A Small Raven

Do we think it's a good or bad sign that I'm STILL waiting to hear back from a waitlist? ???

Waitlist school continues to await replies from decision dawdlers. My cardiac system remains threatened. Every buzz of my phone provokes panic. I am writing my member of congress to see if we can outlaw everyone not associated with this school from emailing me until next week. 

I received an (unprompted) courtesy email from the graduate admissions director of the school I'm currently waitlisted at letting me know that while the process has been slow this year, they're going to "again" nudge decision dawdlers. More importantly, she said that "it’s still quite possible" they'll be able to make me an offer and will email me Monday with any news.
Now, I am not a religious or spiritual man. But if there are any astrologers, divinators, or people who think they talk to God on the phone, would you be able to get in contact with your higher power and ask them how good of a sign this is?
Oh and doctors. If there are any doctors here, what's a good method for avoiding having a heart attack over the weekend?

You could not be more correct about this! I just heard from the DGS of my waitlist school and he said that they have still not heard back either way from an unusually large number of students. 
Hopefully people will start making up their minds this weekend and releasing seats they don't plan to hold so everyone can slot into their spots. 

Friends! I got off the waitlist at CUNY. I’m so happy!!

I did my MA in Creative Writing at Durham. While I can't speak specifically to the nature of how difficult the Literature program was (being as I was in Creative Writing,) I found the writing program to be exceedingly easy. Nevertheless, if you're thinking largely about student experience, there's a lot to consider when comparing these two schools, primarily due to their locations. When I applied to grad school, Durham honestly wasn't my first choice. But I absolutely fell in love with Durham while I was there, and had a fantastic student experience there – the town is small, but there's loads of good bars and restaurants about town, as well as some good shops. It's also just a quick 15 minute train ride to Newcastle if you want to do any kind of city shopping etc. I really enjoyed the postgrad social scene there.
One of the biggest differences between these two schools will be the social structure – Durham has a college system, whereas I believe Glasgow doesn't have a college system (I think only Cambridge, Oxford and Durham have college systems - think of them like Hogwarts houses). What college have you been admitted to? I was in Van Mildert, and made a good number of friends within the postgrad dorm, but also spent a lot of time over at Ustinov (the all post-grad college). My college was a bit far from the center of town (20 minute walk or so), but I still very much enjoyed it, and had a lovely walk along the river any time I needed to go into town. 
I don't have a ton of experience/knowledge about Glasgow, however I did live in Edinburgh for six months after I finished my MA at Durham, and I ventured over to Glasgow maybe twice. Obviously, Glasgow is a bigger city compared to Durham being a small town. However, and while this may sound silly, something you should really take into consideration is the WEATHER. I found Durham's climate to be extremely agreeable – mild winters with a little snow to make it feel festive, a beautiful spring and autumn, and nice warm summers. It was much sunnier than I expected it to be. When I moved up to Scotland, people warned me to be prepared for the climate, and I shrugged them off, thinking it couldn't be all that much different from Durham, seeing as it's only about 1.5 hours north by train. In the end, the climate in Scotland is one of the major reasons I ended up leaving and moving back to the states. It is entirely different to Durham – the sky is gray most of the time, and it's often raining and windy. You do occasionally get a nice day here and there, but don't expect the summers to be warm...you will rarely, if ever, be able to wear shorts. So while it might sound like something ridiculous to factor into your decision, if you are AT ALL prone to a bout of seasonal depression here and there, the climate will make a monumental difference. 
I've been living back in the states for a few years now, and I still miss Durham every single day. If you have any more questions about Durham, please don't hesitate to PM me! 

I think I can answer that question! The spot probably ends up going to someone like me – who his hanging on 11 rejections, and 1 waitlist. ?

I think I can answer that question! The spot probably ends up going to someone like me – who his hanging on 11 rejections, and 1 waitlist. ?

Hey there! I wanted to start a thread where 2022 applicants could list their final decisions for where they will enroll in the fall! 
 
I will kick it off by saying that I've just accepted my offer at University of California - Davis !!!

Anybody interested in a final decisions thread listing where we will enroll in the fall? 

Sounds great!

I just did! 

Hi all! Hope everyone's doing well. I was waitlisted at Duke back in January and I received an acceptance this morning. Anyone else admitted to the Duke English program?

Hope all are doing well. I've not been accepted anywhere and have four schools to hear back from. I hope that good news still awaits. I tried my hardest this cycle (my second cycle of applying) and am still waiting it out. I'm glad that some other folks have been accepted and have the chance to continue to a doctoral program. Wishing the best for all!

I'm "high" on the waitlist for Brandeis, and have been rejected by every other program I applied to. ooooohh the anxiety! 

Next week cannot come fast enough! According to my calculations... three of the six programs I applied to should be dropping their decisions in early Feb. I'm nervously excited while still feeling like I'm heading straight towards the chopping block.

Sending out positive thoughts and prayers for everyone waiting! 

I'm definitely starting to become nervous, at least ever so slightly, as February is coming next week. I'm excited at the same time. I'm just sending my best wishes to everyone, once more. :)

Seems like yesterday was a pretty heavy day for decisions and today is pretty light! Trying to manage all the anxiety of this process 

I feel like age is all over the place when it comes to doctoral programs. I'm 27 (oh god, 28 in a few weeks. Hello to the ominous approach of 30) and that feels old to me to be starting a PhD program, but I also know that this might just be my irrational psycho brain being, well...irrational. Because it's completely normal to start a PhD at any age, quite frankly. If anything, I feel like it would probably help my case more if I spent a couple years getting some kind of teaching experience before I applied, because my current work experience isn't all that relevant. But I guess we'll see how things turn out this round. 
Mind you, I got my MA in the UK a few years ago, and even then I was one of the oldest Master's students around because of how the UK educational system is structured, so maybe that mentality has stuck with me, and that's why I feel old going into this. 

That's EXACTLY what it is. I check the results page about a dozen times a day, and my email about 10x that

I feel like age is all over the place when it comes to doctoral programs. I'm 27 (oh god, 28 in a few weeks. Hello to the ominous approach of 30) and that feels old to me to be starting a PhD program, but I also know that this might just be my irrational psycho brain being, well...irrational. Because it's completely normal to start a PhD at any age, quite frankly. If anything, I feel like it would probably help my case more if I spent a couple years getting some kind of teaching experience before I applied, because my current work experience isn't all that relevant. But I guess we'll see how things turn out this round. 
Mind you, I got my MA in the UK a few years ago, and even then I was one of the oldest Master's students around because of how the UK educational system is structured, so maybe that mentality has stuck with me, and that's why I feel old going into this. 

My son turns 33 in April. ?
(Though I don't see my age as a weakness necessarily -- maybe for some programs, I guess -- but just the fact that I'm coming from another field completely and don't have the research or academic background to make up for it.)
Anyway I'm excited anyway. I like applying for things.

I feel like age is all over the place when it comes to doctoral programs. I'm 27 (oh god, 28 in a few weeks. Hello to the ominous approach of 30) and that feels old to me to be starting a PhD program, but I also know that this might just be my irrational psycho brain being, well...irrational. Because it's completely normal to start a PhD at any age, quite frankly. If anything, I feel like it would probably help my case more if I spent a couple years getting some kind of teaching experience before I applied, because my current work experience isn't all that relevant. But I guess we'll see how things turn out this round. 
Mind you, I got my MA in the UK a few years ago, and even then I was one of the oldest Master's students around because of how the UK educational system is structured, so maybe that mentality has stuck with me, and that's why I feel old going into this. 

That's EXACTLY what it is. I check the results page about a dozen times a day, and my email about 10x that