engphiledu

Out of upvotes, but I concur. I've been blessed to have acceptances this early this admission season, but for MA programs, I know I waited until at least late February to have received any good news at all. My husband waited until late March to hear anything for his MA applications. I think someone else mentioned that there are many times we are asked to wait, especially in academia. I just waited six months to receive a rejection from a publication. Others have to wait even longer, and imagine if you are trying to get tenure. By no means am I or @Wyatt's Terps trying to invalidate anyone's feelings or shut people down. It's frustrating and horrible to be left in this kind of purgatory. But, admissions committees are composed of the same type of people you admire - professors who have too many responsibilities as it is, but who take an investment in the future of their department. It's only been since December for many of us that the first deadline was due (or late November). I promise, the majority of our programs will notify by late February or early March. But, if they receive calls and emails from applicants, it will just slow the process down. Again, not trying to ruffle feathers, and I know some of you are just joking about making calls, but please just wait for the process to take the time it needs. Much love --

I'm not sure about the program, but my advisors, undergraduate professors...everyone has strongly guided me against accepting any non-funded or even partially funded offers. Their reasoning is that unlike doctors or veterinarians, funding for graduate school isn't impossible to find (though, as we all know, the application process makes it difficult to guarantee). However, we won't make enough money (on average) to be able to comfortably pay off any loans. Some of my colleagues and professors are still paying off their loans, and they're tenured. I was told that it's always better to sit out a year, strengthen my application, and work than commit to that kind of financial burden. Again, I don't know about your program, but just some general advice I've received!

Congrats! We can't be friends anymore, though, unfortunately. War Eagle, Roll Tide, hoorah football and all that. By the way, totally kidding. Though when I first came to Auburn for my Master's, I was very quickly educated on the rivalry and told where my allegiances needed to be. You can't beat the Alabama/Auburn football spirit. I was like, "But, I'm only here to read books." Wrong. Seriously, though, awesome news!! It only takes one!

Sending good vibes your way! I agree with everyone else. I avoided submitting any scores if they weren't required, though I do think that more schools (as @positivitize mentioned) are understanding of standardized testing B.S. So, even for those schools that require them, don't feel as though it will eliminate your chances either for an MA.

Just wanted to express my gratitude to all the lovely people on these English forums. I glanced over at the History forum (my husband applied to a few programs), and it's really tense over there. Some applicants are being downright rude and degrading, or on the other end of the spectrum, arrogant and close-minded. I know there have been periods on this forum where some of us have disagreed. It's not always rainbows and sunshine, by an means. But, the outpouring of love both for fellow applicants who are struggling with rejections (or radio silence) as well as those who have received good news has reinforced my faith in what we do - the study and spread of humanity. Even as fellow competitors for a select few spots, we are able to build each other up and offer condolences/congratulations. By no means am I saying that the History folks (or any other boards) don't have this support network as well, and I think I've just happened upon a not-so-desirable, unfortunate argument. Overall, I think that's what GC is meant to be and primarily accomplishes. But, I wanted you all to know that I am privileged to be counted among such a group of individuals. Even though you are all in many ways strangers, I think that's what makes your unhesitating desire to send virtual encouragements even more amazing.

I'm out of upvotes, but I'll come back and make sure I give this a plus one later! Routing for you!!

@Caien shows an acceptance! (Sorry to invoke you, Caien!) I received my waitlist on January 30 via email. Dr. Najarian called later that day to give me more details about waitlist. No status on my portal has changed. Sorry I don't have additional information!

Ha! I know, right? What's better is that they included an "acceptance form" (when you decide to accept the offer) to be mailed back!

Accepted to South Carolina! So happy to hear some good news this week. Congratulations to all! And I hope for the best for all who are still waiting.

I would say no, especially if you turned down the original offer in a professional way. I agree with @claritus - they probably won't remember - and most understand that we have to make tough decisions when it comes to which offer to accept. Many professors had to make similar tough decisions (whether it was choosing between grad schools or job offers). They won't hold it against you for making the best choice for your situation.

Officially on the waitlist at Boston College! If anyone is still waiting to hear news: Received an email notification first directly from director of the PhD program asking for the best times to call. Received a phone call later from director, explaining the waitlist procedure (which is the same as a normal waitlist) as well as funding information if accepted off of the waitlist. Immensely honored to be considered! Good luck to everyone as we enter February! For all those who haven't heard news yet, don't lose hope! For those who have only received bad news so far, keep your head up! For those who have heard good news (acceptance/waitlist), congratulations, and I hope you continue to have excellent responses!

