lyonessrampant

I so hear you on that. I don't understand why programs don't promptly notify rejections. I mean how hard is it to send out a mass email or something like that? They could also let the people know whose files have been referred to MAPH (which I'd guess a lot of people have been). Sigh. So ready for this whole process to be over so we can all move to the next phase of life!!!

Wow. I didn't know Brown took only 5. Was that in the rejection? That sucks and makes me feel a little better about not getting in there. Comparatively, then, yeah Chicago's cohort is pretty big! I was told they had over 600 apps or those 10ish spots. Do you happen to know how many apps Brown got? Edited to add congrats on getting into Brown and Yale! The waitlist and Duke interview are awesome too!

Where did you hear the cohort was big? Chicago used to admit about 20-25, but then in 2007 or 2008, they cut that cohort in half and now admit like 12 or so for a cohort of 8-10. I agree there weren't a lot of results posted, but that's not very many people really to be on GC. I think there were 3 or 4 posted, so that's probably 1/3 to 1/4 of the accepted field. . .

Hey Catherinian, I don't know if you've been following the thread, but I posted earlier about all the offers being out. One of my rec writers talked to the ad comm for me way back around Feb 15 and offers had been made previous to that. They refer a lot of apps to the MAPH program, so if you don't have an MA (and sometimes even if you do, which seems a little weird) you may get admitted to MAPH but not the Ph.D. Both the grad secretary I spoke to via email and my rec writer said that paper letters, i.e., official notification, would be mailed the end of the first week of March. They should be making their way out from Chicago as we wait. Edited to add good luck on any programs you're waiting on!

