2020 Applicants

[Rrandle101]

I was talking to one of my Classics professors about how my cycle was going during very early February and at the time I was kind of bummed out because I only had one offer but he told me that I should be thrilled because more and more frequently people are just getting shut out in all the humanities fields. He had actually gone to Amherst for his undergrad and was shut out the first round he applied and had to work a few years before reapplying and then got into Harvard along with a bunch of other top choices! I also have other profs who talked about being shut out their first cycle of applying but then eventually getting in so if you find yourself in that situation this year I don't think it's because your work is invalid or that you aren't smart enough. I won't say I know how any of you feel rn (because I don't and that would be insulting) BUT I do know people who have gone through the same situation and come out of it with a PhD and TT job (there are also people on this forum who did insanely well this year after getting shut out their first time and/or working in industry before applying). I hope that what y'all are seeing as reaches/implied rejections for the schools you have left turn out not to be and that you secure your spot somewhere but if not, just know that this does not have to be the end of the road for academia for you unless you want it to be. 

 

If any of y'all want to vent or anything like that you can DM me and I will send you my number if you want to talk and get it all out to a complete stranger. I'm hoping for better news for a lot of y'all going into next week!

[gooniesneversaydie]

5 minutes ago, Rrandle101 said:

I was talking to one of my Classics professors about how my cycle was going during very early February and at the time I was kind of bummed out because I only had one offer but he told me that I should be thrilled because more and more frequently people are just getting shut out in all the humanities fields. He had actually gone to Amherst for his undergrad and was shut out the first round he applied and had to work a few years before reapplying and then got into Harvard along with a bunch of other top choices! I also have other profs who talked about being shut out their first cycle of applying but then eventually getting in so if you find yourself in that situation this year I don't think it's because your work is invalid or that you aren't smart enough. I won't say I know how any of you feel rn (because I don't and that would be insulting) BUT I do know people who have gone through the same situation and come out of it with a PhD and TT job (there are also people on this forum who did insanely well this year after getting shut out their first time and/or working in industry before applying). I hope that what y'all are seeing as reaches/implied rejections for the schools you have left turn out not to be and that you secure your spot somewhere but if not, just know that this does not have to be the end of the road for academia for you unless you want it to be. 

 

If any of y'all want to vent or anything like that you can DM me and I will send you my number if you want to talk and get it all out to a complete stranger. I'm hoping for better news for a lot of y'all going into next week!

Too true. I've also had profs (some of the most brilliant people I've ever met) say that they had to try several times. One of my Shakespeare profs from the community college I attended said she applied during a "banger" year for a humanities PhD (late 80s/early 90s, I believe) and couldn't get in anywhere. She decided not to reapply, but was able to secure a tenured-ish position at the community college with her MA and seems to be quite happy. She was the first to warn me that the stereotypical professorship (tenure, office, on-campus courses, etc) is rapidly disappearing. So much has been replaced with adjuncts and online courses. However, I refuse to give up the dream regardless of what the reality may be, because for me, there really is nothing else.

[gooniesneversaydie]

2 hours ago, MundaneSoul said:

That's a great way to look at it, spikeseagulls. Congrats on UC Irvine!

I'm trying not to hold my breath for anymore acceptances at this point, either. I'm kind of kicking myself over (probably) not getting into my top choices, because I wish I had started preparing about a year earlier than I did, but I am really excited about working with Betsy Wheeler and Tara Fickle at Oregon or Jean Elyse Graham and Jeffrey Santa Ana at Stony Brook, and truthfully I think I'll probably have a great experience at either university. (It helps that I'll finally be escaping the deeply red state I currently live in.)

I met Betsy Wheeler last year at their welcome weekend for admits and she was an absolute hoot. Lovely and very warm. We went out to eat one night (on Oregon's dime) and I had a blast. 

[MundaneSoul]

15 hours ago, gooniesneversaydie said:

I met Betsy Wheeler last year at their welcome weekend for admits and she was an absolute hoot. Lovely and very warm. We went out to eat one night (on Oregon's dime) and I had a blast. 

