2020 Applicants

[foreigncorrespondent]

Just now, Emailchecker said:

Which two, if I may ask? Also oceans away here. 

Columbia and Penn! 

[Emailchecker]

Good luck! 

[pinkhermy]

17 minutes ago, spikeseagulls said:

I am also suffering from probably my worst breakout since getting off of Accutane. >.< This stress is no joke 

 

12 minutes ago, Wimsey said:

I am grumpily sipping some tea while dreading the prospect of yet another weekend of admissions silence.

 

7 minutes ago, alittlebitofthat said:

WHAT IS HAPPENING! WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Yes to zits, yes to tea and waiting around and gosh I've resigned myself to getting no news again today, which is just about how every Friday has gone in February. 

[karamazov]

15 hours ago, Regimentations said:

I think there are a few questions to ask here:

1. Are the opportunities to teach upper division courses guaranteed and are they in an area you're interested in? 
2. Do you think you can balance coursework with teaching while also adjusting to a new location? The coursework period is a time where you can get substantial feedback on papers. That feedback and relationship building might not be possible if you're balancing too many things.
3. Are you required to teach during your dissertation year?
4. Have you taught before?
5. What's the time-to-completion for both programs? It's possible that this might differ from their years of guaranteed funding.
6. Are there additional opportunities outside of the department? Are there graduate certificates that interest you at either school? Sometimes, these may build up additional teaching opportunities and greater chances for networking.

1. The offer letter says that "you can count on opportunities to teach advanced composition courses or courses in our undergraduate English program related to your area of study." 

2. Maybe? Possibly? This is something that makes me nervous. I worked around 20 hours/week for the majority of undergrad while taking classes and still managed to build solid relationships with professors, so I might be able to make it work, but I also know that grad courses are obviously more demanding than undergrad courses.

3. I'd be eligible for a one semester release from teaching while working on my dissertation. There are also other opportunities for release time through centers associated with the department, but those are awarded "on a competitive basis."

 4. I don't have any teaching experience, no. 

5. The expected time-to-completion for the program where I'd be teaching from the beginning is six years, and they provide funding for all six years, plus a post-doc in exchange for a timely defense. The other program's funding package is provided for five years, but the expected time-to-completion is six years, so they have you apply for dissertation completion fellowships to cover the final year. 

6. There definitely appear to be more networking opportunities at the school that guarantees the full six years of funding but requires more teaching. 

I'll also add that the school that requires more teaching is ranked 27 and the school with the fellowship year is ranked 57. I know that rankings aren't everything, but this seems like a fairly significant difference. I'm trying to weigh whether the fellowship year would really be worth choosing a school in the 50s over a school in the 20s. The school in the 20s also has more faculty members in my area of interest... But then again, teaching my very first year in the program could detract from my ability to really excel in coursework. 

[gooniesneversaydie]

So for those of us who have one acceptance (I think @spikeseagulls @jm6394 @tinymica that I see today) - what is everyone thinking at this point in time? Take the acceptance and run should no more come? Or try again next cycle? I know it's premature to assume, but at least for me, I really don't think I'll be getting in elsewhere. My one small hope still exists with BU, but Penn and Rutgers? Fuggedaboutit.

[jm6394]

1 minute ago, gooniesneversaydie said:

So for those of us who have one acceptance (I think @spikeseagulls @jm6394 @tinymica that I see today) - what is everyone thinking at this point in time? Take the acceptance and run should no more come? Or try again next cycle? I know it's premature to assume, but at least for me, I really don't think I'll be getting in elsewhere. My one small hope still exists with BU, but Penn and Rutgers? Fuggedaboutit.

I think I’m in a unique situation because my one acceptance is from a school I’ve already gone to (just finished my MA at CUNY in September) and in the city I’ve lived in for the past few years/am from near. I went into this process sort of assuming I’d either get shut out or get into only CUNY, because I felt my application was so much more compelling there than anywhere else. Really not sure what I’d think if I had one acceptance from a school I otherwise had no connection to, though if I felt it was competitively ranked I’d probably take it. 

[merry night wanderer]

I'm pretty much realistically just waiting on UC Santa Barbara (maybe BU?). This whole experience has felt like a choose your own adventure novel, complete with plenty of death in the form of rejections lol

Edited February 21, 2020 by merry night wanderer

[SomethingWicked]

Just heard back from the UPenn graduate admin. She said that final meetings are being held now and that decisions should be out in the "next week or so." Pretty vague, but it doesn't look like we should expect to hear from Penn today! 

