The trouble with thin letters...

I think the cake would probably be improved if I used really high quality cocoa--say, Ghiradelli instead of Hershey. I did procure some whipped cream, however, and the cake is actually pretty wonderful warmed up so that the whipped cream melts all over it. I just had seconds, in fact.

The dessert was partially to console myself following the thin letter I received from Stanford today. I was disappointed to see it in my mailbox; even though it was extraordinarily unlikely that I was getting into Stanford and regarded my application fee as essentially a charitable donation, it was still my glowing first choice. But alas, they "often must turn away applicants of high caliber due to the keenness of the competition," so I 'm slightly bummed if not exactly surprised.

The strange thing is that Saturday, I received a thin letter from Minnesota. I carried it upstairs, actually laughing out loud that I'd definitely be heading (considerably farther) west for school and that Bryant and Ellen couldn't blame me for not enrolling. I considered the fact that visiting the school had no apparent effect on admission. I thought about how my admission essay to UMN had been the only one my advisors had read in its entirety, and among my strongest.

I'm a delayed-gratification type of person, so I decided to open the rejection letter first, followed by the good news I knew was in the two thick envelopes from Arizona and the one from my mom. But when I opened the letter, it wasn't a rejection. Minnesota was not only offering acceptance, but a concrete (and, for a poor student, not insubstantial) sum of money.

So.

That's three goes, two noes (Berkeley just hasn't sent the letter yet; I'm certainly not holding my breath), and two still out. It's the UC schools that are stringing me along. With the exception of San Diego, those applications were due on the 15th of December. Three months, people? Three months?

New Mexico wants my answer by the 15th, and Minnesota by the 20th. Arizona hasn't promised money yet. I honestly have no idea.

The plot thickens.