sadgworl

Thanks for making the thread, @dilby! And, YAY, @mandelbulb!! I literally just made my decision official today. I, too, will be attending UCSD's Literature department in the Fall! So excited to be a part of such an interdisciplinary and transnationally focused department! 

yeah, she's super super talented. Quashie writes his theory in a very poetic way you might also like. Hartman is also really good, she's one of Sharpe's mentors.  

As someone whose popped into this forum from time to time, and gotten invested in y'all's decisions, I'd love to see someone make a "final decisions" thread so we can all see where everyone is ending up!

With what @Warelin said, I think I’ll stop by next year for a bit! Not sure how much advice I can offer in 2020, but hopefully I’ll be a wise ol’ first year grad student and can answer at least some questions. I think I’ll utilitize other areas of this forum during the school year since I can’t text my mentor for every “should I email them this or this?” question, lol. This has been such a great resource! I’ve always heard such bad things about GradCafe, and while the results boards can really make you spiral in your own anxiety, I’ve found the forums have been nothing but positive and helpful. I wonder if other disciplines are also like this? I was poking around and noticed that this section is pretty active compared to others. 

Thank you for the reply. Oops. I didn’t realize it was the one I interacted with. I was hoping for fresh news as this situation seems so weird. But I’m crossing fingers with you that it is definitely not over. Best of luck!

I read the post where we are expecting to hear from UT Austin in the next week or so now, but does anyone have any insights on the current situation? not sure why they would send out waitlists and rejections but no mention of acceptances... unless those people happen to not use GC at all? 
it's one of my last programs to hear from and I am just ready for closure!

I think it's important to note that a "top 20" program can look very different depending on who's applying. Some programs are known well for very specific fields even if they're ranked "lower". Fit is often considered important because happiness will allow you to produce much stronger work.

Hi there, welcome I was very caught up in this while I was getting rejected (UCI was my joint 2nd choice with Washington when I applied, and it was my one acceptance) and almost had flashes (I basically considered this not long ago. Getting my last rejection and taking a few hours to think helped me clear my head though, and I don't feel nearly as anxious now that there's a concrete Fall 2019 plan) where I ping-ponged between wanting to see if I should apply again for more options (up to and including taking a few years off to do other things) or commit to the program. I decided to do the latter, as I loved the school too much to resist it. There's no shame in having just one, sometimes it really takes just one program to launch you. If it's a top 20 program, it's nothing to sneeze at. PhD programs across the board are infamously difficult to get into, which means that school believes in you strongly and wants you as a student.
If it's the one you wanted the least, tbh there's a lot of dynamics and personal variables that play into the choice of being in a PhD program so if it's not the kind of school that will make you happy for the next 5-6 years (and personally happy/balanced as well), it's important that's considered. I'd say... take a look at the resources that the program has, your funding offer, and figure out what kind of 'fit' they saw in you that you may have missed. I was blindsided when I got my one acceptance, but taking a look at the faculty I didn't list in my SoP post-acceptance, I realized that the program had the kind of deep faculty strength that would allow flexibility for my research trajectory. You don't have to swallow though if the campus really rubs you the wrong way or if you can't imagine yourself the next 5-6 years in the department. Also, take a look at the placement record, the kinds of students that your PoIs have taken in, and what kind of opportunities there are. (have you visited the campus of your one acceptance yet?) Use the chance to get to know the department and for the department to woo you, and then approach from there.
The one thing I usually see and read from people visiting campuses is that's usually the moment that the final decision is made just a bit clearer. So I'd say, get the lay of the land of the program that accepted you in person and then decide after if you want to re-apply or if you're going to commit to the school.

Just the English Department 
 

Just scoured the boards for a solid 15 minutes looking for that one long list of sample questions to ask--can someone help me out and re-post it here?
EDIT: Nvm, found it! And if anyone else is looking for it, it's here.

I sent an email to UDEL  who wants to scream with me?

From what I have read and what I am currently experiencing I believe this to be the case. One of my programs doesn't do an official waitlist from what I read, however the first round of acceptances went out and received nothing (its been more than a week). Rejections and a second round of acceptances would historically come 2-4 weeks after the initial results. Furthermore, one year people were placed on the waitlist as they got an email saying the department was having a funding issue. This however was the only year I believe people were officially notified they were on a waitlist.
Again, from what I have observed on this website if you are silently waitlisted (neither rejected or accepted after results went out) my best guess is that your chances of acceptance are 1/3. That could be totally wrong for a million reasons, not least of which it depends on the program etc. However, my main point is that you still have a chance, even if its not a great one. I think you have a better chance when you are officially notified of waitlist because (again from what I have read and observed) that implies there is a formal shortlist. To anyone who reads this now or in the future, I cannot emphasize enough that this is just speculation and inference AND that any program may be different. So the only answer that I can really give is this 1) its a crapshoot 2) its not over till its over