Venting Thread

[Avalanched]

@ThePomoHipster I am so glad to know this!! Thank you very much! 

[Abyss21]

1 hour ago, la_mod said:

Do you know if this is for all English programs, or just MA? Regardless, exciting stuff!

I've only inquired about the PhD program so I'm not sure about when the MA results will come out. Did you apply for the MA or the PhD? Either way, good luck and I'll keep my fingers crossed for all of us, including @Avalanched.

[Avalanched]

I applied for the PhD. I have 2 MAs because I'm insane like that. 

[Abyss21]

Just now, Avalanched said:

I applied for the PhD. I have 2 MAs because I'm insane like that. 

Haha I'm guessing, based on your research interests, that one's in English and one's in psychology/neuroscience?

[Avalanched]

Actually the other one is in Religion (religious studies, not seminary.) It's on liturgical rhetoric and halfway an archival project. I made a whole flipping archive of 15 years worth of weekly essays. I don't want to see OCR software again for a very long time

[Abyss21]

4 minutes ago, Avalanched said:

Actually the other one is in Religion (religious studies, not seminary.) It's on liturgical rhetoric and halfway an archival project. I made a whole flipping archive of 15 years worth of weekly essays. I don't want to see OCR software again for a very long time

Haha that's impressive! Hopefully you end up using that archival work during your PhD so that it doesn't go to waste. 

[chellyfish_]

Anybody rejected from UC Davis feel like commiserating over the included "reason" for their rejection?  Mine was that my writing sample wasn't competitive enough LOL which on the one hand is like "hmm okay, well I understand that there are many great scholars doing great work", but on the other hand seems like a bit of a cop-out reason, and on the other hand is a bit like #OUCH (I'm not sure why I have three hands in this scenario LOL)

[Yanaka]

I wish I knew the exact reasons why I didn't get in anywhere! It's a bit of an ego-challenge but it helps for the future. 

[zombiekeats]

Just now, eliza_winter said:

Anybody rejected from UC Davis feel like commiserating over the included "reason" for their rejection?  Mine was that my writing sample wasn't competitive enough LOL which on the one hand is like "hmm okay, well I understand that there are many great scholars doing great work", but on the other hand seems like a bit of a cop-out reason, and on the other hand is a bit like #OUCH (I'm not sure why I have three hands in this scenario LOL)

Yeah, mine was something to the effect of "your academic work was not as competitive as other candidates" (I assume they meant writing sample? or my record?) It was admittedly a bit of a gut punch when I first read it, to be honest, especially since my academic record is a bit unusual.

[chellyfish_]

4 minutes ago, zombiekeats said:

Yeah, mine was something to the effect of "your academic work was not as competitive as other candidates" (I assume they meant writing sample? or my record?) It was admittedly a bit of a gut punch when I first read it, to be honest, especially since my academic record is a bit unusual.

Glad I'm not the only one!! Mine's especially awkward, since I went to UC Davis as an undergrad and they...gave me....the writing skills I have....LOL

[Yanaka]

2 minutes ago, eliza_winter said:

Glad I'm not the only one!! Mine's especially awkward, since I went to UC Davis as an undergrad and they...gave me....the writing skills I have....LOL

Hahahaha that's the definition of irony

[zombiekeats]

13 minutes ago, eliza_winter said:

Glad I'm not the only one!! Mine's especially awkward, since I went to UC Davis as an undergrad and they...gave me....the writing skills I have....LOL

Lol oh wow ok huh. I do wonder if the reason they gave both of us is the blanket reason they gave? I see that others received the same answer. 

[Caien]

I would like to vent about how Irish buses never arrive on time. I am cold.

[phoebusrising]

Just now, Caien said:

I would like to vent about how Irish buses never arrive on time. I am cold.

Not gonna lie I read this and immediately started laughing. I'm sorry you're cold.

[biyutefulphlower]

4 minutes ago, Caien said:

I would like to vent about how Irish buses never arrive on time. I am cold.

Sounds a lot like New Jersey transit buses.  They're never on time, unless you're running late.

[orphic_mel528]

3 hours ago, eliza_winter said:

Anybody rejected from UC Davis feel like commiserating over the included "reason" for their rejection?  Mine was that my writing sample wasn't competitive enough LOL which on the one hand is like "hmm okay, well I understand that there are many great scholars doing great work", but on the other hand seems like a bit of a cop-out reason, and on the other hand is a bit like #OUCH (I'm not sure why I have three hands in this scenario LOL)

My undergrad transcripts look like the Battle of Bosworth, so I was not all that surprised by the fact that my "academic work is not as competitive as other applicants'." 

Not to be snarky (of course now everyone will think I'm being snarky): I'm not sure I understand the accusations on the results board that these rejection letters are "rude." To me, the language in these letters is pretty standard for professional writing: we've rejected you and here's why. I'm not sure what people who thought it was rude expected, but it's not typical for a business or similar entity where applications are involved to write back and use personal or overtly complimentary language.

