Cassifrassidy

I would also say that there's a good chance he won't necessarily even remember exactly what you said, especially if he finds out the truth. I know that I certainly have a bad memory and if I find out conflicting information later I am in the habit of questioning whether I remembered correctly or whether I interpreted info in a way it wasn't meant to be communicated. If he were to find out (which I agree is unlikely), he may think "Maybe I misheard" or perhaps "Maybe we weren't communicating clearly." Obviously we don't know what his response will be, but were I him and I found out about the lie, I would likely shrug it off as a miscommunication or mis-remembrance on my end. Either way, I agree with everyone else here; I think we all have moments of knee-jerk lying/bending the truth in times of anxiety (at least, I know that I have before).

I am also an MA applicant waiting to hear back from a funding waitlist! Fingers crossed for all of us as April 15 draws nearer

Omg you got funding?? That's so awesome!

I am also considering this and would like to hear what others are doing! Sidenote: is the official deadline the night of April 15th? Or do programs need to know before April 15th? I get very stressed by wording about missing deadlines

Hi! I was a similar candidate as you are--I am in my last year of undergrad at a small liberal arts school, have a 3.7 GPA, and made a 163v/150q/5.5w on the GRE. You will have a huge advantage in applying because you already have a thesis that you can revise and make a lot better (I had to create a writing sample from scratch while I was working part-time and going to school and it was HARD). I have presented at a couple of conferences, but that isn't super significant to acceptance in my understanding. You also have a very clearly developed area of interest which I think is a big part of what sets the MA apart from the Ph.D (is my understanding--I am entering into an MA program so can't say for sure). I applied to 8 programs this year, 4 MAs and 4 Ph.Ds. I got waitlisted at 1 Ph.D and accepted to 3 MAs, one of which is a fully funded offer. I would definitely suggest not applying to less than at least 6 schools, and I would do closer to 10 if you can manage it. I would also look into fee waivers! I saved up for grad school expenses for a year beforehand, and I still ended up not being able to afford a couple apps. I did get one fee waiver from University of Rochester, which is an awesome program and ended up accepting me. I will also say that my acceptances were kind of across the board. I got immediately accepted at Rochester and Syracuse, but was waitlisted at Alabama, which is a lower ranked program. I got funding at Rochester but am waitlisted for funding at Syracuse, which is lower ranked than Rochester. Additionally, I do think rankings are somewhat arbitrary. Like others have said, I don't think there is any "safety" school, and most programs have similar acceptance rates. That being said, I don't think you should discount top 20 programs! Everything is about fit and a little bit of randomness. There are people on the forum who get shut out by every program except one, which happens to be top 10. It's all kind of random and dependent on numbers and factors that are out of your control. I would recommend applying to a wide range of programs, but I don't see why you shouldn't apply to top programs as long as the fit is right and you've created a strong writing sample and SOP!

Waitlisted for funding at Syracuse. Really hoping that I get funded as it is tied for my top choice. So if anyone got accepted to the English Lit MA and is planning to decline, please do so sooner rather than later!

When did you hear from LSU? It's my last app I'm waiting to hear about and at this point, I just want to know already!

Congrats! I'm glad you've found a great fit and made your decision. I bet you are super relieved that this whole process is finally over haha And thanks! Any good thoughts my way are much appreciated (:

Thanks for keeping us in the know! Yikes. Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the cold at all. My hometown gets less than a foot of snow a year, so the idea of moving somewhere that gets TEN FEET annually kinda makes me wanna die lol. Omg really?? That's awesome! Even if Syracuse gives me funding, I'm definitely leaning towards UA, so maybe we'll end up meeting each other (although it's a huge campus, so maybe not haha).

Thanks for the response!! That is very helpful. I emailed the DGS who initially emailed me and essentially let them know that I wouldn't accept an offer without funding, I have another funded option, and asked if I could visit in case I do get funded super close to the deadline (I said it in a polite way though lol). So we'll see what they say. If you don't mind me asking, did you get off the waitlist? Or are you planning on accepting another offer? Just curious tbh.