[foreigncorrespondent]

1 minute ago, SomethingWicked said:

Just heard back from the UPenn graduate admin. She said that final meetings are being held now and that decisions should be out in the "next week or so." Pretty vague, but it doesn't look like we should expect to hear from Penn today! 

"next week or so", welp, that's my cue for going to bed. Thanks for finding out, bless you!

[tinymica]

25 minutes ago, gooniesneversaydie said:

So for those of us who have one acceptance (I think @spikeseagulls @jm6394 @tinymica that I see today) - what is everyone thinking at this point in time? Take the acceptance and run should no more come? Or try again next cycle? I know it's premature to assume, but at least for me, I really don't think I'll be getting in elsewhere. My one small hope still exists with BU, but Penn and Rutgers? Fuggedaboutit.

I'm in a similar situation. I seriously doubt that I"ll get into my remaining schools, so it looks like UW is going to be my only option. But...I'm not upset about it. I actually like UW's program and I like the idea of moving to Seattle, whereas the prospect of moving to somewhere way north like Boston strikes a little fear into my heart. The only things I'm worried about is that UW 1) has only offered me one summer of guaranteed funding, 2) UW operates on quarter system, and 3) I'll begin teaching right away and throughout the program. I have a few years of teaching experience under my belt and I love doing it, but I wish I could have even one year of a non-teaching fellowship. Teaching/grading takes up a great deal of time and I think it's going to make my transition into the program difficult. Again, though, I'm happy with UW and I don't think I can mentally handle another application cycle. I'm cool with being in the "one and done" club!

[gooniesneversaydie]

10 minutes ago, tinymica said:

I'm in a similar situation. I seriously doubt that I"ll get into my remaining schools, so it looks like UW is going to be my only option. But...I'm not upset about it. I actually like UW's program and I like the idea of moving to Seattle, whereas the prospect of moving to somewhere way north like Boston strikes a little fear into my heart. The only things I'm worried about is that UW 1) has only offered me one summer of guaranteed funding, 2) UW operates on quarter system, and 3) I'll begin teaching right away and throughout the program. I have a few years of teaching experience under my belt and I love doing it, but I wish I could have even one year of a non-teaching fellowship. Teaching/grading takes up a great deal of time and I think it's going to make my transition into the program difficult. Again, though, I'm happy with UW and I don't think I can mentally handle another application cycle. I'm cool with being in the "one and done" club!

I can definitely sympathize with the mental strain of doing this again next year. My first cycle (last year) was a mess, so I'm terrified of making the wrong choices again this time. And my only choice is ranked at 57, so that makes me nervous, even though I know it's not the end all. 

[karamazov]

So are we assuming that the one acceptance and one waitlist will be it for UNC Chapel Hill? Only two posts on the board seems like so few but it's already almost 4pm EST the next day and no one else has heard a peep... 

[tinymica]

1 minute ago, gooniesneversaydie said:

I can definitely sympathize with the mental strain of doing this again next year. My first cycle (last year) was a mess, so I'm terrified of making the wrong choices again this time. And my only choice is ranked at 57, so that makes me nervous, even though I know it's not the end all. 

It just took a lot out of me to do it this time and I'm not sure I can do any better if I try again. UW is ranked at 35...is that bad? Do I need to be worried about that? I've talked to a few people in the field and I've decided I don't have to get a TT position at a big-name university to feel happy or successful, but it's hard to know for sure from my vantage point.

[gooniesneversaydie]

3 minutes ago, tinymica said:

It just took a lot out of me to do it this time and I'm not sure I can do any better if I try again. UW is ranked at 35...is that bad? Do I need to be worried about that? I've talked to a few people in the field and I've decided I don't have to get a TT position at a big-name university to feel happy or successful, but it's hard to know for sure from my vantage point.

No, I definitely wouldn't worry! The profs I've spoken to have said that finding a TT position is so competitive no matter what. Also, that it depends on the type of university. One prof said that high-ranked, research intensive universities will give preference to those who come from a top 10/top 20, whereas teaching universities may not. However, I have also been told that it's the relationships built between you and your diss. director/committee. And that their letters of rec, the networking they help you do, and their work/reputation in the field, is what is extremely important.  

[MundaneSoul]

Hi everyone!

I just discovered this site about a week ago and am wishing I knew about it much earlier. I'm the first person in my family to apply to PhD programs, and I've felt lost a lot of the time. Anyhow, I'm glad to be here now, and I've sympathized with so many of you reading through the posts here.

