HipsterDoofus

Thank you - this article was very interesting and helpful to consider!

I am also in the middle of decision hell...I have two offers on the table that are good for very different reasons. Program A is a school which ranks in the 80s. It's close to where I currently live (though I'd still move) and is a lovely campus with an awesome set of scholars in my field--they recently guaranteed one class per semester in my area even. I've also been awarded a top grad scholarship that gives me an additional 15k per year for years 2-5, plus 3k annually for research, travel, etc. I also have no teaching responsibilities (which weirdly is a bit of a problem admittedly since I want to teach post-grad). Program B is a top 25 school about 10 hours away from where I reside. The stipend is about the same amount that I was originally offered by Program A before receiving the scholarship. There are likely many more research opportunities and definitely many more classes offered per semester than Program A, and naturally, many faculty working in my field as well. This school also seems to place a lot of their grads in teaching positions post-PhD, especially compared to Program A. At the end of the day, I know I would be happy at either program, but I wanted to hear from others if prestige / job placement should always outweigh financial considerations, drastic as they may be. Also, I am curious if the scholarship I received would "increase" the ranking of the school in the eyes of hiring committees post-grad. Thanks in advance for advice! I wish the best for everyone making these tough decisions!

That's awesome! I'm 20-21c, so a bit of a different ball game - but it's great to see that both of our work is supported by faculty there.

Congrats! I am one of the people on the IU waitlist and am really hoping there's movement.

Hate to be that person who only posts good things, but I'm excited to share that I got accepted into English MA programs at Boston U and Villanova! After having no hope for this cycle, these last minute acceptances have been so pleasant and unexpected. To all those still waiting, hang in there!!

I'm in the Tufts waiting game along with several others on here and just remembered that six faculty members are on leave for this semester...not sure if that has anything to do with why we haven't heard back from them, but thought it might be worth mentioning!

I'm on the waiting boat too! Would love to hear anything from them at all.

This is super helpful to know! I really appreciate you making an account just to help ease the fears for other applicants. It definitely brings a new perspective as to where I might be at since I'm a domestic applicant. And, of course, congrats on your acceptance!

I would guess that's how they do it, but there's always the possibility of being waitlisted, too! Hang in there

For sure! Hopefully we'll both hear sooner rather than later.

Congrats, I'm happy to hear your efforts paid off!

I'm hoping that's the case! Also, not to add to your stress, (I'm an anxious mess myself) but someone did post on the results that they checked the OSU portal and they were accepted, so it looks like there might be some decisions rolling in on that front. Sadly, when I looked, I'm still in the purgatory known as "pending."

Anyone else apply to Notre Dame here? I haven't heard anything about interviews, though I think historically they've gone out by now...

Thanks so much for posting this! I haven't yet started the formal process of applying here (just getting SoP, etc. in order) so this is really helpful.

It seems that UC Boulder is taking apps for this year, but they may defer admission to 2021 according to an email I received.

Count me in as well! I have to make some minor revisions before sending mine, but am happy to look at others' SOPs in the meantime.

Absolutely! I wish you the best with your applications!

Good to know. Most of the schools I'm planning on applying to are well-known schools, both a mix of private and public, but none are Ivy Leagues or ultra competitive (UC Davis, Michigan, etc.). It's interesting to hear that several of your peers didn't have rigorous undergrad experiences, or an undergrad experience at all.

Hi! It's great to learn that your undergraduate didn't affect your success in attending (and getting funding for) Villanova's MA program. My college had about 2,400 students, also all undergrad, so it's quite a bit bigger, but still quite unknown to most people outside of PA / Eastern Ohio. I completely agree on your stance to applying to programs--my undergrad isn't a huge determining factor for me, and am glad to hear that it likely has minimal bearing anyways. I asked this question mostly because one of my professors who is helping me through this process insinuated I wouldn't have much of a chance of getting into a PhD program because I didn't attend a well-known school. On the on other hand, four other advisors (also all undergrad professors) didn't mention that being a factor at all, so I was curious if there was any general consensus/ wisdom on the matter, or if this one professor was merely trying to be realistic. I suppose it's almost kind of him since acceptance rates are already low and will only continue to dwindle in the coming years with the influx of applications, as you mentioned...but I'm full steam ahead still, for better or worse!

Hi all, Excited to join this thread. I'm curious to see if there are any other 2021 applicants, or current M.A. / Ph.D. students, who have a similar background to myself: I graduated from a small Christian college that is not very well-known. Any suggestions on whether this will affect my chances of acceptance? Part of me is convinced that it's not even worth applying to Ph.D. programs, but I've noticed a few students from very similar schools have been accepted into R1 programs based on graduate student pages from University's websites, so it can be done...any suggestions?