I would largely agree with Sarandipity given your field. I tend to put a bit more stock into the rankings than a lot of people because reputation and networking matter SO much in getting a job later. That said, if the overall program is ranked lower but the foremost scholar in the subfield is there, well, that changes things since he/she could really help a lot with that whole networking thing. USNWR does yearly rankings and the top 10 for quite a few subfields. Chronicle of Higher Education also does rankings periodically, but again, these aren't CW specific. I think looking at placement numbers is a really good way to determine the "rank" or "quality" of a program. When I applied a few years back, one of the posters compiled a list of programs based on placement. I think he/she went on to publish it, but I don't really recall so take what is pasted below with a HUGE grain of salt. It was privately compiled, so I have it in front of me, but it's not online. That said, anyone can confirm the data themselves by looking at faculties at the top fifty schools--the trendlines the rankings lay out in detail (because of a higher "N" figure that ensures greater statistical confidence) begin to take primitive shape when one looks at even, I'd say, 10 such faculties. The incredibly hardened, individuated top 12, across 1,200 professors: 1. Yale 2. Harvard 3. Columbia 4. Berkeley 5. Cornell 6. Stanford 7. Princeton 8. Virginia 9. Penn 10. Chicago 11. Johns Hopkins 12. UCLA Then a cluster of schools--Brown, Duke, NYU, Michigan, Rutgers, and Wisconsin--and then a veritable cliff. But I want to emphasize here that I agree with you: the schools not in the top 20 (or 19) for placement probably place just as many graduates, just in (over many years and graduates) slightly different jobs on average. But I mean, looking at these numbers, folks going to places like Washington, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas should absolutely feel like top hiring committees know they exist and respect their programs. Essentially, the numbers show that only a small number of programs offer a statistically significant foothold into top colleges and universities, and even then a school that's head and shoulders above any other--Yale--still accounts for a percentage of all top-fifty faculty members that's in the 9% range. And some more from the same person: How to read: For instance, 1.94% of professors at the top 25 national universities and top 25 liberal arts colleges graduated from #17 University of Wisconsin-Madison; 2.45% of professors at these same colleges and universities graduated from #13 Brown University (a differential of 0.51% out of 1,100+ professors). Perhaps the most notable drop-off in placement appears after #19 Indiana University, as the difference in placement between #19 and #20 University of Illinois is 0.59%, or 1.69% versus 1.10%. Rank/School/Professors on the English Faculty at Surveyed Colleges and Universities 1 Yale University 113 2 Harvard University 88 3 Columbia University 81 4 University of California at Berkeley 77 5 Cornell University 70 6 Stanford University 61 7 Princeton University 54 8 University of Virginia 47 9 University of Pennsylvania 45 10 University of Chicago 44 11 Johns Hopkins University 37 12 University of California at Los Angeles 33 13 Brown University 29 14 Duke University 28 15t New York University 25 15t University of Michigan 25 17t Rutgers University 23 17t University of Wisconsin at Madison 23 19 Indiana University 20 20 University of Illinois 13 21t Brandeis University 12 21t Washington University in St. Louis 12 23 University of Washington 11 24t State University of New York at Buffalo 10 24t University of California at Santa Barbara 10 24t University of Minnesota 10 27 University of California at Irvine 9 28t Northwestern University 8 28t University of North Carolina 8 28t University of Texas 8 31t City University of New York [CUNY] 7 31t University of Southern California 7 33t Boston University 6 33t Case Western Reserve University 6 33t Emory University 6 33t Univ. of California at Santa Cruz 6 33t University of Rochester 6 37t Ohio State University 5 37t Pennsylvania State University 5 37t University of Massachusetts at Amherst 5 41t Binghamton University 4 41t University of Illinois at Chicago 4 41t University of Maryland 4 44t Purdue University 3 44t Rice University 3 44t State University of New York at Stony Brook 3 44t Syracuse University 3 44t Temple University 3 44t Tufts University 3 44t Tulane University 3 44t University of California at Riverside 3 44t University of California at San Diego 3 44t University of Missouri 3 44t University of New Hampshire 3 55t Boston College 2 55t Georgia State University 2 55t Michigan State University 2 55t University of California at Davis 2 55t University of Connecticut 2 55t University of Delaware 2 55t University of Nebraska 2 55t University of Notre Dame 2 55t University of South Carolina 2 64t Bowling Green State University 1 64t Bryn Mawr College 1 64t Carnegie Mellon University 1 64t Claremont Graduate School 1 64t University of Colorado 1 64t University of Denver 1 64t University of Florida 1 64t University of Georgia 1 64t University of Houston 1 64t Howard University 1 64t Lehigh University 1 64t Loyola University of Chicago 1 64t Kent State University 1 64t Miami University [OH] 1 64t Michigan Technological University 1 64t University of New Mexico 1 64t University of Oklahoma 1 64t University of Pittsburgh 1 64t University of Toledo 1 64t Union Institute & University 1 64t University of Utah 1 64t Vanderbilt University 1 64t Washington State University 1 64t Western Michigan University 1 64t College of William & Mary 1 64t University of Iowa 1 [90 schools ranked; N = 1,183]. Schools surveyed for this ranking: Amherst College (ND) Grinnell College University of California at Berkeley (ND) Barnard College Hamilton College University of California at Los Angeles Bowdoin College Haverford College University of Chicago Brandeis University Harvard University University of Michigan Brown University Lafayette College University of Notre Dame Bryn Mawr College Macalester College University of Pennsylvania Bucknell University Middlebury College University of Southern California Carleton College New York University University of Virginia Claremont McKenna College Oberlin College Vassar College (ND) Colgate University Pennsylvania State University Washington & Lee University College of William & Mary Pomona College Washington University in St. Louis Colorado College Princeton University Wellesley College (ND) Columbia University Providence College Wesleyan University Cornell University Reed College Williams College Dartmouth College Rice University Yale University Davidson College Smith College Drew University (ND) Stanford University Duke University Swarthmore College (ND) Fordham University Trinity College [CT] Georgetown University Tufts University Notes: ND means “no data.” Schools which would have been surveyed if data had been available online, but which are not included in the fifty schools surveyed, appear with the ND notation beside them. Programs were not given credit for hiring their own graduates. Only English Department faculties were assessed, and all faculty members with online educational data were included in the survey, regarding of their title or tenure status.

Do they belong to the Council of Universities( or something like that. . . Google and you'll get the right name)? They probably do. If so they can try to bully you into telling them before March 15 but ultimately they can't force you to tell them before April 15. Good luck!

Meow Good luck!

Yeah, a new battery and/or power cord might do the trick, though if you're getting a new computer, I've really liked my Lenovo Ideapad Y 450 so far. It's about 1.5 years old only, so I have no idea how long it will last. Glad to hear your Thinkpad has lasted so long though! I don't like Apple products, but that's more of an ideological rejection of supporting Steve Jobs, so I can't really speak to the quality of the product. A lot of people seem to like them, but they are really expensive. Sony Vaio seems pretty cool as well, and if you're into gaming at all, Alienware products seem to be the bomb.

Knowing nothing about anthropology programs, take this with a grain of salt, but you've got Chicago in your sig line as an acceptance. If by that you mean the University of Chicago, I would totally recommend going there. They have great research resources and amazing faculty. Good luck on your decisions!

Congrats Noxrosa! So happy for you!

