Minnesotan

That might not be the healthiest advice. Some people would do well to "settle" for less than their dreams, if their dreams are unrealistic, or if they place too much importance on prestige (which seems to be a trend around here). Five years from now, wouldn't you rather have a phd from Iowa than 5 rejection letters from Harvard?

*evil grin* I wouldn't dream of it, britt! *rubs hands together malevolently*

That's not even funny to joke about. Shame on you!

Freakingout: sorry about the extra spam in your forum today. I was jerking around with the moderator control panel and thought to myself, "How deliciously evil would it be to, instead of deleting all of my spam for the day, move it into another moderator's forum, and let him deal with it?" Well, having been carried away by my devilish nature, I gave it a shot. Unfortunately, I forgot about that other side of my nature - you know, the one that doesn't enjoy kicking puppies or stealing lollies from children (I forget what that side's called; I don't see it that often). That side said I had better come apologize. (Okay, so the real story is that I did it accidentally. Elaborate lies are so much better than mundane truths, I find.)

edited out

Damn stubborn English nerds! =)

Is having five foci truly focusing? Perhaps "generalizing in contemporary fiction, gender studies..." would be more accurate.

I think the Canucks are more concerned about hitting their target number of admits precisely. Any U.S. school will admit, for instance, 30 in hopes of getting about 10 acceptances - if they're over or under by a few, oh well. York and UofT keep sending out waves of acceptance letters throughout the summer (at least in some departments). But, unless York or UofT are your top choices, I wouldn't worry about it. Pick the best offer you've gotten and go with that.

That was surprisingly less pompous than other correspondence I have seen from UT. Still arrogant to an extreme, but not as much as they usually are.

Definitely a fellow humanities student. You know those econ nerds are getting $2k rebates on the same pay scale. Just another case of the truly important disciplines getting the shaft! lol

I; too; hate when people do that. It's the worst!

I don't think any Canadian schools take part in the agreement that sets an April 15th deadline. I know my UT and York applications from last year took me into the summer before receiving acceptance. If you have an offer from an American school, you might want to give them a polite phone call to let them know.

You don't need a release letter if reneging on an offer without funding. That's the exception to the April 15th "rule."

I prefer to think of myself as having a keen nose for irony. You have to admit, it was worth a chuckle.

And to think you were rejected from a graduate program in English!

Wow. For once, I think I would agree with someone if they sent in an appeal. That's just not right!

I could explain it, but I would make myself blush.

If they're major U.S. schools, then April 15th is the *acceptance* deadline (i.e. where the student must accept an offer and reject the rest). After that, if you haven't accepted an offer, you best hope someone goes to their waitlist.

I have yet to hear of anyone being recommended by a department, then being rejected by a faculty/college of grad studies. I would bet, unless there's something very funky going on in your application, that you're good to go.

Perhaps I'm easily amused. I blame Polybius, and the mental stress he has caused me this semester.

If you're female, I'll accept you into my "program." *ahem* (Nevermind me. I just finished my penultimate research paper for the term. I think a wire snapped in the process.)

I am referring to the "Martha Stewart Anal Action" posts I keep deleting. They are kind of amusing.

I would have set aside more money for bribes.

History phds average 6.5 years to complete these days (according to a study I read in a recently published grad prep book; I hear horror stories about people taking 8 years!). That means, despite the investment of time, people are a little more free to, say, take a 2/3 load when teaching, or what have you. Maybe he was part timing it for a year or something, but I had a 4th year phd candidate in the seminar I just finished. Again, if something looked highly relevant to my dissertation topic and I was in my 3rd or 4th year, I would probably go audit the course. As for the intellectual inbreeding, I'm sure you're right - the average IQ of the room stays the same. However, the potential for introducing new and varied experiences decreases. The likelihood of introducing a new approach, one not taken at the present school, is reduced. And, pardon me for saying it, people who do their undergrad-ma-phd in the same school are sometimes relying on the kindness of professors to fill in the gaps in their application packages (which some are quite willing to do). Lower quality people are going to get in because a certain professor likes them. It used to be people were shocked when someone did an ma at one school and a phd at another. To me, it seems a better way to go. New experiences, new people, new pedagogies, new connections to be made with other grad students and professors... invaluable! Anyway, we're way off topic. I like York just fine, but I plan to leave if I get a good offer next year. If you already realize the situation the college is in (being located in the middle of nowhere), then you'll probably love grad school here.

The only people in my program who can't seem to hold their own have backgrounds in education, or grandfathered their way in with a B.A. from York. The others I've met have been interesting, intelligent people who have traveled extensively; great folks to have a beer with. I think you'll see the same thing in most any grad school, though - there will always be plenty of teachers, and insiders taking advantage of a university's willingness to intellectually inbreed, to lower the average IQ of a room (or, at least, the life experience that greatly contributes to the community's knowledge). As for the 'degree factory' impression, of course it depends upon the program and student in question. I've taught some exceptionally bright kids who do very well in smaller programs, and some unbelievably shallow and ignorant kids (Paris Hilton look-alikes and those guys who only speak if it's hockey-related) who rightly have no desire to separate themselves from the other 200 students in lecture - as long as they can skate through unnoticed, they're happy with their C. Anyhoo, it's a bit different in grad school, no matter where you go. As an undergrad, you were separated by class most of the time (freshman composition, senior seminar, etc.), only mixing with people a year above or below you. As a new grad student in the humanities, you're often thown into a seminar with a bunch of third- or fourth-year phd students who have done a helluva lot more reading than you, and who have found their groove, so to speak. It's amazing when I think about the difference in the level of discourse between a class I took at my undergrad (all of us were seniors and history majors) and the one I'm in now, only a year later. It's like two different worlds.