the.shadow.ring

Hi guys. I'm sure you've heard this before, but: infrequent lurker who recently discovered this forum; reading these posts is really helping me negotiate an extremely difficult choice between two fantastic programs. It's comforting to see that others are having as much trouble deciding as I am! I really hope that the decision will somehow become easier with time... Big congrats to Porridge for two awesome acceptances. For whatever reason, his (in)decision posts have made me want to jump in....While digital/avant-garde poetics isn't exactly my field, I'm pretty big into contemporary poetry, and I'd definitely second bluecheese's thoughts here regarding Chicago v. Penn. I suspect (s)he's right not only about faculty interests, but also accessibility. One of my biggest surprises when reading posts on this forum has been the extent of the negativity directed at Chicago. Two of my close friends from undergrad are currently pursuing English doctorates at Chicago, and I have heard almost exclusively great things about the department from both. One of my recommenders (a relatively big scholar of modern poetry) told me that he believes it's "hands down" the most exciting English department in the country, with a rigorous and (mostly) supportive graduate program to boot. I suppose my point is that while you should certainly consider UC's "difficult" reputation when deciding, you might want to take it with a pretty big grain of salt....While it's not the best in my field (African American lit), if I were in your shoes, I'd probably lean Chicago. It just seems to be the more exciting place right now....