ArthChauc

I'm inclined to disagree with you. 

First - I can't imagine "my parents are paying my bills" is the kind of privilege that most humanities professors want to surround themselves with. This isn't an insult - I'm just looking at my profs and I'm keeping my finger on the pulse of the blogs at The Chronicle. 

Secondly - I really doubt fiscal security is a criterion when building a class. Departments build classes and select students for their intellectual capabilities.

Second-and-a-haf-ly - HOLY SMOKES! Win/Win? is this to suggest that the standards for people who can pay their own bill are somehow magically lower? You recognize this right? and you're okay with it? 


 

Just got awarded a fellowship. *sighs*
 
Making it really hard for me to stay in California at this point. I don't want to leave home, but it'd be idiotic to turn Urbana's offer down, especially now with this fellowship.

I am a misogynist, so what.

Tricia, I was not even speaking towards or about you, so pipe down.

Hello, I'm a Medievalist AND I "desire to one day get a job as a professor in English". Thank you for delivering to us the general theses of every Chronicle article written in the last two years. You and Rebecca Schuman should probably do lunch. 
 
...anyway...
 
If I wasn't desperately in love with Zinc's oh-so-beautifully upbeat and inspirational portrayal of the wasteland that we call academia (or if it just never comes to fruition for me, which it very well might not) I would like to be in politics--school boards, speech writing, city council--or be a mechanic. I love anything with an engine and watch a lot of F1 and just love cars in general. My fiancé claims I'm the weirdest woman he's ever met. But seriously. All it takes is looking at the new Audi/BMW series...

I read some of the responses to this post and laughed out loud. I wish I had enough time to blog about how ridiculous some people are in academia, but alas thesis writing and worrying about myself take too much time. 
 
People talking about how anything ranked 50+ is a waste of time...seriously? I have friends who graduated from an 100+ Ph.D program who are now tenure track at North Carolina, Syracuse, and UT Austin. Did I mention that they were on the market for less than two years? 
 
If you have faculty that are chastising you for schools that interest you, it sounds like you need to work with people who are more in tune with your academic aspirations. If one of my professors acted like that about a school that I was interested in for nothing other than the ranking I would have run the opposite direction--that person clearly cares less about what you want as a student than they do about something as arbitrary as a number next to a school.
 
Also, don't think for a second that rankings always speak for the quality of a graduate program or the strength of staff--this is apparent in that New Mexico, Loyola-Chicago, and St. Louis are all EXCELLENT schools and are ranked in the 70-100 spots per US News and World report. Hell, Baylor is ranked 121 and anyone who's even read through their faculty knows that's far from the truth--I know this because there are Baylor applicants all over the Lit/RhetComp boards and they clearly get that. 
 
At the end of the day you have to do what's good for you. If that's a Ph.D, do it. I don't know where this entitled bullshit way of thinking has come from, but I'm certainly glad I'm not part of it. It's very clear how people on these boards look at universities/scholars that don't fit into their desired demographic and it's not at all attractive to me. I go to a small MA program and our faculty is made largely from Minnesota, UVA, and other top 20ish programs and churn out graduates who are regularly placed at fantastic tenure track and visiting programs. I think people like to say "rankings matter" and then ignore all of the times that they don't make a difference. You can be a lame duck in a top twenty program, but see how far the name of that Ph.D takes you vs. working your ass off at a lesser known program and getting your name out there. At the end of the day--if you want to be tenure track--the most important things that matter are the work that you do and who you know in the business. I know we like to pretend that we're above networking in the academe, but that's just untrue. 
 
/endrant 

Just wanted to add that when I was applying, my professors really tended to emphasize the "produce excellent work" part over the rankings.  (Although, to be clear, they still thought it was important to take rank into account.)  If you want to land a position that involves research, a killer dissertation in a hot area from a top-100 school can trump a more boring one from the top 10.  

