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CanadianEnglish

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  1. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to tinymica in 2020 Applicants   
    I’m......in at BU. What? What? I...HUH?
  2. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to MichelleObama in 2020 Decisions   
    After a ridiculously wonderful visit at Yale, I've decided not to visit Michigan and Cornell and have officially accepted Yale's offer. SUCH PEACE!
  3. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to meghan_sparkle in Campus Visits   
    Just finished a breathtaking first visit to Yale. It will be ... hard to beat that, to be honest. Oof.
  4. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to Cryss in 2020 Decisions   
    WashU for me this Fall!
  5. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to AnachronisticPoet in Campus Visits   
    Is anyone else (especially those accepted only to 1 or 2 programs) nervous that they'll arrive to a visit and not like the school?
  6. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to gooniesneversaydie in 2020 Applicants   
    We made it to March. Hopefully this torturous waiting (*cough* BU *cough*) will finally end soon. 
  7. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to Rrandle101 in Turned Down Offers Thread   
    I asked my faculty mentor about this and this is what he said that I found super helpful,
    "First of all, you’re not necessarily expected to do anything beyond inform them of your decision. I agree that it would be nice to email the DGS rather than just checking the box in the online portal, but it can be short and businesslike. You don’t have to detail any reasons or tell them which schools you’re still considering at this point. “I’m writing to inform you that I have decided not to attend the University of X next fall. I wanted to let you know of my decision as soon as possible, so that you would have the option of opening the spot in your entering class to someone else. Thank you very much for your offer of admission and for the generous assistantship package you were prepared to give me.” Something like that."
    He went on to talk about how they might ask who you turned them down for but that's just something they do for their internal statistics and that emailing your POI is really optional but to treat it "almost like a breakup" if you do email them. Hope this helps!
  8. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to caffeinated applicant in Campus Visits   
    @tinymica: Remain calm--it's going to be okay. They are not going to pull your acceptance. All you have to do is be professional--as in, show up showered and don't tell bawdy jokes. They already think that you are extremely bright and prepared. You have nothing to prove to them. These visits exist for one reason: they want to make you want to come here. Seriously. Shake off the imposter syndrome. Swan into every room. This is your victory lap. You have earned it. Don't worry about trying to look smart. Be prepared to talk about the work that you've done in undergrad and the work that you're interested in doing in the future. Dress fairly nice. Bring questions for the current grad students about quality of life and department support. Wipe clear your memories of prior (non-)interactions with that one faculty member. You've got this.
    (NB: My perspective here is as someone who has listened to many a grad student describe these events, which they attended as current students and prospective students, in various fields.)
    Edited to add: Just want to underscore that this goes for everyone nervous about going into visits. You earned this. 
  9. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to spikeseagulls in 2020 Acceptances   
    In at Santa Barbara!
  10. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to thoreaulymodern in 2020 Acceptances   
    Accepted to ASU's MA in English! 
  11. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to merry night wanderer in 2020 Acceptances   
    Out at Harvard and Penn (totally expected)! But in at UC Santa Barbara! Which is wonderful (seriously, I love this program so much) and complicates my life substantially! The roller coaster continues! lol
  12. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to merry night wanderer in MANY CAMPUS VISITS!! TERRIFIED OF ILLNESS/VIRUS   
    What digital_lime said. It has a very low chance of killing you, less so than the flu. It is a problem, don't get me wrong, but it's a problem for places that don't have the medical infrastructure to manage it, which the US (for all of our crazy issues) does. Do you have traveler's insurance, or the UK equivalent? Not sure how it works there- just (for the sake of being extra careful) make sure you'd have no problems navigating the healthcare system here if you needed to see someone. 
    I'm planning on traveling all summer and honestly I'm going to get traveler's insurance, make sure I'm informed and aware, and not worry beyond that. 
  13. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to digital_lime in MANY CAMPUS VISITS!! TERRIFIED OF ILLNESS/VIRUS   
    The news cycle is designed to induce, then monetize, feelings of anxiety. Your fears about the coronavirus are likely at least partially a result of your being emotionally manipulated for profit. If you're not traveling to China or Iran, the chances of your contracting the disease are extremely small. (The coronavirus has already reached my university, and nobody seems to care.)
    Even if you were to contract the coronavirus, there is an 81% chance that you would experience mild symptoms and then recover. The virus almost certainly won't kill you unless you're 80 years old or older, which I assume is not the case. If you are young and relatively healthy, and you have access to sufficient hydration, medical care, etc., you would likely be fine even if you contracted the disease. The virus hasn't killed anyone in the U.S., and there is likely no reason to believe that you would be the first. If you're worried, you should take care to wash your hands with soap and hot water reasonably frequently. 
