2022 Applicants

[CoffeeLovingQueer]

3 hours ago, CHP47 said:

Oh man, that is tough! Did you have any contact with the program previously where they did respond promptly? They could just be really busy and they'll get to it or the email got buried in other messages. Is there a department coordinator or administrator you can find contact info for? They may not know the specific outcome for you, but they are probably knowledgable enough to let you know how the overall process is going.

It may also help to go over the program again and compare it to the two existing offers you have to see if it really stacks up. One of the things that changed for me over this cycle was realizing that schools didn't necessarily have the same idea of "fit" about me and my project as I did. I only applied to 5 schools, three of which I thought were good fits and two that I thought were a stretch, but they had faculty that I liked. I didn't get into ANY of the schools I thought would be fits, but I was accepted with an additional fellowship/high on the waitlist at the stretch schools because they thought I was a better fit for their programs than I thought I was. After focusing on the programs at the stretch schools, I now have a better understanding of why those programs felt they could support my research interests and goals better than the programs that rejected me, and I have a better understanding of what my project requires. 

You may find that one of the offers you have on the table is actually a better fit than your previous first choice, or you may become even more convinced that the original first choice is correct and you might have a compelling argument if you are able to contact the school and find out you were on a secret waitlist or something.

Thanks so much for your response! I've contacted the DGS once before and they emailed back within a day, but that was also over the summer. I'll have to check into a department coordinator or administrator, though!

 

If I'm honest, I think I've narrowed it down to one of the existing offers and the program I haven't heard from yet. There would be a lot to look forward to with both programs, so it'll be a tough decision for me, assuming that I do get into this place with funding. The current program's acceptance letter mentioned enthusiastic interest in the work that I do from specific professors, which has really convinced me that they'd be a good fit for my research. Just have to see what this other school says, I suppose.

[sadevilminion]

I was accepted to CU Boulder ? , but it’s unfunded ?. I was positive it was a big no from them. I guess the “only accepting 2” meant funded offers. I’m still quite thrilled by the huge ego boost, even if I won’t be attending!

[s.renteria]

 I was accepted to UMass Amherst off the waitlist and I declined the offer; I hope one of you gets it (if you wanted it, of course!)

[CHP47]

Is anyone seeing waitlist movement yet? We're getting close to April and I'm curious if people are starting to make their choices. 

[icedwithoatmilk]

Does anybody have advice on how to try and negotiate up offers? Specifically-- I have only seen advice about how to ask a university to match a higher offer elsewhere, whereas my offers are all around the same (probably average, but of course it'd be better if they were higher). I still want to give it a go to negotiate, though, since I figure I might as well try, even if I expect a no. My questions are 1. Is it still normal to try and negotiate if you're in my situation (no higher offers)? and 2. if so, does anybody have wise words on how to do so/phrase my 'ask'?

[Cordelipup]

UW just sent me an email saying they had reached their quota and I didn't make it off the Waitlist. I'm so bummed!

[CHP47]

7 minutes ago, Cordelipup said:

UW just sent me an email saying they had reached their quota and I didn't make it off the Waitlist. I'm so bummed!

Oh no, I'm so sorry!

[sadevilminion]

19 hours ago, CHP47 said:

Is anyone seeing waitlist movement yet? We're getting close to April and I'm curious if people are starting to make their choices. 

I may have been accepted off the waitlist at Oregon State. They emailed a week ago to ask if I was still interested, and I said no. They could have just been gauging my interest, though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

[heterotopia]

Declined my spots at UVA (English), UMich (English), and UPenn (Complit). Good luck and hopefully there will be movements in the upcoming days 

Edited March 30, 2022 by heterotopia
Clarity

[Shake829]

I’m supposed to speak with a DGS via Zoom later this evening, but I woke up feeling incredibly ill. (Not COVID, thankfully). I can’t even sit up without feeling weak and cold. Should I push through it or ask to reschedule the meeting? I just don’t want to seem unprofessional with a last-minute cancellation. 

[CHP47]

3 hours ago, Shake829 said:

I’m supposed to speak with a DGS via Zoom later this evening, but I woke up feeling incredibly ill. (Not COVID, thankfully). I can’t even sit up without feeling weak and cold. Should I push through it or ask to reschedule the meeting? I just don’t want to seem unprofessional with a last-minute cancellation. 

No idea what time zone you are in so this might come too late, but are the symptoms something you can treat with cold medicine long enough to do the interview? You could also mention right at the beginning that you are fighting something so they understand why you might not be at your best.

