spectrum-in

Hadn’t heard from UW-Madison so emailed for an update, and it turns out I’m on their waitlist! 

Anyone know when NYU typically starts accepting students into the MA (after PhD rejection)? 

Outside of my research, but I read Samantha Hunt’s “The Seas” back in November while going through endless drafts of my SoP, and it was such a captivating read. Highly reccomended to one and all!

Had to visit UT early due to a conflict during the official weekend. 
Sitting in the airport waiting for my flight home, but I wanted to tell y’all that: 
While i was visiting, there was a grad student conference called Fugitive Futures: Graduate Students of Color Un-settling the University and SAIDIYA HARTMAN was the keynote. I only got to peep in for a panel or so, but for all my Poco and “Ethnic” Lit people, just wanted to tell you that that happened (just bc i had no idea prior and thought it was pretty cool)!

Will be getting off the Stanford English and Princeton CompLit waitlists! Hope it helps anyone here

Thanks for the congrats! Being waitlisted is such a mixed bag. Re: publication history, I've been published in two smaller journals, but nothing aside from that. I have no such thing even approaching a book deal (or a book...), lol. I am finishing up an MFA, however!

Hey everyone, 
I was wondering if I can get your thoughts on this. So, I'm Canadian and moved to Boston to pursue an MA. Since graduating, I've been working in Boston for two years. This is my first round of PhD applications. 
The biggest thought running through my head is, "what if this isn't right?" What if making some changes would have affected all of these results and I would've gotten in to other schools? I'm not ungrateful for my acceptances - in fact, I'm SO grateful for them! - but I did expect more (too naive?) and I had certain dream schools that I was so confident I'd get into... on top of that, I know I applied to schools across North America, but I didn't really ever think I'd be leaving the northeast, let alone likely leaving the country. I'm struggling pretty hard with all of this right now. 
The idea of leaving Boston is heartbreaking to me and with my UConn rejection late last week, it finally hit me that I'd be totally leaving this area. I don't think I had ever fully wrapped my mind around that. 
Some non-academia friends keep bringing up that I should just stay and not pursue a PhD... one of my other dreams is to open a bookstore, so they keep telling me to keep working here until I can fulfill that dream. But I'm on a TN work visa which is limiting and I'm currently working as a tutor and a part-time RA. I don't think I'd be able to keep that up for next few years AND a PhD/academia is my dream, as well.
I don't know what to do. I guess I just needed to let that all out. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.  
 
EDIT to add that I know I have 3 American schools still in the running but I likely won't go to them, even if I get accepted, because my mom's health isn't great and I'd like to stay within driving distance/quick flight distance to her in Montreal. 

hah, it's a small and funny world. good luck and fingers crossed for you! i thought about applying there but ultimately didn't feel it was a good fit and instead applied for a teaching fellowship in nyc. i'm still waiting on a few decisions and waitlist movements but already thinking about 2020. it's too much. i'm leaving for vacation tomorrow morning and so, so ready.

Me! I might email today.

Waitlisted at NYU!!!!! I’m starting to feel much better about this application cycle...

Im wondering if people heard anything from NYU, USC, BU, and WashU aside from the acceptances and (edit) waitlists that have gone out in the first wave. I have seen some rejections and additional waitlists from a few of these schools but no news from them. Argh.

Yale rejections are out. All I can say, 'FINALLY. THANK YOU.'
I had a feeling it was coming but it's a relief to see the letter and the decision formally in. It's... freeing lol. And I can finally focus on what's next instead of having that compulsive e-mail check.
Good luck to you all that are still waiting
(EDIT) Final decision made: I'm going to UCI. I will be declining SUNY Buffalo's waitlist offer, so if any are you waitlisted there, I hope this helps  

In at Yale. My one admit of the season. I'm speechless.

I reached out to Brandeis to see what was up with people who hadn't been accepted, rejected, or waitlisted. They said while they've sent out those notifications, people still waiting are on a waitlist, just not ranked high enough to be notified. They said they'll follow up in the next few weeks as decisions are finalized. 

