dopamine_17

@dopamine_17 that's great! Best of luck for the interview and congratulations
@scurvs22 thank you, I am under the same impression, but I guess, there is some sort of quota for international student intake each year, depending on funding situation... Well, fingers crossed! US is the best place to get a PhD for English speaking people, except for the UK (where I got my master's), and acquiring funding there is almost impossible now... The rate at which the world is closing down, it would possibly be even more difficult next year.

@dopamine_17 Congratulations on the UCLA interview! Unfortunately, I was in the English and Philosophy departments as an undergrad, so I don't know the cogs of that department's machine. But, I did meet with one of the PhD professors before application season started and she is the BEST. I was pretty sad that I had no overlap with their   graduate faculty because I like her so much. Based upon her feedback and the intel I received from my Cal interview, the best advice I can give is know to why that school's department fits with your agenda. I learned from my Cal interviewer that part of the interview was to figure out how my proposal meshes with their program . . . they were trying to fill in the holes from my statements. Also, UCLA's PhD department (the three of them) does not consist of any practitioners: any dialogue involving praxis is probs not going to butter their bread. That's just my opinion, based on my meeting with one of them, but there it is. 

@MilesToGo As far as I can tell at this point, most of the universities we are throwing around on this thread are sanctuaries and don't appear to be bending to the will of our current regime (to put it politely). Fingers crossed for you (and everyone else) that I am not naive in this assumption. 

lemonboo: That is so awesome!  Congratulations!
Gamb1t: I know it's hard, but try not to let it get you down. There are so many factors in this process we can't control. Research fit with the particular professors who are not going on sabbatical, don't have an overload of dissertations in progress, etc . . .all things we don't really know when we apply . . . these all have a lot of weight in this process. Wherever you land is the place where the faculty can give you the most support you need to do what you want to do. I don't know if you have read the threads from past cycles but they are really helpful. There are people who were accepted into amazing programs in March / April after a string of rejection letters. 

Hi Y'all
I got a phone call from Noe Montez at Tufts yesterday. He called to let me know that the graduate faculty was recommending me for admission to the program (Apparently the official admission has to go through the graduate school first).
Excited to hear it, but waiting to hear about other schools too
 

dopamine_17: I don't go to UCLA if that's what you're worried about? I did go there for undergrad, however, and loved it. 
Gamb1t: I remember reading on one of the past year threads that someone had to skype in lieu of campus interview because of a conference conflict. I think s/he still got into that program.