2020 Applicants

[CaliAcademic]

Naive question: Do most English/humanities PhD programs conduct interviews after the application deadline(s)? I've been under the impression that the writing sample is in lieu of an in-person interview. Can someone help clarify? Thanks!

[politics 'n prose]

I'm pretty sure this varies from program to program, but I believe in general most programs do not interview. I know that Chicago and Duke have historically conducted interviews, but those are the only two that immediately come to mind.

[karamazov]

@CaliAcademic I'm pretty sure Emory also conducts interviews, but as @politics 'n prose said, most English programs don't interview potential grad students. 

[onerepublic96]

Starting to freak out a bit seeing as it's 5 pm and my final recommender is still MIA. ? Reading the recommender horror stories on this forum last night definitely didn't help...

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

6 minutes ago, onerepublic96 said:

Starting to freak out a bit seeing as it's 5 pm and my final recommender is still MIA. ? Reading the recommender horror stories on this forum last night definitely didn't help...

Same! But almost every place I've looked at mentions that there's a small grace period for letters - surely adcomms of all people understand how busy professors are, especially this time of year, so I keep reminding myself that no one's going to look at anything until after Christmas and that if a letter or two is a few days late it shouldn't be a problem.

[onerepublic96]

25 minutes ago, The Hoosier Oxonian said:

Same! But almost every place I've looked at mentions that there's a small grace period for letters - surely adcomms of all people understand how busy professors are, especially this time of year, so I keep reminding myself that no one's going to look at anything until after Christmas and that if a letter or two is a few days late it shouldn't be a problem.

Ahhh, sorry to hear you’re in the same position. Fingers crossed for both of us! 

[Cryss]

1 hour ago, onerepublic96 said:

Starting to freak out a bit seeing as it's 5 pm and my final recommender is still MIA. ? Reading the recommender horror stories on this forum last night definitely didn't help...

Sending positive energy to you! I really feel like it would be unfair and maybe even a bit snotty for schools to throw out an entire app for 1 late letter. 

My situation worked out, thankfully! I did ask another professor who agreed to write my letters. Then lo and behold, this evening, my old letter writer decided she would finish her two. Thankfully, my other professor was a good sport about the entire thing and he even told me to keep him updated with the whole process. Thanks to everyone who offered advice. Having a kind professor who was willing to help out in a bind definitely calmed my nerves. 

Hoping your situation works out as well @onerepublic96. You too @The Hoosier Oxonian

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

4 minutes ago, Cryss said:

Sending positive energy to you! I really feel like it would be unfair and maybe even a bit snotty for schools to throw out an entire app for 1 late letter. 

My situation worked out, thankfully! I did ask another professor who agreed to write my letters. Then lo and behold, this evening, my old letter writer decided she would finish her two. Thankfully, my other professor was a good sport about the entire thing and he even told me to keep him updated with the whole process. Thanks to everyone who offered advice. Having a kind professor who was willing to help out in a bind definitely calmed my nerves. 

Hoping your situation works out as well @onerepublic96. You too @The Hoosier Oxonian

So glad your situation was resolved, @Cryss! I just got email notifications that my last recommender has turned in 3/6 of the letters she hadn't yet done, so I'm guessing she's aiming to have them all in by midnight - at least I know she's getting them done! So that's a bullet dodged.

[Warelin]

2 hours ago, CaliAcademic said:

Naive question: Do most English/humanities PhD programs conduct interviews after the application deadline(s)? I've been under the impression that the writing sample is in lieu of an in-person interview. Can someone help clarify? Thanks!

Chicago recently started interviewing a few cycles ago. In the past, they've extended interview offers to more people than they had "slots" for. At least one person has claimed they've been extended an offer without an interview.

Emory, Notre Dame, and Duke also do interviews. I think somebody mentioned that Northeastern started doing in-person interviews last year.

[onerepublic96]

50 minutes ago, Cryss said:

My situation worked out, thankfully! I did ask another professor who agreed to write my letters. Then lo and behold, this evening, my old letter writer decided she would finish her two. Thankfully, my other professor was a good sport about the entire thing and he even told me to keep him updated with the whole process.

