persynanōm

So I called and Tina, the graduate coordinator, was nice, but had some strange information: neither she nor anyone in the department can tell an applicant their status directly. It has to come from the Dean's office. She said that they are going through the waitlist now but can't tell me if I am on the waitlist or not. Overall, her advice was "if you have an offer, I suggest you take it." This might be UC Riverside policy, though, as there are two other departments I have not heard from either and from which I also expect rejections. I have to say I am not a fan of this policy. At least I had already assumed rejection.

Still haven't called! I plan to do a string of rejection-checks soon, but maybe I'll squeeze UCR in tomorrow. Good luck to you, too! Any word on your end?

I second this question. I plan on calling the department on Monday to find out if I'm waitlisted or rejected.

Geez, you both speak directly to my day-to-day. Until UCSB comes out with their decision on my application (this week, according to my conversation with the graduate coordinator), I will continue to read millions of Democratic primary articles and analyses, following each Bernie poll with the same, displaced urgency and anxiety as that of my graduate admission fight. Whatever, color me millennial, but I'll always remember these concomitant and uncertain futures together...!

Hm. So I guess certain fellowships at certain UC's, even if they are ostensibly only for a certain number of years, add onto the $19,000 TA salary? I only ask because UCI offered slightly more than that each year, regardless of whether that year is a TA or fellowship year.

(on a side note, I truly admire how supportive this community is. A lovely pocket of collective care in the midst of what can seem like glorified cattle-branding. I appreciate you, gradcafe!) And congratulations on potentially being able to share space with Butler, @EROSvTHANATOS!

Congrats to the other UCI acceptances and everyone else today! The program was definitely my first choice in terms of academic fit, so I'm a little ecstatic. Hope to hear about a campus visit to meet the others accepted! (Anyone else just get a letter sent directly from the graduate school before any departmental heralding?) Yikes, it sure is February, isn't it? I got my rejection from UCLA yesterday (and totally deserved it). Soon: UCSB and UCR. The future is now...! Eek! Godspeed, all. Hang in there.

Thank you for your help! Perhaps because I've already had a brief visit there with my fiancé last year, they are not extending that same travel offer. Regardless, it isn't a huge concern. Thanks again!

Thanks very much! I'm trying to navigate the various open house dates as much as I can. Hopefully the admittee in Early Modern decides soon! One follow up question, though: do you think there is a difference in the travel stipend for admittees off the waitlist versus first picks, or do such funds just transfer directly over if the admittee decides before the March meet-and-greet?

Question! Is the department offering you a travel stipend for the visit? And is it a formal tour or is it based on your availability? Thanks!

Congrats to the acceptance off the wait list! I hope to join your ilk!

I tend to tether my dreams to my current situation as much as possible now, as I have had three separate academic focuses and their projected futures of cello soloist, professor, stage actor, and, now, simply any sort of life-long educator and theatre maker in Korea. Despite most likely being about to embark on a PhD in English (unless the Ethnic Studies apps pan out logically...), my dream involves my already planned future of living in Korea, becoming fluent, teaching rhetoric/composition and hopefully race/postcolonial/performance theory in some capacity (though I think I would want the equivalent of a CC there... but perhaps not), trying to undermine global (racial/economic/political/lingual/colonial) inequality and the innate privilege it confers on me as a white American male in whatever I do, eating 파리바게뜨 and 한식 every day, and having the time to own a socially conscious (preferably youth) theatre company with my fiancé. 짱~! I guess that will shift dramatically once I get there. I have trouble staying invested in anything forever except, so far, my as of yet humble movement toward social justice. We'll see what turns up.

Thanks very much! Yes, I was lucky enough to meet with Amanda Bailey when I visited last year. She is quite welcoming and a skilled pedagogue. I'll probably be asking you a few questions in the coming weeks, hopefully after I'm accepted off the waitlist! Thanks again.

I'm sure ProfLorax will be much more informed about this, but as an outside visitor to the campus last year for my fiancé's tour of schools, it seems basically suburban. To be fair, though, I just drove around without really getting it to explore the surrounding environs. The campus is really expensive and nice, though. Beware the foot-traffic if you drive through the campus - you'll wait for pedestrian crossing a while.

