Wimsey

I'm currently finishing up Home, by Marilynne Robinson. I read Gilead a couple of years ago and decided it was finally time to dip into the sequel. It's a beautifully written novel, and I love the peacefulness of the setting, which presents a nice contrast with the hectic nature of graduate admissions. I also treated myself and bought a used copy of Nicola Humble's The Feminine Middlebrow Novel: 1920s to 1950s. It's directly related to my research interests, so I'm excited to start reading.

Don't lose hope! The DGS wanted to tell me that I was eligible for a special fellowship, so it's possible that he contacted me separately from other accepted students.

Thanks! I applied to the MA, with the expectation that I would progress to the PhD. On the website, they instructed BA-only applicants to apply to the MA. Congrats! You must have a stellar application.

Got a very nice phone call from the Penn State DGS!

Got a rejection from Stanford. Oh well, I didn't want to do a cross-country move to California, anyway.* *Berkeley adcom, if you're reading, please disregard this statement.

Hmm, good point.

I am getting antsy about Stanford. They've notified at the beginning of February for the past couple of years, so the decision could be imminent....

Just learned that I have put the "in" in Indiana. ?

I've seen in other threads that you can be accepted even without an interview. I also recall reading that interviewed applicants tend to be in medieval or early modern subfields, but I'm not sure if that's accurate for this year.

I also want to reassure everyone that it is okay not to treat the SoP as a project proposal. In fact, when I was revising my statement of purpose, one of my professors critiqued it for being too focused on a specific course of study. He recommended that I use phrases like "I'm interested in x" or "I'm curious to learn more about y," rather than "I will research x through the lens of y." Another prof emphasized that grad school is meant to train us as scholars and that programs don't expect (and maybe don't even want) their applicants to be committed to a fully delineated research project.

I've already started contemplating which of my books will come with me to grad school.

Congratulations!!! Maybe I'll see you at the campus visit in February.

Just learned by phone that I have been accepted to Washington University in St. Louis! I am absolutely thrilled!!!

This process makes me feel as if I am back in undergrad, desperately wondering if my crush will ever text me back.

The impending decisions are starting to feel more real to me, and I think I had an application-related dream last night. That is, I don't recall the dream itself, but I remember briefly waking up and thinking groggily, "I should post about this dream on the Grad Cafe." ?

I'm in exactly the same boat, including the Chicago implied rejection! I'm counting down the days until February, when I expect most of the decisions to occur. ?

That makes sense. I submitted the majority of my applications through ApplyWeb or the format used by Chicago.

I have the same question....

Hmm, that's good to know. I thought Chicago was a solid fit, but I guess not. Peace out, Chicago. It's been real.

The competition is fierce!

Yale's DGS tweeted that applications there have increased by 40% this cycle. Interesting.

Ok, maybe they're giving non-US applicants some extra time, since arranging an interview with the time zone difference could be more challenging. We shall see!

Good luck! I didn't receive the email, so this might be the end of the road for Chicago and me. ?

I was startled to see an email in my inbox with the subject line "Graduate Studies." But alas, it was just my undergraduate university suggesting that I apply there.

I feel seen lol. I've definitely been experiencing this line of thought.