I imagine that 135 must be a mistake. I know over the two application seasons I've been on GC, I have seen quite a few people accidentally switch their Verbal and Quantitative scores. Some people will also input a result twice to make a correction or addendum to an original post. Really interesting, regardless! I think what it does highlight, as several have already mentioned, is that the numerical difference between all of us as applicants is minuscule.

Yanaka is right mostly about funding. In order to find my programs, this is what I did (and what many of my advisors recommended): Look at top journals in your field and who is publishing (or recent books). Who is publishing, and if they are a professor, where are they located? Are they tenured? You don't necessarily want to make a decision on a school simply because a single faculty member is there, but you can then look at that school more generally (who else is in your time period, doing research that works with your theory, etc.), and then you can look at funding availability. Generally, schools will try to fully fund all the PhDs they accept, and then whatever funding is left generally goes to MAs. There will be some programs who will accept without funding, but that is more common for MA than PhD. You can also look at rankings, location, etc. to help you select schools. So, what I did after locating faculty members was to look at the graduate school US rankings to continue to expand my list of possible schools. I knew that there were places that were too far from home for me, but also that there were some schools I ultimately decided were too far of a "stretch" for me to apply (schools which get hundreds of applications and accept 2-3). So, I went through the schools individually which ranked higher than my current MA program and looked for my particular area in each faculty directory. Most schools have handy search features (like showing faculty in particular time periods or selecting certain theories). These two steps helped me establish a long list of school options (30+). Then, I ultimately whittled that list down to the schools I thought were the best fit! I hope this helps somewhat!

My thoughts (and I, by no means, am an expert on this, so feel free to ignore), would be to respond to the email, thanking them for the opportunity, your excitement at being considered, etc., and then assure them that if you decide to accept another offer, you'll be prompt with your notification. Generally, when it comes to the waiting list, they're still on the same deadline as everyone else (April 15). That means, they'll be waiting for people to accept/decline the wait list offer for several more months since some programs will notify much later. However, I have also found that generally they don't expect a response, and that they assume you'll notify them if your status changes. During this busy season, sending an email won't hurt, but they also will be prioritizing emails. That means that although most people I am sure would be happy to answer any questions you may have, I wouldn't necessarily email them about their waitlist timeline/process. I hope that makes some sense. Congrats, by the way, on your waitlist! I know it doesn't feel as good as an outright acceptance, but you should still feel very pleased at having been placed on a waitlist.

Many congrats!!!

Just wanting to send some love everyone's way - acceptance, rejection, waitlist, or otherwise.

So many congratulations your way! I checked my portal, and I received the same status update for OSU!

There are several people from my cohort who applied. One received the email which said there were only 15 candidates being invited to two nights of interviews. Only five spots are available from those fifteen. So, unfortunately, I think Emory is out for me, too. I applied to Maryland as well. I didn't receive any notification, so I'm not sure on that one. I know typically acceptances/rejections go out in waves, but with interviews, I don't think they spread those out. Sorry I don't have better news!

@Caien Mine showed up immediately as well. I will say that I did have an issue with another school's application where my recommender said the letter was sent, but somehow the system hadn't accepted it. I'd contact NYU for sure.

I always check the MLA International Bibliography, if you have that database available. It often links to full-text on other databases, or at the very least, shows abstracts.

I don't mind taking a look. I have to give exams this week, but I should have some time between grading finals. I, by no means, am an expert, but I would be happy to give any pointers I might have.

Are there really schools that will decide that quickly? I don't think any of my previous decisions arrived any earlier than mid January (including rejections).

