2022 Applicants

[cactusflower]

1 hour ago, forgottenworks said:

Mine was pretty informal so it depends on the program, but the questions I was asked were: why this program in particular; the standard "tell me about your research interests" and then a couple of specific follow-up questions; what is a text you've read recently that really stuck out to you; and have you had any offers from other programs. The thing that helped me the most was reviewing my SoP and writing sample, having a few questions for the interviewer prepped ahead of time, and having some notes in front of me re: elevator pitch and program specifics that I'm excited about. I have no idea if I'll be accepted, but the interviewer (DGS) was enthusiastic about my research focus and said she thought the program was a good fit.

I also found this post from last year's forum really helpful: 

 

Thank you for pointing me to this thread, this is so helpful! 

[NimsyEverstorm]

I'm new to this site and this is my first application cycle so apologies if I'm posting this question in the wrong place.

I'm wondering if it's common for schools to wait so long before sending rejection notices? I've seen a few people post acceptances to schools I applied to but I haven't heard anything from those programs yet? I've essentially written it off as a rejection, but am wondering if this is a common occurrence or something worth reaching out to each department about? Thanks for any/all help! 

[WomanOfLetters]

16 hours ago, Hard times! said:

Hmm. Whatever concoction grad school acceptances need has no formula--very contingent! 

I just wish some departments were kind enough to specify which concentrations they were looking for, like UofChicago did. If I am not wrong, they said they were specifically looking for people working in the field of African-American literature...

By following their suit many other places could have gone gentle on some of our pockets haha. Being a shutout and being penniless at the same time isn't a very ideal situation to think of (let alone to be in!) ?

I think the African American literature thing came from the Black Lives Matter movement. But with Covid and Asian hate they are not specifying taking more Asian literature or Asian American literature studies students ?

I agree it would be great if the schools can just tell us what they are looking for each year - in social sciences and sciences professors who are not taking PhD students would put up an announcement on the website. Then again in humanities they don't do it. Probably it's because the humanities are lacking funding and grad applications each year make a good source of extra income, albeit how small it is. I mean, why would the UCs charge $140 per application, even higher than schools like Stanford and Yale, but at the same time the they offer funding packages far less than Stanford and Yale?!?! It makes no sense to me.

Edited February 12, 2022 by WomanOfLetters

[Shake829]

36 minutes ago, NimsyEverstorm said:

I'm new to this site and this is my first application cycle so apologies if I'm posting this question in the wrong place.

I'm wondering if it's common for schools to wait so long before sending rejection notices? I've seen a few people post acceptances to schools I applied to but I haven't heard anything from those programs yet? I've essentially written it off as a rejection, but am wondering if this is a common occurrence or something worth reaching out to each department about? Thanks for any/all help! 

Most programs will send out acceptances first. Then, a week or so later the rejections will be posted. This is because the program will personally reach out to those who are accepted, so the acceptances that you see are real (they’re just informal—that’s why the posters will say something like, “email from director. I was told that the official letter would come in a few days.”). It’s much easier for the program to reach out to the 5-10 people they accepted than it is to reach out to the 200+ that they rejected. So, those rejected have the unfortunate faith of waiting. When everyone else gets their rejection, those accepted will usually get their official acceptance letter from the school. It’s just the graduate admissions office processing the application results that takes a while longer. 
 

When you don’t hear back when acceptances get posted, there’s three real possibilities: you’ve been rejected, waitlisted, or the program is still reviewing and making additional offers. If rejections get posted and you still don’t hear back, it’s probably best to reach out then. You’re probably on a waitlist and have yet to be informed (this has happened to me before). From what I’ve heard, you (usually) don’t get a portal notification when waitlisted because the program doesn’t mark your application with a result and just leaves it open until all the spots for the cohort are filled. 
 

Stay positive and patient—good things will come

[Hard times!]

6 hours ago, WomanOfLetters said:

I think the African American literature thing came from the Black Lives Matter movement. But with Covid and Asian hate they are not specifying taking more Asian literature or Asian American literature studies students ?

I agree it would be great if the schools can just tell us what they are looking for each year - in social sciences and sciences professors who are not taking PhD students would put up an announcement on the website. Then again in humanities they don't do it. Probably it's because the humanities are lacking funding and grad applications each year make a good source of extra income, albeit how small it is. I mean, why would the UCs charge $140 per application, even higher than schools like Stanford and Yale, but at the same time the they offer funding packages far less than Stanford and Yale?!?! It makes no sense to me.

