the true info on Penn State

[hopefulJ2010]

hi guys, i know a lot of you are waiting on penn state as well. even though i have accepted an offer-- i am very curious! who wouldn't be? plus, we all did pay the application fee! my dad already demanded he'd like his money back.

nevertheless...

i spoke to the assistant DGS today, a very sweet british lady, instead of the obligatory "grad secretary." she spoke to me for almost ten minutes. she explained the 700 applicant situation we're all aware of. she also said they sent out a bunch of rejects but are holding onto a group for final consideration in case some of their first round admits decline. she then explained that since they only offer funded spots, they really have to make sure they HAVE a spot opening before offering one. she then asked where i have offers from and told me to take the funded spot-- that i'm lucky to have that and that the school i selected was a very nice place. she said there ARE still chances of acceptance, but they are in fact very slim.

[stormydown]

hi guys, i know a lot of you are waiting on penn state as well. even though i have accepted an offer-- i am very curious! who wouldn't be? plus, we all did pay the application fee! my dad already demanded he'd like his money back.

nevertheless...

i spoke to the assistant DGS today, a very sweet british lady, instead of the obligatory "grad secretary." she spoke to me for almost ten minutes. she explained the 700 applicant situation we're all aware of. she also said they sent out a bunch of rejects but are holding onto a group for final consideration in case some of their first round admits decline. she then explained that since they only offer funded spots, they really have to make sure they HAVE a spot opening before offering one. she then asked where i have offers from and told me to take the funded spot-- that i'm lucky to have that and that the school i selected was a very nice place. she said there ARE still chances of acceptance, but they are in fact very slim.

Is this for the PhD or the MA program? I'm still waiting to hear back about the MA.

[Pamphilia]

Is this for the PhD or the MA program? I'm still waiting to hear back about the MA.

For PSU the MA is pretty much the PhD. While you apply "to" the MA or PhD, it's really an MA/PhD program and therefore, as I understand it, they make decisions more or less together. There isn't a "terminal MA" program in the traditional sense, which is why one gets six years of funding when one is admitted to the MA. Their structure is a bit confusing, but I'm trying to simplify it here. Also, just in case, I'll note that I'm referring here to the English program.

Edited April 10, 2010 by Pamphilia

[stormydown]

For PSU the MA is pretty much the PhD. While you apply "to" the MA or PhD, it's really an MA/PhD program and therefore, as I understand it, they make decisions more or less together. There isn't a "terminal MA" program in the traditional sense, which is why one gets six years of funding when one is admitted to the MA. Their structure is a bit confusing, but I'm trying to simplify it here. Also, just in case, I'll note that I'm referring here to the English program.

So it's kind of like Ohio State's thing? I really had no idea. I need to read more carefully or something. I don't really want to go to Penn State (mostly because it's general English and I'd like to go somewhere Irish-specific) but I'd like an answer, even if it's a rejection, which it sounds like it is. Oh well, at least it sounds like I made it pretty far in the app process.

Edited April 10, 2010 by stormydown

[stormydown]

After emailing the English grad school and receiving no answer, I called today and spoke to a very nice lady who said some dude had just signed my rejection letter. Got the same explanation as everyone else: 20 spots, 729 applicants. At least I held on this long! Good luck to all waiting for a response.