I started my MA at 22 as well. I've already been admitted to one PhD program so I'm excited to start my PhD at 24 and get married in 10 months. Woo!

Just received my first acceptance! It's no Berkeley or Duke but it's definitely comforting and an extremely strong offer--full medical/dental/vision and 16k a year! 

I have to ask... The last couple of weeks have been very eventful for you on this forum. Some arguments about this and that, and now this account of cyberstalking and resentful coworkers... Is there any chance that you are maybe also posting as Redlight in this thread for dramatic effect because the other day someone was questioning your CV? A lot of the phrasing sounds somehow similar. I apologize if I'm wrong. It's just that I've never seen this much drama on GC. Like I say, sorry if wrong.

I'm not going to devote my time or energy to responding to whatever that was above. Disagreeing is one thing, ignorance and blind hatred is another. I feel really sorry for you that something that was not directed at you upset you so much. 
 
As I think we're all aware (and I'm speaking about myself at this point), tone is hard to convey over the internet. I hope it's very clear to everyone that I don't have any particular issue with anyone on this board. My "dude" and "bro" comments were sarcastic. Also, I hope Toe (the fact that that's a shortening for your username is funny) knows that my own feelings about rankings have nothing to do with me trying to tell people that everyone should think the way that I do--I'm only giving my opinion from my own personal experience. I think you might have missed it, but I complimented Toe (ugh) saying that I thought (he? she?) probably had a good overall packet that lead to acceptance. 
 
I don't even know what to write at this point, haha. I read the post and just started laughing. I think this thread has provided a lot of good discussion and back-and-forth over a topic that's widely debated and has many different viewpoints. I don't believe one of them (including my own) to be the "right" one, but I think they all provide insight toward the process of choosing schools to apply to and choosing schools to attend. 
 
For that reason, I think the thread should remain up. 
 
If I, as a female, wasted my time responding to every instance of misogyny and ignorance I face daily I wouldn't have time to breathe. I guess this just goes to show that being a grad school applicant doesn't necessarily make you intelligent...or even a decent person. 

Thanks bro and of course congratulations dude. Also, I'm a female. All I know is that I'm glad that I have professors that care about me who are writing for me. I have also, as of last night, been admitted to a top program (in the twenties, I've discovered), so let's not assume that just because I advocate for people ignoring rankings and finding a good fit for them that that must somehow mean that I have no interest in any other programs. 
 
Obviously, my sentiments don't apply to someone who ardently believe in rankings because, well, I'm responding to the post at large and not trying to sway someone with a strong opinion. Also, do you really think one person's letter did the job for you? I'm sure you had a strong packet as a whole. 

(Sidenote: does anyone else think it's funny that you are limited to how many upvotes you can give per day? I laughed when the box popped up and read "you have reached your quota for positive votes for the day". In my mind it was like, "Alright, Arth--that's enough positivity, go back to your melancholic self".) 

(Sidenote: does anyone else think it's funny that you are limited to how many upvotes you can give per day? I laughed when the box popped up and read "you have reached your quota for positive votes for the day". In my mind it was like, "Alright, Arth--that's enough positivity, go back to your melancholic self".) 

Seventeen schools sound divine. I applied to 12 and have heard back from 3. An acceptance came for me yesterday which helped my two-rejection streak, but I'm just ready to hear back from them all already. Even if they're all rejections. 
 
I bet most people here are on the same page. 

I'm not going to devote my time or energy to responding to whatever that was above. Disagreeing is one thing, ignorance and blind hatred is another. I feel really sorry for you that something that was not directed at you upset you so much. 
 
As I think we're all aware (and I'm speaking about myself at this point), tone is hard to convey over the internet. I hope it's very clear to everyone that I don't have any particular issue with anyone on this board. My "dude" and "bro" comments were sarcastic. Also, I hope Toe (the fact that that's a shortening for your username is funny) knows that my own feelings about rankings have nothing to do with me trying to tell people that everyone should think the way that I do--I'm only giving my opinion from my own personal experience. I think you might have missed it, but I complimented Toe (ugh) saying that I thought (he? she?) probably had a good overall packet that lead to acceptance. 
 
