screamingacrossthesky

@wordstew Would you be willing to elaborate on this? In which industry/ies did you feel that your PhD held you back? Did you receive feedback that you were overqualified? Or would require too high a salary? I'd appreciate any insight on this point that you'd be willing to share.

Fair point, sugilite. All I was trying to say was simply that I didn't do any of bpilgrim's excellent suggestions and I was still accepted off of waitlists. Based on my admittedly anecdotal evidence, I just wanted to reassure people that it wasn't absolutely necessary (though I'm sure it could be helpful!) to send updates and further expressions of interest in order to be accepted. Not to discourage any from following that strategy, but just to reassure those who might not feel comfortable reaching out directly (as I know I would not have been).

Hi waitlisters! First off, congrats! When I got waitlisted at a number of programs during my application season, I felt like I wasn't quite good enough. However, I now realize that is silly and if you are competitive enough to get on a waitlist, then you are competitive enough to be accepted. There are so many other factors that can define that fine line between acceptance and waitlist, so you shouldn't feel at all lesser. Second, while I commend bpilgrim89 on this effort and am happy to hear that it ended up working out so well, I just wanted to say that I indeed sat on my ass and waited and got off the waitlist at more than one top 10 program. This is not to denigrate that effort, especially if you know that your number one program is somewhere that you are waitlisted, but to assert that it is very possible to get off a waitlist without this type of follow up. Last, if you can, still go to the visit weekend(s). If you haven't been offered an invitation, ask if you can still attend or even visit another time (and definitely ask for funding for the visit, but if at all possible, I'd recommend trying to visit even if the money doesn't come through--though I totally recognize that this will often not be possible). A visit weekend is a great way to track down things like the rumors about hires/folks leaving/what it is like to work with a certain advisor/etc., assert your interest in the program and learn about the waitlist, and just get a feel for the positives and negatives of being a student in certain program and in a certain area. While this might not be true for everybody, I found the visits very helpful and ended up changing where I thought I wanted to go. Best of luck to all of you! While it obviously won't always work out, many schools--even top programs--end up drawing from their waitlists, so keep the hope alive!

Hi there! Just wanted to send along a word of encouragement that I applied successfully a few cycles ago although all of my letters of recommendation were late and one was really, really late . If they like your application and your letter is submitted by the time the committee meets, then you should still be considered. So I would follow up again when you feel like you can without upsetting your recommender, but not stress too much about letting a few days pass. The end of term is also always a busy time, so they may just not have gotten around to responding yet. I'd suggest trying their office phone (or the department office and ask to leave a note with your return number) or, if possible, stopping by in person since some profs are really bad on email. Good luck and I hope they submit their letter soon!

You seem to have received some great advice so far, but I just want to point out that, while most of your concerns are shared by many successful candidates, this one part of your message raised some red flags. I agree with all the others that not writing a thesis should not matter, but I wonder what the application process was for being allowed to write one. For example, if this required proposing a project, then this is the exact same skill required in a SoP, so you will want to work with your professors and anyone else who offers to help to develop this skill and/or make sure that your proposed research interests are original and viable. Also, if that application required LoR, then I would follow up with those letter writers and figure out why your application was unsuccessful--especially if you will be using any of the same letter writers for your future applications. A luke warm recommendation could hurt your PhD application. Again, I have no idea what the process was for your application to the Honor's Thesis course, and could have simply come down to the same considerations that keep qualified applicants out of PhD programs one application season, but not the next (field diversity, committee members' interests, etc.). However, if components of that application resemble a PhD application, then I would figure out why that application was unsuccessful so you can improve and apply successfully to MA and/or PhD programs. Best of luck!

I hear ya, but the interviews are on Skype and quite short (20-30 min), so hopefully it'll be relatively easy to sort out!

My guess is that Chicago tries to give a bit of lead time for candidates to prepare while they continue to narrow their list down to those they actually interview (short list to shorter list), but it does seem a bit harsh that people know they came close, but didn't make that cut. I decided it would be bad luck to prep, but then got an interview and had very little time to get ready because the interview times were literally the next couple days after the email.

I know this feels disastrous, but please don't be too stressed out! One of my recommendations was late to all of my schools (including some on your list) and my application was still considered. They understand that this part of your application is not entirely in your control; I'm sure it will work out as long as the letter is submitted before the committee meets. I hope that you hear back from your professor soon.

Not MA options (and not UK), but if you are also thinking about a PhD, you might look up Nadia Ellis at Berkeley--especially her work on the Jamaican dance hall and a recent piece in Genders on dance in New Orleans. You might also consider a program like Stanford's MTL, which would allow you access to their TAPS faculty as well as English. My only contribution for MAs might be to look for people doing disability studies (which I think is a growing field in rhet/comp?, which are more often funded MAs), since I think that could intersect with your interest in physicality and captivity in interesting ways. Good luck, hope you find a great fit!

