kolyagogolova

Some tips for y'all--mostly made up of things I really wish that people had told me back when I was applying:
 
1 - Admissions committees often look to admit applicants who match up with their own interests or with the interests of faculty who have openings for new advisees.  Don't just look at who you want to work with.  Try and find out if they even take advisees.  Are they half a semester away from retirement?  Do they already have 15 advisees?  Are they the dept oddball who gets hidden during visit weekend?  Look at recent commencement info.  Most schools will indicate recent graduates and their advisors.  Those advisors may well have an opening.  So much of this is based on logistics as much as and even more so than pure talent on paper.
 
2 - People will tell you to apply to a range of schools.  I used to be one of those people.  You need to be thinking about your future job well before you even apply to grad school.  Do you want to get a TT job with a teaching load of 3-2 or less?  You need to limit your applications to top 10 programs. Yeah, there are outliers, but that's exactly what they are. Are you pretty sure that you want to go alt-ac after the degree?  Most top programs have NO experience in doing that, so much of the training they offer in that area will be woefully inept (I've even heard--refreshingly--a DGS at an R1 say that she's not remotely qualified to offer advice on pivoting out of academia).  You can't really change your institutional pedigree, so if you start at a mid-ranked school and then decide that you want to teach at an R1 or a SLAC, you have just given yourself absurdly lower odds of ever achieving that goal.
 
3 - Don't get all twisted up about the SoP.  Use it to give a clear sense of what you aim to do and why the people/resources at that school make it a good fit for your work.  Ask 15 people for advice on the "correct" format for an SoP, you'll get 20 different responses.  I went narrative in my first version.  A prof at my MA school told me that nobody cares about that stuff, and that "you are your project and nothing more."  So I revised to make it sound more Vulcan-esque.  My application cycle?  An admit and a pair of wait lists using the narrative SoP and an admit and a pair of wait lists using the Vulcan SoP. You can't predict how adcoms will react to things like style.  A style that generated acceptances one year might lead to rejections a year later under that year's different admissions committee.  Beyond making sure that you are conveying the info clearly (see 2nd sentence above), the rest is unpredictable and not worth stressing over. This goes double for the GRE, which most schools don't give a flying fart about.  
 
4 - The thing that IS worth stressing over? The writing sample.  Good writing is the universal greeting for grad school.  Someone earlier mentioned including an abstract.  That's excellent advice.  Other good advice--avoid the "biggies."  Are you a medievalist?  I guarantee you they don't want to see ANOTHER writing sample on the Canterbury Tales.  Find something interesting to say about a text.  Look to the top journals in your field for models to emulate.  Spend the lion's share of your time on that document. Spend even more on the first two and last two pages.  They may well be the only pages that get read, so make them perfect and make sure that your argument, methodology, and the stakes are stated clearly in those pages.
 
5 -  I was non-traditional (31 when admitted to PhD program).  If you are non-traditional, don't try to hide it, but don't shine a spotlight on it either.  People will say that emphasizing it will show all the things you've gained from those years of experience.  Your CV will do that.  There are schools who seem generally welcoming to non-traditionals (Indiana has a long track record in this area).  But the reality is that again--it's less about the school and more about the attitudes of the profs on each admissions committee.  If a school has one member of an adcom who is predisposed to toss non-traditional applicants in the bin, you likely aren't getting in there if your app makes that too obvious.  My own advisor, who was the head of the adcom the year I was admitted, had no idea how old I was.  In most cases, they aren't Googling you--they don't put THAT much time into each applicant.  Your age will never be the thing that gets you in, but it COULD be the thing that gets you tossed.  Don't emphasize it and don't apologize for it. TL/DR: Own your accomplishments.  They will be what gets you in. 
 
6 - Wait lists are WONDERFUL things.  Getting in off a wait list doesn't make you a lesser candidate.  Out of an initial cohort of 8, I was the only one admitted off the wait list.  I'm also one of the three who finished the degree (two are still dissertating), and only two of us ended up with tenure-track jobs (both with a heavy teaching emphasis).  Anecdotally, I've noticed that wait-list applicants in my old program tend to do better in the long run, possibly due to that anxiety that they weren't a "first choice."  That brings us to...
 
7 - Getting into a program is step one.  It's the starting line.  From that point forward, it is ALL about the hustle.  Build a network.  Start filling out your CV.  Don't look at seminar papers as "coursework"--look at them as first drafts of articles aimed NOT at your professor but at a particular journal.  Don't go to EVERY conference, but pick two (one regional and one national) to go to regularly.  Talk to people when you are there.  Get involved in committees and such.  We used to joke that you had to have the dossier of someone coming up for tenure just to get an interview for a TT job.  The job market was that bad.  It's about to get much worse.  You need to be ready to start the hustle from day one.  If you DON'T feel ready to do things like major conferences, networking, publishing, etc, then think about doing an MA first.  I did, for exactly those reasons.
 
