mentalyoga

Ugh. Now I'm tempted to email and just have it done with. I might do that later this week, since I'll be on Spring Break next and may as well have the bad news beforehand. So I can drink more.

I'm not in the same situation as many with families, jobs, etc. Just an undergrad trying to go into a doctoral program. But I've found it absolutely impossible to enjoy this semester, my very last one, and at a school I love. After getting my first rejection last week, I was incredibly maudlin for a few days, as I began to feel like the rest of this semester is pointless. I think it was difficult primarily because having that rejection made me think the past four years I've been kicking my ass are all coming to naught. I'm sure a lot of people have had similar reactions--but I've been trying to remind myself that the process is a crapshoot, that whatever happens, I know I'm a great candidate and am "made" to go on to grad school, and that if I become despondent this semester, I could ruin my chances next year, assuming I'm in the re-application situation. But yeah, everything is feeling very dragged out right now. I'm doing things, keeping busy, but no word describes it better than 'limbo'--if I'm not going to school next year, I really have no idea what I'll be doing for the fifteen months after graduation. It's a very bizarre, taut sensation. And I want it gone.

Same boat here. I've got Spring Break next week, and was anticipating knowing *something* good by then. But I'll be bringing some cheap booze with me to grad school purgatory for those 9 days. And yes, I completely agree with the "Please stop telling me I'll get my dream" people--I'm tired of having either empty faith placed in me, or the vaguely condescending refrain of "everything will eventually work out." I think what's frustrating right now is knowing I'm most likely rejected from my remaining programs...but I've still received NO notification. I'm aware the schools have made their decisions, good and bad--now shoot me down, so I can have it done with!

I was never expecting to get into Cornell, but it is my dream school, and so I'm still (perhaps stupidly) holding onto that miniscule sliver of hope.

I work from a feminist post-modern theoretical framework, and primarily focus on literature from the 1950s onward. More broadly, I'm interested in women's lit, which is what I attempted to make clear in my personal statements--because while I focus quite a bit on female confessional poets and more contemporary women writers like Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Flannery O' Connor, etc. (and looking forward to doing work on Jeanette Winterson and A.S. Byatt, my new literary loves), I'm also absolutely taken with their predecessors...Austen, the Brontes, Woolf (!), Willa Cather, and so forth. So 19th century onward, with a focus on women writers and a deconstructive feminist perspective. For example, my thesis is looking at a feminist political subversion of fairy tales in Anne Sexton, Atwood, and Angela Carter--my writing sample, though, was on queer subjectivities/sexualities and the foreclosure of possibility implicit to heteronormative temporality in Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. Applying to doctorals out of undergrad, no preference on formatting style, though I mostly use MLA (because it's the standard at my undergrad). Also an aspiring poet. My program stats are in my sig.

I had that mentality going into this process, but now that I feel as though I've been run through the shredder (and still waiting on 3 probable rejections), I'm beginning to rethink what a "safety" school is at this level of education. With undergrad, I knew my chances with the schools I applied to--and I was spot-on. With my first two decisions this year, a waitlist and a rejection, I sort of feel as though the rug was swept out from under me--and I'm now quite well-aware that grad school is a whole 'nother ball park. I realize now that I'd probably have made decisions quite differently had I been more realistic about the process, and the idea of a 'safety' school seems almost arrogant to me. I suppose sometimes you need a good swift slap in the face to shift your outlook--and while I haven't given up hope, I'm thinking about this whole thing in a very different way now. If I end up in the re-application pool for next year, I'm positive I'll be doing things a bit differently.

No nominating me! I've already pestered a professor a couple of times, and I feel kind of pushy about that. From my (admittedly brief) communication with her, though, there's been no mention of a ranked waitlist or, really, anything else. I think our best bet is to hope that we are the three at the top of the list, and that three admitted candidates will go somewhere else.

Still nada. Brandeis is looking to be my only chance at grad school next year, so I'm anxiously crossing all fingers and toes at this point. Since this waitlist, got a rejection from the one program I thought I'd surely make it through to, and the other three are not looking promising. I suppose stranger things have happened, but the odds are pretty stacked against me, I must say. Even the professors I'm close to are subtly giving me advice on the reapplication process. I've not given up hope entirely, but I'm really feeling as though the rug has been pulled out from under me right about now. Good luck to us all, though!

Hey, me too, I'm sure. Ugh.

Yeah, I figured as much. I was just hoping for my 'wild card' with them, but looks like I can forget about grad school next year unless some miracle happens. What I don't get, however, is why the fuck haven't people been notified of rejections if the decisions have all been made? That's really insulting, if you ask me, and once more ties this whole process up in some secretive, anxiety-inducing roulette game. Ridiculous. Well, suppose I can start looking for my restaurant job for next year...

Not necessarily. Could be your acceptance! Or even waitlist...doesn't mean a thing until it arrives. Though I have to say, I've been cursing Chapel Hill since about 9AM yesterday.

No acceptances here either, and I'm really starting to flip a lid. The two I've heard from were the programs I actually thought I'd get into, so a rejection from one and a waitlist in the other--I have to admit, I'm feeling pretty bleak about my chances now. Of the remaining three, two were my "reach" schools, and the other was somewhere in the middle. Only time will tell, but I'm hoping I'll at least make it through the one waitlist into actual acceptance. I feel your anxiety, OP. Of course, as people have said, it's also not fair to expect someone to make a rash decision simply because they've actually been accepted. If I were in that position, I'd want to make sure I was dotting my i's before I jumped into a 5 year program--though I would certainly try to do so early enough to notify the programs I wouldn't be attending. Competition is red hot, and I'm starting to feel scorched.

