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Looks like two Yale Comp Lit acceptances just rolled in...soooo that's that.

Hi Quell! Just FYI, I sent you a private/direct message on here with a question or two about Brown -- they're one of my top choices, yet I haven't gotten any kind of decision yet. I even got an e-mail from Gerhard Richter on February 8th (four days before you posted your acceptance on February 12th) ,and he made it seem like I didn't have a great shot. He said all applicants would be informed soon, after going into a short spiel about how 'difficult decisions were' and how rigorously/thoroughly applications are read. I'm wondering if, after that brief exchange, he decided to move me into a kind of implied waitlist. Sigh. Anyone else get an answer from Brown yet?? I'm dying here! PS I got rejected from Cornell Comp. Lit. today (not heartbroken, I would be the first to jump in a Gorge) but I had listed their German Dept. as a second option. I know German already sent out decisions, so I hope this doesn't mean I got passed over there, as well. I'm so confused this season...I usually have a fairly good grasp of what's going on, and have a sense for how my app is being perceived/my audience. But right now I'm really going crazy. Also, no JHU German news, right? Someone give me some kinda deets! My life is a mess. This is how I feel about my applications/rejections:

Someone just got into Princeton Comp. Lit. per the results board. I'd sob and grumble but who can pretend to be entitled to acceptance to that program? So far 3-4 implied rejections, but not a single *actual* rejection. Hrmph.

Anyone wanna claim the Cornell Comp. Lit. acceptance? Hoping they are rolling out acceptances/waitlist notifications this week. Definitely expecting a rejection at this point now though...

In the spirit of positive thinking and making small daily lists for things I am grateful for, I want us to take a moment and be thankful that none of the "Top" programs (though of course this depends on what you want to study, etc.) seem to have notified in any way. The second I see any decision info on Yale, Penn, Princeton, Cornell, Harvard, etc. I will know that the apocalypse is upon us. Also still waiting on JHU and Brown German Ph.D. decisions, though I got this rather terse- and serious-sounding e-mail from the Chair and recent contact/POI at Brown: "Thank you for your inquiry. As far as I know, the Admissions Committee's process is not complete yet, so applicants will have to wait a little while longer to be notified of decisions. I do know, however, that the Committee takes its difficult work very seriously and tries hard to make the most judicious recommendations to the Graduate School. Since there are always many more highly qualified applicants than the Department has slots available, the Committee's decisions are always enormously difficult to reach and represent the result of extensive deliberation and review, which take into account a variety of different factors. Please rest assured that every applicant will hear from Brown just as soon as the process is complete." I'm not crazy, right? Like, this is definitely an implied rejection? Every other interaction and e-mail previously was very positive, but this super formal change in tone, to me, moves the dial away from "50-60% likelihood of acceptance" (based on previous convos) to "95% likelihood of rejection". Sigh. Has anyone gotten one of these e-mails from a program that eventually accepted them? I think not.

Hi Fingolfin!! So I am convinced I won't get in because I have a less-than-desirable GPA and educational history (I did do a year of doctoral work at Harvard, but left precipitously -- I try to spin it in my PS, but I'm afraid it comes off as a red flag, especially because I was not a 4.0 student there). I have gotten the impression, more and more, that a lot of these programs love the recent LAC-grad 'Spring Chicken' types from Wesleyan or Pomona College. I also haven't heard from any of my schools in a few weeks, despite having written with a question/update. IDK, I guess if I get one or two acceptances I'll be about the most surprised I've ever been in my life. I've also seen that so-called 'back-up' schools, if they accept, are generally the first to do so (as a strategic move), yet I haven't heard a thing. Sigh. The silence is deafening, but I still prefer it to an early rejection blitz. I just want some good news! (Also I'm applying for jobs and am getting decisions this week and next, not ideal timing). Where did you get your acceptance, if you don't mind me asking?

Hi! So it seems like German applicants (as with German scholars/professors) are few in number, yet we manage to make ourselves known I applied to three German programs (Columbia, Brown, JHU) and three Comp. Lit. programs (Cornell, Princeton, Yale) and while I actually visited Princeton, Yale and Brown (and continued dialoguing with Profs via e-mail the weeks following) I feel 100% convinced at this point that I will get no acceptances. 0. Academic life = never gonna happen. Sweet. How's everyone holding up? Anyone hear/know anything about JHU or Brown decisions?

