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Does anyone who may have visited UConn have any insight to share on the department? I'm on the wait list so I feel kind of weird to schedule a visit unless the wait list turns into an acceptance. Speaking of the wait list, has anyone turned down UConn yet or thinks they might be turning down the offer in the near future? Thanks.

e-cigarettes dunkin or starbucks iced lattes cabernet sauvignon yogi tea procrastinate thesis writing insomnia *repeat* oh, and of course, grad cafe...

Some rejections have been posted-- still waiting for mine to roll in...

Since wait lists seem to function at least partially (if not solely) in regards to specialization or sub-field within English, maybe people could include their area of interest (if they're comfortable sharing) when letting others know of the offers they decline.

This process has been a roller coaster ride and still remains one for me, as I'm on quite a few wait lists and still waiting to hear about funding on my acceptances. I thought it would be more straightforward in terms of getting acceptances and rejections, rather than being in limbo until April! Thanks for the well wishes-- I hope everything works out for you! Cheers!

It's frustrating that she couldn't just tell you your status. Sending good vibes your way, poetstar. Maybe you made it or made it to the wait list. Fingers crossed for you.

I know someone who was accepted to the PhD program via e-mail on 3/7 and saw some acceptances go up on the board. I also applied there, but one of my mentor's used to work there and found out from an inside source that I was not accepted. While I have yet to receive a rejection or wait list, I don't know if they accept in waves, but I haven't seen any rejections or wait lists go up on the results board yet. You could always shoot the English grad director an e-mail inquiring about your status. Best of luck!

Ugh, currently on THREE wait lists! And waiting on funding for both of my acceptances. Also, I still haven't heard back from one school, considering my track record it's probay yet another wait list. I thought this process was going to be acceptances/rejections and acceptances coming immediately with funding, but I'm in a totally different boat. I feel for you JSTORpolka. Sigh.

I think the upside of being able to get a terminal master's along the way is that if you decide you want to pursue a different career path, you will still have completed an MA degree. If you're taking about Delaware, I also heard that they use their MA program to feed into their Ph.D program, so the 90% chance of getting in upon completing your master's seems legit. I mean what if you decide you want to move on to a different program to complete your Ph.D, at least you'll have that option after finishing your MA and being able to take that degree with you (this then makes you automatically qualified to teach too). On the other hand are you certain that the other program, the MA to Ph.D program, does not have an option for you to use the coursework you will complete to get a terminal MA in the event that you decide you don't want to go through with the Ph.D? Maybe you can inquire about this in order to be certain. With all of that said, I think your fit with both of these schools is going to be really important, because in either case it sounds like you are going to be spending the next decade of your life in this school, so ultimately, if it were me, I would figure out which program really feels right to me. What faculty will you be working with? How do the funding offers and teaching opportunities stack up against each other? If the fit is right, then you'll be happy and want to stay, and the pros and cons of having a terminal MA won't really matter much. Best of luck with your decision making process!

Congrats purpleperson! I just got accepted to Temple too!!

1. Butler 2. Sedgwick 3. Foucault 4. Barthes Honorable Mention: Mulvey

SO... I'm currently on two PhD wait lists (for schools that I would LOVE to attend) and was wondering if anyone has any insight into how wait lists work. I'm sure all schools are different in terms of whether or not wait lists are grouped by specialization or ranked numerically, but I'm more so concerned with what the odds are of a "wait list" turning into an acceptance. One school said I'm on a selective wait list and the other school said I'm a finalist on a select wait list for admission. I wonder how many others they send these messages to and if I should be optimistic. I'm a realist who borders on pessimism, but is a "select" wait list something to be excited about or something that might have a good chance to turn into an acceptance. Thanks!

Congrats on the culmination of your application season, Horb! More importantly, congrats on all of your acceptances! Three PhD acceptances, one wait list, and two MA offers sounds amazing. Think of it this way-- now comes the fun part, the ball is in your court and you get to choose while the different schools wait to hear from you! I have one acceptance, two wait lists, and three schools that I'm still waiting to hear from, but just knowing I have at least one acceptance makes this whole process feel WAY better.

I actually sent you a PM, shortstack!

Thanks shortstack. By "not thrilled," I mean it's not NYC, where I'm from! =D I wish Storrs was more urban, but I guess I was trying to convey how much of a good fit it is that it's still my first choice despite the suburban quality! I appreciate your offer to enlighten me on CT, and might be taking you up on that soon! If I end up getting in off of the wait list (and you accept UConn's offer), we will be in the same cohort! Any ideas about what size cohort they are looking for? Have you visited yet? You can write back here or PM-- either mode of communication works for me!

Cheers, to all of my comrades in wait list hell! Currently I'm wait listed at UConn (my top choice-- really strong POI). I'm not thrilled about the location of Storrs, but "fit" trumps location for me.

"Your application has been reviewed, and the Committee has denied admission."

That *definitely* sounds like a boost-- but give yourself credit, it's because of your awesome research being a good fit (though LOR writers having connections is always a great thing ). I only had personal contact with two departments and was beyond floored by how nice and personable they were-- they did initiate contact though, as I'm petrified to inquire on my own! I like your rationalization of the correspondences-- it reminds me of the dreams I was having about acceptances and rejections and how I was trying to analyze whether they were going to be true or the reverse of what would actual happen (one school I had two dreams, one rejection and one acceptance-- ended up being a rejection in *real* life). Now I'm way too anxious/excited/hopeful about Temple! I'm rooting for us! Check your messages.

Totally valid reason! I was curious because we applied to a couple of the same schools (Fordham, Rutgers, and Temple), so I was wondering if your acceptance was another north eastern region school-- though I see you branched out of the north east more than I did with my applications! So definitely feel free to PM me. Hopefully we'll both hear good news from Temple and then we will have even more to talk about. It's my first time around too. When I applied to my MA program I just took a shot and only applied to one school in NYC and got in, so that was a pretty stress-free and nonchalant experience. I wasn't even confident that I'd get in, yet I didn't stress or compulsively check e-mail like I'm doing now. I think I just figured my backup plan would just apply to the MA program at the school where I did my BA since they have more of a rolling admissions process. I echo your sentiments on Philadelphia! I also feel like I would be a good fit at Temple in terms of research interests, but hey, who am I to decide.

AH that's exciting that we'll hear soon. I'm surprised I haven't really seen anyone else mention Temple in their signature or posts-- they've been on my radar for a couple of years now. My fingers are crossed for you and I'm sending lots of good luck your way! Personally, I feel the same about myself in regards to having a better shot at Temple than Rutgers, but would be equally happy with either department. Hey, you list all of your stats in your signature, except your acceptance-- if you don't mind me asking, where'd ya get in? And congrats! I'm currently wait listed at UConn and have two rejections under my belt.

I hope you're right about Rutgers, purpleperson! Fingers crossed. I see you're still waiting on Temple-- I am too. I haven't really heard much chatter about them on these boards though.

A few of my undergraduate mentors did their PhDs at Rutgers-- one being a Victorianist who was mentored by George Levine. To echo some of the other posts, Victorian Lit. and Gender Studies seem to be incredibly strong components of Rutgers English.

Congrats!!

There are some wait lists and one admit for Rutgers (on the results board), but only acceptances for WashU. Like you, I'm assuming rejection, but wait list would be awesome.

I keep going back and forth between wanting to know definitively that I'm rejected and wanting to remain in the dark to keep the glimmer of hope alive. I was never too optimistic about Rutgers, but the fact that it was originally one of my top two makes it hard to come to terms with-- especially since I'm still waiting to hear back from five other schools and hanging out on one wait list.