Fall 2014 applicants??

[Fiz]

I've been informed that publishing itself doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot if it's not to a first or second tier journal--until you start job hunting. But unless you publish something in your field at a first or second tier journal, I've heard that it doesn't necessarily impact your chance of getting in (ie people get rejected who have been published 4 times, etc). Presenting at conferences makes more of a difference, but isn't a requirement--I know plenty of funded PhD students who have never presented before.

It might depend on the school, but this is what I have heard is the norm generally. Grad schools are looking to cultivate students; you don't need to be a published academic yet.

I second this. My letter writers told me that unless this is true, publishing doesnt mean jack shit. I'm told undergraduates arent expected to have published anything, and committees are looking for "potential" more than anything. I've also been warned that undergrads who have published can even come off as antithetical to admissions.

And to ease the stress of those who didnt publish, I havent published anything at all either...and I still got in. So keep your head up!

[cbttcher]

I just hate this wait

[ArthChauc]

I don't think my profs know about GradCafe, and if they do, they've never mentioned it.

 

 

Yep.

 

I'm an MA student at BGSU and I know all about the ACS department! If you have any questions, please let me know!

[despejado]

Today's an insanely slow day, results-wise. Absolutely killing me.

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

Today's an insanely slow day, results-wise. Absolutely killing me.

I received an email from a school that historically begins notifying rejections in a few days and accepts in a week. They're looking for my official transcripts.

hmmm.

[despejado]

I received an email from a school that historically begins notifying rejections in a few days and accepts in a week. They're looking for my official transcripts.

hmmm.

Can you share the name? You're making me anxious haha

[viviandarkbloom]

Anyone heard anything from NYU? Looks like they'd already started notifying by now the last couple of years. It says on their webpage that they extended the application deadline by few days, I wonder if that means notifications will come out a bit later? (This is all complete speculation)

[despejado]

Anyone heard anything from NYU? Looks like they'd already started notifying by now the last couple of years. It says on their webpage that they extended the application deadline by few days, I wonder if that means notifications will come out a bit later? (This is all complete speculation)

Haven't heard anything yet. Didn't even have any idea they had extended the deadline

Edited February 4, 2014 by despejado

[mikers86]

Incredibly slow day for acceptances. Wish Stanford would move from implied rejection to official!

[Kamisha]

What do you guys think about going to a PhD program that isn’t well ranked (I mean anything below like 75)? Are we talking career suicide? Or does it really matter with things as competitive as they are anyway? 

[despejado]

On 2/4/2014 at 12:07 PM, Kamisha said:

What do you guys think about going to a PhD program that isn’t well ranked (I mean anything below like 75)? Are we talking career suicide? Or does it really matter with things as competitive as they are anyway?

I had a prof at TAMU (my school) tell me not to apply anywhere lower ranked than there (mid 60s) because job prospects were pretty bad. I only applied to one school lower in the rankings but I feel like I should have applied to at least one more.

[gatsbysghost]

I don't think I ever would've known what an implied rejection is if it weren't for GradCafe. Or rather, it would have materialized much differently. W/o gradcafe an implied rejection would mean getting to mid-March without a peep from a certain school, oh well. On Gradcafe, an implied rejection means 2 people got offers at 2:30 and now it's 2:33 and you feel like the world is crashing down on you.

 

Speaking of "implied" rejections, is it not the case that decisions may be sent out over the course of several days? How...how much should I be panicking if I haven't gotten an email on a day when everyone else seems to be getting them? I don't mean to inflict my own neuroses on you all, but the mind goes to some awfully dark places in February...

[toasterazzi]

What do you guys think about going to a PhD program that isn’t well ranked (I mean anything below like 75)? Are we talking career suicide? Or does it really matter with things as competitive as they are anyway? 

