The Wordsworthian

In at Yale. My one admit of the season. I'm speechless.

I would have applied to more lit and culture hybrid programs.
I would’ve talked less about my desire to teach and more about where I’d like to take my research in the future.
I would have tried to reach out to grad students and POI at some of the schools I applied to.
I would have looked more at publications of recent graduates to see if there might really be an interest in and a place for me at all of my programs.
I would have applied to more funded MAs.
I would have gotten involved in these forums way sooner!

Now that we're approaching the end of the application cycle, what would you have done differently if you had to do it again? If you will go through the application process again next year, what will you change?
My own answer: I didn't prioritize 'fit' as much as I should have, which meant that I applied to schools that were an almost guaranteed rejection. I also didn't consider the present department faculty as much as I should; I applied to specific programs because of certain (now retired - or even deceased) scholars. I learned about certain exciting programs too late in the application process to apply - part of this is due to being an international applicant and not being as knowledgeable about the US academic scene. I definitely would have applied to UCSD English and UT Austin English and to fewer PA/NJ/NYC schools which shall remain unnamed. Finally, I would have spent far less time anguishing over the GRE quantitative section. 
Your turn! 
 

When I applied, I was working 30-40 hours a week while balancing a full-time course load.  I won't sugarcoat this experience at all--it was extremely overwhelming and stressful, and I had to make a lot of sacrifices for it.  I did not get much sleep, which definitely wore me out by the time I finally submitted my applications, and my social life was nonexistent.  My advice to you would be to take advantage of weekends, as Friday/Saturday/Sunday were the days where I got the most work done.  Not sure what your summer is like, but I was lucky to be only taking classes part-time and I worked about 35 hours a week so I had a bit more "wiggle room" to get ahead on my apps.  
I also made a schedule for myself with deadlines based on where I wanted to be with my WS and SoP, and started opening my actual applications about 3-4 weeks before they were due, and tried to have them submitted a 1-2 weeks before deadlines in case something went wrong.  It's not easy but you will get through it if you want it bad enough.  Best of luck to you!

"Hey Matt just wanted to give you a quick call and let you know personally that we don't want you. Best of luck in all your future endeavors." *CLICK*

Really enjoyed waking up to a second notification of my rejection at JH ?

Hello! I started my first full-time job in August of last year, and my application season felt impossibly overwhelming at times. That being said - I felt like I absolutely covered all of my bases by the time I hit 'submit.' My biggest advice (especially if you are applying to more than a few programs): create your own handwritten chart/checklist for deadlines and program requirements, as early as possible. This really helped me feel grounded/organized, and prevented me from feeling frantic. I can share my layout if that would help!

Hate to post twice in a row, but I just received a warm and encouraging phone call from my POI at Fordham informing me that I've accepted by the department.  Of course, nothing is official until the graduate school documents come through, but I'm thrilled.  Two acceptances, one visit/interview, and two (official) rejections for me so far. 
It really is a nice touch that some schools still call to deliver this news.  My POI delivered the news with such grace, and it really is a great feeling to hear someone of such status pay even the smallest compliment about your work.  I'll still add that there is nothing quite like that feeling of calming down after the entire stress volume of application season passes through every blood vessel in your body. 

i just want to chime in here to remind everyone that grad school admissions is only one way to get a rejection. for instance:
a prof on an admissions committee could've been rejected at any of these points. i don't know if making a sweeping accusation that they've never experienced rejection will make the sting of our rejection any less, but there's no reason to vilify people you've never met. for all we know, admissions committees have little control over when rejections are sent. some the rejections i've received during this process have come from the graduate schools, not the departments. there could be several layers of bureaucratic bullshit we're not seeing. 
 
 

Agreed!  The pure chaos of applying and hearing back has taken about 10 years off of my life.  It also feels really shitty to put so much into an application and spend such exorbitant amounts of money to have your application totally disregarded and to be strung along by schools!  The only schools who sent out rejections in a timely manner (that I applied to) were Cornell and U-M, for which I am extremely thankful.  

Yes. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this process it’s that it needs to be standardized. As a humanities person I know saying that is basically heresy, but it’s true.  

@tacocat211 You're welcome!  Let's hope this week has some news from the State College area

I called them early last week and they said they were still making decisions and sending out notifications.  The woman I spoke with on the phone said that acceptances/waitlists would be notified via phone call or e-mail.  She gave no timeline as to when they'd have everything out by, but if you haven't heard yet, don't give up hope as they haven't notified everyone yet (as of last week, at least). 