    Right now, the coronavirus does not pose a serious threat to your health and long-term well-being. I imagine that the anxiety you're feeling about the coronavirus might have multiple causes. I hope you're able to address every possible cause of anxiety: are you well-rested? Are you eating enough? Is stress from school or work contributing to these feelings? If you have a prescription for anxiety-managing medication, are you taking it?
    You're lucky to have the opportunity to go on these visits, and I hope that worries about this disease, which are probably not justified, don't ruin your ability to have a good time and to make an informed choice about graduate school. In three or four years, you'll almost certainly have forgotten about the coronavirus, but you'll still be in whichever program you choose.
  14. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to ja.col in 2020 Applicants   
    Even though I'm yet to hear from NYU and UPenn (I mean, who HAS - both are implied rejects I suppose (congrats to the admits)), I'm considering the rejection I got from Columbia today as the final nail in the coffin for any further good news. Thinking about this as the end of my application cycle, I can't help but feel relieved - I have one solid acceptance to what has been my dream school since finishing my MA in 2018 (and my dream city since visiting in 2012). Now all I've got to do is visit next week, soak it in, and say yes. Not being Oxford or Cambridge educated, from a failing state secondary school, a "first generation scholar," I was convinced that this application cycle would be a complete bust for me. It turns out that all it takes is one offer to make the whole thing worth it (despite the imposter syndrome I have as a constant companion at the moment). Despite feeling crushed by all the rejection (my supervisor once told me that the experience of working in Academia is the experience of rejection, and keeps a stack of every rejection they ever got in their office), I feel like the luckiest little queer scholar who could. And it really was luck; I hope that you all get just as lucky very soon. x
  15. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to digital_lime in 2020 Applicants   
    I'm going to post a quick rant, which I'm writing for cathartic/therapeutic reasons. Don't take anything in it too seriously.
    In office hours the other day, I let my thesis chair know that I was not having much luck this season. She made a remark to the effect of: "I regret having wasted the time writing you a letter." She phrased it in a comical way--we joke darkly with one another--so it wasn't as if she was intending to be hurtful. But it stung, because before now, I had only thought of how disappointing it would be for me if I were shut out--not that it would be a disappointment to all of the people who took time to write letters of recommendation, look over my writing sample, listen to me stress out, and so on. I've taken on some debt in the course of my MA; I've also worked harder and for longer than I ever have in my life (and I have been in some strenuous work situations; doing physical labor for sixteen hours a day six days a week actually didn't feel as difficult as some moments in my MA). This was the only goal I have been working toward for years--the prospect of getting shut out now makes me feel so foolish. I exhausted myself in full display of everyone I care about and respect and it's beginning to look as if I have failed nonetheless.
    (What's even more aggravating is the fact that so many "radical" scholars are putatively opposed to hierarchy, while the Ph.D. admissions process is so clearly an orgy of fascination with prestige. Academics, once again, show themselves to be all theory and no praxis. I was rejected by all of the prestigious schools I applied to and waitlisted by all of the less-prestigious schools I applied to, leaving me to wonder if the extreme lack of prestige at my current institution was a deciding factor in admissions decisions--unless, of course, my writing sample was precisely good enough to grant me access to one realm of academia but not the other, which strikes me as a rather unlikely scenario.)
    Edit: with an hour's time between me and this post, I can tell that there's a somewhat unpleasant element of ressentiment to the above post. Of course, if I get admitted off of the waitlist (or to Fordham, the last school I've applied to but haven't heard back from), you can count on a post from me to the effect of, "The system works!!!! If at first u don't succeed, try, try again!!" and so on. As Bo Burnham says, though, if someone wins the lottery, they're going to tell you to buy a ticket. 
  16. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to caffeinated applicant in Campus Visits   
    My gut reaction is to go to the far one and schedule informal meetings with the close one. Meeting the cohort at Close School might be a wash--it's a very short time to get to know people, you'll be interacting with people outside your cohort as well, and would you ultimately make the decision based on cohort anyway?
    This is assuming that the two are relatively close together in terms of favorability--enough that you could see yourself being swayed from the preferred school to the other by things like other grad students' notes about departmental support or professors' personalities in person or their note that "oh yes well I do currently have 12 students under advisement so I only see each dissertation student once a semester..." If you're just about set on the close school and really couldn't see yourself turning it down for the far school (for example if close school is ranked top 20 and far school is ranked 60th), perhaps just go to close school's weekend.
    Either way, when you schedule the not-official-weekend talks, keep in mind you don't have to tell them why you can't make it! "I'm very unfortunately not available to visit the weekend of X" is perfectly fine. They will probably assume it is another program visit, but it could also be your sister's wedding, or your mother's surgery, or your own surgery, or any number of other things keeping you from visiting the "correct" weekend, and they don't need to know. As long as your tone comes off as genuinely apologetic and not callous, you're fine. 
