Regretting not having applied to certain schools?

[NowMoreSerious]

I figured I'd make a thread where we talk about schools we wished we had applied to, either because we learned new information or just were on the fence.

Mine: CUNY - unaware that their funding improved drastically.

UC Riverside: In the interests of time management, I had to exclude a UC and Riverside was the short straw. I presented at a conference there and I got good vibes from both faculty and grad students.

Edited December 21, 2012 by ImWantHazPhD

[Two Espressos]

Great thread idea!  Money was an issue for me, but if I had the extra cash, I probably would have applied to

 

1) Chicago: it has a reputation for being quite rigorous, and I am just drawn to the program for some reason.  Lauren Berlant is there too.

 

2) Duke (Literature): I like the interdisciplinarity of the program a lot, but I was a little leery after hearing some negative feedback from some accepted applicants last year.

 

3) Michigan: a great program, but it got edged out by another school in a similar geographic location.

 

Those three come to mind off the top of my head.  Oh and had I taken the Lit GRE: Rutgers.  My advisor got her Ph.D. from there, knows lots of people in the program, and could have put in a good word for me.

Edited December 21, 2012 by Two Espressos

[asleepawake]

Mine: CUNY - unaware that their funding improved drastically.

 

Same! Great program, location, and now funding... darn it.

[t1racyjacks]

I don't regret because applications seem to take more energy for me. It's not the SOP and whatever, it's filling up the website and the boring red tape. And the money -- I'm paying in US dollars -- ouch. But if I had to apply to other unis I would pick Stanford -- didn't because I figured it was tough to get in and I am already applying to Berkeley. Also JHU -- but their acceptance rate is really crazy, with 5 being accepted per year or so so I figured there was no point wasting my money.

[NowMoreSerious]

Luckily for me, money was not much of an issue since I am poor and qualified for many types of fee waivers and put a lot of time into arranging the required paperwork.

I also wish I had applied to some American Studies programs, especially the one at USC. Great work they are doing there, it seems, and their grad students are diverse in every sense of the word, which for me is a plus.

Edited December 21, 2012 by ImWantHazPhD

[dazedandbemused]

Thankfully, I don't think I've got any regrets this year. I almost didn't apply to USC, which would have been a huge regret, but I managed to get that one out on time. I think last year was the year of regrets; I made sure to apply to all of them this time around.

[practical cat]

I have several that I wish I could've justified applying to: UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke being the big two. But seconding two espressos, no Lauren Berlant breaks my heart. I regret almost overlooking Brandeis and knowing that almost happened makes me really jittery.

No real regrets though.

[DontHate]

Je ne regrette rien

[bfat]

2) Duke (Literature): I like the interdisciplinarity of the program a lot, but I was a little leery after hearing some negative feedback from some accepted applicants last year.

 

 

'Splain please?

 

(Edited 'cause the quotes feature is totally f'd tonight...)

Edited December 21, 2012 by bfat

[Datatape]

UC Davis.  Would have loved to apply, but circumstances made it impossible for me to take the subject test in October as I planned and the November test scores wouldn't have arrived until well after their deadline.

[Two Espressos]

'Splain please?

 

(Edited 'cause the quotes feature is totally f'd tonight...)

 

 

You might want to check earlier pages as well, but this is a good start.  Enjoy the wisdom of last year's applicants, everyone!

[thestage]

no regrets, wasn't going to get into any of the places I passed over.

 

I will say that it would have been nice to apply to some comp lit/theory programs, but hey, my German just ain't good enough.

Edited December 21, 2012 by thestage

[waparys]

I'm pretty happy with my list. Maybe I wish I'd gone through with the complicated-looking application for UIC, since I'm dying to be in Chicago. I also wish I'd been more aware of which schools are international-friendly (or the opposite) instead of thinking my US undegrad would make that a moot point.

 

Anyway.

 

Oh and Two Espressos we overlap on 2/7 applied-to schools. And if you'd applied to two of your regrets, it'd be 4/7. May the odds be ever in your favor. And maybe I'll see you someplace!