Whoopsiee

I think this only happens at universities where there's competitive funding. They can't guarantee full funding for 5 years, and so the department has to appeal to the wider university (to whom the GRE Q is supposedly a quick and easy indicator of the student's viability). My advisor was adamant that I not study. I scored in the 30th percentile, but I also promised myself I wouldn't consider schools without incredibly good/ guaranteed funding packages. I don't know if that helps. I certainly don't have experience in an admission committee like bfat, so I would definitely trust their advice over mine!

You’re all correct! It’s normal to discuss funding. I texted her and the first thing she said was “How much $$?” Ha! 

Last night my mom asked me “Why are these schools paying you to go there and study literature? If the job market is so bad, what’s in it for them?” 
My answer was essentially the teaching assistantships. Does this seem right? Maybe it’s obvious, but the question itself just threw me off guard a bit! Ha. I’ve never been asked that so bluntly. Looking to hear if any of you guys have better answers than what I stammered out. 

Just dropping in to share this, in case anyone could use a pick-me-up via humorous, eccentric, and historical feline portraiture. Eulalie Osgood Grover, writer of children's books and the original cat memer (c. 1911): 

(enjoy further perusal: https://archive.org/details/kittenscatsbooko00grov)

Aww not an acceptance but waitlisted at Buffalo! So happy someone read my app and didn't hate it lol

I'm in at Georgetown with no departmental funding. I've just emailed someone with the department to see if there's a chance I might be offered funding later (if one of their funded admits accepts an offer elsewhere). Not the result I was hoping for, but better than a rejection I suppose. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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!  

Just got a call from NYU (I was admitted!!!!!) I was told that I should be receiving an official “letter” via email with program details by the end of the week, so I think if rejections haven’t gone out by then but you haven’t been called, that should be a sign ? I wish you all strong hearts and best of luck! 

The night before getting my rejection letter from UChicago, I dreamt that I was already admitted and went to my “first day of class”. It was an abandoned futuristic building in the middle of the desert. I went up the stairs (they were extremely fragile), entered the classroom and found that the two professors that were welcoming us were Miranda Priestly, from “The Devil Wears Prada”, and Mr. B., an American History teacher I had when I was a exchange high school student in the US 15 years ago. Miranda then takes me on a tour around the “campus” and proudly shows me the library, which looks like a poorer version of the main hall of the Grand Budapest Hotel. 

The person on the phone didn't really say anything about admission beyond telling me the (possible) decision date. That sounds like really good news though! Congrats!

Mine was really good, too! Fingers crossed. And good luck to you and everyone else!

Also they told me we'd be hearing back early next week, if anyone's curious!

Got a call from POI at NYU. Voicemail said they have some “very exciting news” ... That means I got in, right? Right?!?! I’ll roll over and die from embarrassment if it means they referred me to their master’s program lol. 

