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If you're staying home, I think they won't be upset. I'd imagine programs get upset if you tell them "I'm 100% gonna go here!" and then turn around and go to a different 'better' school. That's frowned upon. But even in that scenario, you should really be doing what's best for you. Nobody in their right mind will be meaningfully upset if you say something like, "I'm sorry to inform you at this stage, but sudden unfortunate circumstances have made it impossible for me to pursue an MFA program this year, and I will need to withdraw my admission(?) for this reason. I deeply appreciate the opportunity and acknowledgement you've granted me. I wish I could've accepted your offer of admission, and (you can white lie a bit) I would appreciate being considered again in a future admissions cycle."

Still haven't heard anything here. Anyone else received an update? (I'm guessing no news is bad news, but hoping the process is just slower this year)

Whohooo congratulations!!!

Hey, Thank you so much Yes it is

I would encourage you to look into the University of Calgary in Canada! My partner is a PhD candidate there and he will get a PhD in English and Creative Writing (so not a formal MFA/PhD hybrid but his dissertation is a novel that is informed by critical research + he has to write an article-length critical work relating to it at the end). You may want to also look into the concept of "research creation", as it is known here in Canada more broadly. Natalie Loveless' book How to Make Art at the End of the World: A Manifesto for Research-Creation (Duke UP, 2019). Hope this is useful! Good luck!!

I applied for MPP. Nothing heard yet.

I just received an email to check application portal and unexpectedly I get offered admission off the waitlist from JHU.

I have a strong impression that American politics suffers from or enjoys long cycles (on the order of 20 to fifty years) of alternating conservative and progressive change. I would like to know if this view is widely shared as vs. peculiar to me, and would also be very interested in efforts to delineate when such periods begin and end, and to learn anything known about how long they last and when and why they change. Pointers to relevant literature much appreciated.

Hey, huge congratulations!! That’s amazing - good for you!! Is this for the full time on campus 2 year program?

Thats the plan!

first question: genre? this is important. poet? fiction? creative nonfiction? ? whatever you do, be careful. i knew this one cat who died of being frowned upon. horrible death too. it took like 60 years. it was a conspiracy. the fuckers who killed him are still at large. I'm not sure it will affect your applications next year. i suppose you could be put on a double secret probation list that's shared by all the programs. Maybe your picture goes up on their radar "do not take checks from this person" style. yeah, that specific program might remember you - maybe. or jurist may be on the committee of another school next year. But there's hundreds of programs out there. i mean, are they really going to blacklist you? it's a crazy level of effort to put in. I do think you do it asap, which you are. And I think you make it personal, which it seems you are. I would not in any way indicate you got a better offer, which you wouldn't, but you may neglect to say you will be reapplying next year. do NOT neglect that. tell them you will be applying next year, this could not be helped, and you will not be attending another program. You should probably ask about a deferral policy. it's almost certainly a "no" but just asking shows you want to attend and really regret not being able to. seriously, what genre? (Don't laugh at me. you could be a songwriter.)

Oh no, I’m sorry to hear this. Don’t give up! It will all work out as it should!

