MichaelK
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Posts posted by MichaelK
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I sent an e-mail this morning and heard back from the DGS. She says that letters will go out sometime next week but has not been given an exact date. Which is unfortunate, because, like you, it's the last program on my list. She also shared that the visitation schedule is the 13-15 (which is, of course, what every program's schedule seemingly is). Sigh.
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The odds are so low on this one that I'm trying (unsuccessfully) not to think about it at all. It would help if it wasn't my dream school. I feel greedy just thinking about Penn after getting in elsewhere.
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Congrats, Bdon! You've got three options now and I've got two in a single day. God, this whole process is draining and wonderful at the same time, isn't it?
Edit: As a formerly despairing applicant (until about 1:00 today), the part about this being wonderful is just for the lucky ones. Too many applicants are going to end up thinking this process is just draining and terrible.
Edit 2: I write this with far too much liquor in my system. Celebration drinking, however, is infinitely better than despair drinking. I wonder if the hangover will be more pleasant as well?
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Thanks everybody for the congratulations. As evidenced by my post today in the 0% thread, I was in no way expecting good news. I wish I'd asked some questions so I could offer you all some insights into whether they admitted all today or not (though I would have had to phrase that sort of question cleverly).
For Yank: my focus is modern and postcolonial literature with a dash of posthumanist philsophy thrown in for good measure.
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I am one of the acceptances, yes. Didn't get much over the phone: was too excited to ask pertinent questions.
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HOLY SHIT. At my lowest point (see above), I get a call from UVA. I'm in. Goddamn! Time for a beer or three. Idealists can win! I'm rooting for all of you.
- wreckofthehope, surefire, Enzian and 3 others
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Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster. I am hating this. I sent my best piece of writing (got a 19/20 in a Scottish masters program which only on vanishingly rare occasions gives 20s in the arts), got pretty good GREs (168/160/5.5 and 630 in the subject test), what I hope were good references, and personalised SoPs for each university - and yet I am currently 0/3 (and probably 0/6, if I count the unis that have already sent out acceptances and wait-lists)... I mean, I was expecting rejections, but practically bankrupted myself on these cursed applications.
I'm in the same boat, Adam. From everything I can tell I'm a strong applicant. The numbers are all there, the sample was edited, read and reread by myself and others; I won awards, earned recs, etc. But none of that seems to matter.
I made the mistake of asking Tufts for feedback, and was told that my application was adequate in all areas but distinctive in none. That hurt (talk about damning with faint praise). The whole process hurts. I feel like if I could just have one acceptance, or even a wait-list, then I could handle the rejections... but it's really starting to hurt, and the 'shut out' feeling is beginning to descend.
If, at the end of the process this spring I haven't gotten in anywhere (looking distinctly possible with the schools I have left), I sense that this will be the reason why. I think it's a shame that the topic of writing samples composed in our junior or senior years when we're 22 or 23 plays such an important role in this process. As a part-time marketing employee, I sometimes wonder if I wouldn't have been better off approaching the process of applications from a sales perspective. Rather than write the thesis my professor wanted, or that I felt aligned most with my views, I should have composed something specifically for the audience I wanted to reach. I should have researched professors' approach to texts first and written a thesis that was derivative of that work. A somewhat sickening thought.
Of course, from my outside perspective, I sense that the system doesn't get any different from here on out. Sexy wins. It wins now, when we're 23. It wins with publishers. It wins with departments that are hiring. It probably wins with tenure decisions. So it goes.
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I feel like I've already gone 0/11. But the pain has just begun I suppose.
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I think from now on if either I or anyone else gets an acceptance, they should post this video:
That's just about the best acceptance clip possible. As for the anxious, repeatedly checking e-mail clip...
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Hello, my home for the rest of forever. This week I'm 0/3 (apparently) and, oh, look at a that -- they were my top three choices.
Anyone else regretting even applying? I feel like it was a stupid, foolish dream that I'm only waking up from now.
Based on my post before yours, I'm right there with ya. I'm feeling deliciously cynical about the entire process. I probably need to lock myself in a room for a couple months, make sure nothing comes across in the way of accepts/waitlists, and then just move on (because otherwise my cynicism will generate unhappy blog material that is better left unsaid).
