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11 Things to do While Waiting to Hear Back from Grad School

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rowan chapter.

Watch everything on Netflix

With so much time on your hands, you might as well catch up on your watchlist. 

Actually do your homework

You know, I guess. 

Plan your grad student outfits 

Are you looking at schools in New England? Or maybe the West Coast? You need to plan out the amazing outfits you’ll wear in your new home.

Work out

Working out always helps me get my mind off things. I can focus on exactly what my body is doing and forget all about the schools that haven’t responded to me. 

Repeatedly check your email 

Ok, maybe you can check once or twice. What if you finally get a reponse? 

Finally start meal planning

Meal planning SEEMS like it takes up a lot of time. While you’re scheduling your meals and balancing your macros, you can’t even think about that acceptance portal. 

Commiserate with your best pals

Whether your friends are applying to grad school or just generally fear the unknown, you can all get together to snack and complain. 

Apply to scholarships

Grad school is so expensive. As you wait for responses, spend your nervous energy applying to external scholarships. No matter what school you get into, you can use them towards your tuition. 

Clean your room from top to bottom

My roommate always cleans when she gets nervous. Apparently, she’s been doing so since she was little. When she’s dusting and folding, she can distract herself from real concerns. 

Peruse your dream school’s swag

Do they have nice hats? Are the sweatshirts on point? Add some quality merch to your cart. You know, for later. 

Indulge in some deep self-care 

With all your worrying, completing schoolwork, and distracting yourself, you’ll be beat. Take a long hot bath, slap on a face mask, and paint your toenails. 

Rachel is a senior English and Writing Arts double major at Rowan University. She also has minors in Women's & Gender Studies and Creative Writing along with concentrations in Publishing & New Media and Honors. She is the Senior Editor of Avant Literary Magazine as well as being in charge of the Her Campus chapter at her school. Rachel works as both a tour guide and a writing tutor on campus. She is big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but not the patriarchy.