kirbs005

Were they on Spring Break last week? It was the week before Easter and that's sometimes a popular week for it. I'd say wait until the end of today and then email them again. Or try calling.

I'm taking myself off the Ohio State waitlist. I know it's not a ranked and ordered list, but hopefully less people will get someone else an opportunity faster!

Sorry to hear it! Just so you know this is a English specific forum, but there might be something specific to your area too in the Life Sciences forum: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/29-biology/

If you were accepted to both your probably a good fit for both, so I wouldn't worry about that, and it's ultimately your decision. But I think it's super important to include current students' thoughts in your decision making! I've basically decided on a program at this point, but am waiting until I get to talk to current students at a virtual visit this week to ensure there aren't any major red flags. Personally, even if the scholars and program itself are amazing, if students are less than enthusiastic or friendly, I don't think it's worth it. You'll be doing this for anywhere between 4-6 years and even with a supportive program, grad school is really stressful. If you add on top of the normal stress of teaching, classes, publishing, etc, that faculty don't want to support students or the stipend isn't livable, or there's no social aspect/unfriendly cohort, that seems like it's not worth it to me. But that's just my two cents. I think that the job market, as we all know, isn't great right now, and unless one is significantly a better school with significantly better placements, I'd say go where students are getting more than undue stress out of their experience.

I'm sending everyone good vibes - I just had an amazing phone call with the DGS at the Minnesota Writing Studies program who offered me admission! I was staring down a shut out, pending waitlist movement, but now I got into my top program. It's possible, y'all! Every single person here is a great academic and can make it happen!

This is what I did, and from the feedback I got from my letter writers, it made sense the way I had it written. In theory, if you've framed your research and questions well, the committee should have an excellent idea of how good of a fit you are before you get to your paragraph telling them that. And with the limited space, I prioritized telling them about myself/framing my research over telling them about their department. I also made sure to include my teaching experiences and why I wanted to do the PhD, Explaining why I want to be a professor. I have moved back and forth from academia, so it felt necessary to explain it. Tangentially, I did not do anything on top of the job I am currently working, but it's a corporate trainer job, so I am writing curriculum and teaching, which lends itself to the application process well. But that's just my two cents, and I'm sitting at 2 rejections and a waitlist, with one pending.

I'm on the waitlist at Ohio State, and although not my top choice (who I'm still waiting on), it's an extremely close second! And I agree with @Rehana202, my waitlist email essentially said under normal circumstances I would have gotten an offer. The thing that stresses me out is it's not ordered, it's dependent on who turns them down, so I'm desperately crossing my fingers that a Rhet/Comp PhD acceptance gets a better offer somewhere else.

I checked my status with them online when someone mentioned a change recently and I saw mine says "incomplete" ? So I've decided to no longer check their portal (mostly because I know it's completed, everything on the checklist is done)... hopefully the change means news for everyone soon though!

If there hadn't just been huge ice storms and power outages last week, I'd say no. But I think they'll probably get to it sometime this week (since it sounded like they were anticipating sending decisions last week, pre-storm). Their campus was closed last week and it's possible a lot of them couldn't actually get to campus or didn't have the power to trigger admissions decisions. I'd say if we get into March with no answer, then it wouldn't be bad to reach out.

I'm in the same boat!! They pushed their initial deadline back and waiting to hear from them is killing me.

I don't think it's a requirement either, they assume you're still interested since you applied and are on the waitlist. I just replied saying "thanks" and that I'd contact them with any questions. I'd re-read the email you got and then decide.

I'm not saying you would know, I'm just simply pointing out that not everyone uses this website and it would be unfair to jump to the conclusion that if no acceptances have been posted that a program didn't accept anyone. The only way to know is talking to DGS or waiting to see if they announce a class for the Fall. And as we've seen, things have rolled out very slowly compared to past years, and it's still kinda early. And yes, the majority of people don't care but there was quite the uproar about UChicago English, especially once it was announced they were taking just Black Studies. It's the world of higher ed "press" and the internet who would hold them accountable. I'd also imagine, that they could get in legal trouble if pressed hard enough (and if someone sued for this, defrauding people out of money for grad applications, at a large institution, it would make headlines outside of higher ed) I'd also imagine that applicants or hopefully students would hold them accountable. If I was a lit person re-applying next year I'd steer far away from Brandeis who dropped admissions at the last second. If they're willing to do that, I'm not willing to attend their program, just my two cents, not trying to pick an argument.

I think it's fair to say that programs make money of applications every year, since most fees are $70+ and I think it's also fair to say that not all people know about or use GradCafe. Most programs who took applications should have at least a few acceptances. Because those who don't accept anyone, after taking applications without any indication that they wouldn't accept anyone, would/can/should be in at least a little legal hot water as it's extremely exploitive and also fraudulent. I'm sure they could make a case for "there weren't any qualified candidates" but I don't think that would hold up well and they'd get a ton of bad press over it.

