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4 hours ago, gagne said:

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.

You looked familiar. Hope you get in

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5 hours ago, amyyyyyy said:

You looked familiar. Hope you get in

ah, are you also applying to Illinois and schools in Montreal?

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Hello there, 

This is my first time apply for a PhD. I applied to Rutgers, Harvard, Princeton and NYU. I understand not having heard from some universities yet means a silent rejection. My question is: is it possible to be waitlisted somehow? 

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1 hour ago, RobBer said:

Hello there, 

This is my first time apply for a PhD. I applied to Rutgers, Harvard, Princeton and NYU. I understand not having heard from some universities yet means a silent rejection. My question is: is it possible to be waitlisted somehow? 

Hi, there is only one Rutgers acceptance on the result page, probably there are still more acceptances waiting to go out, and Rutgers haven't sent out rejections nor waitlists yet. NYU and Princeton only released interview invitations so far, it is plausible that NYU are interviewing all finalists but I am not sure about Princeton--whether the choice of conducting interview varies along subfields. Neither have any official decisions for acceptance yet. Harvard is usually releasing at the end of the month. So all four are still possible.

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Recent update: I got into Oklahoma to study Native American lit and culture, and Utah waitlisted me with a nice note about my potential and "very impressive" achievements. For context, my undergrad performance, working against my fellowships, grants, conferences, and writing as an MA, was spotty at a difficult institution. This is my first round. I want to say this because despite what people say about undergrad performance, if you did not do yourself favors in undergrad (like me), I'd say you still have a chance. It's all a crapshoot. Go get an MA--try to make sure it's paid for.

That being said, there are tradeoffs when your MA is paid for, in terms of how much time you will have to focus on your work--if you are curious about what those are and are considering an MA, I'd be happy to talk. I wish someone had given me some facts before I started on my journey. But the objective is to be financially supported to write and do research, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to do that.

Congratulations to all who have found their fit and some good news, as part of this grand exercise in masochism. :)

Edited by voiceofunreason
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My undergrad performance was pretty mediocre at a pretty mediocre institution and I took 6 years to complete my BA. I never bothered to write an explanatory note about it for either my MA apps or these PHD ones. Mostly because I don't really have a compelling narrative to share ("I took three years to decide what I wanted to do in college and never really studied" doesn't really leap off the page). Maybe that's affected my chances at some programs, and I'm okay with that. I'll let my writing/research speak for itself, for better or for worse.

I definitely second the advice to get a funded MA. I'm certainly way more prepared for a PHD than I would've been right out of the BA. It gave me more chances to prove myself as a researcher and writer. And it reinforced my decision to pursue an academic career by giving me practical experience in that world.

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It’s nice to read both of those responses! I think the only guaranteed funding I’d get for an MA would be with my undergrad institution, and I’m trying to convince myself it’s not the worst thing in the world to happen to me if I end up pursuing that first.

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6 hours ago, ©har1ie said:

Waitlisted at Rutgers. Nice phone call from DGS today.

Congrats!! That's a very nice and personal way to hear about a waitlist, too.

6 hours ago, voiceofunreason said:

Congratulations to all who have found their fit and some good news, as part of this grand exercise in masochism. :)

Huzzah! Congratulations to you as well, and may we all see some positive waitlist movement so we can find our best fit.

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12 hours ago, bluemojav said:

It’s nice to read both of those responses! I think the only guaranteed funding I’d get for an MA would be with my undergrad institution, and I’m trying to convince myself it’s not the worst thing in the world to happen to me if I end up pursuing that first.

There’s definitely time for a PhD program to come to their senses and offer you. But I don’t think it would be the worst thing to do an MA at this point. For the less-funded option, if you like the program better, make sure you talk to people from the program to see what non-guaranteed funding opportunities there are. My MA was only 50% guaranteed funding, but I was given the opportunity to apply to an assistantship for my first year that brought it up to 100%. Something like that might be possible in those programs.

Also, the MA is probably a better time investment, in terms of career advancement, than the PhD. Me and my buddy from my MA program both got jobs right out of the program that were better-paid than the ones we had before. And we both feel that we have options now that we didn’t before.
 

Just some thoughts. Like I said, you should stay confident, your application obviously has merit, so you can still count on getting more good news.

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1 hour ago, Woolf231 said:

Heard from a little bird that Columbia's deliberations happened last Friday, which means decisions come out most likely early this week. Anyone know the rough chance that an interview leads to acceptance? 

Not all applicants are interviewed— it depends on the field and the POI you listed. I would assume that you’re at least on the shortlist if you got an interview, though…good luck! I’m hoping we both get good news when those decisions come out.

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21 minutes ago, thea said:

Has anyone heard anything from USC English? I didn't realize they were doing interviews this year...

The website says that interviews aren’t required. The fact that only one acceptance has been posted (and that the call was last Friday) has me both worried and confused, because it seems like they always released acceptances on the same day for everyone in years past ….crossing my fingers for both of us!

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13 minutes ago, dys1924 said:

I’m seeing a couple Columbia acceptances. Do people know if they send out acceptances in waves, or am I silently rejected… 

I’m wondering the same thing…for past years, I saw at least one season where they seemed spread out over a few days, but most aren’t. But there’s also way less acceptances posted than usual…not sure if that’s because they just came out…

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1 minute ago, bluemojav said:

I’m wondering the same thing…for past years, I saw at least one season where they seemed spread out over a few days, but most aren’t. But there’s also way less acceptances posted than usual…not sure if that’s because they just came out…

I just perused last year. Seems like most were accepted on the same day - some with a normal portal notification, some by DGS, some both. Looks like one person got an acceptance by DGS a couple days later, too. Let’s hold out some hope..?

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Just got my first (and perhaps only for this application cycle) acceptance from Columbia! Wow, what an anxiety-ridden time this has been. This is my second year applying (I went with 10 schools this year) and Columbia was absolutely my first choice. So, my message is this: the process is a crapshoot and also sometimes things do work out! Cheers to all. 

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10 minutes ago, Woolf231 said:

Just got my first (and perhaps only for this application cycle) acceptance from Columbia! Wow, what an anxiety-ridden time this has been. This is my second year applying (I went with 10 schools this year) and Columbia was absolutely my first choice. So, my message is this: the process is a crapshoot and also sometimes things do work out! Cheers to all. 

Congratulations! Could I ask your field and how/when you were accepted? Columbia is my top choice, and, poetically, the last school I am waiting on. Fearing silent rejection right now.

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20 minutes ago, Woolf231 said:

Just got my first (and perhaps only for this application cycle) acceptance from Columbia! Wow, what an anxiety-ridden time this has been. This is my second year applying (I went with 10 schools this year) and Columbia was absolutely my first choice. So, my message is this: the process is a crapshoot and also sometimes things do work out! Cheers to all. 

Hell yes!! Congratulations!!! 

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