Hi guys, anyone applying to Top 10 Ph.D. programs? I applied to a mix of German and Comp. Lit. and I'm starting to get a bit neurotic -- it looks from past years that a few of these programs (Yale, Cornell, Johns Hopkins) have interviewed or informed applicants within the first two weeks of February, though it seems to change from year to year. Also, anyone want to claim the Cornell interview from Monday? I haven't heard anything from their program. Finally, if you'll indulge a little word vomit: I'm trying to be logical here, and the more I look over my applications in retrospect, the more proud I am of how they turned out (Ivy League undergrad, solid GRE scores, theoretically-rigorous yet clear and reasoned writing sample, etc.). However, I have this overwhelming, immutable conviction in recent days that I will be rejected from all 6 of my schools, with maybe one or two waitlists at lower-ranked programs. This is despite the positive, in-person conversations and e-mail interactions I've had with faculty at top schools. I just sincerely don't see this going my way. Anyone else in this boat? Sincerely, Müde in Manhattan.

sweet, good to hear if you have any particular insight, can you PM me? I'm going to have to live with him and the rest of the department for the next 5-7 years, for better or worse, so anything would help. have any other schools on the table as of yet?

Harvard German, they did their admissions somewhat staggered, but I believe they're pretty much done. Are you waiting on Comp. Lit. decisions?

Yup, this. I applied to 6 schools and I got into one at the top of the list, and one at the bottom. I got into Harvard but got rejections from Princeton, Yale, Stanford and Columbia. Northwestern's acceptance was great, and by officially getting two funded offers from top-10 universities I have to count myself among an extremely rare group of applicants, for which I feel totally unworthy. But I can't help but think how effed up the system is if I didn't even get waitlisted at any of those schools and yet was directly admitted to Harvard with full funding. I keep having to repeat it to myself because a little part of my brain actually wants to waste time wimpering about my rejections. After all this, how do we just get on with life? For awhile it seemed to be dragging on, and then suddenly the *entire* game was over. Poof. Back to teaching English (I'm in Germany) and streaming episodes of The Big Bang Theory I guess?

I got into Harvard Looks like we could be in seminar together, Ontolome and Marrochino...I can't believe this hell is over. However, I didn't sing and dance when Peter Burgard told me over Skype. I'm actually terrified. Anyone have this with any of their acceptances? And congrats on getting into a great school Coffeeplease!

Thanks QG - yea, I thought I was well-prepared for the program, and noticed more than a few professors whose work really interested me. But I do have some shortcomings in my application that I can't change, and which I'm sure some programs won't be able to overlook, despite my last two years of hard work. I also know one of the assistant profs in the department, and he didn't read my file, but said that I am such a "textualist" that something like Yale or Northwestern (Nägele or Fenves) would be a better fit for me, so I trust that the rejection was mutually beneficial (I would hate to agonize over turning down Princeton if I visited but found out it wasn't the program I thought). I'm sure Princeton has an admitted students weekend, and that they'll give you more information in the coming weeks (which should be easy to attend given your proximity). But you're in, so I'm sure it wouldn't be inappropriate to e-mail Peter Jennings (or whomever the contact person is, Wegmann perhaps), with any questions. Congrats again!

I'm in the German Literature/Theory pool, but I totally agree with Antecedent's sentiments. I got accepted right off the bat to a great program, but the excitement lasted one night; then I was back to agonizing. I got a rejection yesterday from Princeton, and it was sad but it was a euphoric rush nonetheless...it happened! I applied and a decision was made! I won't be in this hellish limbo forever! I can't wait to be bored as shit and trolling the bars again come April

Congrats!! I got a big fat "no", so I'm pretty let down. I had a particular interest in Princeton's program, I have to say. But I had a few freak out moments last week that prepared me for this, so I'm going to take solace in my one acceptance and hope at least one other program works out. Good luck peeps

