lifealive Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 So yes, a little more transparency in that regard would be nice. It would, of course, mean fewer applicants, which consequently means fewer application fees. Multiply a loss of say, fifty applications across thirty or forty graduate programs, and you start to get into six-figure territory. Presumably more than just a drop in the bucket. I don't want to lay blame at the feet of the almighty dollar, as there are certainly other factors...yet the fact that virtually no graduate admissions process has any sort of transparency is telling. True, it does mean a potential loss for them, but I'm more sympathetic to the grad student hopefulls who shell out 80, 90, and sometimes 100 bucks to supposedly have an application reviewed when the committee has almost no intention of reviewing that application. It costs me nothing to apply to a job, but $100 application fee, for a student or underemployed person, is a loss of several hours' wages. I know that English departments are strapped--and I also recognize that admissions committees have the power to make decisions for whatever arbitrary reason that suits them on any particular day--but I think it's somewhat fraudulent to pass down the costs to a class of people that are even more marginalized. Anyway, I'll stop pontificating now. My point in ringing in here was just to help people see that rejections have nothing to do with your potential as a scholar because this process is a big black box. I was rejected from an overwhelming majority of programs I applied to--and twice from some of my favorite programs--and I still went on to do okay. jean-luc-gohard, 1Q84, Katla and 1 other 4
fancypants09 Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 OK, calling out the Michigan comp lit admit!! Where are you, you lucky duck?!
Katla Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 OK, calling out the Michigan comp lit admit!! Where are you, you lucky duck?! Congratulations whoever you are! Their programme sounds absolutely amazing and obviously I'm not even remotely jealous :ph34r: I also totally did not expect them to have their acceptances ready, but hey ho, it wasn't like I wasn't feeling nervous already.
kurayamino Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 There's a Michigan comp lit acceptance? Oh dear, that means English can't be far behind. It's becoming too real! Congratulations on the acceptance though!
obrial42 Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Hi all - I just wanted to introduce myself. I *just* discovered this site a few days ago and have been lurking. I sure wish I would have known about you all months ago! I'm hoping to begin a PhD program in Rhet/Comp the Fall 2015 term and applied to 14 programs. Like many of you, I haven't heard anything yet, and it's driving me crazy.
Dr. Old Bill Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Hi all - I just wanted to introduce myself. I *just* discovered this site a few days ago and have been lurking. I sure wish I would have known about you all months ago! I'm hoping to begin a PhD program in Rhet/Comp the Fall 2015 term and applied to 14 programs. Like many of you, I haven't heard anything yet, and it's driving me crazy. Welcome, Obrial! Glad to have you here to share the roller-coaster ride that is graduate admissions!
inkgraduate Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Congratulations to the new Northwestern admits!
Dr. Old Bill Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Congratulations to the new Northwestern admits! Agreed! Four of them up there now...none claimed here I don't think? Excellent program!
bookworm915 Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Hi all - I just wanted to introduce myself. I *just* discovered this site a few days ago and have been lurking. I sure wish I would have known about you all months ago! I'm hoping to begin a PhD program in Rhet/Comp the Fall 2015 term and applied to 14 programs. Like many of you, I haven't heard anything yet, and it's driving me crazy. Welcome obrial42!
lunalit Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Hi all - I've been lurking here for awhile but have appreciated the warmth and general conviviality of this board. Anyway, I thought I'd chime in to claim one of the Northwestern acceptances. I was pretty much speechless after I got the phone call and am still pinching myself. InHacSpeVivo, fancypants09, kurayamino and 5 others 8
bookworm915 Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Hi all - I've been lurking here for awhile but have appreciated the warmth and general conviviality of this board. Anyway, I thought I'd chime in to claim one of the Northwestern acceptances. I was pretty much speechless after I got the phone call and am still pinching myself. Congrats on Northwestern, lunalit! That's amazing.
Dr. Old Bill Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Hi all - I've been lurking here for awhile but have appreciated the warmth and general conviviality of this board. Anyway, I thought I'd chime in to claim one of the Northwestern acceptances. I was pretty much speechless after I got the phone call and am still pinching myself. Way to go!!
Katla Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Hi all - I've been lurking here for awhile but have appreciated the warmth and general conviviality of this board. Anyway, I thought I'd chime in to claim one of the Northwestern acceptances. I was pretty much speechless after I got the phone call and am still pinching myself. Welcome lunalit, and huge congratulations to you and all the other Northwestern admits!!!
obrial42 Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Welcome obrial42! Thanks, bookworm! It's nice to have a place to commiserate and wait it out.
obrial42 Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 On 2/1/2015 at 10:16 PM, lunalit said: Hi all - I've been lurking here for awhile but have appreciated the warmth and general conviviality of this board. Anyway, I thought I'd chime in to claim one of the Northwestern acceptances. I was pretty much speechless after I got the phone call and am still pinching myself. Welcome and congrats lunalit! I'm new to posting too, and I agree that this is a wonderfully supportive place.
lunalit Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Thanks all! All the warm fuzzies! And congrats to all the other acceptances so far...very exciting!
circlewave Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 (edited) Hi folks, Long time lurker, extremely infrequent poster. I was fortunate enough to receive my first acceptance this weekend from PSU, and I recalled that a little bit ago, somebody posted a really great, long list of important questions to ask when visiting programs (eg. Whether funding covers the summer, how current grad students like the program, resources, libraries, etc.). I have been trying to find it, but haven't had much success. Does anyone remember where that was, or could someone possibly repost it? Congrats to the other admits, and good luck to those who are still waiting! Edited February 2, 2015 by circlewave
Dr. Old Bill Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Hi folks, Long time lurker, extremely infrequent poster. I was fortunate enough to receive my first acceptance this weekend from PSU, and I recalled that a little bit ago, somebody posted a really great, long list of important questions to ask when visiting programs (eg. Whether funding covers the summer, how current grad students like the program, resources, libraries, etc.). I have been trying to find it, but haven't had much success. Does anyone remember where that was, or could someone possibly repost it? Congrats to the other admits, and good luck to those who are still waiting! Congrats on the PSU acceptance! The post you are referring to
bookworm915 Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Hi folks, Long time lurker, extremely infrequent poster. I was fortunate enough to receive my first acceptance this weekend from PSU, and I recalled that a little bit ago, somebody posted a really great, long list of important questions to ask when visiting programs (eg. Whether funding covers the summer, how current grad students like the program, resources, libraries, etc.). I have been trying to find it, but haven't had much success. Does anyone remember where that was, or could someone possibly repost it? Congrats to the other admits, and good luck to those who are still waiting! Awesome to hear you've been accepted to PSU! Congrats
circlewave Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Thank you guys! And thank you for the link, Wyatt!
obrial42 Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 I am indeed. Good luck at all of your choices! If Clemson is the lucky school that gets you then I am sure you will enjoy it; everyone I know doing RCID is thrilled with it. Clemson is my first choice. I would be delighted if they accept me. I've heard such great things about the RCID program.
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