  17. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to meghan_sparkle in 2020 Acceptances   
    Part II:
    A: Go to (k). I went to (y) but the three most brilliant minds working in literary studies right now are at (k). You would be an idiot not to go there, but I have a feeling you won't, because you'll be an idiot about it.
    Me: Well I've heard that all of the graduate students at (k) are miserable—a lot of current and recent ones have reached out to me with not so great things.
    A: What is "happiness" anyway? Why would anyone do a PhD thinking they're going to be happy during it? 
    Me: Okay that's a point. Were you happy at (y)?
    A: Well, yes.
    Me: I feel like I could be really happy at (x) but they apparently haven't placed a TT job in 3 or 4 years now.
    B: There are no jobs. You will not get a job. Just go where you want to read and write for 6 years and expect to leave the profession after.
    Me: But you have a job.
    B: Do not pay attention to that. No one gets jobs.
    Me: This is a Beckett play and I want out.
  18. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to meghan_sparkle in 2020 Applicants   
    Wow this implied rejection feeling really ... sucks doesn't it.*
    *Please please no one jump down my throat for saying this—I realize I'm incredibly lucky with the options I have; my only point is that as a feeling it manifests no matter the surrounding context and sucks no matter what!!
  19. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to Wimsey in 2020 Applicants   
    I emailed Columbia and Penn. No response from Columbia yet (I sent the email only a few minutes ago), but the staff member at Penn said that decisions will arrive by the end of this week. So close, but still so far away....
  20. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to AtlasFox in 2020 Applicants   
    I'm quoting myself just to say that I was waitlisted at Oregon this morning! The email was very, very kind, and they emphasized that the waitlist is very short. Honestly I was not expecting this at all. 
  21. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to meghan_sparkle in 2020 Acceptances   
    Just an update on this: I have been emailing/having coffees with all of the mentors of mine who're in the know about the state of the programs I applied to at the moment and they are ... all giving me completely contradictory advice lol! Also most of them know each other and it's gotten to the point where some are fighting behind the scenes about their advice to me. (I'm sure this will all be fine in the end, no one is totally right and no one is totally wrong, but just picture me, a person who always tries to please her teachers, good teacher's pet, sitting in a chair, trying to process all of this.)
    A: Don't go to (x). There's no one for you to work with there.
    B: Well, A doesn't know what she's talking about. Go to (x). 
    C : Wait, actually I think (y) could be a perfect fit for you. Don't go to (z).
    D : I've been talking to C and we both think you should go to (y). Go where you have multiple people you want to work with who have clout.
    E: I know you like (y) a lot but eh ... I'm not crazy about [POI]. 
    D : I've changed my mind; go to (k).
    F (teacher of B ) : (x) is boring. (y) is also boring. Don't go to (x) or (y) under any circumstances. Also don't choose for advisors; all that can change. Go where you like the intellectual community best. More soon, bye.
    B : Remember there are no jobs so don't expect that you'll get one. Kiss kiss!
  22. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to Dogfish Head in 2020 Acceptances   
    Just got into Syracuse! Hyped!
  23. Upvote
    CanadianEnglish got a reaction from asongreference in 2020 Applicants   
    Yeah it might be the waitlist for the waitlist. 
    I would recommend emailing the DGS of UNC or any program you're still waiting for that usually has sent out acceptances by now or had a super early application deadline. It never hurts to ask and all the DGS that I emailed last week sent out responses right away. Obviously, be very respectful and understanding in your emails, but definitely doesn't hurt to ask! The UNC DGS was especially nice over email! 
  24. Like
    CanadianEnglish reacted to karamazov in 2020 Applicants   
    HELLO, FRIENDS! I just received word that I'm on the waitlist at UNC Chapel Hill!! I am so excited and so flattered that they are seriously considering me and I would absolutely die if I got in! The DGS sent a very kind letter and he sounded positive about the likelihood of admission! Still, I know I shouldn't get my hopes up too much, but I really am extremely pleased that it wasn't the rejection I expected. I had thought I'd have my decision made by the middle of March, but it looks like I'm going to be in this for the long haul! 
    (Also, I sure wasn't expecting an email from the DGS at 10:59pm.)
  25. Like
    CanadianEnglish got a reaction from karamazov in 2020 Applicants   
    Yeah it might be the waitlist for the waitlist. 
    I would recommend emailing the DGS of UNC or any program you're still waiting for that usually has sent out acceptances by now or had a super early application deadline. It never hurts to ask and all the DGS that I emailed last week sent out responses right away. Obviously, be very respectful and understanding in your emails, but definitely doesn't hurt to ask! The UNC DGS was especially nice over email! 
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