I should specify--I'm in the literature program, not rhet/comp, so I'm not sure how your waitlist works, it might be totally separate? So the ranking might be legit, and your MA cohort might have a different number than 4. Ugh waitlist is quite possibly the worst place to be--I just want to know!

So I just got an acceptance into Syracuse's English MA, but I am currently "on a short waitlist" for funding. According to their website, they admit 4 students into the MA program every year. I'm trying to decide what the odds are that I will get off the waitlist? In the email, they specified that there is no ranking (as of yet). I'm stressed because I have a fully funded offer at University of Alabama, but I feel a little torn about it. I love the South, so location is great. I really, really like my POI, he is super kind and interested in my work and communicative. Funding is pretty good, but teaching load is heavy. The classes I would be teaching is Composition for the UA freshman, which sounds kind of like a nightmare. The other problem: while I love my POI and he and I have very similar interest, he's the only Victorianist at the program. There are three other 19th century faculty who I like and could work with, but our interests don't align perfectly. But the program seems really friendly, all the faculty and staff have been super helpful and went out of their way to work with me. I would be really happy there. However, Syracuse is a more prestigious program, and there are a LOT more faculty in my area of interests. They also have a lot of faculty interested in popular culture, which is my secondary focus and I thought was kind of unusual. Ordinarily, I wouldn't worry too much about Syracuse and just see about funding when I hear, but since the decision deadline is so close (only a month away!!), I feel like I want to know soon so I can think about things and weigh my options for a while. Anyone have thoughts on what I should do? Should I reach out to Syracuse and let them know I have another offer and would like to know soon so I can compare options?

It sounds to me like you favor Vermont in what you've typed. I also agree with posters above that Vermont does sound like the better deal. Are you planning on visiting? I think getting a feel for the place, talking to current grad students, meeting POIs, etc. is super helpful. Also how do you find out if a school is R1, R2, or R3?

When do we think is the time to start emailing programs? I'm still waiting to hear back from 4 schools and there seems to be no end in sight considering I applied to one of these programs on December 1

Oh, wow! Thank you, that definitely makes me feel better knowing that you both come from similar-ish backgrounds as I do and both are so successful. I'm also definitely not trying to have a crazy prestigious career, just one where I can be happy and also make enough money to survive Congrats to you and your partner on the great offers! Especially since you guys got into the same program--that's awesome! What area of KY are you from?

I did this--I accidentally submitted one of my draft writing samples that I had sent to a professor in my application instead of the final draft. It had TONS of notes, highlighting, comments, etc. that not only were not intelligent but that made absolutely no sense (things like "add in quote here?????" and "that evil snake guy from Great Expectations"). I only realized a couple of months later when I was checking the portal for a decision. Needless to say, I did not get in!

That's what I definitely want to hear! I'm from a very small, rural town in Kentucky (read, less than 1,000 people), and I went to a wealthy private school for undergrad which I didn't enjoy much beyond academics. I was hesitant to apply to an Ivy League or other private institution for grad school, but it seems to me like grad programs (especially funded ones) are all pretty competitive and can be what you make them (like you said)? Now I'm just wondering if that's my own bias though lol

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!

Definitely going to FINALLY get to North and South and Wives and Daughters by Gaskell, also planning on reading the entirety of The Madwoman in the Attic (a bit old, but definitely a staple). Also am planning on reading Anne Bronte because I have (somehow!) never read her. Will also be brushing up on my literary theory as my undergrad program doesn't do a theory component, which made the subject test extra painful. Any suggestions for books on theory would be great! I already have the Eagleton book, but anything for someone who basically has no formal background on it and is about to enter an MA program would be incredibly helpful.

Just wanted to update that I got my acceptance email yesterday! So there IS hope to move off the waitlist--fingers crossed for everyone!

I am currently first on the waitlist for University of Alabama's Masters in English--if anyone is not planning on attending, please, please decline because I would really like to attend!!