Post-Acceptance Stress & Misc. Banter

[ghijklmn]

Okay, here's a new line of thought: is anyone else absolutely terrified of meeting POIs on campus visits? I just know that when I talk to them, they're going to be all disappointed and know that I BS-ed my way through my applications and am not worthy of going to their school... Although I truly am interested in the topics I mentioned in my SOP, I am not very knowledgeable yet. At all. Is this awful?

 

On a more productive note: for those who have already done this, what have your experiences been meeting with POIs? What should one expect? Did you prepare?

[Magical Realist]

Okay, here's a new line of thought: is anyone else absolutely terrified of meeting POIs on campus visits? I just know that when I talk to them, they're going to be all disappointed and know that I BS-ed my way through my applications and am not worthy of going to their school... Although I truly am interested in the topics I mentioned in my SOP, I am not very knowledgeable yet. At all. Is this awful?

 

On a more productive note: for those who have already done this, what have your experiences been meeting with POIs? What should one expect? Did you prepare?

 

Yes. This.

 

So maybe someone here could assuage some bit of my anxiety. I'm pretty terrified that when I get there, I'll trip all over myself (metaphorically AND literally) and they'll decide they no longer want me or something. So 1) are acceptances ever withdrawn? If so, does it have to be for something egregious, generally?  I'm nearly to the point that I'd like to pull the proverbial trigger and accept the offer now, without going on the visit. 

 

And then, I echo all of the above. I'm pretty at a loss for what to expect here...

[champagne]

1) If you're already accepted, then the POI or adcomm knows more about you and your literary research than is probably legal in most states. They would have spotted the BS by now.

 

2) Professors are human beings just like everybody else. They probably enjoy craft beer and Downton Abbey just like any other proper member of the bourgeoisie.

 

3) They have been in graduate school, too. In fact, they went through this process when information wasn't nearly as accessible as it is know. While you should definitely respect their position and possible impact on your future, they probably have just as much reason to be nervous about meeting someone that could, on the whole, be way more knowledgeable about their field than they were at the same time in their life. 

Edited February 19, 2013 by champagne

[jazzyd]

At this point, how crazy of me would it be to consider applying again and going another cycle?

 

It's not like I dislike any of the programs I was accepted into, but from what it seems like, the programs I really really really wanted to get into are going to be giving me big fat no's over the course of the next month. I know where the glaring weaknesses in my application were (GRE Subject, GPA, perhaps SOP) and I feel like if I could just spend another year improving even 2 out of the 3 (since GPA isn't really going to budge) in addition to maybe submitting another writing sample (I incorporated next to no theory in my sample from this cycle), I might have a better chance at those programs.

 

I just don't know if I should begin my scholarship feeling the way I do now, that I'd fit into those programs but didn't work hard enough to show that.

 

Thoughts?

Edited February 19, 2013 by jazzy dubois

[dazedandbemused]

At this point, how crazy of me would it be to consider applying again and going another cycle?

 

It's not like I dislike any of the programs I was accepted into, but from what it seems like, the programs I really really really wanted to get into are going to be giving me big fat no's over the course of the next month. I know where the glaring weaknesses in my application were (GRE Subject, GPA, perhaps SOP) and I feel like if I could just spend another year improving even 2 out of the 3 (since GPA isn't really going to budge) in addition to maybe submitting another writing sample (I incorporated next to no theory in my sample from this cycle), I might have a better chance at those programs.

 

I just don't know if I should begin my scholarship feeling the way I do now, that I'd fit into those programs but didn't work hard enough to show that.

 

Thoughts?

 

I'm sorry, you got into four top 20 schools and you want to try again?? What schools are you aiming for? I mean, I would never do something that mad (the stress is bad enough), but if you think you can handle it...

 

Edit: I mean, this is why you should only apply to schools that you could see yourself going to. And lets not forget that the whole point of applying to a large number of schools is that one hopes to get accepted to at least one. So many people don't get accepted to their dream programs every year, but at some point we have to move on and recognize that dreams don't always become reality.

Edited February 19, 2013 by dazedandbemused

[patientagony]

At this point, how crazy of me would it be to consider applying again and going another cycle?

 

Umm, pretty damn crazy. Why did you apply to those programs if you couldn't see yourself at them? You got into amazing schools which I'm pretty sure have great funding right? Go to admit weekends, pick the program you think has the best fit, and if it feels like a bad fit once you are there, transfer. I just think it would be a waste of money and time to apply again.

Edited February 19, 2013 by patientagony

[Phil Sparrow]

At this point, how crazy of me would it be to consider applying again and going another cycle?

