trytostay

Congrats on all your success @deka! Welcome

I asked them to consider me and actually sent in a separate application for Columbia’s MA program. I’m wondering if they’ll offer me a spot in that if I don’t make it off the PhD waitlist.

Yes!

@optimistic_nihilist can I ask what specialization your friend is who got into Columbia and Yale?

I don’t think there have been fatalities in past years! The 2019 application cycle might just push us to that point, though.

If anyone wants to take their minds off of this week, might I recommend reading about the dancing plague of 1518?

My UVA portal updated with my acceptance. Perhaps waitlist emails have gone out too? Just a heads up for those still waiting.

Congrats to your friend! @optimistic_nihilist What a cycle for them.

When making a decision: money or “ranking”? I know ranks are stupid and meaningless, but do they pay off for potential job searches, or perhaps in other ways? At what point does school reputation stop mattering, and money become more important?

Congrats to the Berkeley acceptance!! I’m keeping everyone who hasn’t heard back yet in my thoughts! It’s going to be a hell of a week, guys. EDIT: congrats to @kef5

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.

@Englishtea1 congrats on all your success! Must be a great feeling

No clue which one I'm leaning towards actually!! Right now I kind of just want to chill until visits start and try not to think about it too much since this is the least stressed I've felt in about seven months. I'm still anxious to hear from Columbia and Rutgers, so we'll see what happens in the upcoming weeks!

UO is a great program! Plus you can't beat the PNW. I heard from NYU I think the 11th? And UVA on the 14th. It does seem like all of the acceptance offers from those schools have gone out unfortunately, but I don't think waitlist notifications have gone out yet!

Oh my gosh, congrats @adornianjazz!!!! How exciting Fingers crossed for you.

@jadeisokay Not sure if it makes you feel any better but I really did go to a very mediocre school and I like to think I haven't done so bad for this being my first attempt applying. This is the first time I've heard anyone hold the opinion that school prestige is an important factor, so while I'm not saying it's an incorrect mindset necessarily, it isn't common. I do agree with @WildeThing about the financial advantages, though. If I wasn't given financial help during this process, I wouldn't have been able to buy as many GRE study books, or take the GRE twice, or work part-time in order to focus on apps, or travel to conferences and interact with professors, etc... The institution as a whole is set up so barriers are more easily overcome with some extra cash in your pocket.

You can search "school name + english" in the grad results page to see if your programs have sent anything out yet!

I agree that previous school "rank" doesn't matter at all -- and if it is taken into consideration, it's like the last thing they consider. I went to a very average school that is not associated with strong academics at all. I think schools are really upfront and honest about what they look at (at least what they initially look at, before all the weird "fit" stuff comes into play): SOP, writing sample, and letters come first. Always.

Interesting. This whole process is so weird! Fingers crossed for everyone and I hope you’re all doing okay. It took me awhile to get my head around the idea that rejections don’t mean my work is “bad,” and committees are judging on such esoteric criteria... This isn’t to diminish the accomplishments of those who’ve been accepted, of course. It’s hard work and skill — but it’s that coupled with random things we call “fit”! It’s shocking how much the application process seeks to tear us down. Maybe it’s just preparing us for the long road that is grad school lol On another note: yeah, I’m not expecting anything from Yale. What an amazing campus and department, but I was forcing my SOP a bit with that one. Just really wanted to apply to such an incredible school I guess? Who knows. I look back on some of the schools I applied to and question what I was thinking haha.

That's what I thought, too. I thought the numbers have always been super low, especially for humanities PhD's. I was surprised to see that Yale is accepting 15 people this year! I know NYU accepted 15 as well.

Thanks for these! I’ve been wondering how I could maximize my commute time without needing to bring reading materials.

I am! It's not convenient for my schedule by any means, but I made it work. (Note to self: don't schedule a vacation in Miami for the middle of visiting season...) You're further than I am though. Are you going to be able to make it?

I’ve always heard business casual

I had a feeling that was the case. I'll try to navigate these discussions gracefully, then. I come from an undergrad department that didn't take themselves too seriously, so I'm still trying to figure out the academic world on a larger scale. Thanks for the heads up!

Thank you @Ramus. As someone preparing to decide between programs, ability to provide job placement support for non-academic tracks is something I plan to ask about and put a lot of thought into. When I first told my mentor I wanted to apply to PhD programs, she gave me a long, grim, blunt, and borderline hurtful talk that I ultimately needed to hear. She told me she could not in good faith support me through this application process until she knew that she had made the realities of the job market clear to me. In fact, she said: "The job market was bad before I went into a program, it was worse when I graduated, and now it is essentially non-existent." Luckily, I don't have my heart set on being a professor, and I am open and quite honestly excited by the public humanities. I have work and research I feel is important and I am eager to do, so that's why I'm pursuing this degree, but I don't expect to stay in academia given the working conditions.