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Hi everyone! Happy Valentine's Day! I am looking forward to the Valentine's massacre;) just a joke

I have 0 acceptance yet and would really love to get in somewhere soon~kinda sad, applying to Berkeley/UCLA was the dumbest idea I had. I just discovered yesterday on Berkeley's website that "international students should contact Graduate Admission Office directly to estimate the cost of attending PhD in English" meaning they have no funding available. I bet a similar circumstance goes with UCLA. More than half schools on my list are public, guessing I made a mistake. 

Congratulates to all these who have multiple offers! I am suffering from extreme anxiety though

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Advice to international applicants: If you are interested in a public university, make sure to email DGS beforehand to clarify if the department admits international candidates blindly and funds them. Some schools would not say that directly on their website, there may be a tiny line of words in the bottom such as "international students please contact DGS/Graduate Admission office for more information" right on the funding page whereupon the very first sentence at the top of the website reads "Every admitted student receive full funding for 5 years." This usually means they don't fund international students. (For example, Berkeley, UNC)

Even if the website indicates nothing about international applicants, I would suggest contact DGS of a public university before you apply to make sure that they mix international students in the pool and fund blindly

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11 minutes ago, amyyyyyy said:

Advice to international applicants: If you are interested in a public university, make sure to email DGS beforehand to clarify if the department admits international candidates blindly and funds them. Some schools would not say that directly on their website, there may be a tiny line of words in the bottom such as "international students please contact DGS/Graduate Admission office for more information" right on the funding page whereupon the very first sentence at the top of the website reads "Every admitted student receive full funding for 5 years." This usually means they don't fund international students. (For example, Berkeley, UNC)

Even if the website indicates nothing about international applicants, I would suggest contact DGS of a public university before you apply to make sure that they mix international students in the pool and fund blindly

Oh my god, really!? Did you confirm this with the English DGS?

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21 minutes ago, koipond said:

Oh my god, really!? Did you confirm this with the English DGS?

UNC's website indicates "The majority of our graduate students are fully funded. (International students please reach out to the Director of Graduate Admission for more information." I was admitted without funding and DGS said no funding is available for international students. It was my fault thought that I didn't contact her beforehand.

After receiving this unfunded admission, I researched websites of public universities I applied to and saw this on Berkeley's English PhD page:"International applicants should consult the Graduate Division's website for admissions requirements and estimated costs of graduate study for international students" and I lost hope. I haven't confirmed this with the English DGS at Berkeley. You may ask him directly. I am sorry if this is misleading information. 

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I am just saying that if the department doesn't have a blind admission policy, for many public universities, the money used to fund one international student could instead be used to fund 1.5-2 American students (because they could easily apply for in-state tuition from the 2rd year onward), so probably the English department won't admit blindly. 

That said, if a public university is a good fit, you should still apply. Just keep in mind that certain universities have an absolute "no funding for international students" policy, for example UNC, and you want to prevent that situation

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Oh WOW congrats to all the acceptances and interviewees :-)! 
 

Also, that sucks about the funding for international students. I’d seen posts on Reddit of people talking about that, but hadn’t thought so many university’s would be the same way.

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12 hours ago, koipond said:

I've got mine this week. Did you have yours already? I'd love to hear how it went! 

it was good... relaxed and they were nice... typical questions like how do you see your research progressing/what would you write your dissertation on, why harvard, etc. 

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16 minutes ago, heavn said:

it was good... relaxed and they were nice... typical questions like how do you see your research progressing/what would you write your dissertation on, why harvard, etc. 

ah yes okay! Did they ask questions about your samples? And were the profs from your field? 

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7 minutes ago, Woolf231 said:

Anyone have insight into the Columbia Interview process? Wondering if the interview all shortlisted applicants and how many of those who get interviews get offered a place in the program? 

They don’t interview all applicants— it depends on your field. Idk exactly which ones are and aren’t doing interviews, unfortunately. I’d love to know too.

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14 hours ago, bluemojav said:

Oh man. None of my programs have said a peep since that rejection from U Maryland at the beginning of the month. I had been playing it cool but it’s starting to stress me out :,)

That’s torturous. I’m so sorry. Your season started so well with the acceptances to the master’s programs, too. Are you planning on going to one of them if you get shutout by the phd programs?

 

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1 hour ago, leguinian22 said:

That’s torturous. I’m so sorry. Your season started so well with the acceptances to the master’s programs, too. Are you planning on going to one of them if you get shutout by the phd programs?

 

That’s the plan! I can’t do another year of working this job and waiting, lol. Trying to remain optimistic though!

Edited by bluemojav
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Thinking about sending a letter of continued interest to Illinois. Does anybody have a model for programs they've sent these letters to previously? The email from Illinois doesn't discourage reaching out nor does it encourage it.

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41 minutes ago, gagne said:

Thinking about sending a letter of continued interest to Illinois. Does anybody have a model for programs they've sent these letters to previously? The email from Illinois doesn't discourage reaching out nor does it encourage it.

I sent a brief letter of continued interest yesterday to the DGS after having been on the waitlist at a program for about a month. I kept it simple and reaffirmed my interest in the program. I noted it was my top choice and that I would happily accept if admitted, followed by a short blurb (2-3 sentences) reiterating why this program is my top choice. 

Edited by thea
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28 minutes ago, lucille said:

I got into BC for MA yesterday! Very bittersweet as I applied Ph.D. Still waiting on 7 schools, but I'm beginning to lose hope for this cycle.
 

Congrats!! I was also losing hope, but I got my first acceptance this morning. Keeping my fingers crossed for you! The odds are in your favor:) 

Edited by ittybittylitty
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1 hour ago, gagne said:

Thinking about sending a letter of continued interest to Illinois. Does anybody have a model for programs they've sent these letters to previously? The email from Illinois doesn't discourage reaching out nor does it encourage it.

There's a great thread from a few years ago that I've been using for reference: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/115781-so-youve-been-waitlisted-now-what/ 

I haven't sent any letters of continued interest yet, but I am going to go to UNC's open house and I'm considering asking Minnesota and Indiana if I can visit sometime during my spring break week—except that it isn't until the first week of April, and oof plane tickets are very expensive.

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Thank you all for the advice and link! I took a chance and sent an email. It's approximately a month after the initial email (I was so stunned and then felt awkward just sending an "omg thank you" email in response). I informed them they are my top domestic choice and when I will likely hear back from at the latest from my remaining programs (both of which are international and thus, may not have great funding for me).

I'm hopeful that by sending this email-letter of continued interest outlining once more what drew me to the school-program and an example of my extension of my current research methods in poetics will aid my likelihood of acceptance.

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