1Q84

Thanks, everyone! I guess it's a good lesson on "it ain't over til it's over." In my rush to post, I forgot to mention it's a "provisional acceptance" because I'm an international student and still need to prove funds in excess of the Fellowship funds itself. Damn, it's expensive being international.

Omg. Totally in shock. Got my first acceptance from UCR with Dean's Distinguished Fellowship. I'm so relieved I'm shaking. I thought all the acceptances had gone out over the weekend. I hope others get their email today or soon too!

Same. But either way, let's enjoy a Sunday's repose and be conscious to leave behind our anxiety for a day. To that end, I'm just now about to step out to watch a screening of this year's Oscar nominated live action shorts in theatre as a welcome distraction. Hope you can do the same!

Wow looks like comp lit acceptances are starting to trickle in... Congrats to admits to Yale and UCSB!

February is starting to feel like

Good luck to you two! I remember seeing in the results board that one year or other they didn't take anyone from the wait list so I think UCLA sometimes gets all their "first choices." If anyone has experience with wait lists, how does it work? If/when someone gives up their acceptance, does a wait list applicant's status change on the website? Do you get an email informing you you're being offered a spot? Do you get a call from the DGS? Feeling very anxious (even though it's still way too early to be anticipating any of that, I'm sure).

I'm taking a gender and sexuality at the fin de siecle course right now and after having to suffer through Wilde (whom I quite despise only partly because I don't enjoy Victorian Lit), I have been surprised to be enjoying George Gissing, of all people. The Odd Women is terrible in parts but pretty thrilling as an early articulation of feminist resistance to traditional marriage and family (that is, as far as a man's articulations of the women's movement can go).

Well said, as always, Wyatt. I strongly believe that if you sign up for it with clear eyes and a full heart, you can't lose. The only thing I differ in is the part I quoted. I'll be in my mid-late thirties by the time I'm done and I don't want that "now what?" moment. I want to hit the ground running, so I think my last year or so of my program will probably be divided between dissertation and networking/job searching.

Sigh. I don't know if I have any. I can't move back to Canada because my family is no longer there. I don't think I can stay in the US once my F-1 status is finito. I may be able to try for an OPT to extend my stay? I may be able to see if I can get an alumni job on campus? I really don't want to think about these, though, because I can't really imagine my life without research/teaching.

Congrats fancypants!!!!

Do you mean before it's posted in something like the Acceptance Thread? Not sure if I'm doing you a disservice by introducing you to the neurosis-inducing tool known as the results board: http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/

Thanks, Lycidas, for the detailed info. And, hey, can't be a bad thing for them to request a one-on-one talk with you, even if it was an informal talk!

I would announce it to them in skywriting. Or maybe have the citizens of Australia join hands and spell out the acceptance letter with candles.

Lycidas, how did that Columbia interview go (if you don't mind me asking)? You also said the adcomm was making decisions today, right? Eep. :/

Sigh. Can I join? l'll bring the scotch.

It's kind of funny to think that, as Wyatt mentioned, the folks who don't use TGC are probably blissfully going about their lives because they know that results tend not to come until mid-end of February. Ignorance is bliss indeed! I wish I just conveniently forgot about this place after I finished up with submitting apps.

Still getting those NYU online information session emails. I just rage-unsubscribed from them... hopefully that doesn't make the school rage-unsubscribe me from the applicant pool

I guess to play devil's advocate: I agree, fit does play a huge factor. I interpret that conclusion in the opposite way, though. I find it difficult to believe that all the experts in one field happen to be in the top 20 English programs in America. Certainly fit should dictate that one apply to a breadth of "high" and "low" programs because experts in one's area do appear in a wide variety of ranked schools. Maybe your field is unique in that way, Wyatt, but from what I've seen, there are rock star Early Modernists at Yale and at (insert SLAC name here) too. I wager this is the same for most other fields of study.

Well... looks like the bulk of UCLA admits are out. Here's hoping for a wait list nod...

Indeed, congrats to the new UCLA admit! Are they sending out two acceptances a day or something? A novel approach... Edit to add: CONGRATS to UC Davis admit too! Wish I had decided to apply there...

A DGS who called me to inform me I was on the wait list said he would email me with his office # so that we could "keep in touch" during the application process. This was on Jan 27. I didn't hear back at all from him so I emailed him Feb 1 with my office # and asked for his in return. Still no reply. I'm assuming he's very busy at this period but I can't help but think they silently withdrew me from the wait list and now just don't want to bother telling me. What should I do?! Email again? Give the department a call? I don't want to pester the guy...

Out of upvotes but I love this! I want to emblazon it above my desk or something. (until I get to the point where I'm just wondering, "why doesn't Berkeley want to be with meeeee?" like a moonstruck teenager.)

"Oh, stop worrying--you'll get in somewhere!" "Just take your mind off admissions results. Relaxxxx!" "Stop checking your email 5000 times a day. It's not going to make the results come any faster." "Everything will work out in the end!"