Musmatatus

Yikes, it's possible that I talked too much about teaching then ? Oh well, we'll see what happens! Also add me to the list of people who are very interested in the contents of the email--I didn't get anything from them though.

I don't think that's because they didn't have confidence in you. All of my recommendation letter writers did talk to me a bit about the job market. One of them (tenure-track assistant professor) even mentioned she still thinks about her own "back-up plans" occasionally.

Yes, I understood that. I think in my department they are just now starting to think about the dates.

In my experience (working university events, currently as an event coordinator for a top 10 program in a different discipline), scheduling that far in advance is usually not what happens. Your university sounds much more efficient than the norm. Edit: Conversely, the department I work for might be incredibly inefficient

It is intimidatingly good!

@kendalldinniene Worked perfectly! Thanks!

I think it's also somewhat likely that the departments don't know what the exact visit dates will be anyway. It might depend on when they release admissions decisions, and then smaller factors like when will key people (like the DGS and the chair) all be mostly free and on-campus at the same time.

@kendalldinniene I didn't see that Berkeley had a sample statement! Could you link to it? I'd like to see how mine compares to theirs, and it may be useful for the next cycle

A bit late, but speaking of the GRE/GPA impact, Ohio State apparently does have GPA/GRE cutoffs imposed by the graduate school. Not sure if anyone else applied there, but a friend of mine in Political Science told me about this thread where faculty have been weighing in over there and explained how it worked. They have a limited number of waivers from the graduate school to admit people under a certain GPA/GRE score: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/40727-faculty-perspectives I skimmed through the thread, and at some point the OSU PoliSci DGS confirms that history works the same way (with the waivers), so I imagine English does too.

I've received a couple of emails from random programs (i.e. not even English) with late deadlines urging me to apply... I feel a bit like Groucho Marx. I don't want to be a part of any cohort that wants me as a member!

Either way, it seems like you're getting a chance to fix it!

I'm a staff member at a university, and we just got back from break yesterday...I am going out on a limb to say that it may have just been sent when the department staff got back into office because universities tend to close over the winter break.

@Warelin Huge congrats!

@bernardthepug Thank you for chiming in! I like the idea of thinking of the application process as a learning experience.

For identifying fit, I had a spreadsheet with schools/names which I shared with my LORs. I tweaked the list a bit based on their advice. For professors I wanted to mention in my statements, I read abstracts and reviews of their books, and in a few cases listened to their lectures that were available on YouTube. I also looked at CVs (when available--it seems like they scarcely ever are!) and classes recently taught. After reading other people's posts, it seems like only having one sentence per professor may be on the short side. I didn't address departmental culture either--these are all really good things to point out that I'll take into account for next time (as it seems more likely there will be a next time!).

It is definitely encouraging to see a lot more posting going on here! This is my first time applying, so it's very comforting to hear other people's coping stories. At this point, it seems like the most reasonable option is to plan for applying again next year, and I'll definitely take a look into IRT. I'm trying to take my mind off grad school, but somehow everything I stumble upon is tangentially related--I just checked out a book called Dear Committee Members filled with satirical LORs!

Congrats on all the good news! I agree that it's a bummer that you weren't notified sooner, but go ahead and update your CV! If you get waitlisted, contacted for an interview, etc., perhaps you could send them an updated CV. I'm not sure what's the proper etiquette on that, but it's worth having something updated regardless.

@WildeThing I've been trying not to panic and keep my mind off of notifications, but it's reassuring to know that at least one other person is in the same position!

I'm listening to the Invisible Man on audiobook right now. I just finished Celest Ng's EINTY, and have requested Little Fires Everywhere!

@Mumasatus Not sure if you came across this already, but Michigan doesn't require GRE scores

@RenzoI think it's awesome that you have a career that you're happy to stay in so you know what you're doing otherwise. Right now I'm working some temporary jobs (I graduated in June), and I'm trying to think of back-up plans if the grad school plan doesn't work out--it's been a bit of a struggle!

Hi everyone! I've lurked on/off for a while (as I thought about applying previously), but as I've actually applied this cycle I figured I would introduce myself. I'm in California and I graduated with my BA earlier this year. I've applied to English PhD programs. I'm interested in contemporary ethnic US literatures, trauma studies, memory studies, and visual culture.