DontHate

Oh jeez ... I'm sorry but this is such a lazy argument. Blah blah blah capitalism. I don't see you fomenting a revolution, bro

I'm sorry but this is a silly question. You go to a grad school because it's a place for you to do the work you want to do, not because you saw it in a movie and it looked cool. People at the ivies are just people, and at the graduate level they are serious scholars who worked hard to get where they are. You'll find snobs everywhere. Being a snob is not exclusive to fancy name schools.

I feel like watching that show makes me fat.

Maybe ask your program for some advance on your funding?

Most of my schools have been pretty silent. So I feel the pain too.

nope nope nope. News has gotta come one of these days though, at least that's what I tell myself.

MisterMister: I think most pirates have at least a few scars, so this will probably only increase your chances at achieving royal pirate status.

Me too. You're an inspiration

Looks like NYU has started notifying. Eep

^ Yeah cuz we all know that graduate students have been waiting for the law to change in order to try that magical herb they've heard so much about

Don't worry about it, I'm sure that "deadline has passed" is just the default message and has nothing to do with your app.

You can only get a FLAS for studying specific languages, and one of the requirements for continued funding is that you are enrolled in a language course every semester. For example, they basically never fund Spanish studies. Check the website.

For me, personally, I went for broke applying only to hyper-competitive programs with big names, big research output, and fantastic placement records. It's very likely that I won't get in anywhere. In which case, I'll apply again as many times as I feel like it until I get tired and find a new dream. I didn't apply to any second tier programs.

PatientAgony, how certain are you that you want to focus on Victorian Lit? That's the big question.

Yeah I submitted my FLAS yesterday. Does your department do interviews?

What I should have said was, I wouldn't get a PhD if it seemed UNLIKELY that I could get an academic job with it. I want the statistics to be on my side, so I'm going to get a PhD from the best school I am accepted at. Wreckofthehope: I know you take it personally when I say stuff about employability, since you're going to a lower-ranked program. I'm not saying that you made the wrong choice, or that you won't get a job. All I'm saying is that for ME, since I have a certain academic background and certain expectations for resources and connections, I would not be comfortable going to a PhD program without a stellar placement record. I'm insecure that way. I don't trust myself to be an amazing standout at a no-name school. I expect I'm more likely to be a decent candidate from an amazing school. Everybody's different, but as far as Its(Not)AboutMe's strategy of applying to a bunch of top programs -- well it's a viable strategy, and I can respect it.

Speaking of Afro-American studies ...*segue*... The next pope might be black! Isn't that pretty neat-o?

Honestly, I think your strategy was a good one. Maybe there were a few other excellent schools that would have been a good fit. But the benefits of getting a PhD from a school that's NOT top-ranked are minimal, especially in English which is an extremely glutted field. I've said this a bunch of times on here: I would not get a PhD if I weren't sure I could get an academic job with it. And basically, that means my PhD has to come from a top-15 program. So I don't think you look arrogant or over-confident for applying to the best schools, I think you look pragmatic. If you don't get in, you won't get a PhD, which is better than getting a PhD that you won't be able to use.

Math GRE really doesn't matter. As long as you don't get a zero on it, the school won't notice.

I just saw a Yale acceptance on the results page. So Yale is notifying now?

It just reeked of wish fulfillment. Can you imagine being Lena Dunham and writing that scene, "and here I command Patrick Wilson to make me cum"? Made me cringe to watch

You can just call me Dont, I knew a guy once in school who I didn't really like called DontHate

I've visited a friend who studies there, but never actually visited the department. I've been to Boston and Cambridge lots of times. My areas are vaguely 20th-century and Contemporary Latin American/Jewish diaspora, so there's a lot of trans-atlantic Yiddish & German dialogue going on there. Lately I've been particularly interested in Brazilian fiction. But who knows, I have some other languages I want to fit in there, and many other random interests. The profs I mentioned were Sorenson and Wisse.

we should all submit to this YES