8 - As PART of that hustle, build your CV in a way that shows you can wear more than one hat.  Teach/present outside of your main specialty in some way.  Do your thing and theory. Your thing and Digital Humanities. Your thing and Film. Your thing and one of its adjacent fields.  As schools get fewer and fewer tenure lines, departments are going to continue searching for candidates who can cover more than one area.  Build your CV with that kind of hybridity in mind.
 
9 - No matter HOW much you want that tenure track job, it might not happen, and it won't be because you did anything wrong.  The numbers are absurdly stacked against you.  I missed out on a job last year that was PERFECT for me.  It went to an Ivy candidate who was three years out from his PhD, had two prestigious VAPs, several journal articles and a book already published at a major press.  I would have hired him over me as well. I ended up with a TT position because I hustled from day one and I got absurdly lucky (a school that posted a position looking for my primary field with "preferred secondary interests" in literally everything else I do). Before that offer came in, I was already preparing to reach out to my alt-ac network. There will come a time on the job market where many of you will need to make a choice--toil as an adjunct for year after year, or walk away and refuse to be exploited in that way.  That's a very personal choice for most folks.  I recommend setting a set time frame (ala: 2 or 3 application cycles post degree conferral).  Set it, and then stick to it.
 
Insomnia has apparently inspired me to write a small novel here.  Apologies for the length and for any sense of doom and gloom.  For what it's worth, even if this job hadn't come through, I wouldn't change my decision to do the PhD.  I found my time in the program personally and intellectually rewarding and I met some of the best friends I've ever had, both in and out of the program.  I'm not saying "don't do a PhD because the job market is scary."  I'm saying "do a PhD with your eyes wide open." 
 
Best of luck, everyone.  And always remember to support each other.  Academia is (or rather should be) a community, not a blood-sport.  Don't aspire to grow up to be Reviewer #2.  
 

Glad to see some familiar people in this thread! Like everyone, I'm also concerned about this application cycle. I am currently at Uconn's MA program, and currently our EGSA group is attempting to get everyone in the program an additional year of funding. I'm not quite sure how this would work out for MA students in particular, as the scheduling is quite tight, but just alerting people what Uconn is doing. At least I may potentially have another funded year if I am unable to get into a program for 2021.
I've been talking closely with my advisor and other professors, and they've still pushed me to continue with applying for the 2021 cycle. I am going to spend the summer working on materials, and also once we are in the late months of summer, start emailing schools to see if there are any changes to funding and what they expect their cohort size to be. 
I'm also concerned about how competitive this cycle will be, as someone who was shut-out of PhD programs out of undergrad, but I do have some hope. I have a few backup plans because though I love the work I'm doing and ultimately would love to be in a PhD program, the job market is going to be even more abysmal now (I was aware of this previously, and I will say that even despite this, having another five or so years to do something I love is worth it to me, even if I don't land a job). Since I think I'd be happy teaching in general, as well as doing other jobs in academia, I'm exploring MA's in education, and also library science programs. But we will see, I am definitely holding out hope to be admitted into some Lit programs this cycle! I hope everyone is doing well and I'm sure some of us will have luck in 2021!

Thank you, all! I’m off to celebrate with some eclairs! 

Accepted off the Michigan waitlist! Beyond thrilled.

Congratulations on your decision ? and see you there this fall! Feel free to DM me--not that I know anything useful about moving to NC lol. But always happy to talk!

Congratulations on your decision ? and see you there this fall! Feel free to DM me--not that I know anything useful about moving to NC lol. But always happy to talk!

I'm heading to UNC in the fall! My decision was tough but after talking to a number of students and faculty members at my two top programs, I really believe this is the best choice for me. Super excited! 

Wait as long as you need. It sure is nice to give a quick answer and free up the waitlist for other people, but you should do that for schools you are sure you will be turning down. Sounds like the responses you're waiting for are essential for you to decide between these 2 schools. Therefore, you shouldn't rush to make a decision when you're still waiting on more information to get the whole picture.