Yea, the funding question is always a bit school-specific; public schools tend to have a bit more bureaucratic red tape and waiting time, but professors have the power to allocate funds to specific students in order to compete with private schools. Northwestern got me my funding package within a week, and everything was nicely tied up in a bow. They've already offered to fly me there...but they don't give extra top-up funding, so I'd be struggling to live within my budget in Chicago. After getting word from them, none of my other schools have given a peep, so I definitely lost any sense of momentum I had after getting an acceptance. I have definitely gotten very comfortable with it as a Plan B, however. I can imagine myself as a Chicago pseudo-hipster having brunch at the Austrian Bakery and jogging on the shore, shirtless in the summertime (though everyone says not to go swimming so I'll just slather on a lot of tanning lotion and read some Kleist while trying not to spill diet coke on my ipod). Not a horrible image With UT I imagine that they'll offer you something; they tend to promise money to a couple of students from the start, but those students often get a more attractive offer. If you don't hear anything soon, I'd let them know about Georgetown - it never hurts to try and get schools to bid on you. And if they do give you a funding package, definitely try to get them to match whatever you get at Georgetown. This will be one of the few times in our lives as academics that we'll have the ability to bargain, especially for money. Congrats again and good luck to everyone!

congrats Coffeehouse and fgreen27 on getting good (or relatively good) news from both of my Alma Maters fgreen27, if you want to talk about Penn at all let me know - I took a few courses in the German/Comp Lit. Dept. as an undergrad, and it's a fantastic school for the humanities (despite Penn's overall professional leanings). I could give you tips on both the academic and social experience, if you're interested

Hey Partyleute, hope everything's going well on the app front. I am happy to have one acceptance, but that hasn't stopped me from experiencing mildly violent moodswings this weekend. Luckily NW came through with my funding package and a ticket to Chicago (my first time in the U.S. in 18 months!) so this has cushioned the anxiety a bit. One thing to make y'all aware of is Vanderbilt's program (yes, this is my Tennessee voice). Especially those of you who haven't heard anything and might wish they had applied to more programs - you should apply to Vandy. The deadline was Jan. 25, but the website says that if you contact the DGS, they will often make exceptions for late apps: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/german/graduate/application If you apply online it's free! The base stipend is $20,500, which is amazing for Nashville, and they have a number of top-off options through Max Kade, etc., which means some students get upwards of $26,500 to $30,500 in stipend....for German Studies. In beautiful, warm Nashville. I personally would apply if I weren't slightly too queer for the South (even being a starving student at Northwestern, I'd have plenty of dating options, and my mother would die of happiness since she lives in a neighboring state). Just thought I'd share that - I had no idea Vandy had a German program, let alone one that's so well-funded! (And almost all students get paid to finish their MA during a third year in Berlin...sexy, geh?) Now to get back to my Kracauer/Benjamin presentation for class tomorrow...you know it's bad when you wake up at 7:30 on a day you don't have to be awake until 2 PM and you start to freak out and cram hours of reading in so you don't have to pull an all-nighter....glamorous. My life is glamorous. PS I loved the Superbowl Half-Time Show - this B is 53 people! Enroll in your local Yoga studio today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czFXEQ8loZg&feature=share

How did Yale notify you Ontolome? Congrats btw!!!

If you've already been admitted, I'd say bring up potential for a phone/skype convo subtly, ie "I hope you don't mind me asking questions about the program - I also have skype, if that's a possibility" all neutral-like. A lot of programs seem to be hip to it these days... And congrats again on the big B! And again, best of luck to everyone! Let's hope we hear something this week (for instance, Yale results historically get posted the first or second week of February...)

Alrighty Kumpels, don't all go quiet now. Who's heard from where? I got an e-mail from Peter Fenves at Northwestern last Thursday night and was really excited about it, because I'm a big fat theory head and all the faculty there are like former Adorno protégés. They accepted me with full funding, which I'll get word of in the coming days. Yay. I also had my Harvard interview Friday, and flubbed the German portion, though they were quite nice anyway. Anyone? hat ihr Nachrichten dann?

I got into the Critical Thought Cluster on Thursday night, was really exciting to hear from them so early! The POI mentioned in my SOP and I have e-mailed back and forth a few times. I still want to wait it out and see if I get other offers, but I can definitely see myself in their program! Good luck to those who haven't heard, I'm sure they roll out acceptances in small waves. Hope to see some of you in March for admitted student days!

Good luck tomorrow/through the next few months, Leute!