Columbia English

[lostillusions12]

Putting some feelers out- just wondering if anyone has heard anything from Columbia or NYU? It seems strange that there is only one post on the results page for NYU...

[Poustevnik]

I'm still waiting on Coumbia and NYU. I can only assume the one NYU acceptance on the results page is a mistake (or a complete anomaly).

[WendyWonderland]

13 minutes ago, Poustevnik said:

I'm still waiting on Coumbia and NYU. I can only assume the one NYU acceptance on the results page is a mistake (or a complete anomaly).

The same happened to UCLA (comp. lit) I assume they do it in waves. Also waiting on Columbia. 

[Poustevnik]

47 minutes ago, WendyWonderland said:

The same happened to UCLA (comp. lit) I assume they do it in waves. Also waiting on Columbia. 

Yeah you're probably right! It just seems a little off that just one would come out, considering the patterns from previous years.

[lostillusions12]

@Poustevnik and @WendyWonderland thanks! The NYU posting took my breath away (not in the good kind of way). Judging from the results last year I'd assume they would be making decisions this week. Then again, who wouldn't want to drag out this torture for another week?

 

[WendyWonderland]

44 minutes ago, Poustevnik said:

Yeah you're probably right! It just seems a little off that just one would come out, considering the patterns from previous years.

If you read their comments u will find out that ppl who post first are the ones who have received university wide fellowships. Afterwards the department has to find money for the other students and they have to see how much money they can get and then decide how many students to accept based on that.  As for me, my GRE verbal score makes sure that fellowships won't happen:) Good luck! 

[WendyWonderland]

13 minutes ago, lostillusions12 said:

@Poustevnik and @WendyWonderland thanks! The NYU posting took my breath away (not in the good kind of way). Judging from the results last year I'd assume they would be making decisions this week. Then again, who wouldn't want to drag out this torture for another week?

 

You re welcome! I have a ton of implied rejections from the west coast already. Now it's east coast time. 

[BellaBendrix]

Does anybody have any news in this front? Does Columbia usually send out interviews?

[WendyWonderland]

On February 20, 2016 at 6:58 PM, BellaBendrix said:

Does anybody have any news in this front? Does Columbia usually send out interviews?

There are two acceptances on the board. Kiss bye Columbia, kiss bye NYC.

[BellaBendrix]

9 hours ago, WendyWonderland said:

There are two acceptances on the board. Kiss bye Columbia, kiss bye NYC.

Let's have faith. Two acceptances informed on a Saturday, probably personalized e-mails from POI. Let's wait for tomorrow and see what happens! 

 

Although, if any of these acceptances see this post, please let us out of the darkness and give us some info! and congrats!!!!!!

[sarabethke]

I would actually like to hear from the Columbia acceptance who said they were rejected from all 7 programs they applied to last year and completely changed their application and now has several acceptances. What exactly did you do that you think improved your application so much? Because I'm not sure what I'd do differently at this point.

[EmmaJava]

Likewise with the posting by someone who got into Stanford after going 0 for 8 last year...

[WendyWonderland]

19 minutes ago, EmmaJava said:

Likewise with the posting by someone who got into Stanford after going 0 for 8 last year...

 

28 minutes ago, sarabethke said:

I would actually like to hear from the Columbia acceptance who said they were rejected from all 7 programs they applied to last year and completely changed their application and now has several acceptances.

I second these requests. I am also very curious. Is it a better GRE? Or a different writing sample? These are the only things that could be changed within 1 year according to my opinion. If I reapply, what would I do differently? I might have different LORs, since my advisor was on personal leave when I applied. I had to ask professors whose work wasn't very similar to my research interests. I would def. shoot for a better GRE score, and my writing sample would be stronger because I am developing it now for my capstone. But I can do nothing for my GPA. We will see. Who think that they might end up reapplying? I really want to enter this year, as long as I am funded. 

[WendyWonderland]

2 hours ago, BellaBendrix said:

Let's have faith. Two acceptances informed on a Saturday, probably personalized e-mails from POI. Let's wait for tomorrow and see what happens! 

