champagne

Hi, friends! Not that this is terribly important to anyone here, but I've been awarded a fellowship in a program next fall! After having to study this for two years in my off time, I can't wait to be a full-time student again!

I think I'll be taking your professors' advice. I might see y'all on the flipside, but it occurs to me that seeing results as they come up is probably not good for my cardiovascular health. Best of luck, friends!

I can only imagine that this will be met negatively by the clientele of the board, but working in academic administration might be something that could appeal to you. You work on a college campus. You certainly use deep critical thinking skills. You get to flex your research chops as you work to constantly build the tenuous bridge between the faculty and staff of a college. It's not too far-fetched to imagine that several people have gotten MA's or even Ph.D.'s and gone on to work in undergraduate or graduate admissions, student development, financial aid, or academic advising. You provide an opportunity for campus communities as a whole to maintain continuity among different offices.

As far as late letter-writers go, any extra worry given to that would be superfluous. Most programs explicitly state on their website that they allow a little leeway for submission of items that are largely out of your control (LOR, test scores, transcripts). even if they don't I've found that reaching out to these programs usually causes any fretting to dissipate. Most DGS's or secretaries I've reached out to have been very forthcoming about the fact that there is always room for a little gray area as far as deadlines are concerned, at least with the items that you have to rely on other people to turn in.

"Where is your favorite place to get a beer in [city]?" I know this might seem facetious, but I don't think I'm really that off-base. Someone asked a similar question a while back, and I offered that as my contribution. Of course, you can be more general. "What's your favorite part of town?" "What restaurants should I check out when I come visit?" Just remember: he is a human just like you. In fact, he was a budding graduate student at some point before he became a literature professor. He probably would appreciate a little levity in any conversation, especially if he is as nice as you've portrayed him as. Of course, you should ask about his work and mention how you think you would fit your research with his. That's stuff that he knows you're good at and he's excited to talk to you about it. Since you're already in, there's not much to be nervous about. I understand why you're nervous, but they can't revoke your acceptance because of poor phone conversation skills. Also, if you'll be working with this professor for the better part of the next half-a-decade, he is going to find out any shortcomings you might have as an academic. I think he will be relieved to know that he can work with you in a collegial (pun, unfortunately, intended) manner while you both try to augment your knowledge and research.

Just finished Crying of Lot 49, about halfway through Go Down, Moses.

Misread this as "a glass of wine and sex", so there's that...

Congratulations! UI-UC has got some awesome faculty! and now I'm really nervous...goodbye serenity for the next few months...

Humor will get you a long way throughout this process, so at least you've got that going for you!

Definitely alcohol. Disclaimer: I'm not a medical or psychological professional.

I wish someone would pay me in PhD recruitment events...

If I never publish anything of great significance, at least I will know this grand and deep thought of mine was poster-worthy!

If you throw enough shit at the wall, something's bound to stick. Right? Right?????????

I'm a little late to the party, but I finally submitted my final application--11 in total.

In addition, go ask your professors about what they think. They will probably reiterate a lot of what has been said here (take time off, don't worry about it right now, or even don't do it at all), but they have a better idea of who you are as a student and a person (hopefully) than we do. We can only offer generalized pieces of advice that should apply to everybody. Especially try to seek out an assistant professor whom you trust. They've just gotten a TT job within the last couple of years and know how horrendous it is to seek one out. They will be able to lay the current skinny on you whereas some veteran professors may have just been out of the game for too long to paint you an accurate picture. EDIT: Also, while there are hardly any jobs out there for anybody in the humanities, rhetoric and composition is generally going to have a better outlook than comparative literature. That's just something to keep in mind once you get close to making a decision about what you want to do.

I actually re-read my writing sample this morning and felt pretty good about it. It's not as if I could really change anything, but I'm not sure that I would have even if I could.

I've been pouring myself into my job to distract myself. I'm also going on a trip with a few friends a couple of weekends from now, so that will be fun. At some points, I just assure myself that I'm going to get rejected from everywhere and realize that it won't be that bad. Life will go on. It's a strange psychological strategy, I know...

Yep. I'm having trouble motivating myself to send in my last three and as well as spend the money on apps knowing that I'm probably not getting in anywhere.

We're highjacking kade.ivy's thread, but this is an interesting phenomenon that I hadn't really thought about before. It makes a lot of sense, though. I had the fortune of being in on the hiring processes of a couple of positions while at my undergraduate institution, and it is very much a two-way courting process. I was astonished at the temporal and monetary investment that was made in each one of the candidates, which doesn't even mention the investment made to the person that ends up with the position. It appears that higher education is mirroring the general population in the United States in its widening of the gap between "rich" (i.e. prestigious) and "poor" (i.e. not prestigious).

"Prestige" is such a problematic word to begin with, but, unfortunately, it still has a lot of utility in the world of higher education, especially with graduate studies in the humanities. All of the programs you mentioned are, in some way or another, prestigious (particularly Vandy for southern literature), but, in the end, the job you obtain after getting your Ph.D. still comes down to the work you do individually and an inordinate amount of luck. No school will or should guarantee you a great job after graduation. It would be statistically irresponsible to do so.

Ahh, true. I guess I'm just scraping by for whatever I can get as far as acceptance and funding goes, and not letting them know this in my application is better than cluing them in on that fact up front. That, at least, gives me solace enough to sleep minimally. If they ask personally, I would be glad to give them that information. Until that unlikely time approaches, I would rather my abysmal application give them cause for rejection rather than lack of competitive funding on their part.

I haven't filled any of them out. I can't see how it would benefit me or the Adcomm in making a decision.

Ha! That's better. You should be fine as far as the minimum total considered for funding . And, let's face it, that's a huge factor for picking an MA program. You aren't going to blow them out of the water with your numbers, but I don't imagine you will be denied anything because of them. That's the method I keep hearing: GRE scores won't get you in, but they can certainly keep you out. With that said--and this will be a repeat of what has been said countless times on this board--the most important parts of your application will be your writing sample, your SOP, and your LOR's (probably in that order). I don't pretend to know ANYTHING about your personal situation (please feel free to correct me), but from what I understand, it can be a bit harder to get good recommendations from three professors at larger schools. Once again, take that with a grain of salt as you probably have a great relationship with professors. If you feel that you fit well with these programs and you put your best foot forward in your writing sample and SOP, I have no reason to believe that you will be rejected just based on the information presented. That's my .02, and it's probably worth even less than that.

"You've come too far to care what they say." I like this song, because it gives me encouragement. Y'all are almost done with it! Remember that there are beautiful things in the world despite your current milieu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbHg5WbKKO4

"Letting animals poop near water increases the amount of poop and E. Coli in the water." "We found out that fish that look different are different species." I'm relieved that the science theses were even more ridiculous than the humanities ones.