I thought I had MA applications in the bag (applied to 8), and then I received mostly rejection letters. I also didn't apply to top-tier schools by any means, so for me, that was also a big shot to the ego. But, it also taught me a few things. 1. There are no guarantees in graduate applications. I'm reapplying to the school where I just received my MA for PhD. In many ways, I can consider this my "safety school," but even then, you never know what may go through the heads of those who are reviewing applications. There were several schools I thought were "in the bag" during MA applications due to the connections my recommenders had and the rankings, and I was mistaken. It looks like you're applying to quite a few top-tier schools. What honestly may help is for you to reevaluate and perhaps add just one or two lower tier schools. There are a lot of solid programs out there, even if they aren't ranked in the top 30. Although being accepted to one of those top schools is great, you can make up a lot of the "prestige" just by being a solid student and prolific publisher (at least when it comes to the job market). I'm sure if you explain to your recommenders you'd like to apply to a few less competitive programs as somewhat of a safety net, they'd understand. Then again, there are those who really would rather sit out the application season after being rejected from top tiers and try again the following year rather than be in a less prestigious program. You have to evaluate what's best for you (and your academic objectives). But, it might take a bit of the stress off, honestly, if you can think to yourself that there are a few schools which might be more easily achievable. 2. Most schools fund PhDs before MAs. So, there are still a lot of programs out there who fully fund MAs. However, when applying to MAs, it's also common to be accepted with no funding (since they prioritize funding for their PhDs). From my experience, though, the medium/lower tier schools actually have solid MA programs. Some of my colleagues and I were actually discussing that our experience at our school is that we have really solid MA students who use the program as a way to get a "step up" in PhD applications. For me, I'd say that's true. My undergrad was a tiny school which I felt was a disadvantage. Now that I've completed an MA at a more research-oriented program, I feel better about my chances, not only in terms of qualifications and training, but also just name recognition. (Reviewers saying, "Oh, this person is from such-and-such," instead of "Where the hell is this school located?") Some fully-funded MA programs don't have deadlines until January, so you'd still have some time to focus on your exams while being able to complete a few additional program applications if you were interested. Will full-funded MAs, you'll generally have to teach to earn your stipend, but that also gives you an advantage in some cases for PhD, though generally teaching experience isn't necessarily as important. Just a bonus. 3. Always have a back-up plan. So, if you are not one of the people indicated above (who only wants to attend a top-tier and will continue to retry applications until acceptance), the lower tier schools or MAs might be a good option. Even if you are one of the people who wants a top-tier program (nothing wrong with that at all!), knowing what you'll do if the worst case scenario happens will take some of the pressure off. Also, don't obsess over the application. Take everything step-by-step. Fill in all the parts you can (like biographical info.), so that it's one less thing to worry about closer to the deadline. Work on the individual parts. Do the best you can. Be yourself, be honest, and don't sell yourself short. Most importantly, once you submit it, do not go back and look at it (with the exception of checking on GRE scores coming in, etc.). The best piece of advice I received was that you will inevitably find some mistake in your SOP, CV, etc. if you go back and look at the document preview. Don't do it. You'll freak yourself out even more, and it won't be helpful at that point. Although the application process is harsh, and especially with competitive programs, they often look for reasons to cut people (inadequate GRE scores, etc.), that missing comma isn't going to make or break you - but, under the amount of stress brought about by this process, that comma will take on the form of some monster ruining your one chance at happiness. Regardless of what happens this season, we pick ourselves up, we re-evaluate, we rejoice or grieve, but ultimately, we find our place and set our feet back on the path, wherever that path may lead. 4. Lastly, don't sacrifice any grades in your current classes for the applications. These apps. are important, but one mistake I have heard people making is spending too much time on apps., especially at this vital part of the school year, and they end up dropping a grade in a class. Find moments to work on the apps. in your quiet times, and manage your time the best you can. YOU CAN DO IT! Ok. Super long response over, but tldr; applications are hard, but encouragement and enthusiasm is good.

I'm so sorry to hear of all the troubles, especially with LOR. It's a tough situation because you don't want to burn any bridges, but especially if you already have all your other parts of the application submitted, you almost want to go sit in their office and threaten to stay until they write your letter. ejpril88, technology is an entirely different ballgame. I had some advisors from undergrad when I was applying to MA who still used transparencies in class (and refused to learn how to use the projectors attached to the conveniently placed computer). Good luck! Anyone here applying after taking a year (or years) off? I missed out applying last year with my cohort, but have been working as an instructor this year. On one hand, I feel like I've had more time to prepare because of it, but on the other, I feel a bit disconnected. I have a few MA friends (who are in the cohort graduating this year), and I do not envy their stress levels right now with seminar papers, GTA responsibilities, etc. On the other, they're neck deep in their research and working with their advisors, which is actually a really good place to be in terms of writing samples, LOR, and applications in general. I'm also just procrastinating since I have about 100 freshmen composition papers I'd like to have graded by tomorrow. So, there's that. . . Good luck to all! December 1-15 is pretty heavy with application deadlines for many of us, so plunge ahead with confidence and grace!

I just did the same thing. I retook the Subject (only did slightly better), then retook the General, in the hopes I might raise it, and scored worse on everything except Analytical Writing. Made a perfect 6 on that, though, so that made my feelings of inadequacy subside just a bit. I understand the necessity, especially with schools which have 200+ applications, but being in graduate school and still being forced to take standardized tests rubs me the wrong way.