2016 Acceptance Thread

[A blighted one]

11 minutes ago, conceptcheck said:

I got an informal acceptance today from UW-Milwaukee in literature and cultural studies. Anyone else?

I applied for the MA in Lit and Cultural Theory, but no word yet.

Congratations! 

[EROSvTHANATOS]

Hello everyone,

Just a note to say I've been admitted to UC Berkeley's Rhetoric PhD program. They admitted seven other people this year. There was no interview process, and the notifications were sent by email last week (Feb 3-7)

Congratulations to all of you on your various acceptances and achievements! And hopefully more to come

[A blighted one]

2 hours ago, A blighted one said:

I applied for the MA in Lit and Cultural Theory, but no word yet.

Congratations! 

Congratulations* haha

[WendyWonderland]

32 minutes ago, EROSvTHANATOS said:

Hello everyone,

Just a note to say I've been admitted to UC Berkeley's Rhetoric PhD program. They admitted seven other people this year. There was no interview process, and the notifications were sent by email last week (Feb 3-7)

Congratulations to all of you on your various acceptances and achievements! And hopefully more to come

Congrats! That's huge!!!

[unræd]

1 hour ago, EROSvTHANATOS said:

Hello everyone,

Just a note to say I've been admitted to UC Berkeley's Rhetoric PhD program. They admitted seven other people this year. There was no interview process, and the notifications were sent by email last week (Feb 3-7)

Congratulations to all of you on your various acceptances and achievements! And hopefully more to come

Congrats! I'm in English, not Rhetoric, but if you have any non-department-specific questions about Cal or living in the East Bay, let me know!

[persynanōm]

Congrats to the other UCI acceptances and everyone else today! The program was definitely my first choice in terms of academic fit, so I'm a little ecstatic. Hope to hear about a campus visit to meet the others accepted! (Anyone else just get a letter sent directly from the graduate school before any departmental heralding?)

 

Yikes, it sure is February, isn't it? I got my rejection from UCLA yesterday (and totally deserved it). Soon: UCSB and UCR. The future is now...! Eek! Godspeed, all. Hang in there.

Edited February 9, 2016 by persynanōm
"Ecstatic" is just more accurate than "excited."

[persynanōm]

(on a side note, I truly admire how supportive this community is. A lovely pocket of collective care in the midst of what can seem like glorified cattle-branding. I appreciate you, gradcafe!) 

 

And congratulations on potentially being able to share space with Butler, @EROSvTHANATOS!

[heliogabalus]

On 2/7/2016 at 9:14 PM, maenaew said:

I got accepted in UCincinnati on Friday, with a very kind email! I know it's not really a 'high-class' program, but I'm beyond excited, because I'd already received 3 rejections and 2 implied rejections! So I was certain I'd be rejected at every single other school I applied to. Basically, I'm delighted to have gotten a fully funded offer anywhere! A huge heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Congrats to everyone who has gotten acceptances! We did it.

Cincinnati has a phenomenal Classics department and a great creative writing track within English. There's definitely a lot of interesting stuff to get into there.

[Ezzy123]

Congratulations everyone! I'm happy to answer questions any of the UPitt admits may have about the city. 

[lesabendio]

I'd be happy to answer any questions about UC-Irvine's campus life, faculty, etc. if anybody has any questions. I went there for my BA and know the area fairly well.

[DJS]

UMD sent me an email saying it is unlikely they can offer me a spot in their Ph.D. program, but they are offering a half funded MA program through TAships and opportunity for full funding through work on campus.

Good luck to everyone!

[sarabethke]

Finally heard something...waitlisted at Davis. God, I want to go there!!!

[Dr. Old Bill]

21 hours ago, DJS said:

UMD sent me an email saying it is unlikely they can offer me a spot in their Ph.D. program, but they are offering a half funded MA program through TAships and opportunity for full funding through work on campus.

Good luck to everyone!

That's great news! It's the same offer (or similar) as I received last year, and while my initial reaction was lukewarm, I soon realized what a boon it was...and that has certainly proven to be true for me. I was able to get a full GAship in the department for my first year, and Ralph was able to commute my 1/2 TAship offer to my second year. I won't say that 1/2 GAships / RAships are abundant, but they are certainly available, and they pair with the 1/2 TAship fairly seamlessly to give you tuition remission and a generous (nearly Ph.D.-level) stipend.

Feel free to PM me for details. I'll likely also be on a panel at the day for admitted students for balancing coursework and TA/GAships. It's definitely doable, so congrats!

