EmmaJava

Likewise with the posting by someone who got into Stanford after going 0 for 8 last year...

Yes, thanks! I've got none in my hand and three-and-counting in some cruelly unreachable bush. So to speak.

This just in: Waitlisted at Santa Barbara. Now please excuse me while I go and completely spaz out.

Yesssss, I can get behind this. I have a pretty massive vested interest as I'm waitlisted at 2 dreams and that's all I've got going so far. I hereby pledge my undying commitment to this thread. My waitlists are U of Missouri English and U of Virginia English. Yes, I know those programs are quite separated in the rankings, but frankly when it comes to fit (as it ultimately does), they'd both be nails. I just need one, right? I have no acceptances yet. I am dying to see some movement on one or both of these waitlists. I said way back in the submitting-applications phase that I'd throw myself into a writing project to get through the waiting period, and I have, and it's been effective, but with this recent news even this game plan has stopped working. I can't concentrate, I can barely think straight. My throat is dry, my hands are clammy. Productivity has plummeted. Sleep is restless. Etc etc etc. Show me some hope, I'll stay connected.

Thanks!

Plus Boulder is actually a wicked expensive place to live in its own right. I did my MA there. Lots of ramen.

Waitlisted at UVA! That's 2 waitlists in 2 days at 2 seriously killer-fit programs for me! I don't have an outright acceptance yet, but I will say this is good for the spirits.

Waitlisted at Mizzou, and echoing Little Earthquakes, this is also my first good news of the season. I'm not gonna lie - I'd pretty much do anything to get in off this list, so if you're admitted and considering other offers, here is my token plea to please do whatever you can to notify them of your decision as soon as you can. I know that everyone has to do right by themselves, and I've seen a recent discussion about taking the time you need, and I wouldn't expect anything else. Take good care of yourselves. And wish me some good luck, for I am fully at the mercy of those with stronger apps.

Congratulations, bhr! I envy you.

Alright, my bad. I was worried about that, to be sure. But I think another fair point, which is often made explicit, is to feel a sense of solidarity, as that is indeed one of the positives of the whole experience. I think that categorically chalking certain responses up to stress or the time of the season or whatever is another interesting and somewhat presumptuous move in its own right, but I can't say it's altogether wrong, and I can see how proper etiquette calls for a very regimented attention to the topic at hand, the most effective policing out there. Of course many outsiders endear themselves and become insiders simply by playing nice, but I'll take the point and move on, drama-free for the remainder. Another aspect of my dream is to tie my research and pedagogy together and to combine each of these with a sort of alt-ac trajectory that involves the development of education abroad programs. The amount of moving parts involved in this throws it into dream status in the hard sense. And I want to do all of this while living in seclusion, either near a beach or high up in the mountains.

I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone besides me called you a name, if identifying the troll is name-calling (and I think you're positively adorable). I'm quite familiar with the self-righteousness of the medical and health-related communities. Yet the name-caller is also the one who openly agreed with you, and everyone else seems extremely tactful and polite going about their business. They raise good points, too. And let's be real, this wasn't "the slightest criticism inferred." This was judgment from the self-righteous, otherwise known - yes - as trolling on the interwebs. None too articulate, at that. I mean, you could have just asked nicely and gotten a really productive conversation going in the direction that you (no, not the OP, but you!) so humbly and selflessly desired. But so what I'm hearing you say is that there's more to life than being really really ridiculously good-looking?!?! CAN THIS POSSIBLY BE?

Well no, I wouldn't think there'd be a correlation between intellect and morality. Why would there be? That said, I believe that the philosophical parlance, here, is "necessary, but not sufficient" - as in, it would have been necessary for us (me) to have stated my selfish fantasies but not sufficient for those fantasies to preclude something...I don't know...more altruistic? But I don't really have a fight here because I actually agree with your theory (in its most literal sense) and I have no stake in defending any kind of idealism. Like, none. Like, I may very well be the amoral and/or immoral person that you're suggesting, and would readily concede that. So..if your intentions are hostile, you've unwittingly found friendliness; if they're not, then your scientific moniker suits you. Lastly, "same opportunities" is leaving yourself rather wide open on a number of fronts. (Sorry for feeding a troll, I know I'm not supposed to do that but this one is a sort of cute fuzzy troll and I wanted to pet it)

This is a great idea for a thread! I want what you want. Plus to write creatively and be a sort of ivory tower novelist and poet, sequestered snugly between workshops and seminars. And I want to become famous doing all of this. Wait what? Well are we dreaming or aren't we?

