timespentreading
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Posts posted by timespentreading
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FINALLY got an acceptance. Feels really good :) Thankfully, I was able to attend the visit day before all the cancellations.
- Rrandle101, tinymica, Cryss and 11 others
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2 hours ago, digital_lime said:
I'm going to post a quick rant, which I'm writing for cathartic/therapeutic reasons. Don't take anything in it too seriously.
In office hours the other day, I let my thesis chair know that I was not having much luck this season. She made a remark to the effect of: "I regret having wasted the time writing you a letter." She phrased it in a comical way--we joke darkly with one another--so it wasn't as if she was intending to be hurtful. But it stung, because before now, I had only thought of how disappointing it would be for me if I were shut out--not that it would be a disappointment to all of the people who took time to write letters of recommendation, look over my writing sample, listen to me stress out, and so on. I've taken on some debt in the course of my MA; I've also worked harder and for longer than I ever have in my life (and I have been in some strenuous work situations; doing physical labor for sixteen hours a day six days a week actually didn't feel as difficult as some moments in my MA). This was the only goal I have been working toward for years--the prospect of getting shut out now makes me feel so foolish. I exhausted myself in full display of everyone I care about and respect and it's beginning to look as if I have failed nonetheless.
I'm only on waitlists, too, and I have an MA from a program ranked in the 40s. I'm really sorry for the hurt you're feeling after your advisor's comment. The reality is that they have a job in your dream field, and it doesn't REALLY hurt them if you don't get in after they write a letter, so it's too bad that they made that comment. I let my advisor know about my situation, and they replied that it's such a hard time and programs are accepting fewer and fewer people, etc. I hope you can get some encouragement like that too, because you have worked SO HARD. The reality of all this is that rejections are very rarely about you--it's such a luck thing. Fingers crossed for Fordham or a an acceptance off a waitlist for you (or both!)!!
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What are people's thoughts on visiting places that have waitlisted you? I'm on four waitlists with no acceptances, and I just heard back from the final program I was waiting for. So, I now have to decide if it's worth the money to pay my way to visit any of these places so that I could make an informed decision if an offer comes my way later in March/April.
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I finally heard back from the 14th program where I applied today (rejection). As it stands, I'm on FOUR waitlists, and I'm going to a campus visit/interview in two weeks for another program before they announce decisions.
Here's my question: should I pay the money to visit any of the programs where I'm waitlisted? I think it would be impossible to commit to go somewhere (they'd all be long distance moves) without having visited; I haven't been to any of the cities before, and flights are expensive. But, I know there's a chance that if I do receive an offer, it will be in April, since these programs are waiting for others to turn down offers.
Any advice? I was thinking of checking in with each DGS sometime in March to get an idea of what others have done, but I know every situation/person is different, and there isn't really a way for them to tell me how likely it is that I'll receive an offer until it happens (or doesn't).
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20 minutes ago, CanadianEnglish said:
@politics 'n prose and anyone else who is waiting for UNC Chapel Hill:
I inquired about my status/when news would be released and the DGS wrote me a nice email about how my application is still pending because "while we have not decided to deny your application, at this moment both the admit list and the wait list are full. If from that larger pool we cannot create our incoming class, we will add your name to the waitlist." SO I gathered that since they have their acceptances/waitlists ready they should be sending out information soon. I would imagine tomorrow or early next week. If you don't hear anything, I would also assume that you are like me and are on a waiting list for the waitlist (lol what a concept). I do not know if the waitlists are by overall rank or by interest or by POI.
Hope this helps!
What do we think the chances are that they already notified acceptances and waitlists, but none of those people are on GC?
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23 minutes ago, gooniesneversaydie said:
I am debating whether to send out an email today. We know it was going to be another week based on previous posts, and today would mark 1 week. So.... today? Tomorrow? July?
