Waitlist Movement

[phoebusrising]

I'm not on the waitlist to be accepted but I am on the waitlist for a TA position at UNH. They said I'm 4th on the list, so it's not impossible but I'm not feeling super hopeful. And without the TA position I won't be able to afford to go so I'm feeling panicky. 

[Yanaka]

19 hours ago, Old Bill said:

So I just got waitlisted at UNC...

I really thought that I was "done" for this application cycle, but having two waitlist options in play might make things interesting...

I hadn't recognized you! (duh) I can't wait to see what the outcome of this season will be for you  

[LurkyLurker]

6 hours ago, cj cregg said:

Oh, figures! As my friend told me, we will all end up where we're supposed to be. *tries to appear zen* I have a feeling it's going to be early April before this all figures itself out, but I will definitely keep GC (& basically everyone else I know) posted should anything shift before then. Have you heard good news from any other schools?

Aw I like that. I'm trying to stay positive over here but so far I've had 1 definite rejection, two implied, and one waitlist, with still 3 schools to hear anything from! I did get into a small state university masters program, so I know I'll have something to do in the fall at least. If that's where I end up then I'll try again with an MA  :))

[Courtney Whited]

I was accepted to the University of Tennessee for the Master of Arts program and put on the waitlist for funding.  Crossing my fingers that someone funded decides to go elsewhere.

Waiting to hear from OSU. 

[ThousandsHardships]

@phoebusrising I feel you! I'm in a similar (albeit slightly more hopeful) position. I was accepted to one school and waitlisted for another. The one school I was accepted to said that I was runner-up for a fellowship that I'd get only if the top person declines his or her offer, and that other forms of funding haven't been decided so I'd better give them any info about my teaching record. To add to that, I'm slightly terrified that I might have come off as overly desperate to my prospective mentor just because I had asked several times when I can expect to hear back about funding. Basically, my excitement over being accepted has recently turned to stress and sheer terror, literal dreams of hope followed by disappointment upon waking.

Edited March 9, 2017 by ThousandsHardships

[ProfessionalNerd]

I was just waitlisted at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. 

 

I've also declined my spot (is that the correct phrasing?) at the University of California Riverside. It's such an amazing program and the faculty are all great. I hope that one of you lucky folks get that spot  

Edited March 9, 2017 by ProfessionalNerd

[steve3020]

Are international candidates treated differently when they are waitlisted? Now that I'm on the waitlist for two places and possibly three (they said I 'maybe' on the waitlist, which is confusing), I'm wondering if my chances of getting in are lower because I'm not American? 

[steve3020]

On 3/8/2017 at 4:28 AM, Fuko said:

Does someone know anything about Riverside waitlist or rejections? A rejection was listed yesterday by someone who said they contacted the coordinator. I sent an e-mail to the director, like 2 weeks ago, and haven't heard anything since. Should I sent another inquiry about my app, or would that be rude? At least two people were notified about the decision upon e-mailing (one waitlist and one rejection), and I am losing my mind over here.

I don't know about Riverside so don't take my word for it, but I emailed an institution that, on the board, people said they got a response from after contacting them, and I got mine too. But it sounds like they are flooded with emails and that's probably why they didn't reply to yours, so probably it's not the best idea to email them again. Good luck! 

[Yanaka]

22 minutes ago, steve3020 said:

Are international candidates treated differently when they are waitlisted? Now that I'm on the waitlist for two places and possibly three (they said I 'maybe' on the waitlist, which is confusing), I'm wondering if my chances of getting in are lower because I'm not American? 

I know some universities have maxima for int'l applicants. E.g. UCLA Art History, the profram admits only 1 international this year. My friend's on the waitlist and will only be admitted if that one int'l person declines their offer.

[LurkyLurker]

2 hours ago, ProfessionalNerd said:

I was just waitlisted at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. 

 

I've also declined my spot (is that the correct phrasing?) at the University of California Riverside. It's such an amazing program and the faculty are all great. I hope that one of you lucky folks get that spot  

Congrats on the waitlist  Can I ask what your area is? 

[ProfessionalNerd]

4 minutes ago, LurkyLurker said:

Congrats on the waitlist  Can I ask what your area is? 

