purpleperson

Just checked my Rutgers status. "Your application has been reviewed, and the Committee has denied admission." Allrightythen.... Hopes = dashed (not that I expected to get in)

There is a female professor (who I'm sure is on the adcomm) in the English department at Temple who is heavily focused on the very author (and his works) that I submitted my writing sample on. One of my LOR writers also says he knows this woman personally and is good friends with her. So I'm hoping she likes my writing sample because of it being on that author, and that my LOR writer's acquaintance with her gives me a boost! I also have this weird hope that I have luck with Temple on the grounds that they were pretty impersonal with me during the application process when I asked a few questions over email. (It's silly, but I've found that some of the schools that were most courteous and helpful with me also axed me readily -- Loyola U Chicago was sooo incredibly sweet, as was Northwestern and Ohio State. Hence, I'm hoping for some opposite effect wherein the school who was impersonal and sort of curt in answering questions will admit me!) Silly...I know. (I show all sorts of signs of desperation and absurd logic.) Again, I hope we get into Temple. Would be excellent!!!

The reason I don't list my acceptance is that I'm paranoid about lurkers who are administrators or people who have some connection to the schools. I don't want to be identified by the school where I got in. It doesn't matter if I'm identified by schools that have rejected me, of course. Since schools reject tons of people (100s, 200s or 300s), it'd be very difficult to identify individuals in that category. But they only let in a handful, so it's feasible that they could put some things together and figure out who you are. That said, I'll PM you my acceptance school. And I have, in fact, stated where I was accepted, but it's pages and pages back by now, and I feel safe with it being way back there. It was only after I posted it the first time that I decided to be more discreet/careful. Temple has been on my radar for a while, too. This is my first year applying to Ph.D. programs or really to grad school at all. (I kind of don't count when I applied for my M.A., because I only applied to one school, the same school where I did my B.A., and for whatever reason, I didn't care whether I got in or not. I put the application in on February 1st (since it was my B.A. school, I was able to deliver a lot of things in person) and literally didn't think of it again until February 22nd when I got a call and was accepted. (I wish I had that same kind of nonchalance for Ph.D. program applying.) Anyway, even though this is my first year applying, I sort of "thought about it" and did preliminary research about three or four different times between late 2011 and early 2013. Temple was always a school I was interested in, for various things -- I'd thought about doing an MFA in creative writing; I'd thought about switching disciplines to Sociology; I'd thought about a lot of different fields. I like Philadelphia a lot, and I just get this sense that I would enjoy a school the size of Temple. I hope you get in and I hope I get in! It's a good sign that we don't hear of tons of people applying there. Maybe that means the applicant pool isn't crazy huge.

I emailed the DGS at Temple yesterday, and he said the committee was meeting late this week to finalize decisions and that he would be contacting admits early next week. So...we will know soon! I'd love to get in at Temple. I certainly feel like I have a better shot at Temple than at Rutgers. But they're both tough. Good luck to you!! Fingers crossed for you as well.

Congratulations! I really don't know why I applied there. I really thought I had little shot because of their preference for people without M.A.'s -- and just their being Boston University, too. But I went for it. I also didn't know that they only let in five, but that, too, is pretty few acceptances/admits to bank on.

I saw something called "Fishing and Wharfaries" (the Wharfaries part is almost certainly inaccurate, but it was something that started with a "W" and sounded kinda like that.)

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think we can call it an Implied Rejection (from Rutgers) until more acceptances go up on the results board and some time passes from the time/date of those acceptances. Like 24-36 hours from when you start seeing 3-5 acceptances up. They could be just slowly working through a list?

I totally agree with this. I didn't ask my LOR writers to say a damn thing about whatever school(s) in question. In fact, when I was emailing with the LOR writers, I insisted that they write the letter generically. I said, "even if they ask you in their instructions very specific questions about the school, please just send your already-crafted generic letter." Specific about me, but generic to any school. I figured...schools have to be complete jerks to not realize that many applicants apply to 10 to 13 places, and that their letter writers spend a lot of time with just different uploads and different forms, logins, etc. Expecting them to be school-specific in letters is too much. It's one thing to expect to see it from applicants (in SOPs), who, because they are the ones very eager to get in, probably should. The applicants need to do the toiling. But the letter writers, surely the receiving school knows, are just trying to help the student and aren't investing so much of their time into this process. It's nice when an LOR writer feels like personalizing toward a school, but I think the schools should expect a letter detailed only about the student.

I applied to both WashU and Rutgers. I'm treating WashU like an implied Rejection. As for Rutgers, I don't know why they haven't notified yet. I'm waiting, indeed, but I can't say that I'm super nervous or anticipative. I 90% think I'll be rejected. I feel like...they might like my application, but the chances of my being in the top 24 out of 250 to 350....it just doesn't seem likely. In any case, I bet it's that they are finished with decisions but are just behind drafting the personalized letters to those admitted. I'm going to log in to my application right now and see what's up.