Thank you for this! I'm excited to meet her in April, and the DGS told me she wants to be my adviser, so this makes me feel really good about Oregon.

[tinymica]

18 hours ago, jeangabrielle98 said:

I reached out to UVA saying that I was wondering where I was in the applicant pool as I have an earlier deadline for another school's offer but I really prefer UVA and they got back to me really quickly, i'm waitlisted but at least the mystery is gone, so yes, absolutely reach out if you feel comfortable doing so!

Thanks so much for letting me know! I appreciate it

 

16 hours ago, brownjournal said:

Does anyone know what's going on with Brown?

I wish I knew

[thoreaulymodern]

Right now I'm holding out for the MA at UA(rizona) or ASU, which were my 'more realistic' applications this cycle, but-- I'm using Animal Crossing hype to get me through this wait ?

[InChrysalis]

I've been devastated these days for the nine rejections I've received. Now all my hope is on the MA programs. 

Does anyone know anything about the MA programs at Columbia and NYU?? I clicked on my application form that I was interested in those programs if they could not offer me a PhD. But I wonder if they are of good quality? (for I know some very prestigious universities offer master programs of unsatisfactory quality) OR, does anyone know other good MA programs that I can still have a try if I'm rejected by all schools? 

(And: everybody, hang in there!!!)

[BwO]

10 hours ago, Small potato said:

I’ve been lurking on here a while and was not going to create an account but here I am lol. Solidarity to everyone else who got shut out; I have so far only been on one waitlist

Seconding all of these sentiments. Admittedly, I've only applied to "reach" programs that I know I'll be more than happy to attend in this cycle, and if my waitlist at Duke Lit comes through, I'll definitely take up my place in a heartbeat. But if it doesn't, then I guess it's back to the drawing board — and maybe also to an MA program at my undergrad institution — for me. It's a bummer, I guess, but I've also managed to learn a lot about my research interests and how well-received they are at particular programs throughout this process, so I guess my application fees weren't completely wasted. 
Now, if only waitlist movements will start happening... 

[lotsoffeelings]

Thinking about my post last night, and how frustrating this process of delayed rejections is because it really disrupts the necessary stages of acceptance/closure. For almost every school, you have to see people get acceptances and then wait an arbitrary amount of time to hear back. Besides invisible waitlists, is there any reason why schools don't send rejection notices at the same time as acceptances? For the past week, I've been stuck in the cycle of breaking down and then feeling like I need to suspend grief until things are officially over. Seems cruel esp. in the case of somewhere like Columbia where I didn't interview and so there shouldn't be any further review of my app going on. 

[Small potato]

41 minutes ago, lotsoffeelings said:

Thinking about my post last night, and how frustrating this process of delayed rejections is because it really disrupts the necessary stages of acceptance/closure. For almost every school, you have to see people get acceptances and then wait an arbitrary amount of time to hear back. Besides invisible waitlists, is there any reason why schools don't send rejection notices at the same time as acceptances? For the past week, I've been stuck in the cycle of breaking down and then feeling like I need to suspend grief until things are officially over. Seems cruel esp. in the case of somewhere like Columbia where I didn't interview and so there shouldn't be any further review of my app going on. 

Me too! I keep preparing myself to move on, but there’s a small part of me that’s still holding out hope for the schools that are probably rejections, plus Penn. 

 

5 hours ago, BwO said:

Seconding all of these sentiments. Admittedly, I've only applied to "reach" programs that I know I'll be more than happy to attend in this cycle, and if my waitlist at Duke Lit comes through, I'll definitely take up my place in a heartbeat. But if it doesn't, then I guess it's back to the drawing board — and maybe also to an MA program at my undergrad institution — for me. It's a bummer, I guess, but I've also managed to learn a lot about my research interests and how well-received they are at particular programs throughout this process, so I guess my application fees weren't completely wasted. 
Now, if only waitlist movements will start happening... 

