erosanddust

I started my MA with a primary interest in Beat lit, and I found good resources through the Beat Studies Association (their executive board members are at Tufts and DePauw). As I'm sure you know, there's also a lot of potential for archival work on Beat writers/texts that have been unstudied (or hardly studied), so it might also be worth looking into universities with relevant archives (I think Stanford has the Ginsberg archive, for example, and Columbia has some interesting collections).

I agree with what other folks have said — U of A seems to be a much better fit for you, and the "major plus" elements you have listed at UofA will have a greater bearing on your experience as an MA student than those listed for Purdue. For example, your ability to clarify your project (eg. for an SOP), do good work (eg. for a Writing Sample), and build strong with faculty (eg. for references) will all not only create a more enriching graduate experience, but will also be a stronger asset to PhD applications than a slightly higher prestige of one school overall (which, again, is not even program-specific data). One small note that the quoted section of Old Bill's response reminds me of — the only potentially relevant placement info is placement of MA students into PhD programs. You may have already done so, but you could always reach out to the DGS or a POI at each program and ask about how often their MA students are placed into PhD programs, and which programs they have attended. This sort of data will almost always conceal a lot of contextual information, but it could be helpful to see, for instance, if a program hasn't placed a PhD candidate in years.

I accepted my offer from University of Toronto! My application season had a rather rocky start, so I'm thrilled that I'll be attending a strong and exciting program that has proven to be a great fit for me.

YES!!!!! Congratulations on your decision! And I'm 95% sure we'll be cohort-mates, as I anticipate making my decision just after the visit day. Very much looking forward to meeting you! Thanks, too, for the offer to answer questions re: Toronto — as a Vancouverite, Toronto is a huge mystery to me, so I will almost surely be taking you up on that/pestering you with questions in the coming months.

Sorry for the late reply — but yes, I am definitely leaning towards UofT! Just booked my flights for visit day, and have been giddily researching the university / city. ETA: I'm also seeing a lot of recent Boston College MA admits on the results board! If anyone here is considering the program, free to message me with questions.

Anybody know where those Yale rejections are at? They're the last ones I have to hear from, and I'm eager to have all my results back. An unexpected and miraculous waitlist from them is the only thing that could complicate my decision at this point.

The unsuccessful e-mails I sent last cycle went something along the lines of "Hey, I'm erosanddust, are you taking on new students next year, and also here's my unsolicited thoughts about why your work is great, and also here's too much information about my own interests." Needless to say, not many responses there. I cringe in retrospect — although I did get a few generous responses saying they hope I apply to the program / pointing me towards other Department resources that might interest me. Even so, do not recommend. The successful e-mail I sent came after working closely with the POI's book. I was able to ask them a good question about it, and then briefly explain the reason for my particular interest (ie. the current paper/project I was hoping to connect their work to). Then we had a brief back-and-forth during which I explained I was applying to programs, and the POI expressed interest in working with me. This cycle, I met two POIs in person, largely due to luck. Needless to say, if you happen to have the chance to attend a lecture or conference presentation by a particular POI, do so — and introduce yourself.

In editing your app materials (especially the SOP), don't be afraid to "kill your darlings," as it were. I kept in a few lines/sections that I wrote in early drafts that I thought were really engaging/well-phrased, but in retrospect, they were distracting from the main project that more evolved SOP drafts were articulating. During the waiting period, I spent a lot of time kicking myself for not taking those sections out. Ask several professors to look at your application materials and give you feedback. I asked ~5 professors both in my field and outside of it to read my SOP and/or WS. I got a lot of very helpful feedback that helped me see my materials from a wider range of perspectives. In my experience, making contact with POIs does make a difference. Last cycle, I made superficial contact with a few POIs at my top choice programs. The most substantial of those exchanges was with a POI at the program where I ended up doing my MA. This round, my contact with POIs focused more expressly on our shared interests. The two PhD programs that did not reject me (one an acceptance, one a waitlist) are the two schools where I have met POIs, and was able to mention in my SOPs that they had expressed interest in my research.

I have unexpectedly found myself on a wait list! Is it acceptable to ask them for more information about wait list length / likelihood of admission / campus visits?

Yay! Looking forward to meeting you. I also do post-1945 stuff, so I'm interested to hear about your research interests! Also, I had mentally categorized it as a rejection, so I'm stunned to have just received notice that I'm waitlisted at Boston University!

After waiting through a painful number of rejections, I woke up to an acceptance from the University of Toronto! Absolutely thrilled, and totally in shock since I was already steeling myself to apply again next year. @ThePomoHipster Congrats to you! Will I see you at the visit day?

Congrats on all the recent good news! As a Vancouverite who very seriously considered attending UBC for my MA, I'm especially excited to see those acceptances. It's a wonderful department.

Well, it seems like this'll be a big week for notifications. Sincerely wishing everyone here the best of luck — at finding an acceptance in your inbox, I hope, but if not, at finding some peace and a sense of vocation/fulfillment that transcends this PhD application cycle.

You're right that it will certainly vary, but most literature classes I've been in have typically assigned one primary text (be it a novel, play, or group of poems) and 1-2 related articles or chapters of theory/criticism per week. If you join any extracurricular research or reading groups, those often bring additional weekly/biweekly reading too.

Some admits get full tuition scholarships, and all MA students are eligible for teaching assistant/fellow positions in their second year (an additional $8,000 - $12,000). Many students are also able to pursue other graduate assistantships or tutoring positions outside the Department for additional funding in their first year. I'm currently in the program and would be happy to chat over PM if you have further questions!