2017 Acceptances

[CaffeineCardigan]

Valentine's Day gave me acceptances to Literature MAs at both ASU and NAU in my home state, but sadly my first choice school didn't send me anything. </3 

NAU and ASU were my safe schools, but it's still validating to be accepted! 

I hope everyone else has an equally academically satisfying Valentine's Day in your respective time zones! 

[Yanaka]

8 minutes ago, CaffeineCardigan said:

I hope everyone else has an equally academically satisfying Valentine's Day in your respective time zones! 

Ugh--not very promising for now! I tried asking around if assisting a prof with their research is something people do here, and it doesn't seem to be the case. *venting on the wrong thread*

Congrats on two acceptances, @CaffeineCardigan! Are they good fits even if they're safety fits?

[CaffeineCardigan]

4 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

Congrats on two acceptances, @CaffeineCardigan! Are they good fits even if they're safety fits?

Thank you! Probably good fits. I feel like I know the area and the communities pretty well so I would be able to jump right in and start working on things that interest me. If I don't get into my 4th school, though, I'm leaning towards Trinity. Doing a masters abroad comes with a whole new set of stresses, but in the emails I've exchanged with the program director that feels like the best fit so far. 

[Yanaka]

I think it's great to go abroad, @CaffeineCardigan. It'll look really good on your CV, and you'll have the opportunity to be much more mobile later on, I believe!

[CaffeineCardigan]

@Yanaka Thanks! I really hope so. I'm worried about the timeline for going from a 1 year masters to a PhD, but that's a later-me problem. I've been in Japan for two years now and while I'm ready to move on from where I am currently, I'm not quite ready to go back to the US. 

[shoestofollow]

Okay, so don't ask me how I know this b/c I am too embarrassed to talk about it BUT I have some deets for a few programs. I hope this helps calm some nerves or at least direct the anxiety towards specific days as opposed to a large and formless cloud of nerves.

Cornell: By end of this week

Princeton: (Tentatively) by end of this week

Columbia: Not until the 24th of Febraury

NYU: starting next Tuesday

 

[KTF87]

9 minutes ago, shoestofollow said:

Okay, so don't ask me how I know this b/c I am too embarrassed to talk about it BUT I have some deets for a few programs. I hope this helps calm some nerves or at least direct the anxiety towards specific days as opposed to a large and formless cloud of nerves.

Cornell: By end of this week

Princeton: (Tentatively) by end of this week

Columbia: Not until the 24th of Febraury

NYU: starting next Tuesday

 

hahahahahaha

well what would calm some nerves is for us to make sure know how the reliable direct source told you - and who that was!
otherwise, you're just making it worse hehehe

please?

 

[anon4now]

@shoestofollow You the real MVP. 

[Yanaka]

14 minutes ago, shoestofollow said:

Okay, so don't ask me how I know this b/c I am too embarrassed to talk about it BUT I have some deets for a few programs. I hope this helps calm some nerves or at least direct the anxiety towards specific days as opposed to a large and formless cloud of nerves.

Cornell: By end of this week

Princeton: (Tentatively) by end of this week

Columbia: Not until the 24th of Febraury

NYU: starting next Tuesday

 

This has to be one of the most useful posts recently! (No offense to the others, but there's nothing more useful to an anxious applicant than actual timelines coming from a legit source!)

I know I'm waiting for Comp Lit, but I'm guessing my results will, as per us', fall a little after these indications. Thanks!

... But yeah we wanna know the embarrassing story.

[shoestofollow]

8 minutes ago, KTF87 said:

hahahahahaha

well what would calm some nerves is for us to make sure know how the reliable direct source told you - and who that was!
otherwise, you're just making it worse hehehe

please?

 

 

3 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

This has to be one of the most useful posts recently! (No offense to the others, but there's nothing more useful to an anxious applicant than actual timelines coming from a legit source!)

I know I'm waiting for Comp Lit, but I'm guessing my results will, as per us', fall a little after these indications. Thanks!

... But yeah we wanna know the embarrassing story.

OKAY it's not ~embarrassing~ exactly it's just the exact opposite of what I told myself I would not do because it's annoying etc. I emailed the DGS for each program and these were the results. (Except for NYU I called rather than emailing).

[KTF87]

5 minutes ago, shoestofollow said:

 

OKAY it's not ~embarrassing~ exactly it's just the exact opposite of what I told myself I would not do because it's annoying etc. I emailed the DGS for each program and these were the results. (Except for NYU I called rather than emailing).

oh come on! I took you for a stalker!

what I would do, in a hypothetical virtual world, is stalk these DGS social media activity and try to see where they are, and what it could mean...

just a thought that was never "actioned" ..in the past hour...

Edited February 14, 2017 by KTF87

[Dr. Old Bill]

You guys just can't help yourselves, can you? 

[Yanaka]

3 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

You guys just can't help yourselves, can you? 

Hahahaha it's a struggle!!

[shoestofollow]

10 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

You guys just can't help yourselves, can you? 

I.....really cannot..............

