asking for feedback

[againstourfaces]

That's ridiculous! I myself am worried about my undergraduate GPA which I stupidly let drop from over a 3.75 to just over a 3.5 because of adding, yes, I'm serious, an art major. As in painting/photography. I feel like a moron now, but at the time it was refreshing to work for work's sake and not care about making the Dean's list. But I graduated in 2000 and did my MA just this last year so I was hoping that they'd consider my undergrad less because of such a gap. I'm glad she's so successful now and I'm sure she'll get into a program. If not, she might consider applying for funding in Scotland. They look much more at your research proposal than at your grades and Scotland (unlike England/Wales) still offers the Overseas Research Scholarship for non-citizens. Hard to get, but it covers fees and maintenance. There's always a way around these things if one's willing to work hard enough and she clearly is.

I'd have to agree. That seems ridiculous. I also go to a Canadian university where many of the English professors refuse to grant students above 85, even if it may be warranted. It means that 4.0 GPAs are practically unheard of. Perhaps I see things differently, but GPA (and GRE) only measure so much. People make mistakes, take the wrong courses, get sick, etc. I should hope this isn't an attitude most schools have.

Edited February 8, 2011 by againstourfaces

[yank in the M20]

Did she mention anything about not being finished with sending out acceptances and rejections? I am going bonkers waiting for an answer either way, and, though I'm glad you got a swift response to your query, I'm a little peeved that that time wasn't devoted to LETTING ME KNOW SOMETHING, ANYTHING.

It's got to mean an acceptance or waiting list...you could contact her, though I'd just force myself to wait. If people are being contacted by individual faculty members in their fields, however, maybe the person that's supposed to get in touch with you is the hold-up? Good luck!

[yank in the M20]

I'd have to agree. That seems ridiculous. I also go to a Canadian university where many of the English professors refuse to grant students above 85, even if it may be warranted. It means that 4.0 GPAs are practically unheard of. Perhaps I see things differently, but GPA (and GRE) only measure so much. People make mistakes, take the wrong courses, get sick, etc. I should hope this isn't an attitude most schools have.

That's something that drives me crazy about British universities. People in the sciences or math can get 100, but not in the humanities. I do like the idea behind it, however annoying it may be, that nothing is perfect, there's always room for improvement, but it's frustrating that it only affects those of us in subjects without objective answers--and it just gives those science people who think that we humanities or arts students are just playing around ammunition. Errrr...So what's the situation in Canada re. funding? Is it like the States with certain Unis providing full funding to all admits or like the UK where you have to apply for funding separately? And what do you think of the Canadian system overall? Can you situate it for me by comparing it to the US and UK (the only two I know anything about)? I'm starting to look at places to apply next year.

[RestorationJunkie]

The department DGS who wrote that response is no longer the DGS at that department, however, so hopefully no one else will have to go through a similar situation.

The moral of the story, however, and to come back to the original question posed, is - If you are going to ask it, make sure you are prepared for whatever they tell you by way of responding to "can you tell me why I didn't get in? I'd like to strengthen my application."

If they tell you "Well, there's nothing you can do about the problem with your application" - what will you do in that case?

It's just an example, from experience, by way of suggesting caution in proceeding.

The way I see it, if they tell me the problem and I can fix it, then it was a hugely worthwhile question to ask. If they tell me that it is a problem that I cannot fix, it will be difficult to hear, but no actual harm will be done. Either way, I think knowing is almost always better than not knowing. I also had a potentially huge problem with a LOR, and I'm curious to see whether that actually impacted my application. If it did, I can know that I have a better chance with the schools for which she was not one of my LOR writers.

[RockDenali]

It's got to mean an acceptance or waiting list...you could contact her, though I'd just force myself to wait. If people are being contacted by individual faculty members in their fields, however, maybe the person that's supposed to get in touch with you is the hold-up? Good luck!

I haven't heard anything from Duke either . . . and now you just got my hopes up, darn you But yes, that sounds like good advice you got. The first two acceptances I've received, I was VERY careful to present myself in a particular light. SOP, letters, writing sample . . . all matched in regard to interests and goals. I assume that if you say you want to study X and you send in a writing sample about Y and your recs say you are good at Z, then it's difficult to see what kind of potential you have as a scholar. I suppose we should take what they say at face value: "fit" is much more important than GRE and GPA.

[againstourfaces]

That's something that drives me crazy about British universities. People in the sciences or math can get 100, but not in the humanities. I do like the idea behind it, however annoying it may be, that nothing is perfect, there's always room for improvement, but it's frustrating that it only affects those of us in subjects without objective answers--and it just gives those science people who think that we humanities or arts students are just playing around ammunition. Errrr...So what's the situation in Canada re. funding? Is it like the States with certain Unis providing full funding to all admits or like the UK where you have to apply for funding separately? And what do you think of the Canadian system overall? Can you situate it for me by comparing it to the US and UK (the only two I know anything about)? I'm starting to look at places to apply next year.

