Warelin

My last season I was accepted into Nevada's MA program, unfunded. I did contact them and let them know I was interested, however, I had to have funding. I contacted the DGS. While they did not give me full funding, they did pull some strings and come up with some funding. In the end, when I was deciding between programs, I contacted my current program and let them know I'd received a higher offer elsewhere but was interested. They gave me several thousand dollars more. So, for me, it was useful and other people I know also negotiated to get higher offers. I think it's best to just talk to your advisors about how to navigate particular programs and to talk to the DGS of where you've applied (rather than professors who have no power over funding). 

FWIW: My crystal ball says you'll wind up with a funded offer.

I think most programs that don't offer full funding to everyone really do want to be able to offer funding but they might not have the resources to do so. I know that private universities and public universities are subject to different laws which complicates things even more. 

When I was applying to graduate school, my professors advised me against telling other programs about my acceptances elsewhere. Doing so, they said, would showcase that you're more interested in other programs and not as heavily invested in them. Professors and staff receive so many e-mails a day (from current students, alumni, faculty, advisees, etc.) that unless you have something incredibly important to say or add, you might be ignored. Expressing your interest can be a good thing, especially, if you have some new information to add. I'd probably caution against it elsewise though.

I'd caution against this unless you have a funded offer in hand. In the past, there have been applicants who have tried to play the game of matching funds. Some schools have reached out to them requesting funding letters of the other schools so that they could forward it to the right contacts to see if they could better match other offers. If you have other funded offers, I'd only would e-mail the school that you're most interested in because funding is often tied to very particular things.

You are interpreting that correctly!

You are interpreting that correctly!

Bumping this back up as a reminder.

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!

Just got an email from UCLA!  I'm in!!!

In at Minnesota!!!

First acceptance at SUNY Buffalo as an English fellow with full funding and tuition remission. So relieved and excited and hyperventilating.

I think you'll go far with that attitude! It is so hard to tell what admission committees want in any given year because we don't know in what direction they're heading. I think making strides to learn more about yourself as an applicant and taking steps to immerse yourself can only strengthen how you appear to any committee though.

I think you'll go far with that attitude! It is so hard to tell what admission committees want in any given year because we don't know in what direction they're heading. I think making strides to learn more about yourself as an applicant and taking steps to immerse yourself can only strengthen how you appear to any committee though.

I read your interests earlier and before looking at your school list, my mind immediately went: Santa Barbara, WUSTL, Michigan, Illinois.

I read your interests earlier and before looking at your school list, my mind immediately went: Santa Barbara, WUSTL, Michigan, Illinois.

Congrats @j.alicea, @Sav, @MeginAK and @theotherbrontesister!

congrats everyone!!
also got an invitation to NYU's comp lit interview day AHHH ?

Congrats @j.alicea, @Sav, @MeginAK and @theotherbrontesister!

In at SUNY Buffalo for their English PhD specializing in Poetics! First acceptance, feels amazing! This is a dream program for me! 

Just received call from POI to inform me of acceptance to Davis! From what I could glean from the call (with very poor reception), they are calling the accepted students and sending out emails tonight. Also was interviewed by Riverside (don't think this is normal, probably has more to do with the fact that my work doesn't quite fit regionally with what UCR is presently doing). With that said, it sounds like people should be hearing back from them sometime next week (once they know more about funding). Good luck, fellow UC applicants! 

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!

Bumping this back up as a reminder.

The standard offer from Illinois is a fellowship plus teaching one course per semester during the first year. The stipend increase during the second year is in exchange for teaching two courses per semester. I'm not sure if teaching two courses is guaranteed. An enhanced offer includes an increased stipend plus no teaching for up to 3 years. I think there's usually a nomination process for the latter.

I think it's also good to note that smaller cohorts are not uncommon. Graduate Programs are becoming increasingly sensitive to the market and most are attempting to provide their graduates with as many resources as they can. Chicago and Johns Hopkins were traditionally huge programs with cohorts of 20+. In recent years, Johns Hopkins has chosen to accept between 0 and 6 candidates for each cohort. 

Bumping this back up as a reminder.