jpop

I think it's safe to say it's a good sign. I don't think it means you're in, but it sounds like he suspects an opportunity could arise and wants to make sure you're available. This just happened to me last night. I had a very positive "I suspect we'll go to the waitlist, be encouraged" email then about a week later was offered a spot. Fingers crossed for you! The waitlist is a special brand of limbo. It's both flattering and terrible, especially when the program is your first choice. So don't start packing your bags, but do take it as a potentially positive sign.

I'm so very relieved to say that after two years of applications, I now have multiple offers to English PhD programs (Creative Dissertation). I was accepted at Texas Tech today. I am waiting to hear from four more schools, and the final word on my waitlist spot at USC. Sometimes it is about timing and fit and the stars aligning, but if you should find yourself in the universal rejection camp, please don't lose hope. 2 acceptances/ 1 waitlist/ 2 rejections/ 4 more I'm waiting to hear from

Real quick, is deferring an option? If it were me I'd defer. If that's not an option, know that the consequences of the decision are 100% yours--regardless of your mentor's input. And I think you can be very humble and tell said mentor you're incredibly grateful, but that personally this isn't the right choice for you and your family right now. The other thing is that grad school isn't going anywhere. While yes, pouring heart and soul into apps and bemoaning this process can make it feel all or nothing, the truth is school is going anywhere and it's possible the timing is just off. You will be just as smart, capable a year from now when you've had time to iron out making this move a real possibility. Hang in there.

Lived in Seattle for a few years, and miss it ferociously. Happy trails in the Emerald Shitty!

Okay, loooong time lurker here. I'm almost completely striking out this season. I have one acceptance, but am on the waitlist for funding--and I can't imagine taking on more debt for the sake of being too impatient to wait a year. As it's April 1 tomorrow I'm not feeling terribly optimistic. I can tell you my long list of reasons for why I need to get in this year: soul crushing depression, professional stagnation, my dog just died unexpectedly; but rather than go on about how I'm climbing the walls on the wait list, I'd like to just say that I'm grateful for my spot. I've gotten some personalized rejections, in fact from some outstanding programs that have completely floored me with their genuine "please apply next year" emails. And while as of right now it looks like it's not going to happen for fall 2015, I'm just grateful to not have been shut out universally. I am grateful for the near miss. And those of us who are waiting to exhale may be disappointed, but I remember applying for my MFA and being universally shut out. I was convinced this was my doom. I sucked. Surely I was terrible. I was likely a talentless hack. Anyway, that year I spent reapplying turned out to be the best year of my life. I moved, met some truly incredible humans, and am so tremendously grateful for having been shut out. If I hadn't I wouldn't have had those experiences, ones which I count among some of the best of my life. It's entirely possible that won't happen again this year, and I'm okay with that. Don't get me wrong, the rejection sucks. I feel ready. I am ready. I want to start part of my life, but in the meantime I'm going to keep working. I'm going to keep writing, and keep connecting with all the other English department crazies, because I'm delighted to count myself among this tribe of readers and thinkers. Anyway, in the spirit of combatting self loathing, I present to you a Ted Talk for inspiration. Hang in there! In the end it will all be okay, and okay can happen whether you're enrolled come fall or not. https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_lewis_embrace_the_near_win