 

41 minutes ago, The Hoosier Oxonian said:

I just got email notifications that my last recommender has turned in 3/6 of the letters she hadn't yet done, so I'm guessing she's aiming to have them all in by midnight - at least I know she's getting them done! So that's a bullet dodged.

Must be some universal good luck kicking in for us all, because I just got the first confirmation emails saying my final recommender has begun uploading letters! 

[cruel optimism]

2 hours ago, Warelin said:

Emory, Notre Dame, and Duke also do interviews.

To clarify, it’s only Duke Literature that does interviews (and there tends to be two rounds, the second being part of their campus visit). Duke English doesn’t have the habit of interviewing, I think? 

[Warelin]

42 minutes ago, tiredderridean said:

To clarify, it’s only Duke Literature that does interviews (and there tends to be two rounds, the second being part of their campus visit). Duke English doesn’t have the habit of interviewing, I think? 

Historically,  Duke Literature is the only of the two that does interviews. Last cycle, Duke English was reported to do interviews.

[karamazov]

On the required documents page of Penn State's MA application, they request a CV, a writing sample, and a "personal statement," which I would assume to be equivalent to the SoP. But... in the "personal statement" section, the application asks this question: "why do you want to pursue a higher degree in English studies at a time when the liberal arts are often less valued than science and technology?" This caught me majorly off guard. Is the "liberal arts vs. STEM" question just a trigger for "why grad school and why our program," in which case I can more or less use my SoP? Or do they seriously want us to write a defense of the liberal arts? I would think that everyone applying would be perfectly aware of the importance and the benefits of studying English, and just rehashing one of those many, many arguments seems like an unhelpful exercise for determining research fit and understanding the applicant's intellectual background. Is this just the committee trying to nudge applicants toward explaining the wider importance of their research in the face of STEM-mania? How much should I be directly addressing the latter portion of that question ("at a time when the liberal arts are often less valued than science and technology") vs. explaining my tentative research project and outlining my academic background? Is anyone else applying to Penn State's program? If so, how did you approach this? 

Edited December 16, 2019 by karamazov

[cruel optimism]

32 minutes ago, Warelin said:

Historically,  Duke Literature is the only of the two that does interviews. Last cycle, Duke English was reported to do interviews.

oh no, they didn't do it the last cycle! i remember emailing them to check. 

[Warelin]

33 minutes ago, tiredderridean said:

oh no, they didn't do it the last cycle! i remember emailing them to check. 

That's good to hear then. There were reports that they did from users on this board. It caused some panic last year.

[cruel optimism]

Just now, Warelin said:

That's good to hear then. There were reports that they did from users on this board. It caused some panic last year.

haha, i remember that (i'd been lurking then), but it was merely a confusion caused by users who posted about their interview requests, but didn't specify if they had applied to duke lit or english. that was why i felt the need to clarify earlier, just in case the same happens again this year. 

[onerepublic96]

Submitted Yale's app 10 minutes late. Whoops. ?

[grace2137]

16 minutes ago, onerepublic96 said:

Submitted Yale's app 10 minutes late. Whoops. ?

I submitted many of my undergrad apps a few hours late and still got into those programs (including the one I am attending!) I could see graduate admissions being more strict, but I would venture 10 minutes is probably not the end of the world. 

[onerepublic96]

4 minutes ago, grace2137 said:

I submitted many of my undergrad apps a few hours late and still got into those programs (including the one I am attending!) I could see graduate admissions being more strict, but I would venture 10 minutes is probably not the end of the world. 

I mean, I think so, too. I get deadlines are deadlines but to throw away an app just because it narrowly missed the midnight deadline (it’s not like I’m submitting it after they’ve already begun to review) seems a bit extreme. Ah, guess we’ll see how it turns out! I’m just happy that after weeks of obsessively re-reading and re-writing my SOPs, I got 6 more applications off my neck. 

[dilby]

33 minutes ago, onerepublic96 said:

Submitted Yale's app 10 minutes late. Whoops. ?

if I had to guess based on this year's DGS.....that 10 minutes is not going to damage your application. rest easy. congrats on getting your app in.

