portraitofsarah Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Curious if anyone has had any movement on their waitlists yet? I'm not expecting anything major until after the Open Houses, but wondering if any of these lists are moving yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueberryscone Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Curious if anyone has had any movement on their waitlists yet? I'm not expecting anything major until after the Open Houses, but wondering if any of these lists are moving yet? No. Sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ishmael Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 None, here, either. But I'm still waiting on three schools... Come on, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sf210 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Nope no movement on any waitlists - I'm on 3. And still 3 programs with no decisions/updates at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portraitofsarah Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Le sigh. I'm still waiting to hear from one, but I've given up on it. So now it's just checking my inbox and the boards every day for my waitlist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigadierpudding Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I definitely think that with SMU being so young, that they are using it as an opportunity to be cutting edge. They also seem to have more money than god to throw at building the program, too. But, besides the tech and the travel funding, they're doing a lot structurally. For teaching prep, they actually do observations and feedback, just like you would do in a secondary school setting. Frankly, that should be done at all levels. How often in college have you had a brilliant prof that was an awful instructor? Being brilliant and a an authority doesn't mean you can communicate effectively (soapbox). I just saw that we have the opportunity to stay on for one year as a visiting professor/adjunct our seventh year (or after we've defended our dissertation)--not does that give us usable experience for our job search, it gives us an environment that we can conduct a job search in without worrying about our loan payments. Sure it's a competitive posting, but that's a lot more than other schools offer. I don't know. If I had known at first that they were only 6 years old, I probably wouldn't have applied (I found out at interview weekend), but ultimately, in this specific instance, youth doesn't matter--it's a very student driven program, very focused on building a legacy and reputation. And more money than the law school. ;-) That's really awesome. Pedagogy is so important, and not every school places enough emphasis on it. It's also nice to have the option of a fallback year when you're on the job hunt. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Espressos Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 No movement on my wait list either. I really want to go there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfat Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I know that there's been at least a little movement on Penn State's wait-list, but I haven't heard anything (no grad-cafe-ers, at least) about Michigan's. I kinda wish I at least knew when their visiting week(s)/open house/whatever was happening so I might have an idea. For me, "nail biting" is kind of literal--my fingers look a little bit like I've shoved them into a garbage disposal because of this whole process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueberryscone Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Yep. No nail biting here, but I've been stress-cooking and watching terrible, terrible TV. I've gotten through two seasons of Supernatural, and there's about 5 pounds of cookie dough, 2 weeks worth of waffles, and enough chili to feed an army in my freezer... I know that there's been at least a little movement on Penn State's wait-list, but I haven't heard anything (no grad-cafe-ers, at least) about Michigan's. I kinda wish I at least knew when their visiting week(s)/open house/whatever was happening so I might have an idea. For me, "nail biting" is kind of literal--my fingers look a little bit like I've shoved them into a garbage disposal because of this whole process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
practical cat Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I know that there's been at least a little movement on Penn State's wait-list, but I haven't heard anything (no grad-cafe-ers, at least) about Michigan's. I kinda wish I at least knew when their visiting week(s)/open house/whatever was happening so I might have an idea. For me, "nail biting" is kind of literal--my fingers look a little bit like I've shoved them into a garbage disposal because of this whole process. Oh, sorry. I wish I'd known you didn't know! It's the 20-22! Many programs list them on the events calendars of their websites in case anyone else is curious about other schools and hopefully that will help you spare some nerves until the 23? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellybug Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I'm off the wait list at Michigan! Datatape, thatjewishgirl, practical cat and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastiansteddy Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I'm off the wait list at Michigan! CONGRATS!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portraitofsarah Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Yay Smellybug! Congrats! (or Con-grads, har har har) (Very long week). