2019 Applicants

[kvlt.nihilist]

i think we're all being a bit too harsh on ourselves and a little bleak... i mean, reality IS gonna be pretty cold for a lot of us in terms of fave programs (and some of us may not be accepted anywhere, which is nothing to sweat even then), but decisions haven't been released yet -- that stage is only beginning

 

it might help to live in the moment for the time being? idk, like maybe go bungee jumping lol if you're an adrenaline junkie?  i think it's easy to let anxiety get the best of you, especially if you uh have an anxiety disorder (*sweats nervously*)

 

this is my first time in the grad apps process but i honestly think the key is just being stubborn and embracing the life of an artist.... the whole idea of, "i don't care if i have to friggin wait tables for a year, i'm doing this."  idk i know i'm an optimist so i may be shedding undue light here.  but also just wanted to share i've been reading a punk history book all of today and stubbornness and suffering and just time are exactly how a lot of the bands became big.  not saying most will be "big," but just saying, if you're persistent and a little headstrong, you get places lol im just rambling at this point

[havemybloodchild]

23 minutes ago, rxing963 said:

i think we're all being a bit too harsh on ourselves and a little bleak...

Lol this is basically my entire personality but + memes because I’m a millennial and that’s how we roll ?

Edited January 22, 2019 by kendalldinniene

[Bopie5]

@dilby LMAOOOOO please make a thread where you just post fire literary memes every day!

1 hour ago, rxing963 said:

it might help to live in the moment for the time being? idk, like maybe go bungee jumping lol if you're an adrenaline junkie?  i think it's easy to let anxiety get the best of you, especially if you uh have an anxiety disorder (*sweats nervously*)

This is real! Doing my best--spending a lot of time at the beach, in yoga classes, in rehearsals for the play I'm directing, and going out for drinks with friends. The thing I'm having a hard time doing is quieting the nervous background noise of it all that makes me check my email a few times an hour...I think the main stress trigger for me right now is the not-knowing. I can make peace with positive or negative outcomes, but the helplessness of this period is getting to me and is like a program running in the back of my brain all the time, overheating my systems and draining my battery!

[John Stamos]

Did you guys call each of the schools you applied to and ask them if all materials were correct for internal review? 

The application portals online kinda do a bad job of this. I see that all my stuff looks to be submitted but there's never really a box stating that everything was indeed submitted and processed. It only says paid, transcripts check etc. 

Is it normal process to call each program and verify or just check it online?

[Matthew3957]

I agree with @rxing963 I woke up to this thread being very down on itself and it's the not the time for that yet imo.

For starters, we've had like 5 schools give our acceptances/interviews. More importantly though you have to remember that getting shut out is not the worst thing that will happen to you and if you're coming right out of your BA it might be good. When you've been in an institution your whole life it's sometimes hard to see/live/think outside of it, a couple years can be good for you. As someone who took 6 years in between BA and MA, and applied to History PhDs in year 2 of that break and got shut out, my suggestion is stay positive because your apps are what you had in you this go around and now they're out of your hands.  We will find out in the next month probably. If it's good news then all the worrying energy was pointless and coulda been used elsewhere, if it's bad that's not the worst thing either. 

Also side note on the whole UCSC lit vs HisCon talk: I second that. I applied to lit for this reason and did my undergrad in the department. It's a good place. Berkeley's rhetoric is usually thrown into the same category of programs as MTL and HisCon so that might be worth looking at too. 

Sorry for typos morning eyes. 

[jr246]

if my OSU still says pending but some people have gotten accepted…I assume that's…bad news????

[placeinspace]

Just jumping in to say I 100% agree with @Matthew3957 about the merits of taking some time off. It really puts things in perspective and opens your eyes to things outside the academy. For me, it did affirm I wanted to give academia one last shot, but also lets me pursue hobbies like reading for pleasure, travel, etc. that would be limited if I had gone straight into a program and never had an outside job. If you do end up shut out, just know there are so many options for non-ac jobs with an English degree, and a few years off might really benefit you!

Edited January 22, 2019 by placeinspace

[sad_diamond]

Any other Duke Literature applicants going bonkers waiting for news about interviews??? I crave the approval of all those marxist zaddies...

[fortschritt22]

1 hour ago, sad_diamond said:

Any other Duke Literature applicants going bonkers waiting for news about interviews??? I crave the approval of all those marxist zaddies...

Was just thinking the same thing. They went out on the 19th last year. eeeeeek.

[havemybloodchild]

6 hours ago, jr246 said:

if my OSU still says pending but some people have gotten accepted…I assume that's…bad news????