Sure. We received an email to sign up for an interview. As I mentioned, mine was a Skype interview, although I think some schools still have interview weekends (Notre Dame?); mine was with two professors from the department--I have no idea if they were on the admission committee or not, they didn't mention it either way--although I heard about interviews with three professors and even a whole panel at another school. They would not have been my potential advisors, but were in tangential fields and were able to ask very knowledgable and informed (read: intimidatingly specific and thoughtful) questions about my area of interest and writing sample, so I do not think it is entirely random, but is instead dictated by some combination of field and schedule. The interview, as I wrote, was entirely questions about my writing sample and proposed project/field of interest more generally, except when I had the opportunity to pose questions to them--another part that you could prep in advance. I don't want to get into too many details on a public forum, and every interview is different based on who is interviewing, but mine, at least, was entirely substantive and quite challenging. For example, I was asked about specific authors/texts and theorists in my field that weren't expressly mentioned in my writing sample/SoP, but names that I should have known. Again, however, I really think that this is so dependent on your specific interviewers and potentially the specific school's format that making any generalizations from one anecdotal piece of evidence isn't very wise. Just brush up on what you already know, be honest about what you don't--you aren't expected to know everything, they know we are all just embarking on this crazy adventure--and do the best you can. Like I said, I'm pretty sure that I botched it and it all worked out okay anyway. Like all aspects of your application, this is just one part of the whole.

As I bet you all know, very few English programs interview (and Columbia is historically not one of them, Caien). Sometimes a professor will informally contact a student, but only a couple of programs interview their whole short list. Off the top of my head, Chicago and Duke Literature (but not English) have interviewed in the past few years, and I think but might be mistaken that Emory and Notre Dame do as well? It does change, though--Stanford used to and doesn't anymore, Chicago didn't and does now. I am not sure about Comp Lit, though, since I didn't apply--it is my general impression that interviews are more common in that field, in particular to test language skills. However, I did have one interview last season. Quite honestly: it was nerve-wracking; I don't think that it went very well; I was admitted anyway. The interview questions were entirely based on my writing sample and the substantive proposal in my SoP. If I were to give any advice, it would be to be extremely familiar with the material in these documents, as well as research beyond what was expressly mentioned but would inform your field of proposed interest. Although that probably sounds ridiculous now when it feels like you could never not know these intimately, in over a month, when you are maybe taking other classes and definitely focusing on other things, putting in the work to really refamiliarize yourself with those documents and the research that you did to generate them will pay off. The tip that I received (and did not do, but realized too late was a great idea) is to make a couple reminder notes to yourself on post-its and put them around your computer screen (since it will likely be a Skype interview with 2-3 profs). If you are stressed and start to panic, even one word that sets you off in the right direction can be helpful. If you are really worried and don't think it would be too much of an imposition, you might ask a recommender who is familiar with your application to compose a few relevant questions, or even try to do this yourself. Be as relaxed and as confident as you can, know that you can answer questions somewhat cagily to direct the conversation toward surer ground, and don't worry too much-- they are just trying to get to know you and what you want to study as well as they can in 20-30 minutes!

Just want to wish you all the best of luck in finishing up! And to those procrastinators out there freaking out while reading about all these people already submitting their apps, don't worry! I am not proud to admit that my apps went in at the very last minute (and recommendations even later), but everything still turned out fine. Not a recommended plan of action, of course, but still a potentially fruitful one!

First off, congrats on the great standardized test scores. They'll only help you. To address your question, however, I think it is important to emphasize that applications, from what I can tell, are evaluated as a package. In other words, I don't think that high GRE scores "cancel out" a low GPA, but I think that they make your application as a whole more appealing to adcomms. I would also emphasize that my other main take away from going through this process last year and speaking with professors both at my current institution and during visit weekends at other schools is that the most important part of the application by far is neither the GRE nor GPA, but the writing sample and statement of purpose. Put your time into these documents and not into worrying about those factors of your application that it is too late to change (easier said than done, I know!). Lastly, it doesn't sound like your GPAs are actually that low, especially your MA GPA and, as you importantly distinguish, not in lit seminars. I definitely wouldn't change the tier of school that you are applying to (as long as they are a fit otherwise) or not apply based on your GPA. It also doesn't sound like it is low enough to address with an explanatory note in your SoP (and give up precious space in such a brief document), which would otherwise be my advice.

Just a few thoughts. First, although a professional letter will be less helpful than an academic reference, you might still want to ask your boss just in case you aren't able to track down another professor to write your third letter in time. I know that programs will not consider an application at all without the required number of letters. Second, if you decide to reach out to undergrad professors, you might try to find your old papers (and especially any papers with their comments) to include with your request (along with your current SoP and writing sample). Then, even if they don't remember you at first, they would at least have something substantive on which to comment. Last, in reaching out to any of the other professors you are considering (and I agree with ExponentialDecay to stop pursuing the elusive third professor), you might want to mention that you thought that you had a third recommendation already lined up and it fell through, so they don't think that you just procrastinated and are now asking for a favor at the last minute. This might make them more inclined to help. Best of luck!

https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu