Pamphilia

It might be a little difficult to get a gig teaching English in Hong Kong as it is an official language (I looked into this, and they actually wanted me to have qualifications--boo). You'd likely have to be a proper English teacher. You can go elsewhere in Asia, though! It's not too difficult to get a job teaching in South Korea and the pay is pretty great. I was a WWOOFer overseas for a while. It was great...some amazingly wonderful experiences and some super shady ones. All fantastic.

They are doing things differently this year! I just found out I was on Northwestern's "short list of alternates" for admission and funding (via email). I am so surprised! This is really unexpected--I thought for sure that was it for old Northwestern.

How are your languages? For Medieval they are key.

While I don't know anything about unfunded programs, this seems fairly logical. I think thus far posters have been discussing funded programs, but this is obviously relevant as well! Another reason that this all varies state-to-state, school-to-school, program-to-program.

Thanks for the insight! I didn't realize it was so very different from state to state (though I probably should have!).

I think this is really well said and I appreciate your insights!

So, I'm not sure if this was directed toward my comment or not. If it is: for jebus' sake. I don't think I ever suggested that you should not be allowed to have an opinion on this topic just because of your background. I get your point--I really do--because I used to share it. But, I got some perspective (thank you, Sustained Dialogue--best learning experience of my life). As for this: "Do you honestly mean to say that a wealthy black student who has attended private schools and never had to hold a job is underprivileged compared to a white student who has grown up poor, has had to work throughout school, and has uneducated parents who can't serve as academic role models?"--I don't think I came anywhere near saying or even implying that. In that case, we are not talking about the same kind of "privilege" anyway. To answer this question: "Is having no role models who are the same race as you the same thing as having no role models at all?"--Of course it is not the same. But it really does make a difference. On a related tangent, do you think that if the boys in school had seen more strong female mathematicians, they might not have assumed that you were favored? To everybody here: I am only trying to add perspective here. Do with it what you will.

Affirmative action is not in place only to afford underprivileged individuals a leg up. It is so important to have people with whom a student can identify, to have people who represent the populace, in positions of power and authority. When students of a certain background see professors and grad students with whom they can identify, they will be more motivated to succeed. It's about finding mentors and role models. I know that I am not articulating this very well, but people always seem to think that affirmative action is designed to reward individuals for suffering. That is NOT the point. Let's look at the story of a hypothetical black girl, we will call her X. If X wants to be an academic, but does not see anyone who represents her, she may think that academia is not culturally appropriate for her; she may think that because of who she is and where she grew up that she is not good enough for academia, because no one like her has succeeded in pursuing it; she may work really hard but never crack the ceiling because she doesn't have anyone to mentor her the way all of the white students around her do; or, she may say "screw it" and work her ass off to succeed, and do it. If X were able, from the start of her journey, to have a role model--a black female academic with whom she could identify (even if that role model were from a financially privileged family)--she would be less likely to regard her background as a barrier and would be more likely to succeed from the start. Now, this is only one hypothetical story. And, those of you who have always had role models who look and sound like you, who have always had mentors and people to look up to--you may not understand how important it is to have role models with whom you can identify. If you don't realize HOW lucky you are to have had these role models and mentors with whom you can identify (for whatever reason) you entire life--THAT is called privilege. You have the privilege of having people who represent you in visible positions of authority. You have the privilege not to realize what a difference this makes. I realize that I probably did not articulate this well at all, that people will probably pick holes in what I say, and that I may enrage others. But I feel like the posters on this thread have largely missed the point. This isn't about institutionalized racism or Jim Crow or being denied a bank loan because of your ethnicity (as was the case with someone I know). The drive for diversity is as aspirational as it is anything else. And many of the people here need to wake up and smell the privilege. If you've never had to think about this because it doesn't directly impact your life: you are lucky, and privileged. Edited to add: I am not trying to stomp on anyone's opinion here or suggest that s/he shouldn't be allowed to have one, whatever it is. Just trying to add some perspective. I hope I haven't implied here that I think one is not "entitled to have an opinion" for any reason.

I have heard that in-state residency can be somewhat helpful, as schools covering tuition won't have to pony up as much money for in-state residents.* At the same time, it's not *that* big a deal because the student should be able to establish residency by the second year. I've heard that it is generally only an issue if a program is deciding between two equally-qualified candidates (though obviously anything to do with finances is wonky this year and conventional wisdom doesn't hold anywhere). * I keep writing "insane residents," haha. Oh, my subconscious.

Thanks for the info. Congratulations, honestly. Like I said, I'm supremely jealous but genuinely happy for you! I love people getting good news, especially when they seem as excited as you do! Yayy!! Don't sleep--CELEBRATE!

Yes, this exactly. Ha! When I got my good news, I found myself listing to "Be Somebody" by the Kings of Leon (not "Use Somebody," different song) over and over: "Given the chance, I'm gonna beeeeeee somebody!" Then yesterday at work, while I was watching more and more acceptances for programs I'd applied to go up on the results page (and being bummed because I was not hearing anything myself), my boss was blasting "Tuesday's Gone" on repeat. Seemed appropriate.