That’s how I’m feeling, yeah ?

[dilby]

1 hour ago, sad_diamond said:

I crave the approval of all those marxist zaddies...

lmao holy shit. yes, I've been checking my email and the results page like crazy.

[effietheant]

1 hour ago, sad_diamond said:

Any other Duke Literature applicants going bonkers waiting for news about interviews??? I crave the approval of all those marxist zaddies...

Marxist Zaddies, I cannot. That might be my new favorite expression ?

[jr246]

48 minutes ago, kendalldinniene said:

That’s how I’m feeling, yeah ?

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[placeinspace]

For those of you applying again next cycle, maybe prioritize your programs based on how early they notify so you find out in early January. ? This waiting is the worst part!

[pdh12]

Rutgers Comp Lit folk: DGS says they "hope to make decisions within the week" !!!

[victoriansimpkins]

14 hours ago, John Stamos said:

Did you guys call each of the schools you applied to and ask them if all materials were correct for internal review? 

The application portals online kinda do a bad job of this. I see that all my stuff looks to be submitted but there's never really a box stating that everything was indeed submitted and processed. It only says paid, transcripts check etc. 

Is it normal process to call each program and verify or just check it online?

I have spoken with SIU Carbondale more times than I can count (they were very very nice about everything and as frustrated as I was). First, my references never received the "upload your letter" emails, THEN their portal said they required subject test (they don't btw just general), THEN their portal never said they received ANY of my documents or transcripts or tests etc etc (they did), but their graduate secretary and DGS were very nice and have assured me via phone and email that they have everything they need from me....even though the portal still says I have only 1 letter uploaded and no documents. 

Here's to hoping they remember my name and say "damn she was really persistent about her documents; let's give her a shot!" 

[conraddy]

Duke decision is killing me... knowing that their window is the 19-23 (rather than, like, sometime in late January) has me looking at the application portal every 10 minutes. Jeepers!!! 

[SomeoneAcceptMe]

Anyone else see that their checklist thingy has disappeared from the UChicago application portal? 

[havemybloodchild]

1 minute ago, SomeoneAcceptMe said:

Anyone else see that their checklist thingy has disappeared from the UChicago application portal? 

Yes, same here.

[Bopie5]

1 minute ago, SomeoneAcceptMe said:

Anyone else see that their checklist thingy has disappeared from the UChicago application portal? 

Didn't notice, but checked, and mine is the same way--only has my fee payment now.

[SomeoneAcceptMe]

3 minutes ago, Bopie5 said:

Didn't notice, but checked, and mine is the same way--only has my fee payment now.

Same here, a cruel reminder about how much money application cycles cost lol 

[arbie]

23 minutes ago, conraddy said:

Duke decision is killing me... knowing that their window is the 19-23 (rather than, like, sometime in late January) has me looking at the application portal every 10 minutes. Jeepers!!! 

SAME—but reading here and looking on the results board, I’m hearing people talk about Duke literature and Duke English? Is there a difference? Based on the board, it looked like Lit had interviews and English went straight to decision, but that might just be the way they’re posted. V curious to know. On my Duke portal it says English PhD. 

[j.alicea]

9 minutes ago, arbie said:

SAME—but reading here and looking on the results board, I’m hearing people talk about Duke literature and Duke English? Is there a difference? Based on the board, it looked like Lit had interviews and English went straight to decision, but that might just be the way they’re posted. V curious to know. On my Duke portal it says English PhD. 

 

There is Duke GPL (Grad. Program in Literature) which seems comparable to a comp. lit. or literature/cultural and media studies program. I believe that they weren't going to accept new students this year (please correct me if I am wrong), whereas Duke PhD English is accepting new students.

[dilby]

14 minutes ago, j.alicea said:

There is Duke GPL (Grad. Program in Literature) which seems comparable to a comp. lit. or literature/cultural and media studies program. I believe that they weren't going to accept new students this year (please correct me if I am wrong), whereas Duke PhD English is accepting new students.

 

They accepted my application and $$, so I hope they are taking new students !!

 

21 minutes ago, arbie said:

I’m hearing people talk about Duke literature and Duke English? Is there a difference?

Yep! Literature used to be Comparative Literature but they changed the name because Comp Lit departments are historically eurocentric, and because they wanted to move in more of a media/textual studies direction. They are an epicenter for media theory these days.

[Bopie5]

Everyone! If you need something calming and restful and rejuvenating for your soul, I highly recommend listening to the If Beale Street Could Talk score. It's transcendently beautiful and great music to listen to while working, cooking, writing, or whatever you all are doing to pass the time and reduce anxiety in the waiting.