Fall 2015 Applicants

[Radcafe]

Hi friends! Just wanted to share:

Last year I was a senior in college and applied to 10 programs. I had good grades and references, so I wasn't worried...until notifications started going out! Refreshing the results search page became addictive and unhealthy. I didn't hear back from a lot of programs that were already admitting students, so I was really stressed and struggled to focus in classes.  

 

I was finally waitlisted to a decent program, but that didn't exactly fix the issue. I started getting my rejection letters and had to start coming up with the dreaded back-up plan. The waitlister program finally rejected me in April, then I was accepted to an MA/PHD program with no funding for 2 years (boo). I decided to do a gap year instead. In June I was accepted to Columbia's unfunded MA program but turned that down for the same money reason. I just didn't want to pay for an MA. 

 

I'm sharing this because I want people to be aware of the rejection-season stress and take good care of themselves! I cried a lot last semester but everything turned out for the best. My gap year is going well, and my applications this year are (I think) stronger. Doing a writing sample and SOPS while you're in college is really difficult so having a year off has helped a ton. 

 

It's a good idea to have a backup plan. I ended up working for Kaplan (ok) and becoming a freelance editor on Elance (awesome). Get on Elance.com if you think you'd enjoy editing people's novels. I'm editing one now for $650; it only takes me maybe 24 hours to do a novel and I get to set my own hours. Freelancing is a great way to get some experience without actually being hired by a company, and I think grad schools will like to see that I'm a "professional" as well as a teacher. Let me know if you'd like more info on freelance fiction editing. It's shockingly easy to get started. 

 

Good luck to everyone as we send in the rest of those apps! 

[fancypants09]

 

I too learned that I ran out of the positive reputation point thingies for the day but SO concur with this message. This is part of the reason why I feel so sure about returning to academia for graduate studies.

[Dr. Old Bill]

The emeritus LOR-writer I mentioned the other day has now uploaded his one missing letter, which means that all of my LORs are now in. Huzzah! So unless I screwed something up, like sending a scanned transcript when a program wants a hard copy or something, my applications are officially 100% complete and ready to be pored over.

[1Q84]

The emeritus LOR-writer I mentioned the other day has now uploaded his one missing letter, which means that all of my LORs are now in. Huzzah! So unless I screwed something up, like sending a scanned transcript when a program wants a hard copy or something, my applications are officially 100% complete and ready to be pored over.

 

 

Congrats! What an accomplishment... 17 apps. Go chug a beer or something! 

[Dr. Old Bill]

Congrats! What an accomplishment... 17 apps. Go chug a beer or something! 

 

Thanks! It's funny...it feels like they've been "done" for a long while, but realistically, until that emeritus uploaded his final letter this morning, I couldn't legitimately say they were complete...

 

I'm doing a low-carb thing right now, BUT I just chugged an Atkins shake...so that's something!

[__________________________]

Thanks! It's funny...it feels like they've been "done" for a long while, but realistically, until that emeritus uploaded his final letter this morning, I couldn't legitimately say they were complete...

 

I'm doing a low-carb thing right now, BUT I just chugged an Atkins shake...so that's something!

[TeaOverCoffee]

So, I submitted everything for my Ohio State application, and my last recommender submitted everything the night before the deadline, but my status still remains as incomplete. The committee begins to looking at applications in t-minus eight hours...... Step up your game, OSU Grad School. It's not longer pending; it's complete. AHHHHH. 

 

Other than having a mild panic attack over my incomplete status, I'm going to bury my head in the four papers I have due this, including the three finals for which I have to prepare. 

 

Good luck, you guys, on applications and for those of you who still have finals! May the odds be ever in your favor.

[HesseBunuel90]

Where did it say incomplete? I also applied to Ohio State, and the status merely says "Pending," not complete or incomplete. If you check all the application requirements, you can see if all are complete.

[TeaOverCoffee]

Well, my application materials appear as incomplete, so doesn't that mean my application is incomplete? I could be completely wrong, and you could perhaps take a huge weight off my shoulders.

[Put a cat on it]

Just FYI, this is on the OSU How to Apply page: NOTE: It can take up to 7 days for your uploaded materials to show up in the system. If your application center still says "incomplete" after you've uploaded your documents, this is NORMAL. After 7 days, if you are still concerned that your materials did not load, please feel free to contact us at graduateenglish@osu.edu.)

Edited December 8, 2014 by Put a cat on it

[toasterazzi]

I'm trying to remember what my OSU status said last year, but I'm blanking. I will say though that all of the folks involved with grad admissions in the English department are awesome. So if you want to make an inquiry, I'm sure that'd be fine.