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfat Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 (edited) I'm off the wait list at Michigan! Hooray for you! Would you mind sharing a little more info? What is your area of interest, and do you know more about how the wait list works? Thanks! ETA: nrrmind, I see you're comp lit. ... wonder if the English waitlist works similarly... But CONGRATS! Edited March 16, 2013 by bfat Kudrov, smellybug and Datatape 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellybug Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Hooray for you! Would you mind sharing a little more info? What is your area of interest, and do you know more about how the wait list works? Thanks! ETA: nrrmind, I see you're comp lit. ... wonder if the English waitlist works similarly... But CONGRATS! Well, it's probably the same. I think they both keep a very small wait list and it's specific to area of interest. Like, they get their top choices lined up and then create a wait list for each specific area. That way if Person X declines the spot they have Person W to fill that 20th century Russian lit. spot, for example. Also I think I accidentally clicked a button on your post that hurts your reputation and it won't let me undo it... I suck. I'm sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastiansteddy Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Like, they get their top choices lined up and then create a wait list for each specific area. That way if Person X declines the spot they have Person W to fill that 20th century Russian lit. spot, for example. I think wait lists work slightly differently than this. Most schools accept more students than they suspect will enroll. I know that Irvine, for example where I am wait listed, accepted 15 students and hopes to enroll 10. Therefore, at least 6 students must decline before they go to the waitlist. In other words, it is not necessarily the case that because person A studying contemporary poetry declines, they will accept person B studying contemporary poetry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuateAmfeminist Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I think wait lists work slightly differently than this. Most schools accept more students than they suspect will enroll. I know that Irvine, for example where I am wait listed, accepted 15 students and hopes to enroll 10. Therefore, at least 6 students must decline before they go to the waitlist. In other words, it is not necessarily the case that because person A studying contemporary poetry declines, they will accept person B studying contemporary poetry. This is one way of going about it, but another is the way smellybug says it. For example, I was on the waitlist for Ethnic and Third World Lit. When the one person they wanted for their cohort that year declined, I got the spot because it kept the balance of areas they wanted. If a Medeval lit person had declined, I would have been no closer to getting in. So, it depends on how your school wants to build a cohort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastiansteddy Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 (edited) Right, I understand that, but every school that has accepted or wait listed me has accepted more than their target incoming class. Rochester accepted 12 and is hoping for an incoming class of 6. So to go to the wait list, 7 or more people must decline. Those 7 who decline might be, for example 1) Renaissance; 2) Contemporary Film; 3) 20th C British Lit; 4) Contemporary Am. Lit; 5) 19th C British Lit; 6) Modernist Poetry; 7) Silent Film. So after those 7 have declined, the program will asses those applicants on the wait list to see who will be admitted. Just because one person who declined studies contemporary film doesn't mean that the 1 they accept off the wait list will study contemporary film. Right? I haven't heard of a single program that only accepts the exact number of their target entering class. Edited March 17, 2013 by sebastiansteddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedandbemused Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 (edited) There are actually quite a few programs that simply can't afford to accept more than their target number because if they did so and everyone accepted decided to matriculate, they'd have a lot of budget issues to deal with. Better to have a long waitlist in that case. This is, of course, just general word of mouth knowledge. Edited March 17, 2013 by dazedandbemused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastiansteddy Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 There are actually quite a few programs that simply can't afford to accept more than their target number because if they did so and everyone accepted decided to matriculate, they'd have a lot of budget issues to deal with. Better to have a long waitlist in that case. This is, of course, just general word of mouth knowledge. I am going off of the 7 programs where I have either been waitlisted or accepted, as well as the university where I am completing my MA. I would wager that the vast majority (thought not ALL) of PhD in English programs in the US initially accept at least a few more students than their target class size. All I am trying to say is that there is not a 1 to 1 ratio of first round admits declining to watlisters being accepted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedandbemused Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Oh I would never claim that most, or even a lot, of programs admit exactly the amount of students they hope to yield. I was just responding to what you said about not hearing of any programs that did so, which I think I read as an absolute statement, because I have heard of programs that have 1:1 acceptance/waitlist ratios. No offense meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastiansteddy Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Oh I wasn't offended or anything! I didn't intend to come off as argumentative either, I just meant all this because the tendencies on these boards tends to oversimplify the complexities of the waitlist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastiansteddy Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 ALSO - I will happily admit when I am wrong. As has been brought to my attention, one of my programs (OSU) MIGHT indeed have that 1:1 ratio of declines to wait list acceptances. It seems like most of the others, however, do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katia_chan Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 That's some rough shooting on the Rochester list...ouch. Imma go back to nail-biting now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComeBackZinc Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I don't think either of you are wrong. I think you're just reflecting the diversity of different funding schemes at different universities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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