_alyssaryan_

English PhD acceptances can happen anytime between January and mid-March, or later. If you read the results page looking at "English" from last year, it was a pretty broad range of acceptances/rejections/waitlists from January to even beyond April (with some people making it in off of waitlists after the "due" date). I realize this is a really long time to wait, but I think it's necessary to acknowledge that long haul that some of us might be in for... That said, if you haven't heard anything yet, I wouldn't worry too much. I had an application that was due in December that I haven't heard anything from - not even an email saying "your application is under review," and I had two applications that I turned in January 15th and heard back from between the end of January and last week. An email from one, asking for more information (their personal statement was limited to 250 words, oi!) and a phone call from the DGS of another offering a spot in their program. I don't know if SUNY is completely finished, but if you consider that a lot of programs are admitting under 10 people, and that the number of graduate students on this website does not reflect the entire applicant pool to SUNY, it is definitely possible that they are finished. I've seen a couple of SUNY admits and waitlists on the results list, but that's not to say they won't add another one or two in the next month or so. I guess my point is... you just never know.

Just got my first "rejection" from Buffalo via the website. Status was "Under Review" - changed to "Reject" with a date of 2/16/2010.

YES. This reminds me of something else, though... an idea that could add even more fun to the mix. There has been a Tri-wizard Tournament. Obviously. There has also been a Tri-wizard Drinking Tournament. Complete with duels, costumes, and challenges. But what about a Tri-Grad Drinking Tournament? I think this could encompass: 1) the bizarre food games mentioned earlier, 2) the tequila shots mentioned earlier, 3) the Guitar Hero/Rock Band challenges mentioned earlier, and 4) costumes - not mentioned earlier but always fun. Other challenges to include: limbo (I like this idea, and the pinatas full of candy/tears), reciting the alphabet backwards (this could be the "weed out" activity at the very beginning - do a tequila shot, say the alphabet backward. Kind of like spinning with your head on a bat and then running a marathon - same amount of dizzy, but far less running), and oh... HIDE AND SEEK. Whoever finds their future adviser first wins.

I was feeling... ignored until earlier today. I'd heard back from one school, notifying me that I am on their waitlist, but other than that... nothing. Then, I slid my mood ring on my finger this afternoon (after not wearing it for several months) and my phone rang. An acceptance. Voila. I am not taking this thing off until April.

Anyone else been waitlisted? It's neither an acceptance nor a rejection... interesting middle ground.

1. 4.0 Graduate GPA. 2. At least one fantastic letter of recommendation. Probably 3. But I only got to read the one. 3. Presented at a conference; accepted at 2 more conferences that are happening in March. 4. Publishable writing sample - and attempting to publish it currently.

I have one visible tattoo (on my chest/collarbones) and I haven't had any problems thus far (I am finishing up my Masters in May). It can only be seen when I am wearing a tank top, and I usually wear a sweater when I teach. In all honesty, it has taken a good year for my professors/colleagues to even notice that I have a tattoo - and no one has said anything negative about it. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I did this at the end of my Indiana University SoP (referring to it as the University of Indiana at the end - doh!). I noticed it the day after I submitted it and re-submitted a new copy via email, and all was okay. But for the hour or so between when I caught the error and when I figured out how to fix it, I was seriously panicking.

Minnesota requires it for their general application. They want to know what diverse experiences you bring to the table. It was interesting to write.

Thankfully, IUB's CMCL program asks for a statement of 700 words... Although, my current SoP for Minnesota is 900. Shouldn't be too bad... What's going to be really tricky is cutting it down to 250 words for Ok State. How am I supposed to "identify a proposed area of study, reasons for undertaking graduate study in this area, relevant work experience, and future career plans" in 250 words?!

Thank you all so much for helping to ease my ever-present anxiety. I see (or can hunt down) all of my recommenders pretty regularly, so I was unsure of how to handle this situation. That said, I am glad that others have done it this way. I plan on leaving town for the holidays shortly after my first deadline and I will be staying out of town until shortly after my second deadline, so it seemed important to leave them with everything they need to get the job done. And the promise of homemade cookies - for bribery, you know. Or peanut butter fudge. Mmm..

When I applied for my MA, all of my applications required online letter submissions. This was nifty as (as you all know) I would input their name and email address and the internet took care of everything. Now, applying for my PhD, nearly half of my applications call for mailed letters of recommendation. Critique my plan for handling this and let me know what you would do differently (if anything): - I have a list of all of the schools/deadlines/etc. - I have the letter of recommendation forms for schools that require them. - I have envelopes (stamped and addressed) to the schools that require mail submissions. Is this appropriate? Can I just give each professor a packet with all of the necessary elements? It seems like the easiest way to make sure that things get where they need to go... Am I missing anything? Do you have a better way of doing this? All help is greatly appreciated.

Huzzah, English people. - From Ohio. - BA: U of Cincinnati (Honors diploma, completed in 3 years). - MA: Texas Tech University (4.0, 2-3 conference presentations - including one at next year's PCA/ACA). - Studied American Lit/Contemporary American Fiction. Switching to Film and Lit. - Applying: Indiana Bloomington, Iowa, Ohio U, Nebraska, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, WashU, Purdue, SUNY Buffalo/Albany. - Also considering: Carnegie Mellon. - Fears: I think we all fear rejection. I also fear... not getting everything to the right place on time. - If I don't get in: I am going to teach community college or join the peace corps. - Books to get you by: Haruki Murakami's After Dark. You won't even know you're reading. It's like... floating. On words. Question: Anyone else have to write a diversity statement? I am... trying. I do not feel very diverse.

I faced this same issue two years ago when I applied for my MA. My "adviser" read the first draft of my personal statement and told me that I needed to heavily revise it if I was planning on getting in to grad school. I made a few changes and sent it back, and again, he told me to revise it or I "wouldn't get in." Ultimately, I decided that the statement was me and that if a school didn't want me on the basis of my personal statement, then I didn't want them either. I wound up getting into all of the schools that I actually finished applications for. So, don't be discouraged! Just keep your chin up and have faith in yourself. You're not doing this for your professors, you're doing this for you.