Amalia222

mine doesn't say anything about not emailing, so i finally emailed them today. Mine says the same thing it's said since I submitted my app in november: Your file has been forwarded to the academic department for review and an admission decision. You may check this system periodically for updates, and if the academic department requires additional information or renders an admission decision, you will be contacted.

ouch.

I teach Spanish to kids part-time, and take any/all freelance writing gigs I can get. Ah, the writer's life. (pockets empty yet mind full of ideas)

walked in garage door after hectic day teaching third graders. Was thinking only of shower/food/check email. "Ding" on ipod, a sound that lets me know it's retrieved my email. I wasn't expecting to hear back from anyone so soon, I hadn't had any responses yet. In the email inbox was the subject line "Welcome to TAMU English" and I almost fainted. Immediately called mom.

whining is healthy. it's human. we should all whine more. I try to whine as much as possible in grad cafe forums so that I stop annoying my family. :-)

YES!!!!!!! I am waiting for NINE schools. Whyyy must it take so long??? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!!!

no kidding. I think with the way I write (non commercial, literary) my best bet to avoid abject poverty is becomming a professor. Good luck with all your apps too!!

I have heard from multiple sources that they will still consider your application even if one LOR is outstanding. Your best bet is to email them, asking for confirmation that the LOR has been received and that your application is complete. I know, it might be annoying, but I don't think they can deny you just because you sent too many emails, hehe.

wow, great comments, all. It's certainly giving me something to think about. I think you're right, at the end of the day it's about "fit". Despite the creative writing emphasis, I am not simply aspiring to teach creative seminars but also academic writing and literature courses. The goal is to be a sort of "jack of all trades"--a mix of academic and creative writer, as well as literature, composition, and creative writing teacher. With the job market as it is, I feel it's important to be flexible. Teaching and academics are the hull that keeps the creative ship afloat, if you get my meaning. I love to write, but I doubt I'll ever make any money at it (literary fiction is a tough sell!) and I like teaching just as much as writing. A degree in English with creative dissertation is a win-win. I appreciate the listing of schools by random data, but you're right, at the end of the day it has to be weighing out which schools have the most to offer. I really like TAMU's program, and I think I am a great fit for their department (which is why, I'm assuming, they chose me). But I wonder, if I get in anywhere else, how I will choose, and how much the school's ranking will factor in. From what you all are saying, not that much.

caught on

Hmmmm. that's kind of weird. What I did, when I got my acceptance, was to write a nice email to the DGS, expressing how happy I was to have been selected, and that while I still needed time to make my decision, I was thrilled by the opportunity at the school. That way, they hear from you, get positive vibes, and you still have time.

My letter of acceptance came with a precondition that I pass a criminal background check. So, assuming I don't get arrested, or pull some sort of Lindsay Lohan shoplifting trick, I should be OK. :-)

I am curious to know how you guys go about "ranking" schools. There are the national rankings, with stuff like "Yale" at the top and state schools at the bottom, but then there's the whole "English department" thing. How do you know which English department is better to go to? For example: Is it better to go to a "big" school, a higher ranking national school, even when it has a small, not very well-known English department? Or, following this, would it be preferable to attend a lower-ranked school with a famous English department (I am thinking of Florida State)? When you go looking for jobs later, what are they going to look for--the school or the department?

Thanks for the advice, guys. I think I like lyonessrampant/tinycat (I do like felines!) suggestions the best.....subtlety. absolutely great idea. I will probably just ask for more info about the creative writing aspect and in that way do a sneaky doublecheck. Nice.

grilled cheese... ..this is making me hungry.

Many of the schools I applied to specifically say in their guidelines not to ask. If you do, you're more likely than not going to get a canned response about general competitiveness, number of applicats, blah blah blah. You're best bet for a more honest response is to speak to grad student friends or faculty at your school, people who know you and can be more frank with you. I think the schools will never really tell you the truth, besides, they don't want to get sued if you take their answer the wrong way.