I also only applied to reach programs and I’m feeling disappointed because my profs gave me so much positive feedback and confidence in my work. I think one of my downfalls was not being able to articulate my ideas to people who have no context about me, whereas my profs can connect the dots when my ideas aren’t yet fully formed since they’ve known me for so long.
 

I also feel like this project clarified my research; I was so tired of my thesis work and thought I was done with it during the application process, but now I realize that there’s so much more I can do with those ideas instead of trying to do something else entirely. (Also I love your handle, ATP is one of my favorite texts!)

[gooniesneversaydie]

One of my cats went on a massive puke parade this morning, and as I looked down at a large expelled hairball, I could not help but identify with the hairball. Same, hairball. Same.

Tomorrow is going to be an anxiety filled dumpster fire. 

[lotsoffeelings]

24 minutes ago, gooniesneversaydie said:

One of my cats went on a massive puke parade this morning, and as I looked down at a large expelled hairball, I could not help but identify with the hairball. Same, hairball. Same.

Tomorrow is going to be an anxiety filled dumpster fire. 

lololol I too identify with that hairball. v abject. my thesis advisor is waiting for me to send her pages and I have been playing sporcle quizzes all morning instead because it's the only thing that makes me feel better right now 

Edited February 23, 2020 by lotsoffeelings

[Jetpacked]

Can UK applicants jump on the bandwagon here? ??‍♀️ I’m a Renaissance PhD applicant. I’ve been lurking for a while but saying hi as I’m waiting for Cambridge to send their decision on scholarships and it’s likely going to be weeks still. The UK system gives you the decision in two parts, on acceptance to the programme in January or February and then funding details usually come months later in March or April, so they make you suffer a couple of rounds of waiting. I’m currently eating a lot of snacks and making my housemates wish they’d never met me, so it’d be nice to hang out here where my existential crisis might be slightly less irritating. 

[BwO]

1 hour ago, Small potato said:

I think one of my downfalls was not being able to articulate my ideas to people who have no context about me, whereas my profs can connect the dots

This was precisely what I'd experienced, because my research interests, as well as the project that I sketched out in my SOP, are rather interdisciplinary and theory-heavy (i.e. if language requirements weren't a barrier, I would've applied to comp lit programs instead). In that sense, to my professors and the POIs who've kindly reached out to me (they were, unfortunately, not on the adcomms; they also, and not by any coincidence at all, tend to hold joint appointments in comp lit departments), my ideas might've made perfect sense within particular theoretical contexts. But in my broader period/subfield, I'm not really sure how well my research translated. If I had to do over this process, I suppose I might've applied to more interdisciplinary departments with my present project (I thought it wasn't sufficiently "out there" for places like Stanford's MTL, but clearly, the feedback I'd received about it has proven otherwise), and perhaps applied to some of the schools on my current list with a more "traditional" set of application materials. Mais on verra... 

1 hour ago, Small potato said:

Also I love your handle, ATP is one of my favorite texts!

And ha! Another Deleuzian on here? It seems like there are a couple of us on these forums now!!

[ja.col]

25 minutes ago, Jetpacked said:

Can UK applicants jump on the bandwagon here? ??‍♀️ I’m a Renaissance PhD applicant. I’ve been lurking for a while but saying hi as I’m waiting for Cambridge to send their decision on scholarships and it’s likely going to be weeks still. The UK system gives you the decision in two parts, on acceptance to the programme in January or February and then funding details usually come months later in March or April, so they make you suffer a couple of rounds of waiting. I’m currently eating a lot of snacks and making my housemates wish they’d never met me, so it’d be nice to hang out here where my existential crisis might be slightly less irritating. 

This is partly why I've decided to leave the UK for PhD, having spent my life in the UK education system. I wish you the best of luck. The UK Academy's ruthlessness with funding is of an entirely different calibre to the States. I hope that it works out in your favour, truly.

[merry night wanderer]

2 hours ago, Small potato said:

I also only applied to reach programs and I’m feeling disappointed because my profs gave me so much positive feedback and confidence in my work. I think one of my downfalls was not being able to articulate my ideas to people who have no context about me, whereas my profs can connect the dots when my ideas aren’t yet fully formed since they’ve known me for so long.

