HHEoS

WOW Awesome news bluecheese! Congrats!

Thanks! Hahaha I just checked it: "In Review". I'll take that as a good sign, but it's a computer system, so who the fuck knows what'll change when. And yes, Ohio State football fans can be pretty overwhelming to put up with. Now I've got to resist the urge to check the status every five minutes until I go to bed.

I'm really sorry to hear that asleepawake. Just curious: when did you notice that it rolled over? I checked a few times earlier today, but when it still said "In Review," I assumed there would be no more decisions until next week. Good god. Now I really want to check it, but I'm afraid. ETA: Okay, I see the answer to my question in your post from a few minutes ago.

Congrats!

Probably not. I'm just a paranoid person in general. But there might be profs who Google applicants for whatever reason and might find a Twitter page if it's @(yourfullname). As someone said in another thread, though, he/she will probably be too embarrassed to bring up whatever was found privately in a committee discussion. However, I still think whatever he/she finds will help create his/her impression of what kind of person said applicant is.

Thanks so much everyone! You guys are the best. Hoping to read good news from all of you in the future. I am pretty relieved, sebastiansteddy, but we'll see how long that lasts when February rolls around. This made me feel a lot better, girl who wears glasses, but I do hope you aren't rejected completely. Maybe someone on some adcomm somewhere will be impressed by your passion/fascination if they happen to go acreepin' on Twitter.

Thanks Datatape! This is what my insides feel like right now.

Thanks, sebastiansteddy! Sure. The only reason I didn't include them in the original post is because I found a Twitter account today that was @(myfullname), created in the last two weeks, that is a ridiculous Nicki Minaj shrine. I've been paranoid all day that someone is trying to mess with me because though my name rhymes with "Nicki Minaj", I've never found anyone else with my name on Google before. If any potential program is reading this: I am in no way affiliated with that page, and I'm not a Nicki Minaj fan in any way, shape, or form. Anyway, to answer your question: the program that mailed the acceptance letter is NIU. The one that nominated me for the fellowship is FSU.

Sorry to hear about those rejections, Swagato and arglooblaha. There's still a ways to go, though, so here's hoping to good news in the future! Meanwhile, I'm here to freak out about an acceptance, possibly TWO! AAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! This morning, I got an acceptance letter from a lower-tier school that I applied to as sort of a back-up. While it isn't the most prestigious school, the location is great, and there are two excellent scholars in the two fields I work in there. No word on funding until late February. Tonight I got a fellowship nomination from another program! No word from the English department yet, but the application for the fellowship states that it is awarded in addition to the standard TA-ship. I'm going to assume that it means I'm accepted with a TA-ship (because, why not?). ERMAHGERD!!!

Congrats, bluecheese! All of this positivity is making waiting so much easier/better for me.

AWESOME! Congrats asleepawake! You're one of my favorite people on here. I'm so happy for you.

No specific reason. I looked at last year's dates and figured I'd guess a few days earlier. I just realized that Monday is MLK Jr. day, though. Probably not going to happen then. I'm going to say Tuesday 22nd instead.

I'm going to say Northwestern, next monday, the 21st.

Yes, I do. It makes me nervous. I check to see if the status has changed everyday. I haven't contacted them yet because of the note on that page that says they will contact you if something is missing. If you do decide to contact them, please post their response.

Have fun in Europe proflorax! We applied to some of the same schools, so I hope to be in a few of those program-specific threads with you when you return.

Hey Two Espressos, Last year, I was reimbursed fully for the recruitment trip I took (travel, board, and even meals while travelling). The program where I got my MA covers all expenses for their recruitment weekend as well. A friend of mine actually asked a school that he got into if they had funds for visits and they approved his expensive last-minute flights and everything else (for a visit that was completely scheduled by him). On the other hand, he asked the same of another program where he was accepted, and they had no funds for recruitment visits. Basically, you might be able to ask a program to pay for your visit if they really want you, regardless of whether they have organized recruitment days or not. If you're accepted at a program and you can't make their organized visit, it doesn't hurt to ask them to fund a private visit. It shows your interest in the program is high, especially if said program knows you have other funded offers. I'll add this note as well (even though it may be jumping the gun a bit since we haven't heard anything yet): One of my profs stresses that if a school is offering a visit you should go at all costs. She wasn't offered funding at a particular program, and while on a visit there, she mentioned her funding package at another one and her plan to visit that program as well. They wanted her so much that they offered her funding and she eventually went to that school. Last year, as a result of my recruitment visit, I was offered a $5000 fellowship from the program I visited in addition to the TA-ship. They even added another $5000 closer to the national deadline (yes I turned down a TA-ship and $10,000 last year to reapply this year).

