Fall 2013 English Lit Applicants

[practical cat]

Glen Coco deserves four times as much.

And none for Kim Kardashian, bye.

[lisajay]

There are three UCLA rejections up. Can anyone confirm these? 

 

who's got two thumbs & a UCLA rejection?

 

*this guy!*

[justkeepswimming]

who's got two thumbs & a UCLA rejection?

 

*this guy!*

 

Sorry to hear that I checked my UCLA status and nothing has changed. I also didn't receive any email. Would you mind telling me when your email arrived? 

[lisajay]

Sorry to hear that I checked my UCLA status and nothing has changed. I also didn't receive any email. Would you mind telling me when your email arrived? 

 

apply yourself doesn't appear to have been updated. the email came with a link to a different portal where you can access the form letter.

 

i got the email at 2:55 a.m. PST, so sounds like you're still in the running. good luck // fingers crossed for you!!

[Datatape]

Is anyone able to confirm the Tennessee rejection?

[t1racyjacks]

well, now for the rest to just reject me [i am the new alberta rejection btw]

[chaucerettescs]

So, per a couple of professors advice, I e-mailed several of the programs I applied to, asking if it was possible to send in an updated CV (mine has improved significantly over the last month, plus I graduated with my final GPA) and I got two responses today. Naturally, I had a heart attack when I saw "Graduate Admissions" in the subject line of anything in my inbox, but I digress.

 

University of Michigan wrote back saying, at this point, an update isn't possible (decisions imminent?), but Duke (!) wrote back and is allowing me to send in a copy. I just resigned myself to Duke's assumed rejection, but now I'm a mess of emotions again.

[jazzyd]

Haha, it's not that they would raise eyebrows at Michigan's program. Michigan is excellent through and through and I would return there in a heartbeat. The English Department is amazing. It's just that I spent the last two years of my BA there and some people (potential employers) don't like it when all your degrees come from the same university. Or so I've been told.

 

Oh, ha, that makes more sense then. Because I couldn't imagine anyone knocking Michigan.

 

Sending out virtual hugs to those who can claim the red I see on the results page. I expect to feel the sting from UCLA soon, if only because I believe it was one of the schools that required the subject test. As a (future?!) Americanist, you can imagine it was pretty rough for me

[kalliel]

Glen Coco deserves four times as much.

 

This is the best thread, guys.

[thebeatgoeson]

First rejection of the year from U of Wisconsin.  At least they got around to sending a letter!  Taking a moment to celebrate the way closing doors give me a better sense of where I'm headed.

[Pranayama]

First rejection of the year from U of Wisconsin.  At least they got around to sending a letter!  Taking a moment to celebrate the way closing doors give me a better sense of where I'm headed.

Impressively mature reaction. Was the letter via post, or email? And did your online app status change? Sorry to grill you, but my status is still "pending" and I am trying to gather all the info I can here....

[thebeatgoeson]

Impressively mature reaction. Was the letter via post, or email? And did your online app status change? Sorry to grill you, but my status is still "pending" and I am trying to gather all the info I can here....

 

No apologies needed.  Had a near death car-on-bicycle altercation last month that left me with a number of broken bones, so I've had a lot of time to sit around and convince myself that applying is not a life or death proccess.  I got the rejection via email, but my app status now shows it as well. Best of luck!

[rosebud8]

I recently got accepted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's PhD program in Creative Writing. They offered me a full tuition waiver, a teaching assistantship, and a 16,000/year stipend that is given annually. This is all great, but WHAT do you think, or have you heard about this program?? I am curious, because I would like to know. Would I have enough time to write? That is my biggest question. I keep hearing different things from people enrolled in PhD programs, that they often feel like they have too much to do, not enough time to write, etc., except I am someone who ironically thrives on structure and busyness, because it helps me do more. Please help? What have you heard about this program?

[sadthatthisdefinesmylife]

Anyone else feel kind of like Schrodinger's Cat when it comes to the uncertainty of rejection/acceptance?

[rosebud8]

I recently got accepted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's PhD program in Creative Writing. They offered me a full tuition waiver, a teaching assistantship, and a 16,000/year stipend that is given annually. This is all great, but WHAT do you think, or have you heard about this program?? I am curious, because I would like to know. Would I have enough time to write? That is my biggest question. I keep hearing different things from people enrolled in PhD programs, that they often feel like they have too much to do, not enough time to write, etc., except I am someone who ironically thrives on structure and busyness, because it helps me do more. Please help? What have you heard about this program?

[asleepawake]

I withdrew my application from Wayne State today. Their website made it very easy, and given my acceptances so far I think I would be unlikely to attend if accepted. I'd rather take myself out of the running now to make it easier on the adcom. Good luck to anyone waiting to hear from them.

[DontHate]

I recently got accepted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's PhD program in Creative Writing. They offered me a full tuition waiver, a teaching assistantship, and a 16,000/year stipend that is given annually. This is all great, but WHAT do you think, or have you heard about this program?? I am curious, because I would like to know. Would I have enough time to write? That is my biggest question. I keep hearing different things from people enrolled in PhD programs, that they often feel like they have too much to do, not enough time to write, etc., except I am someone who ironically thrives on structure and busyness, because it helps me do more. Please help? What have you heard about this program?

 

Here's the big question: how do you feel about living in Nebraska? For $16k/year, that's probably the best area in the country to live like a king I would think. But, Nebraska.

