jean-luc-gohard

Oh god, sorry, I downvoted when I meant to upvote! Those buttons are dangerously close together! Thanks very much for your advice. I don't think I'll rewrite completely, probably just heavily rework. It's good to see people doing work in pop culture and getting in to great programs. Congrats on all of your acceptances, I'd definitely call that a successful application season!

Just got an email about my Chicago application being forwarded to MAPH. Between that and NYU's mostly funded MA offer, and being on the waitlist at two top ten schools, I know I should be grateful to have opportunities, but I think I feel worse somehow about coming so close to a PhD acceptance but not quite making it. I just wish I knew what it was keeping me out, and if it's something I can actually work on in a year before reapplying, or whether taking an MA offer is the better option. My writing sample did have a lot of film in it, as I come from a film and gender studies background, so I'm thinking more and more that maybe it was viewed as too pop culture-y for a literature program. Those of you who went the route of writing a completely new sample - did you do this on your own? Under the mentorship of an advisor? How did you choose your topic? Feel free to PM me if you have any insight to share, I would really appreciate it!

Yay, congrats!! So much good news here today!

This. My undergrad institution, though it ranks in the top 40, places a huge emphasis on providing as much support as possible to its PhD students once they go on the job market, so their placement rate is really surprisingly strong. When I was talking with mentors there about which schools to apply to, two of them mentioned the fact that even top ranked UCs can't compete with the placement rates of some top 20 and top 30 private schools that place a stronger emphasis on placing their students. The sense I got from them was that you're sort of on your own on the job market if you graduate from a UC (I mean, you're probably on your own either way, but I'm sure more support can only help.)

Damn, the UCLA waitlisters have been killing it this season!

Congrats!!

I have no idea about Yale's waitlist specifically, but I would definitely ask the DGS for some more information about how their waitlist works. One school I was waitlisted at has one waitlister for each subfield, and one has a general pool of waitlisted applicants that they reasses one by one in the event that any offers are turned down. In both cases, it doesn't really matter how long the waitlist is, but it could be that Yale just has a single, ranked waitlist. (Speaking of Yale, I had a dream last night that I was accepted there. I haven't even applied. Gradcafe might really be driving me crazy.)

CONGRATS!!!!!

I'm an LA native, so I guess I'll just chime in to say that living here is expensive, yo. I lived in a sorta sketchy area of downtown for four years for undergrad and it was upwards of $1000 a month with roommates even there. Add to that the fact that it's basically impossible to get around without a car (believe me, I foolishly tried it for about a year and it was hell - buses don't really stick to a schedule here.) I'd be thrilled to get out of LA and live more comfortably somewhere else for a few years. I definitely don't want to have to deal with financial stress added to all of the stress of a PhD. I have lived here for 23 years, though, so maybe I'm just burned out.

Mine starts with A, and my status hasn't been updated at either school.

Woah, UT Austin rejections are coming out already?

It seems some of applications have been updated with a link about decisions and others haven't. Mine still has no admissions information when I log in to applyweb. This could be good news, or it could just mean that UVA sends out their rejections in waves. I'm not getting my hopes up yet.

Hypervodka, if that's your Emory acceptance up on the results board, huge congrats!! I remember seeing your post about how much fun you had at the visit. One of my favorite professors did his degree there and always talks about the years he spent there as the time of his life. (Also, sorry to call you out if you didn't want to post about it, it's just really encouraging to see people's hard work pay off when they get into their perfect fit schools!)

I'm assuming Vanderbilt is a no. Nashville, why don't you love meeeee?

Thanks so much for this reminder about the importance of self-care, I definitely needed the extra push to make it to the gym today!

HUGS AND CUDDLES FOR EVERYONE

As cringe-worthy as the choice of words in that post was, I definitely think we should keep GC a supportive place for everyone to celebrate their achievements. We're all bright and multi-talented individuals. It can sometimes be difficult to remember that as we go through this process, but it's still true.

...and all of them were spam.

Maybe this first acceptance received a really prestigious fellowship and was notified in advance? That's my story and I'm sticking to it, until Monday at least! Vanderbilt has such an amazing program and it would be a dream to live in Nashville. Fingers crossed for all of us.

Hah, I will readily admit my weakness. Once I got stuck in Philadelphia in the middle of winter during a layover (in my defense, I was on my way back from warmer climes and completely unprepared) and I'm still traumatized. Congrats on the interview, by the way! And good luck!

Hello! A friend applying in the sciences told me about this forum a few weeks ago, and I'm glad to see there's such a lively thread going for English! Congrats to all who've already been accepted somewhere already (you lucky bastards) and to those who got interviews at Chicago and elsewhere. I applied to Chicago and haven't heard back (didn't get the pre-interview email or the interview email), which I'm not too bummed about because, as a native Californian, I had serious doubts about my chances of surviving the winters there anyway, but I am starting to get a bit antsy about my other apps now. Here's hoping that all of us who haven't heard back yet get an acceptance soon!