Renzo

Thanks so much to both of you!!

Hi everyone, I've been out of school for a while and am looking to brush up on recent scholarship in my field over the summer. It seems like recent journal articles are the best way to do that, but I have no idea how to access them before I get access to a university library. Does anyone know any way to get articles before the fall semester starts? Thanks!

Apropos of nothing, I don't really post here that much, and I guess you should take a random comment from a stranger for what it's worth, but: I'm absolutely positive you will end up as a professor somewhere if you're determined to make it work. I'm older, so I'm in a different boat, but you have so much time to try to reach your dream. There's no way to say that without sounding patronizing, but I'm just trying to articulate that while the disappointment must sting now, any setbacks you're having are temporary for someone as focused and bright as you seem to be. (And by the by, I'm not sure what the protocol around this is, but I think it would be really instructive for you to get some feedback from admissions committees on your package if possible, because there's a good chance they'd point you to something concrete and fixable.)

Not sure if it's exactly a waitlist situation; they said I wasn't in the initial round of funding, but I'm in consideration if something becomes available.

Got an email that I've been recommended for admission to Georgetown's MA program. No funding as of yet, but it seems as if there's still a possibility something will come through. Pretty pumped to have some good news!

I also thought this was a delightful touch. Just a liiiiitle glimmer of hope before the kick in the stomach. I'm amazed and seriously impressed with the fortitude of people who apply multiple cycles . . .

Ha, thanks to you both!!

The poster may be having the same issue as me -- I don't actually see any GPAs or any other stats on the results page, but maybe I'm just being an idiot.

I don't have a dog in this fight (didn't apply to Chicago), but I imagine that the people who didn't get interviews were in fact relieved by your message, so from a utilitarian perspective, I think you made the right call. To those who have interviews, seems like you're still incredibly close to acceptance, and maybe it's good to know that you have to push yourselves across the finish line (and not just avoid any screwups) during the interview. Good luck to everyone!

I can imagine -- that sounds tough! Lots of people say, though, that the key to making your dream work is not having a backup plan. So I think people like you might ultimately be more successful than people like me at the whole literature thing. And I have to say, I'm really, really impressed by people like you who are committed to doing something impractical you love right outta school. It takes guts!

Exactly! The process is also super expensive, so it's also nice having some disposable income so you don't have to, for example, agonize over the cost of applying to more schools. On the other hand, applying years after undergrad is pretty challenging in a lot of ways (at least it was for me) -- studying for the GREs, trying to figure out a good writing sample/SoP without any advice, reconnecting with professors for recs, trying to manage the process with a full time job, etc. So happy that it's almost done and I can move onto the worrying stage, along with everyone else.

Hey all! Longtime lurker here as well. Primary research interests are pretty staid -- government/law/politics in nineteenth-century American lit. I feel a little self-conscious about it, as everyone here seems to have much more timely/cutting-edge topics. Got 8 apps in, working on 2 more. Applying only to top 15 schools. I know that's foolhardy, even with good stats (3.9 GPA, 170V/163Q/5.5W, 740 Lit), but I'm older and have an established career in another field, which I'll stick to if the English thing doesn't work out. Thanks to everyone for posting and keeping me semi-sane during this grueling process. Good luck!!