2020 Applicants

[VincentH]

17 minutes ago, Wimsey said:

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.

Thank you so much for responding! This really sets my mind at ease.  Congrats on getting all your apps in! Sending good vibes re: your letter submissions. ❤️ 

[karamazov]

4 hours ago, Cryss said:

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. 

I know, right?! I was not happy when I saw that on the application. 

Okay, yes. The middle of the road sounds good. Thanks for the advice! 

[Wimsey]

1 hour ago, VincentH said:

Thank you so much for responding! This really sets my mind at ease.  Congrats on getting all your apps in! Sending good vibes re: your letter submissions. ❤️ 

No problem! Fortunately, my MIA letter writer finally pulled through.

[politics 'n prose]

14 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? 

Yikes! If it makes you feel any better, I submitted my application to Penn State back in November and hadn’t even noticed the specific criteria for the personal statement.

In any event, I think @Cryss‘s advice is totally solid—this shouldn’t require too much tweaking of your standard, existing SOP. (Also, this seems like an oddly...I almost want to say “adversarial,” but that might be a little much...bleak way to elicit a response that ultimately amounts to “I see intrinsic value in the humanities and hope to reassert their importance in academia and the larger world through my scholarship.” Different strokes, I suppose!)

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

On 12/14/2019 at 11:57 PM, grace2137 said:

so....... how much should I be panicking about the fact that I just realized the version of my writing sample I submitted to three schools had a typo? ??

It's nothing insane that significantly alters the content of the paper, but the first couple words of a sentence were missing which makes the sentence grammatically incorrect ........ sigh. I guess at least I caught it before I sent it to anyone else.

So I just discovered that I submitted my WS to all my programs with a citation in my bibliography that reads "Sedgwick, Eve Kofosky" (I spelled it correctly in the body of the paper, thank goodness, but still!)

[Wimsey]

Berkeley's portal has a red banner counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until the deadline. Not sure if this evokes excitement, dread, or a mixture of the two.

[VincentH]

6 minutes ago, Wimsey said:

Berkeley's portal has a red banner counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until the deadline. Not sure if this evokes excitement, dread, or a mixture of the two.

Oh, wow, that's... terrifying? ? Super glad I don't have to see that on any of my app portals - that would seriously set me on edge!

[SomethingWicked]

Are anyone else's 'official' GRE scores still showing as missing from UW Madison's application portal? I sent the officials over at the end of October, so I'm not sure why they'd still be missing. The email notes that the scores may take some time to show up, but still... post submission nerves are feeding my anxiety. 

[Dogfish Head]

32 minutes ago, SomethingWicked said:

Are anyone else's 'official' GRE scores still showing as missing from UW Madison's application portal? I sent the officials over at the end of October, so I'm not sure why they'd still be missing. The email notes that the scores may take some time to show up, but still... post submission nerves are feeding my anxiety. 

Yes, mine are still marked as missing as well on the portal if that is of any comfort. I also submitted mine well over a month ago. If we are both experiencing this hopefully that is a sign that the adcomm pairs GRE scores with the applications when they are about to begin the application review? It makes sense from an administrative perspective to sort the one item not submitted through the primary application portal once the application reviews begin, but, unfortunately, from an anxious applicant perspective this is a bit unfortunate.

[WallaceShawn]

Yep, mine are also still showing as missing. I sent them back in October.

[vondafkossum]

15 hours ago, SomethingWicked said:

Are anyone else's 'official' GRE scores still showing as missing from UW Madison's application portal? I sent the officials over at the end of October, so I'm not sure why they'd still be missing. The email notes that the scores may take some time to show up, but still... post submission nerves are feeding my anxiety. 

I was going to comment that mine are still outstanding as well. I just double checked, and now they've posted. Maybe they're updating them by hand? No idea.

[Dogfish Head]

2 hours ago, vondafkossum said:

I was going to comment that mine are still outstanding as well. I just double checked, and now they've posted. Maybe they're updating them by hand? No idea.

Huh, mine are still not showing up. You are probably right, it must be a by individual thing, and I assume Wisconsin probably got a ton of applicants so it will probably take a while for them to match all the GRE scores to each applicant. 

[AtlasFox]

Just came here to say that I am finally done with my PhD applications. I ended up applying to 12, and as much as I'm relieved to be done with those, I'm more anxious about waiting now. I'm forcing myself to not obsessively check my application materials. 

I still have to apply to four more MFA programs on my list, though. 

Anyone else feeling like winter break isn't going to be long enough? But at the same time, feeling like it's dragging on while checking on application portals?

