1Q84 Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I just received one of those non-departmental "possible fake-out" emails. It includes possible red herrings like "your Director of Graduate studies" (emphasis mine, originally linked to the institution's DGS), "your Admissions Officer" (emphasis mine, with link to table of all AOs at said institution), and "will be even greater because of students such as you." I checked the application website. No change. This is the first I've heard from them. First thing I've heard from any of my applications, in fact. I'm telling myself not to get my hopes up, but logic isn't working here. Oh, PhD apps. Why must you toy with me so? To be honest, this sounds like standard Graduate Studies boilerplate language. I wouldn't read too much into it... not saying anything about your chances of getting accepted or not overall (and I certainly hope you do!), simply that this email probably is not meant to suggest either of those options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashJupiter Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 To be honest, this sounds like standard Graduate Studies boilerplate language. I wouldn't read too much into it... not saying anything about your chances of getting accepted or not overall (and I certainly hope you do!), simply that this email probably is not meant to suggest either of those options. This is what I'm telling myself and why I didn't immediately send back an email asking for clarification. Thanks, though! Each person that tells me this calms my nerves a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Well, I contacted the POI at Rice a few minutes ago, and he got back to me right away. He's sorry I didn't get in, of course (he wasn't on the adcom and didn't know anything about their results etc.), but gave me a few pointers for if I apply next year. He suspects that being somewhat untethered to a specific time period might have worked against me, and suggests that I might make my research goals even more specific. I had thought that my research goals were specific, but reading what some other folks here are doing, I see that I still might be too broad in my stated interests. So there's that. I will also make a point of contacting more POIs next time (if I wind up getting shut out, of course). It seems to have helped Hypervodka and others, and I get a feeling that it's just a good idea in general. It sucks that this is a very EXPENSIVE learning curve, but I think a lot can be learned from rejection regardless. jean-luc-gohard and lazaria 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanmato4794 Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I'm starting to act out. I want to spam DGS email with pictures of cats. UT Austin pweeeze. I wuv yoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramus Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) He suspects that being somewhat untethered to a specific time period might have worked against me, This makes a lot of sense to me. For adcoms that have to reduce you to a few bullet points, a transhistorical focus might suggest that you haven't quite "settled." I think we'll probably see more of an acceptance of transhistorical graduate student work in the next few years, but I think it'll take even longer than that for adcoms to start accepting folks who explicitly want to do more than focus on a hundred year period or so. If you end up reapplying next year, you might stress the early modern; it's always easier to do something a little more innovative once you're embedded in a program. Another thing: I'm not sure how much you positioned yourself in relation to existing scholarship, but doing this might be a really effective way of pitching your argument (even in a SOP). It might be really fruitful to explain your work as part of the New Formalist revival, specifically reacting against some of the methodological issues of hardcore (strictly sociopolitical) historicism. I think this might head off adcoms' concern (at least I imagine this is a concern of some of them) that prosody studies isn't a thing people really publish on anymore. In general, the importance of "selling" your argument gets overlooked on this site. I'd guess this is just as important as-- perhaps even more than -- "fit." Edited February 12, 2015 by Ramus SilasWegg and 1Q84 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilasWegg Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Infinity upvotes Ramus. These sorts of concerns are of utmost importance to a strong SOP and WS and we never talk about this on Grad Cafe. Every POI and LOR I spoke to said basically this. While they want to see ambitious and creative research projects, they also want applicants to demonstrate an understanding of the discipline of english today. Ramus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldfinch1880 Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 morristr---I notice in your signature you have a UVA rejection, do you mind sharing how you found that out? when I log into applyyourself I just have a "submitted" notification and date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean-luc-gohard Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 morristr---I notice in your signature you have a UVA rejection, do you mind sharing how you found that out? when I log into applyyourself I just have a "submitted" notification and date. It seems some of applications have been updated with a link about decisions and others haven't. Mine still has no admissions information when I log in to applyweb. This could be good news, or it could just mean that UVA sends out their rejections in waves. I'm not getting my hopes up yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc1 Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I made the unlikely decision to check my horoscope in my local paper today and it seems infinitely related to the application process: Libra--4 stars--"You could be somewhat withdrawn as you see what goes on around you. [surely this relates to seeing all of the red on the results board, it's definitely queasy-making and I'm hoping some green shows up throughout the day too!] Someone with whom you need to speak also might seem distant. [Every DGS, obviously.]" How is this a 4 star day, astrologists? I don't get it Anyway, I'm sending positive vibes out into the cold and uncaring universe for us all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramus Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Infinity upvotes Ramus. These sorts of concerns are of utmost importance to a strong SOP and WS and we never talk about this on Grad Cafe. Every POI and LOR I spoke to said basically this. While they want to see ambitious and creative research projects, they also want applicants to demonstrate an understanding of the discipline of english today. A lot of folks coming straight out of undergrad are put at a disadvantage because of this. I, for one, didn't really have a good sense of the "big" critical discussions happening now (two years ago, I thought Gender Trouble was radically new stuff). And even if you're aware of what individual POIs are doing, not demonstrating an awareness of larger critical trends can hurt your application. My advisors told me that before I applied this time around, I should read the last couple, three years of essays at each of the top four or five journals in my field. Doing so helped me immensely. My area of interest, early modern logic, is about as unsexy as topics come, yet I aligned myself with some other historical-formalist work that's been coming out in