To flesh out the UMD results: I was sent an email from UMD saying I'm first on the waitlist in Early Modern. I haven't yet put it on the results page, though. Congrats to those UT Austin acceptances! Hope those emails keep coming...

Congrats on Davis! I think phone only acceptances are very common; USC called me to let me know so that I didn't have to wait the extra 3 days for the email. I guess a little caution can't hurt, though. Happy to hear that you have the option for a career change!

Sorry not to respond to this earlier, @solomonski. Before I get into my impression of the place, I must offer a couple of disclaimers: I was a transfer student, so I only spent two years blitzing through the requirements (which included a two-year language requirement, one class each semester) and taking as many interesting classes as I could while doing so. Also, my previous institution was a community college, so this will be a pretty limited, non-comparative evaluation of the department based on what I have gleaned about it in relation to others and from my own experience. Also, I consider myself a fringe member of the English community, coming from a performance background and being most interested in rhetoric, race and ethnicity, and theatre/performance studies. Overall, I would say that the department is in the midst of changing fairly significantly, as a lot of the stalwart faculty are older and the budget is tight. At the moment, there is only one trained Shakespearean/Early Modernist (my main focus while there), and she is will most likely retire within 5-7 years, basically precluding graduate study in EM. Our department, from what I gather, has great strength in American, particularly African-American, Dickens, Poe, Whitman, Melville, the Reconstruction Era (though that faculty member seems near retirement), and contemporary; Medieval; Restoration; modernism; African literature; Marxist and post-Marxist theory; and contemporary poetry/creative writing. I would argue that rhetorical theory should be counted as well, as a huge portion of my intellectual development came at the hands of Ralph Cintron, a rhetorician and ethnographer who holds dual, full appointments in English and Latin American Studies, and offers truly phenomenal pedagogy in traditional and contemporary rhetorical theory to graduates and undergraduates alike; he is also, as one might imagine, very interdisciplinary and frequently partners with extradepartmental faculty to co-teach exciting courses. Areas of weakness would be Asian American literature, animal studies, performance theory, and basically any exciting theory that has sprung up or leaked into English departments since perhaps the mid-Nineties (though apparently the new hire in queer studies is quite solid). So yes, overall, I would say it would depend very much on your interests whether the faculty is a fit for you, as I must admit that the department seems like it is slightly past its prime. The big names of our department were all of another era, or so it seems. Stanley Fish peaced out, Graff retired. Walter Benn Michaels, love him or hate him, is a very good department head, though, and seems to be guiding the department in a fairly solid direction focused on building up the decaying coverage of the curriculum due to state budget cuts (which, actually, I learn are pretty severe this year due to Bruce Rauner, the new Republican governor of Illinois). He does not, however, have the star power of Stanley Fish to lure in talent. We have some cool new professors in Victorian and postcolonial literature from UCI, both theoretically savvy in the Marxist and post-Marxist tradition. In terms of the graduate life, I know very little, unfortunately. I think I remember hearing that the stipends are not tremendous, but I have enjoyed the TAs I had for the most part. In fact, I should stress the creative writing strength more, as I had a fabulous TA named Laura Krughoff who was a finalist for a Lambda for her first novel. The campus is pretty cool, though. UIC is the only public research institution set entirely in a major city (so they say). It is hooked up to the elevated lines (the blue line, to be exact) and is minutes away from downtown Chicago. The skyline is really worth a visit, if they are paying for you to fly out. True, though, the buildings are mostly brutalist, with the exception of the new ones; the campus was apparently designed just after the Vietnam-era riots at Kent state and Berkeley, so the architecture visibly reflects a securitarian anxiety. The windows in most classes are mere slits so they cannot be broken a la said riots, the faculty offices (for most of the humanities) are all stacked in University Hall, a twenty-five story panopticonic tower that is picture below with the department head when the United Faculty struck for raises (and he participated despite it being against his contract). That picture also alludes to the snowy severity which is Chicago's winter. I imagine the meet and greet (if there is one) is in March, as February too is very cold. It is the wind that kills - and on this campus, the wind cuts like a knife around UH in the winter. Now, my experience: I personally had a great experience with compassionate, extremely inclusive and committed professors who treated me as a peer while encouraging my intellectual curiosity at every turn, mainly in the realms of rhetoric, Shakespeare, and critical theory. As an undergraduate, there were many opportunities for undergraduate research, the option for an honors thesis, fairly frequent events and lectures at UIC's Humanities Institute (though I would say these were not necessarily big names), a thriving Writing Center, and a good library. UIC is regularly ranked among the top 15 most diverse schools nationwide, and that was one of the best parts of my educational experience. When one walks across a campus and can't discern a clear ethnic majority, real learning can really happen. It is definitely a public institution, with all that entails: 50 people in 100 seat lecture halls for required English courses, grade inflation most-likely, real exposure to the funding hardships of the public humanities, and, as I said, passionate, earnestly invested faculty that will help you achieve your goals. I settled on English after being denied admission to DePaul for Acting, and I went from having no confidence as a writer and intellectual to having...some confidence as a writer and intellectual (I guess enough to pose just so for USC). I am already decently wistful for my time there and in Chicago -- the drop-off from seeing world-class theatre via reliable public transit to saddling myself with a car loan and driving miles to see a decent show sucks. But the weather... It is good to be back home in California. Hope that helps a little. Take my crappy, undergraduate-eye sketch for what its worth.

