champagne

I like this thread because I feel it's an important question to ask for all of us. I'm not entirely sure, but I would probably try to move into something in the public sector or a non-profit. I just want to help people, dammit!

Oh, damn. That just makes me sad. Of course, next time I inevitably watch Toddler and Tiaras, I can just imagine that Madiba and I are watching it together. It will help to mask the shame I feel.

I highly doubt the FAFSA is an integral part to the application process unless, of course, you are applying for federal loans. Most funding for post-graduate programs (from what I understand) comes directly from the institution, so it just doesn't make sense to fill out the Free Application for FEDERAL Student Aid. Just my two cents.

I have been told it could have an effect on certain fellowships but beyond that, not to worry about it. I got 79th percentile, and while I would have liked to have gotten a better score for my own vanity, I seriously doubt a bunch of literature/rhetoric PhD's are going to care how good you are at geometry.

This is probably a common experience for everybody, but literary research was the first time I didn't feel like I was doing "work". Simple but true. As far as an epitaph or obituary goes, I would modify Keats'. "Here lies a man whose name was writ in water. His ideas, however, sculpted our minds."

I'm going to become a cat lady.

I, for one, do give a fuck about an Oxford comma.

"Where's the best place to get a beer in [city]?"

Hey, you! Did you not become a bemoaning cynic after getting your BA in English? Well, have I got a trick for you: THE INTERNET!

At least, in this process, everyone has kept their priorities straight: 1. Maintaining a respectable down vote level on an internet forum. 2. Getting the best advice for getting into a good program. 3. Getting into said program.

One of my favorites. Just FYI, if you're feeling down about rejections, probably not the best pick-me-up. Then again, if we were in literature for the pick-me-up, we would be sorely lost.

Hell, people have presented on "Jersey Shore". Glen Coco at least deserves as much.

I've often thought about how interesting it would be to study the character of Glen Coco through a Performance Theory perspective... Maybe shoot for absent presence/effect of "the other" kind of thesis. Is this sad?

You and me both.

Yet they still manage to have a positive perspective on things. Such courage! Good thing everyone on this board is an Adonis in their own right, a paragon of human beauty.

http://isitgoingtobeok.com/ This is a good one. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but it helps me keep things in perspective when stressed about anything.

Welcome to every existentialist academic's life! This observation, more than anything, shows you're ready for academic work. Pish-posh on what schools have to say about your application!

Congrats to the recent admits! On the current conversation, (I'm a n00b, feel free to correct me), can the feeling of bitterness not stem from a disgust with Fate--manifested in the form of the accepted applicant--for resulting in your rejection? So much of this process seems to hang on a thin thread of subjectivity that is absolutely out of the applicant's control. For whatever reason, your POI could have simply enjoyed the accepted applicant's writing style or thought processes more. Is there anything wrong with feeling bitter towards the person that was predisposed (through whatever academic makeup) for getting into the program as opposed to you? I don't think so, but, then again, I'm a cynic.

Cheers for finding this thread early in the process! What encouragement for moving forward! *Pours tall glass of bourbon early in the morning*

I'm just starting the process (applying for Fall of '14), and the preliminary conversations I've had have been exactly this. You do need to show some sort of specialization while applying, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with changing your focus by the time you write the seminal piece of your fully matured academic career.

Why not both? I think Mary Shelley would certainly approve of the ambiguity.