How many programs are you applying to?

[Dr. Old Bill]

8 minutes ago, Warelin said:

As someone who has read most of your posts over the past two years, I think the right program will accept you for you. If a school is so hyperfocused on grades that they can't see your potential as a scholar just because you're 10 points under their preferred score, chances are you wouldn't be happy there.

I can't speak for any universities. But if your writing style is anything similiar to what you portray here, I think a lot of universities will be interested. Your writing style is very similiar to a few of the English PHD students I had class with and I know that this school is on your application list.

Regardless of outcome, I think everyone deserves a well-earned break. Rejections don't even mean you weren't good enough; it could also mean that they may be transitioning away from your focal area due to it being overrepresented in the previous cohorts.

Worst come to worst, there are so many other ways you can showcase your degree for employers who do genuinely care.

You guys are so kind. Truly!

It's hard to say whether my writing style on GC is similar to my writing style in academic work. There must be a basic similarity at the very least (including my penchant for italicizing words for emphasis), and the most consistent comment I receive on papers is "thoughtful," which I consider a major compliment. In fact, I even told my 101 students that if I ever write "thoughtful" on their papers, they'll know they impressed me. (Most of them impress me anyhow, but still!)

I've had a few people ask me about my "plan B," and I'm simply not thinking about it unless or until I have to. Why waste the energy? The way I see it, I've got a paying gig at my university until the end of June anyhow, and I'll have an answer to my Ph.D. hopes by March at the latest (barring the dreaded nothing-but-waitlist possibility), so I'll have a few months to look at plan B's.

Anyhow, thanks again for your kind words. I fear we're derailing this thread, but at least it's got a couple of "gawwws" from me. ;-)

[angel_kaye13]

34 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Aww. Thanks. I didn't mean it in a self-deprecating sense, however -- just a broad, realistic sense. I went through the cycle two years ago and was very fortunate to get a M.A. offer (that turned out to be a great option)...but that was one offer out of seventeen Ph.D. applications. In retrospect, I can think of a hundred things I did poorly during the last cycle (this despite being a regular on GC...hint hint), but the fact remains that even if I've learned a lot more in the past two years, if my writing sample isn't wowing adcomms, and my statement of purpose isn't really selling me as a scholar, then it's hard to see a future path to Ph.D. study and an academic life.

All of this needs to be underscored by the fact that I feel very strongly about my application. Enough knowledgeable people have read my writing sample for me to know it's both good and unique, and enough people have seen my statement of purpose for me to know that it paints a strong picture of me as a scholar (and it works with my WS). My GRE scores are a bit lower than the most competitive applicants, though my GPA for both my B.A. and M.A. are quite high. I'm older than average, but some will likely see that as an advantage, just as some will see it as a detriment. In other words, I'm a strong enough candidate that I feel there's a good chance that I'll get in somewhere. But if I don't? After all of my learning and all of the preparation that has gone into these applications, I'm not sure trying again and again year after year is prudent. It's really not a self-value judgment, but a question of whether I'm the right kind of potential scholar these programs are looking for.

Fortunately, however, I won't have to make that pronouncement for a few months, if I have to make it at all!

Oh yes! I hope I didn't sound like I was coming down hard on you! I meant it encouragingly. We're "year-mates," so I know your mettle (at least here on GradCafe), and you have what it takes. Obviously, since you got accepted into a program!^^ I worry that so many will forget their worth, so...I have to be the "happy fairy" and make sure to remind people incessantly, I think.^^ For all my odd ramblings, I did mean it well, and encouragingly.

I feel better this time around, too, but...the feelings assail me, too, sometimes. But! Life will be.

Edited December 8, 2016 by angel_kaye13

[DBear]

I've submitted 7 phd apps, and now I'm super anxious so looking back at my "maybe" school list. I got this rhythm going toward the end and I don't think it'd be too hard to crank out a few more, but I doubt I'll find more schools I'm really passionate about applying to. Among my friends already getting their phds or have recently finished, I know a couple who applied to one program and got in. I also know loads more that applied to more than 10. I think the most anyone I know personally applied to is 17. I dunno how she was able to afford it especially as an international student with no fee waivers and having to report TOEFL on top of everything else

[Kilos]

On 12/6/2016 at 8:36 PM, JessicaLange said:

I'm honestly just curious to know. I've seen a few people saying they're applying to 15 programs, which is so brave, because that's such an undertaking. And I've seen people saying they're only applying to two, which is equally brave. I'm applying to 8 PhDs and 1 MA. So, how many are you applying to?

