alexisnj

@arbie They informed me about my limbo status via email, so the committee could very well be undecided on us! It’s incredibly frustrating though— to have the tiniest fragment of hope dangled in front of you. I’d rather be rejected than on their non disclosed waitlist, or whatever this is.

Soooo i'm a little perplexed. I emailed UNC Chapel Hill to inquire about my (assumed) rejection a few days ago. I hadn't gotten an app. status update, and I was looking for some closure. However, they informed me that a decision hadn't been made regarding my application. Is it possible that I am actually still being considered for admittance? I wasn't given a waitlist notification, and I would assume that they're solely doling out whatever room they have left to those with a position on the waitlist. Basically, I'm just utterly confused and I feel like my crush is leading me on, lol.

@NAL I was waitlisted at OSU as well, which is my undergraduate institution. Sort of feels like I was extended a waitlist position out of pity because I am currently working with my POIs on my undergraduate thesis lol As a side note, I was honestly pretty excited to be waitlisted because it offers a shred of hope to cling to. Telling my parents I was waitlisted, however, was a tad weird because they consoled me without taking into consideration that this was sort of a relieving/happy moment for me. I know they’re unaware of the toll this process takes; that even the incomplete victories deserve to be celebrated. Nonetheless, it still made me pretty uncomfortable. Anyone feel this disconnect when delivering news to people?

This may have been asked already, but is there a thread with information regarding what English PhD applicants can do after a shutout in order to improve their application for the next cycle? Feeling pretty convinced that I need to start planning for this already

I just got an email from Duke saying to check my application portal because a decision has been made....but it says no decision made!?!?!?!??! Did anyone else receive an email?

THIS. Exactly. My brain is like a deconstructed breakfast burrito right now.....a MESS. I’ve convinced myself that i’ll be face to face with a shut-out and without a back-up plan. Not really sure where to go from here lol.

I rlly rlly RLLY hope your bones are right for the sake of my sanity

So I'm filling out my Duke application (anyone else applying!?) and they require me to provide my skype ID. I am assuming this is for interviews, which definitely freaks me out a bit as I don't have much experience with interviewing. Does anyone have an idea of what graduate school interviews entails or where I could find information on it?

Late to post but I just submitted my first two applications and naturally, I'm having post-submit jitters. I'm graduating in May with a BA in English and a minor in Spanish. I have a 4.00 cum/major GPA, but my GRE scores are clearly lacking (161V/152Q/4.5W). My letters of rec are strong and come from professors that were alumni of strong institutions (Rutgers, Yale, etc). I presented a paper as a conference panelist in 2017 and I'm in the process of completing an undergraduate research thesis. If you're interested (?), my thesis discusses 9/11 as a multidimensional political and literary marker that allowed the U.S. empire to cultivate an ideological memory foregrounded in the particular highlighting of dominant voices and visuals while simultaneously silencing and inverting audible/optical components of the "other's" oppositional memory. My research area is contemporary American literature and postcolonial theory with specific interests in U.S. ethnic literature, U.S. empire, and cultural productions in the post-9/11 moment. My line of research is pretty specific, but I've targeted faculty at all my institutions who would be equipped (and hopefully eager) to oversee my graduate project. I don't think my writing sample is fantastic, and honestly, it feels a little unfocused; but this is probably because I have only written it over the course of this semester and I haven't spent that much time refining it (it is the first ~17 pages of my undergraduate thesis). I'm confident in my SOP and have submitted a strong diversity/personal statement, I think. The entire application process has consisted of me second-guessing my institution choices because it feels like i am definitely applying out of my range of capability. I don't feel confident in thinking of myself as a strong candidate, but my fingers are crossed!! Best of luck to everyone!!!!