jmcgee

Which food should I feed my cat? I hear good things about both programs.

The hottest thing in English today is a new club called Sylvia's Daddy. 

the point is that that sort of absolute, non-socially-constructed boundary between "human" and "non-human" does not exist. how do you define "human"? our bodies are made of microrganisms. we use technology in a way that makes it an extension of our selves. our minds behave in ways other matter does. the more we learn about animals, the harder it becomes to nail down ways we are different. writers have noticed these things throughout history, and represented them in literature.

... you seriously asked people why they liked you? Wasn't that awkward?

Not because it is, apparently, a Lovecraftian nightmare where the living envy the dead?
 
Artist's rendering of emoryenglishphd's thesis defense.
 

Waitlisted at Miami of Ohio.  Whatever comes of it, at least I now know that I'm not completely imagining that I'm cut out for this. 

I think that's where the real hope of the wait list lies.

Congratulations!

All this pessimism, jeebus.
 
I'm waitlisted at two places, and both schools have not only been pretty darned nice when it comes to being available, but they have also told me the funding offers that they would make were I to get in off the waitlist.  Both are very generous, and one school is paying to fly me out to their prospective students weekend.  Obviously my case isn't indicative of every school, but still, the apocalypticness from fishbucket is a bit overwrought.
 
I mean, really, unless you've got some huge ego insecurity you should see a waitlist as a VERY good thing.  While obviously it sucks that you're not actually in (and it's more than a bit excruciating to hope that someone ahead of you bumps out), the fact is that the school sees you as a potential grad student.  The fact is, you made all the cuts except for the very last (likely arbitrary) cut.  A school wouldn't extend a waitlist to an "inferior" candidate or a second class citizen - if you're on the list, they want you.
 
<edit> 
 
Also, remember, part of the reason for waitlists is the musical-chairs nature of this process. Student A gets in at Harvard, Yale, Michigan, and Berkeley.  They can only go to one of the schools.  So all the schools need a waitlist since they need the grad students as labor, but don't know which students will take their offer, and which will decline cus they got in somewhere else.

I know it's super tempting, but it would be really nice if we could all stop pushing other people's buttons. Overall these threads are really civil and the "arguments" are logical and well-thought-out... but it seems like, inevitably, somebody's gotta go pokin' away... and then all hell breaks loose.
 

I've never read him.

What's UP with George Eliot? No George...No Eliot...

I am 14 years old. If anyone is reading this, please hep. I am getting younger. After taking the time to write this, I am now 12.

In related news, did anyone see the entry for Penn State that I'm assuming is NOT bfat?
 
 
Can we all just pause for a quick lol? Ah, the smell of troll in the evening.

That is awesome!  We are soul friends fo sho!

I thought I was the only person who read in the shower! Nice. I actually perfected my method around 13; the pages still got crinkly, but they didn't get soaked by the spray anymore.

I'm so sorry for your loss, dear.  That must have made this process extra, extra, extra emotional.  Good on you for surviving and, I betcha, thriving.   

Lemme tell you why assumed rejections are a bad idea...
 
From the looks of the results survey, UMass Amherst had already contacted its applicants for an interview with their Writing Program. Yesterday, I sighed and crossed them off my list mentally. It's cool, I told myself. I never really wanted to live in Massachusetts (that was a lie). 
 
It is 6:03AM in California. I woke up five minutes ago to check my email (because I can't help it). When I saw that I had two emails, I whispered, "curses Groupon Getaways!" But then I saw the subject line... "Acceptance from UMass Amherst." 
 
Holy shit guys, I GOT INTO UMASS AMHERST!!!! 
 
The email says they I will be contacted by the Writing Program for an interview soon. It also says that I GOT INTO UMASS AMHERST! I got into a PhD program, ya'll! I already called my husband at work, but it's too early to call my friends and family... So I'm sitting in my bedroom, hopping around my mattress because I GOT IN. Weeeeeeeeee!

Yay! Friends tend to make everything better 
 

You're a Nazi moron

Nope, you mean "your"
 
And to everyone, it's "moran"

Get it right.

You'd figure people at this stage in academia would be more sensitive

I ruined tons of my books when I was little because, besides not being able to put them down while eating, walking, etc., I also tried to read while showering. 
 
Is this thread everything we wanted to say in our SOPs but weren't allowed to?  I like.

For what it's worth, DontHate's philosophy made me feel better about my impending rejections.