Fall 2016 Comparative Literature Applicants

[KhiCompLit]

3 minutes ago, steve3020 said:

I hope so. who did u designate as your poi?

Point of Interest? Named a couple in SOP including Professor Mufti.

[steve3020]

2 minutes ago, KhiCompLit said:

Point of Interest? Named a couple in SOP including Professor Mufti.

i thought poi stands for person of interest, i.e. your potential supervisor, but correct me if i'm wrong. Just wanted to know if yours overlap with mine  i didn't include him/her 

Edited February 24, 2016 by steve3020

[KhiCompLit]

39 minutes ago, steve3020 said:

i thought poi stands for person of interest, i.e. your potential supervisor, but correct me if i'm wrong. Just wanted to know if yours overlap with mine  i didn't include him/her 

Lol, I'm sure you're right and I got the P wrong there although I had an idea what it meant. 

Edited February 24, 2016 by KhiCompLit

[NNnantes]

On 2/24/2016 at 10:20 AM, WendyWonderland said:

Maybe we should each pick an university and ask where they are in the process of reviewing. I volunteer for JHU. Anyone wanna take WUST? 

I got a rejection from WUSTL yesterday. So if you haven't heard yet, I'm guessing that's a pretty good sign!! I'm still waiting on ND, Connecticut and Emory, in case anyone has any info...

[WendyWonderland]

On 2/24/2016 at 5:52 PM, NNnantes said:

I got a rejection from WUSTL yesterday. So if you haven't heard yet, I'm guessing that's a pretty good sign!! I'm still waiting on ND, Connecticut and Emory, in case anyone has any info...

 

Oh really? I am sorry for you, hugs! But hey, I did not get into the ones you got into! It's crazy how we all apply for the same universities. There are only 46 comp. lit phd programs out there. Half of my applications went to the UCs, which was a mistake. But Cali weather is dreamy...I emailed IUB, UCI, WUSTL, JHU so far and will continue with UCLA (rejection for sure) USC (rejection for sure) and Oregon. I almost applied to ND, I heard that they have great funding! Good luck!

[Litfreak]

On 2/24/2016 at 5:52 PM, NNnantes said:

I got a rejection from WUSTL yesterday. So if you haven't heard yet, I'm guessing that's a pretty good sign!! I'm still waiting on ND, Connecticut and Emory, in case anyone has any info...

Notre Dame is quiet, I didn't even get an email except for the application confirmation, the waiting game is killing me

[WendyWonderland]

Just now, Litfreak said:

Notre Dame is quiet, I didn't even get an email except for the application confirmation, the waiting game is killing me

I wonder if I am the only one who applied to JHU. Their humanities center is mysterious... Not much info out there.

[WendyWonderland]

7 hours ago, steve3020 said:

i wonder who the person who posted ucla acceptance last month is haha...

That post stated  that it was unofficial from POI. I wonder when the official (rejections) come...lol

[steve3020]

7 minutes ago, WendyWonderland said:

That post stated  that it was unofficial from POI. I wonder when the official (rejections) come...lol

i don't think you should despair while I only got waitlisted at one uni and got rejected everywhere else apart from ucla haha... 

[WendyWonderland]

Just now, steve3020 said:

i don't think you should despair while I only got waitlisted at one uni and got rejected everywhere else apart from ucla haha... 

lol, sorry I was talking about myself. Just got a rejection from UCI telling me that the fit was not strong enough. OK, I will email UCLA now.

[KingNikolai1]

Good luck again to everyone! I am assuming that UPenn will reject me because I didn't receive an interview, and it is extremely competitive. Fortunately, I have two acceptances, but I am still waiting to hear about funding from them. UPenn and Cambridge were my two Comp. Lit. options.

Edited February 25, 2016 by KingNikolai1

[mayxambition]

Hey guys! My first time visiting the cafe. I've been waiting for offers as well. Got one from MPhil General Linguistics and Comparative Philology at Oxford, but of course comp lit is what I truly want to do! Fingers crossed for everyone...?