Thanks! 

Areas=Poetry, poetics, africana studies and theories of diaspora 

Edited March 9, 2017 by ProfessionalNerd

[eadwacer]

I'm told I'm "not at the top" of Minnesota's wait list and that several medievalists have already accepted, so if I do hear from them it likely won't be until or slightly after April 15. It was a very kind email, though, so I'm not too upset.

From Rochester, I heard that no one has declined yet but they expected to start getting definite answers after their visiting days March 26-28. They said they'd likely be in contact around the first week in April.

I'm getting more and more inclined to just accept my MA offer at UBC since I feel like it will be better for my academic development anyway. Minnesota even suggested that my application would be "greatly improved" by an MA, probably because of my mediocre undergrad GPA. Still, I feel like I'm "supposed" to wait until I hear from everywhere. I don't know, wait lists just feel like even more limbo.

[Courtney Whited]

7 minutes ago, eadwacer said:

I'm told I'm "not at the top" of Minnesota's wait list and that several medievalists have already accepted, so if I do hear from them it likely won't be until or slightly after April 15. It was a very kind email, though, so I'm not too upset.

From Rochester, I heard that no one has declined yet but they expected to start getting definite answers after their visiting days March 26-28. They said they'd likely be in contact around the first week in April.

I'm getting more and more inclined to just accept my MA offer at UBC since I feel like it will be better for my academic development anyway. Minnesota even suggested that my application would be "greatly improved" by an MA, probably because of my mediocre undergrad GPA. Still, I feel like I'm "supposed" to wait until I hear from everywhere. I don't know, wait lists just feel like even more limbo.

 

I was debating applying to PhD programs directly, but I decided to go into the MA program first instead because I felt like it would give me more time to develop my studies and create a network for myself.  I am very happy with my decision.  I would wait for all your offers to come in before completely making your decision, but if you are leaning towards MA then I would trust your instincts.  I know that there are a lot of factors to take into account when making these decisions, but I also think we go into this work because we love and are passionate about it (why else would we torture ourselves?) so taking the time to get an MA before a PhD wouldn't be the end of the world, in my opinion.  That's just why I made the decision.  I hope this helps! 

[readwriterun]

@eadwacer I agree! I'm at the point now where I'm just taking myself off of waitlists immediately. I can't complain too much because at least I have a few acceptances, but I'm mentally/emotionally done with this process. On that note, I just removed myself from the WSU waitlist, so hope that narrows the pool a little for someone! 

And yeah, I'm with you @Courtney Whited. In r/c many programs require an MA as a prerequisite for applying. I've learned so much in these two years (and got some great teaching experience under my belt), so I think the MA was definitely worth it. Plus I think many of the direct admission PhD programs still end up taking as long or almost as long as doing an MA and PhD. 

 

[steve3020]

3 hours ago, Yanaka said:

I know some universities have maxima for int'l applicants. E.g. UCLA Art History, the profram admits only 1 international this year. My friend's on the waitlist and will only be admitted if that one int'l person declines their offer.

Yeh, I'm in the same situation with one waitlist. But I think this may not be necessarily a bad thing, because they also make a small number of offers to international students. I was wondering more of a scenario where they choose Americans on the waitlist first over intls. 

[songbird]

On 3/7/2017 at 3:58 PM, phoebusrising said:

I'm not on the waitlist to be accepted but I am on the waitlist for a TA position at UNH. They said I'm 4th on the list, so it's not impossible but I'm not feeling super hopeful. And without the TA position I won't be able to afford to go so I'm feeling panicky. 

Thank you for posting this! UNH is the one school I haven't heard from, and while I've taken that as an implied rejection, it's also my top pick, so I've been sitting here twiddling my thumbs--just in case. I guess it's safe to assume that, even if I were to get in, funding would be highly unlikely. Best to turn my attention to the schools that have sent offers.

[FeetInTheSky]

For those who were looking for an update to my recent kerfuffle, Nebraska has agreed to give me until April 15 to make a decision!

The saga continues...

