2020 Acceptances

[Bumblebea]

On 2/26/2020 at 6:20 AM, meghan_sparkle said:

Me: I feel like I could be really happy at (x) but they apparently haven't placed a TT job in 3 or 4 years now.

B: There are no jobs. You will not get a job. Just go where you want to read and write for 6 years and expect to leave the profession after.

Me: But you have a job.

B: Do not pay attention to that. No one gets jobs.

Me: This is a Beckett play and I want out.

So, I don't necessarily agree with "B"--obviously some people get jobs, and those who go to the best programs are more likely to get jobs--but it is accurate to say that we have no idea what the profession will be like in six years. Six years ago we thought the market was just in a slump. Six years later, people are like, "Wow, the 2013-14 cycle was great! Those were the good old days!"

Lol. Yeah, it's bad out there. 

So I'm going to add something to what "B" said: consider where in the country you would like to be if the professor thing doesn't work out. If push comes to shove and you have to get a job doing something other than academia ... where would you ideally like to be? New York? Boston? New Haven? San Francisco? Because where you get your PhD might matter for whatever non-acc or alt-acc path you might choose, and universities have deep connections to particular areas. 

Case in point: I know someone who got a PhD at Stanford and ended up writing for the SF Chronicle by leaning on a connection they made through the English department's career service. I know another person who went to Berkeley (dropped out without finishing) who ended up writing copy for a tech company in exchange for a salary that most junior faculty could only dream about. 

Obviously these "alt-acc" tracks seem far removed from your ultimate goal right now (and for good reason) ... but this is just one more factor you might consider in making your decision. Good luck!

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

After weeks of sitting on what I thought was an implied rejection from NYU, I've just learned that though I wasn't accepted to the PhD, I have been accepted to the MA. Definitely won't take it (it's only partially funded), but it reduces my number of outright rejections, so that's a comfort to my ego if nothing else.

[caffeinated applicant]

10 minutes ago, The Hoosier Oxonian said:

After weeks of sitting on what I thought was an implied rejection from NYU, I've just learned that though I wasn't accepted to the PhD, I have been accepted to the MA. Definitely won't take it (it's only partially funded), but it reduces my number of outright rejections, so that's a comfort to my ego if nothing else.

Congrats on the MA acceptance! Definitely that should serve as another endorsement from a top-name school that you're going to do great things as a graduate student ?

[MedievalIllusions]

46 minutes ago, The Hoosier Oxonian said:

After weeks of sitting on what I thought was an implied rejection from NYU, I've just learned that though I wasn't accepted to the PhD, I have been accepted to the MA. Definitely won't take it (it's only partially funded), but it reduces my number of outright rejections, so that's a comfort to my ego if nothing else.

Same!!

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

Thanks for the kind wishes, @caffeinated applicant !

Also congrats @MedievalIllusions on the NYU MA acceptance!

Edited March 4, 2020 by The Hoosier Oxonian
Can't read

[Rrandle101]

Accepted to Texas A&M's MA program in English and Toronto's MA program in Medieval Studies (rejected from their PhD program which I had initially applied to). Probably will be turning both of them down because of money constraints/an option I am really excited about but it was news that was nice to hear!

[Madelyn Ann]

Hi all! 

I’m late to the party as I’ve only just learned of this site in my frantic Googling trying to find out when I might receive decisions. (Checking my email every five minutes is getting old.) 

However, I’ll hop on the bandwagon and share the decisions from the schools I have heard back from! So far I’ve been accepted to University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Indiana University- Pennsylvania, and Ball State. Still waiting to hear back from Purdue and University of Arizona. 
 

Congrats and good luck, everyone! 

[noneckmonsters]

How are folx working on their decision making with cancelled visits? I am very confused about the prospect of deciding without spending time on site. How are you guys working through this?

[DhuRaydan]

On 1/25/2020 at 10:50 AM, Ramus said:

There is always a gap between when OSU sends out admissions and when it communicates funding info. You should get a phone call or email from the DGS a week or two after the first notification that you've been admitted.

So I received a letter from DGS for my department confirming admission, stipend, tuition and health insurance information. But I don't see any of the specifics of that information loaded into the application portal, and I haven't received anything else from the university regarding the funding package. I just wanted to confirm that this isn't cause for concern before I click accept. 

