Why applying to grad school reminds me of Kill Bill

I am now starting to plan for the next round of graduate school applications. This year I will be applying to at least four schools: University of Oregon (yet again), Duke University, Arizona State, and the University of British Columbia. I'm on the fence about New England Conservatory. I'm feeling more casual about it this year: less of a need to get everything going super early, less compulsion to be fanatically organized about the process. I've done this so many times that I almost have it down to a routine. This fact makes me feel both more relaxed and more frustrated.
For me, the process of getting into a PhD program feels a lot like being in the Japanese restaurant scene in Kill Bill. There's that part after the Bride has finished off the first crop of O-Ren Ishii's goons. And during that brief pause, the Bride hears the roar of engines as the rest of the goons arrive. She looks up at O-Ren and asks, "Is that what I think it is?". O-Ren replies, "You didn't think this would be easy, did you?". And the Bride says, "You know, for a minute there, yeah, I kind of did." I'm really starting to feel like the Bride - I battle through a tough round of applications which do not bring me to my goal, only to find out that I have to go through yet another battle.