Pamphilia

This is a really contentious topic in English (I presume you're talking about English; my apologies if not). I realize there are people with strong opinions on both sides of the issue and I'm not experienced enough yet in academe to give you my own opinion on the matter. But I will tell you my own experience: my undergrad mentors *strongly* advised against me getting a masters before applying to the PhD (or rather, an MA/PhD program). There are people who will tell you that their MAs are exactly the thing that got them into their dream programs, and I have no doubt that this is absolutely true in many cases. Still, the professionals I know and trust told me that it would be much harder to get into a PhD program with an MA. Personally I have had decent success this season without an MA. Would I have done better with one? I don't know. This is just one side of the debate, and I'm not trying to inflame anyone. As I said I really have no idea either way at this point. I, personally, have just been advised against pursuing an MA first.

I don't know what the funding situation is like for Loyola MAs, but living in Rogers Park (where Loyola is) really isn't too bad. It's one of the cheaper neighborhoods (not as cheap as the scarier ones; RoPo is getting gentrified, so there's less and less crime but it is still city living) and it's super cute and lakeside. Chicago in general is expensive when it comes to things like taxes, etc., but the Rogers Park area is quite affordable for a city. Then again, if the funding is scant "affordable for a city" doesn't mean much.

I've been waitlisted!!!!!

Hi! I know I'm a little late to the party, but I just received a call from a professor mentioned in my SOP and I am IN at Davis! No fellowship, but five years of "guaranteed teaching." I had a great chat with the professor and she made me very excited. Yay Maybe I'll see y'all in April!

Not sure if you all have seen this. Interesting Chronicle article about "The Academic Motherhood Handicap."

Let me just be firm about this up front: a BA in English (or in any language) is not impractical at all, despite what business and engineering majors would like to tell you. Aside from clearly related jobs like teaching (as Dant points out: do not underestimate the cache English fluency!) you need to know how to write and edit in almost every business or office-type job. I graduated with a BA in English and a minor in Women's/Gender Studies. Useless, right? Nope! In one of my current jobs, I work as a receptionist; they took me on for this position, even knowing up front that I would be leaving in less than a year for graduate school, precisely because of my editing and writing skills. Everyone wants at least one person in the office who knows how to use English properly, even if she's the receptionist! I do as much editing as mail-sorting. My first "real" (read: benefits-paying!) job out of undergrad, which was quite a fancy-pants position, was at a large financial institution. They LOVED that I had a BA in English because I knew how to edit and how to write. They had previously taken on business majors who were crappy in that position because it really had nothing to do with actual financial know-how and everything to do with [technical] editing. Every office job I've ever had I've probably gotten because of my mad editing skills, in fact. And, if they hadn't made me want to pull my own hair out I would be well on my way to a promising and successful career in the finance industry right now. The fact is that now that undergraduate degrees are becoming more specialized and fewer students are required to take writing intensive classes, fewer and fewer people on the market know how to write or know grammar or style rules at all. As a result, very unprofessional documents and texts are often produced by the "professional" sector. If you have a degree in, say, English, it is assumed that you know how to write and edit. Even if you don't have hard editing experience on your resume, as I was lucky enough to have coming out of undergrad, you still have the skills. A BA in English IS a marketable degree. Still, you must present it to potential employers as such, which means that you must figure out WHY it is and convince yourself of its relevance. This is not to mention that your language skills will also be a real asset. I'm really sorry that you're having a hard time and are feeling disappointed, and my heart goes out to you and your family. But, it's not over yet. I have faith in your applications! And, I assure you that no matter the outcome of this season, you can make it work.