It's particularly important to consider that they probably sent out hundreds of these and do not have time to personalize/soften the blow according to individual expectations of which they have no knowledge. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know we're disappointed, but we don't need to channel that into reading too much emotion into these totally robotic letters.

 

[thewholeenchilada]

Guys what does "implied rejection mean?" Its already the end of Feb. and I have not heard from about 8 schools. No rejections, no nada. I have heard of not hearing from 1 or 2 ever.... but 8?  When do I give up on them? When do I know if I'm wait listed? When do I harass admissions? 

[claritus]

6 minutes ago, thewholeenchilada said:

Guys what does "implied rejection mean?" Its already the end of Feb. and I have not heard from about 8 schools. No rejections, no nada. I have heard of not hearing from 1 or 2 ever.... but 8?  When do I give up on them? When do I know if I'm wait listed? When do I harass admissions? 

Um, it's hard to tell since you're in neuropsych. Have you looked at the results section for admissions in your field? If there are acceptances from schools you've applied to, and you haven't heard anything, chances are that it's an implied rejection.

[thewholeenchilada]

1 minute ago, claritus said:

Um, it's hard to tell since you're in neuropsych. Have you looked at the results section for admissions in your field? If there are acceptances from schools you've applied to, and you haven't heard anything, chances are that it's an implied rejection.

Okay, I see! Yes I've been checking everyday. Nobody has posted anything about it but I highly doubt that means alllll of those schools haven't sent invitations. It would be nice if they kept us generally "updated".

 

Nonetheless, Thanks!

[claritus]

2 minutes ago, thewholeenchilada said:

Okay, I see! Yes I've been checking everyday. Nobody has posted anything about it but I highly doubt that means alllll of those schools haven't sent invitations. It would be nice if they kept us generally "updated".

 

Nonetheless, Thanks!

Wish I could be of more help! I think the results board works out quite well for us Lit folks, due to a certain critical mass, but I'm not sure if it's as well utilized by people in other fields  Anyway, best of luck!

[silenus_thescribe]

4 hours ago, Yanaka said:

I wish I knew the exact reasons why I didn't get in anywhere! It's a bit of an ego-challenge but it helps for the future. 

I cringed when I read the UC Davis stuff; those vague reasons do nothing to help applicants, and they actively make already despondent (in many cases) applicants feel worse.

I actually think it's smart for departments to be nonspecific in rejection letters. So much of the time, it's not that applicants are particularly bad or unqualified -- in fact, quite the opposite. The dilemma that so many departments face is that they have a glut of qualified applicants, and choosing between them so often comes down to splitting hairs. To me, reasons like "less competitive academics" or "weaker writing sample" are vague generalizations that actually stand in for more complicated reasons that would require pages-long emails. For instance, you could be a killer medieval scholar with all the objective credentials a department would want from a medievalist, but it might be that the department took in a bunch of medievalists the year before, and can only accept one out of a group of similarly qualified applicants. It's much easier for that ad com to say, "weaker writing sample" than it is to go into full detail about the decisionmaking process, particularly when hundreds of people apply each year. 

Of course, rejections are hard not to take personally. But I think that so much of what goes into application decisions, like the aforementioned scenario or a more nebulous case like "fit," aren't strictly speaking about deficiencies in the applicant. As such, what Davis did was basically come up with an easy but problematic answer to something that in many cases probably didn't have to do with a deficiency in an application.

[zombiekeats]

25 minutes ago, orphic_mel528 said:

My undergrad transcripts look like the Battle of Bosworth, so I was not all that surprised by the fact that my "academic work is not as competitive as other applicants'." 

Not to be snarky (of course now everyone will think I'm being snarky): I'm not sure I understand the accusations on the results board that these rejection letters are "rude." To me, the language in these letters is pretty standard for professional writing: we've rejected you and here's why. I'm not sure what people who thought it was rude expected, but it's not typical for a business or similar entity where applications are involved to write back and use personal or overtly complimentary language.

It's particularly important to consider that they probably sent out hundreds of these and do not have time to personalize/soften the blow according to individual expectations of which they have no knowledge. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know we're disappointed, but we don't need to channel that into reading too much emotion into these totally robotic letters.

 

True! I think it is important to remember that these things aren't personal, although they may feel that way. I think it's natural to want to ascribe more emotion and tendencies toward rejection, but like most things in the universe--and like in your lovely quote--it's pretty chaotic, and random, and it won't make necessarily make sense. But you keep plugging away, and doing the thing until the thing is done  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[yanicus]

I'd like to vent about how it's still February and that September seems so far away, especially for those of us going into lit partly to get out of what we're currently doing.

[Dr. Old Bill]

47 minutes ago, orphic_mel528 said:

A Joe Walsh and a Styx reference in one day? Old Mel, you're cut off!

[orphic_mel528]

7 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

A Joe Walsh and a Styx reference in one day? Old Mel, you're cut off!

I should be cut off, honestly. Old Mel? Is that like Old Greg? "Easy now, fuzzy little man peach!"