sadevilminion

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.

Ooo ouch, that stings ? UIUC is a big program, I thought more people would have reported being accepted or even waitlisted. Nonetheless, I’ll never get why programs wait to notify the rejects.

Another person posted an acceptance to UIUC ? my heart rate just spiked

username checks out

I took some classes last summer and fall to prepare for this application cycle. That on top of working, I was busy busy busy nonstop from like May to December. Now the classes are over, the applications are submitted, and I got laid off ? I went from no free time to nothing but free time. It feels so weird to be doing literally nothing. I NEED those decisions! *looks at UIUC* I'm 33 ?

So I actually thought I had a pretty good chance of getting accepted here, but seeing someone else post their win is knocking me down a notch ?

my playlist for waiting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2rAtuYGT_k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkBvsBpgGbo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMyCa35_mOg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2JvdcbkgtY

It's pretty common for lit programs to take 2+ months before announcing decisions. What I like to do is check out last year's gradcafe results to see when people started posting acceptances/rejections.

I live in Cbus/undergrad at OSU and idk, maybe I'm just jaded and hate that they tore down my favorite bars to build a target, so I'm curious what the benefits of living in Cbus are ?. Lot's of young people and places to get drunk, that's for sure. Rent has skyrocketed during COVID and there were a lot of robberies and gun violence around campus all fall semester. I got a student life spam email (not affiliated with OSU but somehow has my school email) and I'm just gonna drop it here because they really hit the nail on the head and I cackled. But yea, I hate those emails that tell you how awesome the community is... like cmon, I haven't even gotten in yet! I got a similar one from Montana.

I just came across this question in the Texas Tech application that totally caught me off guard: "What does the admissions committee need to know while considering your application? Tell us the part of your story that is not in the application documents (no word or length requirement)." I think I might write about why my transcript from my first stab at undergrad is so bad. What would you all write about?

That or early January ?

Yes, and I remember getting corny emails like that (with smiling people excitedly jumping around with foam fingers and pom poms lol) from other schools during the last cycle! UIUC is my #1, I wish they would stop strumming my heartstrings like that! It's gonna hurt when they don't let me in ? I haven't heard of Garamond, but it's a very nice font. I don't think I'll use it for this, but I appreciate this sneaky tip for future use

I have some upcoming deadlines with writing sample limits of 12 and 15 pages, but my writing sample is 17 pages long! I'm curious what everyone does in this situation? Do you just submit the first 12 pages or do you chop it down to fit a full essay into 12 pages? Neither programs specify that it can just be part of a bigger paper.

Hey friends, I also applied to UIUC! I stayed up Tuesday night and submitted it at 1AM, and I'm 100% certain the professor who's been helping me with my writing sample knew why I skipped her class Wednesday morning. ? Pertaining to your question, same professor also told me that when they (the committee at my alma mater) are judging apps, they are indeed a bit more lenient with people who only hold BAs, while they are a bit harder on people who have an MA, just because they know the BA holders don't have actual grad school experience yet. I don't know if that answers your question of being "absolutely perfect," but maybe it will be ok!

If anyone is having nerves about emailing potential LOR writers, just do it! If you haven't already, now's the time to start reaching out! I know it can be intimidating, but writing LOR is a big part of your professors' jobs, and they've definitely been asked many times before. So don't feel weird about it! Ok, that's it for my pep talk!

I totally felt I was a bit delusional while applying to places like Syracuse and Cornell last cycle ? which turned out to be true. Even one of my LOR writers told me to be more realistic after I was flatly rejected all around. I didn't feel comfortable applying to them but they are all fully funded, so I thought I'd give it a wild stab! I'll be applying to more more *ahem* rural programs this time around ?.

Throwing my hat back in the ring after 6 rejections last cycle. I'm about to start a course at my alma mater in order to create a new, heavily-critiqued writing sample at the advice of one of my LOR writers. I'm curious what sort of things you other masochistic second-cyclers have planned/worked on to improve your chances.

Whoops I sent you a DM after reading your acceptance post, before I saw this! The gateway apts are pretty new. I knew someone who lived there and it was really nice on the inside, although I thought his roommate situation was weird (separate bedrooms with private bathrooms but shared common area/kitchen, also roommate was a complete stranger, kind of like a dorm lottery. this was in 2016 and i'm not sure they were specifically graduate apartments at that point. things have probably changed.) The gateway theater across the street is the best movie theater I have ever been to. They screen a lot of small indie, sundance, and local films, as well as the big box office money-makers. That would probably, to me, be the best part of living there, as well as being walking distance to good ol' denney hall. Lots of things I personally enjoyed are within walking distance (Yaos, Nile Vegan, The Bottle Shop). In general you can walk to a ton of restaurants and bars. You can also conveniently take the bus up or down High st. N. High st is, without a doubt, the busiest street in Cbus. Vehicle-wise and pedestrian. If you have an apt that faces high st, be prepared for lots of light and noise pollution. E 11th Ave all the way north to Lane is like college party central. Saturdays during football season are going to be a sea of drunk people in red. I don't know if you know about OSU's football fever. If you like football and partying, this is probably a plus for you. If you want a quieter area, this is not it. It does get eerily quiet when students leave for summer, though. The rental market here sets it clock by the influx of students. I think May and August are when most places are looking for new renters. Probably a lot of new listings will pop up closer to May. Of course, I also think the rental companies who prey on students are kind of sketchy. Just anecdotally, I've been to 3 apt showings that were literal trap houses, and the person showing the place didn't care that there were still burn holes everywhere and tin foil taped up on the walls. They know some desperate student will rent it. All in all, gateway is probably a good place to live (at least for the first year) if you can handle how busy the area is. You will totally get the immersive OSU experience.

i dont know...wait.... do you also specialize in postcolonial and/or marxist theory ?

someone posted an acceptance from syracuse, which i think means i've been rejected from everywhere https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coCjlhyFug8

Rejected from everywhere and waiting on the Syracuse decision. Really feels like a clown's waiting game.

Finally got rejected from Austin. More like ASSTIN. JK that's my dream school, RIP

I finally have a reason to wear makeup again

You are funny and creative and I laughed out loud. All these years later, I now know I'm not the only person traumatized by the presidential fitness test.