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Just wanted to give some info about how the covid crisis is affecting graduate schools and future admissions. In Yale's case, what we know now is that individual departments will have autonomy when giving year-long extensions to current students, and will decide whether to give blanket extensions to everyone, on a cohort basis, or on an individual basis. Every extension of funding given out, though, comes with a trade-off: for six extensions of funding given out, the department will have one fewer admission slot to offer. This will probably play out over the long term, buying many current students extensions by taking two or three fewer students each year for a number of years. It's all in flux right now, but know that this will likely make admissions even more competitive (or it may even out with fewer applications overall, who can say?).

Just wanted to give some info about how the covid crisis is affecting graduate schools and future admissions. In Yale's case, what we know now is that individual departments will have autonomy when giving year-long extensions to current students, and will decide whether to give blanket extensions to everyone, on a cohort basis, or on an individual basis. Every extension of funding given out, though, comes with a trade-off: for six extensions of funding given out, the department will have one fewer admission slot to offer. This will probably play out over the long term, buying many current students extensions by taking two or three fewer students each year for a number of years. It's all in flux right now, but know that this will likely make admissions even more competitive (or it may even out with fewer applications overall, who can say?).

As someone in Comp Lit who is working on the Caribbean I can tell you that some departments would definitely be more hospitable to your set of interests than others. Make sure you do thorough research into that. My department is changing, but there are still very conservative requirements (like competency in a classical language) and ways of thinking. I find myself spending a lot of time with people from Af-Am, American studies, History, and English. As some have said above, in many cases English departments would be a better choice. I applied to English programs as well, got into some of both, but eventually decided Comp Lit would be right for me after weeks of indecision. If languages and translation and international archival research are truly crucial to your questions, then yes, Comp Lit is the way to go. But the reality of Comp Lit is that you'll still have to market your work to national language departments if you do plan to try and continue as an academic. DM me if you wanna ask more specific questions!
Also, yes, make sure you have a pretty cutting edge or unique research proposal. What you're describing about I, Tituba, Wide Sargasso Sea, and so on, is well-trodden ground. That doesn't mean it isn't a valuable or interesting subject; it does mean it probably won't strike adcomms as the most interesting work to sponsor and nourish in their department, given that many students might apply with that kind of thing. Don't bother with (more) journal publications or conferences or any 'professionalization' at this stage. I would recommend thesis research as a way to explore, and also as a way familiarize yourself with how specific fields make their arguments. That will enable you to use the right language so that faculty will recognize your own work as interesting and unique. At the same time, while you have to write a solid statement of purpose, it isn't a contract by any means, and your work will take so many unpredictable turns when you actually start in graduate school. Don't stress out thinking that you have to totally define the direction your scholarly career at this point.

Just wanted to give some info about how the covid crisis is affecting graduate schools and future admissions. In Yale's case, what we know now is that individual departments will have autonomy when giving year-long extensions to current students, and will decide whether to give blanket extensions to everyone, on a cohort basis, or on an individual basis. Every extension of funding given out, though, comes with a trade-off: for six extensions of funding given out, the department will have one fewer admission slot to offer. This will probably play out over the long term, buying many current students extensions by taking two or three fewer students each year for a number of years. It's all in flux right now, but know that this will likely make admissions even more competitive (or it may even out with fewer applications overall, who can say?).

Just wanted to give some info about how the covid crisis is affecting graduate schools and future admissions. In Yale's case, what we know now is that individual departments will have autonomy when giving year-long extensions to current students, and will decide whether to give blanket extensions to everyone, on a cohort basis, or on an individual basis. Every extension of funding given out, though, comes with a trade-off: for six extensions of funding given out, the department will have one fewer admission slot to offer. This will probably play out over the long term, buying many current students extensions by taking two or three fewer students each year for a number of years. It's all in flux right now, but know that this will likely make admissions even more competitive (or it may even out with fewer applications overall, who can say?).

Just wanted to give some info about how the covid crisis is affecting graduate schools and future admissions. In Yale's case, what we know now is that individual departments will have autonomy when giving year-long extensions to current students, and will decide whether to give blanket extensions to everyone, on a cohort basis, or on an individual basis. Every extension of funding given out, though, comes with a trade-off: for six extensions of funding given out, the department will have one fewer admission slot to offer. This will probably play out over the long term, buying many current students extensions by taking two or three fewer students each year for a number of years. It's all in flux right now, but know that this will likely make admissions even more competitive (or it may even out with fewer applications overall, who can say?).

