orphic_mel528

Anyone who got that email from UMASS: I just called DGS. The long and short is that the email we all received went out before it should have. It was a very funny, non-specific, avoidant conversation, like we were making a transaction in stolen goods. "I got this email from the Writing Program, but I haven't heard anything from the department itself," I said. "Ahhhhhh...well you see," said she, speaking out of the side of her mouth/through her teeth. "I'm not telling you you're accepted...I'm also not telling you you're not accepted." "Should we pretend this conversation never happened?" I whispered. "The news is............imminent." "Ahhh, okay...."

Sorry, should've multi-quoted this: Thank you HumanCylinder, that's very good advice.

Thanks for the info, I'm actually really glad to have more of an indication, actually.

I once sent a professor an email asking him to pick up some eggs and a bottle of chianti, and ended it with, "Love you googly bear." His first name is the same as my husband's, last name is the same initial, I was sending the email from my phone while distracted, etc., etc. The Perfect Storm. Professor replied: "I would, Schmoopsie Poo, but I have to teach a class in 10 minutes. XOX" I nearly died. Thank you for the congratulations, and I'm sorry for your disappointment. UNL is a fantastic program and I'm sure you'll do well there.

Me too, me too! Go us!!! Did you check the portal, because mine still just says applied. (Did you have a moment of wondering if it was sent by mistake like I did?)

Thank you, Jiminy Cricket. As usual, you're correct

That's how I feel, and I'm okay with the rejection. I've been harping about this for a week, although I guess that's what this place is for. I'd just like some closure so I can move on. I'm afraid to email them though; I don't want to be that person...

Does anyone have any insider info on UC Davis and whether they're still sending out notifications? I've only seen four acceptances on the board and no wait-lists. Do they even have a wait-list? At what point do I start emailing and begging them to put me out of my misery?

I'm with you both. From last year's stats, it looks like we will hear soon.

I'm fine with waiting a reasonable time, but I heard stories about people getting rejection emails or letters MONTHS after replies were due. That's just unreasonable. My husband said before, "It's like going for a job interview and they never call you back." I said, "Yeah, except I don't send $100 bill with my job applications."

I've applied to six PhD programs and haven't heard a peep out of any of them. One is an implied rejection, I believe. The rest, from what I can tell from last year's survey, won't start sending out word until next week or later. I have to say, the notion of rejection doesn't bother me nearly as much as the lack of consideration inherent in not saying anything at all. There shouldn't be a single person in any admissions office who isn't aware of how important this is to people and what it means to people. It's really not right.

I'm so sorry this happened!

Thank you, I'm glad I'm not looking in the wrong place. It's no big thing if it's a no. They can't take everyone

To everyone who applied to Davis: I've pretty much given up hope at this point, and that's okay, but I've been wondering for a while now...am I looking at the right screen? When I go to check my status, all I have is an Application Status Checklist that lists what materials I sent it, etc. Where am I supposed to be seeing a status? Is it at the top? Or do they not really give you a status except in email? I'm confused, and tired and neurotic. Thanks in advance. Never mind, I found it. Still says submitted. I hope I'm not one of the lucky chosen ones who doesn't hear anything until July! I'd like to at least have closure.

I have looked at their website, but it must be buried somewhere I'm not looking. I'll have to dig around some more. Hoping the best for you! It's a maddening process, truly!

I definitely get what you're trying to say. I took nearly 5 years off before I did my MA. I worked full-time through the entirety of my undergraduate years and I was burnt out, not to mention not entirely sure I wanted to get a graduate degree in psychology. I'm so glad I took that time off. I matured so much, professionally and personally, and ended up completely changing my field of study. I have to giggle a little bit at the apparent perception that people 30+ are this ancient demographic. I remember regarding people in their 30s very much the same way when I was 21, 22. Then you get there and you realize: it happens so quickly, it's not like you wake up at 30 and suddenly you're old. The only real change for many people is an increase in confidence and self-awareness. The point I'm trying to make is that you're not so different at 30 than you are at 21 with regard to ambition, love of learning, etc. I can't say for sure how ad coms or employers look at you, but it bears mentioning that 3 of my graduate professors were in their late 30s before they completed their PhD, and many of the PhD graduates at my commencement ceremony were in their 50s and 60s.