Hello! I saw on the results page that a couple of people were accepted to Northwestern English. Congratulations! That's awesome. I am totally jealous but also very happy for you. I was wondering if any of you accepted folks were interviewed--I understand that Northwestern usually does phone interviews, but I hadn't heard anything yet about applicants being contacted. Did they change their procedure this year, or did people just not mention it? THANKS!

I don't think this is bad news at all. In an ideal world, we would all be judged blindly on merit. This is most certainly a less-than-ideal world, however, which is why I was born with privilege that I did not earn, and was more easily granted access to the merits I carry today, simply because I am white.

I am considering saving up for a Kindle so that when I travel I won't have to schlep ten books with me as I do now, and to cut down on printing costs for articles. My main reservations are: 1. I appreciate the physical and tactile experience of reading a book, and I am sure that it helps me retain the information therein and to learn better--which is why if I were to purchase a Kindle, it would be my secondary method of reading for sure. 2. Writing notes and underlining is crucial for me (I know you can take notes on the Kindle, but it's not exactly the same, and I wouldn't be able to do the weird underlining/circling/drawing that I do in my own secret note-taking language) 3. I hate reading off a screen and I think reading on my computer and phone too often is ruining my eyes (I have heard that the e-ink used on a Kindle is really nice on the eyes and it's not backlit like an LCD screen, though I haven't seen it in real life) For all of you who like the smell of books, I offer you the following, which always pops into my mind when I consider e-readers: "Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is...it has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible. It should be...smelly." (quoth Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Sorry, I have no idea about that one. I wish I did! Ain't it the truth! Wahoowa.

Maybe it's twelve. I can't really remember, though I'm fairly certain it's a low multiple of four for some reason, not sure why...all of these other numbers floating around in my head are getting mushed together. Anyway, I know it's not too, too many, and I did get it straight from the horse's mouth that they received more than 500 applications.

I don't know how many finalists they consider, but I believe they have enough funding for eight spots (I think it's eight...) in a normal year. Though, I know they are being pressured to cut their number of funded candidates, which they are resisting strongly because they only won a big fight to fully fund their PhDs a few of years ago. I also know that they received over 500 applications this year, and that they tend to admit in rounds as they work down a long wait list. Sorry, this was probably not what you were looking for, but maybe it's helpful?

From my understanding, yes. Obviously it's not unheard of, and plenty of programs have accepted and continue to accept their own undergrads. However, my impression is that the bar is usually set considerably higher for someone applying to her alma mater for grad school (especially, as Chimerical says, within the same program) because grad programs want to avoid "academic incest." A program may still accept the applicant, she will probably be at a disadvantage, so her application must really wow them. However, there are extreme cases like with my college roommate, who was told by her undergrad advisor, "Don't even bother applying to our grad program because we won't accept you. If you weren't an undergrad here, you'd be a shoo-in. But this is for your own intellectual and professional good." This really depends on the school and the program, though.

I always figured I would want kids someday until I started teaching them. Now I have no desire to have a child. Ever.

Ditto. I would imagine that for grad school, too, it varies wildly so we won't be able to predict anything.

Jesus, how awful. I'm glad you got it sorted out in time!

I have also heard that Modernism and 20th C. American are among the most competitive subfields, for both grad applications and the job market. As JennyFieldsOriginal says, it seems that the closer you get to present day literature, the more competitive the subfields get. While Medieval is seeming pretty cool right now, it requires such a strong background in languages and so forth; there are far fewer applicants who are qualified to study it, so theoretically the competition should be less fierce among those who are qualified. That's my understanding anyway, which might be very wrong! I'm hoping that my subfield (Early Modern, like Belltolls) will help a little, but (also like Belltolls) I'm guessing that the programs to which I've applied draw a LOT of well-qualified Early Modern applicants, so any advantage is probably moot.

Right on. My undergrad mentor really emphasized location. She said there are other factors that can be equally or more important, of course, but that if you are deeply unhappy with your location, it can reflect in your work. She said weather is a big factor to consider. It is also important, she advised me, to consider cost of living in the area vs. average funding packages. If you are struggling to make ends meet, that can be a detriment to your work, too.

Well, speaking of "interview yoga"...my tenth grade English teacher tried to discourage us from saying "like" and "uhh" in class because it made us sound slackjawed or nervous. He did allow us to keep "um," however, but only if we turned it into "Om." He said it made us sound thoughtful and meditative instead of like ignorant teenagers. Genius interview strategy???

My mom and sister and my partner's parents went nuts on Facebook (their walls and mine) and let everyone else know before I had a chance to tell anyone outside of my immediate family. So, I wasn't even able to consider how I might slip the information in tactfully, or if I wanted to post it at all. Thanks, family.