kade.ivy

Great!^^^ Thanks for letting me know. I found out I got accepted there today. Wait-listed for funding. We shall see... Congrats again!

Congratulations! Just wondering-did you get an email from a POI or DGS, or a form email? Thanks!

However, what gives me pause here is your attitude toward the field and the job market. These days, I hardly know anyone who's going to grad school with the expectation that they will work at a a top-tier R1. NO ONE expects to work at a top-tier R1 these days--not even people graduating from Harvard. Thanks to all of you for the eye-openers. Obviously what is inspiring me to pursue graduate school is not the money but passion for the subject and for teaching. I know there are no guarantees in the academic world. I asked about these schools because I am concerned about optimizing my chances for employment in this rocky job market (although I do realize, like you say, that I could end up an adjunct, postdoc, etc. whether I graduate from a Vandy-level school or a low-ranked public uni). Thanks again!

No worries! My main concern is making a good, competitive salary. Maybe I should rephrase: I don't want my job options to be limited by the prestige of my graduate program. Thanks to all of you for your responses!

Hi all! I'm a first time poster who is just getting my feet wet in the world of grad school applications. I'm hopefully going to attend a top-tier university for a PhD in English. My research interests are American popular culture and literature, particularly southern literature. Vanderbilt seems like a great fit, but I am unsure of their "prestige" in the English field. I know Vanderbilt is a top-tier school, but their placement record for English PhDs doesn't seem too impressive. I want to graduate from a program that will open up jobs at a top-tier public or private university, so my question is will Vanderbilt do that for me? I'm also considering Emory and Washington U in STL for these prestigious universities I'm unsure of and as far as definitely top-tiered schools, I'm heavily considering U of Chicago, U of PA, and Columbia. Thanks for any advice!