Hard times!

Congratulations! Johns Hopkins and Cornell!

Good lord! I didn't know some schools have their applications time-stamped! If late application works against you I am certainly out! All the more reason to give up already

At least I can safely conclude it's a rejection for me! And again the string of implied rejections...

Also, do these adcomms go through apps chronologically? I thought they do so by fields/interests!

Can't add more reacts but oh that's very reassuring really because I submitted my application about an hour before the deadline after sending off an angry email to the dept about my credit card not being accepted and having to ask my brother to pay lol. If they start factoring in all the pre-application stuff as well i am certainly done for. I submitted almost all my applications dangerously close to the deadlines screwed thrice over: super-late applications, a wobbly research area and my own shortcomings as a writer. Lol!

Mine has nothing to do with postcolonial lit and i am worried sick--few places do comics and philosophy together if i am lucky enough to get an acceptance anywhere at all, i would certainly take Cornell's critical theory course. Cornell is a great school!

Glad to hear more anxious voices! Can't add more reacts but decisions are happening so early this cycle that my heart never stops fluttering because all I have is silence. I thought most of my programmes would wait until next week to do their numbers (for the ones rejected) at least, but CUNY's decision yesterday, oh god! Seems like they are sending out early acceptances to find a way to waitlist people because they have no more funded spots left (Ahhhhh!) Anyone (sans paranoia) with any insight into this earliness?

What's your field? @Submarina

You have Cornell! That's huge!

Anyone yet to hear from a any programme? I haven't heard back from any and at this point a couple of rejections would be more reassuring than this silence! Also, the general drift seems to be something like this: if you have an acceptance already, you are more likely to receive more acceptances because of course your application is very impressive. But, and here's the catch or the counter-drift: this relation seems a lot murkier for rejections and silences. One rejection might imply more rejections but there is so little in the way of certainty and silences don't yield any relations at all! Whoever said silence is god! Well, so true! So devoid of meanings and relations P.S.: Being an Asian from Asia and doing literature in spite of that, my self-esteem is as diffuse as the air--rejections are always on my mind but grad school is an exercise in nihilism especially if you are not in the sciences. lol.

Can't add more likes but this is hilarious! How tragedy is often so comical!

Comics mostly! So you can guess how much I fit in given there is only person in the whole department who does that!

Yes, covid disrupted everything! And the last application season didn't have any regard for decent odds against applicants--feasting on rejections! Many wonderful applicants had to reapply this year. But I had applied for fall 2020, long before covid started making rounds and still ended up being waitlisted. Little scope for optimism ugh! Good luck to you though! What's your specialisation?

And don't know what to make of it. Rejection, perhaps?

Not yet ?

CUNY decisions out? Safe to assume a rejection? Some programmes are really before their usual time this season!

Monday again! All the best everyone! I am feeling unusually nervous and superstitious today--my dreams about rejections are getting to me. Do people tend to be more superstitious when they have a lot to fear? Like reading bad signs in every little thing happening around you? For those who already have acceptances--oh, to know that you are going to grad school! Hope you have more acceptances soon but an early acceptance is the luckiest thing that can happen to you in this process. If I were to be shutout a second time, even if m recommenders agree to write me letters or I feel like I can improve myself, I won't tread along these lines again--the sheer anxiety of this wait is too much to take on a third time. Most places I have applied to haven't released any decision as yet but I am still dreading a possible shutout. So hard to be optimistic because optimism seems delusional at times, given there are so many people with wonderful stats and writing samples. Cheerio!

Usually longer interviews mean people are interested... but what would i know haha! I can't believe i dreamt of rejections the whole night good lord! It felt so real.... I honestly thoughout i would see at least 4 rejections after waking up.

I have applied to Boulder as well but nothing as yet. It's hard to determine when they release their decisions because there are only about 50 posts over a span of decade on gradcafe for Boulder's English department. Some acceptances seem to have gone out quite early in the past years (as early as February 5) and some acceptances have gone out in late February. The rejections have always been late though. Also, what I gather from the previous posts is they tend to have very small cohort sizes (4-5, though that number is not official). Haha if only all these calculations amounted to something!

Yes, let's hope it ends well--after all, as many have already said, you need only one acceptance! Most programmes I applied to are yet to release their decisions but my heart has been sinking this whole week. All the best and have a nice weekend !

Yes, congrats to all those who have received offers and good luck to all those who are awaiting decisions any time now. I don't know how I ended up applying to only those places that do not send out decisions before the third week of Feb (and that's only for three) or the first week of March (barring UIUC which is gone anyway)! This wait, oh!

Congratulations! Very heartening news now you can sleep well *starry eyed*

And yes, an early acceptance is even better! I mean grad school admissions involve so much nerves and to be able to relax and know that you have made it to at least one place is such a relief. Congratulations on the unburdening too hope you have positive news from more places

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, it does take a lot--I have felt like anxiety putting out my neuronal firings at times. I wish there were more understanding elders like you around. If I am a shutout, not only will I be stranded to tend to my own feelings of inadequacy, but to explain to my parents and their acquaintances why grad school acceptances are hard and worth more than their bragging rights!

Congratulations! You are going to gradschool, no matter what!