[Who Gets into Prestigious English PhD Programs?]

On 9/1/2021 at 11:53 AM, Bumblebea said:

These things didn't stop happening when the Recession ended. They got worse because they benefited universities. I won't be surprised if Covid has a similar impact in the long-run, where universities end up prospering while job prospects get even worse for PhDs. I'd look to Arizona State as a bellwether--they're actually thriving due to the pandemic by combining faculty downsizing with online courses: https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-colleges-that-prospered-during-the-pandemic 

It's worth mentioning that ASU's English department has hired 7 tenure track English faculty in 2021 alone. Of course the job market is still prohibitively competitive etc. etc. but in a number of institutions the pandemic $ means tenure track hires. I still broadly think you're right--let's face it, people who go to state schools will either adjunct or leave the profession in 99% of cases, and admitting there is still a small chance enables people to delude themselves into thinking that a TT position is probable. But the institutional humanities are not quite yet a completely lost cause, as the fatalists on this and other websites might insist.

[2021 Applicants]

12 minutes ago, MaoistTowelette said:

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo?

current buffalo phd student here: acceptances have already been sent out. the department only accepted 4 students this year. i don't know the status of the waitlist.

sorry if this wasn't the news you were hoping for; here's hoping there's news about the waitlist, or that you have other acceptances waiting for you! 

best of luck--and also, your username is great.