Zebby

Grrr....I am only "approved" and still waiting to be assigned

Greetings all! I'll be joining Columbia's Ph.D. program in East Asian Languages and Cultures this fall. I'll also be in the Institute of Comparative Literature and Society-- look forward to joining you all in NYC this fall

Hello! Will anyone be going to the AAS in Chicago this year? I'm planning on going alone...Seeing as the raison d'etre of these things is to meet people, feel free to PM me if you'll be there. Maybe we can meet up. Cheers!

Oh I see! I was accepted directly into ICLS along with my admission offer, so I'm afraid I cannot give an answer from my own experience.

I think you raise a fair point. The features of Columbia's ICLS comp lit program strike me as quite similar to those of any departmentally organized comp lit program. I think the demands of the ICLS allow for more flexibility in terms of coursework

Greetings, I am making the decision between Columbia's ICLS and other programs- here is a major factor I take into consideration-- For me the ICLS program is ideal because it allows me to get my degree in a national literature department while doing comp. lit. training. For me, it's much more realistic to compete for jobs in my area of national literature than in the incredible-shrinking world of comp.literature. I have no idea what things look like in Slavic Studies, so perhaps these criteria do not apply to you...if you end up choosing Columbia then feel free to PM me ;-)

I have a forthcoming campus visit to Columbia and am experiencing the exact same stress. I keep thinking that I have to "prepare" by refreshing myself on the scholarship of everyone in the department...like it's an interview or something! Anyways, congratulations on Yale and UCLA. And it's reassuring to hear that I'm not the only one who is a little anxious about visiting...

Nothing. Maybe all the interviewees got together and collectively decided to leave the rest of us in the dark. A sophisticated form of grad forum trolling... Or maybe they are just on a different timeline this year? Anyone have a connection in the department who can find out?

Dear all, I also applied to Lit at Duke and have been nervously watching the days tick by. No news from Duke on my end either...

Thank you so much for your feedback!

Dear all: You are accepted to a delightful program with a wonderful fellowship at an institution...let's call it "School A." School A offers to reimburse your flight to a recruitment weekend. You accept and buy the ticket yourself (School A says they will reimburse your ticket when you arrive there). Then you learn via informal email from a professor that another, even more desirable program (lets call it "School B") has accepted you. You want to go to School B, but you have already committed to a recruitment weekend at School A. What a lucky mess to be in! You are still waiting for the official letter and financial offer from School B, so you aren't ready to turn down School A. But what about that recruitment weekend? Do you go and pretend that you are seriously considering the school even though you will very likely be accepting School B's offer? And what happens if School B's formal offer and financial deal arrives before the recruitment event? Do you inform School A immediately upon receiving formal offer from School B, even if that means declining recruitment weekend and...who knows, not getting reimbursed for the flight you stupidly bought without cancellation insurance? Let's face it, I am lucky to face such a dilemma. That said, I would really appreciate hearing feedback on such a predicament.