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WomanOfLetters

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  1. Like
    WomanOfLetters reacted to Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    Yes! And I feel pretty inadequate academically anyway... i never once believed i could get into grad school and this insecurity shows in my very average application. Though I know UIUC and CUNY are most likey gone and I have ticked them off my list already, not having a rejection letter leads you into brief moments of hope (dangerous!).
    UIUC never publishes anything in the way of a waitlist and yet takes months to reject a person. CUNY usually does acceptances and rejections within the span of a week but they are defying their own pattern this time. This pattern-defying behaviours of certain schools lead you into odd beliefs. They should just send the rejection letters (the ones they are absolutely sure to reject) along with the acceptances. Hurting feelings is not even an issue in this case.
     It is so much easier to send mass rejection mails--hardly takes any time. Unless they are writing personalized rejection letters (which they may for some people), I am sure sending off 200 automated mails doesn't take much work.
  2. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    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 ???
  3. Upvote
    WomanOfLetters reacted to Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    Oh thank you for saying it out loud! Indeed, I feel at times I dragged myself into this because this whole process is wildly competitive (a very bad reason for doing anything) and the guilt! 
  4. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from PlacingJane1994 in 2022 Applicants   
    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.
  5. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    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.
  6. Like
    WomanOfLetters reacted to sarahpc2020 in 2022 Applicants   
    Thank you, I'd appreciate that! And best of luck!
  7. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from sarahpc2020 in 2022 Applicants   
    If I am lucky enough to be offered a place this round, I'll share with you what I know ?
  8. Upvote
    WomanOfLetters reacted to OpenBook in 2022 Applicants   
    I had two interviews last year, and was accepted to both universities after my interviews.  I had prepared some very basic interview answers (to imagined questions like "why our university?" and "what do you bring to the table?"), but was surprised by the specificity of the actual questions I was asked.  My interviewers wanted to know about very particular choices I had made in my writing sample, they wanted me to defend which texts I had selected, and they offered me a new direction and asked how I would, if I chose to, incorporate it.  The questions were chapter level, but they still quoted specific lines from my writing sample.  They asked about my understanding of the critical background and the varying approaches I could have taken.  It was, in short, a very personal interview.  I asked my basic "what's the culture like?" questions at the end, but I wish I had taken the time to read some of the interviewer's texts more fully so I had specific questions for them.  It's clearly not required, but I remember feeling very worried after the interview.
    In my second interview things were looser, I had received a better offer from the first interview institution already and was merely investigating this other school to make sure, so I was more relaxed and I remember cracking a bunch of jokes and all of us laughing.  It was still a REALLY important interview, because I was able to ask more general PhD student questions (like, "what's something you wish you had known before your first year of the PhD?") and the answers I received have stayed with me.  But, the tone was very different because I was much more confident.  So, I'd say reread your writing sample, consider school-specific questions, and be prepared to be unprepared.  I had taken notes on the answers to questions I thought I'd be asked, and while I wasn't asked anything from that list, the list really did help me ad lib when the time came.  Being relaxed would probably help, but there's no magic way to achieve that, so don't be worried if you're a nervous wreck - I was for my first interview, but knowing my own writing clearly helped us all move past that.
  9. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    If I am lucky enough to be offered a place this round, I'll share with you what I know ?
  10. Upvote
    WomanOfLetters reacted to A Small Raven in 2022 Applicants   
    Anyone else already starting to get antsy waiting to hear back? ?
  11. Like
    WomanOfLetters reacted to sadevilminion in 2022 Applicants   
  12. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from faridun in 2022 Applicants   
    I'm applying internationally! I've studied in the U.S. before (three times, including an MA), and am planning to return for my PhD. I'm interested in applying for programs in other English-speaking countries too, but funding is a problem. I agree that it might be harder to get fundings for programs in the U.K.. As a matter of fact, I've applied for (and been lurking on this forum) programs in the U.S. for a few years already. I really do hope that I will get in at least one program this time. 
  13. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    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!
  14. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    For me, I would definitely apply to every single program that can accommodate my interests (unfortunately there aren't many....)
  15. Like
    WomanOfLetters reacted to OpenBook in 2022 Applicants   
    Hey all!  I am in my first quarter of my PhD now, in part thanks to Grad Cafe If anyone has any questions about my program (Stanford English), what my experiences were with other institutions I was accepted to (Indiana, Ohio State, UWisc, Uillinois, Rochester), or wants to see my application materials, please DM me!
  16. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from A Small Raven in 2022 Applicants   
    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. ?
  17. Like
    WomanOfLetters reacted to Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    Thanks so much for your pep talk! I wrote to my old supervisor and he was so forthcoming! If not for your post I wouldn't have dared to write to him
  18. Like
    WomanOfLetters reacted to labradoodle in 2022 Applicants   
    My language test waiver got approved by Columbia!! whoo (thank god because that test is like 5 hours and I have done enough fill-in-the-preposition and multiple choice questions to boring but ambiguous texts in high school English classes to last me a lifetime)
  19. Upvote
    WomanOfLetters reacted to labradoodle in 2022 Applicants   
    To add on to Alyson, I've only come across the proficiency-test-after-the-deadline situation at Oxford and Cambridge, I think, but other UK unis are a lot less strict with proficiency, meaning that you can meet the requirements in many more different ways. For instance, you might meet the requirement if your programme was in English, or even if you got a certain high school diploma with a certain grade. Hope that helps!
  20. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    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!!
  21. Like
    WomanOfLetters reacted to labradoodle in 2022 Applicants   
    It says so on the site of TOEFL itself, and it's just too expensive to gamble with. I just assumed IELTS would be similar, but you're right!! I'm gonna decide today if I'm taking the IELTS next week, lol. Thank you! (I swear I'm not as disorganized as I seem here, haha.)
  22. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from labradoodle in 2022 Applicants   
    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?
  23. Like
    WomanOfLetters got a reaction from Hard times! in 2022 Applicants   
    Good luck!! But I won't be applying for the English program because the faculty is just not the same...
    I want to know too! I feel like if I propose a very small niche that might make me look like I'm inflexible and unwilling to learn things outside the area. If I put down a broad area then it might mean that I don't know the topic enough. My professors are not sharing much information and advice with me too. I hope this is not because no one, professors and students included, actually knows the answer to this question??
  24. Like
    WomanOfLetters reacted to labradoodle in 2022 Applicants   
    Yes exactly! I think I'm going to apply for their English programme now instead of literatures. But I'm so sorry!
  25. Like
    WomanOfLetters reacted to sadevilminion in 2022 Applicants   
    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!
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