WatchfulWombat

I was in a similar situation as you when I applied for grad school, with a similar GPA that was also about a decade old. Even more than the GPA itself, I think the main challenge was getting credible recommendation letters from people who knew me. So I did what you suggested: I took advanced courses as a non-degree student at my home university after work for two years and did really well in them. While I did not seek out specific people, some of my professors were big names in their field, so it helped me get great recs. I did get into some competitive programs with very decent funding. So.. I think taking extra courses to prepare is a good idea. I don't have any experience with MOOCs, so don't know how those would be valued by grad programs.

My two cents: if you think the program is good enough, and there are people you see yourself working with there, I'd go for the program that won't make you go into debt.

Yes, that's weird. They haven't responded to your confirmation at all? Have you been in touch with anyone there apart from your advisor?

Uhm yeah, that's the spirit! Even if you have to try again next year, you'll still be nine years ahead of me! ;-)

Good grief, why would anyone want to sabotage your academic career like that? Honestly, it surprises me that a department in any field would rescind an offer over a blog post about mental health, though I suppose that might be normal in medicine. Though I cannot say for sure, I doubt this could be a problem for most departments. Try not to worry about it..

I saw some posts on the results page about rejections via Wolverine access, so I logged in and sure enough, there it was! This makes my first rejection. :-) I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's better news for you! I've received one offer so far, so I'm less nervous knowing that the PhD thing will happen. It would still be good to have a few options though.

What were they thinking? They should grant you an honorary PhD for the bread alone.

I'm looking at historical syntax and morphology, and did not apply to UCLA or Amherst.. one of my professors has encouraged me to apply to Edinburgh, but I'm still on the fence, mostly because I think my chance of getting in would be even slimmer than where I applied now. I feel fairly relaxed so far, but I know I will really want to succeed next year and am also thinking of ways I can become more competitive (without collecting debt).. I can definitely handle one cycle of all rejections, but not two.

Keep your chin up. I'm not the strongest applicant either, and have not received any acceptances (or rejections) so far. Here are my weaknesses: I have a very average (foreign) undergraduate GPA, which, if you try to convert it to a 4-point scale, looks downright ridiculous. I have zero research experience, and there aren't any real opportunities to change that in my current location. I do not have a very specific research project in mind. Just putting that out there. Whatever makes you 'not the strongest applicant', there are bound to be others like you, and there must be faculty who are willing to overlook some weaknesses if they 'see something' in your application. There is no reason to despair this early in the season, I'd say. But.. Yes, I think you absolutely should start working on a backup plan. It will take your mind off the wait! Maybe your plan could involve something like working part time and volunteering at a research lab at an institution near you. Or whatever else you can do to make yourself more competitive if you need to reapply next year. My backup plan is so good there will be some level of disappointment if I actually do get in. ;-) Good luck!

I'm also still waiting and expecting rejection. :-)

Marry me.

I'm so sorry about this, but I can't help myself. Het is heel lekker. and Doe normaal. (imperative ≠ infinitive) Other than that, I agree that Dutch food is heel lekker. ;-)

Yes, fantastic! Thank you for bringing the good news. I've got summer plans. :-)

Well, of course I'm not really an authority on graduate literature programs, but still! Out of curiosity, which schools have you applied to?

Good luck! If this helps at all, I don't think you need to worry too much about not having the right "preparation" for an English lit program. I'm sure having read in other languages will be equally helpful, and you'll still be able to catch up whatever you need to read. I'm European but I have a degree in English literature and linguistics (from a European university) and have lived in the US for a while. I definitely noticed that the literary canon in the US is somehow different, and US students are assigned "classic works of literature" that I have never heard of, while ignoring others that I thought were essential from my European perspective. But all of that is easily remedied once you get into a program.