AutzenDuck

I just read my letter from UO—I was rejected. Congrats to those who made it; I wish you all the best. My status online still says "pending," so I guess checking it a few times a day for the last week was a waste of time. I do appreciate that I found out by a letter rather than checking online though. I'm not exactly sure of what to say about the school in general. It's a football school and a state party school. It seems like administration is more focused on sports success and appearance than academics, but of course the students themselves work hard and are driven. There's a lot of events on campus and the rec center is nice. There's a decent music scene. I guess it's hard to say much without knowing what college experiences and cities you're comparing U of O to. Weed is common. Local Oregonians (like myself) can spot out-of-staters when they have umbrellas. We just wear rain coats; it doesn't really storm or "pour" here much although it does rain (lightly) often and basically everyday is overcast (summer is gorgeous and warm). Because of that, you’d have to bring your umbrella with you everywhere, every day pretty much. It could drizzle a bit anytime, so it’s easier just to put your hood on. Enough about that… I like Eugene. It doesn't have as much to offer as Portland, but it's an artistic community despite the sports fans (I'm in both camps). There are several good restaurants considering the size of the city. There are a lot of homeless people and drug problems. Everyone has their bike/bike parts stolen at least once while they live there. Directly west and directly south of campus and near Autzen Stadium is where most of the undergrads live. The rental houses in these areas are trashy, poorly maintained, and the parties are... parties. The apartments by Autzen are bad too (although the websites make them look nice) and are not all that safe. I lived near Valley River Center by Delta Ponds City Park (beautiful park, especially if you have a dog). It’s a great place to live, but it doesn’t have a unique feel. You could be living anywhere, kinda sub-urby other than the nature park. The Whitaker neighborhood is “trendy” in the Oregon sense i.e. “hipster” if you must. That’s probably where I would live if I got in. There’s breweries and different cool things. You can look it up. If you want something more residential, parts of West Eugene (not the industrial area) or Springfield are a little homier. I personally like the atmosphere of Eugene. It feels a little bit like a small town with some of the advantages of a larger city. I think best parts of the state of Oregon are its nature (mountains, forests, rivers, ocean, waterfalls, nice hiking parks everywhere) and its somewhat unique culture. I guess I gave a lot of downsides, but that’s advice of what to avoid. There’s a lot of great things about Eugene.

I had good relationships with all of my profs. They were approachable in office hours and after class. Some took an interest in me and got to know me, helped me out more than what you'd reasonably expect. I didn't have a course with any of my profs more than once, so I didn't especially get to know any of them until my last quarter when I realized I really should make an effort (and I wanted to). Oregon (the school and the state) is laid back, not snooty or overly focused on individual status/success. I don't know what common issues are in university departments, but it seemed like the profs respected each other and had great working relationships with grad students. All of my profs were focused and driven, didn't waste time and were always completely prepared. Honestly I don't know if any profs there are overly friendly, the type to invite you over for dinner. It's kind of a big program and they are a little formal. I don't know if many profs are like that in big schools though, or even small schools. They do care about their students though. I had one prof who didn't seem to like me, but it wasn't a big deal. I think he just didn't like my perspective, my personality, or my religious beliefs. He mostly teaches rhetoric.

I went to Oregon for my undergrad =)

I had Elizabeth Bohls for an English novel class. It was my first year as an English major, so she taught me quite a bit. She is certainly dedicated to her work, and she was a little tough on me, which really helped me learn.

Today the first results were posted on thegradcafe.com for the University of Oregon--two people were accepted (no rejections reported). Congrats! I did my undergrad at University of Oregon and have applied to the Ph.D. program. I hope they get back to the rest of us soon. If you've applied or if you've been accepted, I'd be interested to know which professors you want to work with and on what subjects.

I'm applying at U. Oregon, and one professor told me that the students they accept don't often score higher than the 70s (percentile). Most in their program don't focus on canonical literature.

I'd avoid the third option; sounds like you have some wise insight about her. I think it's fine to ask someone you only had one course with. My major had 60+ teachers, so there was only one teacher I took twice, and I'm not going to ask her for a letter. Your first option should still be a good one. I don't think it should matter too much since they will know she taught at the school you went to. I'm just guessing though, still trying to decide who to ask to write a letter myself.

Roquentin and Lons, You make a good point that there is no accepted term across the board. I always used to say “Native American” because an “Indian” could be from India. Then I realized that “Native American” is colonial terminology. I still use it sometimes, but no longer with the idea that it is PC, or that it should be considered PC.. Even though it’s inaccurate in that India is nowhere around here, I use “American Indian” (and then shorten it to “Indian” thereafter) because many Indians self-identify that way and my favorite author prefers that term. But of course, some identify as Native American or with their specific tribe. I think that “First Nations” is the most common term in Canada, and “aboriginal” can work anywhere as well, but then you have to add more words to be more specific. I still have a lot more to learn about the politics and social issues, and until then I’ll be walking on egg shells. GuateAmfeminist and poliscar, I am also considering Texas. The prof recently hired to teach N.A. Lit at Oregon came from Texas’s program. I think Berkeley would be in my top two, but I don’t think I could get in. I’ll look into it more.

Lons, I probably hadn't realized that Lisa Slappey is not a professor. So far, I’ve only been able to find a couple schools with more than one person concentrating on American Indian literature. Thanks for your comment.

New to this website - is there a way to edit my first post? Thank you for your suggestions! I limited my initial search to top 50 programs, so all of your suggestions were new to me with the exception of Arizona State. Ohio State I looked at before, but somehow I must have missed Chadwick Allen. I appreciate your school suggestions so far as I have come to realize that I am not going to be as strong of an applicant as I imagined myself to be. I've also changed how I think about rankings and decided that my priorities aren't necessarily best served by going to a top ranked school although that may be the case for others. Other schools I have on my list are U.C. Riverside, Connecticut, Wisconsin-Madison, UCLA, Penn State, Illinois--Urbana-Champaign, Emory, and Rice. Two other schools which are out of my reach (I'm sure) are Stanford and Columbia. I also want to note that I am looking specifically for a literature program, not Native studies or American studies. I would be interested in a literature grad program at a university with with a Native American studies program as well, however.

I am hoping to study American Indian literature as well as other ethnic American literature. I have searched on my own, but I want to utilize your knowledge as well. Do you know schools with professors dedicated to American Indian literature?