Little Earthquakes

@lesabendio I'm actually still waiting on an official decision from Davis myself. I feel that Davis/CUNY were my biggest "reach" schools, so the CUNY waitlist was a huge surprise. The faculty/resources at both programs is really stellar, so it's really great you'll be visiting both before it's time to make decisions! I really wanted to stay on the west coast when I first started this process, but I'm way more open to the possibility of going further away from home now that I've completely researched programs. I will keep in touch and PM you when I make my decision about the full house. Like you, while I'm open to the possibility of moving, I'm NOT looking forward to going through with it lol. It sounds like we're both possibly from SoCal?

Congrats on the Davis offer! That's such a fantastic program! I applied to programs on the west coast, east coast, and in the midwest. After getting two rejections in January, I've really been expecting myself to get shut out this season, so making the waitlist at CUNY was such an ego boost. Are you still waiting on more decisions? Good luck with making your choices! I would love to fly over for the open house, but I don't feel financially comfortable to do so at this present time. It would be a fantastic opportunity, but my credit card/bank account are still recovering from my applications, and there's still the possibility that I will end up having to reapply for next year after all. I'm going to hold off on making a final decision for now re: the open house. I'm hoping that I get a few more decisions in from my remaining programs in the next couple of weeks first. And in a perfect world, people could start getting admitted to CUNY off the waitlist, but that's just wishful thinking. Are you planning on attending the open house yourself??

I'm wait listed and this is my first non-rejection. Would love to hear anyone's perspective on the program! This is my top choice outside of California. I love how thorough the wait list email was. I really appreciate how upfront the program is!

I got waitlisted at the CUNY Graduate Center, and I am freaking out. I was expecting an out right rejection, and this is my first good news of the season. Has anyone had luck getting into CUNY off of the wait list, specifically?

That's really good to know. We should all have a gallon of hot toddies apiece.

I got rejected from 2 programs on the same day three weeks ago, and I haven't heard a single thing from my remaining 9 apps since. My anxiety is out of control and I just want to drink a bunch of whiskey and cry at this point tbh.

I applied, and haven't heard anything back yet. I saw that some people were offered admission a few weeks ago. It's highly possible that they're still making decisions.

Waiting for decisions just makes me feel like this 24/7.

That's really awesome. I'm so glad it's a 1:1 ratio when you're not on fellowship. I feel like a 2:1 ratio would be unbearable. I would love to hear more about your experience teaching Queer Studies!

@RavenClawMyHeart I'm going to try to answer all of your questions, but the answers are specific to my experiences. Hope this is still helpful! I received my MA last June, and I finished applying for PhD programs four weeks ago. I applied to 11 programs this year, and decided not to apply to any that required the Lit Subject. Because the Lit Subject predominantly covers ground that I have no interest in and am not familiar with (pre-19th century British), I decided that it was an extra time/money commitment that I would rather spend elsewhere. If I don't get into a PhD program next year, I will most likely take the Lit Subject and re-strategize my list of schools accordingly. For the Subject, I would definitely recommend studying with a friend, or having a study group. I find that the General is a lot more manageable on your own because it really comes down to strategizing. Because I was writing/finishing a Thesis and teaching a survey of fiction course during the second year of my Master's, I decided to wait to apply for a PhD until after I graduated. I'm glad I didn't do everything at once, because I don't think that I could have written as strong of a Thesis or had as good of an experience teaching. I was just completely drained the last couple of terms. But it sounds like you already have a good set of materials to revise/rework for another round of applications if you wind up getting your MA first! My Thesis readers looked at a couple of variations of my statement of purpose, and their feedback was really helpful. I think that you should reach out to your adviser(s) for whatever you think will help you succeed, as long as you feel comfortable with them! What I really recommend is peer review/workshopping. I have one friend from my MA program, and I could not have gotten through app season without having her commenting on drafts of my work!