[positivitize]

I've got a deal with myself when it comes to emailing DGS. Obviously, I want to email everyone all the time for all the information ever; however, before I email any DGS unprompted, I've decided to read a book of theirs cover-to-cover. That way, for every (unprompted) email I've sent, I've read a scholarly work. Usually my questions shift from "TELL ME WHEN I'LL HEAR SOMETHING!!" to "Wow. I really enjoyed X about your book. *Thoughtful question about the text that displays comprehension and engagement* PS: I'm an applicant, what's the deal with Y?"

If nothing else, it slows down the outgoing emails I send, trains me to read unfamiliar scholarly works quickly for comprehension, and exposes me to a ton of cool ideas. Best case scenario, it makes the difference between the bin and the long shortlist.

Edited February 14, 2017 by positivitize

[Yanaka]

Hahahahahahahaahahhhahahahahahah @positivitize "you cray".  

 

[positivitize]

4 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

Hahahahahahahaahahhhahahahahahah @positivitize "you cray".  

 

 

You know it. I think we all go crazy to a certain extent during application season.

[Yanaka]

9 minutes ago, positivitize said:

You know it. I think we all go crazy to a certain extent during application season.

Exactly. Plus, I mean, shouldn't they just announce some kind of time frame when you know the earliest and the latest times for each decision? Shouldn't they just have some kind of mailing list after classifying all the applicants? I don't know... I'm complaining a little because the wait is so stressful and distracting, but I guess they have their reasons...

But for instance, UCLA's "don't expect anything before March or April" when you see on GC that people have already received their acceptances and therefore you perfectly know it means you've been rejected is just not coooool.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Yanaka

[anxiousphd]

3 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

Exactly. Plus, I mean, shouldn't they just announce some kind of time frame when you know the earliest and the latest times for each decision? Shouldn't they just have some kind of mailing list after classifying all the applicants? I don't know... I'm complaining a little because the wait is so stressful and distracting, but I guess they have their reasons...

One of my programs sent me an email in late January saying to expect decisions in 4 to 6 weeks. Right now they're my favorite admissions committee because it is SO nice not having to obsess over it for a month!

[Dr. Old Bill]

Argh. I don't want to sound like a surly old man, but here's the thing...

It's perfectly fine for you (us) as Ph.D. program hopefuls to be antsy about admission timelines. It's to be expected, really -- it's one of the biggest moments of our lives, and that's not hyperbole. BUT, you should also keep in mind that these admissions committees are often dealing with upward of 300 applications...and almost all of those applicants are in the same boat as you: worrying, antsy, emotional, on edge, and unsure of when they'll hear back. Admissions committees have an unenviable task, and while it's largely a mystery to us as to how they make their decisions (and it almost certainly varies by program), I just think that we have to respect that they do it the way they do it for a reason. Professors are usually busy at the best of times, and I can only imagine how hectic it is during this time of year when they're sitting on an adcom. Likewise, a DGS (and his/her staff) has to juggle all of these acceptances, rejections, and waitlists for a couple of months. 

All of this is to say that I completely understand the desire to know all of your options as soon as possible...but sometimes I worry that that desire starts to merge into an expectation that you are owed an answer right away. I simply think that you have to respect the process, and understand that adcoms have their reasons for doing the things they do the way they do them. They have to do their job...and it's a very hard job to do. Calls and emails from panicky applicants isn't going to speed up the process or change anything.

I hope this doesn't come across as a rant. I don't mean it as a rant. I just want you to remember that, as difficult as the waiting process is for us, it's also difficult on the adcom side of things. Just try your best to be patient. 



ETA: Cross-posted with AnxiousGrad

Edited February 14, 2017 by Wyatt's Terps

[KikiDelivery]

The waiting process does feel like an exercise in patience. I am here thinking though that waiting is what we are going to be in for with the career path we've chosen.

*waiting on whether we got acceptance to x conference*

*waiting on whether our publication was accepted*

I am trying to recognize and settle myself in the reality of waiting. At the same time, I do understand the frustration of just wanting to know. I found myself in the temptation to just accept a program already, but I smack myself out of it thinking this is a life-changing decision. I need to do it right.

[Yanaka]

I agree with you, @Wyatt's Terps... But the thing is: if it weren't for GC, we'd have absolutely no clue of when the answers were supposed to come in... And the few timelines I received while applying were much earlier than the actual answers... So my guess is: if they gave actual, accurate timeframes, even very large, they'd have less panicky emails and phone calls asking for answers... Of course us GC-ers should be much more patient and not contact offices and DGS's. But I'm sure all the other applicants who aren't on this forum are asking because they gave either no indications or unrealistic ones... Do you see what I mean? 

[Dr. Old Bill]

Congrats to all of the Fordham, Oregon State, and CUNY Grad Center acceptances yesterday!

I wonder why no one's posted about their acceptances in this thread...

Edited February 15, 2017 by Wyatt's Terps

[brontebitch]

15 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Congrats to all of the Fordham, Oregon State, and CUNY Grad Center acceptances yesterday!

I wonder why no one's posted about their acceptances in this thread...

Wondering also about the NYU acceptance? Someone called in and received their decision? It made me want to call, but I restrained myself lol

[Yanaka]

The whole forum was down!