1-3 days for delivery? Not for me. I used Interfolio like a maniac just earlier this week and while I was still in process of ordering one delivery, then a previous delivery would be made after a few minutes - I was literally watching my email as it happened and I'm thinking there was about 10 minutes between the "confirmation about having placed an order" and "delivery made" notifications. This as recently as...two nights ago, in which I made a dozen or so orders. I've had no problems with it at all, but I think I may see what could be a hang-up...asleepawake, you mention waiting on two other recs and not having a complete application to submit? I've only used Interfolio in order to submit recommenders' letters, and those have been doable in batches of 1, 2, or 3. In addition, I'm not using it for any other pieces, as I can upload things like WS and SoP myself (and prefer to). Finally, I would bet that if you're trying to have Interfolio upload to the online system that recommenders get emailed/invited to use, then that would slow the delivery and clog things up. I've just been having email deliveries go to the "graduate administrator," or the "graduate coordinator," or the "graduate officer," or whoever. Sometimes this is within an English/Lit department, sometimes it's with the Grad School, but in all cases I've found someone willing to accept and process the letters, which seems to mean that a human person somewhere is accepting these into a personal email account and doing the upload to the system on my behalf once the letters are received. Does this make sense? Are you trying to hit Dec. 15 deadlines? You can totally do that, I'm not worried for you based on my experience, but I can see how you'll remain stressed until the process feels more straightforward to you. I hope this helps out. I was pretty stressed waiting for a letter writer to get back to me just earlier this week, for what it's worth. This person had missed the early December deadlines and all of those programs have (to my knowledge) accepted the late submission (which I controlled on Interfolio), acknowledging that this was letter writer's fault and beyond my control. In fact I think I may have even scored some sympathy points as the on-the-ball applicant who had to deal with this. Or, at least I can tell myself that for a while, right? Anyway, point is, I think there is plenty of room (and time) for optimism. Good luck!

I'm totally right there with you. I finished an MA a while back and for personal reasons, I've had to wait until this cycle to gear up for a big round of applications, and I spent the interim trying to be productive. I've had my eye on this cycle for so long (2 years) that I began to obsess, and now I'm at the point where things feel rather "all or nothing." That's not all bad. Two years is a long time to pull things together, and in that respect, I've enjoyed a luxury that I'm guessing most others haven't. I've had a chance to really get my head around all that this process entails, as well as what might happen in my life it I get "nothing" instead of "all," and I've been very intentional about reminding myself to enjoy this whole thing. It should be special, it should be fun. It sure as hell is intense. And yes, as much as I've insisted on having fun, it's been crazy stressful, way more than I expected. Here's something that I figured out. It's pretty hard to be as ahead of the curve as you plan. Take recommendations, for example. My recommenders not only write me letters, but they are my main source of feedback on my SoP. Having two years to get your ducks in a row doesn't really mean anything when your recommenders don't want to think about this cycle until this cycle. I found myself, strangely, late to the game in a number of respects. Crazy. So like I said, I'm right there with you. I'll have applied to 22 schools after the January 15 deadline. I want gdl2015's sanity, positivity, and luck in massive doses for everyone.

Yep - you are speaking my language! Thanks so much for such reassuring words, I'll try to hang onto this kind of thing. Can't get enough of it.

Thanks, pro Augustis. I agree that this is an idea worth considering, and I thank you for the response. I personally am not going to do it, though hopefully this will be good food for thought for someone else's application... ...It's not that I'm opposed to it in theory, or even in practice, only that I've agonized over SoP and questions like this for too long, in the end coming round to the conclusion that SoP will be (and is, now) entirely research-focused. That probably sounds a bit inflexible, sorry. But it's not so much that I'm not hearing you as that I just can't afford to eschew the painstaking progress that I've achieved on the SoP...that's me, specifically, I mean. For others less "challenged" in terms of SoP, this might work out really well, and in fact this is all coming on the heels of tons of research, feedback, and scouring of these boards and others which have already addressed just these kinds of questions - what, exactly, should go into an SoP? The big question! Not even faculty within the same department will agree on the answer - not even members of the same committee! It's an impossible question. Maddening. And when you couple that experience with the seemingly reasonable likelihood that someone somewhere will be receptive to collecting a CV and throwing it in the pile, I think I'm willing to take my chances. It's calculated. It's one wager over another, this idea that I'm building something here, that my SoP agony has been worth a damn. It could misfire, but that's just it - if you let yourself get too caught up in this guessing game, which approach, arguably, can't misfire? There is simply no way to know. And that's been my fairly constant and vocal frustration from start to finish in this process - that for all the blood, sweat and tears devoted to this process, it's an almost laughable guessing game. Or...would be entirely laughable if we weren't all so invested and there wasn't so much at stake. But in the end I'm finding that a deep breath and some levity are the only things for it. You toss that hat in the ring and let out your breath. If they want you, they'll take you. If they don't, they won't. If they're unsure, maybe they'll interview you, and/or ask for some supplemental information. Maybe it will turn into mid-April and everyone will be pulling their hair out because we've stumped'em all! I'm not going to torture myself over it, and if I find out later that there is some alternate universe in which my CV details would've gotten me into UVA, then I'll have a lot to say and feel good about, like "well then they should ask for a CV" or "good thing everyone else takes one, that should help my chances elsewhere." Hey, this is on them now. I've taken care of my side to the best of my ever-guessing abilities. Good luck to all!

