patientagony

This is off topic, but how is it possible to be 1/3 something? Shouldn't ethnicities be discussed in multiples of 2? I'm so confused!!!!!!

I wouldn't worry about making a good impressions since you are accepted; you've already done that! If you are trying to decide between programs though, a visit might help. If you've already made your decision than a trip might not be worth the money. You don't say why a trip isn't feasible, but if it's because of money maybe the department could fund your trip? Have you asked if they are willing to do this?

According to the results board, for the last three years Rutgers has sent out acceptances on the third saturday of February, so today should be the day. No one has posted anything to the results board yet, but it's still early.

Maybe "ok" was his passive way of saying "not very good". As your professor he should be able to give direct and honest feedback, but it sounds like he failed you. If he didn't give you any particular criticism I would say he did you a total disservice by making you think everything was fine when it wasn't. What was the novel you wrote about?

I don't want to be one of those annoying people who give advice to make you feel better and it just annoys you, but speaking as someone who didn't get in on their first round of applications, taking a bit of time of can be nice. I thought it was going to be the worst thing in the world, but having time to de-stress has been priceless. Good luck!

Every time I think I've finally convinced myself to walk away from GC and pick up a book (or at least watch RuPaul's Drag Race), something happens on the results board which keeps me glued to my laptop. UGH. This process is so drawn out. Not to mention that for the last three days I've woken and checked my e-mail before I can even see clearly, hoping for some sort of response from Rutgers.

Two INTJs, one INFP, one INTP and one ENFP. Is the N function integral for grad school in the humanities?

I'm an INTJ. And a bit of a misanthrope. Just a bit.

I'm a natural born pessimist, but I wish I was more like you.

This is pretty much my position right now. Two acceptances feel like a fluke, four would make me feel like I deserved it.

That's great news! I was really worried that my home state was going to fall in shambles, but this is great news whether I get into a UC or not.

Thanks for the info! It still drives me crazy that there is this lag time between decisions being made and decisions going out. I mean, what are they doing? Why the wait? Funding? Or do they just like to make us stew? That being said, I don't anticipate getting into Riverside. I changed my writing sample so much after I submitted it to them that now it just seems terrible.

I hope he's right too! I don't know whether he is right or not, but he told me this without me asking. I wasn't fishing for information from him, so I suppose that means he must really know. My only fear is that he was talking about making final decisions rather than informing applicants. If he is wrong I have a bone to pick with him!

IUB contacted me 7 pm Indiana time, so it does happen sometimes.

I might as well add my heard it through the grapevine info: a grad student at UCR tells me that the admissions decisions should go out either the end of this week, or the beginning of next.

Word of mouth, specifically the opinion of one of my professors, a respected Victorianist from Columbia. I haven't been able to find any rankings that specifically discuss Victorian to back him up, but I'll take his word when he says Columbia, Indiana and Rutgers are the best places for Victorian. I wish I had something more definitive, but I feel like his advice can be trusted.

Totally agree, but I think that the better ranked the school, the better your chances are going to be. What are the rankings that matter though? Overall department or subfield? I've been accepted to Indiana Bloomington, which is ranked around 22 overall I think, but is one of the three best places to do Victorian, which is what I plan on studying. If I get into a better ranked school overall, would it be more sensible to go with Indiana or the program that is better ranked?

I'm right there with you. I got mine in my e-mail first thing this morning and I wasn't surprised. I know people have talked about schools they wished they applied to now, but I'm having a, "Why the hell did I apply there?!" state of mind over UT Austin because now that I think about it, the school wasn't a great fit in the first place. I can't even take it personally.

There are probably many applications that are "good enough", so I'm not sure why you are assuming that your nationality is what is preventing you from getting into Berkeley (not saying it couldn't be, but do you really have that evidence?). Don't take it so personally. I think you are letting too much of your self worth hinge on the opinion of one school. It really hurts to be rejected, I know, but you have to figure out whether you are going to let one rejection undermine you goals and ambitions.

I have a question that I think I already know the answer to, but I'd just like to see what everyone else has to say about the topic. How much does having a degree from a "certain", i.e. prestigious, school matter? There are hundreds of universities and colleges across the United States, but if you look at the faculty from any of the top 100 programs, they mostly come from top ranked universities and liberal arts schools. Does anyone feel like they have been rejected because they went to lower ranked schools despite having otherwise impressive credentials? Or is this something that is impossible to know?

Thanks, good luck to you too!

Same!! I am literally checking my inbox every five minutes expecting the dreaded rejection e-mail to finally be there. This is torture. Who send out rejections first? I feel like that's a really weird system.

Just to let everyone know, I e-mailed my POI at Columbia today and he tells me that they won't have their final admissions meeting until February 18, which I assume means that decisions won't go out until at least a day or so afterwards. I hope that saves everyone from obsessively thinking about Columbia like I've been for the last two weeks.

Ugh, I just noticed that for the last three years Rutgers has notified on the third weekend of February. I thought weekends were supposed to be a break from waiting, a pause from the constant phone and e-mail checks? I guess the nice part is that I can stop thinking about it until February 16th since it looks like they are pretty consistent.

Congrats and enjoy your trip to NYC! Columbia is beautiful beyond words. I don't know how interviews work and whether or not you will be able to explore Columbia's campus, but I would highly suggest trying to poke around their main library for fun.