bgguitarist

Let's just say starting out with a rejection did not boost my confidence levels. The possibility of completely striking out seems much more real to me, now. ...and, I'm obsessively checking all email / apps / results posts so that I can know the instant U Chicago starts sending out notifications. Unfortunately, my reach schools seem to be the ones reporting first. *whimpers*

I heard this...my department chair suggested listing multiple names, that way they know you're flexible and also you don't make yourself quite as vulnerable to department politics. Still, I'm fairly sure that the ad comm realizes that every Victorianist applying wants to work with Nancy Armstrong

Thanks! Glad you liked it. The fact that so many people underestimate the importance of education and teachers in this country only underscores how very much we need teachers. And I'll take all of the good karma that I can get.

Unleash Taylor Mali on that person! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGKm201n-U4

I applied to Chicago.

Got my first today. I was braced for it, but I completely underestimated how much it would SUCK and disrupt my entire day. I also have 7 more schools to hear from, but this rejection just made the possibility of complete rejection seem much more real. It was such an abstract possibility, before. Sigh. I'm turning my energies toward the conference paper I'm writing: it's gonna be kick ass and uber publishable.

Rejected from Duke. Figured it was coming, but it still stings.

Can we be friends? I'm interested in Anthro/English work with Victorian sensation and crime fiction

Sony Vaio Ultrabook. I'm a writer and an academic, so my laptop never really leaves my side and I needed something both light and powerful to get the job done. Honestly, though, I think that as long as you are careful with the MacBook Air, you'll be fine. That said, I've dropped my Sony laptop several times and she's still going strong.

I see what you are saying and, yes, to some extent, I do think it's her way of wishing me well and hoping I end up in the best place possible. She's also very uneasy about the purpose and relevance of an English degree. Thank you for the reminder, though: I really don't have room to talk about my mother and divine intervention, as this application process has made me strangely fatalistic. I guess it would just be nice to hear my mom say what everyone else on this forum seems to wish their family members would stop saying: "you are brilliant, you'll get in everywhere." If I get in, she won't be giving credit to my hard work. *shrug*

My professors recommended contacting the graduate program coordinators (or whoever the department recommends sending questions to) and asking them questions about research fit/the program in general. They will direct you to specific professors or even contact the professors on your behalf. In my case, the graduate secretary decided my qs would be better addressed by Superstar Professor, and put me in contact with said professor.

I have not heard of Linmark, but I'll definitely look him up! It seems as though the sh*t people say gets more #$%&#ed up the closer I get to hearing the results. That said, I recently stumbled across this article (which compares the academic job market to The Hunger Games), and I just want to make everyone who asks me about my prospects read it: http://m.chronicle.com/article/The-Odds-Are-Never-in-Your/144079?cid=megamenu Recent conversation with my mother: Mom: I know you like all of the programs, but which places do you like more. Me (foolishly deciding that this is a safe-ish question): well, I like the parts of the country that a, b, and c are in, but I'd be really ecstatic to go to any of these schools. Plus, I like adventure. Mom: *puts check marks by schools a, b, and c, AND THEN VIOLENTLY CROSSES THE OTHERS OUT* Me: *tries not to faint* ...don't jinx me. Mom: It's not a jinx, its god's will. You'll end up where you're supposed to. Me: *whimpers* ...I love how she thinks that I need divine intervention to get into a program (and not-so-secretly hopes that my getting in is not his will). Couldn't be that I'm good at what I do and have worked very, very hard to make it to this point.

The problem is, even when you do get married, they still give you the slant-eyed, why-aren't-you-at-home-raising-babies look/question. And they flip out if your career is the one that is determining where you and SO will spend the next 5-7 years. Sigh.

I really, really wish I'd had the foresight to do this. Sigh.

I haven't been coping well, but the contest I wanted to submit my novel to just announced when it's opening to submissions and now I HAVE ONE MONTH TO FINISH EDITING MY NOVEL! So, there's that...

Won't we all?