Hooray! True celebration is in order on this thread. I'm really glad see those of us who felt completely unadmitable feeling awestruck at their acceptances. Truly a life-changing event for us (as I definitely share that sentiment)! I'm sure that the shift in self-conception will have positive effects on our lives - but we just must fight hubris to realize the gold at the end of this crazy rainbow: this happy news heralds a future of hardwork and service to others through the shared creation of knowledge. Mainly to myself, I guess I am saying - probably way too far in advance (as is the wont of someone totally afraid of the future) - let's remember those caring professors and scholars who motivated us to spend those thousand-plus dollars and seemingly ten-thousand-plus hours slogging through this tedious, panic-ridden process and not become those pompous, self-aggrandizing, cold, and bitter academics who perhaps made us feel so unadmitable in the first place. Anyway, I am sorry if that sounded much more like a St. Crispin's Day speech for noble academic Enlightenment than one fit for our mini-monumental shifts in our personal narratives (neither nationalism nor unreflective Liberalism is my jam). I'm just, I guess, processing what seems like the crazy crazy crazy implications of these opened doors on us applicants and our futures. But anyway, for now, as Louis CK would say, Weeee!

Congratulations! I also applied to USC's American Studies program but since I've yet to hear anything, and because I was accepted to USC's English program, I'm expecting the rejection. When did you hear about the waitlist status? And did they mention anything about how it may move?

Congratulations to whoever posted the acceptance to University of Illinois at Chicago. As I just graduated from there last May, I could spill the details of the department for whoever is interested. PM me or, if you have a simple question, perhaps just respond here. So begins a most likely fraught week...! According to UCI, whom I corresponded with about two weeks ago, they are expecting to have decisions out this week.

Very cool. I admire UCR's commitment to race and ethnicity as well, and I would be overjoyed to meet with Fred Moten even if just as an admirer. The department seems committed to minor theory in general, which is really exciting. Thanks again for your responsiveness!

Exciting! Well, I'll look for you there! I too applied to UCI and haven't heard anything, except for that string of rejections a while back. I guess that only bodes well for those of us who haven't heard, but I am still on pins and needles. @chloeolivia Very cool! We'll all be friends in no time. I'm also really looking forward to USC's tour. Their departmental structure is pretty unique, so I'm curious, and I can't see another department beating their funding offer. Best of luck to you both on hearing back on the rest of your applications! I'm sure this week will be a rollercoaster for most of us. Hang in there!

Hi! I think it seems like a very strong department. I'm especially interested in the overlap of performance studies and rhetoric with critical and literary theory, so I am pretty attracted to them (they have a performance scholar as well as some really cool rhetorical theorists). Will you be taking advantage of their stipend to travel to campus in March? I know I will be: beer cheese soup is enough of a reason.

@chloeolivia Hello! I too was a lurker until I saw the light, and I too was accepted to USC (to claim the other post on the results page). Are you planning to visit the campus at the end of February? Perhaps I'll see you there!

Hello! I applied to UCR for English and for Ethnic Studies (and even for Comparative Literature, though I doubt I'd be accepted). No real questions as of yet besides the normal inquiry: anyone heard anything?