I originally had 8 schools on my list. Unfortunately, my mother passed away on Thanksgiving, and due to time constraints I trimmed it down to five. Three are English/Literature Ph.D. programs, one is a Rhetoric Ph.D., and the other (which is actually my top choice) is an Education Ph.D. (concentration in Human Development, Learning and Teaching) that is perfectly aligned with my interests.

So yeah, five.

Seeing all of these people applying to 10-20 schools is making me wonder if I've made a grave mistake. Ha.

[Yanaka]

@Kilos I'm am so sorry about your mother  

[Kilos]

1 minute ago, Yanaka said:

@Kilos I'm am so sorry about your mother  

Thank you, that's very kind! It's been one heck of a month. I'm just glad to have my applications done; now, the waiting game!

[Yanaka]

3 minutes ago, Kilos said:

Thank you, that's very kind! It's been one heck of a month. I'm just glad to have my applications done; now, the waiting game!

I can imagine. You're truly very strong! 

Yup, the waiting game. I know that once I've submitted Cornell (due in January but will do that one asap), I'll start obsessing over the results section of gradcafé...

[Kilos]

8 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

I can imagine. You're truly very strong! 

Yup, the waiting game. I know that once I've submitted Cornell (due in January but will do that one asap), I'll start obsessing over the results section of gradcafé...

Yeah, I'm already obsessing and I know I've got months until the first acceptances/interviews go out.

Cornell's a wonderful school in an incredible location! I wish you the very best of luck.

[tvethiopia]

51 minutes ago, Kilos said:

So yeah, five.

Seeing all of these people applying to 10-20 schools is making me wonder if I've made a grave mistake. Ha.

i totally feel this! i started off with a looooong list that i planned to cut down to about 15 schools to actually apply for. as the dates grew closer, realistic time limits set in, and i did more research into schools, faculty, and programs, i eventually wound up applying to just five. i honestly don't think i would be happy in a lot of the programs that were on my original list; they're great programs of course, just not particularly well-suited for me. while applying to more places would give me a better shot at getting in SOMEWHERE, i really don't want to go just SOMEWHERE. i'm happy with my choices, but i won't say i don't occasionally have a brief flash of panic that i'm not playing it a little safer!

[guest56436]

12 Ph.D.

[Kilos]

16 hours ago, tvethiopia said:

i totally feel this! i started off with a looooong list that i planned to cut down to about 15 schools to actually apply for. as the dates grew closer, realistic time limits set in, and i did more research into schools, faculty, and programs, i eventually wound up applying to just five. i honestly don't think i would be happy in a lot of the programs that were on my original list; they're great programs of course, just not particularly well-suited for me. while applying to more places would give me a better shot at getting in SOMEWHERE, i really don't want to go just SOMEWHERE. i'm happy with my choices, but i won't say i don't occasionally have a brief flash of panic that i'm not playing it a little safer!

I can completely relate; that's exactly how I feel. 

I'm sure you don't want my life story, but I'm a nontraditional student wrapping up my undergrad at a different school after a long (9 year) hiatus. I resumed my undergrad with the express understanding that the end goal would be a Ph.D. in my field. My first instinct was to cast the widest net possible, and my initial scratch-paper list was nearly twenty schools long. It didn't take more than a week or two to cut that down to twelve, and then eventually to eight, and ultimately five. I guess what I'm getting at (in my rambly, roundabout sort of way) is that it doesn't matter that my goal has always been graduate school--if I'm not over-the-moon excited to pack up all of my stuff, sell my house, thoroughly befuddle/disorient my cat, and move somewhere for 5-6 years, it's probably not going to work out. As you put it, I don't want to just go to school SOMEWHERE, I want to get an education so perfectly aligned with my goals and interests that I'll never look back and think "what if..." 

Frankly, if that means I'm not good enough to get into those perfect programs, then so be it. I poured a lifetime of hard work, high marks, and passion into those five apps, and at the end of the day that's all I can do.

(still, ditto on the panic tho. brb hyperventilating into a paper bag.)

[pebs]

Reading this forum makes me feel hopelessly naive on this front (and many others), but I've only applied to 2 PhD programs and 1 MA.  My husband can't relocate, and that's that.  I don't mind that we'll be living apart while I pursue an MA, but we couldn't manage through a PhD as well, so I only chose places that are theoretically within (an ugly) commuting distance.  If I don't get accepted into any of them, at least I have a job.  I don't enjoy it much, but we'll survive to the next choice.