Just chiming in here with a reminder that the DGS at Brown replied to my inquiry on the 13th saying it could be another "week or so" for decision letters to go out, and that we'll be notified via email when they do. It's been a week since then, but they could easily be planning to take until the end of next week, given her response. But, I know that's not fun news, so I'm in full support of people reaching out whenever they wish
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As I posted here Thursday, I emailed U of Oregon, SUNY Buffalo, and Brown for updates on Thursday afternoon, since their deadlines were all mid-December, and I've seen notifications on the GC board. Even though everyone is swamped, I also thought this would be a good way to gauge how overstretched the department is, since a good friend of mine who's in a TT English professorship told me if they don't have time for you as a prospective student, they won't have time for you as an enrolled student.
Brown emailed back same day, as I already posted here, saying it might be another week. Buffalo notified me to check my portal Friday morning; I'm on the waitlist there. And Oregon finally emailed me back Friday at about 6pm with this:
"Thank you for reaching out. I understand that waiting can be the toughest part. It is my understanding from the Admission Committee that notifications are anticipated to be out by the end of February. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. I do hope this helps."
Here's hoping we all get many updates this week!
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I see a Brandeis acceptance on the board. I forget who was asking about Brandeis the other day...
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@Rrandle101 I just received a waitlist notification from Buffalo, too. Do you mind sharing your area of interest?
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2 minutes ago, Wimsey said:
I'm making some chocolate cake and raspberry sauce, because if I have to endure admissions uncertainty on Valentine's Day, I might as well do it while eating good food.
YES! Someone brought donuts in to the office, so my frantic page-refreshes are now fueled by excess sugar! All the UConn acceptances on the board make me fairly sure it's a rejection for me. Still a bunch of programs pending, but I haven't heard from any this week.
- BetterLight13, Wimsey and Kelsey1599
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To the most recent Notre Dame acceptance: CONGRATS! Reading your post made me smile. It's super fun to see people getting good news in the midst of this crazy-making wait!
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@digital_lime @inchoate-eyes @onerepublic96 and anyone else waiting for Brown, here's how they responded to my email:
Thank you for your message. The admissions process can be a somewhat lengthy and it may be another week or so for decision letters to be sent out. When decisions are available, a link will be sent to applicants to review the letter in CollegeNET.
So...perhaps there is still hope? Or, she means "rejection letters."
- Wimsey, onerepublic96 and ecogoth
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@inchoate-eyes@onerepublic96 I will definitely update here if/when I hear anything!
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I couldn't help myself: I emailed Oregon, Buffalo, and Brown about my application status. Their deadlines were all mid-December, so it's been over 8 weeks. I'm holding off on emailing any program with a January deadline for now, as well as any without a GC acceptance posted.
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2 minutes ago, meghan_sparkle said:
I don’t expect of course any school to cover my accommodation on days that aren’t visit days, but as for the international flight ... I'm not sure who to give it to for reimbursement? Chicago has double the travel budget of my other programs (1k compared to 500 or 600), and both the international flight and the NY --> Chicago flight are not even close to all of it, so that's the obvious choice. But I wonder whether they might raise their eyebrows at the date on my itinerary (Feb 29th and March 30th -- aka a way bigger window than the couple days of being in Chicago). Should I ... just do it? Should I ... ask first and disclose all of my other visits? Should I ... email multiple schools about splitting the international flight equally? I really don't know what the most pragmatic, ethical thing to do here is, but I need to figure it out quickly. I know this is the epitome of first world problems but still, it's stressing me out.
I have no expertise here by any means, so these are just my $0.02
1) Is a shorter trip less expensive than a longer one? If it's all the same price, or especially if a longer trip makes the flights cheaper, you might feel a lot less guilty AND it's something you could disclose. On a smaller scale, I have friends in one of the cities I'm visiting, and flights are a tad cheaper if I extend the trip a few days, so I just told them that's what I'm doing. If flights had been more expensive, I would have offered to pay the difference. Or, in your case, you could submit the difference to another program.