[1Q84]

Welp. There goes the Stanford app and $125! I very much expect moths to come fluttering out of my wallet any minute now...

[Dr. Old Bill]

Welp. There goes the Stanford app and $125! I very much expect moths to come fluttering out of my wallet any minute now...

 

I had so many application expenses that Visa filed for fee waivers.

[fancypants09]

Just checking in, everyone! 

 

Deadlines approaching = motivation/emotional roller coaster = writing as directly and succinctly as possible to finish everything before I completely run out of steam (forget the beautiful rhetoric and imagery...at this point I just want to be done...)

 

It looks like my recommenders and I will all be submitting on the day of. Yay...

[1Q84]

Sooo.... is that Harvard Literature acceptance in the Results Search for real?

[Dr. Old Bill]

Sooo.... is that Harvard Literature acceptance in the Results Search for real?

 

Considering that their application window doesn't close for another three weeks, I'm thinking not. They don't, to the best of my knowledge, do rolling admissions.

[ProfLorax]

Yes, I agree with WT. Every year, there are some mean-spirited troll responses on the results board that freak everyone out. However, there are also some awesome ones too! Keep watch for the acceptance to Hogwarts.  

[Dr. Old Bill]

Keep watch for the acceptance to Hogwarts.

 

*feverishly starts on an 18th application*

[toasterazzi]

Ahem: Harry Potter fans can apply to the Hogwarts-inspired College of Wizardry

[echo449]

Does anyone know why the numbers around here have dropped so dramatically? Is it cyclical? When I was applying last year, I remember this being a much, much more crowded space (I'm reapplying this year after only receiving a couple unfunded masters offers).

[Dr. Old Bill]

Does anyone know why the numbers around here have dropped so dramatically? Is it cyclical? When I was applying last year, I remember this being a much, much more crowded space (I'm reapplying this year after only receiving a couple unfunded masters offers).

 

No. I was whining about it over the summer and early autumn, particularly after reading such lengthy and informative threads from years past. It's probably just an anomaly this year. Then again, it's possible that all the (justifiable) doom and gloom over the state of the industry has finally started to dissuade a lot of would-be graduate applicants. At my current college, I've only come across one other person who is applying to English Ph.D. programs. I don't socialize much, given the age gap, and the distance I live from campus, but I still find it odd that I haven't come across more graduate hopefuls, given the relative prestige of my school.

[hreaðemus]

It's also a.) finals week, b.) the start of the holidays, and c.) the start of application deadlines - so a lot of us are just too busy to post! Between learning two new languages, trying to process and engage with the protests happening in my town, finishing my applications, turning in final projects and developing an honors thesis I just don't have time to post unless I REALLY have something to say! But I do check in on the forums at least once a day.

 

Today I turned in a 20-page research paper for my favorite professor 15 minutes before the deadline, which is really pushing it for me; it's a strong idea and pretty well-written, I think, up until Page 14 - and then I crumble downhill to a VERY weak conclusion. It's driving me nuts. I'm thinking about giving her an edited version on Friday just for the sake of my pride and her eyeballs... she's seen a ton of my drafts and works-in-progress before, but somehow every time I write something terrible I'm just SURE I'll disappoint her forever...

 

Also, the "storm of the decade" hits tonight in California! All the schools are having a "rain day" in the Bay Area tomorrow, which I find mildly absurd. But it is Berkeley! We don't really have weather here, I guess.

[fancypants09]

Stay dry CA folks!

Just doing my daily check-in here to keep sane. Finished SOP today. Need to revise CV, footnote and cite WS, and change the fit paragraph on SOP...and then freedom!!

[echo449]

Ha, WT that is what I'm hoping, though I feel slightly guilty doing so. I know from my own University there are 5 or 6 applying, though no one from my own area (20th century poetics and politics). 

But as to finals week: does anyone else feel deeply jealous of programs that are due in January? CUNY might get an app from me just because I'll have some chance to breathe before their deadline, polishing up the fit paragraph instead of assembling it in a state of half-panic. Though I did realize while applying to UCSC yesterday that one of the PoIs there for me is in fact the baby version of a professor writing one of my letters. So that's something. 

[TeaOverCoffee]

Yeah, I definitely think it's because of finals and grad apps. Once this semester ends and everyone gets caught up on sending their applications and supplemental materials, I think there will be a lot more activity on the threads. Honestly, I want to avoid grad cafe once mid-Jan rolls around, though. Hearing of rejections and acceptances when I have heard nothing may drive me insane. I even created a separate gmail account for all of my graduate school apps so it's not sent to my phone directly from my university email account. I don't think I can handle the constant anticipation each time I receive an email from online stores or Merriam-Webster.