[Fall 2014 applicants??]

Did anyone applied to a Spanish program? I know I'm in the wrong forum but the languages one is dead. This year, the programs have been taking longer to decide and just a few rejections and admittances have been posted in the results board. Any info is appreciated.

 

I applied to mostly Spanish programs. Our only shared application is to Pitt, but I've heard from 5/9 I applied to. I have an old classmate that heard back from Chicago, though

[Fall 2014 applicants??]

If I’m being honest, nothing about this post makes sense to me. Haha. However, because it came from BowTies, I’m going to assume it’s both hilarious and brilliant. 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake

[Fall 2014 applicants??]

I'm munching on some king cake.

Got the baby two years running! I'm a damn tyrant!

 

 

Be careful not to ingest the babies, then you'd be Cronus

[Grad School Resolutions?]

While this resolution applies to my pre-graduate school life, it nonetheless serves to better my time (and health) during my studies: I'm quitting smoking. Yikes. 

 

I.am.with.you.on.this. x100

 

I'm in the middle of attempting the same. PM me anytime if you need a solidarity boost.

[Should I do an unfunded MA?]

To echo:

 

I have always been told not to pay for grad school. If they offered full-funding, then I'd say take it if you want to. There are some schools that don't like to take MA students, but plenty that do. I'd be more concerned with the debt. As someone who has over 60K in undergrad debt, it wouldn't even be an option for me. It all depends if you think you can afford it. 

 

 

Horb has a great point about the debt question. To piggyback on a couple of the other sentiments shared on this thread, you could look into other options for your gap year. I did AmeriCorps during the time between my BA and MA, and it was a great experience. I learned to live on a budget, gained some cool connections and experience in the non-profit field, and paid down a sizable portion of my student loans through the educational grant. There really are plenty of benefits to taking a vacation from academia by getting a 9-5.

[keeping it suave in the phone interview....(eek)]

Not a grad phone interview anectdote, but one from undergrad. I remember being so nervous at an interview with a Princeton alum that I said flambé instead of Flaubert. My only advice to you from this is not to confuse your culinary arts with your literary ones

[Spanish/Hispanic Studies 2014]

I am waiting to hear about PIttsburgh. Has someone heard from them?

 

I haven't heard anything from Pitt yet either.

[Fall 2014 applicants??]

Very likely I'm shooting blanks this year too, but I'm actually okay with that. I know I can do better, and I will do better. Minor setback and change of plans, I suppose. Of course I would be insanely and wonderfully surprised to get an acceptance from one of the schools I have left, but this seems unlikely. I have learned where my weaknesses are though, and hopefully that will help me when I try again.

 

despejado, I saw some time back you were considering applying to the Villanova MA. I finished my MA there in Hispanic Studies last year, and while not the same thing, I'm available if you want to chat about the programs, etc.. I was shut out from PhDs my first go as an undergrad but this second try after the MA has yielded a few acceptances so far. Outside of USCD's Lit program I haven't been accepted to any other programs that are relevant to this thread, unfortunately.

[Fall 2014 applicants??]

Well, I just spoke to the DGS of the only program that I applied to, and I am first on the waitlist. Simultaneous relief and terror. There were four offers made. It feels weird to have one's future hinging on the decisions of four strangers.

 

Best of luck!! You definitely deserve it in my book, if only for your username referencing Kafka on the Shore.

[2nd-time applicants -- how do you maintain your confidence?]

I agree with Iphi. Work on your application and any gaps you see. 

The first time I applied I was in the final year of my undergrad and I got rejected across the board. Since then I worked for a couple of years and did an MA in the UK, and now here I am applying again, with a significantly better application (in my opinion, and I've got one acceptance so far). 

 

 

This. For one, learning to cope with rejection will come in handy in the future, especially in this field. But beyond that, if you have to find another option, do so. You know that if after the dust settles you wish to go for round two with the PhD applications you have about a year to kill before you are accepted and start classes. Take that year to try out a new field, work a crappy (or awesome) job and pay down student loans, or simple cultivate some kind of skill. You may just find your calling or feel even more resolved when telling your friends and family that you'd like to dedicate yourself to literature as opposed to becoming a lawyer. Seriously though, it's not a bad thing to step back from academia every once in a while.