Warelin

I think there's a possibility that it's an unofficial interview. Most likely leaked by someone's POI as a headsup. One of my professors accidently asked us in our grad seminar if we had met the new prospective students yet before realizing that Students don't visit (it's an all-expenses paid trip) until the first week of March. As a result, I know decisions have been made but I don't think anyone's been notified yet. It does sound like notifications will go out soon though.

From previous conversations with Duke, I'd also like to add that English and Literature are very-closely affliated with each other. If either receives an application that they think is suitable for the other, they'll forward the application. A few people here have found themselves accepted into the other program as a result.

@pdh12: Congratulations on your acceptance.

One of my professors who recently graduated from there and an assistant professor who completed her postdoc there recently also warned me against applying last year. I didn't notice any causes of concerns though. From the information I've gathered, most people who post results don't have an account. I'd also like to add a note here that we might not know exactly when the user received the e-mail because it may not be the same time they posted the result. (Though, I think I posted my results fairly quickly during my cycle except when I was teaching.)

In recent years, Wisconsin's waitlist has moved a fair amount. A few years ago, they offered 15 or so spots and only 3 people accepted. I think part of it was due to Scott Walker and the changes of tenure in Wisconsin which caused a lot of professors to flee ship.

Sometimes, The Graduate College and the Department have a miscommunication or a change in budget which causes some confusion. In recent years, Penn State has had their MFA in Creative Writing program pulled after applications were due. More recently, I think the same thing happened to Notre Dame's Literature (2017?, I think) program. In both cases, applicants were refunded. I think in both cases the department was trying to find extra money but couldn't do so and didn't want to admit unfunded students. Most colleges really are on your side.

Congrats to all of those that have received an acceptance letter thus far. To those that haven't, most schools don't release decisions until Mid-Feb. There is still plenty of time left. On a side note: Please review financial offers carefully. In previous years, some programs that used to guarantee 5 years of funding only offered 3 years of funding to certain students citing funding problems as a reason. Please, please review those letters carefully to ensure you know what you are getting yourself into. Side note 2: Some programs guarantee 5 years of funding based on satisfactory performance. I wouldn't worry about these as much as it's mostly to safeguard against someone accepting an offer and then leaving the program mid-way through. In most cases failing to keep up your grades would result in the end of your funding if one fails to keep them at the required level.

FWIW, WUSTL offers a dual English/Comp Lit PHD that requires only one foreign language which can be modern or ancient.

Can do.

Congrats @snorkles

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From my understanding, official transcripts are only required if you want to accept their offer of admission and enroll at their university.

Chicago's cut-throat repuation originally stemmed from not guaranteeing equal funding to everyone. Their stipend was originally 10-12.5k and people had to compete for more which created a lot of tension. They've increased the stipend since then but now have fewer spots. Chicago usually gets 600 applicants according to them. They send invites to roughly 5 percent (or 30 applicants) and interview 20 or so. In the previous years, they've accepted 10-15.

In previous years, e-mails went out to 30-40 people. 20 were interviewed. And 10-15 got an offer.

If they follow previous years, I'd expect more acceptances to come at the end of the month. I don't think Buffalo is done notifying applicants so I see a lot of reason for hope for applicants still waiting to hear back. The beginning of the month is usually schools notifying about interviews/special fellowships which are awarded to a very small percentage of the class.

Congrats on your interview! From my understanding, Emory does make its decisions on who to admit based on the interactions. They tend to accept from that list and waitlist the remainder of applicants from those invited.

UIUC generally sends out acceptances to people they've nominated for a graduate school fellowship first. Followed by department assistantships with waivers. Last cycle, rejections came afterwards. They didn't send out waitlists as far as I'm aware but did send out acceptances if a spot became open. I think they send out MA and PHD programs at the same time but I'm not sure if MA applicants are eligible for as many fellowships due to the length of some of the fellowships.

Small note: Notre Dame's Literature program is no longer admitting new students. (Not to be confused with their English program.)

I think we can all use some positivity from time to time. Always could use more positive affirmation! This process can be incredibly stressful. I remember it well. I think it's important to post it now because otherwise it feels like a "consolation" prize. It isn't.

In a few weeks, you'll find out where you're accepted, rejected or waitlisted. By now, I'm sure you're experiencing all sorts of highs and lows. This is a very stressful process. Sometimes, all you want is some news because you're starting to feel down about the process. Big News? You're alive. -There are currently seven billion people alive today and the Population Reference Bureau estimates that about 107 billion people have ever lived. -Having just a few coins makes you richer than most people on Earth. -You are unique and nobody in the entire world is like you are -The opportunity to attend school is something many people don’t have. (Which makes having a college degree even greater!) -Most people lack a bed of their own to sleep in -Many people on earth lack access to clean water. -Cell phones make talking to loved ones easy. -You have friends that will always have your back. (And if you don't, message me. Let's talk. And if you do, let's talk anyways) -You can enjoy pizza. Or Ice Cream. -There are people in your life who love you more than you could ever know -The Internet, n'uff said? But in all seriousness, try not to compare yourself to others. We have a tendency to look at how great the lives of other people are going without realizing the stresses they're hiding. No matter where you get in or don't get in, please be proud of yourselves. You've worked incredibly hard to get to where you are. An acceptance doesn't determine who you are and a rejection doesn't make you lesser than. It just means not this year. You might realize that your passions change over the course of a year. And you might discover those new interests are really interesting when you do reapply. You might discover some universities that previously rejected you might accept you the following year and viceversa. Lastly, a word on rankings: USNews rankings for English are determined by 14 percent of respondents who were department heads or director of graduate studies. As such, it's hard to take rankings those seriously when a lot of the rankings are based on "name brand". Most departments are only paying attention to a few select schools and placements may vary considerably across specific interests. Follow your heart when making a decision. Happiness is the number one thing that will make you succeed in a program and that happiness will translate to the quality of work you produce. Good luck all. You're going to do great!

I have no idea. I think a lot of it is that they seek to disrupt the order and create chaos within the community. You'll see the same thing happen when people get waitlisted. They either tend to ask people to withdraw or bash the school in hopes that someone withdraws so they can have a spot. In more cases then not, the thing they're bashing the school on is untrue and causes the school a lot of damage for future applicants.

Chicago tends to send requests for interviews within a day. Chicago tends to send rejections in early-mid February. This does seem early though. There's always seem to be one false start. Last year, it was someone claiming Harvard sent them an acceptance in Early January. The board went crazy.

https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/

Of the 6 programs I was accepted into last year, 4 of them had visit days or a visit weekend. Only two of them offered a paid visit/reimbursement.

@kendalldinniene That makes sense! I've heard good things about Oregon State from those who have chosen to attend.