melancholyway

OK, I applied to 7 schools and was rejected by 3 and accepted by 4 for American Studies. Two of those offers were for MA programs. I am trying to decide between NYU's Masters in Humanities and Social Thought or GWU's American Studies Masters. GWU has faculty that I am very interested in working with, but NYU is NYU. Also, I am wondering if it may be wise to go into debt. The previous year I received PhD offers with funding, but were unable to accept. Might it be wiser to wait until next year and reapply hoping for funding? Any ideas? I am very anxious to begin graduate study and as of now I do not have any certain job prospects. Thank you for reading!

Hello. I just checked the Rutgers website today and there was a rejection notice. I wish you luck in your search! Please keep us updated.

I received a response from the program via email today saying that they will respond shortly to my initial inquiry. Just thought that I would keep you updated. Have you heard any news?

Very strange according to their website they're on spring break and will be returning after the 22nd. Maybe we can expect to hear next week? I am surprised that they have not notified yet. I will definitely let you know if I hear anything.

Alas, no good news for me. I will be speaking with the director to determine how my application might have been improved. I have received a couple offers from other schools, but none thus far with funding. I will be waiting to see if the last school comes through with anything, although at this late hour I am thinking it will probably just be another rejection.

I am also waiting to hear from Rutgers for American Studies. I emailed their dept to see when decisions might be out and I have not received a response back yet. I will hope for the best for both of us!

So GWU is on Spring break now so I wonder if we will hear anything this week... The end of March seems awfully late, but I suppose I should be thankful for not receiving a rejection.

This was awesome.

I have also applied to the LSMA at Columbia. I think that the application process is less selective, but you are still able to work with a range of faculty in your area of interest. I spoke with a student from the program who recommended it highly. Also you may be interested in CUNY's LSMA as well. Good luck to you!

I can definitely relate to your experience. No one I know understands what this is like. My So is becoming increasingly annoyed with my frequent anxiety attacks, OCD email checking and results page refreshing. My parents are no help. I am a first generation student and neither of my parents believe that women should attend college. I am definitely feeling isolated, and as the days creep by I am becoming very concerned that all of my remaining responses will be rejections. It just seems like I should have heard by now if I am accepted... but yes, there is no one to talk to with the exception of the people in this forum it seems.

I have applied to the American Studies program and have also heard nothing. I contacted the graduate school and they responded that the dept is still reviewing applications. Good luck to all!

Well I received a response, sort of, from GWU grad admissions... They said that the dept is reviewing my application then stated that I could check my status online, etc. I have not heard any word from the actual dept yet though so I guess that we are in the same boat. *Sigh*

No, nothing new for me. I broke down and emailed GWU about status so I will be sure to post if I get any news. I heard that they go on Spring break next week so I hope that we hear before then... and as for NYU- not a word, bu that seems to be typical for them.

Thanks to everyone's advice I will be writing emails to inquire of my remaining schools tomorrow. Thank you for the confidence boost. Good luck in your application results!

Thank you for your advice. I know that I over analyze and over analyze. The wait and the process is driving me crazy. I am looking forward to the end of it.

I think that I may read too much into these things also, but it almost sounds to me that they are trying to reassure you in a way. It doesn't sound negative to me. Good to know that you are seriously being considered and are a bit closer to receiving admission with funding. Good luck and I hope you hear positive things!

mcd- just wondering if you might have heard anything from GWU yet?

OK, so it is approaching mid March... I have received responses from some schools, but I am still waiting on three, one of which is my top choice. Is is wise to write one email to inquire on status? If so do you write this to the dept or the graduate school? I know that this should be simple, but I am so nervous that I do not want to botch anything. Does anyone have experience writing such emails? I want to let the dept know that I am still very interested. What a nerve wracking process.

I am definitely in agreement. I am SO tired of waiting... checking my inbox every 10 seconds, checking the results page, hoping that no one has posted any responses from my remaining three schools, but yet I am checking it. I feel like I am checking the list of dead or something just waiting for bad news. How agonizing. I look forward to when this will all be over and I can pick up where my life left off mid December.

This last week I had a dream about receiving an invitation to interview in person for a school that is very much at the top of my list. I carefully prepared for the interview and eventually the committee sent a plane to pick me up. I was taken to some desolate island in the middle of no where with only a large castle occupying the land. I walked inside and was escorted to a room where three professors were waiting for me. While I was being seated one of the professors pulled out a large folder with the words "top secret" in bold print across the cover. She opened the file to reveal three separate files each for a different person. The committee told me that they were very interested in me as a potential candidate, but first they needed to know that I was truly devoted to the idea of being a graduate student and future professor. Then they explained to me that the three pictures and files belonged to three other applicants for the program. To gain admittance I needed to kill one of them. I declined their offer and woke up. I am glad to hear that I am not the only one having such strange dreams. I had a good laugh once I remembered all that had transpired in the dream.

mmpottlehill, your research interests sound really interesting. I am actually quite excited to hear of another 19th Cent. person. My work explores the relationship between the 19th Century Spiritualist movement, modern living history, and collective memory- a mouth full. Good luck with your work in the future! Kfed- As far as I can tell no one has heard anything from NYU, in the American Studies dept at least. There was one wait list posting on the results page, but I am not sure if I would believe it.

BY the way congratulations on being accepted into Purdue's program wanta! Good luck on the funding front.

I applied to Brown, Yale, SUNY Buffalo, Stony Brook, GWU, BU, Michigan State, Rutgers, and NYU. I have received acceptances from Michigan and SUNY Buffalo, and one rejection from BU (poor fit with the program, I jut love Boston). I think that if you have not heard from BU you have a good chance of being accepted or at least wait listed, as many people have posted their rejections already. Thank you for posting the info concerning GWU. Their Amer Studies dept is such an excellent fit for my work that I am frantically checking the results page and my email constantly! Good luck to you!

Hello All, I have noticed a few postings for American Studies departments here and there, but not a singular thread devoted to the field so this is my attempt at encouraging conversation. Some suggestions: 1. Where have you applied? 2. Application results 3. What is the focus of your research? Good luck to all fellow applicants!

Is anyone else out there waiting for this program? I am getting nervous...