melian517
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Posts posted by melian517
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Officially accepted Notre Dame's offer!
- Narrative Nancy, Kilos, Hermenewtics and 7 others
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15 hours ago, katie64 said:
I'm on the waitlist for funding at three schools, and don't plan to attend without funding. I'm high on the waitlist at two, low on the waitlist at another. I really don't want to commit to a school until I'm able to see it in person, but don't want the expense of visiting the school if I'm not positive I'll have funding. One of the higher waitlist schools has the standard April 15 accept/reject deadline, while another's isn't until the summer. Any advice on this predicament? Can a school tell you on April 15 that you've come off the waitlist, but you need to make a decision by the end of that day/without seeing the school in person?
Have you tried asking if they will reimburse your expenses if you visit? All but one of the schools I visited were able to cover all of my expenses, so I feel like it's a reasonable question to ask, especially if you explain that you're not comfortable accepting until you see the environment and the culture of a place. Fingers crossed that you'll hear about funding soon!
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48 minutes ago, clinamen said:
I can totally relate! At least it seems you have narrowed it down to two! I have only narrowed it down to three and one (the one I think is my first choice) is a waitlist so I'm really feeling the stress. The one I liked most after visits is in a climate I just don't think I could handle and in a region I just don't particularly want to live in. I had no idea that this part of the process would be so stressful (or even stressful at all)!!
I didn't either! Keeping my fingers crossed that you hear from the waitlist soon and that your choice becomes easier!
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3 hours ago, clinamen said:
Anybody else still having a tough time making a decision?
Yesssssss. I have one school that I think would be the best for my career but the city would make life and finances more difficult for us, and another that is lower ranked but the cost of living is soooo cheap and I know my partner would be happier there. Trying to choose has honestly been the most stressful part of the process for me.
- clinamen and immanentfields
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@brainlass thank you, that's really helpful! I figured I should not praise other programs, especially since I haven't figured out where I actually will be attending yet. It felt weird to keep it so short, but I definitely feel a lot better knowing this is standard practice. I know having multiple offers is a good problem to have and I'm incredibly grateful, but this part is honestly such a nightmare for people with social anxiety
@Carly Rae Jepsen thank you for this, this is so helpful!!
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I'm trying to write decline emails, and this whole process is just so awkward and heartbreaking. All of my POIs spent so much time and effort in trying to recruit me, and I don't want there to be any hard feelings. Do I have to give reasons in my decline emails? I haven't made a decision yet because I'm still deciding between two schools, so I can't say I've decided to attend somewhere else yet, but I also feel weird just saying I've declined without a solid reason (all of them have really great fits on paper, but it was just a gut feeling when on campus that's making me say no).
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I'll be declining my offers from Rutgers and University of New Mexico today. Hope this helps someone out!
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1 hour ago, Warelin said:
I think it's important to note that Berkeley Rhetoric and English are two separate programs. Unfortunately, rejections always come much later than waitlists and acceptances for most programs.
1 hour ago, marisawhy said:Brain fart! I automatically assumed rhetoric. Sorry, my bad!
Whoops, I just assumed as well! Sorry, and thank you for the correction!!
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20 minutes ago, la_mod said:
I agree! I hate that they release admissions like this.
I know! It adds so much unnecessary anxiety to the process.
13 minutes ago, marisawhy said:I got my rejection exactly a week ago. Did they really take that long to send out all their rejections??
Apparently!! You would think they'd just send out the rejections all at once rather than staggering them like this, especially since someone else had posted on here (I can't remember where) that they called and sent out all acceptances and waitlists weeks ago.
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If anyone is on the waitlist at UBC, I just declined my offer earlier today (my subfield is medieval)
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On 3/2/2018 at 4:07 PM, Cassifrassidy said:
Not sure if this is the place to post, but am wondering: how important is the "prestige" of your program? I've been accepted into a fully funded MA program which I really like--but I'm wondering if it is "prestigious" enough to help me get into a good Ph.D program if I eventually go down that route, or if that even matters? While I'm not first gen, only three of my family members have college degrees, none beyond the BA, so applying for graduate programs has been very confusing for me (thank god for GradCafe), so any info would be helpful!