Received an acceptance over email from Harvard today in the late afternoon! It said to expect a call later in the week. Good luck to everyone!!
(I'm a medievalist, if it helps to know)

That kind of stuff makes me so mad, it’s straight up rude and also has undercurrents of racism, ableism, and classism. We should all be better than that. Boo to those people.

I can speak to this! I’ve been thinking about this subject a lot, mostly because I’m in absolute awe of everyone on here who’s managed to apply while currently in school. this will depend on your job, of course, but I found applying while working full-time to be much easier than if I had tried to apply while in undergrad. I decided against applying then for a handful of reasons, but one was time. I was in class, working part-time, staying up late or spending a weekend writing essays... nothing out of the ordinary, but I felt like I was always working. when I started my first 9-5 job, it blew my mind how much time I suddenly had: my evenings and weekends were entirely my own. I’ve had a lot of friends express similar surprise when they started their first full-time jobs. it seems like it will be more intense, but it’s really just more structured.
I mostly worked on applications on weekends, because I come home wiped at the end of the work day, but a few hours working on your applications in a coffee shop on a nice saturday with no other work hanging over your head is an amazing thing. depending on your circumstances, there may be other benefits: if you’re commuting via public transit, that’s the best time for GRE prep! if it’s a desk job, you can likely listen to podcasts or audio books – aka subject test prep, if that’s something you’re thinking about. PTO means I’m a lot less worried about pulling off school visits than I would have been if I’d needed to miss class near the end of the year. and, honestly… if you’re sitting at a computer all day, you may be surprised at how much time you have for things other than work. this is terrible but I outlined personal statements, scanned transcripts and other docs, and ultimately hit submit on most of my applications in the office.
much of this will be situational, and I don’t want to sound overly optimistic because applying to graduate school will always suck. it’s still going to be exhausting and all-consuming a lot of the time. but in my experience, a full-time job can provide a really valuable structure when working on your applications, as long as you’re committed to making it happen – and it sounds like you definitely are.
last note: as a student, I thought I wanted to go to grad school, but working a full-time job brought that desire to a new level. I had a few crummy jobs right after graduation but my current job is great – it’s mission-driven work, everyone is wonderful, there’s loads of research and writing to do, etc. it was exactly the kind of job that I thought might make me change my mind about grad school. and every day, part of me still dreaded coming in. that continued dissatisfaction became the driving force that got me through this process. all the reasons I felt overwhelmed or like I couldn’t do it became secondary to the new knowledge that I had to do it. you’ve got this. it’ll be different, it’ll definitely be hard, but you’ve got this. happy to discuss further any time (if this horrifyingly-long comment wasn’t already Too Much). rooting for you!

Thanks for this generous interpretation, which I can endorse! Each admissions season, I read about 200 applications of roughly 60 pages each--while teaching, writing, and completing departmental searches for any new hires (which would usually entail 3-4 files of several hundred pages each). There's just no way to offer meaningful and personalized feedback to each application that doesn't make the final cut. (And the pangs of conscience about that are part of why I'm on these forums, in hopes that I can humanize the process a little bit in another way.)
@MetaphysicalDrama I definitely appreciate the systematic and infrastructural issues you raise. And you're of course right that it is a position of privilege to be sitting on an admissions committee with the reassurance of tenure, and not one that anyone I know takes for granted. For what it's worth, I don't think that there is any pleasure in "gatekeeping" on admissions committees; it's not a particularly coveted committee assignment, because it's a lot of work, and it's demoralizing. We know that we are disappointing a large number of very talented people by rejecting them, and we know that we are possibly doing a disservice to those we admit, because we cannot guarantee that we will be able to secure them jobs, even if they do everything right. No humanities professor I know--and I know a lot of them--is excited about the fact that there aren't enough jobs for Ph.D.s. But humanities enrollments in undergraduate classes have plummeted to half what they were a decade ago. Universities can't hire computer science professors fast enough to staff their courses, but humanities courses at my institution are regularly canceled for under-enrollment. Under those conditions, it's hard to make a case to a central administration that we need to hire more faculty. The crisis I perceive is the one between those of us dedicated to humanistic learning and those who insist, increasingly, that liberal arts educations be transformed into vocational training--as I'm afraid American culture has increasingly done. 
Finally, every academic I know (myself included) has experienced a lot of rejection, and had many long, dark nights of the soul. Living a life of the mind, and caring intensely about your work,  mean that every rejection feels deeply personal. Among just the tenured faculty I'm close to in my department, two were initially denied tenure, two nearly left the profession having crises of faith finishing the first book manuscript, one failed his qualifying exams in graduate school, and all are rejected annually for fellowships and grants. All of us, too, were rejected from at least one graduate program we applied to. Fall down seven times; stand up eight. 

