LtotheOG

To clarify, this PoI wasn’t on the committee though. She did however go through my file. The judgement is her own.

As much as I hate to say it, they could. Can I ask if it plays well with/complements your SoP?

I’d probably wait it out a bit longer, given the slow roll this year.

I sent in something similar that I also published in a peer-reviewed journal as a way of guaranteeing its presentability. One of my PoIs commented that the WS might have been too much of a “stretch” and could have posed a potential problem for the file.

While that is true, it can’t harm either way. As it often happens, they may not be available to work with you, or may not be taking on new students. Just ask if they are willing to advise you.

This is GREAT advice, although I confess it hasn’t worked for me so far. On the other hand what did work for me at the time was my research aligning with that of a specific faculty. Afterwards while doing my PhD the same ‘click’ unhappened in spectacular fashion and I was thrown off the program, solely because my advisor disowned me. (There was simply no one to step into their shoes) Sadly, the dream of working with ‘someone’ turning into a nightmare is a regular nightmare in itself!

1. I’ve heard faculty here advise, that they assume as well that you’d disrupt their work. 2. I did/could not. It can happen, but perhaps not so much in this particular context. (Imagine: cosupervision, etc.). 3. I did not ‘personally’ know anyone. The only person I did end up working with for a short while, was someone whose essay I read and cited in the SOP.

This should be made an entire thread out of.

That’s a great question, I don’t know the answer to which.

I’m sorry but I find this more than a bit hard to believe. From my experience, programs had some notion of the funding situation affecting the coming cycle, given that the pandemic had struck much earlier. The PhD program I was part of last year, suspended admissions for 2021 way ahead due to covid-caused reallocation of funds. While the decision may not universally apply, factors driving it do.

Btw, I’m asking this for my sanity’s sake.

Can I ask how you know this? If it’s true, this is nothing short of infuriating. Sadly and predictably, applicants weren’t given a clue.

I see two Rutgers-English acceptances on Results. Have all acceptances gone out, you think?

Congrats! If it were me, I’d probably seek clarifications from them directly. Good luck!

Many congratulations! Emory’s CL, is it?

I can’t imagine something like this being counted as rude. Although in many cases, you may not be rewarded with a workable critique. I regularly go back to my PoIs for feedbacks on rejection, btw.

Wonderful idea!

I’d think it’s no big deal.

Thank you...! Looking at the file I did send to him, it seems that paragraphing and almost all spacing have entirely disappeared. New lines and/paragraphs sometimes start from and end at the middle of the page, etc. The appearance that all of this gives is that of a non-invasive wall (hence, difficult to penetrate). When I actually wrote without paragraphing (a year or so ago), my professors would regularly tell me how difficult it was for them to confront a ‘block’ of script. So the “difficult to read” in this instance, although somewhat confusing, seems to not be too difficult for me to read.

?

Tbh, I do not think formatting is unimportant, especially when overwhelmed committees are basically looking to eliminate applications. My only disappointment probably stems from the fact that I sent the same filetypes to my PoI who I wish had forewarned me — although of course, I do not hold it against him.

Sorry I’ve run out of showing approval today, I fully intend to.

Thank you! I think it suits me better to know it wasn’t only the formatting. I also think for this application, it was .pages to .pdf

Thanks for this! At this point, I have no idea what filetype I sent over to each place but I do know that the .doc and .pdf files with the same content (WS) look very different. I think this application contained the pdf version which looks very fucked; .doc is perfectly formatted. I am not sure I can afford to apply again, though. This time around was already in many ways, very difficult.

Looks like formatting fucked me. This is what I was written to by a PoI: While I cannot speak for the rest of the Admissions Committee, I can tell you that I thought your research project was strong. However, the application itself did not appear to be well organized or written. I'm not sure whether you had to convert your statement and your writing sample from one format to another, but it was very difficult to read. I'm afraid that this issue prevented your application from making our shortlist, even though, again, I thought that your research project was quite interesting. I'd advise that you spend some time carefully reviewing and revising your statement before applying again next year. Thoughts, people? Do you think the real reason is something else? Can formatting truly fuck you? Should I have been given another chance to patch things up? (I had changed file formats for submission, and that did leave undesirable effects).