Hard times!

Oh please post a notification here as well! I am also planning to apply for Fall 2022. All the best!

Haha! That's very ableist indeed. My only athletic skill back then was and still is running for life (provided the safe corner was/is about three minutes away from the starting point. huh!). Your mom seems justified though-- your article is hilarious and poignant at the same time! I am sure many grad students would love to see their greatest insecurities materialise like this, given the overwhelming gloom of the application period. My father's optimism is more along the lines of denial. I plan to apply for Fall 2022 and I do anticipate a shutout (at least I won't be crestfallen and a

Hahaha! This is brilliant! Thank you for this! Is this presidential fitness test an actual test? I thought you had made it up but then the comments made me think it could just be something American! Well, reality is always stranger than 'satire'. The pun on fitness is spot on though! 'for the lolz pile' hahaha! The Pulitzer part struck a touchy chord-- the other day I had to play this chord to my father to rein in his 'hopes' (read 'delusions') for whenever I apply. He did discern that I was 'only a bit' (note 'only a bit'. parents and their faith in their genes! *tch and a long sigh

Painful and vicarious too! I haven't applied this year but every time I read about this purgatory (of waiting) I can sense some brain and gut cells dying. Just the anticipation of what it might be like next season is killing!

Thank you so much!! Before this no one has broken down the admissions with such clarity for me!

Thanks so much! I am not too sure about the stats because in my country the grading system is very different and conversions to the US system are usually not recommended. Our grading system comes closer to the British system but still there is very little consistency in how different institutions go about the grading-- the older and more 'significant' institutions tend to be more conservative. My GRE score (only for the general test becuse I didn't take the subject test) is alright. But what I mean when I say that my stats are average is that I have never been to what you might call an 'elite'

On a similar note, what might help an international student who is not competitive enough in terms of the stats? After all so many applicants have such brilliant stats. Can a strong SOP and writing sample help the application? Would it be madness to apply to one of the reach schools if you don't have brilliant stats? I realise these queries seem rather facile but as an international student with very little help from either my current institution or my professors, I feel like I am groping in the dark. And the applications are way too expensive to try my luck 'randomly'-- that would be twice re

Congratulations!! It really feels wonderful to see/hear hard work paying off!

Bopie, I have been here since 2019 as well and I can't really articulate how I feel about your acceptance. Though I must assure you that all my feelings verge on awe. Your presence has cheered so many of us over the last couple of years! Firstly, congratulations and hopefully you will be spoilt for choice by the end of the circle! I had an acceptance in 2019 but I am an international student and the funding didn't really work out. Like you took the MA route I took a similar route (Mphil). I had planned to apply this season but the pandemic proved to be somewhat of a deterrent. I say somew

Oh yes, absolutely! And thanks a lot for your reply! I was quite fascinated by her chapter on Maus in Disaster Drawn-- that still draws me to the archive she has carefully built around the very few remaining visual testimonies of Shoah. Fascinating!

An interview is still great and you got to discuss your research! I am sure you did well, regardless of the outcome (which I hope works in your favour). If you don't mind my asking, is your research interest related to comics studies? I haven't applied this season but am planning to apply for Fall 2022 and most of my applications would be in the field of comics studies. Northeastern's department has Hillary Chute after all!

Hi! Long time lurker. Thanks so much for this offer. As a/an (potential) applicant from the Global South, I already feel like I am going to the dogs. The whole process seems so gruelling. Any help from any quarter would be lovely! Also, it would be really helpful to get hold of a paper (of course published) or even a skeleton of one that has gotten anyone into grad school. Though I am mostly interested in visual cultures, films, comics studies, affect theory, and a bit of postcolonial/decolonial theory, any written sample would be great! Thanks!