maybe I don’t get full funding. We’ll see.

But I put together an entire application for school and scholarship, and got it in on time. I’m still sort of stunned by it all. But that might be because I was up past midnight, then got up around 5am to finish it all. I’m pretty tired.

Now I have to sort through all the things I’ve been putting off to meet this deadline. Haircut, vaccination, laundry, friends. I thought I’d start by posting here. It’s been a journey to get here. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But next, I think I’m going to go read something for fun.

G’night.