I plan to talk about this with the DGS on my upcoming visits, and for some programs I’ve already emailed and asked POI or directors. Nobody seemed to deflect the question, though many said “not everyone has wanted to continue in academia” to explain lower rates (which was sort of a red flag for me, but for those who aren’t sure about academia it could be a good thing). Schools do have this data available in some form or another, usually, and I think they expect you to ask because I’ve even had some directors volunteer this information when I inquired about their programs as a prospective applicant. 
If you’ve already been admitted, I don’t think it’s out of the ordinary at all to ask what alumni are doing, and placement rates are a kind of implied part of this question. It’s super awkward but I don’t know if there’s a way around it, just like negotiating offers. 
Also, it may make it seem less “superficial” if you preface it by saying something like “I know placement rates are measured differently from institution to institution, but could you qualitatively assess job-search success for recent graduates?” And then maybe asking current students how prepared they feel for MLA, and/or how supportive the department is in their job-search, would indicate to folks that you’re thinking about placement as one of numerous important factors in your decision making process. 
Sorry if this isn’t helpful at all but hopefully it helps normalise the question (?). I think we really shouldn’t be afraid of asking it because it’s our futures we’re looking out for.

Speaking from a bunch of years down the line: all the MORE reason to celebrate! (And maybe this is your point, in which case I don't mean to belabor the obvious.) This is one of the things about the academic life cycle: it's never over. You wait to get into grad school, you wait to pass your QEs, you wait to "advance to candidacy," you wait to pass a prospectus, you wait to get a fellowship, you wait to publish your first article, you wait to get a job interview, you wait to get a campus visit, you wait to get a job, you wait to get a book contract, you wait for the book to come out, you wait for book reviews, you wait to get tenure, you wait to get a fellowship, you wait for your graduate student to get hired, you wait to get a second book, you wait to get promoted ...
I'm listing all of this not to be demoralizing, but to say that one of the best things you can do for yourself and your career is to create time for rest and celebration and rejuvenation. It will make you better at your job. Have a time every night when you stop working. Have a "sabbath" of some sort: a 24-hour period each week when you don't work. There will be weeks when it's impossible (as at any job), but don't make that the norm.
Academic life can be the best gig out there, because you can work on something you love; you can have constant intellectual challenge; you can have tremendous flexibility in your schedule; you can work with brilliant people. It can be the worst gig out there if you drive something you love into the ground; you never feel satisfied with having met challenges; you never give yourself a break; and you never feel like you measure up to your brilliant colleagues. Choose the happier version. At least most of the time. 
[End soapbox rant.]
I hope this comes across as encouraging and not patronizing! I only say all of this so urgently because it's hard-fought knowledge that I don't always remember. But when I do, I work better and I am more content.
 
 

I celebrated my acceptance to my first program by drinking an entire bottle of cabernet. Unfortunately, that was actually how I was already passing the days anxiously waiting for acceptances.

@3131 Thank you for this!

thought this may ease some of your minds: I've been admitted to NYU, CUNY, Rutgers, and Columbia thus far, and accepted Columbia's offer a few days ago. I contacted the admissions department from each of the other schools about my decision yesterday and have received responses from all, so for those waitlisted or especially waiting for responses from Rutgers, spots are opening up! And to future members of my cohort: hello!

Do we think all the Rutgers acceptances are out? Trying to decide if I should hold on to my one last shred of hope or accept a shut out...

I did, yes! a really lovely call. definitely seems like there will be more calls coming out this weekend so stay tuned, all!

accepted at Rutgers!!! just about burst into happy tears when I saw the area code appear on my phone - it’s been a lot of bad news in a row and i’m really glad to (mostly) wrap things up with good news.

I feel like I've had delayed excitement about my acceptance due to the sheer shock!  Each day I feel like I digest it a little more and actually grasp the fact that I'm in.  It's crazy. 

