merry night wanderer

I'm honestly guessing that the bigger applicant pool means people are just taking longer.

I've heard from numerous folks, as well as on this board, that Maryland is especially (this is the word they usually use) collegiate. I got the impression in my interview that they are very proud of that. Apparently people will even get together to apply to the same fellowship, which is an amazing level of mutual support.

This is already simultaneously the slowest and most harrowing week ever.

UT Austin saw a lot more applicants, too? I feel like there's been enough commentary to that effect to say it seems it was a trend across the board.

OK, excellent to know (and very useful website!). I totally missed this message, so I got paranoid, as I applied to a bunch of UCs as well. (UCLA, UCB, and UCSB... I also applied to UC Davis, but that's either waitlist or rejection at this point - not surprising, since two of the three faculty I had my eyes on were actually retired! yikes. Make sure you double-check faculty lists at the beginning of the semester, anybody future applicant who's reading!) I'm already pretty concerned about the cost of living for all the UCs, but they are excellent fits for me, and if I do actually do get lucky enough to get into one, I am likely going to heavily consider it. Keep me posted (and of course if I learn anything, I'll do the same!).

This is so helpful - do you know if the internal funding situation applies to the other UC schools?

I applied to USC, though I consider it a Very Long Shot. That's the only one; the rest for me are Lit. What about you?

Just The Celestial Omnibus. The title story is such a didactic fable of literature, but, I mean, it's one I entirely agree with, so I love it. Forster just has so much humanity, for lack of a better word. I'm really looking forward to Howard's End given how my aestheticism professor described how it dovetailed some of the concerns of the art for art's sake movement. What's your paper on? (Also, what a cool format! I've seen that "lightning talk" idea in a few CFPs I've browsed through - it seems like an exciting, and potentially discussion-stirring, way of approaching things, rather than the "talk at the audience for 20 minutes, then Q&A" approach of most conference papers.)

To those more experience in the conference circuit, what parts of it did you find the most valuable?

I sent the wrong writing sample to Stanford and they replaced it for me a couple weeks after the deadline. I think that many schools are deciding as we speak, and they may have already made a decision about you, but I don't think it hurts to contact the DGS/admin. Stanford was very kind about it; they just told me they couldn't ensure that the correct one would be read, since applications were already under review.

So just as a warning, I fell for this during my MFA season: a spam caller called from a Boulder area code on the day Boulder was notifying. It was quite terrible lol. Just for the sake of your heart, I would assume it isn't them. However, it doesn't hurt to call back!

I just spoke to another student finishing up this same degree who had the same complaints. She was German, and went for a year (I think?) to the school I went to for my MFA, and said she enjoyed the American collegiate style much better. It does sound frustrating. The letters of rec are an issue. But, if you have good ones from undergrad, maybe pull on those, and explain why there's none from the master's in your SoP. You could even tie it neatly into a point about fit if the school provides closer contact between professors and students (which many schools do) - you had a more impersonal experience, and you want a closer-knit one. As long as your grades are good, and you address it in the SoP, and everything else is in order, I can see you doing fine. You had good rationale for this, after all, given comp lit's language requirements. Even if the German system's reputation is garbage here, which I doubt, I don't think it'll be held against you! Especially if undergrad weighs against that. As long as you show strong promise, I think a lot of things can be redeemed, or made sense of, with a good narrative. I had a somewhat spotty undergrad due almost entirely due to incompletes, but I weaved it into my bigger story, and my performance in my master's shows that I've completely come out of that, I hope. You sort of have the inverse case to make, but it sounds like your actual performance has been solid. If I were an adcom, I wouldn't be concerned, and I would likely be impressed you did something like this for your own intellectual cultivation. Worst case: just get an M.A. in the U.S. and launch off from there.

I actually just got into Forster! Howard's End was a novel my aestheticism professor spoke highly of, so I plan to read that after I get through some of his short stories.

Since we're all checking this forum obsessively anyway - at least I am, and there's a good chance you are, if you're reading this - why don't we share plans for upcoming conferences? I won't be in town for the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism conference, sadly, but I'm planning on submitting my writing sample (which ended up being on Shelley's Alastor and the intersections between its use of allegory with philosophy of mind) to the International Conference on Romanticism in St. Louis. I'm also going to try to submit an older paper of mine, my favorite paper I wrote in my Master's degree, to the British Association of Decadence Studies at Cornell. It's about Arnold's conception of the critic, Pater's conception, and then Wilde's, and deals with how Wilde presented a vision for the critic-as-artist and the world to refine/create each other's identities in tandem. I'm headed to AWP next month (the big writer's conference), and I'd also love to attend MLA - just as a participant, to see all the exciting things that are happening across fields. I'd love to hear about your plans and projects.

This dream is just... lol. The epitome of mixed feelings! And it reminds me that even if acceptances roll in, there are so many other things to consider, like cost of living and funding packages and fit... what a rollercoaster we're on.

Yes! Especially as we're rolling into the "big news every week" season - Monday can't come quickly enough. I think we are in the same boat, and we are all insane.

Into Rice!

How lovely, @politics 'n prose! Your profs must hold you in very high regard.

Someone's reported a Stanford interview on results - it's affecting me more than I thought! I've basically dismissed all my chances with private schools (particularly ivies) as very chancy given my applicant profile, being older than the norm and from public schools etc, but it's weird how these things still get to you. Next week more results will start rolling in - it can't come soon enough. Congrats to the Duke acceptances, though! Excellent early news!

Yes, I forgot to say! It's incredibly impressive that you both got interviews in the same place, not just once but twice.

PSA: UMD will be notifying in 2-3 weeks. Also, interviews aren't that scary. You may find this hard to believe, but: we all really, really like to talk about books. So it turns out, you can just do that.

Major congratulations to you both for being Our Firsts!

Fortunately, UMD sent me a list of three questions I might be asked, so I'm writing out detailed answers to that. I'm reviewing recent scholarship; I love the "read the introductions" advice (especially since the two profs in my area at UMD are older and have a lot under their belts). And sweating bullets over my proposed project in the SoP, since it feels so speculative, but hopefully they understand the nature of the beast is speculative. I'll re-read my paper again. Someone on the forums mentioned that pasting post-it notes with various topics to bring up on your laptop will help when you're flustered; I think that sounds like a great idea.

I more or less forced myself to imagine receiving a rejection letter from every school I applied to. This is something I learned from a therapist friend, and it was actually rather soothing. I'd already developed a getting-shut-out plan, but this was an extra step to manage the uncertainty.

Thank you! The completely irrational side of my mind had absolutely convinced me, over the past 2 weeks, that my writing sample was the product of a bout with insanity, so I'm very relieved to have a tiny bit of good news (though it's not an acceptance, obviously). Hang in there, everyone.