[SomethingWicked]

38 minutes ago, Dogfish Head said:

Huh, mine are still not showing up. You are probably right, it must be a by individual thing, and I assume Wisconsin probably got a ton of applicants so it will probably take a while for them to match all the GRE scores to each applicant. 

Yeah, I just checked again too and mine are still MIA. I guess they are just going to taunt us until they get around to them.

25 minutes ago, AtlasFox said:

Anyone else feeling like winter break isn't going to be long enough? But at the same time, feeling like it's dragging on while checking on application portals?

YES. My anxiety is already through the roof in spite of the fact that we likely won't start hearing back from anywhere until almost February, for the proactive schools. 

[Wimsey]

On the subject of GRE scores, I noticed that my Yale checklist says I am missing my subject test score. The website only mentioned the general test, so I did not send my subject test report, but now the checklist says I need the score. Is this happening to anyone else?

[Indecisive Poet]

9 minutes ago, Wimsey said:

On the subject of GRE scores, I noticed that my Yale checklist says I am missing my subject test score. The website only mentioned the general test, so I did not send my subject test report, but now the checklist says I need the score. Is this happening to anyone else?

Hm...mine isn't doing this – but weirdly, it does list "GRE Score Report" in my checklist twice and it lists them both as received even though I only sent them my general test. Rest assured, though, ST is not required, so you should be fine.

[Indecisive Poet]

I haven't applied to UW Madison but several of my programs showed (or even still show) my GRE scores as missing even though I sent them in November. I think the systems just take a while to update and I wouldn't worry about it.

[Wimsey]

11 minutes ago, Indecisive Poet said:

Hm...mine isn't doing this – but weirdly, it does list "GRE Score Report" in my checklist twice and it lists them both as received even though I only sent them my general test. Rest assured, though, ST is not required, so you should be fine.

Yeah, I figured it wouldn't be a problem. I just don't like to see that red X on my checklist haha.

[Narrative Nancy]

Are official transcripts required for Rutgers? My portal says they have received my unofficial ones (that I uploaded) but not my official ones. To me that implies they want them to be sent in, but since they don't have check marks or X's it feels a bit ambiguous. Also feeling dumb thatI haven't figured it out... 

[Cryss]

11 minutes ago, Narrative Nancy said:

Are official transcripts required for Rutgers? My portal says they have received my unofficial ones (that I uploaded) but not my official ones. To me that implies they want them to be sent in, but since they don't have check marks or X's it feels a bit ambiguous. Also feeling dumb thatI haven't figured it out... 

I think in most schools this is only required if you accept an offer from them. Unless they list that the official ones were required on their website, I wouldn't worry about it. 

[Cryss]

1 hour ago, AtlasFox said:

Just came here to say that I am finally done with my PhD applications. I ended up applying to 12, and as much as I'm relieved to be done with those, I'm more anxious about waiting now. I'm forcing myself to not obsessively check my application materials. 

I still have to apply to four more MFA programs on my list, though. 

Anyone else feeling like winter break isn't going to be long enough? But at the same time, feeling like it's dragging on while checking on application portals?

Absolutely. Trying to find things to fill my time while convincing myself to exercise some self-control and patience. Failing so far. 

Anyone else finds it oddly satisfying seeing only green ticks on their application checklist for some schools?

 

[politics 'n prose]

53 minutes ago, Cryss said:

Anyone else finds it oddly satisfying seeing only green ticks on their application checklist for some schools?

Heh, totally—and I’m savoring that feeling, knowing it may be the final validation I receive from all of these schools. ?

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

1 hour ago, Narrative Nancy said:

Are official transcripts required for Rutgers? My portal says they have received my unofficial ones (that I uploaded) but not my official ones. To me that implies they want them to be sent in, but since they don't have check marks or X's it feels a bit ambiguous. Also feeling dumb thatI haven't figured it out... 

I was also unclear about this, so I called the Graduate Admissions office to ask and was informed that only the unofficial transcripts are needed unless the applicant is admitted.

[Narrative Nancy]

1 hour ago, The Hoosier Oxonian said:

I was also unclear about this, so I called the Graduate Admissions office to ask and was informed that only the unofficial transcripts are needed unless the applicant is admitted.

Okay whew, thanks so much!

[Indecisive Poet]

Just dropping in to say all of my applications are now 100% complete! I intended to apply to 9 or 10 but ended up applying to 14 because I had the time to write a few more personal statements. I'll be staying off of TGC for the next couple of months – I want to practice thinking about things other than "will I/won't I get in" – but I'll check in come February. My fingers are crossed for all of you!!!

Edited December 18, 2019 by Indecisive Poet