obrera

Hey guys, I don't know much about American schools and programs, so I am looking for your input. I was accepted to the English Lit PhD programme at Wayne State (WSU). I want to work with radical labour poetry and song from 1910-1939, and WSU has most of the archival material that I would need to do so. I'm just wondering if anyone knows anything about WSU that they could offer me, or about living in Detroit. Would a PhD from WSU serve me better than a PhD from a top Canadian school, especially if I'm focusing on American poetry? Queen's is a top-ranked school with an excellent program. I would not get as much teaching experience at Queen's, but the teaching load at WSU is 2-1, which seems like a lot. Queen's is a good fit faculty wise, though, and I could drive to the archives at WSU without much trouble. Anyway, feel free to ask me anything for the sake of clarification. Thanks in advance!

Why is Purdue releasing acceptances one at a time over such a long period? sigh. My email is empty.

I don't think so, in my experience.

I've joined this thread since I managed to NOT get a letter from a schools that has already made offers. I know there's still a chance, but it's a small chance, and it feels like the world is collapsing. Someone told me yesterday to start formulating a plan B. /tears!

Congrats. To follow the current conversation in the thread, I am very happy for your success, but also really jealous that I haven't received that email.

Was the email from earlier this morning, or did you just get it?

I am wondering why only one Wisconsin PhD acceptance is posted. WHERE ARE THE REST!?

No. Today sucks.

My comment was all in good fun. But in reality, I applied to Wisconsin, and now my heart is in the process of breaking.

Hate to say it, but told you so.

pork shoulder

One would hope. My assumption is yes.

Every single time this thread is updated, I get excited and then disappointed. The silence is... scary.

I emailed an update regarding my application, and I received a response that sounded as though they were just about ready to release results. I didn't hear anything either way, if that is what you are both wondering. I would sound much more relieved if I had.

I hope it is sooner than that. Waiting hurts. The email I received sounded like they were finishing deliberating in the next few days and then notifying. But who knows. The ad coms like to make things sound faster than they are.

Just to throw a wrench in that, Wisconsin Madison should be releasing results soon.

I finally received my "application received" notice.

Basically, you can hear about a decision anytime from now until April. They admit a few people at a time and reevaluate. Usually, you will hear in late February or early March, though. That was my experience from SFU. Great school, by the way. And the campus is on top of a mountain.

Queen's has finally sent out their emails.

Hey everyone. I am required to submit three letters for all of my applications to PhD programs in English Literature (four programs). I have two recommenders from my undergraduate institution, both of which have written me glowing letters in the past (for my MA and various scholarships) and are happy to do it again. However, my undergraduate thesis adviser had declined to write me letters this round. This is because the applications are online, unlike the previous apps, and he is blind. He has a really hard time navigating all the application webpages, and after the first letter, he made it clear that it was too much. Will it look bad if my undergrad thesis adviser is not one of my recommenders? Should I note why somewhere in my application? That brings me to my second question: I am in a one-year course-based MA program, and I would like to get a letter from one of my professors from this term. However, so does everyone else, so they are ostensibly being asked for up to 13 letters each. Further, I haven't received any grades back. Should I wait until they have had time to review my final papers in their classes and then ask depending on the grade/comments I receive? I'm just wondering if that is cutting it too close for a Jan. 15 deadline. How do I go about asking a professor who hasn't known me for very long to provide a LOR? Thanks in advance.

Now THAT is a fair question. Sometimes the things people say make me feel a bit better about applications.

Do you know how many applications are forwarded vs. how many awards are actually given out?

The University of Alberta is a highly ranked Canadian school, so they might be strict with the minimum GPA score and such. I wouldn't submit your GRE scores unless you've already paid to take the test; I don't think the school will know much about them. GRE scores are not usually required in Canada, and therefore schools don't really take them into account either way. I'm not sure about international admissions, but be aware that it is a competitive school. If you're just meeting cutoffs, make sure the rest of your application is top notch.

Whether or not they really take it into account doesn't offset the fact that they will most likely look at an abismal writing score and think you either didn't take the time study/complete or you don't care, both of which can negatively affect their perception of your application. I would retake it. For my applications, the quantitative score didn't really matter, but I still worked hard to get a good score so that I could prove to them I really wanted to get into the program and that I didn't rush through the test.

I don't think it is the end of the world; that being said, they might wonder about your proofreading skills. I don't think you should panic about it, though. It's good you caught it. If the deadlines have just passed, I would email and ask if you can correct your SOP, although I am not sure if doing that would just make it worse.