[angel_kaye13]

27 minutes ago, wet gremlin said:

Reading this forum makes me feel hopelessly naive on this front (and many others)..."

Never feel naive. We all have our reasons for choosing where we apply, and yours are sound/reasonable. (I also only applied to 3, my first round, due to my husband's work and being thus geographically relegated.) Worst-case, you'll know better the second-time around, but who's to say you won't get accepted? It's competitive, but there is always a chance.

[pebs]

33 minutes ago, angel_kaye13 said:

Never feel naive. We all have our reasons for choosing where we apply, and yours are sound/reasonable. (I also only applied to 3, my first round, due to my husband's work and being thus geographically relegated.) Worst-case, you'll know better the second-time around, but who's to say you won't get accepted? It's competitive, but there is always a chance.

Thanks for this.  My hair is on fire with apps right now, and I don't have a lot of perspective.  This helps. 

[Yanaka]

I don't think you should feel bad about only applying to two schools, if you've narrowed your choices according to criteria such as localisation, and made sure programs you are applying to are good fits.  

Edited December 29, 2016 by Yanaka

[Kilos]

Yeah, totally agree with @Yanaka, there's no need to feel even a little bit off about applying to two schools. Life circumstances are often the most formative in the decision-making process; I wouldn't look at it like it's a restricting factor, more that it helped you narrow down your choices and save some money on application fees. There are a dozen schools I scratched off my list because I couldn't see myself living there for an extended period of time, or because they didn't perfectly match my interests. You're just filtering based on different criteria, that's all. Sometimes, in some scenarios, going to a faraway school just to get a degree isn't worth the cost/payoff in the long-run. It sounds like your husband has a good job, you have a job, you're educated, and you have your life priorities laid out to best serve your future. I think you've got your head on straighter than most, and you're using your life experiences to make good, informed choices. Frankly, that's the exact opposite of naiveté. 

[Yanaka]

2 minutes ago, Kilos said:

naiveté

naïveté. Man, I love it when French words creep into other languages.  

[Kilos]

7 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

naïveté. Man, I love it when French words creep into other languages.  

I love French in general! 

Garçon, je voudrais la raie s'il vous plaît!

[Yanaka]

6 minutes ago, Kilos said:

I love French in general! 

Garçon, je voudrais la raie s'il vous plaît!

Yay! But--oh my! La raie?  

[Kilos]

9 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

Yay! But--oh my! La raie?  

haha, that's the only French I know.

I was told it meant "Waiter, I'll have the skatefish, if you please!

[Yanaka]

1 minute ago, Kilos said:

haha, that's the only French I know.

I was told it meant "Waiter, I'll have the skatefish, if you please!

Oh good then, that works! Because my perverted mind thought you were asking for some butt crack  

[Kilos]

1 minute ago, Yanaka said:

Oh good then, that works! Because my perverted mind thought you were asking for some butt crack  

Oh my, no. I'm now terrified, though, that others who speak French didn't think my seafood-related joke was nearly as funny as I did.

[Yanaka]

2 minutes ago, Kilos said:

Oh my, no. I'm now terrified, though, that others who speak French didn't think my seafood-related joke was nearly as funny as I did.

I think the issue is not your sense of humor, but the fact that people (yes, me included) look for "the little bug", la petite bête, and forget that we can also actually mean to use the first definition of a word  Now that we've made it clear that some French person did not teach you the wrong word for their own amusement, I think your joke is very sweet and funny! 

[biyutefulphlower]

21 hours ago, Kilos said:

I originally had 8 schools on my list. Unfortunately, my mother passed away on Thanksgiving, and due to time constraints I trimmed it down to five. Three are English/Literature Ph.D. programs, one is a Rhetoric Ph.D., and the other (which is actually my top choice) is an Education Ph.D. (concentration in Human Development, Learning and Teaching) that is perfectly aligned with my interests.

So yeah, five.

Seeing all of these people applying to 10-20 schools is making me wonder if I've made a grave mistake. Ha.

 I know I'm a bit late, but my condolences about your mother. My mom passed while I was waiting to hear back from M.A. programs a few years ago, so I totally understand how it can reorient your priorities. 

[xolo]

All of you MA students that are now applying to PhD schools after 2 short years - you have my heartfelt sympathy. I don't think I could do it. After being back in academia for almost 2 years now, I'm not sure I would even want to re-apply, but it sure has become part of my identity. Fortunately, by mere luck and chance, 2 years ago (already 2 years ago?) I was accepted without any kind of degree into a program that only takes PhD students. So if all goes well this year I will have my MA and then onward.