I got an email about this on the 17th. I'm not sure what to do either

Hi everyone! I have been a long-time lurker on this forum, watching others discuss and apply to master's and doctoral programs for a few years. Now, the time has come for me to apply for PhD programs in either higher education or education policy this fall! However, I am quite concerned about what exactly "GRE Optional" means in practice rather than theory during the application review by faculty members. I have been studying for around two months already, and I am very nervous about my prospects of earning a high score in both sections (verbal and quantitative). I am considering taking it just once and determining whether or not to submit it depending on my official score. I have spoken to numerous high-level faculty members who offered me mixed advice about submitting the GRE despite it being optional. Some say that most faculty members do not care about whether you submit it or not. Others contend that it's risky not to submit it as they may not weigh other aspects of your application despite being a "holistic" process. It is honestly hard to get a straightforward answer from any faculty member about this because it "mostly depends". For context as to why I am quite nervous about submitting or not taking the GRE, here is the list of the schools/programs I am applying to (ignore Cornell since it is not an education program): Harvard GSE - Ph.D. in Education (EPPE Concentration; GRE Optional) Stanford GSE - Ph.D. in Higher Education (GRE Optional) University of Michigan SOE - Ph.D. in Higher Education (PPPE Concentration; GRE Optional) University of Pennsylvania GSE - Ph.D. in Higher Education (GRE REQUIRED) Cornell University - Ph.D. in Public Policy (GRE Optional; Not an Education School but Applying Anyway) Columbia University TC - Ph.D. in Economics and Education (GRE Optional) Each school has various perspectives on the GRE, and many of them stress that it is one of the less important factors during the application review. My current plan is to study for the next 6 to 7 months for the GRE, but I do not expect to do well since I am terrible at taking standardized exams. I guess my main question revolves around how should I truly interpret "GRE optional" given the competitive nature of these programs? I have reached out to all of these programs and they try to diminish it's importance within the holistic review process or they just straight up say that it doesn't matter that much. But I frankly, do not believe them. To provide additional context, I am happy to provide my personal application stats as well if needed. TLDR: what are your thoughts on competitive programs that list the GRE as "optional"?

Nope! Rejected. Sent an email to my potential supervisor thanking him for the opportunity to work under him today but that it isn’t possible… EDIT: still having hope for UofA though, the more I put it out into the universe the more I have faith. Grad school isn’t the final destination or the end all be all but I’d love to be a part of it if fate allows!

hey guys hoping this thread isn’t entirely dead yet. i have to renege an acceptance I made on Monday and I’m anxious about how to go about it. I know it’s frowned upon but it’s the best choice for me right now. The program isn’t a good fit and I have some other sudden circumstances that are making it necessary for me to stay home this year. What’s the best way to go about telling this school? I’m going to do it asap. I do plan to reapply next year. Is this going to affect my future apps? Idk if programs talk to each other and I'm worried this might negatively affect my future applications 😥 any info or advice is appreciated

Hey all! I am hoping folks can provide some advice or insight as I am currently a Social Worker with my BSW and have been working in the field for approximately 2 and a half years. I have however over the past year, maybe slightly longer been very strongly considering going for my MSW but have a few concerns... My first concern is my grades from York are a total of about a 6.4 out of a 9 which I believe would equal somewhere near a 72% or 73% (correct me if im wrong) and so, would this be enough? My second concern is I am really unsure about online work unless it is Synchronus where there is still a designated time to meet with the professor and etc. I know of the University of Windsor MSW for working professionals program, is there possibly any other either Part time programs within Toronto and the GTA or another Synronus online program? Lastly, if in the case it turns out I do need to upgrade my grades... any idea what I can do? I genuinely really dont want to give up... but it partially seems if York wont allow me to upgrade, I may have run out of options for my MSW? Thanks in advance everyone!

I got an email with my offer today

Hi all! I'm on the hunt for some programs that focus on BOTH creative writing and literature (such as the Cornell dual MFA/PhD or the USC PhD in Literature and Creative Writing.) Both of these are incredibly competitive so I'm hoping to round out my list! Does anyone know of any? Thank you!!

Congrats!! 🎉

Has anyone heard anything from NSF yet about the anthropology doctoral dissertation grants from January deadline? My status hasn't updated since the day after submission in January but looks like some past years have started getting results by this time... The cultural anthropology review panels were April 1-2, 4-5, 8-9, 11-12.

I got into Yale's art history Emerging Scholars Initiative pre-PhD/post-bacc PREP program today and I believe I will be choosing this program! Thanks to everyone who has supported me on this thread!

Has anyone heard anything from McMaster's waitlist?

Did you get in??

From what i've read people are having difficulties accepting their offers. The system is being weird? If thats the case we likely wont hear anything until they have a chance to formally accept. The wait is killing me tho!