Yes. Personal note here: I was one of those people who posted an "Oh well, it wasn't a very good fit" on the results search. UCLA is, on paper (or at least on the website) perfect for me. I've relied heavily on work that their faculty have published in the past, as well. I got really excited about it and decided to apply. It was only after some months of communicating with several faculty members that I realized it really wasn't a good fit--professors were not (or no longer) looking at the kinds of texts I hope to study, they were not (or no longer) asking the questions I pursue, they were not (or, in several cases, no longer) pursuing the same avenues of inquiry and methodology I follow. Still, by the time I really figured this out, it was early December and I'd already completed their pain-in-the-ass application, which was on my desk waiting to go to the post office. So, I thought, "Screw it, I've put in three months of work here." I applied anyway, and was [rightfully] rejected. They saw through the fact that I wasn't a good fit. And it's true, I probably would have turned them down if I were admitted, but only because I've already been accepted to a couple of other programs that are *excellent* fits for me (including one of my very top choices, Carolina). Still, if UCLA were the only school I'd been accepted to, I'd have happily attended. It may have been *more* difficult for me to engage with the kind of questions I'd like, but I think could piece together a dissertation committee to help me out of their faculty. It was just be a little less organic for me there. But, there you go. Applicants who don't fit probably won't get in.

Dude, I really hope this doesn't sound mean or as if I'm picking on you, but this post (especially in the context of your other one about people "lying" about acceptances) is so cynical! I agree that some people probably are not taking this process as seriously as others, but I feel like they probably would not be "taking spots away" from serious and dedicated candidates. I don't know...I just think we should have a little more faith in our fellow applicants. Bitterness and mistrust will not help anyone's application, and will only make a person feel worse and possibly spread even more anxiety to other applicants. I am truly sorry if this comes off as harsh or mean! You do make a lot of very good and well-articulated points. I just think cynicism won't help any of us. Let's be supportive! We can all use it. Yes.

A lot of programs only notify a small number of people (even one or two) at a time, spreading their acceptances out over a while. Some people receive unofficial acceptances via personal contact with a particular faculty member even though official or final decisions have not yet been made. I highly doubt that more than a twisted few, if any, are lying about their acceptances on these fora (stupid fake postings on the results board notwithstanding). Let's all love and trust (with salt, if necessary) each other!

Interesting! Perhaps admissions committee members (or at least insiders) do read this forum...? This sounds rather official. Also, wow! 10% seems quite high compared to other top programs. More power to 'em! I will say that personally, I was not in that 10%, but it's okay. In retrospect I probably should not have applied; it was not a very good fit for me. Hooray for those of you who have been accepted! Good on ya

Well said! I've been wondering about these requests (and how frequently they occur) myself. I don't get it. If anything, I'm much more curious to know about acceptees' subfields than stats. Plus the "other via other" stats requests on the results page are very annoying.

Hello! I also received a call offering me admission to Penn State English (MA, with the intention to continue to the PhD) a few days ago and am one of the posters in the results search. I think they are notifying their fellowship nominees first, and I got the impression that they will be offering admits in rounds. Presumably everyone except waitlistees will be notified by the endish of March, when the recruitment weekend will take place. I think--and please don't quote me on this because I was a little too giddy to process everything accurately--the DGS told me that they will be aiming for a cohort of around 16 (and obviously admitting more than that). If I remember correctly, he also told me that they will only be accepting a couple of applicants who already hold MAs. Penn State expect their MAs to go on to complete the PhD, so it's quite difficult, I think, to gain admission to the PhD program with an outside MA. As for stats, I'm going to decline to post mine because I think they're pretty useless and don't really indicate much. I've posted them elsewhere on GradCafe and you can find them if you dig. What I will say is mine are very good. However, I think more than my stats, what clinched it for me was that in the fall I was in contact with one of Penn State's Big Cheese professors who really took a shining to me, and apparently put in a good word. I will refer to this person as Professor Superwonderful. S/he's extremely helpful and nice. Don't worry if you haven't heard yet! They're definitely not finished notifying

Dude, awesome! Congratulations! UVa is so great, the English department is amazing, and Charlottesville is wonderful. Take the offer!!! Wahoowa

Many programs don't notify all at once. In fact, on UNC's English department website, it says that they have rolling acceptances (not rolling admissions; I think it means they send offers in waves). I'm sure they will make more offers!

