WildeThing

Some programs have invisible waitlists, yes. Meanwhile, with Virginia, I am now awaiting formal rejection from yet another program that I know is rejecting me. I really don’t understand this phenomenon. Last year whenever I saw rejections on the board I would check my email and immediately find the notice there. I would think I’m waitlisted if waitlists hadn’t been sent already.

Nothing yet. This is the 3rd or 4th place that has allegedly sent out some rejections and I haven’t received anything so I don’t know what to think anymore. There is no reason why rejections would not be sent en-masse.

Last night I dreamed that I ran into a professor from Brown who told me I was admitted. I then woke up bemoaning the fact that it was all fake and checked my email only to find ACCEPTANCES FROM BROWN AND NYU!!!! Only that was a dream, too. I got inceptioned.

There is indeed no such thing as identical or perfect applications. There are so many factors that no one thing can be determinant. However, I stand by the notion that, due to an assortment of reasons such asrecognizability, risk-aversion, likelihood of privileged background, preparation, etc., coming from a name school is one of the bigger factors in admissions. Bigger does not mean 70% or even 50%, if percentages are even a thing we can conceive of with all the contextual and qualitative elements at play, but I would certainly give it as much if not more weight than SoP and WSs. This is based on my own experience of course.

As I said, the process is the same no matter where you come from, it’s just easier for some. We just need to have perspective so we can maximize our chances. Hope or no hope, the only time to give up is when all decisions have been made. There’s also the issue of cultural capital. The higher up the rungs of ‘prestige’ you go, statistically, the likelier it is that you have more means than those below. More means translate to more opportunities to impove your CV and focus on academics. It’s a bit of vicious cycle that is not unique to academia and so there is no reason for me to think that admissions are somehow isolated from these issues, either.

I disagree completely. School prestige, from my experience on this board and in applying, is probably the most important factor. It is not the only factor, of course. A good candidate is a good candidate, whether they come from Yale or Unknown University, and ability and fit are extremely important. However, it is far easier to demonstrate you are a good candidate when everyone reading your application knows your school has strong academics (not to mention the potential of having LoRs from leaders in the field). After all, accepting a candidate is a risk that involves a lot of time, money, and other resources from a department. If you somehow got identical applications from Yale and UU, of course the Yale candidate would get in. In terms of proof, I have scoured every graduate student page from every college I have considered and from my experience, most candidates come from recognizable schools (though I have reassured myself that it is still worth a shot because there's always someone from a university that seems to be less prestigious than your own). The lower you go down alleged prestige list of programs, the more non-elite backgrounds you find, of course, but it is definitely easier to be a Yale graduate than a UU graduate on the admissions scene. That doesn't mean that all the Yale applicants will get in before anyone from UU is even considered. The application still needs to be good, you still need to have good fit, and then all the other hidden factors need to be considered, too. As for your examples, they're a bit of confirmation bias and anecdotal. As I said, it is not the only factor, so there will be candidates from Yale who get shut-out and candidates from UU who sweep. Also, you have 2(!) offers, in a field where the term safety school is a misnomer (also, am I to understand from MPhil that your degree is from is UK? Because it is also arguably harder to apply as an international for the same reason: school prestige is less recognizable (and a host of other factors such as academic culture dissonance, etc.)). I think we would all prefer a neutral playing field and dismiss school prestige because, ultimately, it is one of the things you absolutely cannot do anything about (other than go to a top MA, which many people do). There is nothing for us to be gained from this conclusion, but to deny it is to fall into the same trappings that suggest that all you need to do is work hard to be successful when we know that to be patently untrue (even if for many people it has proven to be true). This fact changes nothing though. There is a chance that you get into a top school no matter where you went to, and to do so you need to make sure everything in your app is perfect. That is the case if you're from Yale or UU. But we should recognize the fact that for some of us this is a matter of swimming against the current. When I applied last year I talked to 4 professors, all of whom went to some very good schools, including programs I applied to. They all told me the same thing: you definitely have the ability to study at the top programs but you should consider applying to some other schools just in case because no one on these adcomms knows who we are ('we' being the school, some of them were very reputable). Honestly, if I have the time at some point I would like to test this out by compiling information on where successful applicants apply from.