If you sent a creative sample, I'm sure they're not confused. Perhaps look for intersections between CW and American studies in that prof's work and respond directly to those. I feel like that sends a subtle message.

Who knows. . . I feel like my fancy reach schools were probably also influenced by my age (28) and time out of school (graduated from MA in 2008). I really think it's largely a crapshoot when you get to the 600+ apps for 10 spots business, though I have no evidence for this claim.

Thanks Chris just worriethese visits might influence funds for topping-off fellowships and summer research. I'm sure you're right though!

Oh and a pet. My dog got me through the worst of it

So my now husband deployed right after I graduated my MA, we married, and I broke my ankle fleeing a moose (long story. . . I live in Montana). Anywho, I was really busy with work and coaching a speech and debate team, but it was still awful (he was out under the wire almost daily, which made it worse) and I think that the busier you are, the better. Best wishes for a safe return, and despite the paternalism. The family readiness group really can be helpful.

Thanks Chris 83 I'm on my phone so can't see signatures but seem to recall you've done quite well yourself so congrats to you too! On the fit paragraph business, I was mixed about that as well. I did include a fit paragraph in most of my SOPs (only schools with a 500 word limit didn't so Madison and Kansas and I went 1-1 for those, but my fit with Madison was NOT great anyway). As my sig indicates, I've gotten some nice state school love, which I realy appreciate, but my reach/dream schools were having none of it (Stanford, Harvard, UC, Duke, Brown. . . Though Duke said I was close). Anywho, a guy in my MA program got waitlisted at UPenn and accepted at Brown and Cornell without a fit paragraph. Based on this sample size of two (so legit, I know I think private fancy schools care less about those fit paragraphs than state schools. Yes, this statement is ludicrous and highly subjective, like this app process, so I think it really just depends on what you want to do and feel comfortable doing in your SOP.

Ugh. . . So right there with you. I've got UW and CU Boulder, but Boulder is notifying by snail mail and to be honest, I'll probably decline an offer from them anyway at this point. UW, though, is still very much in play for me. So just want this waiting business to be over!

Thanks Weatherwax

Good to know there's a few of us with the jitters. I also bought some books by the people I want to work with to read, though I've read a lot of their work before (and used it), it's been awhile and I figured it might be good luck to have them. I bought a couple of Frank Whigham's books before I heard from UTA, so I only got 1/2 lucky I guess . . . sigh. Oh well. Good luck to all of us at these visits!

English and I'm an early modernist. Is that what you're asking? Sorry if I'm being obtuse

I talked to Mike Stamm at the UO English department. My website says the same thing. He basically told me they're figuring out funding and will be in touch with that info shortly. Apparently, they just updated the websites before contacting everyone. It's kind of nice, as I like knowing I got in and am much more content waiting on funding info than the notification of acceptance or rejection. He told me they were hoping to email everyone by the end of last week. I think they're just behind. He was asking me questions about teaching experience and implied I was being nominated for a fellowship of some sort, so I really am pretty sure they'll contact us all officially once they have funding figured out. Congrats!

I don't really know what to tell you, but when I was finishing up my MA and talking to my recommenders, they all told me not to talk about my SO situation. He ultimately impacted what I decided (and obviously matters now too!) but they told me that it looked like emotional bribery. I don't really know, though. I mean if you're already admitted, it's not like you're trying to get them to do anything, so I might tell them in your situation. It seems like they would be interested in knowing how you are making your decision, so I would think that honesty is better than lying. . .I might be naive/wrong though.

I think it best to email and decline the offer. I felt really conflicted about that with my first offer, who was quite solicitous as well, and I dithered around how soon to let them know I was declining. Based on advice from my letter of rec writers and people on this board, I emailed them weeks ago. Both the DGS and the grad school people were nice in reply and thanked me for letting them know early so they could contact other applicants. I would think that the folks at Rochester would respond similarly. Good luck and congrats on your offers!

We can be awkward together then

SO today I booked plane tickkets and hotel reservations for my partner and I for the recruitment weekend. We go to one in Utah this coming weekend, but his family lives there so that one doesn't feel the same. I don't know but this all is just starting to feel really REAL. I've been out of school since 2008, and I'm freaking out a bit. What if they think I'm really dumb when they met me and regret accepting me? Aahh! It's so weird to me that I'm worried like this. I've spent over a decade involved in speech and debate as a competitor and coach, been in multiple national final rounds with huge audiences, and usually love interviews, but not so much right now Anybody else worried about these recruitment visits?