 

[DJS]

Just now, Wyatt's Terps said:

That's great news! It's the same offer (or similar) as I received last year, and while my initial reaction was lukewarm, I soon realized what a boon it was...and that has certainly proven to be true for me. I was able to get a full GAship in the department for my first year, and Ralph was able to commute my 1/2 TAship offer to my second year. I won't say that 1/2 GAships / RAships are abundant, but they are certainly available, and they pair with the 1/2 TAship fairly seamlessly to give you tuition remission and a generous (nearly Ph.D.-level) stipend.

Feel free to PM me for details. I'll likely also be on a panel at the day for admitted students for balancing coursework and TA/GAships. It's definitely doable, so congrats!

 

Thank you! I'm having similar feelings. On the one hand, I never thought I would get this far, especially when I was younger. On the other hand, I am still hopeful with some other programs. I don't know whether I should use this as an expectation for what others will offer or not.

I will definitely contact you in the coming weeks! I'm undecided about the open house, as I would have to take off and find a place to stay overnight in Maryland (New York is not that far, but I would rather not be on a bus at 4 am to make it that morning! )

[Dr. Old Bill]

12 minutes ago, DJS said:

Thank you! I'm having similar feelings. On the one hand, I never thought I would get this far, especially when I was younger. On the other hand, I am still hopeful with some other programs. I don't know whether I should use this as an expectation for what others will offer or not.

I will definitely contact you in the coming weeks! I'm undecided about the open house, as I would have to take off and find a place to stay overnight in Maryland (New York is not that far, but I would rather not be on a bus at 4 am to make it that morning! )

Yeah, I'm an older student as well, and didn't even have so much as an Associate's when I was 30 (I'd had a couple of vocational degrees, which carry more weight in my native Canada, but still...). So even though my initial hopes at jumping from a B.A. to a Ph.D. program were dashed, this M.A. has proved to be a godsend. I really do love the program and the people.

Incidentally, I know Ralph sent out a request a week or so ago for students / staff to put up incoming admits for a night. You might want to check with him to see if there are any open homes as yet. My wife and I live in a fairly cozy one-bedroom condo. If we had a spare room etc., I would have welcomed you here, but alas...

If you DO happen to come, consider staying for the Graduate English Conference the next day. The theme is "Perversions," but I've seen most of the presentation abstracts (I'll be moderating one of the panels), and there seems to be a lot of leeway with that theme... Either way, I'm pretty sure attendance is free (as is food and drink).

 

[ProfLorax]

Just wanted to echo Wyatt's Terps: yes! Check in with Ralph about being housed with another grad student. I would offer my guest room, but I have a fourteen month old daughter who doesn't sleep, so I feel like staying with us is actually a punishment! Perversions is absolutely free, as is all the wonderful food and drink that will be supplied. One of my readers, Chanon Adsanatham, will be on the plenary panel and talking about blood protests in Thailand--super interesting! 

[DJS]

Wow! That was a lot of helpful information. You guys seem more welcoming than some other departments I've spoken with... I think that is remarkably valuable in a program! 

If I do visit, I would definitely stay for the conference and make the most out of it! Is it all UMD students presenting?

Also, on average, could you give me a sense of how many MA students are typically in a program?

[Dr. Old Bill]

On 2/10/2016 at 11:42 AM, DJS said:

Wow! That was a lot of helpful information. You guys seem more welcoming than some other departments I've spoken with... I think that is remarkably valuable in a program! 

If I do visit, I would definitely stay for the conference and make the most out of it! Is it all UMD students presenting?

Also, on average, could you give me a sense of how many MA students are typically in a program?

It's not all UMD students, no. I just took a quick look at the presenters, and it looks like a little over half are from UMD, and the rest are from other schools, including Rutgers, GWU, WashU, UVA etc.

Last year UMD admitted eight Ph.D. students, with one of those being a Comp Lit person. I think they wound up admitting a whopping 25 M.A. students, which by all accounts seemed to be an unexpected number -- I seem to recall that offers were made to 30 or 32 with the expectation that 16-20 would accept. Overall Ph.D. admissions seemed to be down last year, however, which probably speaks to the high number of admittances accepting. I suspect fewer offers will (or will have) been made this year, but I'm not really any more in the loop than anyone outside the program. I'm technically a staff member in the department, but the admissions process remains mostly a mystery!

