just mailed my first app -- tears ensued

[DontHate]

I think probably one easy way of figuring out what group you're in is looking at the names on your application. Big name profs, big name schools, those are two things that increase your probability of getting special attention. High numbers on your GRE & GPA probably do too. That could put you into the 50-60% category.

Edited December 13, 2012 by DontHate

[DontHate]

It's kinda like Foosball: you don't actually have to be good at it, you just have to be better than the other guy.

Hmmm, I feel like I needed to say that to myself. Very therapeutic!

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer right now, but I think if a program gets only shitty applicants, they aren't obligated to accept any that year (this is more common in departments of obscure foreign languages). So you do have to be good. You have to be good enough for them to want you. It's just that there are usually more than enough good people for the number of spots.

[Two Espressos]

I think probably one easy way of figuring out what group your in is looking at the names on your application. Big name profs, big name schools, those are two things that increase your probability of getting special attention. High numbers on your GRE & GPA probably do too. That could put you into the 50-60% category.

Yeah, I'm basically fucked as far as this goes.

[dazedandbemused]

I think probably one easy way of figuring out what group you're in is looking at the names on your application. Big name profs, big name schools, those are two things that increase your probability of getting special attention. High numbers on your GRE & GPA probably do too. That could put you into the 50-60% category.

Well, I'd be pretty screwed then. I like to take courage from what Buffalo states about the process though:

"While we do gauge grades and GREs, we are not number driven and we trust our judgments. We have accepted candidates with modest GREs and have rejected candidates with stratospheric scores. Furthermore, we do not place any particular emphasis on the schools you have attended. It is not the prestige of a school that produces interesting applicants. Brilliant students dwell in strange or obscure places, and they interest us."

[waparys]

How much do you guys think recs matter? As in: who they're from, what they say, etc.

Can they take a student from the "No" pile to the "Yes" pile? Or more like from the "Maybe" pile to the "Yes" pile?

[practical cat]

I too have been warned that Chicago is cutthroat. I've heard the same about UC-Irvine, and that the latter tries to weed people out once accepted. But maybe this happens at a lot of places?

I actually am somewhat attracted to the purportedly hyper-competitive nature of Chicago: it would be such a refreshing contrast to the school I attend now, sadly. As much as I would like a very collegial atmosphere--think UT-Austin-- and would need it to stay sane, I think that in an intellectual sense I need to be placed in a cutthroat environment to really grow. It would be good for me, I think.

For me, I'm pretty naturally hyper-competitive so I think that environment would push me too far. I'm leaving myself a few options on The List of programs that probably foster pretty damn competitive environments (um, hi again, Harvard, you're getting a lot of attention this year) but crossed off any where a professor who, again knows me quite well, told me that it wouldn't be healthy. The programs I wasn't explicitly warned against are the ones where I'm willing to see for myself, pending an acceptance. I don't want to undo all the work I've done over the last couple of years in learning to be kinder to myself.

[DontHate]

How much do you guys think recs matter? As in: who they're from, what they say, etc.

Can they take a student from the "No" pile to the "Yes" pile? Or more like from the "Maybe" pile to the "Yes" pile?

From everything I've heard, recs are super important. I'm pretty sure they can get you special consideration. So my answer would be yes.

[rems]

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer right now, but I think if a program gets only shitty applicants, they aren't obligated to accept any that year (this is more common in departments of obscure foreign languages). So you do have to be good. You have to be good enough for them to want you. It's just that there are usually more than enough good people for the number of spots.

Well, yeah. I more meant that when you assess your own application, you can't assess what everyone else has so it's a big blind spot. I was trying to be funny

[rems]

Yeah, I'm basically fucked as far as this goes.

Ditto.

And yes, recs do matter. A lot of them are generic (format/outline that prof just inserts your name into and maybe one specific paper you wrote), but if they are awesome, they help a whole fucking lot. Also, if you come from very small programs (like I do), and your profs know you quite well, that can be a big advantage over people coming from big programs where you're just a name to them who got an A in their Romance course. So maybe that can be a comeback from the aforementioned "fucked"-ness of coming form no-name programs..? No? Here's to hoping.

[practical cat]

I mean, I think you can get to know professors quite well in any environment and the ones that try are probably going to be the same people who are competitive no matter what, you know? I had plenty of classes with professors who literally wouldn't recognize me WHILE I was in their class but the English departments at even the big schools can be quite cozy because it's not a lecture-based field for the most part (most of my English classes were professors teaching 15-30 student classes) and even lectures are often quite interactive. People who aren't going to make an impression aren't, no matter the size of the class.

Edited December 13, 2012 by girl who wears glasses

[DontHate]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: charisma matters in academia. Charisma is a type of intelligence. If you can charm your professors into wanting to back you up, then you will go far.

[justkeepswimming]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: charisma matters in academia. Charisma is a type of intelligence. If you can charm your professors into wanting to back you up, then you will go far.

