commoner

Knight's Inn is less downtown, more Boardwalk. Pretty scuzzy area (think hookers and whatever kinda drugs you are looking for).

If your recommenders truly recommend for you to become a grad student, they will always be happy to do it again. I didn't have any issue with asking mine and they had no hesitation to try again with me.

I'm up to 23 rejections (if you want to count the MFA rejections from back in 2002, 27). Don't lose heart just yet. Just remember that once you do get in, you will know the value of the accomplishment having known the anguish of falling short. Come join our circle of rejects if you like. See URL in my sig. c.

Yeah, that looks great!

Still collecting emails.

Come one, come all. Join the circle of rejects! PM me with your email addy and i will gather them all up and send out a group email.

Sit tight. You're on Hawaii time, as I am sure you know very well. :wink:

Glad to see some quick responses. I think it might be easier to go off-forum. I too am down for whatever.

All right y'all. I got one rejection to go before I hang it up for this year. Here's my thoughts. I know that some of you are in the same boat of reapplying (next year will be my third) next year. Perhaps we can set up a support group among ourselves to keep us on task for next year, as in "It's May, have you researched two schools and made any contacts? Written a draft of your SOP? Started working on your WS?" and so forth. We have roughly 8 months to get our act together. We can map out our plan of attack and keep ourselves moving forward. I know I planned things out last year, but didn't get started as early as I should have. Perhaps some peer pressure will help. What ya think? c.

I heard last year on March 13, if that helps.

Sorry to hear that DE. I'm sure I'll be joining you (2 rejections to go). A quick tip: Start studying for subject test now, if you haven't had the standard canon English lit background (which I haven't). It asks very specific questions. Maybe I will do the same. And don't worry about your Quant score. For the verbal, get the box of vocab words and put them in your bathroom. That alone brought my score up 150 pts. Something to add to your list: start making contacts at the schools. People tell me this is key. Didn't do that myself this year, but I will for next.

Nothing is certain in this whole process. That is about the only general truth. I was waitlisted in a program last year that I got rejected from this year. That bites. But shows that just because there was some interest last year, it doesn't mean there is interest this year. Will I try again next year? Hells yeah!! I attended a conference at this very campus this weekend and there was much interest in my paper subject, and of the three presentations in my panel, mine generated the most discussion afterward. I feel a bit of relief that my research is worthwhile and that there can be great interest in it. I have spoken to many profs and current PhD students who have told me not to give up, even after the second year. But one thing is for sure, I am going to start heavy school research beginning the week after that final rejection comes through--finding that "fit" as it is called. This year will be a radical change of game plan. Last year was a radical revision of SOP and WS. That didn't work. Guess it is time to try some other things. If this is something you truly want to do, you must keep trying. Same schools? I recommend changing your strategy up to get them to take a fresh look.

Anyone heading out to Austin for the CCTE conference this weekend? I'll be there. How about MELUS in April? Be there too. I'm looking forward to getting away from my daily routine of suffering out these last few apps, even though I'm heading to a campus that rejected me.

My focus is postmodern cultural/ethnic theories (polycultural theory to be more specific) and late 20th-century/early 21st-century American texts. My list of rejections is below. Oh yeah . . . MLA is lean and mean and could easily take Chicago in a cage fight.

I thought about applying (maybe next year). But mostly because I love Nashville. I've had to go on business a few times and had so much fun on lower Broadway! Yes, I can admit it. I am an English major and I love honky-tonk music!

Your odds get better with each list, but each school has a different approach to their list. Some are ranked, some are not. Look around here. You see some folks with several acceptances. They can only go to one school. Spots will open up. But it may take a while. It's a frustrating wait, and one that didn't pan out for me last year all the way through April 16. Right about now, I'm begging for a waitlisting, but that's another story.

Thanks for the encouragement. It is sorely needed!!

I've been quiet here lately because I worked myself into an insanity last week that I don't want to go back to. I still have 5 more schools to hear back from. It's not looking so good. My one bit of good news is that I heard back yesterday from the prof with whom I want to work at my top choice school (from whom I still have not heard), and he is allowing me to take one of his classes next quarter through concurrent enrollment. I figure this is an opportunity that could help quite a bit come 2010.

How to tell this poll was made by an English major: non-mutually exclusive categories. I applied to 11 programs but didn't want to choose between 8-11 and 11 or more. :wink:

Seems to be neither rhyme nor reason to the order of UCLA's notifications. Last year they sent a slew of rejections followed a few days later by a slew of acceptances. Get your act together, already, UCLA!!

I got it. Got one last year too. And was then rejected. But, it is a good reminder to everyone to fill out the FAFSA before the deadline!!

Geez, at this point, I could use the confidence boost of having someone think I'm a strong candidate.

Try not to hang on UW too much. Notice how last year they let people go until April without notifying them of anything. Lot of upset applicants. Shove this one to the back of your mind and try not to stress over it. And, yes, I am waiting to hear from them as well.

My inbox? Way, way, too silent. I've seen some of my schools sending out rejections, others sending out acceptances. I get silence. My head will pop shortly. And if not my head, my wife's head. She spends more time here than I do. Thanks for listening.

Hear, hear!