a_sort_of_fractious_angel

Congrats to recipient of the Emory interview! Woo!

Yes - it's super nice. Rutgers seems like a great department. Very responsive to worried applicants. FWIW, Temple does the same as Rutgers (Temple's department admin said I'd be notified in Jan if I was missing anything) and, while the app was due 12/15, the online portal (at least mine) was majorly updated and noted as Complete & Ready For Review just today. It'd been "Incomplete" since Jan 2 (yet another missing letter) and I'd emailed her/had my LW resend on 1/8, but she never responded. Today, the letter was marked as received by them on 12/13. I guess I jumped the gun for panicking about my app, but I think your prediction for Temple as an early to mid Feb school is spot-on since it looks like they're getting ready to start now (for some reason, I recall seeing some past years having Temple as a late January school, but I could be making that up.)

I was thinking the exact same thing - sadly, I'd guess this week will be quiet overall (at least for my programs.) BUT! That brings us to the week of the 22nd - could get interesting. Maybe. I am now pro at flipping from GC results to the portal to my email within a minute (20 seconds for each page) - I guess this is my hobby now.

Dunno if this is helpful to you, @Warelin, but Rutgers (New Brunswick) English dept emailed me on Jan 8th saying that my application was "almost complete" (a letter was missing) and that the letter was due by Jan 15th. I'm not sure if a SOP or WS would be included under the umbrella of missing materials (as the SOP is uploaded with the Grad School application as well as later, along with the WS, CV, etc. - maybe?) but perhaps this info is of use to you. Also, FWIW, the portal (as of today) is not updated - I emailed to confirm receipt that my application was now considered "complete" by the department.

Thank you, @Warelin - this is a fantastic effort and a really generous share. You've hit almost every school on my list which I really, really, seriously (srsly) appreciate. And good luck to all! It looks, for me, like a quiet two weeks ahead before things start to ~happen~ and I'm guessing (for most) that the upcoming week will be another, tortuously, terrible quiet week before Things Begin. Y'all have made it this far, which is nothing to sneeze at, and - SOON - will be rewarded with multiple offers from top programs. Go team.

Congrats, @punctilious!!! That is fantastic news!

I applied to two programs with 12/15 deadlines. Both schools would "notify me in January if anything was missing" (I learned this via an email conversation with the respective dept admin.) So, I kept an eye on the portals throughout December and made sure on January 2nd to check that everything really was there. Both schools, on the 2nd, were missing a letter. I waited a couple of days to see if the letters would appear (both schools are in the northeast and there was that crazy storm, so I'm sure that threw things out of whack) but no change. So, for School A, I reached out to my letter writer first for advice - she happily offered to resend right away ("better 2 letters from me than none") and after she confirmed that she'd sent it again, I emailed the dept. alerting them to this letter's hopeful arrival. I also acknowledged that they were likely very busy post-storm and said that I'd keep an eye on the portal. For School B, I got a automated "we're missing this" email. I notified that letter writer (different than the one above) and she sent it ASAP. As of today, the letters do not appear in either school's portal. I'm happy to wait - I know they are super busy and I have NO interest in emailing them about the letter since responding to it would take away time from them updating the portals. At the same time, School B asked that the letter be in by Jan 15th and I want to make sure (for both schools) that the letters are there by that date . So - if the letters are not noted in my file by Friday, do I call? Do I take on faith they're there and just not visible on my end? I'm especially nervous about this school that isn't communicating - it's a good fit for me and I have no interest in throwing my app fee into the wind with them if I can control that.

I don't know! What an oversight! Haha! And omg, that happened to me as well. Nutty. And do! Mine are part of the reason I'm applying to all PA schools/schools within a 5 hour driving distance of Philly (aside from UMich, because, UMich). Why? Because I did not bring mine to my MA program location and subsequently didn't ride for 2 years. I did, however, hit a total mental wall and became extremely burnt out/broke down halfway through the program. Are these two things related? I would not say "no," haha. So, yes - bring the horses! And, to all on this thread - make sure to do The Things You Enjoy while in a program. Make time for that stuff - it'll keep you balanced and help you be a better scholar.