Just wanted to give some info about how the covid crisis is affecting graduate schools and future admissions. In Yale's case, what we know now is that individual departments will have autonomy when giving year-long extensions to current students, and will decide whether to give blanket extensions to everyone, on a cohort basis, or on an individual basis. Every extension of funding given out, though, comes with a trade-off: for six extensions of funding given out, the department will have one fewer admission slot to offer. This will probably play out over the long term, buying many current students extensions by taking two or three fewer students each year for a number of years. It's all in flux right now, but know that this will likely make admissions even more competitive (or it may even out with fewer applications overall, who can say?).

Just wanted to give some info about how the covid crisis is affecting graduate schools and future admissions. In Yale's case, what we know now is that individual departments will have autonomy when giving year-long extensions to current students, and will decide whether to give blanket extensions to everyone, on a cohort basis, or on an individual basis. Every extension of funding given out, though, comes with a trade-off: for six extensions of funding given out, the department will have one fewer admission slot to offer. This will probably play out over the long term, buying many current students extensions by taking two or three fewer students each year for a number of years. It's all in flux right now, but know that this will likely make admissions even more competitive (or it may even out with fewer applications overall, who can say?).

Just wanted to give some info about how the covid crisis is affecting graduate schools and future admissions. In Yale's case, what we know now is that individual departments will have autonomy when giving year-long extensions to current students, and will decide whether to give blanket extensions to everyone, on a cohort basis, or on an individual basis. Every extension of funding given out, though, comes with a trade-off: for six extensions of funding given out, the department will have one fewer admission slot to offer. This will probably play out over the long term, buying many current students extensions by taking two or three fewer students each year for a number of years. It's all in flux right now, but know that this will likely make admissions even more competitive (or it may even out with fewer applications overall, who can say?).

I'm in at Northeastern???

Congrats you two!! Hope to see you in NH soon!

So have I! Hope you're going to the accepted student weekend? 

I just got an acceptance from Yale! So happy and so grateful! 

In at Cornell!!!

One of my POIs at Yale who I feel is doing a great recruiting job actually told me having people from other schools on your committee can be a great professional benefit, it shows that you're in conversation with a wider scholarly community. 

Notified by email because, classic me, I do not have a working phone, but I'm "in" at Brown, and I say "in" because I've finally caught on to the fact that this is not real life but a very cleverly engineered simulation, y'all really had me fooled, please wake me up now. 

Perhaps I'm misinterpreting, so apologies if so, but calm down, dude. Her sharing specific details about herself and her application are not really going to help you with yours, and her doing so would not really be "paying it forward" as you so put it. 
 
I feel like there's more to say, but as I may be misinterpreting it, I'll leave it at that.

Holy sh*t, I'm in at Yale!

In at Yale with the kindest email I've ever read from the DGS oh my god 

IN AT YALE!!!  IM GOING TO LOSE MY MIND I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM ANYMORE 

I was just about to go to bed and I got into UC Berkeley ?
EDIT: Just noticed the line: "The Berkeley English Department has nominated you for a prestigious university fellowship; as soon as we know the outcome of that nomination, I will be back in touch to clarify the offer." WHAT??! WHAT!

Got in Chicago Comp Lit! Was very sad when I didn't get the interview email, but what a plot twist!

Yes, the decision is released by the 'main' i.e. non-film department. At least that's how it went for someone I know in English and Film.

When I got the acceptance from Chicago—which was a letter from Deborah Nelson saying something like "You'll hear shortly from a member of the faculty via email or phone..."—not even 10 minutes later another email came through and I thought, Oh, that was fast! But it wasn't from a Chicago prof—it was an invite to a Columbia interview. (They don't usually interview for my field, 20th c). When I say I sat down on the stairs of my apartment in the dark and was nonverbal for an hour . .  whew.
Was roused out of it only by a call from my best friend/mentor (at whom I've moaned and despaired constantly about how I'm sure I'll get shut out) which he began by yelling, I quote, "HAHAAAAAA HOW'S THAT NEGATIVE SELF-IMAGE DOING, HUH? HEADLINE: REALITY TRUMPS HATE. WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!" Lol. Okayyy buddy!
To be honest I've been a little too dazed to properly feel anything about it, but seeing that something I did make someone I care about so happy—well, that was the first thing that really made me smile.

Northwestern and Duke said no... but Chicago said yes! It really is a crapshoot—that being said, it really does come down to luck, rather than qualification, after a certain point.