Rejected; dejected
Just got my email rejection from U Texas Austin, followed by U of Toronto's rejection in the post. I'm really surprised: I thought one of these would take me, even if the funding weren't great.
So this leaves U of Virginia, U of Pennsylvania, and U of Ottawa. I'm told U Penn has already made their decisions, and they like to fuck with their applicants and mail out their rejections really late, so it's basically down to Virginia and Ottawa.
My God in heaven: I don't mean to sound arrogant, but when someone such as myself can't get into a decent program, there's something fundamentally wrong with the discipline. I really don't know what the hell these departments are looking for. I really can't see what else I could've done. I already have an impressive average, Verbal GRE, semi-publishable writing sample, water tight statement of interest, and three very strong letters (one of whom is a Canada Research Chair). What reallt surprised me about U of T was that one of my recommenders actually teaches there, so I thought her reference would carry much weight. Last year when I applied, I knew my application could've been stronger, but I'm really at a loss this time. Apart from maybe the writing sample, there's nothing I can change/improve about my app.
I don't mean this in a malicious way, but I'd love to know who on earth is getting into these programs.
So this leaves U of Virginia, U of Pennsylvania, and U of Ottawa. I'm told U Penn has already made their decisions, and they like to fuck with their applicants and mail out their rejections really late, so it's basically down to Virginia and Ottawa.
My God in heaven: I don't mean to sound arrogant, but when someone such as myself can't get into a decent program, there's something fundamentally wrong with the discipline. I really don't know what the hell these departments are looking for. I really can't see what else I could've done. I already have an impressive average, Verbal GRE, semi-publishable writing sample, water tight statement of interest, and three very strong letters (one of whom is a Canada Research Chair). What reallt surprised me about U of T was that one of my recommenders actually teaches there, so I thought her reference would carry much weight. Last year when I applied, I knew my application could've been stronger, but I'm really at a loss this time. Apart from maybe the writing sample, there's nothing I can change/improve about my app.
I don't mean this in a malicious way, but I'd love to know who on earth is getting into these programs.
posted by Pious Labours | 1:49 p.m.
2 Comments:
oh shit, i'm really to sorry to hear that. it's so frustrating and disheartening. i have my fingers crossed for your other three ... will you email texas and u of t for feedback?
hang in there!
thanks for the finger-crossing gesture. I need all the help and karma I can get.
Yes, I emailed both. I know some people at UofT, so I'll probably get a (probably vague) response. I thought I had a real shot at one of those! Man, talk about arbitrary. I think it's getting worse every year. I don't think Northrop Frye would get in today.
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