Hank Thunderbrood

Some clarifications. 1. The USNWR rankings and Ivy League mean nothing, I was not referring to those rankings. WUSTL is a good example of a program that does not fare that well in the USNWR and is not an Ivy, but is clearly a top program. There are some programs highly ranked by the USNWR as well as Ivies that are overrated IMO. 2. Look at the data and talk to professors. It is well known that there is a hierarchy in hiring and there have been studies confirming that the vast majority of jobs go to those from elite programs (top 15-20 or so). Part of it is the brand, but these schools also have the best resources, faculty, and networking opportunities. There will always be exceptions and it's really not fair, but it's the general state of things. You're naive if you think otherwise. 3. The schools that can offer $30k/year stipends often own a lot of real estate too, which lowers cost of living. Columbia is a good example: the graduate school provides substantially below-market rent to its students. 4. The Starbucks comment was merely rhetorical. My point was that many of these low-ranking PhD and MA programs are exploitative, like Starbucks. The great thing about literature is that you don't need academia to enjoy it and I feel like some people applying for grad school haven't really grasped this point. 5. If you're already in a PhD program, my post doesn't apply to you. 6. If you fully understand the reality of all this and you're still committed to getting a PhD, then go for it. You have been warned.

Getting your PhD in English from one of the top 10 schools in the country (like Harvard) is probably a bad idea. Getting your PhD from school outside the top tier is just insane. Sorry, but this cannot be said enough. At least some of the Ivies offer stipends of over $30k/year so you're not totally wasting 5-7 years of your life if (and when) you have to switch careers. The schools that will actually replace the jobs vacated by retiring faculty will be elite private universities (like the Ivies, Stanford, Duke, Vandy, etc) and private LACs with big endowments (Swarthmore, Williams, Amherst, etc). You need, at the very least, a PhD from a top school just to compete for those jobs (let alone teach there). And even these schools are increasingly relying on visiting lectureships. Public universities across the country are under siege and the first jobs that state legislatures are eliminating are in the humanities. I have no idea what would compel someone to slog through a poorly ranked PhD program on $15k/year with no job prospects. I'm absolutely baffled by people who take out loans to pay for an MA. In both cases, you're better off working at Starbucks and reading literature the way it should be read (for fun).

Also, based on past years, I would guess that Princeton will extend offers this afternoon via phone and post rejections tomorrow.

Ah sorry for the mistake and congrats!

I would agree. But Brown admits received mass acceptance from the graduate school, not even from the department. To be honest, I've been really put off by the entire process of applying for graduate school. I mean, is it really that hard to notify everyone at once? The entire grad school process is very opaque, sometimes I feel like I'm applying to some secret society...

Unfortunately, I think if you didn't get an email yesterday from Harvard, it doesn't look promising. It appears they sent out a mass form email. I know someone pointed out that they notified over multiple days a couple years ago. But if you look closely, you'll see that the one person got a personal email from a POI days before, followed by what appears to be a mass acceptance email. The one person who posted a day later probably just posted on Gradcafe a day late. Hopefully I'm wrong. They do usually have a waitlist, but those won't be received until the end of the month because they notify via mail (which others seem to appreciate, but it just annoys me). Good luck to everyone!