InHacSpeVivo

Congrats on your acceptances thus far! My AmStu MA is from William & Mary. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the department or Wburg over PM. I really wish there were a way to know about this, but the situation you outline (more radical scholars seem to get better results with individual faculty decisions) seems to make sense to me. I guess I'll have a better idea of this when I get some more responses. This was actually a big problem in selecting a writing sample. My area of focus in research is popular culture, but I was advised against submitting a pop culture writing sample by all the profs who helped me with my app given what they called the more traditional tendencies of adcomms. I ended up using a pop culture writing sample for only three of fifteen apps (one because of length guidelines, one because the school required two samples, and the other being the only non-English program to which I applied) and for the rest I used an analysis of a a canonical work focusing on the same things I study in pop culture. The only acceptance I have so far is one of the programs where I used the pop culture WS, which of course is freaking me out about my other apps.

Congrats Brown admits!

Congrats, tellyn and Echo!

Don't give up just yet, WT. I was in your same boat the last time I applied so I completely know how you feel. While we are in the thick of things, notifications should be steady through mid-March. There is way too much time left to be emo!

Thanks much all! it was a pleasant surprise to hear back so quickly; I just took them on Friday! Best of luck on your comps, jhefflol!

These made me feel so much better about my own mental state! Hey, at least I'm not alone. ;-) Also, I have officially convinced myself that it is a good thing not to hear from OSU before Feb. 16. I will stand by this until I hear otherwise so as to retain the thread of sanity I have remaining. The ONLY news I got today is that I passed my comps exam! Good news, to be sure, but worrying about that was what was keeping my mind off of PhD app results. So, back to distracting myself with schoolwork and lesson planning I suppose...

Congratulations! That's awesome! Sorry to hear about Michigan. Sadly, thus far this has been me not being anxious, but the countdown to full on anxiety is beginning... Tomorrow kicks off the heart of notification season! :-/

I am out of up votes, but can echo much of what thepriorwalter said about funded MAs, though in still working oh getting to the awesome acceptance options!

On that note, some of the the UNC campuses (charlotte and wilmington at least) do funded MAs, and the app deadline is sometime in March.

I had several jobs with only a BA in English before going back to school (I'm old). I taught high school, was a marketing assistant, worked as a paralegal, developed content for legal training, and, ultimately stuck with publishing working first as an editorial assistant then moving through the ranks to developmental editor. It is still very early, but I did want toilet everyone know that you can do pretty much anything with a BA in English (as I have been told by many an employer, it's basically proof that you are an effective communicator, which is the key to most positions).

Congratulations!!!!!

UMD notified someone on GC a few weeks ago, but I think that was a special fellowship case (if I remember correctly). They typically notify mid-Feb. OSU did their first round of acceptances a couple of weeks ago. Based on the intel from a GC acceptee, it doesn't seem like they'll be sending out more notifications until fellowship decisions are made February 16. My guess is anything that comes before that will be a rejection (but that could just be applicant paranoia). That GSU acceptance really through me off! But it was only one, so I'm thinking it might be one of those special case scenarios with "regular" acceptances to follow later in the month. That's mostly just conjecture on my part, though. Also, I took my eight-hour comprehensive exam today. The one thing keeping me going was the hope that when I got out I'd maybe have some piece of news. No such luck. Now, next week not only will I be waiting for PhD notifications (I'm going to be shocked if I don't hear from at least 1/3 of the places I applied), but I'll also be waiting to hear whether or not I passed comps and can graduate this May! Joy...

I can't speak to the academics personally, but I have been to Amherst many times if you have questions about the area. I did a lot of research on the program and really wanted to apply, but it just wasn't a fit for my interests. Congratulations! If it doesn't exist yet I'm totally going to make one as soon as I get my first rejection (which I expect next week based on when the schools I applied to usually notify). Yeah, it's depressing, but it seems more appropriate for commiseration.

One of my recommenders left academia for publishing (CompLit PhD from Harvard that resulted in an awesome job, so something much have really turned her off). She thought I was a little crazy given the politics, but was incredibly supportive. FWIW, my boss, who was completely in the dark about my apps, greatly appreciated the few months notice. Much better than two weeks!

Congratulations on Amherst, Lycidas! It's a lovely town.

I feel you on both fronts! I'm honestly not feeling fantastic about either, which is a huge bummer on many fronts... not least of which is that PSU is the only place I applied that offers a dual English/Women's Studies PhD. Good luck! I left publishing to come back to school. Honestly, it was so much easier than when I left one company for another. Leaving for school, especially working on the admin side of higher ed, your boss/coworkers should know you're looking for something the workforce as it stands can't offer you. Provided you work with understanding people they should be supportive; especially considering where you'll be headed; who wouldn't understand that?!

OMG SO MUCH NEWS ALL AT ONCE! Here goes... Congratulations on your first (of what I'm sure will be many) acceptance! That is AMAZING! My MA thesis advisor went there; I've heard nothing but wonderful things (and, of course, it's a leading program). That is awesome! Congratulations, and best of luck! And you have some fantastic optons! That's incrdible! Congrats! Edit: please excuse my inarticulate-ness. I have comprehensive exams Friday, so my brain is more than a little fried.

Indeed! As I keep telling myself (and others have said), I shouldn't expect to hear for another week or so (and a couple places don't usually notify until the first week of March). I will likely set up a commiseration thread when my first rejection comes in this season (if one isn't up already). Having accumulated over fifty (yes, 5-0) rejections since I first applied to higher ed in 2001, I can attest that they are no reflection on you as a person, your capacity as a scholar, or your abiity to contribute to academic discourse.

So true. I only applied to three schools out-of-time-zone, so theoretically life will be much easier when I hear from them!

Congrats childermass and TeaOverCoffee (definitely a step in the right direction)! fangirling over Harper Lee news Welcome, Krystal! I made it my job to deliver this news to half of my campus today. Are you a 20th c. Americanist too?!

Thank you (and other upvoters)!!!! I sent a request to the admins to change my post so as not to taint WT's (I'm sure unblemished) record.

OMG. I accidentally down voted this (damn mobile!) I'm sorry! I'm going to try to figure out how to fix it when I get home. In any event, congrats hypervodka and well-said, WT!

Many thanks, and that's very good to hear! So far the only person who has had anything to say about MSU is one of my letter writers (being on the east coast, we don't get a ton of midwesterners), so it is great to know that about a member of the program. A huge congrats to the both of you! AMAZING programs!

You're killing me, Ramus, getting into all my top choice schools. (I'm not Med/Ren). Congratulations!!!! I've never been wait listed, but I'm sure plenty of others will chime in on that front. I know UMD guarantees funding, so it sounds like they really want you, but only have enough $ for one person in your specialty. It seems like they're also trying to gauge your interest in them, which is always a great place to be. In any event, a huge congratulations is in order. As they say, a less than 5% acceptance rate, and clearly you're within the top 5%!

Congrats to all the recent acceptees! And welcome newcomers. Re: visiting funding, I've heard of a few programs doing this, so I don't think it hurts to ask if there is any assistance to travel to the admitted students event (if they have one). The program where I ws accepted provides hotel, but no flight. I know some other schools that provide a set stipend to use toward flight, hotel, etc., but I imagine there is a lot of variation on this front. Edit: Thanks for the link, WT! Very useful (and thanks to the poster who requested it!).