recent years. That hasn't led to my admission into all fourteen programs to which I applied, but I'm still a hell of a lot better off than when I applied with only a BA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaOverCoffee Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Why hasn't Ohio State contacted me yet? Never in my life have I felt so desperate. Do you think they just haven't decided for all the sub-fields yet? Were any Victorian literature prospectives contacted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramus Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) Why hasn't Ohio State contacted me yet? Never in my life have I felt so desperate. Do you think they just haven't decided for all the sub-fields yet? Were any Victorian literature prospectives contacted? To be honest, given the number of acceptances posted on the results board, I think they've probably already made all of their acceptance decisions. I'm not aware of the department's policy regarding waitlists, though. I wouldn't be surprised if those waitlisted are held in limbo until the department hears back from the grad school regarding fellowships for admits. The DGS told me that he will be informed of those details on Feb.16th. Edited February 12, 2015 by Ramus TeaOverCoffee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaOverCoffee Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 To be honest, given the number of acceptances posted on the results board, I think they've probably already made all of their acceptance decisions. I'm not aware of the department's policy regarding waitlists, though. I wouldn't be surprised if those waitlisted are held in limbo until the department hears back from the grad school regarding fellowships for admits. The DGS told me that he will be informed of those details on Feb.16th. You have no idea how thankful I am that somebody let me know. It's not even necessarily the answer that causes so much anxiety. It's the suspense of waiting. It's like a horror movie; you know something bad is about to happen, but your heart continues to race regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InHacSpeVivo Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) Re: OSU, I've been hoping for waitlist since all the acceptances went out. Here's hoping you awesome admitted people getting the university-wide fellowship making some room for us lowly folk. Edit: Speaking of in-limbo schools. Any thoughts on Penn State or Maryland? Edited February 12, 2015 by In hac spe vivo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigglar's Tusk Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Edit: Speaking of in-limbo schools. Any thoughts on Penn State or Maryland?Not sure about MD, but judging by the results board, I'd say the initial 15 offers have already been made by Penn State. From I've heard from them they always admit 15 new students, so you can't rule them out until the very last minute, for better or for worse. Edited February 13, 2015 by Zigglar's Tusk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazaria Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 While we're on the topic, anyone know what's up with UCSB? They seemed to have admitted a few and then there was silence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InHacSpeVivo Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Not sure about MD, but judging by the results board, I'd say the initial 15 offers have already been made by Penn State. From I've heard from them they always admit 15 new students, so you can't rule them out until the very last minute, for better or for worse. Thanks! That's good to know. What's awful about PSU is that they sometimes never send rejections. *sigh* Their administrative assistant is super nice so I may e-mail her next week so I can officially mark that up as a rejection. Now, if only the puzzle that is Maryland could be solved! BTW, I LOVE your avatar Zigglar (I may or may not have a green light tattoo). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 I thought I'd post it here instead of the acceptance thread. From Mr. Bourne at UCI: Thanks for your inquiry and your application to UC Irvine. We have not concluded our recruitment process at this time. Hold out hope, comrades! lazaria and Zigglar's Tusk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazaria Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 I thought I'd post it here instead of the acceptance thread. From Mr. Bourne at UCI: Hold out hope, comrades! This is good news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilasWegg Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) morristr---I notice in your signature you have a UVA rejection, do you mind sharing how you found that out? when I log into applyyourself I just have a "submitted" notification and date. On my applyyourself page there was a hyperlink at the bottom of the page that said something like "decision reached." TeaOverCoffee... I noticed on your signature that you got a rejection from Temple. How did they contact you? Edited February 13, 2015 by morristr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigglar's Tusk Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Thanks! That's good to know. What's awful about PSU is that they sometimes never send rejections. *sigh* Their administrative assistant is super nice so I may e-mail her next week so I can officially mark that up as a rejection. Now, if only the puzzle that is Maryland could be solved! BTW, I LOVE your avatar Zigglar (I may or may not have a green light tattoo). From what I gathered somewhere else on the forums, there had been some shake ups with the staff in the department so they either didn't have the organization or time to send out rejections....or maybe I'm just being an apologist. And thanks, I'very trying to figure out how to get the Coney Island into a tattooable image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InHacSpeVivo Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 And thanks, I'very trying to figure out how to get the Coney Island into a tattooable image. An artist specializing in watercolor style might be your best bet. BuzzFeed recently released a list that included a few great US artists: http://www.buzzfeed.com/lj3313/28-incredible-watercolor-tattoos-and-where-to-get-b2ju#.ybwgoqrBX7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allicandoiskeepbreathing Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 This is what I'm telling myself and why I didn't immediately send back an email asking for clarification. Thanks, though! Each person that tells me this calms my nerves a bit. I spoke with the AO (who was super nice, by the way), and it's just another form letter from the Graduate College. No decisions have been made by the department yet. Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashJupiter Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) I spoke with the AO (who was super nice, by the way), and it's just another form letter from the Graduate College. No decisions have been made by the department yet. Sorry! No problem! It's really nice to know for sure. Also, the Graduate College should not be sending such loaded language to people whose business is finding and analyzing loaded language. Edited February 13, 2015 by CrashJupiter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurayamino Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 This has got to be the longest year of my life. And by year, I mean the last two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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