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thatjewishgirl

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Everything posted by thatjewishgirl

  1. Yes! Thanks for saying so. I don't want it to seem like I am unhappy for other people, but it is so discouraging to see others get two, three, four, and even five acceptances at such an early stage when all I have so far is a growing pile of rejections!
  2. My rejection from Oregon reached Oklahoma today, in case anyone is wondering about Oregon. The letter was dated Feb. 12. So far that is two rejections of nine for me, though I pretty much consider Minnesota a rejection, considering how it looks as though they've already notified the people they want. I wish they would send out rejections and get it over with! I think I am driving my coworkers crazy. . .
  3. I haven't been admitted anywhere, and one of those is my top choice. Save some programs for the rest of us!
  4. I appreciate the sentiment! But if he goes there... I mean, I'm obviously stuck moving there, too, with no options.
  5. So, my younger (and, I guess, smarter? more qualified?) spouse was nominated for a fellowship at Nebraska. All I got from them was a cold rejection! Hah. I am, of course, super happy for him, but still sad (bitter) for me. Being part of a couple with the same PhD goals is frustrating...
  6. I feel the same! Good luck to you!! It is really difficult to stay positive at this stage.
  7. Proflorax, that is awesome! Good luck. And yes, what you said about Reading not being as valued in the field of English gives me anxiety, hence my question. And yes, we should trade materials!! When is your application due? And Datatape, that is a really helpful perspective, thank you.
  8. While I know they believe I am qualified, I think they're desperate for a live human to take this job, and I'm young (i.e. the least haggard old crone who works there), so students generally like me as a teacher. So I don't know what that really says about my qualifications. But this is a branch campus of one of our state universities and it is open admission... meaning the caliber of student is comparable to a community college. I think I would like the job for a few years, but I don't want to die in community college/Oklahoma hell.
  9. I am feeling like I have no chance at any of the programs I applied to! I think that stems from having heard from one program (rejection) and absolute silence from the other eight. I want some advice from you guys, though. Maybe this question doesn't belong in this thread, it might belong in the plan B thread, but since I currently feel like I have 0% chance at acceptance, I will ask here! One of the universities I adjunct for mentioned to me that I am qualified to apply for (and encouraged me to do so) one of our full time, tenure track positions teaching Reading in our Developmental Studies department. I would be the head instructor and make all the curriculum decisions, etc. I think those of you who have applied multiple years in a row might be able to help me out with this. Would it look bad on future apps that I took a job in Reading? I enjoy teaching reading, but I mostly teach composition now, and really want a PhD in the hopes that I can one day teach lit classes (anywhere, any level, doesn't matter to me). I don't know why, but I guess I wonder if it would look bad for some reason. I guess it couldn't look any *worse* than being an adjunct, so... a stable paycheck would be nice.
  10. I realized that I loved literature in high school when I read Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. I mentioned this in another post, but I--maybe stupidly--got a huge tattoo dedicated to Les Mis, and I think the fact that I don't completely regret that decision because it reminds me of my love of literature tells me I am doing the right thing. (a little cheesy I know) But I know I am doing the right thing pursuing a PhD because I love teaching. And more than that, I love teaching freshmen and sophomores and non-traditional students. I wish it was possible to get a stable job teaching college classes with just an MA, but since it isn't, I will keep trying to get a PhD because I really love teaching. And I think that teaching lit is the most fun, for me anyway. I thoroughly enjoy teaching literature to undergrads.
  11. I love that so many people are reading Les Miserables! Was this decision prompted by the release of the movie? I think about this book all the time because when I was in my late teens, I got a half sleeve tattoo completely dedicated to the novel and much to my adult chagrin, my students bring it up constantly. I am reading all the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels. I'm obsessed with all things Holmes right now.
  12. I live in Oklahoma... that statement is my life! And yes, I am glad to see you feel my adjunct pain. And your clarification of my original point is accurate--I would hate to see someone get their hopes up and go down the adjunct path and get stuck there like me and a lot of my friends. And I think I've been to that creepy adjunct basement. It always smells like microwave pasta.
  13. I understand you. But can you not also see my point that it might all be fruitless? I don't think I said anything to warrant such hostility from you. I guess I just wanted to complain about my rejection. It does hurt to feel like I have worked really hard and done all of the things you are doing to no end.
