Yale

[harpyemma]

Just saw the notification on the board--congratulations to whoever got it!

[WhereWoolf]

I second the congrats...I applied there too, so now I'll really be addicted to this forum....

[Lemonade]

I second the congrats...I applied there too, so now I'll really be addicted to this forum....

My thoughts exactly. This is the email I wrote my boyfriend after seeing the second call (censored for those with more tender ears):

Subject: WOW Yale decisions are going out

Right f***ing now. People are getting calls. I know I probably won't get one. I know that it's not even a good choice for me. But it's Yale. Mother****ing Yale.

[lenz]

3rd acceptance posted. Congrats to the chosen ones!

[againstourfaces]

SAY HI TO JAMES FRANCO FOR ME. OXOX

[harpyemma]

There's a fourth up now--$26.5K stipend, apparently. That figure is HUGE!

Congrats to the lucky 4(+).

[tinycat]

There's a fourth up now--$26.5K stipend, apparently. That figure is HUGE!

Congrats to the lucky 4(+).

any word on research areas? If the accepted are watching this forum, that would be nice to know.

[margate]

There's a fourth up now--$26.5K stipend, apparently. That figure is HUGE!

Congrats to the lucky 4(+).

My eyes just about popped out when I saw the stipend on that one. That is, I suppose, one way to make sure that those you choose, choose you. Congratulations.

[gradhopeful123]

Congrats to the lucky ones! That IS an amazing stipend.

On a more sobering note (acceptees should not read on, but should go throw a party at their nearest pub!)--I'm guessing this means the rest of us are out of luck? They seemed to notify all at once over the years, so....

[wildeisonmine]

any word on research areas? If the accepted are watching this forum, that would be nice to know.

I've been lurking on GC forever (this is my first post!), but I was one of the Yale acceptees--and the one who posted about the stipend! My work is in the area of 20th c. queer performance, with a particular emphasis on issues of temporality and intertextuality.

[tinycat]

I've been lurking on GC forever (this is my first post!), but I was one of the Yale acceptees--and the one who posted about the stipend! My work is in the area of 20th c. queer performance, with a particular emphasis on issues of temporality and intertextuality.

thanks for sharing--that sounds like exciting work! would you be willing to share other stats, whatever you feel comfortable with?

[wildeisonmine]

thanks for sharing--that sounds like exciting work! would you be willing to share other stats, whatever you feel comfortable with?

I don't want to divulge my exact numbers for privacy reasons, but I have a high GPA (from an ivy league school, though I can't say that made any difference) with only average GRE scores--definitely not in the 700s range that people aim for. No MA--in fact, I'm still finishing undergrad. But I don't think those things really matter. I really do think it's all about the SOP and WS, as people have articulated so many times before. Yale was also great fit for my research interests!

Edited February 17, 2011 by wildeisonmine

[straightshooting]

I don't want to divulge my exact numbers for privacy reasons, but I have a high GPA (from an ivy league school, though I can't say that made any difference) with only average GRE scores--definitely not in the 700s range that people aim for. No MA--in fact, I'm still finishing undergrad. But I don't think those things really matter. I really do think it's all about the SOP and WS, as people have articulated so many times before. Yale was also great fit for my research interests!

It is always worth reemphasizing how much it really comes down to the statement of purpose and writing sample, though I will say that there is a lot that often goes in behind the scenes correspondence between recommendation writers and target faculty that really locks in decisions--especially, I think, at top schools. There is, after all, only so much that a few documents can say.

In any case, congrats! The call is always very satisfying, even if is sometimes awkward.

[ElectedSilence]

I saw someone on the results board questioning the Yale acceptances, and saying that someone in the dept said they have no information on decisions and do not release by phone. I just wanted to confirm that the call was legit, and that the response the person on the results board mentions probably just refers to channels of communication through the office: they probably don't discuss details by phone and don't have official results except through those that the DGS has authorized. Just wanted to clear that up. Best wishes to all in this crazy season --

[osodulce]

There's a fourth up now--$26.5K stipend, apparently. That figure is HUGE!

Congrats to the lucky 4(+).

That's in a similar range as Harvard's stipends typically are--even though the cost of living in New Haven is lower than it is in Cambridge.

Congratulations to those accepted!

[RockDenali]

I don't want to divulge my exact numbers for privacy reasons, but I have a high GPA (from an ivy league school, though I can't say that made any difference) with only average GRE scores--definitely not in the 700s range that people aim for. No MA--in fact, I'm still finishing undergrad. But I don't think those things really matter. I really do think it's all about the SOP and WS, as people have articulated so many times before. Yale was also great fit for my research interests!

Thanks for the ego boost Nice to know I got better GRE scores than a Yale admit . . . (Editied out something that sounded meaner than I meant it to.)

Edited February 17, 2011 by RockDenali

[coffeem8]

Thanks for the ego boost Nice to know I got better GRE scores than a Yale admit . . . (Editied out something that sounded meaner than I meant it to.)

WOW. What a pathetic, bitter, and sad comment, especially the original that you "edited out." Maybe Yale screens for pettiness.

