WildeThing

I would also be direct and ask now. Admissions officers know that they might exchange dozens of emails with people who will never attend; it’s part of the process.

Saw this and figured I’d add my two cents from my experience in previous cycles: for your own well-being assume every non-acceptance is a rejection but do not commit to anything until you have officially heard from everywhere. Keeping your hopes up can make you basically experience rejection for a single school multiple times, but you also don’t want to be the person who got off a secret waitlist last minute but has already committed.

Good luck everyone! Waiting sucks but it'll be April 15th in no time.

You're fine; I don't think WS are read that carefully that any readers will be confused by it. Even if they do, they are most likely to realize it was a mistake because a lot of people send adapted WSs and they'll move on. It does not reflect on your ability as a writer or a thinker, and scholars at all levels make proof-reading mistakes. It's fine, try to relax. If you feel like doing something will make you feel better, you can just send an email to say something like "hey I just realized I forgot to delete this; it's there because originally this was X, sorry for the confusion". Personally, I don't think this is worth it. Whoever receives the email is probably going to just ignore it because it's insignificant and if they don't, that means they have to send an adapted copy to the readers. I really don't think this is worth the hassle.

Programs in the UK, at least when I was applying, accept you directly to the dissertation phase so you don't do any coursework. Given that, it's expected that you have a clearer idea of what you're going to work on and for some programs this involves figuring out who your advisor would be or if there's faculty to support you. So it makes sense that in the UK you contact the potential advisor in advance whereas in the US there's no expectation to do that because you would be spending 2-3 years on other stuff before you actually work with them anyway.

I think if your LoRs, SoP, and WS show that you are competent and knowledgeable in the field that is "English" then you should be fine getting accepted. You might not get the same benefit of the doubt that someone from an English program might get, but you can definitely prove that you're more than capable to do the work in those documents. (If you're unsure about whether you have that level of competence that's another question, and perhaps an MA in English would be the logical next step for you). Also, many departments are fairly interdisciplinary and/or offer/encourage you to do interdisciplinary certificates (I know UVA has an environmental humanities certificate) so you can emphasize your ability to fit into those intellectual communities at those programs.

In all but the rarest of exceptions, no; it will be a useless competence (from a professional/academic perspective).

Also I should say that as an international student, it might not be feasible. Your visa is sponsored and has limits on the amount of time you can work. While a second degree is not work, will your sponsoring dept allow you to take on this tremendous additional time commitment? Do the terms of your visa allow you to do this? I’m not sure but I’m doubtful.

If it’s unfunded you can probably expect it to be open.

My understanding is that SoP, WS, and what school you went to are the most important. Whether GREs and the rest matter is debatable but in general you don’t want anything to raise a question with the committee. In other words, having amazing LoRs and scores might not separate you from the pack, but having average ones or worse might disqualify you.

This is interesting; would be great if there was something like this that focused on recent hires (e.g. PhDs earned in the last 5 years) and expanded beyond the top 30.

You don’t have to (and in many cases can’t) apply to both. Pick the one that fits your interests better and you’ll be able to work with people from the other department.

I don’t think it would make a difference or at least it shouldn’t. Investment in a student goes beyond the financial and so having a larger class than intended because some can pay their way in would limit opportunities for everyone involved. I wouldn’t put it past some schools to look into something like this, especially given how cashcow MAs have been used for so long.

OR, hear me out, the admins are from an era where sexism was the style and it’s sexism because this is a widely reported, studied, and verified phenomenon that disproportionately affects women. I’ll buy ageism as an exacerbating factor but it’s definitely sexism.

I dunno what mid to low tier would mean but some schools that seemed strong when I applied were UVA, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, UConn, Brown, Emory, Columbia. But Af-Am is so broad now that most schools will have at least 2-3 for you to work with. Also, a lot of schools also have Africana or other interdisciplinary PhD program you might want to consider.

Though many here have or have applied to MFAs, you should know there is also a writing subforum for people applying to those types of programs where you might find more specific assistance (but please don't interpret this is as me saying you should go elsewhere, I'm sure you'll find a lot of help in this subforum as well since there's so much overlap between these programs and their applicants).

Make sure that you look at the terms/expectations of your deferred acceptance. I remember when I first started applying I was looking at how some schools like at deferral and some of them have language about guaranteeing that you will enroll the following year. I don't know if this is common, how it would be enforced, or even if, given the situation, they would want to enforce it, but I'd just double check what your standing is so you don't face any issues or burn any bridges later.

No, but it's definitely tougher. Both semesters here I've had "long" days with 3-4 classes and they're rough and some days you will be very tired but I don't think it's worse than maybe taking classes you're less interested in.

My first cycle I was rejected by NYU but accepted to the MA with some additional funding to the norm. The second cycle I was rejected outright. Is it possible I was rejected outright this time because they remembered from last time so didn’t bother offering me the MA? Maybe. But is it also possible that for whatever reason they found me to be a relatively less compelling candidate than the previous year? Also maybe. This, aside with the cases of people who rejected offers and wound up coming up empty the next year that surface every once in a while suggests that you just can’t assume that if you placed high one year you will have the same or better luck the next. What if they offer your spot to someone else in your field and they don’t need someone else the following cycle? What if that year is more competitive? If you went to the trouble of applying then you thought the place you got accepted to would be a fine choice. It is still a fine choice, even there’s something that looks even better. Unless you have seen some significant red flags about your prospective school, are independently wealthy, or have other career options you don’t mind pursuing for a year (or more), I’d say take the offer.

I guess this will vary but in my cass, I have taken and been encouraged to take classes outside of the department, to pursue interdisciplinary certificates, and to engage with the learning community outside of my department. For more advanced students, this has led to take on advisors and committee members from other departments (sometimes unofficially). The core work is done in my department but I can branch out and professors seem interested in getting new perspectives and different methodologies applied within the work you do for them.

My anecdotal experience also supports this. I believe 90-100% of my PhD cohort did not get in straight from undergrad (a mix of MAs, MFAs, teaching, and non-academic work).

You can use a Cost of Living calculator to determine how the funding will work in each context.

Definitely not. I don't think professors really remember (though this will vary) who was waitlisted or not and within the cohort you certainly can't tell (we know who because we've discussed it, but it doesn't really come into play at all). Again, as with the question of cohort sizes, this will depend on people's personalities. Some people ARE more competitive and some people ARE elitist and that might come through and affect your interactions with them. But those people are probably the exception rather than the rule.

They can try to nudge you but if they’re members of the organization that oversees the April 15 deadline then they can’t make you decide before then. But schools want to know ASAP (just like we do, yet we wait for twice as long at least).

I was in a 4 person cohort where we hardly saw each other outside of class and I don’t think most people really connected with faculty whereas now the cohort is 10 (+30 MA who, for the first two years, are indistinguishable from the rest in terms of classwork etc.) and it’s very close-knit and I’ve never felt ignored by a professor. There’s certainly a sweet spot but I think personality is gonna be the big factor and it can ruin a good-sized cohort and save the opposite.