Comparative Literature Fall 2022

[GradforGrad]

Hey guys - trying to put together a thread only for Complit. 

Has anyone heard back from Stanford and Northwestern?

[HummusBaguette]

Thank you for the thread! Waiting it out as well.... Are the schools doing things in a really slow pace this season? It seems that everyone is freaked out right now! !

[GradforGrad]

44 minutes ago, HummusBaguette said:

Thank you for the thread! Waiting it out as well.... Are the schools doing things in a really slow pace this season? It seems that everyone is freaked out right now! !

I have no idea! Where did you apply for Complit? I applied at Stanford and Northwestern. Romance languages at other universities. 

[HummusBaguette]

9 hours ago, GradforGrad said:

I have no idea! Where did you apply for Complit? I applied at Stanford and Northwestern. Romance languages at other universities. 

Wow, some topnotch programs! Wish you the best luck! I applied at Berkeley, UPenn, Davis and co., still haven't heard about anything. I'm kind of checking the result portal 1 million times a day........ eh!

[plainblacktights]

hi everyone! i applied for the Comp Lit PHD at CUNY, still haven't heard back at all, although the portal shows my application as "completed" since 1/13. I am anxious as all hell and there is no info on the page about how long the admissions process takes, whether they interview applicants, AAAAAAAAA.

[GradforGrad]

18 hours ago, plainblacktights said:

hi everyone! i applied for the Comp Lit PHD at CUNY, still haven't heard back at all, although the portal shows my application as "completed" since 1/13. I am anxious as all hell and there is no info on the page about how long the admissions process takes, whether they interview applicants, AAAAAAAAA.

If you applied on 1/13, I think it is still a little earlier to hear from them. 

[plainblacktights]

no, i applied jan 1st, on the 13th the site started showing the application as "completed", i.e. green tick marks appeared next to the list of documents i uploaded

and yes i know it's early

[lagom_lagom]

Hey comp lit folks - anyone heard from UPenn yet?

[nittygritty123]

On 2/8/2022 at 3:54 PM, lagom_lagom said:

Hey comp lit folks - anyone heard from UPenn yet?

Nope, radio silence. There was one interview (American), though. 

[nittygritty123]

Any luck so far with the programs y'all applied, folks?

[lagom_lagom]

2 hours ago, nittygritty123 said:

Nope, radio silence. There was one interview (American), though. 

Congratulations on the interview! Hoping you hear soon. 

I applied to UPenn and Columbia but I haven't heard a peep or seen anything on forums about either. It would seem that they're taking their time!

[nittygritty123]

19 hours ago, lagom_lagom said:

Congratulations on the interview! Hoping you hear soon. 

I applied to UPenn and Columbia but I haven't heard a peep or seen anything on forums about either. It would seem that they're taking their time!

Oh no, I wasn't invited to be interviewed. I meant to say that the call for the interview was posted in the results by someone else some time back. It was the only result I could find in connection to UPenn so far. They do seem to be taking their own sweet time!

[henchcreature]

I had an interview with UPenn on 2/16 - they said 3 weeks or so before they'd send out final decisions.
Yale sent out rejections a few days ago (2/21, I think).
NYU sent out invitations for a mid-March interview today.

[Triebziele]

A bit random but did anyone who got accepted UC Irvine Comp Lit end up rejecting the offer? I was told from a POI that I was high-up on the waitlist and I have my fingers crossed that something will fall into line after a very disappointing cycle.

After receiving a MA with high marks from Germany, in German, and a BA from a top-tier US school, I am perplexed as to what it takes to get into these programs. Perhaps my SOP was a bit "old school" (my interests are psychoanalysis, aesthetics and politics, the relationship between German-Jewish identity/national citizenship, the question of "ethnic" Americans (Afro/Italian/Jewish),  and transatlantic modernism). Thus my project is basically German/US comparative with lots of interest in psychoanalysis and structuralist/poststructuralist thought. It feels as though I somehow should have a more "Zeitgeist-y" interest but perhaps this is just my own defeatism speaking. 

Thanks for the help! 

[shlamma]

3 hours ago, Triebziele said:

A bit random but did anyone who got accepted UC Irvine Comp Lit end up rejecting the offer? I was told from a POI that I was high-up on the waitlist and I have my fingers crossed that something will fall into line after a very disappointing cycle.

After receiving a MA with high marks from Germany, in German, and a BA from a top-tier US school, I am perplexed as to what it takes to get into these programs. Perhaps my SOP was a bit "old school" (my interests are psychoanalysis, aesthetics and politics, the relationship between German-Jewish identity/national citizenship, the question of "ethnic" Americans (Afro/Italian/Jewish),  and transatlantic modernism). Thus my project is basically German/US comparative with lots of interest in psychoanalysis and structuralist/poststructuralist thought. It feels as though I somehow should have a more "Zeitgeist-y" interest but perhaps this is just my own defeatism speaking. 

Thanks for the help! 

Unfortunately I don't know anything about UC Irvine, but I'm just responding to offer the perspective I was given by an advisor after being shut out last year: the whole process is a lottery. I applied to 10 programs this year and was accepted into one. My profile is generally strong. I interviewed three times (two interviews apparently went horribly hahaha). Two schools were interested in my project outlined in my SOP/writing sample, one really did not seem to care and wanted to see if I knew who I could become instead. I am sure that every candidate who seems prepared for graduate study belongs to an exceptional student profile. I don't think adhering to any zeitgeist (especially in comparative literature, where eclecticism and dabbling are encouraged) is necessary. Schools are seeing if they can support your interests and if they have anyone like you already. The one thing I think an application should be is so wholly and weirdly you that it makes an impression, as it sounds you made at Irvine. That's really what matters; based on reading it here, it sounds like you know what you like and what you're about, and it's impressive to me. If it's important to you, go for it again next year. There's a ton of rejection in academia -- from fellowships, jobs, schools, journals, grants -- and PhD applications are no different. We can work hard on our apps and we can be smart, but we have to be very lucky too. 

[lagom_lagom]

Waitlisted at UPenn! The email was very kind, so I'm feeling good about it 
Anyone happen to know about how much they offer in fellowship?

[alixxy]

Also waitlisted at UPenn with a kind email! Wanted to see if anyone has any info on funding as well, thanks!

[lagom_lagom]

7 hours ago, alixxy said:

Also waitlisted at UPenn with a kind email! Wanted to see if anyone has any info on funding as well, thanks!

Fingers crossed for both of us! I wonder when/if we'll know if any spots become available. It's a funny thing to try to factor a maybe into my decision making.