I've said it before, but it is worth saying again -- UMD's English program is composed of a very congenial group. I suspect that most programs have a lot of congeniality, but the "grapevine" talk last year was that UMD is among the friendliest, and given my experience over the past year, that feels true. There was a period in November where I got extremely stressed out and bogged down with coursework and work work, and I vented on a Facebook group set up for the first year cohort...and man did I ever get a lot of positive support. When you're dealing with highly academic pursuits, and are surrounded by people who are as smart or smarter than you are, it can be daunting to admit that you're going through a rough patch, but talking about it was like a release valve...and not just for me. So yes, the takeaway that it really is a supportive community at UMD.

 

[lazaria]

1 hour ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

It's not all UMD students, no. I just took a quick look at the presenters, and it looks like a little over half are from UMD, and the rest are from other schools, including Rutgers, GWU, Lehigh, UVA etc.

Last year UMD admitted eight Ph.D. students, with one of those being a Comp Lit person. I think they wound up admitting a whopping 25 M.A. students, which by all accounts seemed to be an unexpected number -- I seem to recall that offers were made to 30 or 32 with the expectation that 16-20 would accept. Overall Ph.D. admissions seemed to be down last year, however, which probably speaks to the high number of admittances accepting. I suspect fewer offers will (or will have) been made this year, but I'm not really any more in the loop than anyone outside the program. I'm technically a staff member in the department, but the admissions process remains mostly a mystery!

I've said it before, but it is worth saying again -- UMD's English program is composed of a very congenial group. I suspect that most programs have a lot of congeniality, but the "grapevine" talk last year was that UMD is among the friendliest, and given my experience over the past year, that feels true. There was a period in November where I got extremely stressed out and bogged down with coursework and work work, and I vented on a Facebook group set up for the first year cohort...and man did I ever get a lot of positive support. When you're dealing with highly academic pursuits, and are surrounded by people who are as smart or smarter than you are, it can be daunting to admit that you're going through a rough patch, but talking about it was like a release valve...and not just for me. So yes, the takeaway that it really is a supportive community at UMD.

 

Chiming in to thank you for this insight, Wyatt's Terps. I have to say that UMD has been incredibly welcoming to me thus far and I look forward to meeting more students and faculty. 

[margeryhemp]

Hi all! Congratulations on all the great news on this thread! I haven't been very involved on GradCafe this year, but I found the boards incredibly helpful last year as I went through the stress of application season. If anyone has any questions about UCLA, medieval lit, or anything else, please feel free to reach out. Good luck to everyone still waiting!

[Lauren_L]

I was accepted to Boston University's MA Program this morning! And I submitted that application December 15th. Haven't heard from the 5 other schools I applied to quite yet, but should be hearing back this month and next. Sadly BU does not offer financial aid so it isn't a top choice at this moment, but if anyone has advice for entering programs that do not offer financial aid (i.e. fellowships, TAships, etc.) I'd love to hear it! Thank you!  

[klader]

Ahhhh!!! I got two offers within 15 hours. Last night I was accepted to Miami University of Ohio's MA program in Composition and Rhetoric with a teaching assistantship and a nomination for a university scholarship, and this morning I was accepted to the University of South Florida's MA program in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition, also with a teaching assistantship.

I got rejected from Michigan State rather early in the game (January 22 or so), so I got off to a bad, nervous start. I'm so glad that things turned around and I'm so glad that I can now finally breathe!! Still waiting on 3 others, but I'm very content with these offers.

[pbnwhey]

14 hours ago, margeryhemp said:

Hi all! Congratulations on all the great news on this thread! I haven't been very involved on GradCafe this year, but I found the boards incredibly helpful last year as I went through the stress of application season. If anyone has any questions about UCLA, medieval lit, or anything else, please feel free to reach out. Good luck to everyone still waiting!

I see you're doing queer studies stuff! While I'd be in a different department (Gender Studies), I'd love to hear about your experiences doing queer studies work there

[maenaew]

Just got another acceptance from USF for their PhD program in Literary and Cultural Studies! Like Cincinnati, this isn't a super famous program, but both of them are good fits for my somewhat odd research interests (the field I want to enter is barely 30 years old and doesn't have any real major players yet). I'm also, as I might have mentioned, kind of a tough sell as an applicant so I'm ecstatic! I never imagined having one acceptance, nevermind choices! Congrats to everyone who's been hearing back, though! You guys are an awesome bunch.

Also @klader maybe we'll be USF buddies! I'm not sure where I'll end up yet but Herndl is a POI for me so I'm excited to possibly work with her.

[Poustevnik]

Anyone want to claim the CUNY acceptance on the results page? And, if possible, provide some more info on the email?