UCs are strange! They rarely admit Asians from Asian for the humanities (I have heard). The statistics help since 140 is too much for an application that is to be rejected! In general private schools have more funding options than public schools which might explain the lower fees. 

[WomanOfLetters]

1 hour ago, Hard times! said:

UCs are strange! They rarely admit Asians from Asian for the humanities (I have heard). The statistics help since 140 is too much for an application that is to be rejected! In general private schools have more funding options than public schools which might explain the lower fees. 

Private universities like Duke and NYU and Emory aren't giving funding packages nearly as generous as the Ivies but almost on the same level the UCs, and these schools all charge a pretty high application fee. Every program has exceptions, I guess! Judging from the student profiles on the program websites, I found the UCs recruited quite a lot of Asian students in the past. So don't just listen to rumors but see things with your own eyes! ?

[Hard times!]

1 hour ago, WomanOfLetters said:

Private universities like Duke and NYU and Emory aren't giving funding packages nearly as generous as the Ivies but almost on the same level the UCs, and these schools all charge a pretty high application fee. Every program has exceptions, I guess! Judging from the student profiles on the program websites, I found the UCs recruited quite a lot of Asian students in the past. So don't just listen to rumors but see things with your own eyes! ?

There are Asians, yes, and a lot of them but most of them are Asian-Americans ! Lol! There are Asians of all kinds.

[JS420]

DGS at Columbia just tweeted that results will be released this week: https://twitter.com/thegreatkellino/status/1492907997215039492?cxt=HHwWiIC9hb3677cpAAAA

 

 

[phdapplicant321]

1 hour ago, JS420 said:

DGS at Columbia just tweeted that results will be released this week: https://twitter.com/thegreatkellino/status/1492907997215039492?cxt=HHwWiIC9hb3677cpAAAA

I think they added onto their tweet saying it will be next next week, beginning of the 21st! (In case people on here don't click on the link and are stressed, for no reason, this week.)

[icedwithoatmilk]

On 2/12/2022 at 10:28 AM, forgottenworks said:

Mine was pretty informal so it depends on the program, but the questions I was asked were: why this program in particular; the standard "tell me about your research interests" and then a couple of specific follow-up questions; what is a text you've read recently that really stuck out to you; and have you had any offers from other programs. The thing that helped me the most was reviewing my SoP and writing sample, having a few questions for the interviewer prepped ahead of time, and having some notes in front of me re: elevator pitch and program specifics that I'm excited about. I have no idea if I'll be accepted, but the interviewer (DGS) was enthusiastic about my research focus and said she thought the program was a good fit.

I also found this post from last year's forum really helpful: 

 

I wouldn't have expected that in interviews you'd be asked if you were accepted to other programs... does anybody have any theories on why this is asked? And if you have other acceptances, is it good to say so/say where?

[plainblacktights]

On 2/11/2022 at 4:30 PM, Hard times! said:

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-graduate-school-rejection-letter-as-written-by-my-anxiety-disorder-at-3-am

@missmarianne

I have read this McSweeney post by @missmarianne several times since last year and it still manages to make me laugh in these 'troubling' times! Grad school rejection humour/bathos should be a genre unto itself! 

Hope more people can find works like this to laugh with

cry-laughing at this utter gem/my absolute worst fear 

"Admissions decisions are difficult and complicated for faculty who evaluate applications, but no more difficult and complicated than the vast web of lies your professors have clearly been spinning about your talent and scholarly potential to keep from hurting your feelings."

[robertsona_grad]

I'm so tired of this

[Submarina]

I think we can assume that Berkeley is done sending out accepts, right?

[robertsona_grad]

rejected from CUNY buhhhhhh

[s.renteria]

UCI people! I'm assuming all the interviews are out? I don't know what to think. I hope this weeks brings happy news for y'all! I just want to be free lol

[sadevilminion]

I got a job last week through a temp agency because I'll have to quit said job in 5-6 months for grad school anyway. I did a few local phone calls with them for interview stuff.

Got a call from out-of-state - Illinois. I was so freaking excited thinking it was UIUC. I answered the phone like, "HELLO!!?" Well, you know where this is going. It was the temp agency.