Well said.

[asleepawake]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: charisma matters in academia. Charisma is a type of intelligence. If you can charm your professors into wanting to back you up, then you will go far.

[Swagato]

This topic took a really interesting turn. I did my MA at Chicago (MAPH program, Cinema Studies), but my interests have a lot of overlap with English. I cannot speak to the "atmosphere" in terms of internal competition or strife, but my experience across both departments left me frothing at the mouth to be a part of things there. I probably will not be accepted to the CMS department, but the sheer passion, engagement, opportunities, events, and the generosity of every professor I ever encountered--it was an extraordinary experience for someone coming from a modestly small liberal arts college.

Recommendations, I think, matter -enormously-. I think they can definitely turn the tide in cases where there are questions. I will use my own example. Even in my modest SLAC, I had early pitfalls, and my transcript reflects that. None of my professors from there were/are recognisable names, at least at this level. However, I benefited greatly from the very, very close connections I'd created as I worked my way up through undergrad. I completely believe that the unusually close evaluation they were able to offer of me as a result was instrumental in a sub-3.0 PhD applicant with minimal background in the field getting waitlisted to one very selective MA program and one top-5 department (although redirected to the MA-level).

Now here I am, a year out of MAPH. Last year I had a silly SOP, unfocused sample, etc. But I made sure to stay in close touch with the people who I knew my new project would involve closely. I feel, paradoxically, that this gap I've been forced to take has allowed me to develop a closer relationship with my Chicago profs and advisor than if I had gone straight on to the PhD. And this, I feel, has allowed them to observe whatever improvement/development I've (hopefully) shown in my work--and I think that could definitely reflect in the new letters they've provided me.

It's such a vastly different feeling knowing that two seriously well-regarded scholars are backing you, from last year, when I had just emerged from an intense one-year program with overblown ambitions and vague claims.

[waparys]

Thanks for a great post, Swagato!

I keep going back and forth between Northwestern and Chicago as my favorites. Then again, I think I'd be happy at 6/7 places I applied to...but I'm a firm believer that things turn out the way they're supposed to and what will be will be

[sebastiansteddy]

I have submitted 11 apps. I really want to finish all of my remaining ones before I go on a 10 day vacation, but I am suffering from serious application fatigue. Anyone else having this problem?

[practical cat]

Serious application fatigue and I have about half as many in as you do. I kind of stalled out one day this week and now I'm paying for that.

[Datatape]

I did last year, when I pretty much did all of mine in one continous forward motion. This year, I did what I could to stagger them, only working on them on the weekends so I didn't get too fatigued. If they aren't due until after your vacation, then I would advise you to just get your ducks in a row as far as making sure your materials are all ready to be uploaded, go on vacation and recharge your batteries, then come back and get the last five uploaded. It's important to take some time for yourself in this process, because it can completely wipe you out.

[Swagato]

I'm just following the rhythm of my deadlines. I had my first group staggered between Dec. 1 and Dec. 10. Second group is all on Dec. 15th. Third group staggered between Dec. 30/31 and Jan 2. One outlier on Jan 15th. I'm trying to polish off everything by the 25th or thereabouts, so I can at least have my NYE in peace (as if).

It is bloody scary knowing some of my dream places make their decisions as early as end-Jan/first week Feb. The idea that this stuff I've worked to come up with for almost a year is going to be judged within a few *weeks*...

[Ablukhov]

I have submitted 11 apps. I really want to finish all of my remaining ones before I go on a 10 day vacation, but I am suffering from serious application fatigue. Anyone else having this problem?

You people with 10+ applications are inspiring. I'm doing 8 and I haven't even submitted my first one yet. 8 is all I can stomach.

[lisajay]

i got all 7 of my apps in (3 on the 1st, 4 on the 10th). on the fence about a possible 8th, but funding is dicey so not sure if it's worth it. harumph.

[skybythelight]

I have submitted 11 apps. I really want to finish all of my remaining ones before I go on a 10 day vacation, but I am suffering from serious application fatigue. Anyone else having this problem?

Definitely. I have six of my nine in... my remaining deadlines aren't until January 15th, but I would really like to get them done before New Years.

[sebastiansteddy]

I have completed all of mine that are due until Dec. 15th, and have completed some due into January. So I now have 12 done. I hope deciding to do so many was a good decision. All of the advisors in my MA program recommended 15 at the very least.

[sebastiansteddy]

Well, if I was having trouble getting my work done before, this news is certainly not helping. I know I am not planning on becoming an elementary teacher, but as I attempt to make progress on the applications that will lead me to become (hopefully) an educator in the future, this news from CT is just hitting me hard. Sigh.

[Swagato]

Unfortunate as it is, we cannot help in this situation--unless, that is, we are to devote all our energies to instituting a sane society free of guns in civilian possession, and all that that entails. What we can do is to make our own lives mean something, and right now, that means concentrating on what we've set ourselves to do.