Dr. Old Bill

Congrats Andalus!! Incidentally, my Cornell application has shown my GRE status as "pending" since October. I have contacted their staff a couple of times about this, and they have assured me that all is well on their end...but seeing it "pending" gives me agita. Hopefully my situation will have the same end as yours!

I probably run around 30-35. I also need utter silence to read. I actually have a pair of industrial earmuffs I wear at home to block out ambient sound. It doesn't help that I have tinnitus (years of playing in a rock band, alas), but it's still mostly effective.

Hooray to a cancer-free J-heff!

"Half the lies they tell about me aren't true"? "When you come to a fork in the road, take it"? "It's like deja-vu all over again"? Ohhhh... You must mean "It ain't over till it's over."

Jeebus. Sending good vibes your way!!

To all the GRE angst: agreed. Tenfold. Normally I'm very good at accepting things I cannot change...and the GRE is something that cannot be changed (by us, at least). But the more I think about it, the more it sticks in my craw. This is going to sound like a horrible "excuse," on the level with "the dog ate my homework," but the first time I took the GRE general, I had a bad cold. I tried to get the date changed, but lo and behold, there's a massive change / cancellation fee in effect a few days before your scheduled date! Okay, fair enough, I thought: I'll just take lots of medicine, bring Kleenex, and I should be okay. Oh, I live an hour from the nearest testing center, by the way... The medicine did its job to some extent, but I was quite dismayed when they wouldn't let me bring a pack of Kleenex in the testing room. I understand why (because I could have had a dictionary printed in invisible ink across each tissue, of course), but quite literally one minute after I hit the "start" button, I had a major coughing fit...and my nose. Ohhhh my nose. Let's just say that I had to use my clothes in a way for which they weren't designed. Of course, that ate up five precious minutes. More to the point, however, is that it immediately knocked me off my game, so to speak. I wound up with a 162 verbal, which isn't bad, but I'm realizing more and more that it's a few points lower than most of the recent acceptances. I did a retake a month later, and didn't fare any better...for the most ridiculous reason ever: my alarm didn't go off. It was a new phone, and I had tested the alarm, had correctly set it...but it just didn't go off! So I had to dash out without a shower, hop in my car, drive the hour, and I got there just in time to take the test. So I was rattled right from the get-go, and while it IS completely on me (i.e., it's NOT ETS' fault that this series of unfortunate events occurred), it shows the relative lunacy of a standardized test being worth as much as it is. As scholars, we have (within reason) the luxury of time to read, digest, form solid arguments, choose the best words, actually think about material... None of these vital elements are afforded on a standardized test. Had I realized in the summer just how significant the GRE could be, I probably would have taken it a third time. If I get shut out this cycle, I will definitely take it as many times as I need to for a 165+. I know for a fact that one of my LOR writers made a point of mentioning the breadth of my vocabulary. An 89th percentile verbal in no way sums up my prowess in that regard. So I vacillate between my innate tendency toward accepting the necessity of the GRE, and the anger that it is a necessary step to begin with. All in all, I really dislike everything about the GRE (and by extension, ETS), but ultimately it is something that is partially within our control. I regret not taking it a third time, and that's on me. I just hope (futilely, alas) that graduate programs eventually find a better metric, or jettison standardized metrics altogether.

Sorry for my uncharacteristically emo-esque posts earlier, folks. It seems that implied rejections for me a.) come in bunches, and b.) send me into an acute spiral of despair for a few hours. It's like drunk posting, but without the whimsy! Anyhow, after a long chat with my advisor earlier, I'm feeling more upbeat. Still a little glum, but I'm trying to mentally adjust to the possibility of resorting to a plan B. I've never been much of a plan B kinda guy, and in my heart of hearts I never thought I would have to give serious thought to a plan B for this either...but so long as I can overcome the emotional toll of a complete shutout this year (and I have to remember that I still have eleven cords holding me above the snake pit...), I think I can rationally prepare for alternate options. Part of me is tempted to take a GC hiatus, but more of me wants to fully go through the experience...which includes the joy of seeing some people I now consider friends get accepted to great places. I'll try to avoid posting in my more downtrodden moments, however. P.S.: Zanmato--it's a deal! P.P.S.: For what it's worth, I'm treating any mass acceptance wave that doesn't include me in its ranks as an "implied rejection." It may be an erroneous assumption, but it's an erroneous assumption I'll be more than happy to have corrected!

