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alexisnj

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  1. Like
    alexisnj reacted to arbie in 2019 Applicants   
    At least it means we’re qualified and not an instant reject! Have any rejections been posted from UNC yet though? Fingers crossed for us both!
  2. Like
    alexisnj got a reaction from arbie in 2019 Applicants   
    @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. 
  3. Like
    alexisnj reacted to rr732 in 2019 Applicants   
    @alexisnj I think you’re still in the game until you’re rejected! Maybe you’re on an internal waitlist?
  4. Upvote
    alexisnj reacted to millw in 2019 Applicants   
    First time posting on here, maybe a little late in the game. I graduated from UNC in May 2018 with a double major in English and Classics. I didn't know I wanted to do a PhD in English until I started my senior thesis on James Baldwin and so I'm giving it my best shot--I went a little overboard and applied to 17 schools. Not sure how attractive a white guy studying James Baldwin is to admissions committees, but we'll see! I think I have pretty strong numbers but I have no idea how to evaluate the strength of my writing sample and SOP. I'm definitely starting to get pretty worried about getting shut out across the board.
    Anyway, gradcafe is helping me to stay sane and also drive myself crazy so I thought I should introduce myself to everyone going through the same process!
    UIUC, Vanderbilt, Emory, UPenn, Columbia, Stanford, Duke, Yale, Harvard, Michigan, NYU, Columbia, UGA, UNC, Boston College, UT Austin 
    Rejected    Implied Rejection  Waitlisted  Interview   Accepted 
  5. Upvote
    alexisnj reacted to havemybloodchild in 2019 Applicants   
    My Hulu account keeps recommending a documentary about puppies trying to get selected for service dog training or something like that and I’m like no, even that is too much competition for me to watch rn. This process has killed my love of competition ?? and even puppies can’t help me.
  6. Like
    alexisnj got a reaction from havemybloodchild in 2019 Applicants   
    @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?
  7. Like
    alexisnj reacted to j.alicea in 2019 Applicants   
    @kendalldinniene I am sorry to hear that. Hope the Oregon state becomes an acceptance. Also, you will probably hear from UCs in the next few weeks!
    @alexisnj and @jadeisokay It's only 2/1, so don't give up hope! That said, I understand the feeling (went through the same thing around the same time in my first shutout season). Truth is, what you can do to improve your odds is going to be rather different from what others do, so really you should talk to your LOR writers, who should be familiar with your materials, interests, and the programs that will fit, and see what they suggest. That said, here's what I did between my first shutout season (2014) and now. (I am no expert, so hopefully others join in with their experiences. Each journey is different)
    I applied to philosophy PhDs straight out of undergrad with BA double major in philosophy and mathematics, and was shutdown. I then took several years off and taught high school math (don't recommend this) and eventually decided I wanted to go back to studying literature. I applied to MA programs to (1) see whether it was for me and (2) zero-in on my research interests (was initially interested in Anglo and Hispanic American modernisms, so that has shifted quite a bit). I spent about a year researching dozens of programs, down to a list of five programs that were best fit for my research interests. This "fit" part is difficult, and ultimately we never really know what an adcomm is looking for. That said, read their mission statement, look at who the chair of grad studies is, look at who is teaching past upper level grad courses, look for their most recent hires, check the departments job postings to see who they intend to hire over the next few years; these are all good ways to get a better understanding of the department culture. Past dissertations and current students are good to check out as well. I had been working on my writing sample for years, and I don't know what to say about that, other than make sure it's as flawless as you can get it (I had four faculty and three peers provide edits; for me, good work cannot happen in a vacuum). For SoPs, spend a good amount of time relating your work to POI's. I did tons of research on this; read articles and books from multiple faculty members, and if I found a faculty member whose interests matched my own, I made sure to find out who their colleagues were, and then read their work. One of my mentors advised to say "Dr. so-an-so and their colleagues," thereby casting a wider net. Also, reading past years Grad Student Handbooks will give you a better idea of how you will be getting your funding, language requirements,and  course requirements, all of which tells you more about the department and whether you fit/how to show the adcomm that you fit
  8. Like
    alexisnj got a reaction from Hard times! in 2019 Applicants   
    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 
  9. Upvote
    alexisnj reacted to SomeoneAcceptMe in 2019 Applicants   
    The only thing that's keeping me from imploding from morbid despair right now is constantly replaying Holding Out for a Hero on full volume
  10. Like
    alexisnj got a reaction from victoriansimpkins in 2019 Applicants   
    I rlly rlly RLLY hope your bones are right for the sake of my sanity
  11. Like
    alexisnj got a reaction from Bopie5 in 2019 Applicants   
    I rlly rlly RLLY hope your bones are right for the sake of my sanity
  12. Upvote
    alexisnj reacted to disidentifications in 2019 Applicants   
    tbh, im stuck in a sort of limbo stage between desperately wanting to know and not wanting to know my admissions results at all. (ignorance, at this point, is both bliss and torture...) 
  13. Upvote
    alexisnj reacted to dilby in 2019 Applicants   
    Happy holidays folks :]
    I hope you're feeling good about things today. You all deserve a break.
  14. Upvote
    alexisnj reacted to a_sort_of_fractious_angel in Fall 2019 PhD Applications   
    Hi - wanted to drop a line. All of the above is excellent advice and I'll just add (again) that the WS & SOP (in relation to fit) are the most important parts of this application - the other parts matter, yes, but they will never outweigh a "fitted" SOP & WS. 
    I'm happy to read or look at the SOP and/or the WS for any of the 2019ers. Granted, I am an internet stranger, but I had some wonderful people here on GC look at my materials during my application season and I found their perspectives very helpful precisely because they were strangers and could point out things that peers and faculty perhaps didn't see. 
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