 

It's not like I dislike any of the programs I was accepted into, but from what it seems like, the programs I really really really wanted to get into are going to be giving me big fat no's over the course of the next month. I know where the glaring weaknesses in my application were (GRE Subject, GPA, perhaps SOP) and I feel like if I could just spend another year improving even 2 out of the 3 (since GPA isn't really going to budge) in addition to maybe submitting another writing sample (I incorporated next to no theory in my sample from this cycle), I might have a better chance at those programs.

 

I just don't know if I should begin my scholarship feeling the way I do now, that I'd fit into those programs but didn't work hard enough to show that.

 

Thoughts?

 

Chill, wait until you visit and experience in person the programs you were accepted into, then make a decision. Don't even think about this possibility until then or you'll make yourself completely bonkers. Once you've visited and seen how the programs operate and how you and your brains would fit (you honestly can't tell much at all from a website, you need to visit in person), then maybe give this idea serious consideration. Another possibility would be deferring for a year from one program while thinking this through.

 

Out of curiosity, are you still an undergrad? I'm of the belief that most people--not all, of course, but most--who don't take any time off between undergrad and grad school do themselves, their scholarship, and their colleagues a great disservice. So that might change things.

 

(My initial reaction to your question here, by the way, is that you would be crazy to go through another application cycle given the top-notch programs you've been admitted to--which, by the way, have great placement--but whatever! It's your life and career, and I'm sure you'd make some waitlisters very happy if you decided not to attend any of those places.)

[DontHate]

Wow, jazzy, where is it that you want to go so badly that you'd turn down Brown? I seriously would LOVE to go to Brown, they not only have an amazing English department but they also have one of the best creative writing programs in the country and you can take classes or even earn a degree from any of their other departments through their open enrollment policy. Also it's a really lovely campus. I've kind of always wanted to go to Brown, ever since high school.

[DontHate]

And it also seems like transferring is a better bet than sitting out a whole year. You can re-apply just the same either way but you'd be getting paid a stipend while working on your SoP and retaking your subject test. There's no guarantee that you'd get into your dream programs round two either, why gamble away the offers you already have in hand?

[Marie-Luise]

I always thought that transferring was looked down upon. Like stabbing that uni in the back that just gave you a 20k fellowship, for a better programme. At least it's looked down upon at Notre Dame. 

[bfat]

At this point, how crazy of me would it be to consider applying again and going another cycle?

 

[dazedandbemused]

I always thought that transferring was looked down upon. Like stabbing that uni in the back that just gave you a 20k fellowship, for a better programme. At least it's looked down upon at Notre Dame. 

 

Yeah, transferring isn't really a thing at a lot of schools. I know quite few programs whose websites explicitly say they don't accept transfers. And yeah, the stabbing in the back thing can't be great for your academic reputation either.

[intextrovert]

At this point, how crazy of me would it be to consider applying again and going another cycle?

 

It's not like I dislike any of the programs I was accepted into, but from what it seems like, the programs I really really really wanted to get into are going to be giving me big fat no's over the course of the next month. I know where the glaring weaknesses in my application were (GRE Subject, GPA, perhaps SOP) and I feel like if I could just spend another year improving even 2 out of the 3 (since GPA isn't really going to budge) in addition to maybe submitting another writing sample (I incorporated next to no theory in my sample from this cycle), I might have a better chance at those programs.

 

I just don't know if I should begin my scholarship feeling the way I do now, that I'd fit into those programs but didn't work hard enough to show that.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Just to piggyback on Phil Sparrow: I'm concerned that you seem to think that there is some sort of difference in admissions standards and program quality between the schools where you were admitted and the schools where you were not. There is not. They're all in the top tier, and the differences between them are horizontal, not vertical. You have definitely met the criteria like GPA and GRE of any school to get into the schools you did, so that would be a 100% waste of time. Promise. In no way are you guaranteed admission at any of those places the second time around, either - just because they have room in their cohort this year for a person with your research interests doesn't mean they will next year.

 

When you say "the schools I really really really wanted to go to," why did you prefer them? If the answer is anything but "research fit" (which admissions committees themselves are probably better positioned to judge than you, especially before you've visited), it's wrong. Your extraordinarily good results testify to the fact that it is certainly not that you weren't "good" enough on any objective scale to get in to any programs. Visit, and learn more - the way you're viewing your acceptances is coming off as underinformed.