I was working full-time on top of running a freelance gig throughout this application cycle, and I'll be honest with you...it's tough. After a 9-hour stint in an office, the last thing you really want to do is sit in front of another screen and start a different kind of work. It is certainly possible to pursue work and graduate apps simultaneously, but I would say it can end up taking a toll on you both physically and mentally if you don't allow yourself enough time to rest and recharge (preach @jadeisokay!).
Everyone is different, of course, but what really helped me to strike a balance between the two was allocating different environments to different tasks. For example, I never work at home if I can help it. That's my space for eating, watching Netflix, hanging out with my housemate, hosting dinners, sleeping - and if I try to work there, I inevitably end up being lethargic and getting frustrated with myself. Instead, I go straight from the office to the library and do app things there for a few hours. Then I go home and relax. It just keeps everything compartmentalised in my mind, and stops it from becoming too overwhelming. There's an iPhone app called Life Cycle that actually tracks how long you spend on certain activities/in certain places, and I used that a lot to make sure I wasn't overdoing it and burning out (13 hours' total working today? Time to GO HOME).
Further advice: screen glasses are your friends. They cost like 10 dollars and stop you from getting those screen-glare headaches if you're putting in long hours.  Also, exercising, eating/sleeping properly, and - I cannot emphasise this enough - seeing your friends. Go for dinner or coffee or to a bar or a party. It might seem unproductive when deadlines are looming, but it will clear your head and put you in an infinitely better frame of mind.
So, in short: yeah, it's not easy. But it is absolutely doable if you are determined enough to take on the extra work, and mindful enough to recognise when your body and mind need to relax. Personally, I love my job (and oh my I love that sweet sweet financial security) - but I don't want to do it forever. And being at that job gives me a daily reminder of why I want to pursue academia. So don't lose that fire in your belly, be mindful of your mental state, and very best of luck!!

Hate to post twice in a row, but I just received a warm and encouraging phone call from my POI at Fordham informing me that I've accepted by the department.  Of course, nothing is official until the graduate school documents come through, but I'm thrilled.  Two acceptances, one visit/interview, and two (official) rejections for me so far. 
It really is a nice touch that some schools still call to deliver this news.  My POI delivered the news with such grace, and it really is a great feeling to hear someone of such status pay even the smallest compliment about your work.  I'll still add that there is nothing quite like that feeling of calming down after the entire stress volume of application season passes through every blood vessel in your body. 

Not true. Brown English maintains an invisible waitlist. You're still in the game if you haven't received a rejection from Brown. We discovered that last year when some of us asked why we hadn't been notified and the coordinator told us about a waitlist.

In at Brown. Email to check portal. 

thought this may ease some of your minds: I've been admitted to NYU, CUNY, Rutgers, and Columbia thus far, and accepted Columbia's offer a few days ago. I contacted the admissions department from each of the other schools about my decision yesterday and have received responses from all, so for those waitlisted or especially waiting for responses from Rutgers, spots are opening up! And to future members of my cohort: hello!

i'm still total radio silence from UVA and NYU – I'm of course expecting rejection, but I just want it to be official!!!! 