HELLO FELLOW HORSE PERSON - I AM ONE TOO!

I'm a bit late to this but here's my anecdote about passing a language exam for my MA in English. I was emailed a journal article (about literature) by the French department and I had an hour (maybe 90 minutes?) to translate a part of it into passable English. I was permitted to translate between 500-1000 words and was allowed a dictionary and a grammar chart to help myself along. To prepare for the exam, I bought a book off of Amazon that was made specifically for graduate students needing to pass this kind of exam. The book is called French for Reading (authors are Karl C Sandberg and Eddison C Tatham) - it was a fantastic resource and helped me get comfy enough with French to stumble my way through without panic. I'm not sure if there is one for every language but if you need (or can swing) French for your area, it's a handy little book. FWIW, I wasn't all that familiar with French prior to my MA - I took two semesters (101 and 102) as an undergraduate and did alright but not great (I freeze during oral testing of foreign languages). My sense was that the book + a basic familiarity with the language + minimal preparation (an hour or two for 4-5 days a week for about 4 weeks prior to the exam) got me to a point where I could piece together enough of the sentences/paragraphs to figure out what was going on. And I passed, so that is cool. Also FWIW, the PhD students in my program (which is consistently ranked top 10-15) had the option to do two of these tests OR to do a more intensive exam that (I think?) required speaking on top of reading. As we all know, not every program is the same but my sense is that - unless a program or field makes clear that an applicant needs to really be good with language (med/ren peeps, I'm looking at you) - you'll be OK and can definitely explore ways to get it done once you get to your program. One fact and one myth to conclude: Fact: our department had a connection to language summer sessions that many PhD students enrolled in - six weeks of intensive language learning and a test RIGHT at the end which our dept. accepted as "proof" of proficiency. My guess is that other programs have this option or something similar. Myth: I had a peer who went to the DGS to ask about the language exam. They told him they were raised (and subsequently) fluent in another language. He "tested" them right there on the spot and signed off on their language requirement after about 10 minutes. Dunno if this is as true as I'd like to be, but it makes me laugh. All to say, there's probably several avenues to learning the language you need and you can find support along the way, especially since you're thinking about it now. And my friends who are currently PhD students at various institutions have never expressed a concern for this test (though they are freaking out about their 3rd year oral exams right now, haha).

Definitely early but awesome. And yea, I was reading over the acceptances thread from 2017 and it seemed like Buffalo is historically early. Hopefully, we'll have a year similar to the 2017ers and receive good news early on!

Congrats, @jelris! That's fantastic - I hope you get the fellowship!

Sadly no - Rutgers was the department who emailed me yesterday. Hopefully you'll get some clear answers from them soon - I know they're swamped but I think it is important to reach out for stuff like this (better than them hunting you down to say, "where is this thing we requested?")

Today is a day of letters, I see - two of my schools are missing one letter (12/15 deadlines). Both schools said they'd notify me after Jan 1 if I was missing any materials - did your program indicate anything like that? I know some schools start reviewing right away, but they're usually up-front about the importance of the deadlines (I'm pulling only from my experience here, though.) Since you're missing both the letter and the GRE, I think you're in the clear to call the department - if this is a school that starts reviewing mid-January, you have to time to get this in order (alternatively, they may very well have all your things and a glitch could be preventing you from seeing it). They may also give you a more direct way to submit (i.e., the email address of an academic coordinator). *Speak and they listen, I guess - one of my problem schools literally just emailed me requesting that last letter by January 15th and they are asking for it to be sent via email to the dept admin, not via the portal.* Best of luck - this is so stressful and largely out of your control, but it seems like you're doing everything you can. I'm sure you'll get it in order soon.

Hey! Awesome! I'm not familiar with Yoon Ha Lee, but I'll look the novel up - it sounds fantastic! The author I worked on (and who I highly recommend) is Nalo Hopkinson; she has several novels and collections of stories. Midnight Robber juxtaposes Caribbean myth figures and dimensional space travel and there's a racialized computer network - it's awesome. 11/10 recommend.

