wanlichangcheng

Thanks, Ralstini. I'm going to an Ivy; that's as much as I'll share here.

Somehow, I got an offer from my first choice program, and I accepted the offer. I'm finally going to be a PhD student. But for anyone out there who is feeling discouraged, frustrated, or that maybe they're not made of the "right stuff" to get into a top program, let me note what it took for me to finally get an offer: -Five years of my life -Four application cycles -An MA -Lots (and lots) of debt -A good deal of embarrassment and self-loathing -Significant opportunity cost Many times I felt certain I just wasn't good enough. For weeks on end I'd feel untethered, directionless, stuck in a maze of my own making. I knew I didn't have the smarts, or the motivation, or the knowledge, to do what my peers had done--which was to get over the line, to win the recognition of the faculty, to somehow make it through the gauntlet and come out ahead of dozens of applicants with stronger resumes and more compelling projects. It is possible. You do have it in you to achieve this goal of doctoral study and research--if it's what you want. But it was not, in my case at least, easy, cheap, wise, or even rational. I stand ready to begin my PhD program fully aware that the argument that my doing so is crazy is a pretty strong one. I wish you all the best in this mysterious, unpredictable mission to become scholars. Congratulations, keep going, add oil, etc. etc.!

Hi, Carmy. Thanks for getting the thread started. I applied to the program at U.W., and my research deals with voice as an embodied political aesthetic in the twentieth-century cinema of a particular country. Good luck to you!

Hi everyone, just wanted to add my two cents as a third-time applicant. I've been applying to Ph.D. programs (unsuccessfully) since 2019. So, you'd be justified in ignoring my advice right off the bat. That'd be understandable. I am sure that all of you will come away from this cycle with a favorable result. But I'd like to give you some advice that I never got in previous years. First, this process can tend to be slow, even agonizingly so. Second, departments do not interact with every applicant the same way. The process is highly opaque; there is a lot we can't know for sure. Departments such as the East Asian Studies/Languages and Cultures, etc. programs that we've applied to provide laughably little information for applicants. If you don't believe me, go check out a STEM department. Or even an area studies department in the U.K.--where it is not uncommon for professors to indicate up front (in their bios, which are not all ten years out of date) whether or not they are taking new students. Finally, I strongly recommend that you start to think about what your backup plan might be. At the very least, start thinking about what you might be doing this summer if things don't pan out. This is especially important, in my experience, for graduating MA students. Don't be in the position I was in last May, attending my graduation ceremony empty-handed, with no job to lean on, no opportunities on my radar, needing to move out and find a place to live, let alone something to do. Start talking to advisors or professors to see if they have any ideas about alternatives for at least the next year. I will continue to check in on this thread as the decisions roll out. But I am old and weary now, and I am focusing on the other parts of life as I wait for the inevitable to come knocking on my Gmail inbox. Take care of yourselves, get more sleep, and spend more time with friends or doing the things you enjoy. And think about the summer!

Humanities decisions usually come out later. Normally humanities posts come en masse by the end of February and into March; there will also be some "interview" results posted in January.

I'm not applying to political science programs, but your post resonated a lot with me, as I am in a similar situation. This process can be brutal and heart-rending; hope builds up and then shatters in a moment. I am wishing you all the best this cycle!

I'm very thankful for all this advice, but jeez, reading this makes me realize how chaotically underprepared I am/have been, and how unserious my applications must appear. Oh well.

Hi everyone! I'm applying (again--this is my third attempt). Good luck!

I wish you the best of luck with Oregon! Otherwise, I will see you again next fall. 追求梦想的路若不顺，梦想达到了就更甜。

Officially, fully out for this cycle. Congratulations to everyone who got in, and good luck to those (if there are any) who, like me, will start the whole thing over this fall.

Thanks, Mayshu! This gives me some hope!

Relatedly, is anyone still waiting to hear from Stanford Comp. Lit? I've reached out to them twice now, and still nothing. I think I've been rejected and it's just not a priority for the department to inform me. Good luck, everyone (and congratulations if you have gotten an offer!).

Congratulations! I am not sure about Stanford’s program, but if you have specific questions about Columbia’s, feel free to message me.

Congratulations!!!

I can't speak for UCLA, but Columbia is strong in this regard. The department has strengths in premodern, Qing, and late-Qing through Republican era in particular. In my experience, there is somewhat less of a focus on the post-1949 era. And Columbia is a great place to learn about and do research on postcolonial studies; after all, Edward Said taught at Columbia for forty years, and Gayatri Spivak is currently at Columbia, as well. As an EALAC MA student you are required to obtain permission to take courses in other departments, however. I can't speak to that process from lack of experience. There are, fortunately, plenty of courses available to EALAC MA students that are cross-listed with History and perhaps other departments; and there are faculty - affiliated with the department and who teach courses in EALAC - from other disciplines, including sociology. Good luck! Feel free to inbox me if you have any other questions.