Appppplication

Not getting a TT job is such a great problem to have. That's all I'm saying.

I would further say that to act as if someone not getting a job at an Ivy because said person went to a "lesser ranked" institution is anywhere comparable to larger struggles of inequality or subsitute for said inequalities is ridonculous. Not getting hired at an Ivy is NOT a symbol for social inequality

I never said they were mutually exclusive and clearly I don't think that. But focusing solely on the Ivys and getting hired at an Ivy grossly minimizes the injustices that happen across the world both on the streets and in institutions.

Myopic hiring practices in ALL academic jobs. Yes. that focus can reflect larger problems. Focusing on whether you will get hired at Harvard if you didn't go to Yale does NOT.

you do realize that in our world sometimes transgender people get murdered or beaten for walking down the street? You're right, I'm not worried about whether you will get the Harvard job if you don't go to Yale! I'm baffled how this concern somehow stands in for the systematic economic, racial, gender, and sexual orientation discrimination that we face in getting diversity in higher education, whether in TT jobs or in PhD programs. Further it's such a miniscule concern to focus on the Ivies in this situation. So flattening I am not, I just think the energy is totally misplaced. It's a little too Ivory Tower for me.

If the major worry in this thread is that PhD from school "ranked number 3" is going to get the Cornell job over PhD from school "ranked number 8" or even "ranked number 25" then I'm truly saddened (and if it is about that then there's a reality check in order). There are bigger worries about the state of higher education and about the job market. I also think you're missing my point: EVERYONE should be worried about the possibility of getting ANY TT job. To worry about being barred from the Harvard position that gets 999 applicants because you went to Emory or whatever non-Ivy school is silly. Chances are, no matter what school you went to, you won't get the job anyway (simply based on statistics). Let's be real. I'm not only calling out the Ivy hate on this thread, but I'm also calling out the ridiculousness involved in thinking that your ability to get hired at Brown depends on you going to Yale, and that would be considered a "good job". Or to think that you can't teach more than 1 course per semester and do research, or to think that if you get hired at State School Z that you won't be able to do research, or to think that if you go to Harvard you'll get a job at Yale! Or to think that if you don't work at a "top 50" institution you have failed. If the academic job market has taught us anything it should be that there is great work being done at every university, now much more than in the past, because people from all institutions will line up for any available TT job. And if you or me or anyone else get ANY of those TT jobs, we should all feel lucky (because everyone is talented and well educated on the job market).

For me, this thread has provoked mostly annoyance. Sorry. There are many reasons people can't get into Ivy League schools--structural racism, low-income background, late start, bad luck, 7,000,000 other applicants in your area of specialization, etc. But the logic or even suggestions that only Ivy grads are going to get good TT jobs is simply crazy. If you're sad or angry you didn't get into an Ivy I understand, and I feel for you, but that's a different issue from there's no good jobs for anyone except Ivy grads. If you really feel that if you don't go to an Ivy you won't get a good job then you should bow out of academia now (or try to reapply next year), because you've already set your path and you will not be happy. The Ivy PhD and the state school PhD are probably both going to be adjuncting for awhile (or forever???) anyway. And yes I've seen a lot of the research and no I don't want to attend an Ivy.

Cal State LA English MA deadline March 15 Cal State Long Beach English MA deadline April 15 Cal State Northridge has an MA program in English as well but not sure about the deadline. Cal State Fullertone MA English deadline March 1. If you are a California resident these programs are really affordable, and many have great PhD placement records. Worth checking out.

Since we are all making decisions now, it's time to share them with everyone! I thought it would be neat to see all the final decisions in one thread. So.....What university and program will you be attending for Fall 2015?

Don't forget that there can be a significant difference between number of admits and number enrolled. They may admit double the amount they hope to enroll each year.

That's great!!! Congrats!!! That's a great program!

why not do the MA at Portland State U? It looks like the deadline has passed but they may take applicants for spring semester.

There must be state schools close to your area that are way cheaper. If you're the best student that school has seen in awhile that will help you. If deadlines have passed you can always email them and ask if they could take your app a little later than normal.

shorts, flip-flops, and a tank if you're a guy and a belly shirt tied in a knot if you're a girl (regardless of location). Duh.

I did an unfunded MA which turned into partially funded MA, but that was at a state school. It was totally worth it. I gained tremendously and am about to enter a great Phd program with great funding. HOWEVER, private schools are different. For me funding ops popped up without having to look too far and that offset a lot of money for me. With a private the situation could be very different. It would be worthwhile to have a strictly business reality check conversation with the DGS about funding possibilities. $60k is a lot of money. And if you decide to go outside of academia after your MA, get a good job, and want to buy a house 60K in debt will bite you in the a**. Edit: If it were 20K or less I'd say go for it.

These topics are really tricky and ultimately come down to what your area of specialization is and how well that area is represented in those "top ranked programs". Take critical race studies for example. you may want to seriously reconsider the rankings if you're looking for strong scholars in that area, because your interests simply may not be supported there.

The UC situation has gotten a lot better.

yay! congrats!

Wow congrats!

Yes it's complit. The DGS didn't technically say waitlist, but he said if they need to return to the files they would return to mine.

Stay calm and be prepared! you'll be fine.

So my appppplication season is officially (or nearly officially) over! Applied to 3 programs and have one amazing funded acceptance at a perfect dept for me, 1 wait list with low likelihood of admit, and 1 rejection. 33.3% across the board. Can't wait for fall!

I'm finishing my MA in philosophy and I've just been accepted to 1 PhD comp lit program and waitlisted at another (applied to only 3). My advice, although it's only my opinion, would be to use the year to strengthen your app rather than do another MA. Find a conference and present at it. And more importantly learn the language of your field. Take language courses and perfect your skills. Also research every comp lit program and find the ones that you are a perfect fit for. If you want languages and lit find those. If you want theory and philosophy find the theory comp lit programs. Build stronger relationships with your prior MA faculty. Write a new sample. Bug them for feedback. Meet with them and tell them your plan. Get stronger letters as a result. I personally would not do a second MA whether funded or not because you're stilll going to have to do yet another year of coursework when you land in a PhD program. It seems to me as overload For what you want to do. Finally there are very few comp lit MAs and even fewer that fund.

Informally waitlisted at UC Irvine. Likelihood of moving up is low. It sounds like they admitted enough to get the yield they want. I received a detailed and informative email about the strengths and weaknesses of my app. They clearly paid a lot of attention to my file which made me feel good.

Wow lots of comp lit rejections today