Another anecdata point here. I applied with 158V and 142Q and walk away from this cycle with 1 acceptance and 1 waitlist (unless miracles happen tomorrow or next week). However, I will also say that it was a very risky proposition to barely clear 300 total on the GRE general. I'm grateful that my GRE didn't shut me out, but an admissions committee that was taking a first glance purely at the data (definitely most of my East Coast schools, since I have little to no academic connections there) I will definitely admit I look like a very shaky proposition. I can't discern how GREs play into the decision mechanics for private schools, I know for public schools that utilize campus-wide fellowships for funding, it can definitely play a part. As far as I know, a department will almost always want to fund its students from the larger graduate school funds than utilize department resources (I know Buffalo had a 313/4.5AW minimum to be considered for fellowship consideration from their College of Arts and Sciences). Every department and every school will of course be different, and definitely don't be afraid to check out GRE policies if your schools list them.
___
After a bit of reflection after seeing the pieces fall together, I can't deny and feel the fear that a shutout this year was close to being real for me. I remember having a freakout in GC during January about the possibility. I'm insanely grateful for my results, but during that weird period of uncertainty, I developed something of a game-plan if I needed to apply for Fall 2020. I've taken a look at my application materials again (after months of refusing to look at them) and find spots where my writing could've used some massaging and tightening. It's only a rough sketch, and definitely not meant to be prescriptive or authoritative, but for those that want to see some sort of pointers into my process, I hope it helps someone This is what I would've done if it happened to me:
If things went to hell, tomorrow (or early next week) is when I likely would've had the definitive final nail in the coffin and be officially shutout in an alternate universe where I received nothing but rejections. If you get news early, don't be afraid to grieve and let the emotions out. Talk it out with your friends, SO, family, etc. For me, I have an insanely sturdy support system that has kept me sane throughout this whole process, and I could not have made it through alone. They talked me through the grad school stress, both application and the future of what grad school is going to mean. Eat ice cream (ok maybe not too much), focus on a project not academic-related, etc. Find your happy place for a while and remain in that happy place if you can for as long as you need to, while not trying to repress the emotions either. If you need to cry, let it out. Catharsis, catharsis, catharsis. You will know when you feel ready. After you feel comfortable and let the emotions out, take stock of what you've learned throughout the application process. I've learned a lot about my research trajectory and how to articulate that for grad school applications much, much more than I did a couple of months ago. You now have a foundation to which you can revise, rebuild, and make your SoP and WS the kickass documents you know they can be and will be. In my case... I'd be starting the process of revising my documents around March or April (likely April). I'd take some time away from GC and use the March-April period to contact my professors, debrief, regroup, and see if they have time to schedule in-person meetings in the summer. (However, I understand this is not possible for everyone. I live very close to my alma mater so in-person meetings are possible). I'd see if I can immerse myself in scholarship and figure out, more specifically, the conversation I want to enter in. Again, this is variable on how you felt about your SoP/WS (for me... they needed a lot more work, so I got insanely lucky this cycle). If your GRE scores are banging with twin 160+ and a 6.0AW (and not reaching that 5 year mark), a retake is def not necessary. If you got scores like mine, and are willing to shell out the cash, would've started to hit those GRE books again and do some test prep. I'm not fond of the test at all, but AU me would've definitely been trying to cover all bases and leave no parts of the application up to any doubt (and pray and hope I get my verbal score up to 160+, and my quant to the 150s). My revised school list would still have schools that require the subject, so also gonna have to fill my days studying Hapax legomemnon and taking GC deep dives in GRE literature threads. On school revision, my new list would definitely be different. My hypothetical second round would've been a mix between MAs and PhDs. PhDs: Emory, WUSTL, SUNY-Buffalo UW, UCI, Yale, MA: Georgetown, Wake Forest, CSULB. I'll retain three schools from my original seven, but focus more on a mixed application cycle to ensure that if I get a PhD shutout, I have funded Masters to look towards. (the Master's programs on this is a very rough and possibly insanely inaccurate sketch. I'd def need to do more departmental digging to make up a veritable list instead of throwing around schools like we would darts). This was as far as I had planned out however. I didn't want to start thinking of what to do when the new school year rolls around just yet. Around this time, I'd also start job hunting and seeking, using that time to get away from being so deeply entrenched in application materials (that was my mistake during this cycle, these applications dominated my life). I would try not to make that mistake again and try to have something substantial to focus on that wasn't just 'is my SoP okay is my SoP okay oh my god my WS these GREs somebody help me.' In the myriad of plans I have that are floating in my brain, I would've definitely tried to sub for my local school district for the upcoming school year to help ease the costs of re-applying. (I would've also tried to do the IRT scholarship)
I hope this helps someone though If anyone wants to chat more, don't be afraid to PM.