I don't even know what to write at this point, haha. I read the post and just started laughing. I think this thread has provided a lot of good discussion and back-and-forth over a topic that's widely debated and has many different viewpoints. I don't believe one of them (including my own) to be the "right" one, but I think they all provide insight toward the process of choosing schools to apply to and choosing schools to attend. 
 
For that reason, I think the thread should remain up. 
 
If I, as a female, wasted my time responding to every instance of misogyny and ignorance I face daily I wouldn't have time to breathe. I guess this just goes to show that being a grad school applicant doesn't necessarily make you intelligent...or even a decent person. 

Hello, I'm a Medievalist AND I "desire to one day get a job as a professor in English". Thank you for delivering to us the general theses of every Chronicle article written in the last two years. You and Rebecca Schuman should probably do lunch. 
 
...anyway...
 
If I wasn't desperately in love with Zinc's oh-so-beautifully upbeat and inspirational portrayal of the wasteland that we call academia (or if it just never comes to fruition for me, which it very well might not) I would like to be in politics--school boards, speech writing, city council--or be a mechanic. I love anything with an engine and watch a lot of F1 and just love cars in general. My fiancé claims I'm the weirdest woman he's ever met. But seriously. All it takes is looking at the new Audi/BMW series...

I read some of the responses to this post and laughed out loud. I wish I had enough time to blog about how ridiculous some people are in academia, but alas thesis writing and worrying about myself take too much time. 
 
People talking about how anything ranked 50+ is a waste of time...seriously? I have friends who graduated from an 100+ Ph.D program who are now tenure track at North Carolina, Syracuse, and UT Austin. Did I mention that they were on the market for less than two years? 
 
If you have faculty that are chastising you for schools that interest you, it sounds like you need to work with people who are more in tune with your academic aspirations. If one of my professors acted like that about a school that I was interested in for nothing other than the ranking I would have run the opposite direction--that person clearly cares less about what you want as a student than they do about something as arbitrary as a number next to a school.
 
Also, don't think for a second that rankings always speak for the quality of a graduate program or the strength of staff--this is apparent in that New Mexico, Loyola-Chicago, and St. Louis are all EXCELLENT schools and are ranked in the 70-100 spots per US News and World report. Hell, Baylor is ranked 121 and anyone who's even read through their faculty knows that's far from the truth--I know this because there are Baylor applicants all over the Lit/RhetComp boards and they clearly get that. 
 
At the end of the day you have to do what's good for you. If that's a Ph.D, do it. I don't know where this entitled bullshit way of thinking has come from, but I'm certainly glad I'm not part of it. It's very clear how people on these boards look at universities/scholars that don't fit into their desired demographic and it's not at all attractive to me. I go to a small MA program and our faculty is made largely from Minnesota, UVA, and other top 20ish programs and churn out graduates who are regularly placed at fantastic tenure track and visiting programs. I think people like to say "rankings matter" and then ignore all of the times that they don't make a difference. You can be a lame duck in a top twenty program, but see how far the name of that Ph.D takes you vs. working your ass off at a lesser known program and getting your name out there. At the end of the day--if you want to be tenure track--the most important things that matter are the work that you do and who you know in the business. I know we like to pretend that we're above networking in the academe, but that's just untrue. 
 
/endrant 

Passionate? More like an irascible princess. She might just be on her rag, however.

Fuck you! And your whore dog, too!

I'm not going to devote my time or energy to responding to whatever that was above. Disagreeing is one thing, ignorance and blind hatred is another. I feel really sorry for you that something that was not directed at you upset you so much. 
 
