becca11773

Thanks for this recommendation! I've been struggling between paper/electronic but really want to keep a detailed paper planner for the PhD process. I think I'll try this one because it isn't spiral bound (I'm left handed).

Have had email correspondence with University of Cincinnati lit professor letting me know they loved my application ("read it with great pleasure and admiration") and "very interested" in me for their PhD program, but that they don't yet know about funding, and they'll let me know as soon as they know. Asking me to keep them in mind and let them know if my application status changes. Was very surprised to hear from them this soon; UC's application wasn't due until Jan. 15. This would be, practically speaking, a great fit for me (the university where I live), because I'm older than the average PhD student (a fool who has decided to leave a tenured high school teaching career to "follow my dream"). I only see one University of Cincinnati post on the results page; don't think they've actually sent official acceptances and rejections via the grad school yet, but If anyone has a yes with certain funding and you know you won't be accepting, let them know soon for my sake, ha.

I'm waiting to hear from Vandy too. Hoping the (less likely) possibility that they've accepted all people who aren't Cafeing and all of us Grad Cafers are about to be rejected isn't the case.

Thank you so much for "saying" that. Exactly what I needed to hear. I jumped into the PhD application game on a whim in late October; I didn't realize how cutthroat it is. Need to ignore my bruised ego and soldier on :-)

I'm definitely feeling the same way. Anxiety abounds.

I'm sorry for your bad news. My rejection is official too and my pride is crushed. I have a 4.0 MA, pretty sure my professors didn't write anything but the nicest things about me, and my contemporary poetry teacher told me my writing sample was top notch. I'm now anxious and wondering what's wrong with my application package? All the schools I applied to are OSU caliber or higher, and I'm starting to fear I'll be shut out completely.

Yep, me too. They only take 10 a year, so I wasn't expecting to be accepted, but I would have loved to have been!

This is reassuring to me, because I was afraid I may have destroyed my chances by not mentioning professors by name- My statement of purpose is very clear about the faculty groups I want to study with at each school, and I was careful to do my research to be sure I was applying to school with strong departments in these areas: feminist theory and contemporary literature, but I don't mention specific professors. I do mention research I've already done in these specific fields and authors I've been studying. Hoping that this is enough to get me in somewhere, lol.

This is exactly what I needed to know- thanks! I had already looked at the incredibly helpful projected acceptance dates post, but I was worried that since those acceptance dates are coming soonish, and no school has contacted me for an interview, I was already out of the running.

I'm wondering which schools have interviews and which don't? I haven't heard anything from any of them yet- no emails, no calls, yikes! Feeling very nervous, because I'm not sure how competitive my application is and I only applied to 6 schools, which sounds now after reading many of your posts like not many at all (made a last minute decision that I want to quit my job and go back to school; only started the admissions process in October). My GRE was 168 and 5, UGPA 3.8, MA GPA 4.0. I think my writing sample is pretty good- my recommenders say so, but who knows? I've applied to Duke, UofM Ann Arbor, Vandy, Ohio State, U of Ky and U of Cincinnati- English Literature and LInguistics/Gender Theory/Comtemporary Lit. Anyone with insight into the process at any of these schools? Scared because of the silence- it seems like people in other majors are posting up a storm about email and phone interviews...