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emburst

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Everything posted by emburst

  1. I would wager to say most programs don't care what your undergrad degree was in.
  2. I've heard an array of opinions about recommendation letters. Some say all must be from writers/professors. Some say committees don't even read them, and, at best, they're used as a tie breaker. I think the important take away is ask people who you think will write you a good letter. Personally, all my letters were written by former professors. Two are English professors. The other one is from a different department BUT I'd worked with her closely on some projects and she knows me real well so that's why I asked her. I think it's a good idea to have a rough draft of your SOP done as soon as possible as well because the SOP was a major headache for me, more so than the writing sample. This may not be the case for you, seeing that you are going for nonfiction.
  3. Well said, lagoon91. Congratulations to all, and good luck to those waiting or deciding what to do next. As for me, I have sealed the deal on one of my offers. Officially heading to the craziness that is grad school! It has been a trying few months to say the least, and I'm glad to be moving on to the next phase. Take care, everyone.
  4. At this point, I think it's reasonable to reach out to them.
  5. Sorry to hear about that, SarahWakes. Hang in there.
  6. Because not all people gravitate towards the same kind of work. People will react to someone's writing in different ways. They have experiences and preferences and preconceived notions that shape the way they react. And people's moods change the way they read something. They're reading hundreds and hundreds of pages of writing. It's reasonable that they would tire of a certain subject / style if the past number of samples all just so happened to follow the same style / content. And then there is the space issue. If they accept 5, and the waitlist is 5, still, that is just 10. The top 10 of 500 (or more) applicants. It's also reasonable to believe that committees make their offers based on the likelihood of an applicant's chance of going to their school. It's reasonable, I think, for a school to pass over an excellent applicant for a lesser so applicant that is more likely to accept. So they are any number of reasons (didn't even touch on the SOP and LOR factors), one's we can probably never know, unless we are on one of these committees ourselves. Lesson I learned during this application season: Rejections don't invalidate my work. Also, acceptances don't necessarily validate my work either. I still have much to improve. Edit: Forgot to mention -- if anyone is waiting to hear from Vanderbilt, they are notifying applicants tomorrow!
  7. Thanks, SarahWakes. Good to know.
  8. Well, Iowa has been sending decisions snail mail, so make sure you check your mailbox. I wouldn't assume anything just yet. It's still early--though it doesn't feel like it to those waiting.
  9. Thanks all. I guess I am happy about the wait list, but trying not to get my hopes up. BU notifies so late is because they had a March 1 application deadline, literary just a day ago...
  10. Thanks, quentinc. It's a "very short" waiting list, according to the letter. Then it goes on to say: "In the past, it has sometimes been the case that applicants have been admitted from the waiting list." Not exactly a hope instilling statement.
  11. Got waitlisted for Iowa, letter arrived today. Not sure how I feel about it.
  12. Thanks for clarifying, HeyIowa.
  13. Thanks, shoopster! Hopefully, it is not snail mail...
  14. Nice. Do you have a game plan when you do (like what you want to find out, questions to ask, etc.)? I'm going to be visiting a place real soon and I feel like I should maximum my visit with more than just "playing it by ear." Wondering if anyone had any input.
  15. Go to your settings then signature tab.
  16. I believe she was at Iowa around the same time Junot was at Cornell--the early to mid 90s? Sentiments have certainly improved, I hope, since then (whether at Iowa, Cornell, or elsewhere). From my experience, I've found this to be true. It is more of the narrow-minded student nowadays.
  17. Is anyone planning to visit their acceptances? Or have visited their acceptances?
  18. Yes, there seems to be this resistance (with some people) to include the minority experience in breadth of American literature. When someone says "these characters are too ethnic," I would say that it's a closet statement for "these characters are not white enough" because American = white. A delusion many of us have to deal with. And it just gets awfully tiring trying to convince someone my stories ARE American stories. It's not my job to cure people's ignorance, but we're often relegated to the task. It's been awhile since I read that article, but maybe he wasn't just talking about the cohort composition but also the faculty, the curriculum, the books that the faculty taught, etc. Not sure if the cohort size has changed, but it's an interesting point. But I remember an interview where Lan Samantha Chang talks about her experience at Iowa and how one of the faculty told her she needed to stop writing about Asian-Americans if she wanted to be relevant. I can't imagine those attitudes being much different at Cornell during Junot's time.
  19. Good reminder. Keeping it real.
  20. Someone got accepted off the waitlist for Univ of Michigan...guess I can cross Michigan off my list.
  21. Maybe they need your cover sheet now because they want to call you? Good luck, you two.
  22. I agree you need balance. But I would like to offer that being supportive does not necessarily mean being less critical. I see support as someone being able to see the vision you have for your work and focusing their criticisms to help realize that vision. In the end, I guess, you need to know what kind of environment will allow you to flourish the most. Which, I admit, is a flawed suggestion, because how can you know you won't flourish the most there unless you've been through that environment? Haha, clearly, I've been thinking too much about this.
  23. Can you ask for a list of contacts of current students? Or visit? This might help you gauge the level of competitiveness (I'm sure there is some level of competitiveness at all programs) and what you're tolerable of. Off-note, Congratulations on Iowa!!
  24. From various accounts, it would lead me to believe that it is very competitive. edit: heliogabalus, ouch! That's crazy.
  25. Excellent thread, lagoon91. This is why I'll try to visit every program I get accepted to, sit in their workshop, talk to the faculty. It does get awfully tiring hearing those comments of "not relatable" "ethnic names" (although I've never gotten them from faculty).
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