CUNY Graduate Center: English

[ReadingRainbow]

Have you been admitted? Waitlisted? Accepted an offer? Declined? Are you attending the Open House?  Let's talk Graduate Center. I'm waitlisted but feeling hopeful!

[szdat]

I know one person who's declining an offer so you're in luck

[allplaideverything]

I just received the follow-up email to the Open House, today, but this is the first communication I've received from CUNY at all. My application status even still says "Submitted." So maybe they forgot about me but I'm actually waitlisted?? Did anybody here attend the Open House?

[kurayamino]

I'm on the waitlist and got the email too, so it's a distinct possibility! If I remember correctly, the waitlist email ended up in my spam folder.. Maybe double check or just email to see if you were left out of the loop my mistake! I didn't attend the open house though, so I can't help there. I do go to cuny though (and have some friends in the program) so if you have questions about general things I might be able to help. Feel free to PM!

[AudreLorde]

Hoping to start a conversation about CUNY (English) for this year. I got accepted and I am weighing my options. My other funded offer is from UMD, which is also an excellent program. I'd really appreciate if current students at the Graduate Center could share their experiences about working with faculty/ graduate assistantship/ intellectual community/ diversity of program. My areas are postcolonial studies, gender/feminist studies, and queer of color critique. 

 

Thank you!

[Little Earthquakes]

I'm wait listed and this is my first non-rejection. Would love to hear anyone's perspective on the program! This is my top choice outside of California. I love how thorough the wait list email was. I really appreciate how upfront the program is!

[lesabendio]

Those of you on the waitlist, are you planning on attending the upcoming visiting day in a few weeks? I figure that if I want to be seriously considered, I've got to put a face to a name.

Though, that means I have to take time off work and pay for a flight to NYC from LA. I suppose it's always a good idea to get a sense of multiple programs. I've got an acceptance at UC-Davis, but I'd like the opportunity to compare different programs despite the cost.

[cordis]

hm, I had this dilemma myself, do I spend my own money to check out programs I am wait listed at?  Finally I wrote the various departments to ask them if their wait list was already set....if my going would affect the outcome.

[lesabendio]

@cordis, what did those programs say?

[cordis]

Some were uber-vague in their answers...but one or two said it wouldn't influence the committee so I was able to decide based on that.  I don't remember what CUNY told me.

I still am not in a program, although it remains a dream.  I was waitlisted at CUNY twice, SERIOUSLY irritating since I did my undergrad there and I think I'm a great candidate. I'm doing an MA now and wondering whether it's worth applying again or maybe working a bit and building up my savings. Or expand my options to schools in small towns?? At least I can say I have been rejected by all the major NYC schools!

[lesabendio]

18 minutes ago, cordis said:

Some were uber-vague in their answers...but one or two said it wouldn't influence the committee so I was able to decide based on that.  I don't remember what CUNY told me.

I still am not in a program, although it remains a dream.  I was waitlisted at CUNY twice, SERIOUSLY irritating since I did my undergrad there and I think I'm a great candidate. I'm doing an MA now and wondering whether it's worth applying again or maybe working a bit and building up my savings. Or expand my options to schools in small towns?? At least I can say I have been rejected by all the major NYC schools!

Hahah, you can find silver lining in everything if you look hard enough (maybe bullshit but yeah)! If you're experiencing major application burnout, you might seriously consider working and trying again in a year or 3. I finally got around to applying this season after 6 years of working office jobs and saving. After I got my BA in 2010, I was pretty jaded, and I don't regret taking time off to invest myself into other pursuits and ambitions. I just didn't expect it to be 6 years. Maybe don't wait that long if you decide to take a break.

[Matigari]

On 2/16/2016 at 7:50 PM, AudreLorde said:

Hoping to start a conversation about CUNY (English) for this year. I got accepted and I am weighing my options. My other funded offer is from UMD, which is also an excellent program. I'd really appreciate if current students at the Graduate Center could share their experiences about working with faculty/ graduate assistantship/ intellectual community/ diversity of program. My areas are postcolonial studies, gender/feminist studies, and queer of color critique. 

 

Thank you!

PM'd. If you have any more questions let me know.

[halfstock]

On 2/16/2016 at 6:50 PM, AudreLorde said:

Hoping to start a conversation about CUNY (English) for this year. I got accepted and I am weighing my options. My other funded offer is from UMD, which is also an excellent program. I'd really appreciate if current students at the Graduate Center could share their experiences about working with faculty/ graduate assistantship/ intellectual community/ diversity of program. My areas are postcolonial studies, gender/feminist studies, and queer of color critique. 

 

Thank you!

What's up AudreLorde. Really cool name, mate. I'm at English CUNY now and if you wish I can talk about these. PM me. But I will say this about working with faculty in particular- most of the faculty is quite friendly, obviously but it's a bit difficult to get a sit down with professors. You know, everybody is usually at their main campus and professors and other candidates are scarce at the Center...actually it's quite a bit NY like, hustle and bustle--everyone on the move. Of course, working with professor varies on the Professor. Oh, and the program is not too diverse...its very Victorian heavy. We'd like more postcolonial faculty (coming from a postcolonial student).

 

[halfstock]

Is anyone going to the Open House tomorrow? I'm at the Program and I'll probably pass by.   

[aandrzejewski]

Hey everyone! I'm a current student at the GC in my fourth year and this year I'm on the recruitment committee and have been thinking a lot about the stress of applying and my constant refreshing gradcafe results pages and obsessive scanning of admitted GRE scores, etc., so I decided to return to see if I could be of help to anyone navigating the process. I will say that, although I'm a early modernist, I've taken a number of courses with Kandice Chuh and Robert Reid-Pharr, two of the GC's central line faculty members working in critical race studies, gender studies, etc. and there's a reason that the GC ranks in the top ten English departments for gender studies. From my perspective, the program's forums, meetings, conferences, and student body are generally dedicated to "failing better," so to speak, when it comes to diversity initiatives. Again, there's not as many early modernists at the GC so I probably get more attention than most (although Mario DiGrangi, my advisor, is currently the EO of the program and still makes time to meet with me and read my work whenever I reach out) but Kandice and Robert have both made time to meet with me on numerous occasions, read and comment on my work, and still check in and say hi if they see me and aren't rushing off--they don't have any obligation to do this.  Yes, faculty are stretched thin here, but in my experience that's only made the attention I've gotten all the more evident of why there's no place better than the GC to do this kind of work. Just my perspective--I'll be at the open house if any one wants to talk and ask questions! Feel free to PM me for more details / specifics.

Edited March 11, 2016 by aandrzejewski

[Welo70]

Did anyone else go the Open house last week? What did you think? It was a bit off putting, to be honest. I didn't enjoy the pandering/imploring. Anybody with other first impressions?

[heliogabalus]

What was all the pandering/imploring?