WomanOfLetters

I'm afraid this is untrue! If you take a detailed look at the student profiles, you'll see a lot of students holding BAs and MAs from institutions outside the U.S. ? Anyway, the UCs don't really fit my interests and I'm eyeing on other some schools. ?

Private universities like Duke and NYU and Emory aren't giving funding packages nearly as generous as the Ivies but almost on the same level the UCs, and these schools all charge a pretty high application fee. Every program has exceptions, I guess! Judging from the student profiles on the program websites, I found the UCs recruited quite a lot of Asian students in the past. So don't just listen to rumors but see things with your own eyes! ?

I think the African American literature thing came from the Black Lives Matter movement. But with Covid and Asian hate they are not specifying taking more Asian literature or Asian American literature studies students ? I agree it would be great if the schools can just tell us what they are looking for each year - in social sciences and sciences professors who are not taking PhD students would put up an announcement on the website. Then again in humanities they don't do it. Probably it's because the humanities are lacking funding and grad applications each year make a good source of extra income, albeit how small it is. I mean, why would the UCs charge $140 per application, even higher than schools like Stanford and Yale, but at the same time the they offer funding packages far less than Stanford and Yale?!?! It makes no sense to me.

I'm actively manifesting a Cornell acceptance too - not the English program though! Good luck to all of us! ???

I really think it's much more than good grades and good schools - just think about it: every applicant's got good grades. It has to be some other areas that distinguish the suitable ones for pursuing advanced studies from those who don't. I still think that it's about how impactful the work you do, or how impactful you are. But of course right now this is just a hypothesis of mine. If I get in then I'll know if this is true. ?

Haha I'm also manifesting positive thoughts about my applications from now on! ?

I didn't apply to UIUC nor CUNY so I don't know anything about the programs there ? That said, you can send the program coordinator an email to see if they have released the result! This round should be less competitive than last year so it should probably take them less time to decide who to admit!

I agree completely. Getting something is at least something. Hearing nothing from them is just tormenting. ??? I came to realize that admission is not exactly about how good the grades applicants have. It's more about how impactful the work applicants produce. Luck and recommenders' connections are of course also involved. But what's done is done. Finding ways to calm down seems to be more helpful at this stage ???

I'm nervous as hell over here ?? ? Although I just finished my last applications two weeks ago, and I know applications take time to process, I can't help feeling so anxious every.single.day.

If I am lucky enough to be offered a place this round, I'll share with you what I know ?

No, I don't think this is outdated information. This is really the main difference between applications for US and UK schools (at least in my opinion). Good thing is deadlines for programs in the UK is a little later than those in the US, so there's still a bit of time!

For me, I would definitely apply to every single program that can accommodate my interests (unfortunately there aren't many....)

I asked a professor of mine for the format of the title page, and he told me I didn't need one, so I won't be including a title page for my writing sample. I also included a part of the literature review relevant to the piece and edited/rewrote it, so no table of contents in my writing sample either. But these are, of course, what I did only and not necessarily the right practice. ?

I think the language proficiency requirement doesn't work like that in the US...but then again some schools (e.g. Stanford) waive the test if the applicant has a degree in an Anglophone country or a degree in which English was the sole medium of instruction. But of course, many are still requiring proficiency test scores and GRE scores (e.g. Yale). No...I don't think IELTS has the same requirement (and I was also not aware of the 2/3 months requirement by TOEFL....) Good luck!!

Where does it state that applicants need to take TOEFL 2/3 months before deadline?! TOEFL is also not the only English proficiency test that US schools accept. What about taking IELTS instead?