 

Personally, I think those programs can be just as good as higher ranked programs, especially given how flawed some of the ranking systems are. Granted, they may not have the same degree of notoriety/connections, but I still think they can be great fits. And some of the lower ranked schools I've looked at still have really good placement rates (sometimes even better than higher ranked schools). For my own bit, I applied to one school in the Top 30s, 2 schools ranked between 30 and 70, 2 schools ranked around 100, and one unranked school. But I tried not to focus too much on where they fell in the rankings and looked more at what the programs could offer me, their commitment to professionalization, their placement rates, where former students ended up, etc.

[toasterazzi]

Speaking of "implied" rejections, is it not the case that decisions may be sent out over the course of several days? How...how much should I be panicking if I haven't gotten an email on a day when everyone else seems to be getting them? I don't mean to inflict my own neuroses on you all, but the mind goes to some awfully dark places in February...

 

It's my understanding that this varies from school to school. Some places rip the bandaid off all at once, while others stagger their results. Some schools don't send out letters of rejection until March or April, and I've heard of a few people never actually receiving any notification or getting a letter in like August.

[Horb]

If I don't get notified, I'm demanding my application fee back. That is just rude. I paid for a timely response. 

[Tweedledumb]

I realize this is naive, but where do you look to find these rankings? I didn't apply based on rank at all, just to schools I thought were a good fit/program...

[toasterazzi]

I realize this is naive, but where do you look to find these rankings? I didn't apply based on rank at all, just to schools I thought were a good fit/program...

 

Here's some of them: 

 

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/english-rankings

http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/english/rank/basic

[gatsbysghost]

It's my understanding that this varies from school to school. Some places rip the bandaid off all at once, while others stagger their results. Some schools don't send out letters of rejection until March or April, and I've heard of a few people never actually receiving any notification or getting a letter in like August.

 

That is...well, completely terrifying, but thank you! 

[Jocko]

BowTiesAreCool, Did you get an email from the department or the grad school asking for your hard copy transcripts?

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

I realize this is naive, but where do you look to find these rankings? I didn't apply based on rank at all, just to schools I thought were a good fit/program...

I don't think there is an accepted Rhet/comp ranking consensus.

[ProfLorax]

Speaking of "implied" rejections, is it not the case that decisions may be sent out over the course of several days? How...how much should I be panicking if I haven't gotten an email on a day when everyone else seems to be getting them? I don't mean to inflict my own neuroses on you all, but the mind goes to some awfully dark places in February...

Last year, someone posted an acceptance to Maryland. I still hadn't heard anything. A day went by. Nothing. Another day. Yet another day. By this point, I was lying to myself and my partner, claiming that I never really wanted to go to Maryland anyway. I had other options, anyway, so who cared about stupid Maryland? The next day, I got the "you're in!" call while at work. I did a little dance, a quiet celebratory yell, and texted my partner right away. And now, I am very happily at Maryland.

 

A few weeks ago, I told this story to some of my cohort. My friend confessed that the first post was hers, and she wasn't notified as so much as she called the office to inquire on her status, so she found out before the rest of us did. The rest of the acceptances came days later, when they were actually planned to come out. That first post was not an evil plan, nor a conspiracy to strike fear in the hearts of applicants everywhere. Nope. Just humans being human. 

 

Some programs have the DGS contact each applicant, and while I imagine those calls can be fun, they must also be exhausting-- so they space them out. Others have POI's contact accepted applicants on their own time. Some have rolling admissions (Purdue is notorious for this) and never let you know you're on the wait list. There is no method to the madness, unless you consider the quirkiness, randomness, and nonsense of human beings and bureaucracy a method. 

 

Breathe! It's early yet. And when it comes, take the time to enjoy the first "yes." For me at least, it was the best one. 

[Tweedledumb]

I don't think there is an accepted Rhet/comp ranking consensus.

 

That's what I thought, since most are located in English departments I could understand looking at the rankings, but Rhet/Comp makes decisions completely separately from English apps. It's a weird sort of limbo to be in. 