CONGRATS!! I loved my stand alone MA experience and a teaching assistanceship is huge

Definitely think people took less people across the board (not just Lit; other humanities, social sciences, STEM, everything) but there are some schools with bigger numbers too. Ohio State is planning on taking 18 (9 MA/PhD and 9 PhD) so even though it's hard, I'm trying to keep my hopes up that some schools will fund as many people as they are able without a detriment to their current students. Which is hopefully more than a handful. I'm also worried and making contingency plans (which sucks) but it's only early February, a lot of school's timelines are behind, and there's a lot of season left. Hang in there everybody ❤️

Fellow rhetoric person here, I'd be happy to answer any questions if you send me a DM. I did do my MA in a Comm department, but am still happy to answer any questions.

Congratulations!! That's so exciting and must feel like such a relief. Also a fantastic sense of retribution. I was raised in/lived in Davis for a while and still have family there/in the area, so if you have any questions about the town, send me a DM!

Big fan of the Lite Fever Tree too - and definitely have dug into the Sipsmith I got for Christmas. Cheers to good news over the next few weeks!

I HATE when people say you won't come back after a gap year. I took 2.5 years off after undergrad (hooray December grad) and have taken another 2 years if I were to start this Fall. I was told at my MA institution that it was a benefit on my application. The vast majority of the people in my MA cohort had taken a gap year. It shows dedication and passion for the field coming back. This time off allows you to find something to do that builds both your resume and CV if you can. I worked as a software trainer both times, and while I don't *love* it, I can say I've had 4 years of teaching/training experience, something that's always needed. I've taught lots of classes, done one-to-one work, and have completely redesigned classes and written assessments. Are there drawbacks? Sure (hello GRE scores that are expiring this Fall, looking at you if I need to apply again). But its not the end of the world that everyone makes it out to be. It's challenging, not going to lie I've had a lot of tearful nights because I don't like what I'm doing and am very anxious to make a switch back into academia again, but I wouldn't change how I did things. You learn a lot of "real life" skills too, which are so important. Long story short, I'll repeat @cassidyaxx in saying that you are not your results, and it will suck if I don't get admitted anywhere this year, but taking time off is not the end of the world and can end up being beneficial in the long run. If you want to talk to me about my time off/getting back in, shoot me a DM.

I'm on the OSU waitlist and their website says that one of my LORs never got uploaded. There were technical errors and he had to email it in, and as far as I know, the letter was sent to the committee. As much as we'd love all the schools to update everything as soon as it happens, I think that it doesn't always go back and get updated. So don't base too much stress on it!

^^Me (and lots of us, I'm sure) this week and next Channeling Matthew McConnaughey is probably my weirdest coping strategy yet, but desperate times call for desperate measures...right?

They're not, but they should be coming out this week or next (if they follow their historical timeline). I am weirdly nervous about them. I think it's a pretty good fit for me, but it's also the least desirable city for me and my partner to move to on my list... but they have SUCH an excellent placement rate for their Rhet/Comp folks (like they placed 5/6 in professor positions last year, only one was an adjunct as far as I can tell)... but I also have convinced myself there's no way I'm going to get in... lol. I've reached a position similar to OSU I think where I just want to know either way. I won't be heartbroken if I don't get in, and I'll be excited if I do... but I just want to know.

In the waitlist email I got from OSU the DGS said they anticipate fully funding everyone accepted to the program and gave a specific dollar amount. I know you mentioned that you were offered/nominated for a fellowship as well, right? I wonder if they're waiting on that or not? But they were fairly open about the fact that they anticipate funding everyone even though it was a waitlist email.

I'm still on pending too! Even though I've gotten a waitlist email. I wish I could be more helpful or that they'll send more notifications soon. I think it's fairly obvious that the data on OSU's website (as well as other schools) is skewed or presented in a way that makes their statistics look good (widening the dates, not putting any dates, just schools they've placed to, etc). I would hope that most of the folks going into PhD's (although it's hard to admit and deal with) would know that the job market is rough, and even the tippy-top programs, like Columbia, etc. are having difficulty placing TT jobs. I would say base your decision on a place you feel YOU can thrive and that is a good fit, because no matter the institution, you will have to do well to be eligible for those jobs in the first place. Because yes, it's good to have data and input, but you have to take it with a grain of salt. If you asked me about my MA experience I would rave about how great the department is, but I know at least two other cohort mates who hated it and would tell you to avoid it like the plague.

FYI for all of you still in OSU "pending" purgatory... I just received an email explaining that I was placed on their waitlist. It's definitely fairly high up on my short list, so if you're a rhet/comp person who's not planning on accepting, I'd probably love to take your spot! Congrats again to all those who did get admitted. They indicated they plan on accepting 9 MA/PhD applicants and 9 PhD applicants total for the program this fall. Not sure what that means for those still waiting to hear, but just thought I'd give more details for those still waiting.