I applied to 14 schools this cycle. I've got a BA and MA from a good-sized Midwestern state university, and didn't expect too much from applications, even though I took shots at a few major programs. So far I've got 5 left pending (including Penn and Columbia, which I don't expect to happen), 7 rejections, and two acceptances: University of Oregon and Stony Brook, both of which I think will be good fits for me because they have professors working in my areas, even though they're I know they're not top schools or anything.

I really wish I'd had a better sense of how things worked when I applied, because I think I could probably have saved myself at least a good five application fees--I see now that I applied to programs that probably weren't the best fit for me--but oh well. I don't really think I'll wait around 'til next cycle, but I do have a few regrets. And there's also that fun thing where my favorite professor at my top choice decided to jump to a new department after I'd already submitted my app (and had been in communication with them).

Anyways, hi friends! I'll be happy to anxiously wait with you for the next few weeks.

[foreigncorrespondent]

Sorry for deflecting, but looks like Columbia is sending out emails. No update on my portal yet. 

[Wimsey]

I am rather sad I did not get any admissions news today, but my spirits were lifted when I received my itinerary for my WashU campus visit! I am especially hyped to observe a meeting of their grad seminar on Feminist Modernist Studies. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by Wimsey

[tinymica]

1 hour ago, gooniesneversaydie said:

No, I definitely wouldn't worry! The profs I've spoken to have said that finding a TT position is so competitive no matter what. Also, that it depends on the type of university. One prof said that high-ranked, research intensive universities will give preference to those who come from a top 10/top 20, whereas teaching universities may not. However, I have also been told that it's the relationships built between you and your diss. director/committee. And that their letters of rec, the networking they help you do, and their work/reputation in the field, is what is extremely important.  

Thank you for the reassurance! I really appreciate your thoughts

[tinymica]

I still haven’t heard from Brown ? Any idea why?

[jeangabrielle98]

1 minute ago, tinymica said:

I still haven’t heard from Brown ? Any idea why?

also here wondering the same thing, dont even know what to think, I just keep refreshing my email ?

[MundaneSoul]

Not sure, @tinymica, but I got rejected by CU Boulder a couple days ago and never got an email. Just saw it on the application.

Also, maybe the Columbia emails are just for the folks who interviewed? I've got nothing on email or my app. So anxious.

[lotsoffeelings]

2 hours ago, tinymica said:

I'm in a similar situation. I seriously doubt that I"ll get into my remaining schools, so it looks like UW is going to be my only option. But...I'm not upset about it. I actually like UW's program and I like the idea of moving to Seattle, whereas the prospect of moving to somewhere way north like Boston strikes a little fear into my heart. The only things I'm worried about is that UW 1) has only offered me one summer of guaranteed funding, 2) UW operates on quarter system, and 3) I'll begin teaching right away and throughout the program. I have a few years of teaching experience under my belt and I love doing it, but I wish I could have even one year of a non-teaching fellowship. Teaching/grading takes up a great deal of time and I think it's going to make my transition into the program difficult. Again, though, I'm happy with UW and I don't think I can mentally handle another application cycle. I'm cool with being in the "one and done" club!

I'm on the waitlist at UW and will be faced with a similar decision should I get off. Two of my professors at my current institution (Duke) went there and speak very highly of the program, so it seems like they have a good reputation from what I know. Also Seattle is cool I hear! Never been but def want to go! 

[tinymica]

38 minutes ago, MundaneSoul said:

Not sure, @tinymica, but I got rejected by CU Boulder a couple days ago and never got an email. Just saw it on the application.

Hmm thank you for telling me. @ those who applied to Brown, am I looking at the wrong portal or something? I’ve been checking the same site I used to submit my app (ApplyWeb I think) and it just says my app was submitted, nothing else. I wonder what’s going on...

[Wimsey]

1 minute ago, tinymica said:

Hmm thank you for telling me. @ those who applied to Brown, am I looking at the wrong portal or something? I’ve been checking the same site I used to submit my app (ApplyWeb I think) and it just says my app was submitted, nothing else. I wonder what’s going on...

My rejection showed up on ApplyWeb, so you're looking in the right place! I got an email telling me to log in for my decision letter.

[tinymica]

4 minutes ago, Wimsey said:

My rejection showed up on ApplyWeb, so you're looking in the right place! I got an email telling me to log in for my decision letter.

Thank you! It’s still just reading “submitted,” no letter waiting for me there. I feel like Brown is an ex boyfriend leading me on and I just want closure.