I definitely feel this,  it's a flaw of mine and the story of my life in plenty of ways other than literary criticism, and was part of what I was trying to articulate in the other thread. I did so well in my lit seminars because, in effect, my term papers were a massive attempt to make my research and arguments a collaboration between the ideas that came up in class, the professor's thinking, and mine. The challenge for me was always to address an issue I was interested in, in my own way and with my own frameworks, but with a full understanding of the class and professor's perspective. Great way to learn, but that's not what writing samples are about, exactly. In the case of my acceptances, and particular JHU, I think I got quite lucky because their particular faculty just got it. Their email to me just point by point listed everything I was going for.  (Seriously, that email was so beautiful and specific and gracious.)

I honestly still totally stand by my writing sample, and plan on submitting it to conferences, but I think I should have framed and approached it differently.

I think it will always be helpful to learn how to provide context; it'll make you a better writer, and it's something I'm going to seriously work on. But it's also worth remembering that the WS is a bit of a weird setting to have your work read, in and of itself, and will not necessarily be the setting of future presentations, articles, etc., so the feedback here (while something to think about and take to heart) might not be completely representative of your reception as a scholar. When I give advice to future applicants I am definitely going to suggest they 1) write an abstract at the beginning of the WS (which was an idea someone else proposed here and which I didn't know to do) and 2) give the paper to a broad array of professors, not just ones in your specialty and ideally not ones who are already on your side, to make sure that context is there, since I think the feedback of professors who are already your allies (however brilliant and wonderful they may be) might not be enough. And in the future I may ask friends in other fields to read my work to make sure I'm getting my ideas across. 

Edited February 23, 2020 by merry night wanderer

[meghan_sparkle]

39 minutes ago, merry night wanderer said:

When I give advice to future applicants I am definitely going to suggest they 1) write an abstract at the beginning of the WS (which was an idea someone else proposed here and which I didn't know to do) and 2) give the paper to a broad array of professors, not just ones in your specialty and ideally not ones who are already on your side, to make sure that context is there, since I think the feedback of professors who are already your allies (however brilliant and wonderful they may be) might not be enough. And in the future I may ask friends in other fields to read my work to make sure I'm getting my ideas across. 

Totally agree with #2. A million times yes to #2. But #1? I may have missed this discussion earlier in the thread but I don't think an abstract is necessary and I haven't yet encountered a WS that had one (with the exception of brief single sentence at the top indicating a sample was an excerpt from a longer paper, for one friend that had no time to revise anything or rewrite a different conclusion). Maybe that's just a fluke, but I was a bit of a hoarding magpie when it came to asking friends who went through past cycles to see their SOPs/writing samples.

I say this only because an abstract at the top of papers (different than a conference abstract) can be a tricky form to get right (has to be brief, concise, eloquent, sum up piece without repeating and in such a way that doesn't steal any of the thunder of your thesis/arg in the introduction). Most people won't have much experience with it even if they've done conferences, unless they have publications and had to write one for a journal article—I for one have never done it and can bet if I would've tacked one on to my WS, on gradcafe advice, it probably would've been redundant and awkward and a waste of precious page-space. Not saying it's wrong—it's certainly an option and for some a good one; I can see why for the kind of paper you're describing it might benefit—just chipping in two cents for someone who might read this in future wondering whether they should. 

[Jetpacked]

35 minutes ago, ja.col said:

This is partly why I've decided to leave the UK for PhD, having spent my life in the UK education system. I wish you the best of luck. The UK Academy's ruthlessness with funding is of an entirely different calibre to the States. I hope that it works out in your favour, truly.

Thanks. Last year I was accepted at another UK uni with waived tuition (about £4K) but nothing towards maintenance so this is cycle 2 for me, as I couldn’t take the place. I’m keeping expectations low as I’m reliant on getting some sort of stipend. I’m a little in awe of the sheer number of places people seem to have applied to on this thread, though obviously there are a lot of great programmes to choose from in the US! The systems are pretty different in some respects but I definitely recognise the agony of waiting to hear. Hope all’s going well for you this round!

