Hannalore

That was me! But I turned down GSU too, so it will go to another deserving candidate. Speaking of which: there's now another position at Georgia State!

I'm one of the Vanderbilt rejects! Email came in around 6:20, not sure when those results went up. I haven't put it on the board yet.

Just received an email from UGA Housing: And then how to sign up for housing. I am speechless. It seems as though this is sent out to everybody who applied, AFTER acceptances already went out. So that means people who've been rejected but don't know it, who are still waiting on decisions, get an email with instructions about housing?

Finally got a response to my email from UGA. All it said was, "Yes, decisions have been sent out. If you were accepted, you would've gotten a letter in the mail." The last time I was applying, the season where I ended up taking a funded MA, UGA pulled this same thing. They would not tell me when letters when out and they refused to check my actual status. I just got this same line, over and over. They never sent a rejection. I called them in April, the person on the phone just repeated the same darn thing. This time around, if I hadn't emailed, I doubt would have ever received any notification of any kind. This method of rejection is so insulting and rude. Maybe I'm coming across as bitter, but I can't fathom why they would refuse to actually tell someone they're rejected, opting instead for this wishy-washy crap.

Is it too late to change my specialization to post-Milton badgers? I could write my dissertation on this: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/badgers Thanks for the advice so far you guys, I am trying to incorporate it as I work through this first draft!

Oh wow angel_kaye, you are saying exactly the same stuff I've been saying about where I am in my studies, and how I compare to the other Anglo-Saxonists around here...it's kind of uneal! We in English studies are so neurotic, aren't we @_@! The program down at USC sounds amazing! I'm upstate in Clemson for my MA, and I know we all have quite a bit of respect for the work going on down there. Even if you feel behind now, you're going to have so much fun nailing down your research interests with the help of the professors down there, I wouldn't worry at all. At least, that's what I keep telling myself about my own anxieties. If we already knew exactly what we were going to be doing and researching 100%, we wouldn't need the help and resources being offered at these programs!

Hey all, So I've been nominated for a fellowship that I would very much like to receive from my first choice school. The thing of it is, those competing for it are nominees from the incoming graduate class of -every- department. Whether or not I get it will be judged, among a few other things, on a "professional goals essay" of around 750 words. That's all I know. I am grappling with how to handle this. I don't know how I should frame an essay encompassing my goals that will be judged alongside STEM applicants. I am assuming I can't be as detailed in my research interests as I was in my SOP, but I don't want to be too vague! I'm also not sure how far into the future I should be looking. Has anyone ever written something like this? If so, how did you manage it?

Which schools will you be visiting, Obrial?

Not only this, but we know how cutthroat the admissions process is and have seen it firsthand this cycle. You've got to remember that coming out of an MA, you'll be competing with other people who have all the great research experience, test scores, materials, AND teaching experience. That's not to say you can't compete with them on the basis of those other things, but it'll just make it that much harder. In addition, I imagine that programs that do not fund everyone they accept would be more likely to extend offers of TAships to people who have experience in the classroom.

I emailed UGA today to see about when decisions were going to come out/my status. I have a deadline to apply for a fellowship at my first choice that requires writing a 750 word...thing ("professional goals statement" what is that?) so I need to know what the deal is over there ASAP. I'll let you guys know what I find out, though I can't remember seeing anybody else waiting on news from them...

Congratulations Silenus, and to all the other new admits! I check this thread quite often, I love to see all the good news. I will be very interested to see this too. None of my decisions told me anything about these numbers, so I'd love to see what's going on in the field. I spoke to one of my advisors yesterday who specifically mentioned a colleague at UMD talking about how numbers were down this year.

Congratulations to morristr and allplaid! Yay Obrial, congratulations! We have so many of the same schools, and maybe we'll end up at the same place!

Thank you so much everyone! I'm so glad I started posting here, you guys are the best. I'll also have to get straight to work on transmuting decisions for everybody's remaining schools!

I am dumbfounded and crying with happiness. My first choice, Tennessee, accepted me, fully funded, with three additional fellowships and a nomination for a fourth. And there's snow on the ground outside. It's like the best day of my life.

I am sorry to hear it, Obrial. But I agree with this! Living here is pretty great. I don't know a whole lot about the RCID program itself, but I teach the same classes. Let me know if you have any questions about that or the area!