I'd be really, really wary of turning down a program with a higher stipend and a better teaching load for one that seems friendlier at the outset – especially because we're in the middle of a pandemic that has meant that academics have very little time to devote to anything but 6,000 Zoom meetings a day and all of the troubleshooting that comes with doing online what really shouldn't be done online. I know that your experience with this friendlier program has probably made them feel like more of a known entity, but so much of this is marketing/recruiting and the fact that the other program has been less responsive really doesn't say anything substantial about that program (if you think it does, fair enough, but what does it say that this program asks its students to do more work for less money? Surely that reflects on its supportiveness and whether or not the program is welcoming, too?). Once you're at a program, living there, what will matter is what your daily life is like and how that impacts the work you will do. 6 months in or 3 years in, you probably won't remember how nice the faculty was over email when you were accepted.
Is there a significant difference in ranking between the two programs? How strong are the departments in rhet/comp? Are the faculty members you'd be working with well known in your field? Which location do you prefer? Maybe you haven't mentioned these things because they're about equal at both programs, but all of those factors, + stipend and teaching load, would weigh much more heavily on my decision than initial emails would.
That said, it sounds like you want the friendlier program to be the right choice, and there's absolutely something to be said for going with your instincts/feelings. You'll choose the program that's right for you! ?

I think people have a tendency to be dramatic when it comes to crime. When I was heading to study in Russia, everyone was going on about terrorism. When I was moving to DC, everyone was going on about crime. I say perhaps talk to real people who live there. I have an aunt, uncle, and three cousins who have lived in Toledo forever, and a good friend from college from Toledo. They're all fine. I went a few times as a kid and I lived, haha. I hear Toledo has a great art museum.

I finally found that waitlist thread! Was waitlisted at 7 schools, accepted off the waitlist at UNC and took myself off a few others. I'm still waiting to hear from 4 programs about movement and the uncertainty is really starting to get at me. 
Happy to see other UNC admits here

Accepted to Johns Hopkins off the waitlist. So thrilled!

Yes, as I just formally accepted my offer  In the end, I had no other options (my other wait list turned into a rejection), but I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! And not having to choose between programs allowed me to direct all my neuroses towards the plentiful other targets in the world right now lol. Good luck with your choice, and I hope to see you in the fall!
I hope The Other School in NC comes through for you!! Fingers crossed that I'll see you in an inter-institutional class, either via Zoom or (hopefully) in person! (I'm learning this semester that graduate seminars do not transfer well to an online setting....)

Hi! Sorry about this. I can imagine how you must be feeling. 
I think the outbreak also has a role to play in this. I’ve heard from two different programs (this week) that they won’t be pulling anyone from the waitlist because they’ve been asked to not make any more funded offers. Since I’ve already accepted a better offer, it didn’t make much of a difference to me. But what if it did? 
Surely, this isn’t right! Why are academic fund cuts such an easy decision to make? 

Me too ? I'm glad you're in!

Me too ? I'm glad you're in!

Yes, as I just formally accepted my offer  In the end, I had no other options (my other wait list turned into a rejection), but I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! And not having to choose between programs allowed me to direct all my neuroses towards the plentiful other targets in the world right now lol. Good luck with your choice, and I hope to see you in the fall!
I hope The Other School in NC comes through for you!! Fingers crossed that I'll see you in an inter-institutional class, either via Zoom or (hopefully) in person! (I'm learning this semester that graduate seminars do not transfer well to an online setting....)

I'm so glad you're in, too! That is great! Maybe we'll be cohort mates in the fall*?! 
*That is, if my head doesn't explode while trying to decide between my two top picks. 

@karamazov @kolyagogolova congrats to you both!! haven't had any definitive news on my end (from The Other School in North Carolina), but hopefully i'll get to see you there this fall! (or, well, the next, depending on how the pandemic situation goes.)  

Me too ? I'm glad you're in!

Me too ? I'm glad you're in!

Me too ? I'm glad you're in!

Well, I just received an offer from UNC off their waitlist. I am now officially going to have a heart attack.

Am I really going into April still not having heard from BU? What is with the 2-3 rejections a day malarkey?
I imagine some person sitting in a dimly lit room with my app pulled up onscreen and the person giving it the bird. Just flipping it off 24/7 in complete silence.

Well team, just got that sweet sweet rejection email from BU. If this rejection had come a couple of weeks ago, I would have been sad, but determined to reapply to programs next year... but now, with all of the uncertainty and confusion surrounding the virus, I'm not sure if I stand a chance. Of course, there is nothing we can say right now that might apply by this time next year. I just wish I could give myself any reassuring words for next year's application season. That being said, if you have any (reassuring words, that is) I'd sure be happy to hear 'em! 
It is a small consolation to get to hear the voices of those of you who did get into these schools. The most wonderful thing about this kind of space, to me, is that we're all in this together. It makes it much easier for me to root for you and wish you the absolute best.
As for me, I've got a nice bottle of Rosé and an earl grey mousse cake to comfort me tonight. Everybody stay safe and do something that makes you feel good today!