The more I think about it, the more I think that the significance of the GRE scores is underrated on GC at times. I know that stats can only tell you so much, but looking through all of the acceptances of the past while shows a pretty clear picture: that verbal scores of 165+ predominate. I wonder if cutoffs are simply higher than they have been in the past? Either way, I know that if I wind up getting shut out this season, that's one thing I'll work on for next year.

Yes, congrats to those Brown admits, and any others I may have missed! Definitely a big Tuesday for many folks so far.

Thanks guys. Seriously! I'm still in a bit of a funk, but these comments help. I also talked to my advisor / main LOR writer / best professor in the world, and she commiserated and gave me some good plan B options. And she reinforced the idea that rejections do NOT reflect on the merits of the applicants. It's true, and I know it's true, but it's good to hear it repeated. Nick Cave and Tom Waits, eh? I have to admit that I have several albums by both, so I may just take you up on that suggestion, 1Q84...

Thanks. Just off to a rough start this morning after seeing a couple of acceptances to Irvine -- somewhere I thought I might have a "leg up" given my specific interests in prosody and related subfields. Having to give legitimate thought to plan Bs is unspeakably painful. I'm usually so upbeat, but I've had some downright emo moments lately. Such a heart-wrenching process!

Never have I checked my spam folder so often. I'm starting to feel like I'm the only one who hasn't heard a scrap of good news yet! I know that's hardly the case, but my heated arguments with the calendar are getting to the point that I think it's going to jump off the wall and start beating me about the head.

Ditto on both accounts! Congrats again, Echo449...and since the results page is down, I'm especially dying to know this info!

Ahh! Fantastic news!

Gah! Sorry to hear this! For what it's worth, a similar thing happened to me last night. I got a call from a Washington number...and even though I didn't apply to anywhere in Washington state, in the five or so seconds between the phone ringing and me answering, I had already convinced myself that one of my POIs must be from Washington state, and he/she was just calling me from a personal cell phone. That wasn't the case. Sigh.

Way to go to both of you! Turning out to be a very happy Monday for the GC gang indeed.

AAAAH! Major, major, MAJOR congratulations! What fantastic news! Amazing how fast despair can turn to jubilation, eh? Wonderful stuff.

I remember reading some past controversy on the notion of an "implied" rejection, but what it boils down to is that when a particular program is known for sending out most or all of its acceptances in a short span of time, and its rejections weeks (or longer) after that, anyone who didn't get an acceptance in that first batch is most likely not going to get an acceptance at all. It's very unscientific, yet for many people (myself included!) it's easier on the psyche to just assume that such a scenario is a rejection, rather than clinging to the combination of faint hope and uncertainty that it might-could-possibly-perhaps be a delayed acceptance. Again, it's not very scientific. It's more for peace of mind and the avoidance of false hope than anything.

Well folks...thus begins another week! Good luck to everyone as we get into the thick of things!

Spectacular news!!!

Wonderful news! Congrats!

