minnares Posted February 28, 2010 Author Share Posted February 28, 2010 I'm out, extremely kind personal email from the DEGA. Told me specifically that my GRE scores weren't a problem, but my undergraduate transcript (2.66 in 1997) was too spotty for them. Even though I have a 4.0 MA from last year, further master level coursework at 2 other universities on top of that, and multiple publications and presentations in my field, including two at the international medieval congress, that doesn't make up for the work I did in the 1990's as a full-time waitress, commuting forty minutes to and from school to live at home, taking overloads every term. SIGH. C'est la vie. Nobody promised fair. It's horribly depressing, of course - but, I will say, she was extremely kind in her email, and it sounded like she was genuinely sorry to reject me, for what it's worth. Good luck to everyone else! Oooooh, MM, that is so rotten. As though people aren't supposed to every make mistakes in life or struggle to find their way . Bad form, Chapel Hill. And their loss. I know how disappointing this is for you, hon. ~ m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branwen daughter of Llyr Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Just hearing about this entire experience has given me an itch to remove UNC from THE LIST. I'm now terrified that a B and two B+ in my English classes at the last semester will kill any chances despite a 3.66 GPA. On the other hand, their program is sooo attractive to Celtic medievalists... f*ck (pardon my old french). @MM - if they are SO numbers oriented, then... it's their effing loss. Seriously. You are one of the people I admire most in this community (and I'm not easily impressed ), and your dedication is exactly what grad schools SHOULD look for. Your positive attitude inspires me daily! Pamphilia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnares Posted February 28, 2010 Author Share Posted February 28, 2010 @MM - if they are SO numbers oriented, then... it's their effing loss. Seriously. You are one of the people I admire most in this community (and I'm not easily impressed ), and your dedication is exactly what grad schools SHOULD look for. Your positive attitude inspires me daily! Amen to all of this. I just got feisty and emailed the DGS too. I'd like to know what their excuse is for mine if it's just about numbers . I was very polite, but I'll be sure to let you know how she responds. Branwen, I'd definitely take them off the list. What this tells me is that they have no tolerance or understanding of life as a process. I'll stop myself here before I go on more of a rant. You're so deserving. There is a program (many programs I imagine) that you'd fit beautifully. ~ m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branwen daughter of Llyr Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Amen to all of this. I just got feisty and emailed the DGS too. I'd like to know what their excuse is for mine if it's just about numbers . I was very polite, but I'll be sure to let you know how she responds. Branwen, I'd definitely take them off the list. What this tells me is that they have no tolerance or understanding of life as a process. I'll stop myself here before I go on more of a rant. You're so deserving. There is a program (many programs I imagine) that you'd fit beautifully. ~ m Thanks!! *blush* I just hope those programs agree with you!! Considering the length of THE LIST, losing UNC may actually be for the best. Anyhow, they concentrate on Irish, rather than Welsh. So there (although my Irish grandfather will LOVE it if I end up learning Gaelic hahahahah). humph. (my mind is still going "must get above 700 in subject test, must get above 700 in subject test, must write publishable paper, must write the most exciting, amazing SOP EVER, must get above 700 in subject test...") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromeurope Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 (my mind is still going "must get above 700 in subject test, must get above 700 in subject test, must write publishable paper, must write the most exciting, amazing SOP EVER, must get above 700 in subject test...") If you're above the 50th percentile in the subject test, I see no reason to take it again. Do the other stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branwen daughter of Llyr Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 (edited) If you're above the 50th percentile in the subject test, I see no reason to take it again. Do the other stuff! I haven't taken it yet. And most programs I'm looking at "require" at least 85th percentile. I'm aiming for above 90th. And trust me, the entire SUMMER will be devoted to the other stuff. Edited February 28, 2010 by Branwen daughter of Llyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medievalmaniac Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 I haven't taken it yet. And most programs I'm looking at "require" at least 85th percentile. I'm aiming for above 90th. And trust me, the entire SUMMER will be devoted to the other stuff. Yes, but be certain your undergraduate GPA makes the cut. I appreciate all the well wishes, guys, I really do (keep 'em comin'! lol J/K). But, let's not lose focus. I mean, yes, we are here to get into the best possible grad school, and yes, I just took a pretty painful beating, and one apparently several of us are facing and didn't know about - but, I also respect their right to make that choice, and I think it was above and beyond for the DEGA to take the time to email me personally, multiple times, to help clarify their position while I unraveled the situation. I told her what I'm telling you - in the end, I'm going to do this, and if it's not at UNC then it's not at UNC. It isn't going to do any good to say "their loss" - they don't think so, right? lol It just wasn't meant to be. And while the reason may not seem fair, right, or even logical, it was their decision to make. My current decisions include which bottle of wine to open and what chocolates to eat first. minnares 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branwen daughter of Llyr Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Yes, but be certain your undergraduate GPA makes the cut. If 3.66 (and 3.8 in the major) doesn't make the cut... well... I'm going to shoot myself and be done with it (or end up in some no name university and then never get a job hahahahhah) I appreciate all the well wishes, guys, I really do (keep 'em comin'! lol J/K). But, let's not lose focus. I mean, yes, we are here to get into the best possible grad school, and yes, I just took a pretty painful beating, and one apparently several of us are facing and didn't know about - but, I also respect their right to make that choice, and I think it was above and beyond for the DEGA to take the time to email me personally, multiple times, to help clarify their position while I unraveled the situation. I told her what I'm telling you - in the end, I'm going to do this, and if it's not at UNC then it's not at UNC. It isn't going to do any good to say "their loss" - they don't think so, right? lol It just wasn't meant to be. And while the reason may not seem fair, right, or even logical, it was their decision to make. I don't care - it is their loss, even if they don't think so (yes, yes, it's their decision to make, and all that. But it's still their loss.) And of course you're going to do this, even if not at UNC - there was never any doubt about that! It just sucks when a program you really like doesn't like you back. Kind of like with men *sigh* (and god knows I have plenty of experience with THAT ) My current decisions include which bottle of wine to open and what chocolates to eat first. My recommendation? Start with the Nugat filled chocolates. And open a REALLY nice bottle of Shiraz. Yum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medievalmaniac Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foppery Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 I'm out, extremely kind personal email from the DEGA. Told me specifically that my GRE scores weren't a problem, but my undergraduate transcript (2.66 in 1997) was too spotty for them. Even though I have a 4.0 MA from last year, further master level coursework at 2 other universities on top of that, and multiple publications and presentations in my field, including two at the international medieval congress, that doesn't make up for the work I did in the 1990's as a full-time waitress, commuting forty minutes to and from school to live at home, taking overloads every term. SIGH. C'est la vie. Nobody promised fair. It's horribly depressing, of course - but, I will say, she was extremely kind in her email, and it sounded like she was genuinely sorry to reject me, for what it's worth. Good luck to everyone else! I'm at UNC now, and I can assure you that our DGA is a wonderful, understanding person, and that (as another commenter suggested) the fault almost certainly lies with the Graduate School. That said, it doesn't make much difference whose fault it is--I'm so sorry this happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soxpuppet Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 It's also fair to note that UNC's graduate school is far from the only one that takes so numbers-oriented an approach - Just something to look out for in the future. Not least, numbers can play an especially significant role in the graduate school's determination/approval of funding, and a good program won't want to make unfunded offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medievalmaniac Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 I'm at UNC now, and I can assure you that our DGA is a wonderful, understanding person, and that (as another commenter suggested) the fault almost certainly lies with the Graduate School. That said, it doesn't make much difference whose fault it is--I'm so sorry this happened. I definitely got the feeling she was a really nice person. Certainly didn't have to take the time to email me on an individual basis, nor to be as candid in her assessment. And - well, you know, I'm sorry it happened, too. But again, I'm not bashing the program or assigning blame - it is what it is. I would not have applied if I didn't think it was a great place, and I still think it's a great program. I'm sorry there's no way to look past things that happened so long ago in favor of things that have happened more recently, but in the end, there's a process, and we just have to accept that whatever happens is going to work out for the best in the end. I hope....! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nighthob Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 I'm out, extremely kind personal email from the DEGA. Told me specifically that my GRE scores weren't a problem, but my undergraduate transcript (2.66 in 1997) was too spotty for them. Even though I have a 4.0 MA from last year, further master level coursework at 2 other universities on top of that, and multiple publications and presentations in my field, including two at the international medieval congress, that doesn't make up for the work I did in the 1990's as a full-time waitress, commuting forty minutes to and from school to live at home, taking overloads every term. I'm sorry; rejection sucks. I think the fact that you received a personal email should, however, be encouraging. You know you made it far enough in the process and made enough of an impression to warrant more than the standard rejection letter. And though there isn't anything you can do about the undergrad GPA, it sounds like you've done everything possible to make up for it. I wish you the best of luck with the remaining schools. With all the amazing things you've done since your undergrad, any school would be lucky to have you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amultitudeofdrops Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Anybody want to claim the waitlist notification today? From the notes, it looks like the letter provided a little information on the incoming class, etc. At this point I'm just eager for any news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w2010 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 I am the one who posted the wait-list notification today. I think this means that they have notified all the acceptees and have just started to notify the wait-listers. The letter was a single piece of paper on letterhead, so there wasn't a ton of information on the incoming class. 21 out of 400 some. It sounded like they were trying to say that they would have accepted me for sure in the past, but right now they do not have enough money to accept more candidates. I am surprised I haven't seen any results posted with more wait-list notifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortola23 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 My status changed on the 26th, they emailed me to say that a letter was on the way to the correct address... I still haven't received one! It's driving me nuts. Has anyone else had an update but still waiting on a letter? Argh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
to_dante Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 To those who have been accepted-- is UNC your first choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamphilia Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 To those who have been accepted-- is UNC your first choice? It's tied for my first choice. I need to visit to decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortola23 Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Rejection letter finally arrived. It's well-written and very polite, mentions large number of students, small percentage they're able to admit, etc. Bad news is bad news, though. Ugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaascootboy101 Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 To those of you who have been accepted, what does your funding package look like? I am wondering specifically about the stipend... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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