Yeah, sure. I don't know much about UK Universities apart from what I've heard from Canadians who've travelled abroad to study/international people I lived with. They both said the workload is different, or rather, there are different expectations. My understanding is that there is a lot of emphasis on finals in the UK where in Canada it's more emphasis on term work. I don't know much else apart from that.

Most Canadian universities will fund their grad students. U of T, where I go, is tricky about funding. It's not guaranteed for an MA, but it is also possible to get. The English department here has a really good faculty and I'd definitely look into applying. I can't say much about the workload, etc for MA/PhDs but as an undergraduate my hobby is school, and I don't really have a choice around it. U of T pushes its students hard, funding is weird, marking tends to lean towards 60-70% average for classes, but it is definitely possible to get a 90 (on an assignment, that is). U of T is like a scholar producing factory. If you're serious about school, I'd say it is the best place to be. It is also not very expensive, in relation to UK or US tuition costs.

Apart from U of T, though, Canada doesn't really have any schools that are 'top ranking' in world standards, which means that getting a job outside of a phD from a Canadian institution may be more difficult. The education system is good, it's just not really present (Canada's story, right there). American schools have better connections, at least, that is how I understand it. I don't know about their workload, but coming from U of T, I'm not really worried about it. I think I've been trained to handle anything, hell and all its loveliness.

Edited February 8, 2011 by againstourfaces

[harpyemma]

Yeah, sure. I don't know much about UK Universities apart from what I've heard from Canadians who've travelled abroad to study/international people I lived with. They both said the workload is different, or rather, there are different expectations. My understanding is that there is a lot of emphasis on finals in the UK where in Canada it's more emphasis on term work. I don't know much else apart from that.

Most Canadian universities will fund their grad students. U of T, where I go, is tricky about funding. It's not guaranteed for an MA, but it is also possible to get. The English department here has a really good faculty and I'd definitely look into applying. I can't say much about the workload, etc for MA/PhDs but as an undergraduate my hobby is school, and I don't really have a choice around it. U of T pushes its students hard, funding is weird, marking tends to lean towards 60-70% average for classes, but it is definitely possible to get a 90. U of T is like a scholar producing factory. If you're serious about school, I'd say it is the best place to be. It is also not very expensive, in relation to UK or US tuition costs.

Apart from U of T, though, Canada doesn't really have any schools that are 'top ranking' in world standards, which means that getting a job outside of a phD from a Canadian institution may be more difficult. The education system is good, it's just not really present (Canada's story, right there). American schools have better connections, at least, that is how I understand it. I don't know about their workload, but coming from U of T, I'm not really worried about it. I think I've been trained to handle anything, hell and all its loveliness.

Not even McGill...?

[againstourfaces]

Not even McGill...?

I think McGill is riding on its reputation among Americans. I've never actually heard of anything come out of McGill's English department. I don't know anyone who has ever gone there or applied. None of the publications I've read have been from there.

The University of British Columbia seems to be doing very well these days, and I've only heard good things about their English department.

[againstourfaces]

Yeah, sure. I don't know much about UK Universities apart from what I've heard from Canadians who've travelled abroad to study/international people I lived with. They both said the workload is different, or rather, there are different expectations. My understanding is that there is a lot of emphasis on finals in the UK where in Canada it's more emphasis on term work. I don't know much else apart from that.

Most Canadian universities will fund their grad students. U of T, where I go, is tricky about funding. It's not guaranteed for an MA, but it is also possible to get. The English department here has a really good faculty and I'd definitely look into applying. I can't say much about the workload, etc for MA/PhDs but as an undergraduate my hobby is school, and I don't really have a choice around it. U of T pushes its students hard, funding is weird, marking tends to lean towards 60-70% average for classes, but it is definitely possible to get a 90 (on an assignment, that is). U of T is like a scholar producing factory. If you're serious about school, I'd say it is the best place to be. It is also not very expensive, in relation to UK or US tuition costs.

Apart from U of T, though, Canada doesn't really have any schools that are 'top ranking' in world standards, which means that getting a job outside of a phD from a Canadian institution may be more difficult. The education system is good, it's just not really present (Canada's story, right there). American schools have better connections, at least, that is how I understand it. I don't know about their workload, but coming from U of T, I'm not really worried about it. I think I've been trained to handle anything, hell and all its loveliness.

