2017 Acceptances

[Avalanched]

51 minutes ago, claritus said:

There was a shortlist of about 45 people on a Doodle poll, some of whom were given interviews. So I would hazard a guess that it is an implied rejection. If it makes you feel any better, I was shortlisted and didn't get an interview, which was a bit of a fun mind game. Best of luck! 

Doodle poll? 

[claritus]

7 minutes ago, Avalanched said:

Doodle poll? 

It's an online scheduling service—they had us fill out our availability for Skype interviews. Interviews happened January 24th-27th if I remember correctly. 

[HumanCylinder]

On 2/2/2017 at 6:10 PM, Americano_extrashot said:

Ha. Yes, that was me who posted, I was hoping someone else might have gotten that too and know what was going on because I sure don't! I haven't replied just yet, but I think I'm going to ask for a little more information before I commit to going? I feel like this must be a short list of people under consideration, but... I don't know? Why wouldn't you just say that if that's the case? I'm happy to figure out a way to take the time off work if there is a solid chance of getting accepted or waitlisted, but... I feel like I need to know that first. 

I applied to Baylor last cycle (for English PhD).  I was rejected, and don't remember ever receiving an email about a preview day.  So, it could be that they've changed protocol from last year, or that it's a positive sign! I actually checked my inbox, and it looks like I emailed the DGS  on March 10 asking if there was a timeline for notifications (I had already heard from most of my schools).  He told me I wasn't accepted and then I got an official email 6 days later about the rejection.  This is utter speculation so feel free to ignore, but I wonder if, because Baylor is a little further down on the US News and World rankings, they might use a preview day to gauge who is actually interested in the program, and who applied as a type of "safety" (which I personally don't believe exists for PhD apps, just fyi).  

P.S. I was at a conference there at the Armstrong Browning library, which is amazing and would be worth checking out

[Lovegood]

Penn State already? Congratulations！Still waiting... 

[piers_plowman]

21 minutes ago, Lovegood said:

Congrats!

Did she mention how many positions they have this year? 

Unfortunately she didn't, just that the competition was unusually strong this year - more and better applications. She also didn't indicate whether or not all decisions had been released - I hope more trickle out! Good luck!

[Dr. Old Bill]

Looks like you accidentally attributed this quotation to me instead of its rightful owner, @piers_plowman...

[JessicaLange]

I just want to say that I'm feeling very lucky to have the internet right now. Grad school applications would have been a nightmare without it. I don't think I would have applied to so many schools if I had had to type all of my SOPs and Writing samples on a typewriter. And it's so nice to have gradcafe. It kind of sucks when people get acceptances and you're still waiting, but it's nice to not be left in the dark and to have people to celebrate and commiserate with.

[Kilos]

7 hours ago, JessicaLange said:

And it's so nice to have gradcafe. It kind of sucks when people get acceptances and you're still waiting, but it's nice to not be left in the dark and to have people to celebrate and commiserate with.

I couldn't agree more. At the risk of sounding sappy or silly, this community has been an unbelievable source of comfort and support over the last few years. I can't believe it took me so long to make an account and start posting. I don't really know any of you, yet I feel a kinship with all of you, because we're all going through (or have gone through) the same trials. I'm still anxious and confused about this whole process (who isn't?) but I can only imagine what it would have been like applying or waiting it out without any insight or perspective. Anyway, yeah, thanks.

[KTF87]

16 hours ago, piers_plowman said:

Rice is me, got the email from the DGS earlier this afternoon! Very excited! She said the competition was stiff this year, both in terms of number and quality. My portal remains unchanged though.

Congrats!!!!!!!!!

[Dr. Old Bill]

So FYI -- to those waiting for UMD results, I suspect anyone who didn't get an interview is probably out of the running. An email just went out from the department chair to the whole department including the following blurb:

in addition to shepherding faculty through the process of reviewing all the dossiers of prospective students, and organizing Sykpe conversations among the various department area groups, Kellie and Heather then went onto schedule Skype interviews with twenty-one prospective Phd students. This entailed gathering together a minimum of group of four interviewers (a mix of faculty and graduate students) for each interview and providing each interview group with a template for their conversation with the candidate. Kellie attended all twenty-one interviews.

Given that they'll probably wind up admitting 15 or so with an ideal yield of 7 or 8, 21 interviews is a lot.

For my own part, I'm considering it an implied rejection.

[Kilos]

26 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Given that they'll probably wind up admitting 15 or so with an ideal yield of 7 or 8, 21 interviews is a lot.

For my own part, I'm considering it an implied rejection.

You got your M.A. at UMD right?