1) Are you the first in your family to pursue graduate education? Are you the first to pursue higher education in general? Technically, there is one other person in my family who has pursued graduate education (great-uncle), but that was for a DDS, which in my family doesn't count because anything medical is considered practical and English just...isn't. 2) What struggles have you faced as a first-generation applicant? Parts of my family are very redneck and anti-education (so sad). They've decided I'm not worth the time of day, anymore. *shrug* In terms of academics, I'm not only first-generation in terms of grad school, I was also home-schooled K-12. Adjusting to the university was very hard at first, but it became a place where I could be an adult and spread my wings away from my parents. I've had to justify this to my immediate family (who are very loving but also very opinionated about what constitutes a legitimate lifestyle/career. English was never on their list. They're even more baffled about Victorian literature). 3) What have you accomplished as a first-generation applicant? I'm actually very, very proud that I've won my dad over. He's now 100% on the English PhD team (possibly due to exhaustion and resignation). I've explained to him the many career options (teaching at various levels, professorship, teaching overseas, editing magazines, publishing industry, etc) and he seems to be okay as long as I have a plan and a few contingency plans. Haha. I've also worked my way through two degrees with *almost* no loans. Last year, I had to take out 5k to finish out my M.A., but that's not devastating debt. I hope. I wrote an 112 page thesis. I wrote a 72,000 word novel. I got married (and we're almost three. Yipes!). I'm now an adjunct at my Alma mater and a tutor at a local community college. I overcame my social anxiety and shyness (I'm still quiet, but I can chit-chat if I need to). And, I've managed to keep playing my guitar and performing locally throughout both degrees. I play folk with lots of strange and random influences. My songs tend to be folk/blues/bluegrass/punk inspired. 4) What has helped you reach your educational goals? The faculty at my Alma mater (where I got both degrees) are amazing. Without them, I might have given up. My SO and the friends I made as a grad student are also big supporters, especially since my family and childhood friends don't really understand the allure of higher education. I think another part of what kept me going was my younger siblings. I'm the oldest of five children, and I want my siblings to see that there is more than one lifestyle available to them. I want them to know we have options. I want them to know that it is okay to break away from the beliefs and expectations we grew up with. One of my little sisters is working on an Aeronautics degree, and says one of her options is NASA or commercial space programs. I think my work here is done *dusts off hands*. Edit: by "almost three" I mean our third anniversary is coming up. No kiddos for me, thanks.

I'll be finding out whether or not my M.A. helped in the next couple of months (*crosses fingers*). But, as someone who did not go to a prestigious university for undergrad (or M.A., actually), here's how I think the M.A. has made me a better candidate: more time to hone research and submit papers to journals; more faculty attention / help with said research; more experience and more focus (undergrad requires so much splitting of one's attention); more time to make academic contacts (faculty in my department as well as scholars whom I've shared interests or even just food/drinks with at conferences); teaching experience--although research is emphasized at the PhD level, I have access to TAs and GTFs right off the bat because I now have years of experience; and, last but not least, more time to become confident in and explore my specific field (and subfields) of interest. Now, whether or not any of this really helps me with an ad comm, who knows? I do know that, as a first generation grad student whose immediate family is working class and conservative in a very Ayn Rand, productivity=physical labor, capitalistic sort of way (I'm not bashing it, it's just not for me--as evidenced by my chosen career field), the only reason I am able even to think about PhD school is because I went for the M.A. first. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone else, but between having to justify my early B.A. to my family, having to stay local so that I wouldn't starve if I couldn't make ends meet despite working multiple part-time jobs, and having to somehow achieve more than just summa cum laude to stand out as an applicant, M.A. was my best option. My situation wasn't ideal in terms of applications, but I think it worked out for the best. I can honestly say my M.A. professors are friends, and they've helped me every step of the way.

*If* I don't get in (trying to keep it positive, today), I'll be looking for full-time instructor positions at community colleges in my favorite states. My SO and I are both beyond ready to get out of this tiny little town (both of us grew up here). Full time positions at community colleges aren't too shabby (they pay WAY more than part-time adjunct positions (sigh) and community colleges really like people with Master's degrees, in my experience. I'm also hoping to get a rescue dog. I've gone too long without canine companionship.

Sadly, I don't think even a Theology degree could please my parents. They're a strange combo of anti-institutional and highly religious. Asian Americanist, huh? Are you a fan of Karen Tei Yamashita? I'm not actually sure where she fits categorically speaking, except postmodernism, but I recently read Tropic of Orange and am in LOVE with it.

My mom keeps sending me sermons and telling me they are the "highest learning" and don't require student loans, supposedly unlike the PhD programs to which I've applied. While they might be relevant in a theology degree (although I doubt it, unless one were to study modern grassroots home churches), I'm neither religious nor am aspiring theologian. I'm a Victorianist. I've tried to explain the whole funding thing, too, but to no avail. Sigh.