Hello and welcome! I TA'd an anthro class as a grad student - it was an intro course for undergrads thinking about the major - and I really liked it not only because it was this brand new, exciting area but the professor employed several theorists who made the rounds in my grad literary seminar - lot of interesting connections between the fields. And you're spot-on with the latest upswing in spec fic - I spent a portion of my MA degree looking at diasporic spec. fic. coming out of the the Caribbean. I totally agree - Jemisin and Okorafor are fantastic.

This is brilliant - I now have plans for my Sunday evening. And yes, the pilot was fantastic. And I've heard great things! I'll put it next on my to-watch!

Oooh - this is a fun question. I've thought about two other degree paths - a PhD in Student Affairs and an MA in counseling. The SA degree stemmed from my panic about being rejected from PhDs as a 2nd year MA student and my love for higher education. Having looked at the requirements/experience needed and having spoken to friends who are actually in the field, I've come to realize that English is the better way for me to get into the university life but I hope that (if I get into an English program) that I can work alongside SA professionals down the road (I know sometimes the relationships between faculty and non-faculty can be extremely limited, which I personally think is not always the best thing.) The counseling MA was inspired by my undergrad work - my adviser was really into trauma studies and I really enjoyed the field. I looked into a psych double major as an undergrad, but the science side of it all is not for me (and I can't imagine taking a psych degree to the PhD). I have thought up, however, this nutty fantasy life in which I get PhD in English and then, if I really can't find an academic job, working a gig with flexible enough hours and doing a counseling MA of some kind as a part-time student. I've always found it interesting how grad students usually have several fields/industries they've considered but, for various reasons, English became The One - it's especially cool when people can incorporate those other loves into literary work. @FreakyFoucault - do you incorporate law or music into your scholarship? (Feel free to not answer, since my Q is really bringing us back around to what we do, haha).

That's awesome you're getting back to the things you were doing prior. I've been trying to do the same but I'm also in full-time, low-key panic mode. I accidentally picked up a hard copy of my WS yesterday (didn't remember I'd left it on my desk), realized what it was, and was like "oh no, you don't need to be here or anywhere near me at all, actually." It's so tempting to check (just once! and by once, I mean several times!) and the general "thanks for applying don't forget to pay" emails (if you have those) have been putting my cardiac system to the test. Ooofda. But recording projects sounds awesome! Also, Netflix is key - I've been pushing through Black Mirror (so good, so good). And you're spot-on; I'm thrilled that in, like, 6 weeks we'll have some answers (maybe) but terrified simultaneously.

Hey, all I guess it's technically post-crunch for most of us and I wanted to ask - is anyone doing anything fun/exciting/relaxing during the thumb-twiddling period? I keep starting to think about a few Plan B ideas but I feel like I can't get too into those yet since I need to wait and see how the applications shake out. Plus, planning those out in a serious way feels exhausting and I need a break, so I've given myself until March 1 to just relax (which really means just checking my email and GC more times a day than is productive and binge-watching Netflix - I can only imagine what it'll be like in February, lol.)

It feels early but, I guess, it really isn't. Good luck, y'all - I can't wait to see what good news people share. (I keep trying to envision myself doing that and keep nervously giggling, ugh.)

Hey! I may have an answer for you (for the second school)? FWIW, I could be wrong - however, they may want you to have an official copy of your transcript, which you upload to their online portal. (I.e. no advising transcripts or screenshots.) A few of my schools requested an official copy addressed to me/that I had opened (thereby making it "unofficial") uploaded directly and used that kind of language.

Just to add to what's already been said - I included footnotes in later drafts but none of my letter writers said anything when looking over my early drafts (sans footnotes) and I know a few friends who showed me their SOPs (now at great schools) where they did not cite. I think you can take it or leave it.

Hey, all - I hope this helps somewhat. I emailed one school (deadline 12/15) and they said they'd tell me on January 1 if I was missing anything, including letters. All to say, I think the depts need time to organize after the deadline + have break time. So, while your LWs have to submit eventually, yes, the importance of that deadline is more on us. *This is my two-cents and may not hold up for all/any universities*

Hahaha, so true - I guess I haven't realized yet that now the only thing left to do is wait!