Hard times!

Can you still apply without a proficiency test? In many cases the proficiency test is not a departmental requirement at all and schools are ready to consider your application without the test. Of course this is provisional and even if you are made an offer it will be conditional but I am sure you'll have plenty of time then. Or have I made this up in my head because it's convenient? I am an international applicant too but in my case, some schools list my country as an English-speaking one while others don't.

Thanks so much! I will try to do that as soon as possible! Just the prospect of my supervisor saying a 'no' is keeping me from writing but of all my recommenders he would perhaps be best able to comment on my research ideas.

Haha this is really nice and I have been trying to write to my MA dissertation supervisor ever since your post but alas! He was my supervisor three years ago and the world has changed in so many ways since then and yes I had my MA in a different country (so no chances of showing up in his office to rattle his memory). He was pretty nice back then but what are the chances of a supervisor even vaguely remembering you if you have not been in touch and you were never a genius or your work was just as nondescript as a subway joint? Will sending the work help or sending the SOPs help? Or do you just write first? How do you approach a teacher after three years?

Does anyone have any insights into Rochester's lit programme? So far it's my best fit given my joint interest in visual studies and time studies. However, I do remember reading somewhere that Rochester never bothered to respond to certain applications-- not even a rejection letter. Was that even Rochester I wonder! Any red flags and I won't apply because my circumstances are pretty straitened already-- I can apply to a meagre 7-8. Thanks a lot!

Would anyone (among the ones who are already in gradschool) be willing to share their writing sample? It has left me terribly jittery and I don't have a sample to fall back on. What kind of writing gets/may get you into gradschool is what I am trying to figure out. I am an international applicant and am already struggling with this whole application rigmarole but I guess it's the writing sample that can most definitely make or mar you. Any help, in the way of samples, (be it dissertation chapter or a published paper or an initial draft) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Many thanks for this! Just saw this. I am applying for Fall 2022 as well. I mostly do comics with a focus on its temporal aspects and relations (thinking of philosophy of time here but that sounds too daunting). Looking forward to interacting with you all and all the best!

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 after having seen so many brilliant scholars the burden of rejection would somewhat be more bearable) but managing disappointed parents is nothing short of disaster management! Their expectations have a ridiculous social dimension and what was meant to be collateral damage takes the stage! You manage their disappointment and their lost opportunities to brag about their children's still-unheard-of potential.

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*) out of tune amidst potential Nobel Prize winners and Pulitzer winners +_+ How I wish all ad comms read this! But you are not a bad egg, in a sarcastic vein or otherwise.

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' institution and I don't want to depend on my exam scores. They are nothing spectacular given so many applicants have pretty formidable records and I most certainly don't measure up to those. Neither can I change the stats at this point. The only things I can really work on are the writing samples and SOPs and it would be great relief if the admissions committees weigh those in over other documents. Yes, I will pm you soon. Thanks so much for your help and clarification

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 removed from the already (very) uncertain reality of admissions! All suggestions would be immensely helpful! Thanks!

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 somewhat because the biggest deterrent is my own insecurity about my potential. There are so many brilliant scholars who receive multiple offers that it is hard to be very hopeful. Yet, ever since I have read about your acceptance, it has made me somewhat hopeful for the second cycle (I am planning to apply for Fall 2022). Being hopeful is such a difficult stance these days! I feel, simply by being on this forum, I have been a witness to your enormous potential, but more importantly, your hard work and absolute commitment to your work and grad school over the last two years. It's hard to see such unwavering determination amidst everything that has been happening since last year and it's indeed heartening (and if I may say so without sounding sentimental-- very inspirational *tearing up*). Your effort and acceptance have restored a kind of faith in the effort that I have put since the last cycle. I don't think much of my scholarly potential but I have still put in some effort and I feel I have improved as a scholar. But without your acceptance, the hard work would not have had much validation. Your acceptance validates so many of our efforts who are/will be risking another cycle. It's probably hard for you to comprehend how much moral force your hard work and acceptance bear but the force has been pretty enormous All the very best and hopefully we will get to read more of your works very soon! After all not many think or write about reality cooking shows and their racial and ethnic biases! *_* *all admiration*

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!