My GRE verbal score is very weak. I read a personal email 10 min before the exam started in the ladies room and my head exploded during the exam. I am also an international student, English is not my native language. So, if some kind of cut off existed in order to make the commitee's work easier, I think I did not even make it to the second round. Sad, but true story. I have so much to tell fall 2017 applicants NOT to do while applying lol. 

[BellaBendrix]

2 minutes ago, WendyWonderland said:

My GRE verbal score is very weak. I read a personal email 10 min before the exam started in the ladies room and my head exploded during the exam. I am also an international student, English is not my native language. So, if some kind of cut off existed in order to make the commitee's work easier, I think I did not even make it to the second round. Sad, but true story. I have so much to tell fall 2017 applicants NOT to do while applying lol. 

Well, I took the GRE 3 TIMES! I'm also an international student, Spanish is my native language, and the highest I got was 163. Man, did I study. So i don't know, really, I guess I am not a good option for them either. I love their program, though, and I would be so happy to at least have a chance, but at least now that I have 1a, 3r and 1w, I feel calm. (Though I must say, this week left me with like two extra kilos).

[WendyWonderland]

22 minutes ago, BellaBendrix said:

Well, I took the GRE 3 TIMES! I'm also an international student, Spanish is my native language, and the highest I got was 163. Man, did I study. So i don't know, really, I guess I am not a good option for them either. I love their program, though, and I would be so happy to at least have a chance, but at least now that I have 1a, 3r and 1w, I feel calm. (Though I must say, this week left me with like two extra kilos).

Your verbal score is fine! My American peers who are also English majors have the same scores. I think as long as you are over 160 you are good. Mine was miserable. I didn't study so it's totally my fault. If I am given one more chance I would study as hell. 

[sarabethke]

52 minutes ago, WendyWonderland said:

Your verbal score is fine! My American peers who are also English majors have the same scores. I think as long as you are over 160 you are good. Mine was miserable. I didn't study so it's totally my fault. If I am given one more chance I would study as hell. 

I seriously doubt it's the GRE. More likely writing sample, statement of purpose, cv stuff, but I don't know.

[WendyWonderland]

3 minutes ago, sarabethke said:

I seriously doubt it's the GRE. More likely writing sample, statement of purpose, cv stuff, but I don't know.

could also be fit. I really wish they could all let us know before March. I don't want to look weird during recruitment weekend. If the professor ask, are you attending, I don't want to say, hmmm, still waiting. 

[Mundungus]

Columbia interviewed this week. Acceptances imminent as suggested by the posts on the board

Edited February 21, 2016 by Mundungus
Accuracy

[lousyconnection]

Hi all, I'm the 0/7 Columbia person. I went in for English, so I don't know how much I can address Comp Lit stuff.

But so I took the GREs for the last application cycle. I studied my ass off, and didn't retake it for this year—too much money, too much stress. But I changed basically everything about my application besides the technical stuff relating to undergrad/scores/GPA. I kept 2 of the same letter-writers in my field, changed one to be more in line with my research interests (I'm going in for early modernism: I had a 19th Century Americanist, this year I asked a Medievalist). I re-conceived my whole project from the ground up—basically rewrote my statement so that it proposed a project at a conceptual level above what last year's had been at (asking questions that motivated last year's questions). I wrote a writing sample from scratch, which took from June until December, and was a substantial portion of my free time for those months. Last year I submitted a sample on The Canterbury Tales. It was a class paper, and none of my early modern work was good or long enough to be a sample. But that paper was a huge mistake, out of my field, not to mention I referenced Key & Peele in the opening paragraph. So I wrote the new one, and then used that to see where my mind was going so I could see what project to propose better.

That's it, as far as I can remember. I'd be happy to answer any questions, though.

But yeah, last year was devastating, one of the worst of my life (I was also going through a bad breakup right as rejections were rolling in; brutal). So I know exactly how it feels, and it can get really really bad. And it's a lot of work. But rejection means very little about you—it's not the end of the world, and it might not even be the end of anything at all.

[EmmaJava]

21 minutes ago, lousyconnection said:

...I referenced Key & Peele in the opening paragraph.

I love this.

And thanks for the rest of your reply, too, that's a really poignant post. Congratulations.