I guess I'll say this here, since it is a version of "freakin' out" in its own way: Anybody else have days where they feel pretty good about their chances, and then other days, you wake up, look in the mirror and say, "No admissions committee will ever love me." I'm having one of the latter days today. I've seen a slew of acceptances from one of the programs I applied to, and I've heard nothing. This program wasn't exactly my first choice, but it was pretty high up there. I'm more disturbed by my own superstitions: that if I start out with a rejection, it's just going to be all rejections. This is irrational, and so am I! Anyone know of any data aggregate on cohort sizes/average acceptances per year? I don't know why they make this stuff so mysterious...

When I started my MA in Literature, I was the only student without an undergraduate degree in English. Not only did I have no clue about what I should specialize in, I didn't have a clue who Derrida, Foucault, Hegel, and many others were, let alone what they were talking about, until about the 3rd week of class. Here is how it happens, and why you shouldn't worry: You are going to take a class that is going to introduce you to something, and it's going to be like a lightbulb turning on. It may not even be the class you expect. But it will happen, and you'll know when it happens. Not to be ridiculous, but it's got a lot of similarities to being infatuated with another human being: you can't stop thinking about it, you want to tell everyone about it, you want to see it (read about it) more and more... Anyway, beyond that, look into attending conferences, and if you haven't signed up for an MLA membership yet, do so. They send you a journal every month with critical articles written on virtually every topic. Read them, and something might jump out at you. Don't worry.

I really didn't have a hard time at all. Initially, I was a little intimidated by the way my classmates threw around critical theory with such ease, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I approached the professor with whom I felt most comfortable and asked her to recommend some reading for me to do over the breaks. If I were you, I'd get the Norton anthologies for Brit and American, if you don't have them already, and give them a read-through. There's really no way of predicting what readings your class will be focused on, and you definitely won't be alone in seeing something for the first time. I really wouldn't worry too much. That said, you may not be competitive enough to get into a program like Yale's or the like, but I wouldn't worry about that, either. My MA is from a program that's definitely not at the top of the rankings, but my classmates have been accepted to PhD programs like Purdue, UC San Diego, Oxford, Washington University, UPENN, etc.

I applied and was admitted to a number of MA English programs with a BA in Psychology. It's really not that uncommon. You'll be fine. Make sure your writing sample is strong, and make it about an Anglophone piece.

I, too, was appalled by my quant, but I told myself if an English PhD program doesn't want me because I can't remember rules about triangles, I probably don't want them either. I applied to: UMASS Amherst, Fordham, Rutgers, U of Oregon, U of Washington, and....AND! UC DAVIS! Seems to me that most of these programs notify toward the middle or end of the month. If we're both accepted to UC Davis and both attend, we may be destined for friendship. I had/have the same feelings you had about UC Davis being a long shot. I wonder how many EM people they accept per season? It's been awhile since I looked at their current cohort, but I feel like they already had a decent number of EM diss being supervised. Again, genuinely so glad for your success! We'll see what happens!

Thanks so much again for sharing. I'm amazed that your GRE V and Q are identical to mine! We're also both EM. WEIRD.

GREs, GPA, conferences, teaching experience, and such Thanks for being willing to share!

Congrats on your acceptances! Are you comfortable sharing your stats? Asking for...a friend...

I'm 31, finished my English MA at 29, now waiting on admissions decisions from PhD programs. I'm currently an adjunct at a local university and I run the writing center, so I've fortunately been busy enough to not obsess too much over hearing. At this point, there isn't much I can do about acceptance or rejection. Oddly enough, I'm feeling strangely ambivalent and disconnected from the whole thing. It consumes your life for almost a year, getting all the stuff together and writing the SOPs, et cetera, and then suddenly everything's submitted. So it almost seems like a dream that the last year happened at all. As far as balancing: I don't have children, although I'm married. I was already married when I did my MA, and I was working full-time; I remember many nights of saying maybe 10 words to my husband because I was writing papers. Luckily, he's very understanding and supportive, and is himself working toward his MBA. I'm used to having a ton on my plate all the time. Best of luck to everyone in our age bracket and older applying; it's never too late, right?