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christakins

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Posts posted by christakins

  1. 7 minutes ago, ypink said:

    Congrats!! I was also admitted; it's a great program and I am beyond thrilled! My only concern is the relatively lower stipend compared to other programs to which I have been admitted (otherwise my decision would be much simpler!).. I am unfamiliar with the cost of living in the area.. any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

    Congrats, ypink!

    IMO Chapel Hill/Carrboro is pretty expensive. Not NYC expensive but in terms of rentals a house will run you $1200+ and most apartments are in the $900+ range. You can find cheaper stuff but you have to look a bit harder. Having a partner and/or housemate will help offset cost. Durham is a bit cheaper but then you have a commute. That said, I find the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area pretty charming.

  2.  

     

    - do you have any recommendations, either for particular programs or "types" of programs, I should look at which might be accommodating to my sort of broad approach? I know I'm going to have to restrict things a bit at some point, but if I were in an English department somewhere that a.) took theory seriously, and b.) also was amenable to me working with film, or other types of art, I'd be thrilled. 

     

     

     

    You might look into the the Theory and Cultural Studies program (TCS) at Purdue and the Literature program at Duke.

  3.  

     

    "In 2013, the Republican governor, Pat McCrory, told William Bennett, a conservative talk-show host and former Secretary of Education, that the state shouldn’t “subsidize” courses in gender studies or Swahili (that is, offer them at public universities)."

     

    WAHHH?!?!

     

     

    I KNOW I'M FREAKING OUT.

     

    "An untenured member of the humanities faculty, who requested anonymity, wrote in an e-mail, “I am constantly aware of the state’s charged political atmosphere and the scrutiny of the university’s political enemies. I know there are certain subjects I simply cannot write about in a public forum and topics I must handle gingerly in my teaching.” "

     

     

    This one was the "oh fuck" quote for me:

     

     

    Jesus. Is UNC East Germany now or something?

     

     

    Not surprised. This is not unlike other universities in conservative areas. I don't want to name names, but feel free to PM me if you want details.

  4. Same question for you Christa.....what did you say to your POI? I'm planning to email the DGS at my top school again after a month (where I'm waitlisted) and I want to come across as strongly as possible!

     

    I'm a big fan of being genuine and honest, yet formal to start. Like CarolineKS, I kept my greeting very formal. However, I made a note to express how excited I was about my POI's work and how it's helped inform my own, where I think we might go in the future, etc. Our interests intersect beyond scholarship via activism and our personal stories, so I asked him more about that and shared my experiences. I'd say be as real as possible and as polite as possible without sounding like a robot. *insert "profs are people too" here*

  5. Haha, you bet your ass I did. And I waxed poetic about how much I love their program. I really wanted in. :)

     

    Yep, ditto. I even emailed a POI and was thrilled to receive an enthusiastic email back about how much he would "absolutely love" if I could join them at UNC. I didn't really temper my excitement. I received an offer a few days later. If you want in, and you really want in, I'd be sure to let your waitlist school know. 

  6. Has anyone here made it *off* a waitlist yet?  Just wondering when, customarily, the shuffling-around tends to start.  

     

    I made it off one just a few days after being waitlisted--about two weeks ago. I think it depends on the program. I spoke to my POI on the phone, who was kind enough to send a congratulatory email once he heard I'd been admitted, and he spoke to a situation a few years ago where this particular university had too many people accept their offer. Thus, to keep the cohort down to manageable numbers, available funding, etc. they began extending fewer offers from the jump. This of course means their waitlist tends to be active far sooner than some other schools. 

     

    I think it's fine to have weekly check-ins with the DGS wherever you're waitlisted.

     

    Haven't made it in off the waitlist at UMD, but their DGS said he'd have a pretty good sense by the middle of March or so (before their open house). In my acceptance letter from UConn, they asked that if I'm no longer seriously considering them, that I decline their offer by March 16th, as they'd want to extend their GTA line to someone on the waitlist not much long after that. So I'd be willing to guess that mid-March is standard for many places. Slightly different for most top tier programs, which, as the results board shows, often don't get back to waitlisters until the first or second week of April. 

     

    Yep, I agree with Ramus--mid-March seems about right. I think many people want to visit before making a decision, and open houses typically run through mid-March.

  7. I'm sorry to hear that! Everything is so arbitrary in the admissions process...congratulations on your other offers, though.

     

    I still don't know about the relative ethics of finding out (and approaching) faculty on the adcomm. The info is usually buried on faculty-only pages, or in senate-minutes. It's not impossible to find, but it still has the aura of "you shouldn't be looking at this." 

     

    Thanks, empress-marmot. I took a day to process and cry a little but I'm over it now. Onwards and upwards!

     

    No idea about the ethics of adcoms either. I still advocate politely contacting POIs regardless of perceived ethics. 

  8. The admissions committee isn't always made up of the same body of professors, either (at least, I assume so). If a serial applicant keeps applying and applying and making him/herself a nuisance to the department, I could see them doing the "oh, him/her again" thing. 

     

    But applying the next year because the school is still a good fit and one has a stronger application? I don't think the committee can penalize that determination. 

     

    Here's a story: I was wait-listed at a program two years ago (right out of undergrad) and then flat out rejected this year with my MA. It really walloped me. I have a couple of other strong offers, so it's not that I have nowhere to go it's just I KNOW my app was stronger this round.

     

    Come to find out two of my POIs (one of which even flagged my app for the DGS) weren't on the committee this time. Thus my rejection, I presume. So yeah, committees can vary a whole heck of a lot year-to-year.

  9. CarolineKS, it's 20/21C lit. and theory. Not sure how either program arranges their waitlist(s), but hopefully that helps. Good luck to you!

     

    Ohhhhh that's my field! Maybe this will bring me good news...

     

    I notice you're in Portland--I did my BA at Portland State. Were you in the English dept.? I loved my experience at PSU! Feel free to DM me if you wanna connect. And best of luck wherever you choose, lo.lee.ta.

  10. Hey Guys,

     

    Have you heard anything from Duke lit? Should we all imply a rejection? It seems so weird that they haven't contacted anyone. I would like to find some piece of mind about it....

     

    Still silent on my end. I checked my app through Duke's website and it says "No Notifications." I'm assuming rejection for piece of mind. Onward!

  11. Hi,

     

    I received a partially funded MAPH offer this year; it covered 50% of tuition and nothing else. I originally applied to the English PhD program, and I suppose they forwarded me along to MAPH when I was rejected. I ultimately declined the offer for a fully funded offer elsewhere, but the general consensus (at least from the Eng side) is that the majority of funding goes to the PhD candidates. If you do happen to receive funding, it's likely to only cover a portion of your tuition, i.e. no teaching stipend and you'd have to pay partial tuition and fees. Maybe a current student can weigh in on this subject?

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