Two Espressos

Curious, isn't it? If I had to apply again, my list would be drastically different too.

Yes, I for one am happy to move to a new area and possibly start dating again... I've been single for an embarrassingly long time. There are practically no gay guys here.

I'd never attend an unfunded or partially funded M.A. program in the humanities...ever. Of course there are exceptions, but generally I don't think it's a good idea. What's worse: partially funded/unfunded Ph.D. programs. I'm looking at you, Claremont Graduate University.

All else being equal, follow the money. I think generally that increased funding lessens stress, making your progress through the program much smoother.

Thanks for responding. Thoughts from others? I must admit to not really reading these POIs' research (bad, I know, though I'm rectifying that now), so I'm guessing I should wait until I've caught up on my reading before contacting them?

Hm, I didn't get that email recently, though I remember getting something like that when I first applied (feels like eons ago). I received my rejection letter in the post last weekend, so maybe that explains it? Oh and I'd like to announce publically that it's probably a good thing I didn't get into UB: I'm really anti-psychoanalysis, and I don't think that would have gone over well with the department. There are aspects of the program that I still really like, but if I end up applying another round (shun the thought!), I don't think I'd apply there again. And they don't have a language requirement either, which is definitely a negative in my book. (Of course UB is still a great school, and I'm super happy for everyone accepted there who may be attending. It's just not the place for me.)

I like your list here, though I must admit to not having read many of these thinkers. I'm curious: what are your areas of interest/prospective areas of expertise?

Should I contact POIs at the school in which I'm waitlisted? UNC handles their waitlisted students differently than most other places in that I've been offered a paid visit to the Prospective Student Open House next month like an outright accepted student; this leads me to believe that my chances of ultimate acceptance are strong, though of course not guaranteed. It seems to me like the wait list is small enough for it to be hypothetically possible for all of the waitlisted students to be offered admission.

Hm, I haven't received word from Buffalo yet either. I have that "under committee review-- 2/20/2013" line on my status page as well. But remember guys: it's witchcraft. Either that or some webmaster fucking with us, making barely perceptible changes to the page.

Lots of us on here have been told things like Chicago is deadly competitive/cutthroat, a "den of vipers," etc. I wonder why so many of us hear things like this? I think Chicago is really a top-notch place though, so I agree with your LOR writer. Now imagine having no acceptances and only one waitlist--albeit a likely-to-convert one at an awesome school. I'm extremely happy and excited to visit, but I keep worrying that I'll look like an idiot at the open house next month...

I hail from an even humbler institution than yours, and I'm on a very small waitlist at a top-twenty English program--UNC-Chapel Hill-- and have a good chance of being admitted. It is definitely true that educational prestige affects your chances at elite programs; this is an issue we don't discuss enough, to be honest. But while I don't have an acceptance in hand at present, my even being waitlisted at a program as strong as UNC's proves that it is possible to beat the odds. I'm also really uncomfortable with the idea of English being a catch-all kind of discipline. I think we, as prospective English scholars, should carefully examine this. But I digress...

I definitely belong in this thread: 1 waitlist at a great school, 2 rejections, still waiting to hear from 4 programs.

Superb! That's excellent news. I never got around to reading that writing sample of yours, lol, but Yale must have liked it: what better validation could you get than that?

Thanks, me too! I'm inordinately stressed about it and keep rereading the emails/waitlist letter I've received, trying to determine exactly how likely I am to be admitted. The info I've got is effusively positive yet strangely nebulous. It would be super awesome if UNC accepted me quickly, like (Not). Waiting until April 15th would be really rough!

Congrats on being waitlisted, GWWG! I was actually rejected from Wisconsin-Madison, like It's (Not) About Me. I guess I made some of the initial cuts, but finally got knocked out of the running. But yeah, my UNC news earlier this week completely obliterated any pain the Madison rejection could have caused. Yeah, I thought for sure I'd been waitlisted at Wisconsin-Madison! Oh well. To be honest, it was probably at the bottom of my list, though of course I would have loved to attend were I offered admission. I'm intimately familiar with the "take a shower because it's the only way I can regain body heat" dance as well. It's rough, especially at 6am.

Why was this voted down? Personally, I try to alternate between masculine and feminine pronouns in my writing. I think "they" as a singular pronoun is awkward. I can't stand it. And I always write "she or he" instead of "he or she" because I rarely see the former and think it's minimally subversive. Really though, I think gender-pronoun usage is a minor problem, especially compared with the much more severe hetero- and cis-sexist shit going on. ETA: I mean think about gendered nouns and adjectives in French (and presumably other romance languages as well?). We don't even have to worry about that in English.

Ah, the Hotel Metal Bridge Program! I'm glad to see you're enjoying it. That program is one of my many backup plans, though I imagine getting accepted is quite competitive. But I'm really pulling for my UNC waitlist to turn into an acceptance. That would be fucking amazing.

22! Many people think I look considerably younger though.

So much for my productivity tonight! Congrats, of course. I really hope UNC sends me good news soon! What's your prospective subfield, if you don't mind my asking?

Okay, so regarding the Buffalo status site, the section "application reviewed" is new, correct? They already had the "application status" section, which for me still says "not reviewed." What kind of redundancy is going on here?

Basically, the Buffalo application status site is some kind of witchcraft.

Jazzy Dubois, I'm just a waitlisted undergrad, but I seriously think that declining your acceptances and reapplying next season would be a bad idea. Remember that admissions committees must have thought you'd fit well with the department: otherwise, they wouldn't have admitted you. Again, my opinion doesn't much matter, and I'm not an expert by any means, but were I to name the best English program in the U.S., I'd answer: "UChicago." There, I said it. And I didn't even apply there! It's such a badass place. I agree with Swagato's remarks above.