not ready for prime-time

Made it official last week: I will be attending the University of Kansas for my MA. Is it weird that after all the e-mails sent and the websites checked off the decision still didn't actually feel final until I filled out the Google doc? Regardless, congrats to those who have made their decision and good luck to those still pondering!

Got Kansas and Mizzou MA packages up. Not sure if KU's PhD funding is any different but I get the feeling it isn't.

Or remote locations. The Appalachian mountains in NC have the best breweries in the state (opinion) so I think the connection here is: Locations in which people spend an inordinate amount of time indoors either due to inclement weather or boredom are best for brewing (and then enjoying) beer. Now that we've heard from the Northeast, Oregon, Colorado, California, Michigan, and NC, are we missing any? Any good brewing going on in Austin? The Southwest?

Yes. It's high time we had a beer symposium. I'd say since so many of our literary heroes (both real and fictional) drank themselves to death we should do this in their honor. Hemingway Hefe-weisen anyone? How about a Beckett Bock? Yoknapatawpha IPA?

I'm in the 29-going-to-be-30-when-I-start brigade. I'm not sure whether or not there's age discrimination in this process but one of my recommenders from my MDiv program did ask how old I was and hinted that ad comms do take that into consideration. I inquired further and she said she had heard of some programs who have an unspoken, magic age for applying. Too young and you're seen as too immature, too old and you're set in your academic ways. I haven't experienced this or heard anything like it so hopefully that's just a vicious rumor. On another (potentially more important) note, should we start a separate Star Trek poll? I vote TNG.

Now we just have to wait on the folks heading to Boulder and the ones from the Pacific NW to join the conversation and we can have an all-out nation-wide Brew-off!

And congratulations to all the new acceptances and wait lists today!

Totally concur with this. Just moved away from NC after 7 years and I am definitely missing the wide array of excellent choices around the state! (As a midwesterner at heart, though, the east coast BBQ does leave something to be desired...just saying.)

Can't. Stop. Gatsbying...

Had to travel for work over the weekend so I couldn't post but I'm in at KU! I'm dedicating this week to freaking out before beginning the task of deciding whether I should commute to the supposedly "higher" ranked school that's 2 hours away or the better fit that's 45 min. After getting shutout a couple of years ago I'm relishing having to make these decisions!

I applied for the MA and I didn't even get word that I was in until yesterday so they're definitely staggering things a little.

Congrats!

Crickets for me. That can't be a good sign...anyone else?

Mostly 20th Century American Lit with some Southern studies flavor thrown in. Faulkner, Hemingway, Updike, O'Connor, Vonnegut, the usuals suspects. And since I'm coming from an MDiv program I definitely always look for ways to add a little religion and literature to the mix! When I looked at the board today and saw a couple of KU English posts up there my heart almost stopped - but then I saw the Creative Writing emphasis and I relaxed again. The wait is definitely getting to me!

Here you go Trip - this is just a Tribute:

Just IMDB'd her and wow! Looks like she's booked Divergent and the Amazing Spider-Man 2 (playing MJ Watson no less) for 2014. Can you say "the next Jennifer Lawrence"? Because I bet Hollywood critics and voters can...

Ah great idea to revive this thread (I was actually reading it a few days ago - I think I've lurking a bit too much for my own good) but if we post too much we're going to give TripWillis further reason to have a big head haha! Maybe he won't notice we're bringing back another of his threads...or maybe he'll just consider himself the Justin Timberlake of GC!

Oh how I love making pretentious snap judgements about young adult literature - it's why I have so many elementary school teachers for friends!

More comma fun - one day we'll all be Harvard men (even the women are Harvard men at Harvard)! http://thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/oxford-comma.png

Totally agree. I thought Divergent was precisely "OK" but I'm wary about the next two because I feel that the world she built isn't sufficiently complex enough to hold more story lines or further plot development (and I'm definitely sure the character development won't carry my interest through another two books)!

I knew I would need some macabre hilarity to ease the overwhelming feelings of futility, rejection, and despair that coincide with this process so of course I turned to Vonnegut (I like to laugh at my pain). Working my way through Hocus Pocus now and then it's on to Galapagos and Mother Night. I threw in some YA lit recently just to spice things up and read Divergent (not bad but I don't know if I'm going to stick with the series) and am about halfway through Wildwood because I like the Decemberists!

Watch out or Tim McGraw might steal this and record a follow-up hit for the academically broken-hearted! Copyright immediately!

Yep same page as the "Application Submitted" info. I didn't remember seeing anything below that until today so I think it'll appear once a decision has been made.

The e-mail from Mizzou had a link to the apply yourself page. At the bottom under Decision Status it said a decision had been made and had another link that opened to a form letter from the DGS. No info about funding or anything was given and there's been no follow-up e-mails from anyone in the English department itself so I'd say they're still in the process of making decisions. I applied for the MA but it looks like there's a PhD acceptance up on the board as well so they must be doing them at the same time.

I'm so glad this thread popped up! I've been lurking for a while but I haven't posted until now. KU is also one of my top two choices and I think at this point I'm leaning a little towards Lawrence. I haven't heard anything either but I've been religiously checking both the website and the history on GC to see when I should expect something. Hopefully we'll hear something soon!