I agree with everyone here that prestige doesn't really matter for your BA or MA! Just work as hard as you can (while still taking time for self-care, of course), cultivate good relationships with faculty EARLY so they really know you and your work by the time you need recommendations, and make sure that there's at least one faculty member in your area of interest. For what it's worth, I went to a "prestigious" MA program and some people received many PhD offers while others received none—it's all about what you DO in your program, not where you go!
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On 2/26/2018 at 5:50 PM, Hermenewtics said:
Thanks for the update, @melian517. By the way, since I see you're accepted to Notre Dame's English program, I just want to include a plug for Tim Machan: I have the pleasure of knowing quite a few mediavalists/linguists, and they all rave about the guy. I don't know which school is right for you, but Machan is a pretty spectacular scholar, so definitely talk to him if you haven't already.
He's actually one of the main reasons I applied to ND! Such a brilliant scholar. I got to meet him at the prospective student day, and he is probably one of the nicest people I've ever met!
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20 hours ago, Isocrates2.o said:
I'm generally deciding to not do this at all, simply because these programs have already made at least $100 off of me through application fees and GRE scores, and because I assume any competitive program will have the funds allotted to bring grad students in to visit. Frankly, I have more than one program asking me to come in and covering my costs to do so. It's not a good look to ask me to pay for my own ticket to your out-of-the-way rural university in comparison, haha.
In general I agree with this, but I think it does depend a little bit on the program. I was just at a campus visit, and it's an amazing department at a public university in a relatively poor state (they're still able to fully fund students though). The DGS told me that they are only given the funds for one prospective student per subfield, and I was it for mine. So even though as a rule I think programs should pay for people to visit, it also really depends on the financial situation at the university.
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2 hours ago, charlotte88 said:
Hi all,
I am a lurker who finally made an account to be able to post to the forum. I was wondering if everyone who applied to the University of Toronto's English PhD received the funding email request for forms on the 16th, or if that implies a shortlist has been made - I saw the post on the the results board and wasn't sure if receiving the email was a good sign or if it's just a standard practice for U of T.
I have a bit of a weird situation there that's hard to explain, but I've been in contact with the head of the department who said offer letters should hopefully go out tomorrow!
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Thank you, @M(allthevowels)H and @renea!! I'm glad to know I'm within my rights to ask for an earlier visit. I had mentioned to UBC that the US deadline is April 15th, and the head of the department understood but didn't feel like she'd be able to do that. I'm definitely frustrated with UBC but I also don't want to antagonize them because I'd never be able to afford moving there if not for the funding package.
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Hi all, long time lurker but first time poster here. I have a situation where I feel like committed a faux-pas but at the same time it seemed reasonable when I asked? So I got into UBC and Rutgers, which are some of my top choices. They have both offered generous funding packages, but UBC's funding offer expires on March 1st. I'm trying my best to get that extended as much as possible, but it looks like I'll only get an extra 1-2 weeks. Rutgers' visiting weekend isn't until late March, so I asked if I could possibly visit informally before then so I can get a sense of the department before making a decision (I realize that I'll miss out on a lot of the stuff they have planned, but I was hoping to at least get the chance to talk to a few people. Also, I live in NY and driving distance to the campus, so I'm not looking for any kind of reimbursements). But when I mentioned it to my POI and even my friend who's a student there, they both seem really surprised and even kind of frustrated that I have a shorter deadline and want to visit early. Did I make a major mistake? Should I forget about visiting early and just try to make my decision anyway, or was I right that this wasn't such a big deal to at least inquire about it? I have pretty severe social anxiety, so I am probably overthinking this but I just don't want to sour a relationship with some really great people at Rutgers.
Here Comes the Sun/ Waitlist Movements
in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Posted
Declining a spot at University of Toronto today. Hope this helps someone out!