  14. Yes to that last bit. I never have and would never advise a new MA to present "at every little conference" and publish "in unheard of journals just to add a line to the document." Or to present the same paper three times. Also, I feel like my last post didn't get viewed or was skipped over since it is as the end of the last page... I went back and found the post that my original post was a response to in order to defend myself against the straw man claims.
  15. This is one of the posts I was originally responding to. With an MA you can teach at community college. And trust me, it sucks. If you want no guarantee of full time work or even consistent part time work, then by all means, work at your local community college. Of course you can get a full time gig at a community college--but you can't bank on it! Meanwhile, how do you cobble together a living? It is tough. Also, being an independent scholar without funding, financial assistance or research tools is also tough! If you work full time at a non-university job, you might find that being a scholar is not high on your priority list. One of my original points is simply that I would not wish the struggle of being an adjunct on someone with academic aspirations. And my other point is that I have gone through the writing, working, presenting, networking, kick/scratch/clawing, and I'm wondering if it might have been fruitless.
  16. This feels rude--I guess I don't understand what I said to warrant this comment, if you are attacking me?
  17. Thank you. And I completely agree! I think I have taught *everything* possible. I have seen some crazy stuff out there as an adjunct, and I have lived to tell about. I wish teaching mattered more! Despite being stalked and harassed by the occasional student, I love being a teacher, or else I wouldn't suffer as an adjunct. It is unfortunate that you feel as though you have to preface your comments with phrases like "I don't mean to be offensive" or "this will be controversial." It is too bad that dedication to teaching should be seen that way.
  18. I do appreciate you saying I sound like a good candidate. I have really tried! And I would like to say that I don't think you can do CV building--conference papers and publications and the like--without learning how to craft a successful writing sample and statement of purpose. My original post was just expressing my anxiety about going down the adjunct rabbit hole once you've completed an MA! I think I saw that someone said something about independent scholarship... It is frightfully hard to work at 3 schools as an adjunct or teach high school and try to complete the scholarship required in this field.
  19. Well, I believe that my writing sample and statement of purpose have been improved by both completing an MA degree and continuing to write beyond graduation. But completing an MA will not guarantee an acceptance to a PhD program no matter how fantastic or "cutting edge" those documents are.
  20. I probably should have clarified that I applied to 9 programs! Yes, I know I shouldn't take it *that* seriously, but I do worry about people who think that taking time off and adjuncting is a practical career move. And I do feel pretty doubtful about my own choices. I'm worried it will have all been for nothing, and I just worry for others who thought as I did then.
  21. Hello everyone! This is my first post to thegradcafe and my first season applying to PhD programs. I hope this doesn't sound like I am happy about someone's misfortune, but I am happy to see that at least one other person on here was rejected from Nebraska. I was rejected a few days ago. My first rejection ever, and it hurt--especially since my partner was accepted (without funding, but still, accepted). I think I am beginning to disagree with some of the advice floating around here about sticking the game out through getting an MA to build a CV. I have an MA in English. My program fully funded me and I was a GTA for three years. I had a 4.0 GPA. I have five years total teaching experience because I have been an adjunct at my MA university, as well as at a local branch campus of one of my state's (Oklahoma) major state schools, for the last two years. My program funded me to attend two to three conferences per year, and still funds me a little each year I have been an adjunct. I have presented at a dozen conferences (all in my area, Victorianism), and have been accepted to two this spring, one of which is a national conference. I'm a member of several professional organizations and have chaired at least one panel per year for the past few years. I was invited to speak at the Oklahoma state capitol for an annual governor's summit and as a guest speaker to one of our major universities about one of my research interests (women in Judaism). I have three publications, one of which is a recent article in a peer-reviewed journal. I say all this not to brag on myself, but I guess to express how devastated I was when I was rejected by Nebraska! I feel said because I didn't really apply to any programs of a different caliber. Granted, it is the only program I have heard from thus far and I probably shouldn't lose hope, but I feel pretty badly about it. I thought that all the work and CV building I have done over the part five years would have helped, but it didn't. Not there, anyway. My partner, who is absolutely qualified I would like to say, was accepted despite having less experience in the field than me. So I wonder how good the advice to undergrads to get an MA to build up their CVs really is. It hasn't helped me, and I would like to warn people that being an adjunct is thankless and degrading work. The pay is terrible and inconsistent. I thought that I did the right thing by pursuing my dream, but I do wonder if it was worth it. Am I being too pessimistic?
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