@rdsull89 Thank you so much for your response! Knowing the target number of applicants is so helpful to know because it puts things in a little bit more perspective. So, I won't be AS upset when that rejection comes via email. This is all so helpful to know! I felt like I was pretty familiar with the program when I submitted the app, but I really had no idea how the funding/TAShips broke down since I couldn't find a way to navigate that information on the program website. Since I'm going to specialize in gender/queer/sexuality studies, I'm so enticed by the "Alt Critical Perspectives." I would love to get to do something like that while I pursue my PhD. I'm always really impressed by a program that gives you opportunities to teach something outside of freshman composition before it's time to hit the job market. What's the teaching load per quarter/term?

Couldn't figure out how to edit my original post. I actually forgot the biggest question I have about the program: Does UCR offer TAShips? If so, what's the breakdown? I couldn't really find out much info on the website re: TA opportunities.

@rdsull89 Thanks for starting this thread! UCR is my top choice, so I'm really anxious to hear back from them. Do you have any idea how many acceptances there are on average?

I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who responded to my initial post. I know it's technically too early to worry about re-applying next year, but it helps me so much to have a game plan. Since I'm open to the possibility of reapplying next year, I'm currently finishing a paper that could serve as a new writing sample that's a bit more streamlined to my current research interests. I'm trying to stay somewhat active in academia in the interim between my MA and PhD with conferencing/publishing opportunities. In short, I'm trying my best to channel all of this uncertainty into productivity. My two primary mentors have both told me that while I'm a strong candidate for a PhD program, the reality is that this might become a multi-year process. While I trust their judgement, I don't have any friends who have applied more than once, so the thought of reapplying feels so daunting/impossible. Having access to your perspectives is really wonderful. So thank you so much for your stories and encouragement! @bee120 @ProfLorax @Wyatt's Terps @jrockford27 This is all really good info to know! If you could point me to the direction of that article, it would be much appreciated. I tried to be really strategic with my selection of programs, but I know there was room for improvement. I chose English programs that "ranked" in a range from 20-100. There were a couple of programs I was drawn to based on location only to retroactively realize I was a terrible fit. For instance, I applied to a program that only admits comp lit students who work with multiple languages when I only aim to work with contemporary American texts. (I want to specialize in gender/sexuality/queer studies as well). I wish I could take that application back, honestly, haha. Personally, I'm not aiming for an Ivy League; I want to find my way into a program where I'm a really good fit. This is so good to know. It might be different, but I emphasize interdisciplinary studies in my own research, and wasn't sure how to work that avenue into my statement of purpose. I threw it out in a line or two, and it almost felt disingenuous to not devote more time to it. But it makes so much sense that your SOP should be "categorical." Since I felt like my SOP oscillated between my two current research interests, this is something I can re-strategize for next year. And also good luck to you with the next round! I'm sure you will do great. Again, thank you to everyone who responded. I'm new to the forums, and I'm so grateful for your support/words!

I hope it's okay to post this here. This is kind of a general post, but I feel like some of my questions are specific to programs in English. So, I'm currently in the middle of applying for a Ph.D. in Literature out of a smaller, unranked state program where I received my Master's this past June. I applied to 11 programs in total, and got rejected from two yesterday. Because I tend to stay motivated if I work through worst case scenarios, I'm expecting to get rejected from the other 9. I understand completely that the Ph.D. application process can be a crapshoot, and that there are several variables that will impact my apps that I won't be able to expect/control. If I don't get into a program this year, I certainly want to reapply again for Fall 2017, but I have no idea how to change up my self-direction. Has anyone else had to apply a few times before they started a program? If so, do you have any advice? Do I rule out reapplying to any program that rejected me? I'd appreciate any perspective.

Ah, okay. Thanks so much for the info! I heard something along the same lines from a friend who attends OSU, but it's a little more comforting to hear it from multiple sources.

I am also still waiting on a decision from them. My application is still "in review." Would love to start hearing back so that I can be a little less anxious about all of this ambiguity. Good luck to everyone else waiting!