[Ramus]

1 hour ago, DhuRaydan said:

So I received a letter from DGS for my department confirming admission, stipend, tuition and health insurance information. But I don't see any of the specifics of that information loaded into the application portal, and I haven't received anything else from the university regarding the funding package. I just wanted to confirm that this isn't cause for concern before I click accept. 

You should be good. Funding details aren't populated in the application portal.

[WildeThing]

4 hours ago, noneckmonsters said:

How are folx working on their decision making with cancelled visits? I am very confused about the prospect of deciding without spending time on site. How are you guys working through this?

I would try and skype with current students and faculty, several at different stages if you can. Get multiple answers to the same question.

[noneckmonsters]

2 hours ago, WildeThing said:

I would try and skype with current students and faculty, several at different stages if you can. Get multiple answers to the same question.

Thank you for your answer. I've been doing that... I hope they extend the national deadline to accept offers

[WildeThing]

1 hour ago, noneckmonsters said:

Thank you for your answer. I've been doing that... I hope they extend the national deadline to accept offers

I would not expect this at all. You’d need all (or most?) of the graduate schools to agree on a course of action and they currently have their hands full. Frankly, who knows if things will actually get back to usual this semester. I’ve said this before but many of us have made decisions over the year without visiting. Visits are great, but ultimately the main thing is talking to faculty/students, which you can do anyway (faculty are likely busy now, but in a week or two you should be able to get answers). It is what it is, try to make the best of it and trust yourself that you’ll make the best decision you can. If you even have a decision to make it is likely a matter of picking between two great situations (and if not, how likely is it that you would figure that out from a visit?). It sucks that visits are cancelled, it really does, but I hope you can also make the best of a bad situation.

[agunns]

I've had an overall disappointing round this year in terms of PhD programs, but I did find out today that I've been accepted to the MA/MSIS in English and Information Studies at UT-Austin! This is especially exciting because this means I'll be able to close the gap with my partner after being long distance for over a year. 

[timespentreading]

FINALLY got an acceptance. Feels really good :) Thankfully, I was able to attend the visit day before all the cancellations.

[tinymica]

7 minutes ago, timespentreading said:

FINALLY got an acceptance. Feels really good Thankfully, I was able to attend the visit day before all the cancellations.

Congrats!!! You did it!

[Tessjane77]

I just received an offer for Villanova! Waitlisted for funding, but I’m excited to finally have a “yes” somewhere.

 

[foreigncorrespondent]

I got through Cambridge, English for a PhD, with the Gates scholarship! So excited for what comes next.  

[Emailchecker]

2 hours ago, foreigncorrespondent said:

I got through Cambridge, English for a PhD, with the Gates scholarship! So excited for what comes next.  

Omg so great!! Any word on supervisor? 

[foreigncorrespondent]

5 minutes ago, Emailchecker said:

Omg so great!! Any word on supervisor? 

Yeah, I already knew who they were going to be, owing to prior contact/I think my acceptance email mentioned this pretty clearly? 

[Emailchecker]

2 hours ago, foreigncorrespondent said:

Yeah, I already knew who they were going to be, owing to prior contact/I think my acceptance email mentioned this pretty clearly? 

Sorry didn't mean to pry. I get tingly talking about cam faculty. I love everyone there!! Many congrats! PM if you want. 

[foreigncorrespondent]

Just now, Emailchecker said:

Sorry didn't mean to pry. I get tingly talking about cam faculty. I love everyone there!! Many congrats! PM if you want. 

Oh no, Hahah, I didn't think you were prying! I was just confused because I thought: "?? Have I missed something?? Is my supervisor ... Not my supervisor??", hence the "?" at the end!! I love my supervisor's work, let me DM you!!

[Jetpacked]

6 hours ago, foreigncorrespondent said:

I got through Cambridge, English for a PhD, with the Gates scholarship! So excited for what comes next.  

Oh congrats, that's great news!

[karamazov]

Well, I just received an offer from UNC off their waitlist. I am now officially going to have a heart attack.

[kolyagogolova]

53 minutes ago, karamazov said:

Well, I just received an offer from UNC off their waitlist. I am now officially going to have a heart attack.

Me too ? I'm glad you're in!