 

I'm tired. I'm going to stop posting.

Edited February 6, 2013 by DontHate

[Datatape]

I have been to Lincoln and it's probably one of the better places to live if you are going to live in Nebraska.  It feels like a mid-sized Midwest city: pleasant and safe, if rather unexciting.  I can't speak to the creative writing Ph.D. as I was applying to Nebraska's English Ph.D. (just got the rejection about an hour ago) and don't know too much about it.  With that said, any Ph.D. program is going to keep you busy and require you to be structured and self-disciplined, so I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't have time to write, particularly if creative writing is going to be the focus of your coursework.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Datatape

[asleepawake]

Nebraska-Lincoln is a Top-10 CW PhD. Congrats! Do it.

[InHacSpeVivo]

I withdrew my application from Wayne State today. Their website made it very easy, and given my acceptances so far I think I would be unlikely to attend if accepted. I'd rather take myself out of the running now to make it easier on the adcom. Good luck to anyone waiting to hear from them.

 

You're the best! Adcoms aside, I know if I were applying to Wayne State I'd really appreciate that. Congrats on your acceptances!

[skybythelight]

All of this Michigan talk is making me nervous -- definitely one of my top choices, and top reaches. I'm so impatient!

[collikl]

All of this Michigan talk is making me nervous -- definitely one of my top choices, and top reaches. I'm so impatient!

 

Ditto! I'm on pins and needles, even though I'd be cold as hell there. Patricia Yaeger, June Howard, and Tobin Siebers-- sigh.

 

Good luck to you and all Michigan hopefuls!

[skybythelight]

Ditto! I'm on pins and needles, even though I'd be cold as hell there. Patricia Yaeger, June Howard, and Tobin Siebers-- sigh.

 

Good luck to you and all Michigan hopefuls!

Good luck to you as well!

[Deadinthewater]

I recently got accepted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's PhD program in Creative Writing. They offered me a full tuition waiver, a teaching assistantship, and a 16,000/year stipend that is given annually. This is all great, but WHAT do you think, or have you heard about this program?? I am curious, because I would like to know. Would I have enough time to write? That is my biggest question. I keep hearing different things from people enrolled in PhD programs, that they often feel like they have too much to do, not enough time to write, etc., except I am someone who ironically thrives on structure and busyness, because it helps me do more. Please help? What have you heard about this program?

 

UNL was my undergrad. I am not a creative writer necessarily, but I know that it constitutes a large part of their graduate program. Most of the graduate students I interacted with during undergrad were MFA's who were pursuing a PhD so they could become more employable. If anything, in my experience, the Creative Writing PhD didn't seem excessively challenging, so that should help. But I can't say for sure. It's definitely more of a passive, learning experience than an active, writing experience.

 

I would think that if so many MFA's were returning to get a PhD, they did so because they had tons of "writing time" and not very much "money," or something like that.

 

As far as Lincoln, the city, well...it has its advantages and disadvantages. I lived there on about $8,000 a year, so, $16,000? I can't even think about what I'd do with all that money. But I am also a degenerate slob whose only expensive purchases are fine wine and gourmet food. I won't say that Lincoln is a well-planned city, but it is really conveniently laid-out if you're a student. You can get anywhere you'd ever want to be on foot, and it is unbelievably flat (if you're into biking). If you do end up going, feel free to message me, because I could probably give you some information about the city's hidden cultural offerings, and about where you might want to live.

[CastineGrrl]

UNL was my undergrad. I am not a creative writer necessarily, but I know that it constitutes a large part of their graduate program. Most of the graduate students I interacted with during undergrad were MFA's who were pursuing a PhD so they could become more employable. If anything, in my experience, the Creative Writing PhD didn't seem excessively challenging, so that should help. But I can't say for sure. It's definitely more of a passive, learning experience than an active, writing experience.

 

I would think that if so many MFA's were returning to get a PhD, they did so because they had tons of "writing time" and not very much "money," or something like that.

 

As far as Lincoln, the city, well...it has its advantages and disadvantages. I lived there on about $8,000 a year, so, $16,000? I can't even think about what I'd do with all that money. But I am also a degenerate slob whose only expensive purchases are fine wine and gourmet food. I won't say that Lincoln is a well-planned city, but it is really conveniently laid-out if you're a student. You can get anywhere you'd ever want to be on foot, and it is unbelievably flat (if you're into biking). If you do end up going, feel free to message me, because I could probably give you some information about the city's hidden cultural offerings, and about where you might want to live.

That's really helpful, Deadinthewater. I'm a lurker, and this is my first post. I, too, applied to U of Nebraska, Lincoln, for the PhD in CW program (as well as 9 other programs, 7 of which are traditional Lit). In my acceptance email, the director told me that I'm at the top of the waiting list for funding. I wonder what my chances are; it would be impossible for me to go without a funding package. If money ends up coming with the offer, I will seriously consider it because of the faculty there and the opportunity to complete a creative dissertation. And now, with your post, I feel that I have more information about the city. Thanks, everyone, for all the wonderful insight on this board. I'm on pins and needles about Pitt and Temple, which are my top choices right now. I'm also waiting on UCLA, USC, Penn, Harvard, Princeton, Indiana, and Ohio U. Staying hopeful at all costs! Good luck to all.