[merry night wanderer]

To be clear, it's not that an abstract is necessary, but I could have done one myself (in my philosophy major, in the way I was asked to write, the introductory paragraphs of an essay were basically an abstract) and I think it would have helped my case. You can never underestimate how little people, even literary scholars, will read. And also, if it's part of what you show others for feedback, they can help you refine it as well. I find summarization like that can really clarify your argument as well as prep readers to understand where you're going. I haven't read a lot of WSes myself - unfortunately nobody MFA cohort applied to lit at all - but I definitely haven't encountered it as common either! I just thought it was a good idea.

(BTW, while I'm thinking about it: for whatever it's worth, if anyone wants to read some of my materials, I would be happy to share. The ones I was able to get my hands on were through this forum, and they helped a lot!) 

Edited February 23, 2020 by merry night wanderer

[meghan_sparkle]

2 minutes ago, merry night wanderer said:

You can never underestimate how little people, even literary scholars, will read.

Just to be clear, schools you apply to will definitely read your writing sample in its entirety—and if you get to the second and third rounds where candidates are narrowed down to 60/~20-30 applicants respectively, many people will read it! I really don't think anyone should be approaching or strategizing for the WS on the assumption or hunch that it won't be read. I'm sorry, that just sounds like a bad faith argument to me.

[merry night wanderer]

It's not bad faith at all to acknowledge that they have a huge reading load, in the least - god knows I'd find it excruciating to read dozens of apps on top of teaching! - and might not read more than introductory or closing paragraphs, at very worst, which is definitely something profs have told me happens at some schools if your work doesn't catch their eye. They have a great deal to do, and making your argument as transparent as possible from the beginning isn't selling out or catering, it's just being practical. It's also the way articles are written, right? It's definitely not going to sacrifice your work to practice writing abstracts, which you'll have to do all the time as a scholar anyway. 

Edited February 23, 2020 by merry night wanderer

[politics 'n prose]

20 hours ago, Dogfish Head said:

Has anyone heard anything from UNC-Chapel Hill? I saw two acceptances and a waitlist on the board, but that seems to be a small amount of notifications for a relatively big program. Does anyone have any insights?

No specific insights to offer, as I'm also waiting to hear, but it looks like there are two UNC acceptances on the board today, so it appears things are going out slowly but surely (which seems a bit out-of-step with how folks were notified in previous years, but makes sense considering the size of the program). Good luck!

[BwO]

24 minutes ago, merry night wanderer said:

They have a great deal to do, and making your argument as transparent as possible from the beginning isn't selling out or catering, it's just being practical.

I’ve been told the same, on the (not unjustified) presumption that the adcomm will likely skim your application materials in the early stages of evaluation (no one has the time to read and score — yes, applications are scored numerically — so many 20-page essays on top of all the work that they already have to do). So, I suppose an abstract would likely help to guide a reader through a WS that doesn’t speak to them from the start, or which might be particularly dense, or which might deal with implications that can only be explicated at the end of the essay. (I have to say, though, that my WS didn’t come with an abstract — I’d like to have included one, but couldn’t do so under strict page limit restrictions.) 

[merry night wanderer]

^ Right, I have heard this from too many places, and from too many professors and adcom types, to discount.

And the operative word to both of those points is "this is what I'd suggest." I definitely am not pretending like I stand in a position of authority here! Just as an applicant with thoughts about how their cycle is going, and what they would have done differently. 

[AtlasFox]

So after I got my rejection from USC at 4 AM yesterday, I woke up today with a phone call from Rhode Island. I've been accepted to URI with a TAship, and I admire several of the faculty members there. I saw on the results page someone else was accepted this morning, too, so if anybody wants to compare notes or share thoughts about the program and other offers, please reach out to me! I have a feeling I'm going to be torn between my current options. 

I'm honestly just happy to have the win right now. Having eight rejections was starting to weigh on me.