[sarabethke]

2 hours ago, lousyconnection said:

Hi all, I'm the 0/7 Columbia person. I went in for English, so I don't know how much I can address Comp Lit stuff.

But so I took the GREs for the last application cycle. I studied my ass off, and didn't retake it for this year—too much money, too much stress. But I changed basically everything about my application besides the technical stuff relating to undergrad/scores/GPA. I kept 2 of the same letter-writers in my field, changed one to be more in line with my research interests (I'm going in for early modernism: I had a 19th Century Americanist, this year I asked a Medievalist). I re-conceived my whole project from the ground up—basically rewrote my statement so that it proposed a project at a conceptual level above what last year's had been at (asking questions that motivated last year's questions). I wrote a writing sample from scratch, which took from June until December, and was a substantial portion of my free time for those months. Last year I submitted a sample on The Canterbury Tales. It was a class paper, and none of my early modern work was good or long enough to be a sample. But that paper was a huge mistake, out of my field, not to mention I referenced Key & Peele in the opening paragraph. So I wrote the new one, and then used that to see where my mind was going so I could see what project to propose better.

That's it, as far as I can remember. I'd be happy to answer any questions, though.

But yeah, last year was devastating, one of the worst of my life (I was also going through a bad breakup right as rejections were rolling in; brutal). So I know exactly how it feels, and it can get really really bad. And it's a lot of work. But rejection means very little about you—it's not the end of the world, and it might not even be the end of anything at all.

Thanks for the insight! Writing a whole new writing sample is a big change, and honestly if I had to change one thing about my application it would be that. Ironically enough it's also about a Canturbury tale  

I'm glad all those changes really helped! Congratulations!

Edited February 21, 2016 by sarabethke

[pianodan736]

5 hours ago, lousyconnection said:

Hi all, I'm the 0/7 Columbia person. I went in for English, so I don't know how much I can address Comp Lit stuff.

But so I took the GREs for the last application cycle. I studied my ass off, and didn't retake it for this year—too much money, too much stress. But I changed basically everything about my application besides the technical stuff relating to undergrad/scores/GPA. I kept 2 of the same letter-writers in my field, changed one to be more in line with my research interests (I'm going in for early modernism: I had a 19th Century Americanist, this year I asked a Medievalist). I re-conceived my whole project from the ground up—basically rewrote my statement so that it proposed a project at a conceptual level above what last year's had been at (asking questions that motivated last year's questions). I wrote a writing sample from scratch, which took from June until December, and was a substantial portion of my free time for those months. Last year I submitted a sample on The Canterbury Tales. It was a class paper, and none of my early modern work was good or long enough to be a sample. But that paper was a huge mistake, out of my field, not to mention I referenced Key & Peele in the opening paragraph. So I wrote the new one, and then used that to see where my mind was going so I could see what project to propose better.

That's it, as far as I can remember. I'd be happy to answer any questions, though.

But yeah, last year was devastating, one of the worst of my life (I was also going through a bad breakup right as rejections were rolling in; brutal). So I know exactly how it feels, and it can get really really bad. And it's a lot of work. But rejection means very little about you—it's not the end of the world, and it might not even be the end of anything at all.

Hi there, Columbia person! Were you informed about the decision from a POI. I still haven't heard word back. Please write at your earliest convenience. 

 

Thanks!
Dan

[lousyconnection]

44 minutes ago, pianodan736 said:

Hi there, Columbia person! Were you informed about the decision from a POI. I still haven't heard word back. Please write at your earliest convenience. 

 

Thanks!
Dan

I got an email from DGS on Saturday afternoon.

[BellaBendrix]

8 hours ago, lousyconnection said:

But yeah, last year was devastating, one of the worst of my life (I was also going through a bad breakup right as rejections were rolling in; brutal). So I know exactly how it feels, and it can get really really bad. And it's a lot of work. But rejection means very little about you—it's not the end of the world, and it might not even be the end of anything at all.

My god, I feel you. And i loved your post, so so inspiring! I went through the exact same thing. Losing somebody, bad break up, rolling rejections. But then, slowly, things got better. And I learned so many valuable things during this time! So yes, it's not the end of the world, it's the start of something.

Congratulations on your acceptances!