Taco Superior

I started with a personal anecdote sentence. The best opinion to get, though, might be some of these gradcafers who have gotten into like 6 or 10 programs.

As for the math: these are not fun facts, but they are facts. 1) some schools fund based on COMBINED GRE scores. Right on Buffalo's website it says, "if you don't score X combined (I think it's 313), you're not qualified for certain funding." 2) I was told specifically by a POI that my math score was a primary reason why the DGS at a particular UC wanted me on the waitlist instead of admitted outright. Granted, I didn't even answer the questions on the math section, but probably a score in the 4th percentile (as mentioned above) would've evoked the same response.

I wouldn't be so hasty--unless you think you've put together the best app you can, there's no way to improve it, and you've applied to 10-15 schools already. This is my third cycle and the first was really a throw away cause the writing sample was old and irrelevant and I skipped the math section when I took the GRE. Then it took me awhile to write an appropriate sample (been out of school for 10 years so I had to find what would be relevant). Also had to figure out how to sell my "nontraditional" status in the SOP etc. Anyway, that's my two cents.

Hm. Stranger things have happened. But I agree it's more energizing to start planning for the next time than to just... wait. I was second on the waitlist at Davis one year which seemed pretty hopeful and then on april 15 they told me they ended up not taking anyone off the waitlist. Not fun. I started writing a new sample paper that day.

No CUNY? I'll add two recommendations about the GRE general test verbal section for anyone interested (my 170 qualifies me I guess): 1) I took MOST of kaplan/princeton review's advice but NOT their advice to write everything down and double/triple check answers--there's just not enough time. If you're overly cautious you won't finish or you'll have to rush at the end. 2) Skip past the LONG (but not the short) reading comprehension sections and come back to them at the end. These are the toughest and will eat up your time.

for anybody having trouble sorting the NRC rankings, if you look at them on phds.org they're much easier to figure out. They organize them for you according to different emphases. http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/english Some of the data is pretty old and therefore inaccurate, however.

I live in Marin County nearby, but have lived in Sonoma before. Rohnert Park (we call it Rodent Park for fun) is a lot of lawns and golf courses, a Walmart, that sort of thing; very residential. Surrounded by beautiful rolling hills. It's real close to Santa Rosa (like 5 minutes) and it's only an hour to SF. Traffic during commute hours is no bueno on Hwy 101. Rent is Sonoma County is not as bad as Marin but it's probably not cheap either. Santa Rosa is a weird city in that it has a lot of the problems of a full sized city (drugs, gangs) but not the culture of a full sized city. The gangs are doing their own thing, they're not looking for you, so no problem there. However, the whole area is exceptional in terms of natural beauty so if you like hiking and biking it's awesome. PM me or ask me more questions on here so others can benefit as well if you like. Cheers, P-lo

I informed them and asked what they like to drink--one got a bottle of scotch, one a bottle of champaigne, and one a bottle of cognac.

And you didn't even know you were on a waitlist huh? Cray-cray. It's the last school I havent' heard from so once that's finalized I can really get down to brass tacks....

pm me too.

Anyone interested in claiming those Maryland acceptances today?

I'm no expert, but maybe it depends on what kind of dept you're sending them too: if it's USC and they're known for film/media studies, it seems like the one you've been using would be more than appropriate. If it's another kind of dept, maybe not. So maybe you use both samples and send them to their most matched programs.

oh yeah.

At times like this I like to go back to the "post acceptance stress" thread and read the post (comebackzinc, I think) about how once you get there and start going, this 8 months of in-between and worry about who did or didn't like me will seem like a blip, and the real fun will begin!

I emailed them with some questions: I'll let you know if they tell me anything interesting, please do the same if you would!

I was never great with standardized tests, partly because no one told me how important it is to study systematically for them. The timing element is the hardest part I think. When I would just read through sample questions and answer them at my own pace: no big deal. But turn that clock on, and it's murder. This time around I made myself take timed sample tests every day for the few days leading up to the test so that I would be used to the pace. This made a big difference and I ended up with a perfect score on the verbal, not because of being particularly smart but mostly from preparing well I think.

Also waitlisted at USC (ca). I'd rather live in CA than St Louis but USC only guarantees 5 years funding instead of 6....hm.

Hey Gustav, this might not be that helpful since I'm english not comp lit, but I imagine comp lit at WashU has to be as small or smaller than english. with that in mind, the DGS for english tells me they accepted 9 people and waitlisted 9 people.

I like you, Asleepawake.

Wow.

oh - now I see how it works, the voting...

Gwen (if I may call you that), you forgot to post YOUR age.

36

ditto.

Curious: in what way are you constantly being rejected during your Ph.D. program? You mean papers not getting accepted and such? Anyway, I'm getting a preview of such things already: nominated for a competitive fellowship on top of base funding (which is already great) but the fellowship has 8 folks nominated and only 3 "winners." Got to write an essay for it by next week. I don't want to let the dept down who nominated me! So ya, I see the perpetual insecurity aspect. On the other hand, there's the being grateful for the opportunity aspect.