[mayxambition]

On 2/21/2016 at 0:35 AM, WendyWonderland said:

Hi. May I ask you a question, do you have a MA in English? 

2 years ago I was an applicant for fall 2014, and I got flat out rejected from 8 schools. They were almost all Ivies, however, part of my failure was because of my ignorance of how academia works in the States. I knew nothing about how to write a sop, or a writing sample. MLA style? Never heard of it. Conferences? Nope. I had some publications and a MA  in Chinese literature and comparative literature from the most prestigious university in China, speak a couple languages and had some work experience. I thought that's enough. It was not. So I sucked it and reapplied for another MA in English in MARCH. I did not have any hope in it, at that point my confidence was in the basement. However, all 3 places I applied accepted me, including CUNY. I chose somewhere else and reapplied for phd for 2016. I wish I could have done more research at that time, because as I heard, there are some funded MA here and I didn't know that. I want to say I understand how hard it is for you to go through this process in another country. And if chances are bad for this year, you can start looking for a funded MA in English. I learned so much since I came here and my English has improved a lot. It is still far away from being native, but way better than it was in 2014. Of course I wish that you are lucky and get in this year! I just wanted to share some insights if luck is not on your side. Get prepared for the worst and maybe it will lead to the best of your life. Good luck to all of us!

Hi, Wendy. Thanks for sharing your journey! I am also a native of China and I totally understand how nerve-racking the application and waiting process is for international students. I admire the choices you've made and the fact that you've been constantly improving yourself to achieve your goal. I just graduated from my undergrad program in English literature and Psychology in an American women's liberal arts college, so I'm simply challenging myself by applying to comp lit PhD programs. Your experiences and advice are especially helpful and inspiring to me. Also, it's great to finally find someone with similar background who also falls in love with comp lit. Best of luck!

[WendyWonderland]

53 minutes ago, mayxambition said:

Hi, Wendy. Thanks for sharing your journey! I am also a native of China and I totally understand how nerve-racking the application and waiting process is for international students. I admire the choices you've made and the fact that you've been constantly improving yourself to achieve your goal. I just graduated from my undergrad program in English literature and Psychology in an American women's liberal arts college, so I'm simply challenging myself by applying to comp lit PhD programs. Your experiences and advice are especially helpful and inspiring to me. Also, it's great to finally find someone with similar background who also falls in love with comp lit. Best of luck!

Hi! Thank you so much for your kind post! I am happy to find someone with similar interests and backgrounds! To be honest, I think that your chances are higher than mine because you did your undergrad here in English. I am sure that your English is already at a high level. The next step might be learning some foreign languages if you haven't already done so. Your chances of getting in are higher if you speak 3+ languages. It also depends on your interests and what kind of schools you want to get in. If you are shooting for Ivy leagues like most of the Chinese candidates do, you simply have to have a gre verbal score over 160. You will be evaluated against the other Chinese candidates and their scores are crazy high no matter how their English really are. When I applied I was taking courses and working long hours in retail to pay my bills, and I simply didn't  have the time and energy to study for it. My verbal score was so low and I ended up getting tons of rejections from Ivies. Lots of people here will tell you Gre score doesn't count. Maybe that's the case if you are a native speaker. If you are an international candidate, the committee has to make sure that your English is nearly perfect so you can teach American undergrads. I have an offer, but I think that is because I visited that school. They were VERY surprised by how good my oral English is. I have almost no Chinese accent. But who knows that if you have a lousy Gre score? The other thing is your WS, it has to be a good fit. I said that I am interested in Asian American studies but my sample was in German poetry. A professor from a commitee wrote me an email stating that they think I am an interesting candidate and they liked my paper, however, the fit was not there. Feel free to pm me with other questions. Good luck!!