[aglarien]

I hold both offers. I am an international student whose BA is NOT in literature. Their course content both seems good.
I hear that Durham is slightly more prestigious in this area but as my BA is not in English or Literature(I have taken some online courses but still) I fear that the modules at Durham might be too difficult for me. 
Also, if I wanted to continue my study as an MPhil/Ph.D. in English Literature after completing this MA, which uni would be better?
(I have been working for a few years now so I don't care for the job prospects that much. I just want some better student experience)

[A Small Raven]

I did my MA in Creative Writing at Durham. While I can't speak specifically to the nature of how difficult the Literature program was (being as I was in Creative Writing,) I found the writing program to be exceedingly easy. Nevertheless, if you're thinking largely about student experience, there's a lot to consider when comparing these two schools, primarily due to their locations. When I applied to grad school, Durham honestly wasn't my first choice. But I absolutely fell in love with Durham while I was there, and had a fantastic student experience there – the town is small, but there's loads of good bars and restaurants about town, as well as some good shops. It's also just a quick 15 minute train ride to Newcastle if you want to do any kind of city shopping etc. I really enjoyed the postgrad social scene there.

One of the biggest differences between these two schools will be the social structure – Durham has a college system, whereas I believe Glasgow doesn't have a college system (I think only Cambridge, Oxford and Durham have college systems - think of them like Hogwarts houses). What college have you been admitted to? I was in Van Mildert, and made a good number of friends within the postgrad dorm, but also spent a lot of time over at Ustinov (the all post-grad college). My college was a bit far from the center of town (20 minute walk or so), but I still very much enjoyed it, and had a lovely walk along the river any time I needed to go into town. 

I don't have a ton of experience/knowledge about Glasgow, however I did live in Edinburgh for six months after I finished my MA at Durham, and I ventured over to Glasgow maybe twice. Obviously, Glasgow is a bigger city compared to Durham being a small town. However, and while this may sound silly, something you should really take into consideration is the WEATHER. I found Durham's climate to be extremely agreeable – mild winters with a little snow to make it feel festive, a beautiful spring and autumn, and nice warm summers. It was much sunnier than I expected it to be. When I moved up to Scotland, people warned me to be prepared for the climate, and I shrugged them off, thinking it couldn't be all that much different from Durham, seeing as it's only about 1.5 hours north by train. In the end, the climate in Scotland is one of the major reasons I ended up leaving and moving back to the states. It is entirely different to Durham – the sky is gray most of the time, and it's often raining and windy. You do occasionally get a nice day here and there, but don't expect the summers to be warm...you will rarely, if ever, be able to wear shorts. So while it might sound like something ridiculous to factor into your decision, if you are AT ALL prone to a bout of seasonal depression here and there, the climate will make a monumental difference. 

I've been living back in the states for a few years now, and I still miss Durham every single day. If you have any more questions about Durham, please don't hesitate to PM me! 

[aglarien]

10 hours ago, A Small Raven said:

I did my MA in Creative Writing at Durham. While I can't speak specifically to the nature of how difficult the Literature program was (being as I was in Creative Writing,) I found the writing program to be exceedingly easy. Nevertheless, if you're thinking largely about student experience, there's a lot to consider when comparing these two schools, primarily due to their locations. When I applied to grad school, Durham honestly wasn't my first choice. But I absolutely fell in love with Durham while I was there, and had a fantastic student experience there – the town is small, but there's loads of good bars and restaurants about town, as well as some good shops. It's also just a quick 15 minute train ride to Newcastle if you want to do any kind of city shopping etc. I really enjoyed the postgrad social scene there.

One of the biggest differences between these two schools will be the social structure – Durham has a college system, whereas I believe Glasgow doesn't have a college system (I think only Cambridge, Oxford and Durham have college systems - think of them like Hogwarts houses). What college have you been admitted to? I was in Van Mildert, and made a good number of friends within the postgrad dorm, but also spent a lot of time over at Ustinov (the all post-grad college). My college was a bit far from the center of town (20 minute walk or so), but I still very much enjoyed it, and had a lovely walk along the river any time I needed to go into town. 

I don't have a ton of experience/knowledge about Glasgow, however I did live in Edinburgh for six months after I finished my MA at Durham, and I ventured over to Glasgow maybe twice. Obviously, Glasgow is a bigger city compared to Durham being a small town. However, and while this may sound silly, something you should really take into consideration is the WEATHER. I found Durham's climate to be extremely agreeable – mild winters with a little snow to make it feel festive, a beautiful spring and autumn, and nice warm summers. It was much sunnier than I expected it to be. When I moved up to Scotland, people warned me to be prepared for the climate, and I shrugged them off, thinking it couldn't be all that much different from Durham, seeing as it's only about 1.5 hours north by train. In the end, the climate in Scotland is one of the major reasons I ended up leaving and moving back to the states. It is entirely different to Durham – the sky is gray most of the time, and it's often raining and windy. You do occasionally get a nice day here and there, but don't expect the summers to be warm...you will rarely, if ever, be able to wear shorts. So while it might sound like something ridiculous to factor into your decision, if you are AT ALL prone to a bout of seasonal depression here and there, the climate will make a monumental difference. 