I've debated on whether or not to respond to this, as I mostly agree with it. Or rather, I don't disagree, which is admittedly a very small distinction. Nonetheless, I've been thinking about it a lot since it was posted, so I'll just go ahead and say my piece. There is no denying that the market is bad, and quite likely getting worse for all the reasons you mentioned (and more). I've been an avid reader of The Chronicle for the past half year or so, and it is difficult to find anything remotely positive when it comes to Ph.D. outcomes in the humanities in general, and English in particular. These are all valid, factual truths that need to be acknowledged by anyone in our position as English Ph.D. hopefuls. However, even in light of the bleak prospects, I think there are solid reasons to pursue a Ph.D. in English. First of all, assuming that most people enter a program out of a love of most things English and academic, a funded Ph.D. program allows 5-7 years or so of paid immersion in the academic world. The pay is low, of course, and the demands are high...but considering that it is both an education and a de facto academic "job" for several years -- one that is, within reason, relatively secure -- it's not a bad way to spend a few years, particularly when you come out of it with a Ph.D. (even bearing in mind the sizable number of ABD folks). Lest this sound like polyanna optimism, I recognize that from a financial standpoint, and a broader educational standpoint, there are surely "better" ways to spend several years. Yet the initial impulse is a love of the discipline, and that has to count for something, in my opinion. Secondly -- and this is key -- mental and educational preparation for non-academic careers is important. The ideal, of course, is to come out of a Ph.D. program with non-adjunct teaching opportunities. There are countless articles that point to the correlation between better (read: higher ranked by USNews...) Ph.D. programs and better placements, and anyone not getting a Ph.D. at a top ten institution has to be even more realistic about the possibilities. It's a bit better than 50/50 for the top ten (better still for the top six), and worse than 50/50 for the rest...and the quality of placement has an unmistakable correlation with the apparent ranking of the Ph.D. program. Tiers are very much in effect here. So the idea of a "plan B" for post-Ph.D. is even more vital than a plan B for a shutout at this stage. But having said that, you will still be equipped with a Ph.D. While this is not a guarantee that you will inevitably get a higher position than you would with an M.A., there are many benefits, such as higher average pay, additional opportunities to consult or be on boards of directors, and a surprisingly broad range of intangibles that are available to those who are willing to look outside the immediate range of academia. In other words, getting a Ph.D. and having no immediate job placement is not necessarily a reason to avoid going down that path, if you are willing and able to adapt. Third, market forecasts are one thing, the present reality is another, and the future reality in six or seven years is another still. Those of us entering Ph.D. programs in 2015 will be on the job market for 2020 at the absolute earliest (and those will be outliers, really). 2021 - 23 are more likely ranges for the first stab for this cohort. There is no denying the gradual decline of demand for English professors, and the ever-dwindling market at this point. Yet politics and economics are notoriously fickle, and long-range outcomes are difficult to predict, thanks to an ever-shifting landscape. In the unlikely event that Obama's plan to make Community Colleges free for millions goes through, that would have a marked effect on the landscape...and it's hard to say exactly how. Presumably more students would be compelled to enroll in college, and while there have been some valid arguments lately that this would lead more to a "shift" within academia, rather than cause an influx of new hires, it is -- once again -- difficult to predict. The next president could come along and take a Scott Walker-esque approach to higher education, imperiling the academic system even more. Or the next president could come in and make education a number one priority. These are things that will happen (or won't) while we're in the midst of our Ph.D. programs. Frankly, it's unpredictable. That brings me to my final point: no industry is immune to these shifts. Retail seemed safe, until the economic collapse in 2008. Manufacturing? Same story. There are some industries that seem to weather these shifts better than others (there's always a need for health care workers, for instance), but in a broader sense, the job market in general is hit and miss. What's more, it varies by city, state, and country. The bottom line, in my view, is that getting a Ph.D. in English is invariably a risky proposition. The market is slowly shrinking, and we can't see what it's going to be like in six years. Yet if you have the foreknowledge when going into the discipline, and keep yourself informed (i.e., keep your eyes open) while you're going through, you should be better prepared than someone who is going into this field expecting to get a TT job at an R1 institution. What it comes down to is why you are doing this, and what you are willing to get out of it at the end. As someone who is married and in his thirties, I am more than happy to be paid 20 - 30k or so for five or six years to get a Ph.D. in the field I love. The worst that will happen (provided I don't wash out, of course) is that I will have a Ph.D. when I am 41 and be left to say "now what?" But...I'll have that Ph.D., and will have had several years of doing what I enjoy. All of this is to say that ComeBackZinc (and Lifealive) is decidedly not wrong. It just comes down to what we, as individuals, are able to do to best equip ourselves for alternate possibilities when we ultimately graduate.

This is actually a really good idea. I could see myself working part-time and going to a CC part-time to learn another language or two. Hmm...

Awesome news, Morristr! An exciting Saturday sure makes up for yesterday's lackluster Friday!

Yaaaaaay!!! Lovely news!