As someone also on my second round of applications, I have to agree completely with this. Those in your support system now will likely be the ones who will encourage you and support your future decisions, if the application season doesn't go the way you'd like. However, as Datatape states, the anxieties that some may have now are still legitimate. We're opening ourselves up for judgement from people whose opinions (though anonymous) we are forced to respect. The fear of judgement and the fear of rejection can be crippling. Personally, I'm more anxiety-riddled this year than I was last year. It may be because I'm not busy with finishing my MA, preparing to teach two classes, and associated distractions. My friends who applied with me last year are all in PhD programs. Though I know they'll be supportive of what happens this year, I still fear their potential perceptions of me if I fall flat on my face and don't get in anywhere. To pose another question, are the second-timers and third-timers here more or less anxious than you were last year at this time? While I'm slightly more confident about what the outcome might be this application season, the waiting is almost twice as excruciating for me now.

This is exactly what is happening to me right now. Today, I started watching three different movies and couldn't get past the first 5-7 minutes of any of them. I can't stop myself from thinking: MUST CHECK EMAIL NOW (all while knowing that no program where I applied is even close to making decisions yet).

LOLz I wish there were a way to up-vote this more than once because you just made my day.

I don't usually have dreams related to real-life anxieties, but after reading these posts yesterday, I had one this morning. In it I got an email from some program where I applied (don't remember which one) about my application being incomplete. Panicking, I scrolled to the bottom of the message to find that my application was missing "7 eggs & 3 CDs." My response: "Why would they need that many eggs?!" Then I woke up and thought: wtf does that mean?

Hi Swagato, I took a year break after finishing my BA, and while applying to MA/MFA programs (three years ago), I didn't address it at all in my SoP. I got into four of the seven programs to which I applied then. The DGS at the school I eventually attended actually thought I was still finishing up my BA when he called with the admission offer. I'm reapplying to PhD programs this year after another gap year, and I'm only mentioning it (in my SoP) because something I'm doing right now fits contextually when explaining the research questions I'd like to investigate in doctoral study. The professors who read my SoP had no problem with me not mentioning the gap year in early drafts, and I only added that bit because my advisor thought it was really important to state that I'm working privately on two foreign languages this year. My SoP isn't chronological at all, so when I mention the break, it's quite casual. So to sum up my take on it is: mention the break if it works to benefit your academic profile; don't mention it if it doesn't. The admissions-committee members are probably working through apps so quickly that they won't even notice it if you don't mention it. Hope that helps!

I simply put the title of my paper and my full name on the first page. I also used a footer with my name, "WS", a shortened paper title, and page number. Most online application systems add your name, a random ID number, the document type (WS, SoP, CV etc.), and maybe a timestamp when a document is uploaded, so I didn't feel the need to include more than I did.

No need to worry, bfat or anyone else. My writing sample was in a version of Chicago last year, and I got into two programs and was waitlisted at two others. Your DGS is right: most journals in our field require some version of Chicago. My sample this year is also in Chicago. No program can disqualify your application for failing to meet specific requirements they didn't explicitly provide.

As I posted in another thread on here, I contacted the department and was told that the department "prefers" the 500-word statement. You can, however, get a little bit more space out of the "2-page double-spaced" option that's listed with the 500-word one on the departmental webpage.

Yup, this requirement is particularly annoying. It's the reason I didn't apply to UVA last year. Here's what I did though: I gave them my 20-21-page sample that I'm using for all other programs and submitted a 4-5 pager as the second one. The department's webpage says you can submit a pair like this, and while I'm sure it's not what they envisioned when they came up with this brilliant requirement, it does meet their specifications. For me, this was a better alternative than submitting two choppy pieces. It may work for you also, if you have something 4-5 pages long, or can pull off writing something like that between now and the deadline.