Historically UVa has notified in waves and worked down a long unofficial wait list before proceeding to an official one. Their acceptances trickle out as they see who bites before sending out the next round of acceptances. Their procedures may have changed, but I rather doubt there has been any significant overhaul. Don't freak out yet!

Haha, these two comments cracked me up for some reason. My partner thinks I've gone insane--I was laughing for like five minutes.

Hello, friends! I was wondering if anyone knew when Northwestern's recruitment weekend is for admitted students (if they are having one). I'm only waitlisted but I would really like to visit the department just on the tiny chance that I might get in and have to choose between schools. I'm looking to book flights sometime soon, but I don't want to crash the recruitment party accidentally! Thanks! Edit: Question answered. No need to reply!

The current blizzard(s) has(ve) been affecting the Mid-Atlantic, so as far a I know New England schools aren't closed. My sibling in Boston said thy there has been a bit of snow but nothing significant or unusual. The weather from DCish to NYCish (especially DC) has, however, been extremely significant and out of the ordinary, which is why so many schools are closed. But it's not the entire East Coast.

Gah! Yes. I've been "working from home" since last Friday which only means more time to obsess, and have been shut in by 2.5-going-on-3.5 feet of snow since then which only means more time to feel delirious with cabin fever. And as schools from VA to Jersey have been shut for days, it means that admissions committees have not had time to meet...boo! This might read as somewhat shrill, but that's only because I feel that I'm going a bit gonzo. We in this area are not physically or mentally equipped to deal with this kind of weather! P.S. I hear there was a 3.8 earthquake in western Chicago yesterday. Perhaps it is the Apocalypse after all!

Yes.

Seconded. Besides, one could make arguments for most OR least useful for *every* discipline.

Indeed!

Yo, dudes. Accepted at UNC and waitlisted at Northwestern & WashU (haven't heard back from anyone else yet). In a nutshell, my primary subfield is Renaissance poetry with an emphasis on gender/sexuality.

Oh, girl, no! Do the domestic work if you want to, but do not let him tell you that you are "better" at it. That is a bullshit excuse not to do anything. I know because I've used it before!!! My partner is quite fastidious about cleaning and he does not like my cooking (I am not so good...) and so he mostly does that work. Sometimes, though, when it should have been my turn but I decided to be lazy, I've said, "Aw, but you're so much better at it than I am!" That was unfair and wrong of me. And you know what? Even though I was very loving and supportive and nice to him, it was still NOT OKAY for me to do that. As for the lack of motivation--oh, been there, too! My partner has all these big plans to be a rock star, to be a writer...I am ALL for it, but he is often very bad at motivating himself to pursue those dreams. I will absolutely support him if that's what he wants to do and he puts in the effort, but it frustrates the crap out of me when he wants to be a writer so bad but never writes anything and watches TV instead. We went through a rough patch some months ago when he was just NOT motivated to find a job and was using the excuse that he wanted to focus on his music. I am super supportive if he wants to take time off to work on what he loves. But "working on his music" turned out to be a euphemism for sitting on his ass and not trying to do anything. It's all just a big excuse. Fortunately things are very nice now--he is gainfully employed and doing music. The main point is: do not take any excuses. 2-3 years is not so much a slump as a long-term pattern of behavior. I know you were probably feeling really frustrated when you wrote your posts and that they don't really reflect how you feel all the time. When my partner and I were having a rough time of it I tended to present only the bad things to my friends/family because I would complain and vent when I was frustrated, but rarely mention it when I was happy. But, take a look at things and try to see if this is a long-term trend or not, and don't take any bullshit! I've been on both sides of this, and it is not simply fair to be manipulated into bearing the entire load of your partnership.

Dude, nuns are badass. (I really hope that this doesn't sound snarky because I really mean it! I am not a religious person at ALL but I am fascinated by nuns. They are awesome.)