[RestorationJunkie]

Well I'm guessing that whoever said that Duke would be flooded with emails asking for feedback was right. I emailed the grad director two days ago and haven't heard anything back. (Either that or she just didn't want to answer my email.) While I suppose she could still email me, I'm thinking it's pretty unlikely. Oh well, I guess it was worth a try!

[yank in the M20]

Well I'm guessing that whoever said that Duke would be flooded with emails asking for feedback was right. I emailed the grad director two days ago and haven't heard anything back. (Either that or she just didn't want to answer my email.) While I suppose she could still email me, I'm thinking it's pretty unlikely. Oh well, I guess it was worth a try!

I asked the Northwestern guy that emailed us for feedback and he got back to me after a week. Nice email, he was swamped, but no details could be given on individual apps. Since the Duke prof is actually looking at our files, I'm thinking it might take her a week or so to get back to everyone.

[RestorationJunkie]

I asked the Northwestern guy that emailed us for feedback and he got back to me after a week. Nice email, he was swamped, but no details could be given on individual apps. Since the Duke prof is actually looking at our files, I'm thinking it might take her a week or so to get back to everyone.

I hope that is indeed the case. I suppose am truly a child of my generation--very impatient and used to instant gratification. I shall try to be more patient.

[greekdaph]

This is interesting because it points to the idiosyncrasies in how schools evaluate applications. Some places (like Duke, it seems) admit a certain number of applicants per field and ask professors in that field to rank applications; some places admit what they consider to be the top candidates regardless of field; some admit by field by have the adcomm read all the applications; some do a combination of these things or do entirely different things. The permutations are infinite, but I'm mentioning this all as a way of saying that the out-of-field-but-best-work writing sample seems to work better with some programs' admissions approaches than with others. Hang in there, then, and good luck as you wait to hear from other programs!

No problem. It was way off period-wise, but I'd hoped that the linked underlying themes would be enough. My writing sample was on work ethic in Jane Austen and my proposed project was on Englishness and class in (as one of my lecturers calls it) the early Modernist period--the early 20th century, not Shakespeare. I wanted to consider Modernism as not the totality that most look at it but follow new scholarship that separates it into distinct categories with the early significantly different from High Modernism and so study the early part of the period for these themes. Anyway, while these link in my mind (or at least they linked enough when I was in a time crunch and knew I couldn't fix up a Modernist essay in time to use as a writing sample), she said that it would mean having Modernist scholars read about Jane Austen and not be able to situate my work within the scholarship or know how I would succeed as a Modernist scholar or having 18th/19th Century scholars read and situate my work, but not be able to evaluate me as a Modernist scholar. Double bind.

Good luck in your feedback. I'm going to steer clear of 'ignorance is bliss' toward 'knowledge is power'.

[hopefulwoolfian]

My $0.02: I asked for feedback last year from both Tufts (waitlisted and ultimately rejected) and NYU (accepted to unfunded Master's). In both cases, I had points of contact (the DGS at Tufts and a professor at NYU e-mailing me about the Master's). The NYU prof couldn't comment on my individual application, but suggested that most people go wrong on polishing the writing sample and writing fit paragraphs that only target big name faculty without seeming to engage in their scholarship. The Tufts DGS was extremely kind and told me directly that reactions to my writing sample were mixed. I only asked for feedback from places where I came close and had an actual contact. For me I think it was quite helpful (also because it informed the contact that I would be reapplying and to keep me in mind... again, I think it works best with places where you're close to getting in).

[yank in the M20]

This is interesting because it points to the idiosyncrasies in how schools evaluate applications. Some places (like Duke, it seems) admit a certain number of applicants per field and ask professors in that field to rank applications; some places admit what they consider to be the top candidates regardless of field; some admit by field by have the adcomm read all the applications; some do a combination of these things or do entirely different things. The permutations are infinite, but I'm mentioning this all as a way of saying that the out-of-field-but-best-work writing sample seems to work better with some programs' admissions approaches than with others. Hang in there, then, and good luck as you wait to hear from other programs!

Thanks for the good wishes, though I'm only waiting on one so expecting to do this again next year. But it's nice to know that not all Unis are as period-focused as Duke. I mean, yes, I understand the need to choose a period of specialization and then a second for comps, but I also think there should be more focus on thematic similarities, something that seems more popular over here in England, at least where I did my MA. Does anyone else have a hard time within what feels like narrow period confines? Or is it just me?

[RestorationJunkie]

I just got a (non-personalized) email from the grad director at Duke saying that she received requests for feedback and would be able to give feedback on some applications in May or June after the semester is over. I'm not sure what she means by some, but I guess I'll just ask again in May and see what happens.

[lyonessrampant]

Got the same email. I'm going to ask again in May too.