timespentreading

@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."
 

@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."
 

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.

I would love to hear, too!

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.

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.

You said above that Chicago has the highest budget and would definitely cover it, yeah? Bill them for the international leg and explain that because it is an international trip for you, you will be staying longer in the US, and it is more efficient for you to fly into NYC. You do not need to give more detail than that unless asked; they likely don't want to weigh whether your reason is "good enough" or whatever, because it is much easier to assume that people are making reasonable choices. If flying to NYC and then to Chicago is dramatically more expensive than flying directly to Chicago, you may want to offer to cover the difference, but like... idk, I don't expect that it would be a problem. They're giving you a big-ass budget and letting you pick your own flight because they have the money and do not care. 
This perspective based on my experience booking travel for university guests and requesting reimbursement for travel from other universities. 
Also, I am cackling at the idea of sitting down all the schools and telling them they're pretty, I love it!

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?

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?

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).  

I mean, I really can't say which program rn is my top choice! It's definitely not the case that I'm uninterested in Chicago, though.

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.

I reached out to Maryland on Monday about timeline but didn't receive a response, which I take to mean "you'll find out when you find out." 
Other than them, I'm going to try to hold out until March 15th to email for info. If by March 1st I have at least one offer and I'm just waiting to hear back from one or two programs, though, I may email as a "I need to make decisions on this offer/these offers" deal. 

Stay strong everyone!! It's not over yet!

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.

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.

Though I would also say if I may: unless I'm mistaken no one is fully shut out yet! I've glanced at the signatures of a lot of the people worrying and seems like a lot of people still have places left to hear from. It isn't over until it's over, and I say this as a true pessimist/cynic. I can count on more than one hand the number of friends I have who either: 1. got in nowhere except their top choice, and that choice was one of the last, if not the last, to notify; 2. got off waitlists late in the game—either explicit waitlists or invisible waitlists! Making a plan B no matter what is great and can be a great distraction from decision season anxiety, but I wouldn't go into total fatalistic despair prematurely. 

I feel a little presumptuous saying this, but I guess as someone who has had some big gaps in their education: 
If anyone is totally lost about what kinds of jobs to get if they get shut out, I do know a bit about it - I actually have a position that many Ph.Ds turn to as alt-ac, and I have some understanding of how an English major's skillset can be transferred. (Let me tell you, I have some mixed feelings about seeing a freelance job I've held before listed by some schools in placement records!) Hopefully you all know this, but statistically, you aren't lost as a liberal arts major. It takes more time and research, but ultimately most of us land positions that pay as well as any other major. My current job pays well and is done remotely, meaning I can (and do) travel often. You probably need a master's to do my particular position, but I held some decent positions before my master's as well. The key is really to get up to date on certain software and certifications, and to pay close attention to what kinds of jobs are actually being advertised, because the workforce is changing so much that appropriate jobs aren't always called what you expect. (Loads of jobs need writing skills, not just ones that are titled "Writer.")
Also: I took tons of time off. And you know this, I'm sure, but it can be very fruitful. Aside from practical corporate bullshit, I learned how to be a fiction writer, I recovered from a lot of the mental health issues I had after homeschooling, I traveled, I went to a million burn festivals, and I read for the syllabus of myself. I doubt most of you will be as meandering as I've been about it, and maybe you don't need time off like I did, but if all goes well, you have the rest of your lives to be in academia, and you can make great use of a year, and be a better scholar and teacher for it.

Idk if anyone else feels like this but my motivation to keep up with classwork and orgs has just plummeted since this semester has started. I finally got around to doing a horrific amount of laundry and feel a sense of self pride/dignity restoring but last week when I was in the thick of most of my decisions I kind of dropped the ball with some of my coursework. Thankfully I only have two programs left that haven't responded back yet to anyone (and quite frankly I'm not sure if I'll be getting into either) but it's nice like someone else was saying to be so close to the end of the application cycle. Good luck to everyone who still has a bunch of unknowns left to go through and try to take care of y'allselves in the meantime.

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! 

This made me finally sign up and join the conversation! I had an interview 10 days ago with one and did not hear anything back from them yet. You can imagine the anguish I've been living for more than a week now. Otherwise, I heard nothing. Absolutely nothing from all of the eight I applied to. It is soul-crushing.

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. 

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! 

This week. Is so. SLOW. I was bracing myself for an avalanche but instead I'm just refreshing results every hour or so pretending I have any control over my life right now lol. (It really does not help that I work a boring corporate job from home) 

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