I'm just curious how far up your list the UMD Ph.D. was? I had a professor once tell me that (while some schools do) many schools don't like promoting from within for their Ph.D. cohorts. Wondering what your feelings are in general?

[Dr. Old Bill]

34 minutes ago, Kilos said:

You got your M.A. at UMD right?

I'm just curious how far up your list the UMD Ph.D. was? I had a professor once tell me that (while some schools do) many schools don't like promoting from within for their Ph.D. cohorts. Wondering what your feelings are in general?

Yeah, I'm in my last semester at UMD right now.

I never really ranked my list, to be honest. When I applied, I figured that I'd be happy at any of the thirteen programs I applied to. There are some that I prize more than others, of course (and perhaps I'll talk more about that after April 15th), but none are "well, I guess this is alright" situations. That being said, I applied to UMD more because of the comfort and convenience, combined with knowing most of the people in my field and their strengths etc. There are no great fits for what I'm hoping to continue studying, even though two professors at UMD got me going down that path in the first place (both are medievalists, however, which is rather telling). For many reasons I'm looking forward to getting a fresh start in a new location; that being said, had UMD been an acceptance, I would have been extremely grateful and would have considered it in the same way I would any other program.

I recognize that this sounds like a slightly political answer, but it's true nonetheless. I wouldn't have applied to UMD if I wasn't completely keen on the program.

Incidentally, UMD used to promote from within quite a bit until three or four years ago when they changed policies. It still happens from time to time (there was an M.A. student accepted to the Ph.D. program last year), but once upon a time it was apparently closer to being a "sure thing" than being in the same boat as applicants from all institutions.

Edited February 3, 2017 by Wyatt's Terps

[FeetInTheSky]

1 hour ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

So FYI -- to those waiting for UMD results, I suspect anyone who didn't get an interview is probably out of the running. An email just went out from the department chair to the whole department including the following blurb:
 

Given that they'll probably wind up admitting 15 or so with an ideal yield of 7 or 8, 21 interviews is a lot.

For my own part, I'm considering it an implied rejection.

womp. 

Really starting to look hard at the likelihood of striking out. I probably should have applied to MA programs....

[Kilos]

10 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Yeah, I'm in my last semester at UMD right now.

I never really ranked my list, to be honest. When I applied, I figured that I'd be happy at any of the thirteen programs I applied to. There are some that I prize more than others, of course (and perhaps I'll talk more about that after April 15th), but none are "well, I guess this is alright" situations. That being said, I applied to UMD more because of the comfort and convenience, combined with knowing most of the people in my field and their strengths etc. There are no great fits for what I'm hoping to continue studying, even though two professors at UMD got me going down that path in the first place (both are medievalists, however, which is rather telling). For many reasons I'm looking forward to getting a fresh start in a new location; that being said, had UMD been an acceptance, I would have been extremely grateful and would have considered it in the same way I would any other program.

I recognize that this sounds like a slightly political answer, but it's true nonetheless. I wouldn't have applied to UMD if I wasn't completely keen on the program.

Incidentally, UMD used to promote from within quite a bit until three or four years ago when they changed policies. It still happens from time to time (there was an M.A. student accepted to the Ph.D. program last year), but once upon a time it was apparently closer to being a "sure thing" than being in the same boat as applicants from all institutions.

Thanks for the detailed answer! I know what you mean about not ranking your list; I only applied to schools that I'd be happy to attend--I never understood the concept of paying an application fee to possibly join a school/program that I wasn't particularly keen on. The plan is, certainly, to get the Ph.D. someday, but I'm not going to spend five years somewhere I don't want to be to get it.

Interesting about the UMD program's interest in internal promotion. I wonder what may have sparked their change in policy. I get that some programs feel like they get more perspective when they bring in people from outside the institution, but I'm not so sure I agree with intentionally slanting admissions one way or another. I'd prefer to focus on who the qualified, passionate, driven candidates are... rather than where they came from. Then again, who am I? I'm sure the people running these schools know far better.

[Dr. Old Bill]

14 minutes ago, JeremyWrites said:

womp. 

Really starting to look hard at the likelihood of striking out. I probably should have applied to MA programs....

Sorry, JW. But remember that it's still early! And on the subject of M.A. programs, UMD is known for offering quite a few to people who didn't quite make the Ph.D. cut (including yours truly). With the TA / RA options on campus, the M.A. can essentially be fully funded with a significant stipend. Since you're an applicant with a B.A., this is a significant possibility for you...

---

In other news, congrats to the person who got accepted to Bowling Green! It's amazing that they were able to keep operating in the wake of the massacre...
 

Edited February 3, 2017 by Wyatt's Terps

[Kilos]

12 minutes ago, JeremyWrites said:

womp. 