I've been living back in the states for a few years now, and I still miss Durham every single day. If you have any more questions about Durham, please don't hesitate to PM me! 

Thank you! Oh, thank you so much for the detailed description! Now I definitely have a better idea of what both cities are like! 

As to Durham, it is said that we'll be able to apply to the college in mid-April, and I am looking forward to applying to St. Chad or Cuthbert. I am a little bit worried about the social scene at Durham though, because I'm Asian and I've heard my fellow Asian students complaining about several incidents of discrimination at Durham. And some of the other white people at Durham just go like "no I have not experienced any discrimination my whole time here, you must be too sensitive" when they hear these complaints, which just adds to my worrying. However, I am not certain if Glasgow would be better in this aspect. 

As to Glasgow, thank you for the warning about the weather! I myself do care for the weather very much lol I would really hate it if it's cloudy & rainy for weeks straight! 

Thanks again! It's very helpful! 

[NoodleKidoodle]

This is a difficult time, everyone. It's very complicated. Just sending out all of my best vibes :) 

[Rootbound]

On 3/28/2022 at 4:53 PM, icedwithoatmilk said:

Does anybody have advice on how to try and negotiate up offers? Specifically-- I have only seen advice about how to ask a university to match a higher offer elsewhere, whereas my offers are all around the same (probably average, but of course it'd be better if they were higher). I still want to give it a go to negotiate, though, since I figure I might as well try, even if I expect a no. My questions are 1. Is it still normal to try and negotiate if you're in my situation (no higher offers)? and 2. if so, does anybody have wise words on how to do so/phrase my 'ask'?

Leveraging offers for more funding is already fairly unlikely to succeed, as in most programs there's not a pot of money hidden away that they can use to attract specific applicants. Usually, the best case scenario is that a university will offer more summer funding or a lighter teaching load, but only if they really, really want a particular applicant that they're worried about losing to another program. So unless you've heard from a particular program that they're 100% committed to bringing you in, I don't think any of them would be motivated to sweeten the deal, even if they could. The only way I can think of generating some leverage would be by pointing out how costs of living might make one program's offer effectively lower, but even then I'm not sure you'd get anything other than "We are not able to make any changes to your funding offer." 

[sadevilminion]

Held off on posting this since Wednesday because it feels too surreal and I’m still waiting for them to email again saying “Whoops, wrong person!” But I got into UIUC with 7 years of very good funding ? 

I’ve turned down my offers from 4 out of 5 programs now. Waiting for UIUC to send the official documents before I turn down my last one.

Thank you to everyone on this forum who offered advice and helped me keep a shred of my sanity during this crazy season.

[theonewiththepies]

1 hour ago, sadevilminion said:

Held off on posting this since Wednesday because it feels too surreal and I’m still waiting for them to email again saying “Whoops, wrong person!” But I got into UIUC with 7 years of very good funding ? 

I’ve turned down my offers from 4 out of 5 programs now. Waiting for UIUC to send the official documents before I turn down my last one.

Thank you to everyone on this forum who offered advice and helped me keep a shred of my sanity during this crazy season.

Congratulations!!! That's fantastic!  

[Cordelipup]

Is it pretty rare to hear back about a waitlist over a weekend?

[CHP47]

6 minutes ago, Cordelipup said:

Is it pretty rare to hear back about a waitlist over a weekend?

I would think so. Was it good news from a school you are excited about?

[Cordelipup]

20 minutes ago, CHP47 said:

I would think so. Was it good news from a school you are excited about?

I heard good news this morning, about being the first person on the waitlist, but doubtful I'll hear anything again before Monday.

[CHP47]

27 minutes ago, Cordelipup said:

I heard good news this morning, about being the first person on the waitlist, but doubtful I'll hear anything again before Monday.

Oh man, the wait is so stressful. I hope you hear good news soon!

[SirGhostus]

Anyone hear anything from Rutgers yet? ?

[CHP47]

22 hours ago, SirGhostus said:

Anyone hear anything from Rutgers yet? ?

Nothing yet. Emailed the DGS last week though. They had just had their open house and he said that they usually don't get a lot of responses from admitted students either way until after the open house. I'm hoping for good news soon (although I think at this point, I'd be happy with any news at all).

[thursdaysnext]

I have just turned down my offer at UC San Diego. Hope that helps someone!