UK grad application to US PhD - no luck?

[springseternal]

I'm an Oxford graduate  (First) with MA also from Oxford. Got good recommendations from tutors, 99 percentile in the GRE subject and general. Have not heard a thing! Looking at the forums here, many people seem to have contacted people they want to study with or have teachers who know teachers on their intended programmes. I have no connection nor do my Oxford tutors to any US programme I've applied to. Has this scuppered me? Or is there something else I don't know about? Just curious (not to say gnawed by uncertainty and doubt) why I have not heard a thing. I would have thought I'd have a good chance?  Now I am wondering if there has been some mistake in my application? Despite giving my payment details, no application fee was taken. Yet, I did receive 'application successfully received' from all. Any ideas?

 

Applying to English  PhD:

Princeton

Yale

U Chicago

UC Berkeley

Harvard

 

[Marst]

You don't need a connection to contact potential supervisors before applying. You can just send them an email and get in touch with them. In some fields and universities it is uncommon to apply without contacting potential supervisors, so it is quite possible that this has hurt some of your applications. Do check the results search to see whether others have heard from these programs, because they may simply be some of the slower ones in processing applications.

[Catria]

Research experience?