Hi all, I got into TAMU, applying under creative writing (although i mentioned an academic interest in transnationalism in my SOP). I got an email from a professor which mentioned my emphasis as "American Studies", telling me that I would find plenty of support for that field and welcoming me to the department. Which made me wonder if they somehow made a mistake, accepting me under American Studies when my emphasis is creative writing. But then again, I don't want to email him and jeopardize my admit by asking for clarification. What to do? I suppose transnationalism fits inside "American Studies" if you consider North America, South America....oh, and the rest of the world (!!). Part of me thinks I should just remain quiet until after April 15th when I have confirmed my admission. Another part of me thinks: of course they know I applied as a creative writer, I sent a creative sample! WWYD?

Maybe it's just my faith talking here, but I feel like no matter what happens, it happens for a reason. Even before I had an acceptance, I kind of had to shrug and chalk it up to a higher power. If I was meant to get in, I'd get in. If not, then...there was something else I was meant to do, or I wasn't meant to get in until next year. I would work it out. In the meantime, I tried to focus on the fact that I'm healthy, and young, and I have all my family supporting me. I also am educated and capable of getting a job, so not getting in to grad school would not have been as bad as, say, going to Iraq. So I tried (even in my nerves and anticipatory hell) to focus on the positives. I just hope that for you all.

This is just going off what some of you have been saying.....I think, pretty much, getting into a Ph.D. straight out of a BA isn't happening much any more. I think increasingly departments see the MA as a "stepping stone" to the Ph.D., just one more hoop to go through. After all, they are getting applicants in record numbers, so there has to be some way to screen people. Many programs don't even allow BA to Ph.D. transitions any more. It's MA or nothing. So it's definitely harder. And maybe there just has to be something unique about you. You have to stand out in the crowd. Because it's a big crowd, and it's growing.

Congratulations! I'm glad they're notifying sooner rather than later. I already got an acceptance somewhere so I doubt I'll accept at Bing. even if I get in, but it depends on the funding....

It dawned on me today that all of us applying this year are at a major crossroads in our lives. Once we get into grad school, the next two years, or five years, of our lives will be set. After graduate school, most of us will settle into our careers of choice. So we should embrace this moment---right now, this instant of crazy waiting and anticipation. After all, it is probably one of the most exciting times of our lives---anything could happen! We could go anywhere from here. We could end up at a school on the other side of the globe, or one right around the block from our houses. We have taken such leaps of faith, sending our applications out and hoping for the best, taking a stab at (we hope) greatness. What an exciting time! After we get that acceptance, our future path is set. So why not embrace the adventure, the not-knowing? How many times in your life will all the cards be in someone else's hands? Relax, and let the cards fall where they will. Just a thought.

I'm still waiting on NINE schools. I recommend doing some searching on the results board, because in my case, I learned that most of my schools didn't notify last year until at least march 15, and at the latest April 26 (!!!). I have an acceptance deadline of April 15, so I figure I will seriously wait until April 14 if I have to, just to see what other offers come in. But I seriously am stalking my mailperson. And don't even get me started on how many times a day I check my email. I feel your pain, but give yourself at least until March 15 before you email schools to ask for status. I bet you'll have a response or two (at least) by then).

LOVE Vonnegut, and fear and loathing has many dog-eared pages on my bookshelf ("In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught")...BUT Right now I'm reading two books. 1. A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway (this is an audiobook, so I listen in my car, my attempt to edify myself in the wasted spaces of drive-time) and 2. The War of the Flowers, Tad Williams, in pure fantasy escapism. Nothing like a good 1000-page fantasy monster to burn away the hours waiting for the blasted mailperson to come bearing gifts.

snow queen

I have to disagree somewhat with this comment. I think if you've only got 6 months left to go on your MA, finish!!!! You never know if your lack of zip has more to do with depression than dislke of the material. So I recommend getting in done, so you always have it to fall back on. Go into law school later, if that's what you want to do. But I was raised to always finish what I start, so I had to put my 2 cents in here!