Rejected! (part deux)

Things Wednesday night went pretty well. I had a good time. He's a really nice guy and we have a lot of things in common (he's been around the world and back again, literally). We're getting together for dinner sometime soon, which will be nice. We'll see what comes of this. It should be interesting, needless to say.

Unfortunately, I received a phone call I suspected I'd get eventually, just not quite so soon.

I didn't get the Marquette Fellowship. Goddamn it.

I got a personal phone call from the woman in charge of the program that she really appreciated all my hard work, blah, blah, blah but they couldn't offer me a place in the Trinity Fellows program. That was the first piece of disappointing news. But, since nothing ever goes my way and I am perpetually cursed by the most fucked up luck ever (see : TWO benign ear tumors, life threatening car accident, teaching at a school from hell, and sexual harassment problems not once, but twice in Ukraine, amongst other things), that wasn't all.

The application process at Marquette was the biggest cluster fuck ever--you had to submit extra letters of recommendation and 3 essays for the Trinity Fellowship in addition to applying to the Public Service grad program. This was annoying enough as it is, but then there was more than a little confusion about whether or not I had to submit my motherfucking GRE scores (the GRE will from here on out always be referred to as the "motherfucking GRE"). The admissions committee literally could not decide whether or not I needed to submit GRE scores or not (If you had below a 3.2 GPA you needed to turn them in--I have a 3.17 but didn't want to turn the GRE scores in because my quant score is humiliating, as I've said 500 times before).

First I was told no, I didn't need to turn them in because, when rounded up, my GPA is a 3.2 , which satisfied their requirement. Then I was told that in fact I might need to submit them, and then finally no again (this was after 3 or 4 phone calls, literally). Needless to say, I was more than a little confused and pissed off when, after just rejecting me, the woman in charge of the TF program, told me she said she was sure I would've gotten in to the Master of Public Service program had I turned in my GRE scores!!! What the fuck?!

She then went on to explain they had been undergoing some changes at Marquette and had changed some of their requirements for admission, thus the confusion about whether I needed to submit those motherfucking scores. She had argued "strenuously" on my behalf with the admissions committee that I should not have to turn the scores in, considering I had been told I didn't need to by both the admissions committee at the grad school (which is apparently separate from the admissions committee in the Public Service program?) and her, but the admissions people at the Public Service department wouldn't budge. I had to ask her 3 times to repeat this because I didn't understand. This, of course, sucked because I literally had to listen to "you didn't get in" 3 more times.

I then informed her I had taken the GRE but that my quantitative score was really bad so I didn't really want to turn the scores in. She told me I should really submit my GRE scores because she thought I would be admitted to the Public Service program, but that I wouldn't get a Trinity Fellowship. That was when she rejected me for the fourth and, thankfully, final time. I felt like someone was breaking up with me. I didn't even get some guy's T-shirt out of it. Not even a kiss goodbye.

So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do regarding Marquette. I have been remarkably UNIMPRESSED by the lack of professionalism at both of the schools I've applied to (not so much at CMU as at Marquette), but especially with Marquette. Do these people not realize we, as students, should be treated almost like clients while applying to programs at their school? I mean, we're paying them upwards of $15,000 per year to get an education and they can't keep the most elementary things straight regarding admission (I called a woman at the University of Iowa and asked when applications were due and she told me the wrong date, for Christ's sakes).

I'm going to continue to submit applications and see what happens. Given what's happened so far I'll probably apply to U of M/U of Iowa and get accepted only to find out they accidentally sent me someone else's acceptance letter.

I know at least 3 people who are going to be more than a little happy to hear this, but, thus far, University of Minnesota has been the most organized, plus the woman there didn't blink when I told her my quant score wasn't so hot (she told me, in fact, that she didn't do well on the quant section either, which made me feel better). That, and I can easily arrange to do my field experience abroad, which is a huge bonus.

I'm sorry if I'm going on and on about grad school, guys. I'm just really frustrated. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated right now.