Edited February 26, 2016 by WendyWonderland

[mayxambition]

7 hours ago, WendyWonderland said:

Hi! Thank you so much for your kind post! I am happy to find someone with similar interests and backgrounds! To be honest, I think that your chances are higher than mine because you did your undergrad here in English. I am sure that your English is already at a high level. The next step might be learning some foreign languages if you haven't already done so. Your chances of getting in are higher if you speak 3+ languages. It also depends on your interests and what kind of schools you want to get in. If you are shooting for Ivy leagues like most of the Chinese candidates do, you simply have to have a gre verbal score over 160. You will be evaluated against the other Chinese candidates and their scores are crazy high no matter how their English really are. When I applied I was taking courses and working long hours in retail to pay my bills, and I simply didn't  have the time and energy to study for it. My verbal score was so low and I ended up getting tons of rejections from Ivies. Lots of people here will tell you Gre score doesn't count. Maybe that's the case if you are a native speaker. If you are an international candidate, the committee has to make sure that your English is nearly perfect so you can teach American undergrads. I have an offer, but I think that is because I visited that school. They were VERY surprised by how good my oral English is. I have almost no Chinese accent. But who knows that if you have a lousy Gre score? The other thing is your WS, it has to be a good fit. I said that I am interested in Asian American studies but my sample was in German poetry. A professor from a commitee wrote me an email stating that they think I am an interesting candidate and they liked my paper, however, the fit was not there. Feel free to pm me with other questions. Good luck!!

No matter where we end up going, it'd be great if we could keep in touch! I also have few Chinese accent, and my American friends and professors always thought I was an ABC. But I actually think what this stereotype reflects is somewhat problematic: why can't non-native speakers speak fluent and accent-free English? I don't even like this word "native speakers" but prefer "ESL" or "L2 speakers" simply because there is this implied power dynamic going on.  I used to be very harsh on myself speaking and writing English in a certain way, but then I realized accent is part of ourselves, symbolizing where we come from and how we grew up. Now I'm much more open to the cultural values behind accents and language variety, and maybe that's good for a comp lit scholar lol.

Just got rejected by Yale's East Asian Studies program, which would've been great as a stepping stone for a comp lit PhD. A little frustrated, but at least I already have a good offer as backup. 

I am so happy that your interview helped you shine in front of the admission officers! This is indeed a sad part about application. How can standardized tests and written documents fully reflect candidates' skills and knowledge?

[KWIKKI]

Anyone heard from UConn?

[NNnantes]

5 hours ago, KWIKKI said:

Anyone heard from UConn?

Nope! I'm still waiting as well. I'll let you know if I get any news, please do so too! It's getting late in the year... If I don't hear anything within the next week I think I'll e-mail them.

[KWIKKI]

7 hours ago, NNnantes said:

Nope! I'm still waiting as well. I'll let you know if I get any news, please do so too! It's getting late in the year... If I don't hear anything within the next week I think I'll e-mail them.

I contacted them on February 23rd and got the following response. I was somewhat happy it was not a straight rejection. However, I am not sure what to think of it at this point:
Your application has been reviewed. We are in the process of deciding about funding for this year. I hope I can get back to you as soon as possible with a decision.

[vertige]

Looks like two Yale Comp Lit acceptances just rolled in...soooo that's that.

[maria1993427]

Anyone heard back from Upenn yet? There's an acceptance already on the board...

[NNnantes]

2 hours ago, KWIKKI said:

I contacted them on February 23rd and got the following response. I was somewhat happy it was not a straight rejection. However, I am not sure what to think of it at this point:
Your application has been reviewed. We are in the process of deciding about funding for this year. I hope I can get back to you as soon as possible with a decision.

That sounds like an acceptance!!! No?

[KWIKKI]

2 hours ago, NNnantes said:

That sounds like an acceptance!!! No?

Well, it was not explicitly stated, so I have no idea 

[KWIKKI]

UConn is my dream school and the program is really great! I really want to get in

[KWIKKI]

[KhiCompLit]

Anyone here from LA (and can very kindly possibly host me for a night of 5th please?). I'm visiting USC.