Sunsy

Now that all my visits are finally over, UC Berkeley is the winner! Couldn't be happier about it, especially since everything I saw at the visit was extremely positive and welcoming.

I just turned down offers from Johns Hopkins and Notre Dame today. Hope that helps someone!

And I'll remain something of a Shakespeare fanboy, promise!

I absolutely loved ND, and I met so many fascinating and brilliant faculty there, and you're right, Stephen Fallon was the reason I applied; his work was central to my writing sample and his book was one of the first things I read in literary criticism that got me excited and made me really think, so it was great to meet him and talk with him. As you said, the weekend was great and just an all around classy move on their part. Part of my excitement about ND I'm sure comes from that weekend and the fact that it was the first time I've ever really been in a situation like that, i.e. surrounded by other future grad students who really care about criticism and academics, and also, importantly for me, people who have clearly put a lot of thought into things I care about but don't see in my hometown often enough, like the rights of women and minorities. However, barring some good news from Michigan, Harvard, or Yale, it's pretty much down to JHU or Berkeley for me right now (leaning towards Berkeley). I haven't visited either yet, so those visits could indeed change something, but my sense of both programs places them at the top for me. Prestige or ranking is by no means the reason for that (although that does play a certain role), but I think those places will be more in line with what I want to do in the future, and they're both in locations that I think I would be much happier in. That being said, ND seems lovely, and as someone with affinities for Latin, Medievalism, Theology, and philosophy, it's a place I'll definitely feel a certain kinda way about turning down. You'll make the right choice though! EDIT: @Caien all this is to say that if you do choose to go to ND, trust me that you'll be in an amazing cohort... everyone I met was just so smart and motivated.

That's weird because I was reading book IV of Paradise Lost and I'm a Miltonist and you're a Shakespearean (I think)...

Also, for the person who posted on the results board that they got waitlisted at NYU and that it's their top choice, I'm 95-99% sure that I will turn NYU down, so I hope that helps you!

@Wyatt's Terps, @piers_plowman, I'm out at Vanderbilt too, which makes three early modernists! Oh well... And I too would love to hear about that Yale acceptance!

Also in at NYU! And I too will have a tough choice. Congrats!!

Thanks for the kinds words everyone!! I've been thinking a lot about how this happened, and one thing I'm amazed by is how mysterious this whole process still is to me. For instance, I got rejected from UChicago and northwestern (probably Columbia too), but accepted at Berkeley and Hopkins. I still have quite a few schools to hear back from, obviously, but this cycle has just shown me how important fit is for these things, which is what people have been telling me all along.

Just got accepted into Berkeley!!!!!! I have no words still... Congratulations to everyone, and thanks being so supportive, positive, and all-around amazing!

AHHHH I GOT INTO HOPKINS!!!!!!! I'm shaking and freaking out you guys. This is a dream come true, especially since my brother is there now getting his PhD!

Rejected from Northwestern as well. Pretty much in the same boat, those December 1st deadlines came up too suddenly for me! It does give me some hope to know that my application is stronger (at least I think it is) for the later deadlines, though. Congrats to everyone who got in though! Northwestern is a great school and Evanston is a lovely place!

Congratulations everyone on the acceptances! I got an email today from the DGS at Alabama saying they will accept me for the strode renaissance MA! First piece of real news and I'm so glad to know that I'll have somewhere to go next year!

looks like somebody got waitlisted there today!

Also, does anyone know what's up with the Columbia interview posted on the results board? Seems weird to me, and I figured it might be for Comp Lit? Does Columbia English typically interview?

@Caien That's scary, but I'm sure you'll do great! I sent my subject as well, with a 710. I did pretty well I figured, so it wasn't much of a question for me, but if it had been much lower I probably wouldn't have sent it. Like Caien I'm also straight out of a BA.

Theoretical interests. I applied for Early Modern, but I did some stuff in undergrad on medieval memory practices and dream vision poems, and my undergrad school (Rochester) is big on medieval Lit.

Congrats @Caien and @loganondorf! And thanks, Wyatt! I'll be there on the 10th as well, so feel free to PM me as well Caien. Judging from your signature, we have somewhat similar interests, even though I'm by no means applying for the same things you are.

Sorry to hear that :/, but who knows what this means. This seems super early to me, so I'm willing to bet there will be more interview calls, and the recruiting day isn't until 2/10. I got the call from the DGS, and I'm Early Modern, specifically 17th century poetry (Milton, Spenser) and ecocrit/history of science. No word on anything from POI'S, but in the registration form for the day there's a field where you can enter specific faculty you'd like to meet with. I did some searching on here, and it seems like in previous year they have you sit down with 3 different profs for 30 minute sessions to talk about interests, writing sample, etc. so it seems pretty nerve-wracking to say the least. My happiness about ND, however, has now been counterbalanced by the fact that I got no interview email from UChicago. Oh well, I'm just happy to finally start hearing any news at all!

Did anyone else who is applying to Notre Dame get a call about their Interview weekend (I assume that's what it is)? Just got the call today.

Hello everybody, This is my first application season (just finishing up applying to ~13 schools for early modern lit out of a BA) and although I've never posted here before, I've been diligently following this board for about a year now as I've worked on my apps. Just want to say thank you all for having such a helpful and supportive board! I wish you all luck in the coming months! Anyways, seeing as this is the first time I've gone through this (soul-crushing) process, I'm wondering if anyone who has done this in the past has any tips or tricks for not feeling as anxious and regretful about the whole thing as I do now. As far as my undergrad record is concerned, everything is super cool; great GPA, reccomenders, GRE scores, awards, etc. but everytime I think about my writing sample or SoP I feel like everything I've done is hopelessly outdated, irrelevant to recent scholarship, and not making a clear point. Anyone else feel this way? I know i'm definitely not alone in this, but I'm also probably not alone in feeling that I'm alone in this, if that makes any sense. As I was working on the apps, putting less effort into them than I should have admittedly, I felt great about them. Now, however, whenever I remember them and think that people are in the process of reading the stuff in them, my stomach drops. I guess I just wanted a place to vent/complain, but I'd also like to hear more about how all of you are dealing with this stuff, seeing as you all are so very supportive in everything I've read on here. Also, people who made it to the other side and actually got admitted into programs, did you feel the same way? If you did, how did the feeling that the writing in your app was awful (if you felt that way, of course) change or not change once you actually got to grad school? From where you're sitting, are my worries about relevance to the field and all that unfounded? Thanks.