Another anecdata point here. I applied with 158V and 142Q and walk away from this cycle with 1 acceptance and 1 waitlist (unless miracles happen tomorrow or next week). However, I will also say that it was a very risky proposition to barely clear 300 total on the GRE general. I'm grateful that my GRE didn't shut me out, but an admissions committee that was taking a first glance purely at the data (definitely most of my East Coast schools, since I have little to no academic connections there) I will definitely admit I look like a very shaky proposition. I can't discern how GREs play into the decision mechanics for private schools, I know for public schools that utilize campus-wide fellowships for funding, it can definitely play a part. As far as I know, a department will almost always want to fund its students from the larger graduate school funds than utilize department resources (I know Buffalo had a 313/4.5AW minimum to be considered for fellowship consideration from their College of Arts and Sciences). Every department and every school will of course be different, and definitely don't be afraid to check out GRE policies if your schools list them.
___
After a bit of reflection after seeing the pieces fall together, I can't deny and feel the fear that a shutout this year was close to being real for me. I remember having a freakout in GC during January about the possibility. I'm insanely grateful for my results, but during that weird period of uncertainty, I developed something of a game-plan if I needed to apply for Fall 2020. I've taken a look at my application materials again (after months of refusing to look at them) and find spots where my writing could've used some massaging and tightening. It's only a rough sketch, and definitely not meant to be prescriptive or authoritative, but for those that want to see some sort of pointers into my process, I hope it helps someone This is what I would've done if it happened to me:
If things went to hell, tomorrow (or early next week) is when I likely would've had the definitive final nail in the coffin and be officially shutout in an alternate universe where I received nothing but rejections. If you get news early, don't be afraid to grieve and let the emotions out. Talk it out with your friends, SO, family, etc. For me, I have an insanely sturdy support system that has kept me sane throughout this whole process, and I could not have made it through alone. They talked me through the grad school stress, both application and the future of what grad school is going to mean. Eat ice cream (ok maybe not too much), focus on a project not academic-related, etc. Find your happy place for a while and remain in that happy place if you can for as long as you need to, while not trying to repress the emotions either. If you need to cry, let it out. Catharsis, catharsis, catharsis. You will know when you feel ready. After you feel comfortable and let the emotions out, take stock of what you've learned throughout the application process. I've learned a lot about my research trajectory and how to articulate that for grad school applications much, much more than I did a couple of months ago. You now have a foundation to which you can revise, rebuild, and make your SoP and WS the kickass documents you know they can be and will be. In my case... I'd be starting the process of revising my documents around March or April (likely April). I'd take some time away from GC and use the March-April period to contact my professors, debrief, regroup, and see if they have time to schedule in-person meetings in the summer. (However, I understand this is not possible for everyone. I live very close to my alma mater so in-person meetings are possible). I'd see if I can immerse myself in scholarship and figure out, more specifically, the conversation I want to enter in. Again, this is variable on how you felt about your SoP/WS (for me... they needed a lot more work, so I got insanely lucky this cycle). If your GRE scores are banging with twin 160+ and a 6.0AW (and not reaching that 5 year mark), a retake is def not necessary. If you got scores like mine, and are willing to shell out the cash, would've started to hit those GRE books again and do some test prep. I'm not fond of the test at all, but AU me would've definitely been trying to cover all bases and leave no parts of the application up to any doubt (and pray and hope I get my verbal score up to 160+, and my quant to the 150s). My revised school list would still have schools that require the subject, so also gonna have to fill my days studying Hapax legomemnon and taking GC deep dives in GRE literature threads. On school revision, my new list would definitely be different. My hypothetical second round would've been a mix between MAs and PhDs. PhDs: Emory, WUSTL, SUNY-Buffalo UW, UCI, Yale, MA: Georgetown, Wake Forest, CSULB. I'll retain three schools from my original seven, but focus more on a mixed application cycle to ensure that if I get a PhD shutout, I have funded Masters to look towards. (the Master's programs on this is a very rough and possibly insanely inaccurate sketch. I'd def need to do more departmental digging to make up a veritable list instead of throwing around schools like we would darts). This was as far as I had planned out however. I didn't want to start thinking of what to do when the new school year rolls around just yet. Around this time, I'd also start job hunting and seeking, using that time to get away from being so deeply entrenched in application materials (that was my mistake during this cycle, these applications dominated my life). I would try not to make that mistake again and try to have something substantial to focus on that wasn't just 'is my SoP okay is my SoP okay oh my god my WS these GREs somebody help me.' In the myriad of plans I have that are floating in my brain, I would've definitely tried to sub for my local school district for the upcoming school year to help ease the costs of re-applying. (I would've also tried to do the IRT scholarship)
I hope this helps someone though If anyone wants to chat more, don't be afraid to PM.

Hi friends! I've realized that I've been so focused on hearing back from all the schools I've applied to that I haven't truly celebrated my acceptances. Is anyone else in the same boat? 
I would love to talk about how we are celebrating, and bring a little joy into our forum
 

I’m 21 and going for a PhD! I don’t think it’s too young.