[Cryss]

9 hours ago, karamazov said:

On the required documents page of Penn State's MA application, they request a CV, a writing sample, and a "personal statement," which I would assume to be equivalent to the SoP. But... in the "personal statement" section, the application asks this question: "why do you want to pursue a higher degree in English studies at a time when the liberal arts are often less valued than science and technology?" This caught me majorly off guard. Is the "liberal arts vs. STEM" question just a trigger for "why grad school and why our program," in which case I can more or less use my SoP? Or do they seriously want us to write a defense of the liberal arts? I would think that everyone applying would be perfectly aware of the importance and the benefits of studying English, and just rehashing one of those many, many arguments seems like an unhelpful exercise for determining research fit and understanding the applicant's intellectual background. Is this just the committee trying to nudge applicants toward explaining the wider importance of their research in the face of STEM-mania? How much should I be directly addressing the latter portion of that question ("at a time when the liberal arts are often less valued than science and technology") vs. explaining my tentative research project and outlining my academic background? Is anyone else applying to Penn State's program? If so, how did you approach this? 

Oh that is a nightmare. I hate when there are new requirements in fine print on the application itself. Much less a specific personal statement prompt?! Ew. 

I would probably do something in the middle of the road if it were me. Use your SoP definitely, but throw in a few lines or a paragraph about choosing this over STEM. 

[VincentH]

Hey y'all! Posting here wondering if anyone who applied to Stanford is suddenly having their app status show up as "incomplete" - even though all of their materials are submitted? That's the boat that I'm in currently, and I'm trying my best not to panic about it. All of my materials (including my recommendations) have been submitted, paid the app fee, etc. The only thing I don't see populating on my status screen is a confirmation of my GRE scores (which I sent to everyone in early November, and which have been received by ALL of my schools except Stanford). There's no information about GRE scores at all ... it's simply not mentioned one way or another on the status screen.

I'm thinking this is just a system error, as the message that appears when I check ApplyWeb tells students that "Stanford will do its best to have all application information updated by December 20, 2019." I've also heard from a few different sources that Stanford is notorious for contacting/notifying late, and being a touch disorganized at times.

All of my other applications are good to go. So I shouldn't worry......... right? ? Anyone else experiencing the same thing with Stanford?

[Indecisive Poet]

10 hours ago, dilby said:

if I had to guess based on this year's DGS.....that 10 minutes is not going to damage your application. rest easy. congrats on getting your app in.

Speaking of, I emailed him a few days ago to ask whether my application would be disadvantaged because one of my letter-writers is submitting his letter late. I never received a response form him, but Yale's general grad admissions said that there is no deadline for letter-writers but that the adcom will start reviewing applications a few days after the deadline, so I'll want my letter in by then. I expect he'll get his letter in by the 17th or 18th. Should I be concerned?

Edit: I actually just got a very reassuring email from the woman who said she's replacing Caleb Smith as DGS in January. I'm not too concerned ?

Edited December 16, 2019 by Indecisive Poet

[Wimsey]

I got through my seven apps for 12/15! It was not fun, to say the least. Unfortunately, some of my recommendations for those apps have still not been submitted. One of my LOR writers had technical difficulties and the other is MIA. I really hope they get those letters in soon.

[Wimsey]

1 hour ago, VincentH said:

Hey y'all! Posting here wondering if anyone who applied to Stanford is suddenly having their app status show up as "incomplete" - even though all of their materials are submitted? That's the boat that I'm in currently, and I'm trying my best not to panic about it. All of my materials (including my recommendations) have been submitted, paid the app fee, etc. The only thing I don't see populating on my status screen is a confirmation of my GRE scores (which I sent to everyone in early November, and which have been received by ALL of my schools except Stanford). There's no information about GRE scores at all ... it's simply not mentioned one way or another on the status screen.

I'm thinking this is just a system error, as the message that appears when I check ApplyWeb tells students that "Stanford will do its best to have all application information updated by December 20, 2019." I've also heard from a few different sources that Stanford is notorious for contacting/notifying late, and being a touch disorganized at times.

All of my other applications are good to go. So I shouldn't worry......... right? ? Anyone else experiencing the same thing with Stanford?

I had the same question! I emailed the English department, and they said they manually change the status of each app from incomplete to complete. They haven't made that change yet, so that's why our apps are still listed as incomplete.