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Congratulations to those of you with acceptances (and double acceptances!). Best of luck as you're selecting your program.
Since this is, after all, the 0% Confidence thread, despair has set in with a vengeance for me. My remaining applications (following some poor advice from my thesis adviser) are largely to the bigs: the Penn's and UVA's of the world. And I'm feeling awful about my chances. I'm already writing the obituary for my application season.
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Thank you for sharing your research, Katy85. Nice to have some firm(er) ideas on when we can expect news.
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Same page for my application.
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Just to be clear, plenty of departments know about this site, but it doesn't change their timeline. Also, there are a bunch of reasons that acceptances/rejections don't all go out at once. At my MA university, they admitted outstanding candidates they wanted to nominate for university-wide fellowships first, then went through the regular admissions, and then evaluated students applying for the PhD from their own MA program. So, I actually heard that I was officially admitted to the PhD program almost two full months after acceptances started cropping up here. In fact, students admitted with funding were visiting before they'd even read my application. All of that is a way of saying that having to wait doesn't always mean bad news.
Thanks for the insight, rising_star and ComeBackZinc. Nice to have the inside perspective on this.
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Of course, our anxiety and perception of unprofessionalism is due to this website, which allows information that departments think is staying private (acceptances/waitlists) to go public. So I can't really blame them. Dammit.
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I don't get the logic behind sending notifications first and rejections weeks later. If these schools had tons of applicants turning their offers down immediately, I'd understand: they need to keep the reject list unofficial in case they have to go back to it. But out of 20-25 total waitlist/accept notifications, how many students immediately say, "No thanks"? It just seems like the schools need to be more patient and professional...wait till you're ready to send every notification. Then blast 'em.
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For my sacrifice, I'm going to go with my entire first edition VHS collection (including some gems like Star Wars and Lion King), along with my Colts Peyton Manning jersey (won't be needing that anymore). I'd also give the devil any liquor from my cupboard...if I had any left. And, just for kicks, I'll make the devil and his associate a batch of my best barbacoa. Because no one can resist that shit.
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Immortal soul is historically correct, of course, but Satan gets that all the time. Now, if you had a 1967 Ford Mustang with original paint, that might get his attention. Derek Jeter rookie card? Your favorite rabbit's foot? Your collection of vintage mint condition GI Joes?
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So the Devil drives up to your grungy, unkempt apartment in his burnt umber Sierra. He tells Luca Brasi to keep the engine running and climbs out of the back seat. He steps up to your front door and rings the bell.
Before getting out of bed, you close your eyes and check that e-mail one last time. No news, of course. Then you roll into some sweatpants and open the door.
"Are you XX?" the Devil asks politely, checking his list.
"Yep."
"I hear you'd like to get into an English graduate program."
Your eyes bug out. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Never mind that," says the Devil. "Now listen up. You're going to make me an offer. First you pick which school you want me to get you in to. Then you tell me what you're willing to give up in order to get in. I'll confer with my associate" (he gestures towards Luca), "and we'll decide if your sacrifice is worthy. Sound good?"
Rules:
1. You can't give up a person
2. Most creative sacrifice wins the prize
Go.
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If you haven't heard from them yet with good news, you can scratch Duke off your list. I just called Kathy Psomiades, DGS. She says all acceptances and waitlist notifications are out and rejections are being prepared. 312 applications, 15 spots. She did offer a bit of commentary on my application over the phone, but nothing too specific. My area of study (postcolonialism, posthumanism) apparently had a strong applicant pool. Kathy was pleasant over the phone and regretful about having to inform me of bad news. I don't envy her this job.
One school down. Ten to go.
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<--- My face right now...and through this whole process.What she said.
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TripWillis is right on with the "stay active" advice. Best I've felt in weeks is when I'm on a run with no chance to check e-mail. Cooking helps too.
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Just got another one of those damn status update e-mails...heart rate spike!
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My condolences to the lit folks who didn't receive an interview request. For those of us in the English pool, there's only been one acceptance (that we know of) thus far, correct? So I suppose in theory we're not dead in the water just yet.
Any news on Penn?
in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Posted
Congrats to the accepted.
I'm bummed not to get the call, but not throw myself off a cliff bummed. It is amazing how much better rejection tastes when you've been accepted elsewhere.