Imaginary

I agree with much of what kglad has said. In my program, many of the other students got the degree to earn credits toward their raise or provisional teaching certificate. Many of them did not do a thesis. One of my former colleagues was told that her MLS meant nothing for her in terms of getting a promotion. With that said, I took as many classes as I could that related to my research interests. I applied mostly to programs that showed evidence of interdisciplinary scholars or research. I was accepted to four English PhD programs.

I can relate. I ended up making the choice I did in part because my parents are older, and both my sister and mother in law have disabilities. It is frustrating. If you are only going to be 2 hours away, you should make whatever choice is best for you.

Anyone want to claim the other Waterloo acceptance?

This morning I declined UC Riverside's offer. It was a very hard thing to do - it was kind of my dream school, but my decision came down to unexpected family situations and location. I hope it is someone else's dream school and you get an offer soon!

Ha. Good point. Still, it does feel a bit like I have wasted their time.

Yes. Besides the lab tours, I can relate. The people I communicated with at 2/3 of my remaining acceptances were really wonderful. That isn't to say that the third was bad; I just didn't develop contacts there. Anyway, I wish I could work with all of them, and so it kind of came down to location.. something that I hadn't realized would be such a factor when I applied.

Hmm.. 1) Professor of English literature/American studies/ethnic studies/women's studies 2) Director of a women's center or resource center 3) Bookstore/cafe owner 4) Independent author/blogger

All of this. What you have said sort of reminds me of being a young undergrad and interviewing a local editorial journalist for a political science course. He kept on saying his job was just a job. It was like he really disliked it or was at least thoroughly disenchanted. I could only think that he was lucky that he got paid to write, especially about his life. I still feel that way, maybe more now that jobs like that are harder to obtain. Years later he wrote (ironically, I am sure) that he didn't understand why young people were "waiting on the world to change."

Thanks so much! Good tip on the apartment situation in August.. I really can't afford to move now, but maybe June or July will work. Anyone have thoughts on how family friendly Waterloo/Kitchener is?

Bump! Also: 1) What is the quickest/least expensive/best overall way to reach Toronto? 2) Someone said the buses are often late. What about University of Waterloo shuttles?

Would love to hear peoples' thoughts on Waterloo and Kitchener as places to live, and on the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University in general.

Haha. Maybe it's because I looked and felt like a zombie after a day and a half of (some delayed) flights and an unexpected hotel stay, but I didn't feel "liked" on a visit. That said, it was more the overall inaccessibility of the program and location for my particular short and long term interests that is leading me towards another program.

I think that you can, but consider that responses may vary. I had one situation where I had no funding (my second time applying, for an M.A. program) and got a very late, not very helpful answer. In other cases, the graduate director was very helpful.

To me, fit also means the culture of the department and school. This may mean very little when you are applying, as you don't know them and they don't know you - at that point it means that the department has scholars doing work of interest to you and somewhat similar to your own - but it can make the difference when choosing between schools. Good question!

I have been in a similar situation in that I had to request (more) funding. It's very awkward. I prefaced the question by asking if there were any stipulations on outside jobs or scholarships. Then I said that, unfortunately, funding/cost of living was a concern or factor in my attendance. I was offered a teaching assistantship. I also recommend contacting the Financial Aid office and asking about work study for international grad students, etc. Good luck!

Who else is waiting to hear?

That may mean all awards are coming from the Honorable Mention list.. so if your name isn't on the HM list (mine is not) you got neither..

Get involved in research, i.e. get an assistantship and/or present at conferences. In particular, present at large, professional conferences if you can. Work on a well developed writing sample of somewhere between 10 and 20 pages that can be cut or added to, if necessary. Start discussing your options with your professors. Research schools for professors and programs which interest you, reading faculty bios and articles that they have recently published. Study for the GRE.

Right now I would say I'm exactly in between WSU and two other programs. I have two other relatively well funded offers, and Wayne State offered me no funding the first year, but there are other reasons I might go.

I want a predoctoral award so badly.. It would really make a difference on where I go, I think. I also believe I put together a thorough application.

Yes.

Let's talk about what fellowships mean for future employment, if anything. My perception is that having a fellowship (even if it's internal and these tend to be given to accepted students a matter of course) is going to look way better on a resume someday than an unfunded offer or just teaching assistantships. I'm not even thinking about why it isn't smart to take an unfunded offer or the opportunity to do more research, though those factors ARE important to me.

Anyone have experience with or overheard anything about Giardini Bella apartments or Magnolia Ave. or Massachussetts Ave. in general?

Thanks, everyone. I'd actually be (at least) about an hour outside of Toronto. I hear, though, that the placement rate (in Canada) is very high for one of the universities to which I applied. I'm not necessarily going to rule out staying and teaching in Canada.

Wayne State? I was accepted, but without funding. I probably won't be going.