As I think we're all aware (and I'm speaking about myself at this point), tone is hard to convey over the internet. I hope it's very clear to everyone that I don't have any particular issue with anyone on this board. My "dude" and "bro" comments were sarcastic. Also, I hope Toe (the fact that that's a shortening for your username is funny) knows that my own feelings about rankings have nothing to do with me trying to tell people that everyone should think the way that I do--I'm only giving my opinion from my own personal experience. I think you might have missed it, but I complimented Toe (ugh) saying that I thought (he? she?) probably had a good overall packet that lead to acceptance. 
 
I don't even know what to write at this point, haha. I read the post and just started laughing. I think this thread has provided a lot of good discussion and back-and-forth over a topic that's widely debated and has many different viewpoints. I don't believe one of them (including my own) to be the "right" one, but I think they all provide insight toward the process of choosing schools to apply to and choosing schools to attend. 
 
For that reason, I think the thread should remain up. 
 
If I, as a female, wasted my time responding to every instance of misogyny and ignorance I face daily I wouldn't have time to breathe. I guess this just goes to show that being a grad school applicant doesn't necessarily make you intelligent...or even a decent person. 

I have lurked this forum for over a year and have never posted or created an account once, but your last few responses have prompted me to opine my mind. You, lady, are one hell of a bitch and are acting like an immature brat. You will quickly learn not everyone on this planet will agree with you, and that is perfectly fine. So pull the dick out of your ass and quick acting like a baby. No one gives a fuck.

Now ban me. I don't care. Never posted here before anyway.

Stupid brat

Critique of other posters aside, I truly agree with this. 

Haha, my alma mater is the main rival of M*chigan. I know the rivalry feels. 

I read some of the responses to this post and laughed out loud. I wish I had enough time to blog about how ridiculous some people are in academia, but alas thesis writing and worrying about myself take too much time. 
 
People talking about how anything ranked 50+ is a waste of time...seriously? I have friends who graduated from an 100+ Ph.D program who are now tenure track at North Carolina, Syracuse, and UT Austin. Did I mention that they were on the market for less than two years? 
 
If you have faculty that are chastising you for schools that interest you, it sounds like you need to work with people who are more in tune with your academic aspirations. If one of my professors acted like that about a school that I was interested in for nothing other than the ranking I would have run the opposite direction--that person clearly cares less about what you want as a student than they do about something as arbitrary as a number next to a school.
 
Also, don't think for a second that rankings always speak for the quality of a graduate program or the strength of staff--this is apparent in that New Mexico, Loyola-Chicago, and St. Louis are all EXCELLENT schools and are ranked in the 70-100 spots per US News and World report. Hell, Baylor is ranked 121 and anyone who's even read through their faculty knows that's far from the truth--I know this because there are Baylor applicants all over the Lit/RhetComp boards and they clearly get that. 
 
At the end of the day you have to do what's good for you. If that's a Ph.D, do it. I don't know where this entitled bullshit way of thinking has come from, but I'm certainly glad I'm not part of it. It's very clear how people on these boards look at universities/scholars that don't fit into their desired demographic and it's not at all attractive to me. I go to a small MA program and our faculty is made largely from Minnesota, UVA, and other top 20ish programs and churn out graduates who are regularly placed at fantastic tenure track and visiting programs. I think people like to say "rankings matter" and then ignore all of the times that they don't make a difference. You can be a lame duck in a top twenty program, but see how far the name of that Ph.D takes you vs. working your ass off at a lesser known program and getting your name out there. At the end of the day--if you want to be tenure track--the most important things that matter are the work that you do and who you know in the business. I know we like to pretend that we're above networking in the academe, but that's just untrue. 
 
/endrant 

Wow, way to choose a general comment I made and make it into the thesis of all that I wrote. "...and it scares me"? Seriously? I feel like I'm being scolded by a parent. Is that you, ima? 
 
Were did I say that prestige doesn't matter? I merely made the argument that you can go to a less prestigious university and still do well and that there is nothing wrong with going to a program that's "less prestigious" than another if you think it fits your needs best as a student. THAT was the thesis of my argument, nothing more.