There are 8 acceptances and 2-3 waitlisted in the results search--most of which appear legit. You might want to search comp lit though, because I just searched "english." So I'm guessing people have heard, but I for one have gotten absolutely no notification. Michigan is driving me up the walls, because they're more or less the wild card of my remaining apps. I'm thinking it could go either way with them, but seeing as people were getting phone calls last week and the week before makes me think I'm shit outta luck here. If I can make it to the waitlist at Michigan, I'll still freak, but it would be at least somewhat reassuring news. Perhaps someone who was accepted has some more substantial info? Anyone know if they've made all their acceptances?

Well, I've been having nightmares about grad school for about a week, and had a panic attack yesterday--I received my first rejection in the morning, had to go to work until late afternoon, and was walking back to my dorm when out of nowhere, I couldn't breathe, got a bit dizzy, etc. It was terrifying! But unless I get some good news soon, perhaps not as frightening as my long-term prospects...

I still feel quite good about my application, though not so chipper about the decisions made thus far about it. I have a great GPA and transcripts, awesome letters, a strong SOP (though it could probably have been a bit better), and what I think was an awesome writing sample. The only thing I'd really work on, and may have to if I don't get in anywhere, are my GREs. They weren't awful (actually, the general were pretty good), but my Lit Subject was middling. I also found the test to be impossible, and a really bad reflection of my specializations (modern/contemp women's lit, which I found sorely underrepresented on the exam). What I was unaware of, and no one I was working under told me, was that I should have contacted people in the programs. I assumed it was presumptive and/or inappropriate, but it seems everyone *but* me did that--if I had known to chat up people at this programs, I might be in a different boat about now. If I end up having to reapply next year, though, I know my app will be far stronger. I'll get my GREs in order, and will have both my degree and my honors thesis completed, as well as an entire semester of TA-ing under my belt. I could probably use a chapter of my thesis for my sample, and I'd actually know to start rubbing elbows with some people. But nothing I can do for the time being but wait and hope.

Yeah, got my first rejection today where I thought I was absolutely a shoo-in. I had all of the 'paper qualifications' (GPA, GRE, etc.), in addition to having 5 or 6 faculty members with research interests almost identical to my own, a great relationship between my undergrad program and their grad, AND had 'connections.' Not even waitlisted--I'm just baffled. Not that I don't understand that there are better applicants out there, but this was a real shocker, I have to confess. And now I'm flipping out, because I figure if I couldn't get into a program that was a 'perfect fit,' how the hell will I get into those that always seemed more difficult to me in this whole process. I suppose only time will tell, but my prospects are looking pretty bleak right now. And it didn't help to have *this* be the first rejection, either.

Well, got my letter this morning. Flat-out rejection. Seeing as it was sort of my last-ditch hope, I'm thinking grad school might not be happening for me next year. Ugh.

I hear that. Chapel Hill is one of my top choice programs, and I've been wondering the same thing. I have a friend who just finished her undergrad at Chapel Hill--she says it's very gay-friendly, though she didn't say much about the dating scene (of course, she's not a gay male). But another friend tells me he's heard some bad things about the area in terms of being gay and feeling 'safe.' But he doesn't go to Chapel Hill, so again, it's only a partial view. I figure I'll visit if I get accepted, and hopefully make a better judgment from that point.

But I'm still hoping to get into Brown and WashU! Haha. Certainly not a firmly-grasped hope, I should add. I would imagine we have at least a decent chance, as those immediately accepted are probably (hopefully) getting lots of other acceptances to choose among, too. And I think the fact that Brandeis is having some financial and political issues right now might turn off those sorts of people...whereas, for me, I just want to be in. I suppose it's getting down to the wire for me--I was hoping to make school visits over Spring Break, which is a mere two weeks away here, and if this terrifying not-knowing continues, I'll be in quite a sticky fix. We'll see...

None, but two are really well known, from what I understand.

Well, at least you've got two acceptances to rely on. I thought hearing back from a program would relieve some pressure, but then still hearing nothing from my other four programs and getting waitlisted by them only increased the anxiety. I feel like an already taut wire being stretched and stretched--I'm really hoping to get some good news this week. Certainly makes me regret not applying to more than 5 schools, but money was super tight last semester...

Maybe we're both really wonderful candidates.

Just had to give a shout out to W&M. I'm finishing my undergrad at W&M right now. I don't know much about the education program here (I'm told it's quite good), but it's a wonderful school. So good choice!

Just heard back from them, via a letter, today. Waitlisted. However, the letter said I'm very near the top of the waitlist--anyone know if this is just the blanket comment they give all waitlisted candidates? They also said to contact them if they were one of my top choices (I suppose so they know if they're wasting their time by holding on to me). My answer is yes on that front--anyone know the etiquette for this? A quick email, simply stating my interest? A phone call? An email detailing why I'd really, really like them to magically accept me instead of holding me in limbo?

Incidentally, I'm doing exactly that right now! I need to finish the first of three parts of my thesis by Monday morning (it's more or less got the skeleton complete, but way overblown with major revision needed), and want to be significantly into the second part by Wednesday, as I'll be giving my colloquium that evening. All last week I freaked over grad shit, but this weekend (until now) has been consumed by thesis work. I need to just open it up every time I have the urge to visit this site.