Swagato

I know. Last night I lost it for a bit. It's a mixture of factors--a year spent really, really working to develop a fantastic application, the lack of any good news thus far, the silence from Pittsburgh, and then the prospect that my Chicago application basically vanished down the rabbit hole. I guess in many ways I feel that that was my strongest application, because of how closely my essay's topic and thinking draws from a mix of departmental work at Chicago. In any case, I know that my writing sample is at least good enough for the kind of departments I'm applying to. How do I know this? Faculty feedback. Of course, that alone doesn't guarantee anything, but last night I was doing a bit of wallowing, so I was all but convinced that my essay is fluffy crap.

I'm holding out some hope for this since not a single post has been made (here or in the results survey) about film studies at Pitt, which is commonly associated with English. It's possible that the whole thing bypassed the forum, of course...

No, it isn't yet time for either of those two.

Right, well, now that one admit has been posted for cinema studies at Chicago, I'm completely flustered because they rarely admit more than 2-3, so perhaps 4-5 offers and I don't know if they'll waitlist this year. The lack of any news for me from there (thus far) has seriously shaken my confidence in this whole second round. Although each of the places I've applied to is a very good fit, some are obviously better than others. Chicago is one of the places where my research interests have a fantastic fit--go figure, since Chicago is the place where my interests emerged and formed. And it isn't just the CMS department, but the way things are done there, the new arts initiatives the place is undertaking, etc...it is just a place I really, really see myself at. Plus, I've had communications with my profs there since 2010 (when I began the MAPH) and developed my application materials with their guidance. To be flatly rejected (I assume...) is just a very big blow right now and makes me question the fate of the rest of my applications. There is not a whole lot I can do to drastically upgrade my application profile. My SOP and essay were crap last year. I fixed that this year--fixed to a standard where POIs/faculty vetted the material. Short of publications/presentations, and redoing my whole fucking Bachelor's, I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. Just how fucking good does a bloody student have to be to even be admitted to a PhD? Because I sure have seen graduate essays worse than the writing sample I sent in. This is not how I wanted to end my evening.

Yes, please. Any information about the Chicago admit would be appreciated. Edit: Principally, when did you receive the email, and was there any mention of cohort size?

I think Don'tHate has an interview at Columbia, but nothing beyond that (correct me if I'm wrong). They are fairly abrasive, but rarely inaccurate or wrong. I haven't weighed in on tracyjacks' fulminations regarding her Berkeley rejection simply because, as someone who was an international student once upon a time, I'm fully aware they are mistaken in their allegations of xenophobia/prejudice on the part of Berkeley. At the same time, this isn't a time or place for reason. Others (especially the one who originally presented recent information about Berkeley's admissions) have already said all there is. If tracyjacks is to successfully continue their academic career, they'll recover, broaden their understanding of the factors at play, and--with a bit of luck--will find their self in a better place eventually. I don't think Don'tHate meant to be condescending, but, as usual, they could have had a bit more tact.

Stanford's MTL decisions will be out by the end of February. As of Feb 6, the ad-com has yet to make any final decisions.

Yeah, I still do not see anything for Pitt Film. If you're applying for the PhD in Film Studies at Pitt (which is what I did) then you need to apply with an associated department--for me, that was English. I'm working hard to convince myself that the English+Film news has not yet emerged. Perhaps Monday...

There were no English+Film Studies results posted, so I'm betting they are not completely done with things yet.

Fantastic, dazedandbemused. Now I'm in pieces waiting for the English/Film decisions to emerge...

Did you get to know whether English and English+Film Studies are notified separately? Or, really, anything like that?

What was the Austin funding package like, if you don't mind sharing? I'm just curious about public institution/level of funding. Feel free to PM.

I highly doubt that, Whistler. Some of the best departments in the U.S. attract scholars from "troubled" countries routinely, and I'm sure this will not be an issue. Then again, I believe Yale experienced some drama recently in their Comp Lit program with one graduate student who er, was a bit bonkers.

I've actually been trying to figure out which humanities depts. have notified and which haven't. Off-hand, could you name some? For some reason my mind's frazzled today, ha.

Personally, I've written Northwestern off. I'm far more stressed out over Chicago, which is not only one of my top choices, but is also mysteriously silent so far. Granted, an admit email was reported on this date in 2011, so they are within a reasonable timeframe. However, with all those Chicago departments sending out emails on a 1-2 day span just a few days ago, and today's flurry of Mathematics rejection emails, I'm increasingly worried that they have already notified and that it has simply bypassed this forum.

The Berkeley admit has yet to show up, too. It'd help if people were a bit more forthcoming--this process is opaque enough (from our end) as it is!

This is my #1 goal if I do have to prepare for another round next year. Over the past year--since it was just one year--I didn't get any conference presentations or publications done. Now, however, I actually have two fairly strong articles that can quickly be revised for journals or, at least, conferences. The PCA/ACA canceled a panel I had submitted to due to lack of papers, so that went up in smoke. But yeah, I'll be making publishing or presenting a massive priority if the need arises for another attempt.

It absolutely is. I'm a sucker for that kind of jazz. Give me my first accept and I'll bust out "Night in Tunisia" though.

Right, and this is what is keeping me going at this point. It's definitely quite early, and fully half of my targets do not even respond until late feb. And, as we all know, so much can change in a single day. I purposely aimed high, as I do want to leverage my PhD into a future academic career---not just hang a diploma on a wall, so I'd honestly be over the moon to be admitted to any one of my targets. I guess the early lack of acceptances or waitlists has me listening to "Kind of Blue" a lot, despite knowing that they weren't my best shots.

So, yeah. My second round hasn't begun well. I knew by the end of December that my Dec. 1 applications were not my strongest, as I had (fortuitously!) discovered some major sources that allowed me to significantly revise and improve my writing sample in time for applications beginning Dec 4th onward, and input from faculty members around then also allowed me to buff up my SOP. The earliest responses are now in, and--predictably enough--those early apps are a bust. I'm not terribly depressed because of this history, but it's hard to stave off remembrances of last year. I have to believe that the later applications are indeed as good as I was told, and that it won't be another complete shut-out. I'm now at a point when I should expect to see some movement from these later apps, and I'm inclined to disappear into a broom closet.

Would someone claim the Berkeley admit? Any details?

Not to my my knowledge, and thus I am waiting on all of them. Harvard FVS typically does not call (they tend to call) until later in February. Brown, around the middle of this month. Chicago and Berkeley--any day now, unless somehow Chicago has already notified the fortunate few and it has completely bypassed anyone on GradCafe.

Nothing new from Northwestern so far. Last year there were two interviews posted, so I take it if nothing else emerges by Friday I can assume a rejection from Northwestern.

I feel for you two. I've had one official rejection, one implicit (Northwestern does interviews for cinema studies and sends out the invites over a few days--one was posted yesterday and then just dead silence), and...nothing else. It's lovely to see so many people here get accepted, but goodness, I'd like some news, finally. Of the good variety, that is. Also, it was absolutely painful watching so many departments report for UChicago yesterday, while my department's completely silent. That, or they've notified already and the lucky ones are not on this forum.

Thanks, this is a relief. They are also a younger faculty member, and in general a very approachable person. This is evidently an issue that varies considerably depending on individual circumstances.