Hello! This is the Ghost of Waitlists Past! As someone who was waitlisted and ultimately admitted, I wanted to share a few reflections from my experience. Being waitlisted is the worst. Your application cycle has been dragged out even further. You feel a weird mix of joy and defeat. My inner saboteur kept telling me, "I was good, but not good enough." At the end of the day, you may not get admitted despite all this added anxiety. These steps, though, made me feel like I had done everything I could do. 
1. If you want to be on the waitlist, re-affirm your interest. I do not just mean replying to the DGS's waitlist email saying, "Yes! Keep me on it!" (Though you should do that ASAP.) A week or two later, I also sent a formal letter to the DGS, i.e. 2 short paragraphs in an email with a Dear XXX and Sincerely XXX, re-affirming that the program was one of my top choices. Keep it concise and do not repeat anything from your SOP. This might only be one short paragraph. However, here are a few other things you might want to mention:
1a. If this program is your first choice, say it. When I submitted my PhD applications, I was fairly confident this program was my first choice, but after having a few more months to reflect, I was now certain. In my letter, I said that and stated that I could confirm my attendance if admitted before the April 15th national deadline. This is a big commitment, so only say this if you are going to commit to that. When April 15th barrels down on the adcom, they want to offer admission to students on the waitlist that will accept their offer. Some adcoms will have a ranked list of waitlisted students, and this gesture may not do much. However, if your program's adcom does not have a ranked list, this may help.
1b. Tell them about any admissions you have received. Some DGSs will ask for this, but either way, be sure to mention which programs admitted you! This makes you a more attractive candidate, and if those acceptances are from impressive programs, it could spur them to review your file to see what they might have missed. Plus, it also alerts them that you will need to know before April 15th since you have an offer on the table.
1c. Any updates to your CV since you applied? After submitting my application, I had a few CV additions. I had a paper accepted for a conference, I was awarded a competitive grant, and I had another line of employment to add. I included those in my letter since those, like admissions to other programs, could spur some review of my application. Even if you do not have updates like that, you can still tell them about other things. Still in school and finished your fall semester with a 4.0? Tell them. Was that conference paper or publication listed as "forthcoming" on your last CV now given/published? Tell them. Did you finish a project at your job that seems relevant to the program? Tell them. The point here is not to brag, but to affirm that you are a hardworking candidate that could bring something special to the cohort.
2. Ask the DGS what the waitlist procedure is. Some will tell you up front and in detail how they select students and how frequently they will update you about your progress. Some will be more opaque. Either way, you have the right to ask questions like, "How does the committee select students for admission from the waitlist?" and "Are waitlisted students able to visit the department, either at the open house or individually?"
3. After you send the letter of interest, keep in contact with the DGS, but do not overwhelm them. This is where it is hard to be prescriptive. You will have to judge what is too much or too little contact. My suggestion is to err on the side of too little contact since you do not want to overstep. I would especially refrain from asking for updates. Instead, restrict yourself to major CV additions, i.e. other admissions, publications, professional conference presentations, or awards. I received my waitlist notice in late February/early March, and after I sent my letter of interest, I sent a total of two other emails: the first informing the DGS about two awards I had won, and the second – two weeks before that big April 15th deadline – asking for an update/re-affirming my interest.
4. Update your LOR writers about your waitlist status. You should be keeping them in the loop about your application cycle anyway, but if not, tell them about your waitlist status. When I told them, one of my letter writers was very generous and offered to write to a faculty member on my behalf. Not everyone is going to have that reaction, nor should you ask it or even expect it. (I didn't!) However, informing them gives them the opportunity to take more action if they can. You can also ask them if there are any steps they think you should take. During the application cycle, I ran the suggestions in this list by my letter writers, and they approved of them, giving me more confidence to do them.
5. If you have been admitted to other programs, evaluate those offers. Go ahead and start narrowing down any admittances you have. For now, treat the waitlist as an admittance. As you evaluate your options, you might decide the waitlisted program is not your first choice. If, however, you feel like the waitlisted program is your first choice, then hold on to it and decide which of your current offers is your first choice. Once you have selected your top admitted program, decline your other offers. Then inform the DGS at the top admitted program that you have been waitlisted at another, especially if you plan to wait until the April 15th deadline. When contacting the DGS, I affirmed that I was impressed by their program and would be excited to attend, but that I was waitlisted for a program that was a better fit for me and intended to wait. The DGS appreciated my transparency and that she could prepare for potentially notifying people on their waitlist. Remember, you are not the only one on a waitlist!
6. Be patient. The hardest thing to do on this list! In order to offer admission to students on the waitlist, the program has to wait for enough admitted students to decline their offers. Programs often admit more students than they expect to take, so even if one or two students decline their offers, the program may already have a fully realized cohort. Programs usually see major movement in late March/early April when students admitted to multiple programs have attended their open houses and have reflected on their experiences. Then, the DGS will begin sending out other acceptances. You could receive an offer of admission before then! You could also receive your acceptance after April 15th. I did not receive my acceptance until the day before the April 15th deadline. In the moment, it was nerve-wracking. However, because I had not officially accepted another offer, things went more smoothly for me and the two DGSs. If push comes to shove on April 15th and you still have not heard from the waitlisted program, you have to make a choice. It is your choice, but if you are seeking advice, I would strongly recommend taking the admission you already have. You truly do not know if you will be admitted until you get an official letter.
7. In short, always be passionate, courteous, and brief. Each email you send matters and reflects what it would be like to work with you. Now that I am on the other side, I know at least one reason I was admitted was because I was determined and respectful. Proofread everything you send. Keep your emails short. Sound enthusiastic and professional.
Good luck, my fellow waitlist survivors!