I had a Euro letter writer last cycle but she wound up sending things in before I got a chance to give any guidelines. Suggestion A is to ask your top school what things they expect from an LoR because your writer is inexperienced. Suggestion B would be to ask the professor that was here (forgot the username sorry) for advice. Suggestion C would be to ask them to be detailed. IMO LoRs should corroborate your interests, establish you as a competent scholar, bring attention to things you could not fit into the SoP, and praise you so you don’t have to do it yourself. Since everyone is getting letters that say we’re great, I understand that an excellent one identifies your qualities and make you sound unique. That said, people have said that LoRs all sound the same so the important thing is that they fit in and don’t stand out for being less enthusiastic than the rest. This was all conjecture though.

Looks like Chicago got the most, but Rutgers is up there. As I reviewed my applicants I definitely split my apps into best-very good-good fit and likelihood of being admitted categories and ultimately I had Brown, Penn, Rutgers and UConn as my top schools in terms of fit, and UConn and GW at the top in terms of likelihood to be admitted. It’s poetic that those are the last ones I’m hearing from. The UConn acceptance also gave me some optimism that, who knows, maybe it’s about fit after all (though my belief is the biggest factor is the schools you come from), so I am very nervous about the final schools though relieved that someone somewhere has decided to bet on me. Can’t believe we’re nearing the end of decision season already. Good luck to everyone!

I had both Rutgers and Penn for next week for what it’s worth (but also had Brown for last week and Columbia for next).

Anyone with recent experience of Storrs I could ask a million questions to?

I got an email from an administrator with a letter attached from the DGS. There was very little information so I know nothing of cohort size or anything lik that, sorry. Also thank you everyone for the congratulations, after a night’s sleep I have still barely processed this and I blame my pessimism for it.

I got into UConn PhD (not on the board yet). I received the email about 6-7 hours ago. I don’t even know what I’m feeling. I’d completely accepted another shut-out and was talking myself into alternative plans that now it doesn’t seem real and I don’t think it has even hit me yet. For future reference, it is a 5 year offer to TA from Y1. Specific duties will be sent in the future. I’m an African-Americanist. If anyone wants info PM me. Also if anyone has info on UConn (like CoL, campus, etc.), please PM me, too. Thank you to everyone who was supportive through this process. Other than my wife you’re the first people I’ve told.

The fact that this was supposedly by email does not bode well for us. Also, could everyone please be careful with posting questions in the results? If you have questions use the forum. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Brown on the board but it was just someone waiting for a response.

At this rate I’d be happy to attend Trump University.

Wow this seems early for NYU! Do you mind sharing your area or who it was?

The people who have heard back from Wisconsin, did you get an email from the department or the grad school? Check portal or self-contained? I’m trying to figure out why I haven’t received anything since all three types of notices have gone out.

Trying to figure out how there have been acceptances and waitlists for Wisconsin for a while, now there seems to be some rejections, yet nothing on my end. Have I made the magical waitlist waitlist?

Anyone wanna claim Rutgers?

Think they will send out acceptances the week after next.

Congrats, are you 20th American, British, transatlantic, etc?

Thanks for the info! I’m not based on your comments if you were saying that they were interviewing everyone they wanted o accept or just your specialty?

Thank you. My letter made no mention of funding at all, so I dunno if we’re in the same boat, but I guess we’ll see.

Could you elaborate? Which DGS and what/where/when is funding coming?

I've got an official rejection from Northwestern and Stanford to add to my collection. However, in less entirely negative and more unknown and mixed feelings territory, I got accepted to Wisconsin's Afro-American Studies MA. I applied both to the MA and English PhD as part of their Bridge program but have not heard back from the English program, so I have them as an implied rejection. I'm not sure what to make of this right now. The letter (which was dated January 25th?) made no mention of funding whatsoever, it just said that the official letter from the graduate school was pending. I've contacted them to see if I can figure out if there is funding or not, but assuming I was only accepted to the MA and not to both, I kind of assume there's none. So I'm waiting to hear back so I can figure out what I think about this. Whoever posted the acceptance on the board, uhm, hit me up? That post said no funding, so I'd love to compare notes.

I contacted the DGS last week because there was an issue with my app, she replied today to address that issue and to also tell me that I have not been offered admission but that official letters will still be a while. The letter came after I saw the acceptances on the board so my hypothesis is that all acceptances and waitlists have gone out.