Gwendolyn

Official fellowship letter came today.

I initially thought I wouldn't get into any schools, so I convinced myself I wanted to go to Auburn or UA with my heart set on the not-so-far Emory, but my professors were all like, "Don't go to school here, it'll be good to go away blah blah blah exposure to more diversity." I'm not originally from Alabama (I've lived in Germany and various other states), but I think it's probably more beneficial to move around if you're from a largely rural, underpopulated state like Alabama for the sake of proving that you've engaged in cultural & intellectual exchange with a more diverse group of people. If you were from New York State or California (or a few other places), however, I don't think it'd be such a big deal. Just my 2 humble pennies.

All of the people in my undergraduate department have suggested it's a bad idea to outright ask for more money. However, if your POIs have asked if there's anything they can do to make your decision easier, you might casually slip it in there that one of your primary concerns is funding and that you're torn. You really love your POI's program, yet you're concerned about livability. Rival University, however, is offering X amount which leads to your difficult decision. The more the POI wants you, the more likely they'll fight for you to get additional funding, but there simply might not be any more funding available. Likewise, you might not be a top candidate for the program and they might not care whether or not you want more money, but there's no way to know what the situation is. According to all the professors I've asked about this, it's tacky to blatantly ask to "match" the funding of another school.

On another note, I got into Auburn today (my close-to-home security blanket school). The comfort of home is definitely appealing...

Haven't been here in a while, congrats to all the new admits!

I decided to stick with my first choice. Although the money Indiana is offering is better than what Ohio has offered, I can still live comfortably on what Ohio is offering. I took a lot of other factors into consideration as well. The students at Ohio seem noticeably happier than at Indiana. The average graduation time at Indiana is 2 years longer than that of Ohio which is especially significant because one of my fellowships from undergrad will only relieve $10,000 of my undergraduate debt if I get my PhD within 6 years. I am a member of the LGBT community and Columbus offers a much more vibrant social/dating scene than Bloomington. I know I'm not guaranteed to find a mate wherever I may go, but I would like to be settled down by the time I graduate (I'll be around 29). I asked my POIs and graduate students about the LGBT community in Bloomington and it just isn't great (perhaps it's better for undergrads?). All 3 of my POIs (two who are gay) live in Indianapolis and commute each day because they just can't bear to stay in Bloomington, yet I spent last summer in Indianapolis and I wasn't too impressed (it's the nearest metro). The resources and faculty members at Indiana are also pretty great, but I think because my POIs at Ohio don't have the exact same research interests as I do, I'll be able to expand my interests and grow more than I could with my POIs at Indiana. Also, because Indiana and Ohio are Big 10 schools, I'll have access to many of Indiana's most desirable resources. Sorry if this seems poorly written. I think my brain is dying from mid-terms.

My primary interests are queer studies/theory, ethnic literature, and film (among various other random interests).

It goes too far back to find each individual and quote them, but last week I asked for advice from you all about a school that was attempting to offer me more money vs. one I had already set my heart on. Took a bit of time away from gradcafe to clear my head and think over the advice I'd received and you all definitely helped make the choice easier. Thanks all

Dilemma: School 1 was one of my top choices. It's in a location in which I know I can live happily, the average graduation time is 5.2 years, and the fellowship offer isn't bad, definitely livable. I've visited, met with faculty members and graduate students and I love the campus. I even have a friend who might also accept an offer in the program (two others who are on the waitlist). I believe my POIs can successfully help guide me throughout the PhD pipeline although I know there are somewhat better fits elsewhere. Another school which I'd rather not name (read my sig, there's 3 to pick from lol) probably is the single best fit as far as faculty goes. Their resources (specific to my research interests) are AMAZING! I visited the campus which was quite nice and the faculty members and the graduate students are nice enough, but I just can't see myself being happy there for what is an average of 7 years. I spoke with one of my faculty mentors from a research program I did and because she is quite close to all three of my POIs at said school, the next thing I know they're offering me more money. I got an email from both my faculty mentor from the summer program and one of my POIs last night and they are offering a considerable amount more than OSU. I rarely see these numbers for programs in the humanities/social sciences and now I'm slightly torn. One voice says: Go to OSU, you know that's what you wanted to do from the beginning. The other voice says: Money will dry your tears from the blistering cold of living in the middle of nowhere.

Oh God, Indiana is really trying...

I hope not take this thread off track, but I'm curious to know what your list (assuming you've compiled one from "people in the field" or one already exists ) looks like.

It's still early and you have 7 schools to go. It's good to have a back up plan, but perhaps you should wait a bit so as to not waste the time of any potential employers. Who knows? You might get 7 acceptances over the next few weeks. Remember it only takes 1.

Perhaps there is. I was at a conference for one of the fellowship programs in which I've participated during undergrad and there was this 60 year old woman (she verbally stated her age) who had a year of undergrad left and (as a part of the program's requirements) she intended to pursue her PhD. One of my cohort members said that he didn't think she should have been allowed into the program for the mere fact that she would be retirement age before she even got her PhD. A main goal of the program is to transform the academy and he believed that (granted it takes an average of 7 or so years to get a PhD + her 1 year of undergrad left) a person in her twenties (or 30s or 40s) seems to have a greater potential to contribute to the academy rather than someone who will likely not get a PhD until around the age of 70. I definitely can understand his logic, but If she's down for the cause, then I say "why not?"

Got bored, did a search. Seems like a lot of satellite campuses offer this option. Just search "English spring deadlines." University of Houston: http://www.uh.edu/class/english/ Virginia Commonwealth University: http://www.has.vcu.edu/eng/graduate/admission.htmhttp://www.has.vcu.edu/eng/graduate/admission.htm University of Nevada, Las Vegas: http://english.unlv.edu/phd/ University of Tulsa: http://www.utulsa.edu/academics/colleges/henry-kendall-college-of-arts-and-sciences/Departments-and-Schools/Department-of-English/Programs-of-Study/Graduate-and-Professional-Programs.aspx Texas Women's University: http://www.twu.edu/english-speech-foreign-languages/ University of Alabama - Birmingham: http://www.uab.edu/english/graduate-studies

@paulmikesloones You most certainly may. I voted, but I now realize you can't see who voted what. I'm 23.

Didn't think about that

I can't remember which thread it was, but yesterday I noticed some members discussing their ages while applying to graduate school. Now I'm curious to know the average age of applicants on TheGradCafe.

I'm definitely more into contemporary literature, but if you happen to pick OSU I'm sure we can learn quite a bit from each other. My interests are constantly evolving.

Thanks & congrats to you as well! I will be attending the visiting days. My primary research interests are ethnic queer studies & film (as a literary medium). I'm also interested in the narrative capacity of social networking websites.

No e-mail, but another user and I heard over the phone. I had to e-mail Dr. Amanpal Garcha to get a phone call (his number isn't easily accessible apparently). If you'd like I can message you his number, but he might be gone for the day.

Thanks

After waiting and waiting some more I finally broke down and e-mailed Dr. Garcha. He called me within five minutes and told me that I'd been awarded the fellowship. Super excited! *dances*

I'm with everyone else on this one. Statement of purpose is probably the most important part of the package. Sometimes people also don't realize that they're getting crappy letters of recommendations.

Got accepted to Miami of Ohio's M.A. program (tuition remission, TA position + scholarship). They said they were really impressed with my application which made me feel better after getting Emory's official rejection. Of course I had to turn their offer down, but nonetheless it was a nice way to start the day.

Yeah! Congrats. I'm still waiting to hear back. Definitely a bit nervous.