71
Damn I thought it was a done deal, I even had chats with the folks at the research institute who would've offered the funding, and they were very optimistic. I was pretty much already expecting the next 4 years of my life to be done doing that.
Feeling kind of neutral about it tho. Maybe emotions will come later.
And this is the university where I am friends with a tenured professor, who was also pushing my application forward. If I apply to other places i'm certainly not gonna have that for any other applications. I don't even know what other programs to apply to.
that'll probably do it, like signalling you're into that arrangement but also expressing some interest in whatever the well funded research subject is too. like demonstrating a curiosity about other projects ongoing, how the investigation is broadly designed and having the capacity/will to engage with it intellectually for your own enrichment.
i just assumed that's how everyone would be in graduate school, just a bunch of curious dorks doing the optional reading. but apparently demand exceeds supply frequently.