wildsurmise

Congrats @Cassidyaxx! I've just reluctantly turned down WUSTL, hopefully someone here gets some good news!

I'm predicting UVA and Washington will be this week (the DGS for UW said final decisions will be probably sent on or around Feb 18).

I mean, according to these stats (https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/documents/stats/ENGL_Grad_Profile_Final.pdf) it seems it's even twice as difficult to get into UC Santa Barbara English if you're simply not a Californian? Which I found pretty odd, and is one of the reasons I decided at the last minute not to apply. I should note these statistics are from 2013, but I'm assuming their in-state practices haven't drastically changed.

How large are the biggest English PhD cohorts, and which programs? I was reading that UVA has ten people per cohort but self-describes the PhD program as “small”—so how big is big? I’ve heard cohorts will be smaller at many places this year, but I’m curious about a general reference point.

You seem competitive to me! I wouldn’t give up hope—this seems to have been an unusually intense cycle with schools getting far more applications than usual. From my quite limited experience, international students don’t seem to be at a significant disadvantage, besides a lack of familiarity with the US system (though I’ve heard it may be trickier for international students to get into UC California schools, but don’t quote me on this). I’d suggest perhaps trading SOPs with someone on here next cycle for feedback (I could probably look at yours) and reading some US examples—in particular I’d recommend making sure you make a pretty specific case for why the department faculty/ resources are a great fit for you. And if you wanted to beef up your CV a bit you could also consider applying to some (virtual) conferences—seems to be less work than publication. Feel free to dm me with any questions! I almost applied to some British programs this year, and was quite overwhelmed by the differences.

Perhaps some are, but I think part of the problem is that it seems many of these rejection letters (like Vandy's) aren't even from the English department, but from the "vice provost for graduate education," and just talk about the graduate school in general recieving many apps. So distant... especially when we put our hearts and souls (and paychecks) into these applications!

I'm graduating this May, currently in my second year (planning on starting phd in the fall). I'm teaching one class of first year composition each semester for my university, but not teaching middle/ hs during the program. My current professors were really helpful in giving feedback for my SOP, and my writing sample comes from an MA seminar paper. It can also be nice to have solidarity/ venting sessions with classmates who are also applying.

I'm not exactly in this group, but adjacent--I taught middle and high school before pursuing an MA, now a PhD. I personally felt so out of the loop with the discipline of English that crafting a "relevant" SOP and writing sample that engages in current discourse for PhD apps felt very out of reach (when I was still teaching), and my MA has been so informative, enjoyable, and edifying. Though I also wasn't an English major in undergrad, which is probably relevant.

I've started rewriting the lyrics to Ariana Grande's thank u, next, which I think goes along quite well with grad admissions: "thought I'd end up at Duke... but it wasn't a match" ? (to be continued pending further rejections haha)

That conflicted feel every Sunday when you don't want to work the next day, but you want Monday to come for more ~cursed admissions updates~ ... like even when I didn't apply to schools I thrive on learning the info for some reason. What have I become? Best of luck everyone!

I think there's a fair chance y'all or some of you are waitlisted-- no one's posted any of those this cycle and there have been WUSTL waitlistees in years past. My waitlist email from BC came a couple days after the acceptances and rejections were posted.

Argh sorry about all this admissions crypticness-- I'll just paste the bulk of the UW email here for the sake of transparency, I'm not sure about state resident status: "I am pleased to let you know that your application has been advanced for consideration into the second round of our review process. The applications included in the second round of review represent just under 15% of our total applications for admission to the Literature and Culture track, so this is a significant achievement, although it is important to note that we have not yet selected our finalists and this letter does not constitute an offer of admission. We expect to communicate final decisions on or around February 18th. In the meantime, as we continue with our ongoing review of applications, we need to ask that you please submit to the UW Human Resources department as soon as possible and no later than February 4, 2021, the form explained below. The University of Washington is committed to ensuring a safe environment for all members of the UW community. As a part of that commitment, and in recognition of Washington state law, candidates for employment are required to complete a sexual misconduct declaration (see attachment). This includes prospective graduate students who might be offered employment-based funding with admission. To ensure continued consideration for student employment, please complete the sexual misconduct declaration as soon as possible. Make sure you complete all sections and attach your electronic signature."

What is happening!!! Maybe they are rejecting everyone they're not considering for interviews!? Haven't gotten anything.

I had that exact same experience with the Oregon and Washington emails that day! Was first so mad (especially because the teaching application for Oregon was so much extra legwork) and then pleasantly confused by the Washington email. I feel like the UW sexual misconduct declaration could have been just part of the application for everyone to streamline things, or at the end of the process when they're actually selecting people, but whatever. It also is directly tied to hiring employees in the state of Washington (a state legal requirement), so if anyone applied and DIDN'T select that you're interested in the teaching fellowship (or however you phrased it), then you probably wouldn't have gotten the email. [and haha, I love your "I am usually fond of cryptic texts" ?]

No, I have thought about asking, but yeah it does still seem a bit early and I don't want to come across as too demanding ?... I'm leaning towards hypothesizing no ND interviews at all this year as it's getting later and later, but zooms may still happen I suppose?