2) You can't be the first person to be in this dilemma. What about asking your current top-choice program that's offered to pay for your travel what they recommend people do in this situation? Maybe they have no concerns, especially if the flight cost would be the same for a longer vs. shorter trip, and if it's clear they are high on your list (vs. getting a program you know you're not very interested in to pay for everything, which would feel less ethical to me).
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I had put together a 4-year trend of the GC acceptance dates for all the schools where I applied. I just looked at the rejection dates, and they are super depressing. Last year, it looks like Oregon didn't send rejections until March 11! Rochester and UConn sent out rejections about 10 days after acceptances, and Brown about 5 days later (though the first Brown acceptance last year wasn't until Feb. 22). At least Yale and Cornell notified all applicants within a day or two!
I was hoping I would know a lot more by the end of this week, but it looks like I'll need to adjust my expectations until March 1st at the earliest. I'm thinking of reaching out to the schools I haven't heard from on March 2nd. Has anyone else reached out to programs about timelines, or are you all waiting a while?
- Kelsey1599 and Rrandle101
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I agree with meghan_sparkle that it's pretty early to worry unless you are already shut out. And, per merry night wanderer, there is a lot of work to be had out there. The job market is solid right now. University Advancement is a great place to get hired with writing skills, especially on foundation/corporate relations and annual giving teams, since those are more writing-focused. Advancement offices also tend to pay pretty well. If you're extroverted, alumni offices can have cool roles available, or being a major gift officer can pay REALLY well.
In other news, not to freak people out, but there's a Cornell acceptance on the board.
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2 minutes ago, onerepublic96 said:
If ya'll don't mind, I was wondering... has anyone else here not gotten an acceptance yet?
I'm sure there are lots of us out there! I'm on one waitlist and have one visit/interview, but no acceptances. 9 pending.
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So far I've seen acceptance posts for four schools where I applied: SUNY Buffalo, U of Oregon, Rochester, and Brown. Although receiving more rejections won't be fun, I'd rather receive SOME news this week, even if it's bad news. After the four schools above, I'll have five more pending. If past GC dates are any indication, I won't hear back from those until next week at the earliest.
I know we will most likely all know A LOT more within a week, but this is agonizing!
- Rrandle101 and pinkhermy
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I feel like no one else is checking Grad Cafe as much as I am. It's a sickness. *refreshes page*
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Brown acceptance on the board! (not mine)
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Is there any kind of unofficial guideline for when to reach out about your application status, especially if you've seen acceptances on Grad Cafe? I've received my rejections so far within a few days of seeing people post acceptances on here, but from the past years' info on here, it seems that some schools take forever to send official rejections. I was thinking about waiting until March 1st to check in, but I'm curious if anyone has insight on this.
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1 hour ago, inchoate-eyes said:
I'm on a waitlist at a school that I am not interested anymore (got an offer that I'm almost 85% taking depending on if I get into other schools). What is the best language to use to email the school that I don't want to be on the waitlist anymore? Or should I wait until I have officially accepted an offer?
As someone currently on a waitlist, my extremely-biased opinion is that if you're sure you won't accept there no matter what, letting them know ASAP is best
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1 hour ago, MedievalIllusions said:
Okay, question: When I log on to my University of Rochester application portal, it says my application has a new update. I can click on the word "update." I can also click on something next to it that says "Decision Released." However, when I click on either of these, I get sent to a new screen with the notice "There is no update to your application status to report." I vaguely remember seeing people post about similar issues with other schools' portals (I think a few of my schools use this portal, although they are all somewhat tailored). If anyone also had this issue, with Rochester or anywhere else, did it resolve itself? Did you have to contact the department for an answer? It's been like this for an hour or so, and I'm really hoping it will just resolve itself, but I'm also kind of freaking out.... the answer is so close... yet so far away
My Rochester portal doesn't have this notice, so I would assume it's a good thing that yours does--most places notify acceptances first, right? Good luck!
2020 Applicants
in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Posted
I got a rejection after being on the waitlist as well. I just assumed it meant the other candidate(s) in my period accepted their offers.