[Shake829]

37 minutes ago, sadevilminion said:

I got a job last week through a temp agency because I'll have to quit said job in 5-6 months for grad school anyway. I did a few local phone calls with them for interview stuff.

Got a call from out-of-state - Illinois. I was so freaking excited thinking it was UIUC. I answered the phone like, "HELLO!!?" Well, you know where this is going. It was the temp agency.

I actually have a similar story: Last year I applied to Rutgers. On a Saturday afternoon, I was browsing the results page. I saw that two people had posted that their POI called them with an acceptance. I remember thinking, “Oh well! That’s probably a rejection then.” Ten minutes later, my phone rings with a number from NJ. I ignored it, figuring it was spam or something. I remember telling myself, “If it’s important, they’ll leave a voicemail.” Phone stops ringing and 5 minutes go by with no voicemail. I walk away from the phone to do something and come back and see I have another missed call from the same number. I get excited, and I’m about to call it back. Before I can do so, though, the number calls a third time. I remember being so excited. This must be Rutgers trying to get a hold of me, right!? I answered it, and it was one of those spam calls about my vehicle warranty. No idea why they called three times. ?

[forgottenworks]

7 hours ago, icedwithoatmilk said:

I wouldn't have expected that in interviews you'd be asked if you were accepted to other programs... does anybody have any theories on why this is asked? And if you have other acceptances, is it good to say so/say where?

From what I understand, universities are trying to gauge the likelihood of you accepting an offer from them. If they know you've been accepted at a higher-ranked school, they may reject you because they assume you'll take the more "prestigious" offer and they want to protect their acceptance stats. If you've been accepted at a lower-ranked university it may actually make you more attractive to them, from what I've heard, but take that with a grain of salt. The advice I've gotten is to be honest but don't give them any reason not to accept you; if you have another offer, make it very clear that you think the interviewer's institution is a better fit and give concrete reasons why. Again, that's just what I've heard from faculty mentors.

[zetasp]

Wait a minute, @s.renteria, it says you got into UMich. Any info on that? When did you get in? Email/call, and which program? 

(Can you tell I'm desperate for any information ?)

[Tyrannasaur]

Hey y’all, I’ve been lurking for a few days (wish I knew this forum existed when I was actually applying), but this is my first time posting! I hate to be obnoxious, but is it normal that Yale has sent out rejections and waitlists but not acceptances? Speaking as someone who is looking at an empty portal and no emails, I’ve been dying from anticipation this entire weekend ?

Edited February 15, 2022 by Tyrannasaur

[why_tho]

Congratulations everyone on acceptances! Has anyone heard anything from UPenn English, even informally? It seems there were a few offers by this time in the past cycles, but this year it's radio silence. 

[WomanOfLetters]

On 2/13/2022 at 5:21 PM, Hard times! said:

There are Asians, yes, and a lot of them but most of them are Asian-Americans ! Lol! There are Asians of all kinds.

I'm afraid this is untrue! If you take a detailed look at the student profiles, you'll see a lot of students holding BAs and MAs from institutions outside the U.S. ? Anyway, the UCs don't really fit my interests and I'm eyeing on other some schools. ?

[Hard times!]

2 hours ago, WomanOfLetters said:

I'm afraid this is untrue! If you take a detailed look at the student profiles, you'll see a lot of students holding BAs and MAs from institutions outside the U.S. ? Anyway, the UCs don't really fit my interests and I'm eyeing on other some schools. ?

Yes, of course we don't have a lot of data on this and we should take any claims of biases with a pinch of salt. But historically they have had few Asian admits... or maybe there are more of them in the sciences. My case is pretty similar to yours in that I never planned on applying to the UCs... 

Also, would anyone know how Northeastern goes about with interviews? I remember reading somewhere that Northeastern ALWAYS does interviews for shortlisted candidates--can anyone confirm this? Do they do interviews for all subfields and if you haven't received a pre-admission invite, does it mean you are rejected? Honestly, the fewer programmes to worry about the better!

 

 

[illcounsel]

UCLA with that 1 am reject!!

[s.renteria]

@zetasp Of course! I received a phone call from my POI January 20th, and I received official emails the next week. It's for the Joint PhD in English and Education. Let me know if you need any more info-- I will be rooting for you!