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So according the results board, four of us have Skype interviews with Penn State! Anyone else freaking out a little bit?

Hey DontHate - fyi, just got rejected from Madison's Comp Lit program. However, I'm not really disappointed, as I know they're having funding problems and last year only accepted like 2 students.

Yeeeah!

Nope! That's it so far. Let me know if you hear anything!

In case there are any other Comp Lit-ers out there, I just spoke to WashU and they're reviewing applications right now, hoping to send out notices in 2-3 weeks!

YOU GUYS, I just almost had a heart attack! I was perusing the results board and getting impatient about hearing back, and at that moment I got an e-mail from UT Austin's Comp Lit department. Turns out they just wanted to tell me that they never got my writing sample and to send it to them ASAP - although, of course, I had sent it back in October with all my other materials! Must have gotten lost in the shuffle. Anyway, I hope that means they're reviewing apps right now!

The Woman In White is pretty awesome! I'm reading the Song of Ice and Fire series. Again. Not exactly Heidegger, but... in my opinion, much more fun By the way, what do people think of Proust's In Search of Lost Time? I took what was supposed to be a survey course on Modern French Lit, but the visiting professor decided that Proust represented ALL of Modern French Lit, so we were supposed to read all the volumes for the class and nothing else... I'm pretty sure no one in the class read more than 20 pages.

*Fingers crossed for you, beet-nik!* I think it should be fine. One of my recommenders decided to send every single recommendation 2-5 days late, and I didn't have a problem. I did however e-mail/call the schools to make sure that this was okay, and the most frequent response I got was, "Oh I'm behind on applications anyways, so don't worry about it." Good luck!

Too bad they closed half the bars in Collegetown!

Thanks everybody! It's nice to know that other people are in a similar boat. As to recognition/respect for the letter writer in the field... well, there is a porn star by the same name as my recommender, so hopefully that won't hold things up. I just hope that the schools that I e-mailed about this will be understanding.

Thanks t1! I'm kinda kicking myself for not having given my recommender an earlier date for the deadlines... but yes, e-mailing the schools is what I'm going to do.

Okay, so EVERYTHING is in for all of my applications except my recommendation from one teacher. She has missed three deadlines so far (for the Dec 1 deadline, she submitted it on Dec 4) and 5 apps in total. It is so frustrating, because I feel awful sending so many reminders (the especially awkward ones are the ones AFTER the deadline when I'm like ummmm yes can you submit it?) when she said she'd do it... but I don't want my app to be undermined by a late recommendation. So, a few questions: Do you know if there is a time lag for submission notification e-mails? I always assumed it was an automated service that let you know when a rec is submitted regardless of office hours. If there IS a time lag and my recommender actually submitted her stuff, I'll feel a little silly for having sent her an emergency e-mail today about Friday's and yesterday's deadline. Do schools care if a recommendation is a few days to a week late? Some programs (like Michigan) said that they understand there may be a short lag, but then Stanford seems pretty firm about recommendations needing to be in by the deadline. Is anyone else in this situation??

If you like historical fiction, the Saxon series by Bernard Cornwell! Or if you like fantasy, the Song of Ice and Fire series.

Okay that made me laugh so hard.

Maybe for statistical purposes? To see what application pool they're being included in? I can't believe that they wouldn't accept you just because you listed another school! At least, I refuse to believe that...

Thanks guys! I like the holiday card with gift card inside idea. Somehow it seems nicer than a wayyy overpriced box of truffles, which is what I was considering (13 pieces for like $30...)

This may be a silly question, but what are you all doing for your recommendation writers? I'd like to do something more than just send a card, but I'm constrained by being overseas. Has anyone else gotten gifts for their recommenders? Any ideas for things I could order remotely, or should I just stick to a nice card?

@ anoveldave: I was also planning on applying to Minnesota's Comp Lit program, but the site is so messy and the application odds got me so down (I heard from the DGS that it's 3-5 out of 90-110 apps) that I've scrapped it. I am however applying to another program at MN that requires THREE admissions essays! It's like they're trying to kill me!

Hey there! Six college level courses should be just fine. I know assistants here who speak pretty bad French. Are you interested in teaching high school or elementary school? They require better French for elementary schools, since you'll have to explain a lot of stuff in French. I'm placed in a high school, though, so I'm able to conduct most (but not all) of my classes in English. I applied two times and got my first choice Strasbourg both times. (The first time I turned it down to do a fellowship in Germany.) In fact, a good number of people I know got their first choice, so don't despair! I'm teaching in a high school in southern Alsace but living in Mulhouse. It's a pretty interesting region, especially since I like all things German. What are your top three regions? I've also lived in Aix-en-Provence and a tiny village in between Blois and Tours. I can recommend both!

Hey! So I think people have given really good advice so far, but I just want to chime in by saying that I'm doing TAPIF right now and am applying for PhD programs for next year. It's a pretty great program, if you're okay with living on a very tight budget for seven months. I also think that as long as you have a decent level of French (and by decent, I mean intermediate or so), you are really most likely going to get it. So I wouldn't worry about not applying to PhD programs and then not getting TAPIF. Anyway, good luck on both! It's so true that going abroad gets harder as you get older, so carpe diem!

So I just got my OPI result for German: Advanced Mid. The only reason I took the exam was because Stanford highly recommends it for their Comp Lit applicants. Yet another way they are making me poor! Anyway, I'm pretty satisfied with the score, but do you think it's enough for a Comp Lit program? German is supposed to be my primary language/field of study, and I'm wondering whether they'll be like, oh Advanced Mid? We only take "Superior" speakers! I know I should probably just talk to someone at Stanford, but I've already bothered the DGS so much. Have any other language/Comp Lit students taken an OPI, and do you think I'm at the level I should be?

A friend of mine did the French MA in Paris and loved it! Can't say anything about the Spanish, though.

Well, I don't think her focus is in science fiction & fantasy, but Professor Jenny Mann at Cornell taught a great seminar on Utopian Fiction that included lots of sci-fi/cyberpunk books!

Hmm, I can't say much about the personalization issue, but I have noticed that quite a few schools say they don't accept Interfolio. You should probably check to make sure that all the schools you're applying to accept it.

Holy crap. Well, if you can afford it, sure. But then again, if you're just copy and pasting and not really paying attention to how well you fit with a school (I know everyone says this, but...), I would say it wouldn't increase your chances by much.