Fall 2016 Entry Applicants

[HumanCylinder]

I'm sure that your perseverance will pay off, and hopefully in the way that you expect.  It really just shows that the app process is such an opaque crapshoot, which is super frustrating. I know really smart people who have been shut out of 15+ programs and decided to pursue something else.  Part of the issue too is that many programs have been cutting the number of people they accept, so the odds are crazy bad. It sounds like you have plenty of good things going for you and I hope for the best.

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

39 minutes ago, HumanCylinder said:

I'm sure that your perseverance will pay off, and hopefully in the way that you expect.  It really just shows that the app process is such an opaque crapshoot, which is super frustrating. I know really smart people who have been shut out of 15+ programs and decided to pursue something else.  Part of the issue too is that many programs have been cutting the number of people they accept, so the odds are crazy bad. It sounds like you have plenty of good things going for you and I hope for the best.

Thanks, again.  It does make me feel slightly better knowing a lot of the capable and qualified people on GradCafe are having the same troubles I am. I'll just be doing a lot of soul searching this summer if ASU gets back to me with a rejection. 

Part of me thinks I need to do something different entirely, another part thinks I still have a place in academia, and another part of me REALLY wants that place to be in literature, where I've received so much encouragement that I do and can have a place in the field beyond simply independent research and writing as I teach entry-level writing courses. That encouragement just has not materialized in these application cycles, and it makes me wonder if I am receiving empty platitudes or not.

[HumanCylinder]

Yea, I actually feel like it's fairly common for good people to get shut out, unfortunately.  If I got shut out this time, I would have switched directions and tried to get a full-time job teaching at a high school or perhaps a CC. The goal for me is really to teach literature, but I didn't want to give up researching and writing my own papers if I could help it. 

What you said about encouragement really resonates with me as well.  I would read published articles and think that my own abilities are not far off.  After the first two cycles, I did begin to question the strong encouragement of my mentor -- perhaps she was mistaken, or had a blind spot for me, or was simply being nice (though I know full well this person does not say things just to be nice).  But, my own faith that I had the capability to do academic work, and that I was running up against horrible odds, is what propelled me to keep trying.  I also really think that timing, program selection/location, and sheer, dumb luck play important parts. 

[Apogeee]

3 hours ago, HumanCylinder said:

Just fyi, I've been experiencing radio silence from ASU.  I emailed the dept. earlier this week inquiring about status, but no reply. Good luck!

 

ASU is on Spring Break through tomorrow 3/13. Chances are that you will hear from them when their break is over.

[HumanCylinder]

24 minutes ago, Agrippina said:

ASU is on Spring Break through tomorrow 3/13. Chances are that you will hear from them when their break is over.

Oh, this makes a lot of sense -- thank you!

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

35 minutes ago, HumanCylinder said:

Yea, I actually feel like it's fairly common for good people to get shut out, unfortunately.  If I got shut out this time, I would have switched directions and tried to get a full-time job teaching at a high school or perhaps a CC. The goal for me is really to teach literature, but I didn't want to give up researching and writing my own papers if I could help it. 

What you said about encouragement really resonates with me as well.  I would read published articles and think that my own abilities are not far off.  After the first two cycles, I did begin to question the strong encouragement of my mentor -- perhaps she was mistaken, or had a blind spot for me, or was simply being nice (though I know full well this person does not say things just to be nice).  But, my own faith that I had the capability to do academic work, and that I was running up against horrible odds, is what propelled me to keep trying.  I also really think that timing, program selection/location, and sheer, dumb luck play important parts. 

It's good to see someone who has some acceptances in hand having gone through the same process I have. It gives me some hope, even if I feel like I've not really progressed anywhere in the nature of PhD applications. 

it looks like I'll be moving to St. Louis or Phoenix anyway, since my GF sold her house and can get an MLS job in either location fairly easily. She lives in Central Illinois and needs to get out badly, so I'm looking at CC/adjunct/anything positions in both cities. It sucks that I am likely not going to get anything like what I've at here in Flint for the last 7 years, but at least it's something, should I walk away empty handed again...

[Dr. Old Bill]

17 hours ago, HumanCylinder said:

I'm sure that your perseverance will pay off, and hopefully in the way that you expect.  It really just shows that the app process is such an opaque crapshoot, which is super frustrating. I know really smart people who have been shut out of 15+ programs and decided to pursue something else.  Part of the issue too is that many programs have been cutting the number of people they accept, so the odds are crazy bad. It sounds like you have plenty of good things going for you and I hope for the best.

Yeah. This.

I'm really sorry, BooksCoffeeBeards. In the "consolation" department, I applied to 17  Ph.D. programs last year and got shut out of all of them. I did get an M.A. offer, which I am gratefully pursuing, but it's hard to not interpret a major shut out as a reflection on YOU. It's hard...but that's truly not the case. Something about the combination of your materials just didn't compel various adcoms as much as other applications did...but the kicker is that you will probably never know precisely what it was that you could improve. There's a very good chance that the adcoms themselves don't know. So like HumanCylinder says, it's an opaque crapshoot, and other than contacting DGS's and any known adcom members about specifics, you'll just have to do it again next year -- maybe broaden your net a bit, and make sure your SOP and WS are as tight as possible.

 

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

@Wyatt's Terps , @HumanCylinder, and @EmmaJava - thanks so much for your kind words. There is a backup academic plan in place that could, at least, allow me to take on another Master's or Graduate Certificate to, maybe, get some more recent graduate level work done that could aid in another application cycle, pending ASU's decision. It could all be for naught, but I think I am in a good, comfortable spot now no matter what happens.

My girlfriend and I are likely moving to Phoenix as it is, so it just might sting less if I get an acceptance from ASU. If not, I'm not completely screwed - as you guys have said, it's not that I or others are incapable of this work. It's sheer, dumb luck at times, and a real crapshoot, even IF my application has improved significantly. So, I don't need to fret too much.

Thanks guys <3 <3 <3

[klader]

Bon courage, everyone! For what it's worth, I think you are all sensational human beings and I always read your posts with keen interest and respect. I feel that I always learn so much from you, and as everyone has been saying, PhD rejections aren't a true reflection of your worth or intelligence.

[Lauren_L]

Portia_of_Belmont, I got into the MA at SDSU as well!! And I'm 99% sure I'll be accepting  Look forward to seeing you there! 

 

 

[portia_of_belmont]

14 hours ago, Lauren_L said:

Portia_of_Belmont, I got into the MA at SDSU as well!! And I'm 99% sure I'll be accepting  Look forward to seeing you there! 

 

 

Hey, that's great you found a good fit! I also got an acceptance to the MA at Boulder, which I was super stoked about. With no funding, though, I will likely pass on both.

My hometown university has fully-funded interdisciplinary MA/MS (I applied to the MA track) that I'm nearly positive I got into. My gut says to stay. Really hope I hear soon. (Today was the day I had heard thrown out as their goal.)

[KhiCompLit]

Any UT Austin admits here?

[portia_of_belmont]

On 1/18/2016 at 0:24 PM, HumanCylinder said:

Oooh, thanks for this.  In this opaque process, any bit of info helps ease my mind.   

Anyone else going to Boulder in the Fall? I got into my top choice, so Colorado, here I come!

[silenus_thescribe]

21 hours ago, KhiCompLit said:

Any UT Austin admits here?

KhiCompLit, I'm in the department right now; feel free to PM me with any questions if you have any. Same goes for any other folks considering UT that may be lurking around the forum!