welcome to the thread! from what i've read here, that's probably a good sign? maybe not super professional, but professors are often very busy and i think sometimes they forget a 9pm email to a prospective student is not the same as a 9pm email to their actual advisee. (though, if this is something that would bother you as their advisee, maybe keep that in mind? some professors don't really have appropriate work/life boundaries with students.) good luck!

Hey y'all. Long time lurker here (you seem like a lovely bunch! It's embarrassing how invested I've become in your individual application processes lmao)
Just had a question. I just got a strange email from Columbia asking if I'd be willing to talk on the phone tomorrow morning. I'm not sure if this is an interview request? The language in the email led me to believe they're interested in me, but interviews aren't usually requested at 9 on a Saturday night to happen the following morning. I realized recently that the POI I had listed in my SoP had retired the previous year (I am a Big Idiot), so I'm hoping they just want clarification about that? If anybody has any advice or any info about Columbia's typical interview process, I'd really appreciate it! (I'm a medievalist by the way. I hear it's typical that they interview that sub-specialty).

When I spoke to my advisor about retaking the GRE because of my mediocre scores, she told me to buy a new pair of boots instead. I told her I knew there’d be a gatekeeping minimum at many universities, and she asked me if I really wanted to attend a school that would disqualify me solely based on that, considering schools like UC Riverside, Harvard (beginning this year) and Purdue (beginning next year) no longer require the GRE at all. So I bought the boots.
I scored V 158 Q 145 AW 5.0. 
So far this cycle, I have received two interviews and three PhD acceptances. So buy the boots y’all!

I'm interested in medieval/early modern literature.  My MA thesis was on Spenser and the medieval tradition of translatio studii et imperii.  Some of the books which have really caught my attention are Grafting Helen, The Poetics of Translatio Studii and Conjointure, Poetic License, Poetic Authority, and The Pain of Reformation.  Ultimately, I'm interested in Spenser's grafting of the Arthuriana and his attitude toward the Arthurian myth of Tudor origins.  

Hi, @illcounsel! I am interested in Ecocriticism and Gender Studies in Medieval and Early Modern French Lit. I really love Animal Studies as well. I've actually been reading some essays on E.M. Japanese writings on animals and perspectives that differ from the West. I read a lot of Le Roman d'Alexandre last semester and would love to read more now that I have a bit of time. Definitely interested in Voltaire as well! This is technically "Medievalism" as opposed to Medieval Studies, but I have also been reading Travels in Hyperreality by Umberto Eco.
Outside of Med./E.M., I have been listening to an audiobook by Derrida called Circonfession! 

Anglo-Saxonist here! I am particularly interested in pagan and Christian dissonance in Old English literature and Anglo-Saxon sexuality. I am currently working on the issue of gender in Beowulf. 
Old English always seems to be the odd man out in terms of research interests, so I'm hoping the small quantity of interested researchers doesn't hurt my odds for admission too much! 

I got an encouraging notification that I'm on the waiting list at Indiana. A welcome change from the results I've gotten so far

Chicago added a "decisions documents" folder at the bottom. i cried for "there is nothing posted"

In at Chicago..........

@beirut Me, me, waiting for rejection from UChicago! I'll consider myself adequate if they recommend me to an MA program that they have. Not that I'll go since I probably cannot afford it but.... just telling myself it's okay 

uh i had pretty much accepted that i'd be shut-out, but i'm admitted at UCSD too...