nichts

"But then comes this singular sentence that for sheer stupidity has hardly the equal in world-famous literature: 'The candle was flicking out, dimly lighting up in the poverty-stricken room the murderer and the harlot who had been reading together the eternal book'" (Vladimir Nabokov, Lectures on Russian Literature).

The cognitive dissonance was weighing me down anyway.

@glg96 Glad to hear it, and thanks for the encouragement!

Thanks for reporting back @glg96, I might take your advice on this one. Still only one decision (rejection) out of six and I could use some closure. Sorry to hear about Penn, but at least you have one acceptance, right? Is it to one of your preferred schools?

I noticed 7 of the 8 are international. It might be a coincidence, but maybe English proficiency is a factor?

@DatGuy No problem, yeah, it's remote. I saw an announcement for it on a listserv in my area of study. If you haven't already I recommend subscribing to one to keep up to date on funding opportunities, conferences, translation questions, etc. For example SASIALIT looks like a good choice for South Asian studies.

Thanks, @Travala, that's a good point. It wouldn't hurt if I'm already accepted. Thanks for the reply, @DatGuy. It's not associated with my applications, just an opportunity that's normally offered to grad students. And those are the three programs I'm still holding onto hope for (at least the wait list, in Harvard's case). Edit: Here goes nothing.

Congratulations, @immanentfields and @Travala! How exciting! Would someone mind weighing in on a question for me? I just started a graduate-level internship that's relevant to my field and affiliated with an esteemed university. I don't want to inconvenience anyone but I'm also sitting on a good pile of implied rejections. Should I notify the universities finalizing decisions (Harvard, Penn, Maryland) and, If so, would program coordinators be the right contact?

Best of luck to everyone who got an interview with Penn! I do wonder about subfields, thanks to @DatGuy. Would love to hear from the other person who interviewed a few days ago. Congratulations on your first acceptance, @gregs! You're going to grad school!

Hm.

This is such a good idea. Sign me up.

Thanks, @DatGuy! I won't repeat exact information for the sake of discretion, but they asked the kind of questions you'd expect from a short interview. No grilling. My advice, and this goes to anyone who's given a brief interview, is don't think too hard about it.

I was so excited—I read that as Strongman. Does no one here worship the iron gods?

As a quick follow-up, the Penn interview was as expected. There are things I wish I could change about what I said, but the faculty were great. They said they'd be in touch in the coming weeks but didn't offer more information on the interview process.

Glad to help, and good luck!

If they do ask, I think an employer would be impressed by what you've said here—that you care about the company and understand it may not be in their best interest to train you for a position you can't keep in the long term, but the acceptance rates in this field are extremely slim and the position is a perfect fit for you, you're excited to move forward in the company, etc.

@DatGuy and @glg96: Thank you for your kind words! There's definitely still hope. I was despairing yesterday over what I thought was my third implied rejection out of six applications, yet here we are. And for some schools only the first wave has passed. Anyway, I'll report back tomorrow night. Viel Glück to the other applicants!

Good idea, I'll prepare for this! I definitely understand. This is my only response after missing the first wave from Chicago and Northwestern.

To anyone else who applied, previous years show interviews going out on more than one day. In 2016 invites were sent Feb 5 and 9, for example. They requested 15 minutes for tomorrow.

Huge thanks to @gregs, @DatGuy, and @to_di for the quick response and advice. The email said I made the short list, so they definitely interview all candidates (as I had assumed from the results page), but I would guess they're sending them over a few days since the request gives short notice.

I just got an email from Penn for an interview (posted on the results page). Does anyone know what these interviews are like?

@to_di @glg96 Thank you for posting updates! Hope your interviews went well.

Gym rat here. If you hadn't considered it before, think about learning how to weightlift. You can teach yourself using Starting Strength and YouTube videos or ask a friend. It's more rewarding than cardio for some people, and can be especially empowering for women.

@Jacqui This is really great advice. I hope you don't mind if I add a few words. Don't be disheartened. The results haven't even rolled in yet. But let's assume they aren't what you hoped for. You will allow yourself to mourn and, with time, move on. You will come to see this as an opportunity to read up on a historical period or philosophical school of interest, volunteer for a publication or institution, learn a language, move abroad, and otherwise roam a whole world beyond the ivory tower. In Man's Search for Meaning, which I recently read and highly recommend, Frankl suggests that we stop asking life for what we think we need and listen for what life asks of us. Embrace the freedom of responding to suffering in the way you choose—maybe even with dignity. Edit: I also meant to say, don't forget about those professors who wrote recommendation letters for you. It isn't just family and friends who care about you; there are professionals in the field who believe in your potential and put their reputations on the line to encourage your success.

Good point!