scuttlebutt

Hey hj2012, I posted the acceptance. They didn't provide info about the cohort being finalized, however. Funding is very limited (in case you didn't know). It might be an unfortunate deterrent in my case.

Ha! We'll see. I've discounted one school so far but am terribly torn about the rest. I'd love an acceptance at Santa Cruz, but---realistically--it'd probably just make me more torn.

Thanks for the info! I have multiple offers as well and don't know if Santa Cruz is the best fit, but gah, it's Santa Cruz---so freaking beautiful. And the moms is an alumna of HisCon so . . . there's that.

Nyctophile, Are you the lone acceptance on the boards for Santa Cruz Lit? I'm just dying to hear from them.

For anyone waitlisted here, I declined my offer.

I had a DGS from a UC school share similar sentiments. He also told me that if I felt the UC school wasn't the best fit, I should inform the program that I was choosing of my other financial offers (assuming the other offers were higher than my program of choice).

I have a bud who does medieval/queer studies, and the lucky son of a gun got in to UT. Of course, he totally deserves it! It seems a lot of programs process candidates the way you describe above, but I'm sure that's not always the case. I know Ohio State does that for sure. I'm sorry you're still waiting to hear from folks. I'm sure that's quite the torture. I was lucky and got my first acceptance back in January. But I would definitely still hold out hope for MD if I were you. The vibe I got from the DGS was that the acceptances and waitlists are in flux till April 15. I don't think the department concretizes their decisions from the get-go in the way that some other programs do.

No medievalism here. 20th century American literature and film/queer studies.

I was waitlisted for PhD as well.

Hey despejado, No collegiate prestige here and just good enough GRE scores (in the 90s for Verbal & Writing and 50s for the dreaded math). Strong SOP, LORs, and WS. No world famous scholars vouching for me. My project is something few people have talked about. I think I have been lucky b/c luck clearly plays a primary role in the grad admissions process. But the strong written aspects of my application and project don't hurt, no doubt.

Hey MsWuff12, They got in touch with me, I think, about a week ago. But people have been notified since then, so don't give up hope yet!

That felt good typing that last line----being a Fritz Lang fan and all

Still waiting to here back from UT English. I'll let y'all know when that happens. I'm "M"

I have a parent who is on adcomm and hiring committees all the time. She sees applicants with outstanding CVs and SOPs/letters of intent from a range of applicants: Oxford to Ivy to Big Name State to regional. She says the Oxfords, Princetons, Yales, etc. always catch her eye, but then she interviews them, and they're clearly not the best candidate for one glaring reason: they're so unaware of their privilege that it's gross and off-putting. Her good friend and colleague, with a degree from an Ivy and socioeconomic background that reflects the primary demographic of Ivies, often says the same. Additionally, I had an hour long conversation with a DGS from a top-tier school recently, and our conversation mainly consisted of him warning against the lure of Ivies and public Ivies because they're not environments that encourage innovation or change in the humanities---in terms of disciplinary practices/standards and the demographics they educate. I know these are mere anecdotal observations, but my point is that the door swings both ways. Supposed "prestige" doesn't always work in your favor.

Fit and your future project(s), which are gauged through SOP, WS, and LORs, are by far the most important. In terms of BA/MA prestige, not so much. Idiots and savants reside in boths Ivys and regional universities. Adcomms know this. They also recognize that a number of issues, including class, region, and race might have limited one's ability to attend a "prestigious" program. And if they don't, if they're so blind to their privilege that they cannot recognize this, then why would one even want to attend the program?