Similarly..the UIC app that I thought I was starting was actually the "create your account" first step, which apparently takes 5-7 business days before they email you back so that you can then get back in and complete everything. I just thought I was going to go online and slam through it. Nope. Give yourself time, indeed.

Sweet, thanks - that is incredibly helpful intel, as Vandy is actually next on my list. That and Cornell round out my December 15 set and then I can catch my breath for Dec 31/Jan 1/Jan 15. Hemorrhaging money in app fees, but as I wrote earlier, I'm having fun doing so. After all, it's a Saturday in December, wedged between holidays, and all I've done is drink beer, hit submit (time after time after time!), and let myself dream :)....

Hi Joan, I appreciate that, but UVA doesn't even have that option. Others trying to hit their Dec. 15th deadline this weekend will notice, too. But I'm leaning toward just emailing the department and say, "Hey, guys - here's my academic CV, thanks so much for asking." Then they'll get to see that I already presented a paper on their campus. Any reason not to?

Virginia. It's a no-go for CV/Resume upload at UVA. What do you think, Team 2016? Ask the DGS if I can send an through an attachment? Just send it through and let them handle it however they see fit? Consistent with what I've been posting, I'm wary of my chances with any program that won't take my CV into account. This cookie-cutter stuff accentuates my weaknesses and hides my strengths, it just simply does. Fortunately UVA is very much in the minority. I've been applying far and wide and just about everywhere has a designated spot for a CV/Resume upload, so that's good. But by God I'd love to be competitive at UVA. I attended a grad conference there and that pretty much did me in, I'm in love with UVA and Charlottesville. But they don't want to take a look at, oh, say, what I've done at all. Grr.

Nice. My goal is to get through all the mid-December deadlines this weekend. Just submitted one, leaving five-ish more. Then it's on to the new year - three-ish due on December 31 and/or January 1, and then two-ish more on January 15. I've got my SoP where I want it, which really speeds things up. Now I can just flip through the online systems wielding a credit card. I see this nice little signature convention for accepted/waitlisted/rejected and will take a similar cue once I know for sure which programs I have officially chosen to apply to. Strange how my list, which I've been working on for over a year, seems to be changing even as deadlines are coming up (I just added University of Illinois at Chicago, for example - December 15 deadline!). But this is fun. I'm glad that I got back to where it is fun again. I hope others are having fun, too.

I submitted my application to Purdue, and here is a snippet of my confirmation email: Finally: we recognize the anxiety associated with the admissions process, especially given the popularity of websites and wikis where individuals post information about their acceptances and rejections. We want to emphasize the fact that, unless and until you receive a rejection notice from us, you most definitely remain a competitive applicant in our pool of potential candidates (even if other people are posting online that they have received offers from Purdue). I just thought this deserved a special shout-out. What an in-touch-with-applicants' kind of approach. What a nice thing to say. What a level-headed, clear-eyed, compassionate little caution against what goes on right here in Gradcafe. And would it really be so hard for other programs to follow suit? Go Boilermakers!

If all goes well, I'll make an appearance in an edited volume, a chapter of my own. Peer review is in process as we speak, so, uh, please wish me some luck!

I'm in, too! But...it's a slow trickle. A couple of early December deadlines put me right there in the pipeline with this quiet cohort. I have a couple of mid-December deadlines, too, followed by a majority of Dec 31/Jan 1 deadlines (half a dozen or so). SoP continues to be a work in progress (a death-grind, really), but all else feels good (writing sample, letters of rec) or else is in place and locked in and ready to rock without necessarily feeling good (GRE). And once I get to the waiting it out phase? Throw myself into another writing project, doesn't matter what it is. When I write, time flies, period, so my strategy is to find something with a mid-March or early April deadline. No need to wake up and find February. I want to wake up to early May with the sunlight on my face.