[IG-88]

Yea for anyone who missed RockDenali's comment, it was something along the lines of "nice to know that it comes down to who you know, where you come from, and whether or not you are studying something hip." A pretty miserable and stupid thing to say.

[shepardn7]

I don't want to divulge my exact numbers for privacy reasons, but I have a high GPA (from an ivy league school, though I can't say that made any difference) with only average GRE scores--definitely not in the 700s range that people aim for. No MA--in fact, I'm still finishing undergrad. But I don't think those things really matter. I really do think it's all about the SOP and WS, as people have articulated so many times before. Yale was also great fit for my research interests!

I think this comment should be starred and placed at the top of this forum as "Future Applicants Take Note." The magic 700V is a myth for top English programs. Beyond a certain percentile rank, no one really cares if you've got a 630, 650, 680, 690, or 710, or whatever, so don't worry so much about a sub-700 score. It really is about your potential as a scholar.

[truckbasket]

Before this thread goes distinctly pear-shaped, it might be wise to remind ourselves that this is a super tense time for many of us, and to perhaps monitor our sensitivity when posting or responding to other people's posts. As I was just telling one of my letter writers yesterday, this entire process has been nothing short of horrific, traumatic, and hideous -- but it's the waiting period that really takes the vomit-crown.

MAJOR congrats to wildeisonmine! It's a huge accomplishment, and I'm sure you deserve every part of it!

[BeeRuckus]

Before this thread goes distinctly pear-shaped, it might be wise to remind ourselves that this is a super tense time for many of us, and to perhaps monitor our sensitivity when posting or responding to other people's posts. As I was just telling one of my letter writers yesterday, this entire process has been nothing short of horrific, traumatic, and hideous -- but it's the waiting period that really takes the vomit-crown.

MAJOR congrats to wildeisonmine! It's a huge accomplishment, and I'm sure you deserve every part of it!

I second this emotion. Snaps for the acceptance I would also like to remind posters that anyone who divulges their stats almost always does so at the request of others and in the spirit of sharing information. Let's not punish people for being forthcoming.

[wildeisonmine]

I just want to say that I mentioned that my GRE was sub-700 because I thought it would be helpful to current (and future) applicants who are worried that they need outstanding scores to get into top schools. In fact, I know of plenty of grad students in great programs with scores lower than mine (which were mid-600s). Reading through those comments on GC (and WGI over at LJ) was really reassuring for me in the fall, and I wanted to add to the chorus in hope that it might help reassure someone else down the line!

I do think my LORs helped me, but because of what they said, not who said them. As spectacular and brilliant as my mentors are, they're not "superstars". The feedback that I've received on my SOP and WS assures me that those things really matter.

And thanks for the congrats, everyone! Good luck to everyone as they wait to hear back from the rest of their schools (for me, Yale was tied as my top choice with another program that hasn't released decisions yet, so I'm still anxious myself!), and congrats to those who have received offers already.

[RockDenali]

Yea for anyone who missed RockDenali's comment, it was something along the lines of "nice to know that it comes down to who you know, where you come from, and whether or not you are studying something hip." A pretty miserable and stupid thing to say.

You forgot the last part: "Now I know why I never had an interest in literature." I was taking a jab at literary studies in general, but it came across as an attack on an individual, so I deleted it.

But everything you quoted there I stand by as an indictment of academic literary studies. It's not bitterness. Neither of my degrees is in literature, and I haven't taken more than four literature classes in my life. I applied to some literature programs out of curiosity: is there a way to bridge the gap between linguistics, rhetoric, and literature? Well, it seems unlikely. I haven't met many literature students who can tell you the difference between a transitive and intransitive verb. So, then again, I suppose I do harbor bitterness toward literature: the School of Resentment, over the past decades, has made a bad name for everyone in the language disciplines. But this is a critique of the field as a whole, not on any particular person in here; again, that's why I deleted my comment. I'm not trying to pick a fight.

[Lemonade]

To the person who just posted on the results board: did you call and someone told you? Or are you a student at Yale currently? Basically, how do you know?

[lifealive]

I just want to say that I mentioned that my GRE was sub-700 because I thought it would be helpful to current (and future) applicants who are worried that they need outstanding scores to get into top schools. In fact, I know of plenty of grad students in great programs with scores lower than mine (which were mid-600s). Reading through those comments on GC (and WGI over at LJ) was really reassuring for me in the fall, and I wanted to add to the chorus in hope that it might help reassure someone else down the line!

Thanks for the reassurance and transparency, wildeisonmine.

I just wanted to add to the chorus about numbers: GRE scores in the mid-600s are not low or average. They are, in the grand scheme of things, pretty high. I say this because 1) I think that applicants have misconceptions about needing to hit a 700, and 2) I think that successful applicants often mischaracterize their perfectly decent scores as low. Elsewhere (not here) I've seen successful applicants say, "I got into top programs with low GRE scores" ... only to discover later that their idea of a low verbal is something like 670.

Mid-600s is still a really good score.