[purpleperson]

What do you guys think about going to a PhD program that isn’t well ranked (I mean anything below like 75)? Are we talking career suicide? Or does it really matter with things as competitive as they are anyway? 

 

I have no problem attending a school that is ranked below 75.  As a matter of fact, the school I most want to attend is just that.   I believe that good work is being done at all varieties of schools.  

 

I applied to 13 places.  

 

2 - Top 20

2 -- Between 21 and 30

2 -- 40s

1 - 50s

4 - 60s

2 -- ranked below 75    

 

I would have applied to more "ranked below 75" schools if there were more of them in cities I like.  Too many, though, were in places I'd never want to live.

 

I consider everything in the 40s and higher to be out of my league, and everything 50s and lower in my league.  But one never knows what will happen.  

 

And I'm just generalizing, of course.  Technically, they're probably all out of my league!  I honestly don't expect to get in anywhere.

Edited February 4, 2014 by purpleperson

[mikers86]

Last year, someone posted an acceptance to Maryland. I still hadn't heard anything. A day went by. Nothing. Another day. Yet another day. By this point, I was lying to myself and my partner, claiming that I never really wanted to go to Maryland anyway. I had other options, anyway, so who cared about stupid Maryland? The next day, I got the "you're in!" call while at work. I did a little dance, a quiet celebratory yell, and texted my partner right away. And now, I am very happily at Maryland.

 

A few weeks ago, I told this story to some of my cohort. My friend confessed that the first post was hers, and she wasn't notified as so much as she called the office to inquire on her status, so she found out before the rest of us did. The rest of the acceptances came days later, when they were actually planned to come out. That first post was not an evil plan, nor a conspiracy to strike fear in the hearts of applicants everywhere. Nope. Just humans being human. 

 

Some programs have the DGS contact each applicant, and while I imagine those calls can be fun, they must also be exhausting-- so they space them out. Others have POI's contact accepted applicants on their own time. Some have rolling admissions (Purdue is notorious for this) and never let you know you're on the wait list. There is no method to the madness, unless you consider the quirkiness, randomness, and nonsense of human beings and bureaucracy a method. 

 

Breathe! It's early yet. And when it comes, take the time to enjoy the first "yes." For me at least, it was the best one. 

 

What a great anecdote proflorax. I imagine we're all a little neurotic (and over caffeinated) right now. Your point about DGS contacting each applicant and the reasoning for spacing them out helps a lot.

[gatsbysghost]

Last year, someone posted an acceptance to Maryland. I still hadn't heard anything. A day went by. Nothing. Another day. Yet another day. By this point, I was lying to myself and my partner, claiming that I never really wanted to go to Maryland anyway. I had other options, anyway, so who cared about stupid Maryland? The next day, I got the "you're in!" call while at work. I did a little dance, a quiet celebratory yell, and texted my partner right away. And now, I am very happily at Maryland.

 

A few weeks ago, I told this story to some of my cohort. My friend confessed that the first post was hers, and she wasn't notified as so much as she called the office to inquire on her status, so she found out before the rest of us did. The rest of the acceptances came days later, when they were actually planned to come out. That first post was not an evil plan, nor a conspiracy to strike fear in the hearts of applicants everywhere. Nope. Just humans being human. 

 

Some programs have the DGS contact each applicant, and while I imagine those calls can be fun, they must also be exhausting-- so they space them out. Others have POI's contact accepted applicants on their own time. Some have rolling admissions (Purdue is notorious for this) and never let you know you're on the wait list. There is no method to the madness, unless you consider the quirkiness, randomness, and nonsense of human beings and bureaucracy a method. 

 

Breathe! It's early yet. And when it comes, take the time to enjoy the first "yes." For me at least, it was the best one. 

 

That is seriously the most comforting story I have heard in a very long time, and I cannot thank you enough for it! Seriously, I'm just going to go make some tea and calm down for fifteen minutes