 

The only reason to not accept one of those offers is if you aren't really sure about doing literature grad school at all. Which is something to consider, and seriously! I echo Phil Sparrow's question about undergrad, because I have a brilliant friend who went to a top English program right out of undergrad, and I remember him feeling uneasy and unsure about it right before graduation. He dropped out after a few years because he realized he had just gone because it seemed like a natural next step, instead of figuring out whether it was really right and exploring other career options. After a few years of working in the "real world," he re-applied, and is now attending a program perhaps not technically as highly-ranked as his former one and many of the schools you are accepted at, but an excellent program and an excellent fit for him nonetheless. And he's much happier. But he needed some time in "the real world" to understand the stakes - and also to understand that grad school/academia actually is the real world, which is hard to see if you've never spent any real time out of school. So I don't mean to brush off your uneasiness - it can certainly be a hindrance to making grad school worthwhile. Basically, if you are not feeling good about going, don't! But not because you think you can get a program more prestigious. You can't; you're already there. If you turn down offers, do it with the mindset that you might get not get into ANY of those programs next time around, and that even if that were the case, you would still not regret turning them down and doing something else for a while.

Edited February 19, 2013 by intextrovert

[sebastiansteddy]

 

Bfat said it best.

[sebastiansteddy]

But yes, to answer an earlier question, I am TERRIFIED of meeting POIs! Do you have to recognize them by appearance? Will they be wearing name tags? Do you have to have read EVERYTHING they have ever written?

[patientagony]

But yes, to answer an earlier question, I am TERRIFIED of meeting POIs! Do you have to recognize them by appearance? Will they be wearing name tags? Do you have to have read EVERYTHING they have ever written?

 

This needs to be its own thread! "Interacting with POIs at Admit Weekends".

 

I feel like you should be familiar with their most well known work at least.

[sebastiansteddy]

I'm gonna make that thread... let's talk there.

[dazedandbemused]

But yes, to answer an earlier question, I am TERRIFIED of meeting POIs! Do you have to recognize them by appearance? Will they be wearing name tags? Do you have to have read EVERYTHING they have ever written?

 

No kidding! I'm scared someone will ask me my opinion about some foundational theorist that everyone knows and that I've never read. It'll be like my freshman year of undergrad when my professor said to the class "of course, you've all read C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, right?" and I just nodded along with the rest of them, terrified smile glued to my face.

[FlamingoLingo]

Out of curiosity, are you still an undergrad? I'm of the belief that most people--not all, of course, but most--who don't take any time off between undergrad and grad school do themselves, their scholarship, and their colleagues a great disservice. So that might change things.

Could you elaborate on this a bit? I've never heard this particular perspective before

[Swagato]

They don't know what they want to do, basically. 

[DontHate]

to be fair, plenty of people well out of undergrad still don't know what they want to do.

[dazedandbemused]

to be fair, plenty of people well out of undergrad still don't know what they want to do.

 

Amen to that. I have MORE than enough deadbeat cousins in their 30s as examples. Honestly, I have a hard time believing that that many people who apply straight out of undergrad just because they think they're supposed to are actually getting in. That kind of mentality probably shows itself pretty well in their SOPs. I also don't think that most of us who've never been outside of academia should leave it just to make certain it's what we want. I mean, what am I going to do, flip burgers so that three years from now I can come home smelling like grease and think "yup, it's definitely time for that PhD now"? Even if by some mad happenstance you decide that a PhD isn't what you though it would be, at least you spent a few years getting paid to do work that you found interesting. That's got to be worth something.

[chaucerettescs]

I got that perspective a lot from professors. From what they told me, it's less an issue of not knowing what you want to do (obviously you do know what you want to do. You want to go to grad school.) and more an issue of the fact that once you're in academia, you're in it for a long haul. It makes things like traveling for pleasure, romantic relationships, having children, etc. a lot more complicated and so people often suggest that you take some time off to go do some of the things you want to do before you sign up for such a serious commitment.

 

The issue with the concept of a gap year, however, is that it just isn't an economic possibility for most people anymore. Would I love to spend the next year wandering around Europe or even just England? Absolutely, but I do not have the money to do it. To me, not going straight into grad school means spending the next year(s) working a job I'm not crazy about to pay bills until I can get accepted somewhere.

[stillalivetui]

I took a year off, and I'll say that it definitely put things in perspective for me academically and personally. It actually allowed me to put some deep thought into why I wanted to attend graduate school and what specific areas I want to devote myself to. A year ago, I had absolutely no clue. 

Edited February 19, 2013 by stillalivetui

[DontHate]

I hear this perspective so often: "I can't afford to take time off from school/explore/find myself." But it's not entirely true. You can find teaching positions and other kinds of opportunities that would allow you to travel for free or very cheaply. Regardless of whether or not you end up travelling, you can "find yourself" in any number of circumstances. You don't have to be taking a luxury tour of Europe to explore what it is that you want out of life. I feel like sometimes the economic argument is a bit of an excuse to stay within one's comfort zone. There are a million jobs out there and a million ways to support yourself -- some just involve bigger risks than others.