Really starting to look hard at the likelihood of striking out. I probably should have applied to MA programs....

Feeling the same way. I haven't received any rejections yet (most of my schools are still a few weeks away from announcing), but I'm getting this heavy vibe that I shot too high and didn't throw out a wide enough net. I wouldn't have been happy with a wider net, as I applied only to schools I was really excited about, but at this point I'd almost be willing to pay $60 just to decline a Ph.D. acceptance. ha. 

I FEED ON YOUR VALIDATION. mwahah.

[Kilos]

4 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

In other news, congrats to the person who got accepted to Bowling Green! It's amazing that they were able to keep operating in the wake of the massacre...

HA. 

I work as a technical writer and I spent about 20 minutes in Photoshop this morning whipping up an "I STAND WITH BOWLING GREEN" Facebook profile picture. I try not to be too political online, so I ended up not using it, but it kept me giggling for a few hours.

[Yanaka]

18 minutes ago, JeremyWrites said:

womp. 

Really starting to look hard at the likelihood of striking out. I probably should have applied to MA programs....

Bienvenido/a in my world!

[FeetInTheSky]

12 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Sorry, JW. But remember that it's still early! And on the subject of M.A. programs, UMD is known for offering quite a few to people who didn't quite make the Ph.D. cut (including yours truly). With the TA / RA options on campus, the M.A. can essentially be fully funded with a significant stipend. Since you're an applicant with a B.A., this is a significant possibility for you...

---

In other news, congrats to the person who got accepted to Bowling Green! It's amazing that they were able to keep operating in the wake of the massacre...
 

Indeed. Thanks for the encouragement... we shall see where it goes. If only I can be as lucky! 

And thanks for the commiseration, all...

And yes, such heros at Bowling Green! 

Edited February 3, 2017 by JeremyWrites

[Warelin]

52 minutes ago, JeremyWrites said:

womp. 

Really starting to look hard at the likelihood of striking out. I probably should have applied to MA programs....

The majority of schools haven't made their decisions yet. But there are some MA programs that haven't reached their deadlines yet. A few of them don't have it until March.

[Warelin]

43 minutes ago, Kilos said:

Feeling the same way. I haven't received any rejections yet (most of my schools are still a few weeks away from announcing), but I'm getting this heavy vibe that I shot too high and didn't throw out a wide enough net. I wouldn't have been happy with a wider net, as I applied only to schools I was really excited about, but at this point I'd almost be willing to pay $60 just to decline a Ph.D. acceptance. ha. 

I FEED ON YOUR VALIDATION. mwahah.

While casting a wide net can be important, it doesn't make sense if you wouldn't be happy at the school. It is a 5-6-7-10 year process for most people depending on the program's requirements. Not being excited would mean that you'd be more likely to drop out and not complete what you came for. In the end, it's better to have 1 really good school that you're excited about rather than 5 schools that you'd rather not attend.

[Kilos]

23 minutes ago, Warelin said:

While casting a wide net can be important, it doesn't make sense if you wouldn't be happy at the school. It is a 5-6-7-10 year process for most people depending on the program's requirements. Not being excited would mean that you'd be more likely to drop out and not complete what you came for. In the end, it's better to have 1 really good school that you're excited about rather than 5 schools that you'd rather not attend.

I unequivocally agree, and that's at the core of why I only applied to a (relative) handful of schools. It doesn't change the fact that it's really going to sting when I don't get into any of the Ph.D. programs I really wanted to get into. If anything, it might make it a bit harder on a personal level, because these weren't just throw-away schools, they're the schools and programs that I felt would most impact my future or change my life. Still, I'm in complete agreement--I'm not about to start haphazardly throwing out applications just for the hell of it, I was just joking that any acceptance would feel good at this point.

[Sunsy]

AHHHH I GOT INTO HOPKINS!!!!!!!

I'm shaking and freaking out you guys. This is a dream come true, especially since my brother is there now getting his PhD!

[loganondorf]

6 minutes ago, Sunsy said:

AHHHH I GOT INTO HOPKINS!!!!!!!

I'm shaking and freaking out you guys. This is a dream come true, especially since my brother is there now getting his PhD!

Ah, congratulations!! Johns Hopkins is such an amazing school!

[Dr. Old Bill]

9 minutes ago, Sunsy said:

AHHHH I GOT INTO HOPKINS!!!!!!!

I'm shaking and freaking out you guys. This is a dream come true, especially since my brother is there now getting his PhD!

Way to go! It's a small program, but full of rock stars. Sharon Achinstein in particular is a delight -- I attended a great talk of hers on Milton last spring. And Baltimore is a lovely city. Congrats!!

Edited February 3, 2017 by Wyatt's Terps