[Yanaka]

15 minutes ago, FeetInTheSky said:

For those who were looking for an update to my recent kerfuffle, Nebraska has agreed to give me until April 15 to make a decision!

The saga continues...

They. Had. Better.

[RydraWong]

For anyone on the UC Davis waitlist, I'm going to be turning down a fully funded offer from them in the next couple days (I'm a 20th century Americanist by the way). It's such a great program and I'd love to stay but I did my undergrad here and after visiting Madison, I'm really thinking that it's beneficial for me to branch out and go elsewhere. Best of luck to anyone on the waitlist! 

Edited March 9, 2017 by RydraWong

[t. slothrop]

Hello, lovely GCers! What a wild ride this application season has been. My hope is that all of you viewing this forum have had success since being waitlisted!

I have been waitlisted at Washington State and the University of Utah's Ph.D. programs. After doing some perusing, I noticed that neither of these programs made it onto this forum. So, I figured that I would do a cold-call. Is anyone else awaiting responses from these programs? Anyone sitting on an offer for either?

I think Utah's program is absolutely amazing. After calling the DGS, I was told that he would be "very, very surprised if I didn't receive a call by April 15th." Washington State's email was very vague, and the DGS has yet to return my call.

Best of luck to all the others in this predicament!

[LurkyLurker]

On 3/3/2017 at 10:45 PM, slightlymoreanonymous said:

Also, anyone have any idea when we might hear back about waitlist stuff? Like will most students wait to decide till right before April 15th? I'm pretty much considering my other waitlist spot as a no-go now. I afraid if I hold out for their program, it could mess up acceptances at other schools. Do you think programs will be offended if you take until April to decide? For the MA, I had everything figured out by mid-March; but this decision seems more difficult. 

I was just looking back through this thread and I have the same worries!! Perhaps one of our more experienced GC peers has some insight? @Old Bill? @orphic_mel528? @Yanaka? (Just throwing out some names I see pop up quite a bit )

[Dr. Old Bill]

2 minutes ago, LurkyLurker said:

I was just looking back through this thread and I have the same worries!! Perhaps one of our more experienced GC peers has some insight? @Old Bill? @orphic_mel528? @Yanaka? (Just throwing out some names I see pop up quite a bit )

It's almost impossible to say, really. Those who have been accepted to several programs might find it more prudent to cut their list to two or three top choices early...which will open up some spots rather quickly. I know that this is the case for at least three GCers I've been in contact with via PM. For those who have only two or three programs to choose from, a lot might be dictated by visit days...many of which have already happened, and many are happening soon. I suspect that some significant movement will start in a week or so, and will indeed continue right up to April 15th. From an applicant standpoint, it's rather unfortunate that the waitlist deadline and the acceptance deadline are the same. It's just not tenable for me to visit one of the programs I'm waitlisted at without being granted the funding to do so (I mean, I could, but don't want to fork out $500 or so for a place that A.) I might not get into, and B.) I might not actually choose anyhow if I do). The other's only a 300-mile drive, and a $60 hotel bill away, so it's a little more worthwhile.

Ultimately, there are just so many factors involved that it's impossible to predict. I'm glad I have an acceptance to one of the programs that was in my original "top 5," because it makes the waiting for waitlist movement a lot easier. Otherwise, it really is just a case of waiting and hoping for others to be able to make quick decisions on their programs. That being said, you have to respect that those with multiple admittances have every right to vet their program selections until the last minute, so it's certainly frustrating...but more a byproduct of the system than the fault of any applicants!

 

[Yanaka]

1 hour ago, LurkyLurker said:

I was just looking back through this thread and I have the same worries!! Perhaps one of our more experienced GC peers has some insight? @Old Bill? @orphic_mel528? @Yanaka? (Just throwing out some names I see pop up quite a bit )

What's the questioooooooneuh ? I'm not expecting anything at all  

[orphic_mel528]

I wish I could live up to the GC experienced moniker, but this is my first go-round as well, and I wasn't waitlisted anywhere. Hope you all hear something soon.

[Dr. Old Bill]

9 minutes ago, orphic_mel528 said:

I wish I could live up to the GC experienced moniker

[insert pithy age comment here]