I hope everyone hears good news today or this week. I want to hear from Rutgers because even though I believe it is way out of my league and my chances are extremely slim, I still (probably foolishly) have that "you never know" thought. We've all said that these things are a crapshoot. Which means that even if you've gotten rejected by eight in a row, you could still get accepted at one. I keep thinking of how, when my LOR writers were reading my writing sample (they helped me with that too), it really resonated with one as "excellent" (he even told me it needed to be published), while the other just saw it as "solid/passable." The same things can happen with different committees. You just never know! I'm in a slightly optimistic mood, but that is likely to change. Anyway, I've vaguely thought of re-applying next year if my one acceptance doesn't have funding and/or even if it does but my boyfriend and I find that we don't think we could happy in the new city. But even if I did re-apply, it wouldn't be to 13 schools again. More like 6 or 7. And I'd choose strategically and aim less high. I applied "widely" this time as it was, and wasn't applying to all top 10, top 20, or even top 30 or 50. But I would aim even less high, maybe, but still with careful selection and more attention to how many the school typically lets in per year. I applied to a few schools that only let in about 4 to 6 per year. About the letters...I'd probably just ask the same people to send some variation of the same letter. They were really cool this year about it; they'd probably do it again, especially given that they can virtually use the same letter with minor tweaks based on....whatever changes. That said, I don't know that I will re-apply.

I had really hoped Rutgers would notify today. Darn! I have only four schools left. Two are extreme, extreme long shots, and the other two are just extreme long shots. Rutgers is the only one I expect to hear from this week. Well, not so much hear from, but see other people's acceptances on the Results Boad and thus get my implicit rejection. The other three schools, from what I've gathered on here or have gleaned myself, will be notifying next week or the week after.

Vivian, thanks for sharing. That's exciting news.

Aww thanks. Yes, morale is indeed low. I think for lots us...

proflorax: Thanks for the group hug! It's needed.

I'm looking forward to Rutgers day/week (?) I don't think I'll get in, but it'll be good to know for sure. One of my advisors told me she thought Rutgers would be a good fit for me -- and it probably is -- but they also probably have a lot of applicants who are good fits and who are highly impressive.

If you applied to Loyola University Chicago, I emailed and asked when notifications would go out. The DGS answered back within an hour and a half and said they'd be notifying in the next two weeks but that there were only four funded offers (of which I am not one.) It was a very kind, gracious email. Just wanted to let people know in case they applied there! I'm somewhat inured to major disappointment at this point. I kinda just want the official rejections to come, if they are going to come.

Thanks again. I may take you up on that. I'm sad. Actually, what I feel more right now is desperate. Sad & desperate. I'll be all right, though. (I'm being kind of a drama queen, lol.) There's still two weeks of maybe hearing good news...

Thanks for checking with them! Looking forward to my rejection notice in the next couple of weeks, lol...

I agree with this, which is why I want to be happy about where I got accepted (my last choice school, a 63 rank, in a smallish college town that I wasn't relishing but would take in a heartbeat). And I would be, if only I could get funding. At this point, I no longer even expect to get into my five remaining schools. Three are safely "in my league," but I think the fact that they are in very popular cities means the applicant pool is huge, and I have little chance of standing out among that many people. I just want the funding at the last choice school. But yes, I agree with the concept of being appreciative of where one gets accepted!

I know. It's so.... emotionally draining. For all the disappointment I've had though, my two tip top schools are still alive and possible. It'll still be a g-damn miracle if I get in, but I can't say my most desired schools were taken from me early. I could be happy with my one acceptance if it were at least funded, but it's only a doubtful maybe. Good luck! Fingers crossed for you!

Thanks, both of you. Honestly, I'm just going to pray this weekend. Seriously pray. I hope you guys hear good news too.....

lol, I looked again quickly and still don't see it, but no matter. If y'all saw it, then it's there. Thanks for the encouragement! This is a very demoralizing time

Okay, thanks. I guess I could have looked, but there's only so much I want to be straining my eyes through all of that. Anyway, I probably should have figured as much.

I can't remember -- does Oregon have a waitlist? I know they've already notified acceptances. My status online says "pending" still. But I haven't gotten a rejection letter by mail like most other people (and i keep checking). I know it could still be en route to me, mind you. But I'm wondering (in a state of desperation) if not getting a letter but still being listed as pending could mean I'm in limbo? If they have a waitlist that's already been contacted, then I know that's not the case...

Did anyone apply to Temple University and does anyone have any news? A couple weeks back or so, I saw a single Temple acceptance on the results board. I didn't make much of it since it was only one acceptance (I figured it could either be a fake post or a single person contact who was a fellowship nomination or something), but it could be that they have already notified and people just didn't talk about it much.