coffeeandcomics

Hi everyone! Congrats on the acceptances. I'm considering applying to UNC Chapel Hill this fall, but I'm a bit confused about the funding situation. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Definitely. And I want to make sure I've exhausted all of my options to avoid that kind of debt before I take it on.

Exponential - thank you so much for reaffirming/echoing my parent struggles. It is especially hard to turn down an offer from a great institution (even an immensely expensive offer) when I have a mother telling me that it will be my "one and only shot" that I will "forever regret turning down." As if I don't put enough pressure on myself as is! I think your plan to consider funded MAs in the case of this next round of applications not working out makes a lot of sense. I think I had to apply to top-tier schools just to know that I tried, and now I'm feeling much more comfortable broadening my search (especially as I've been more conscious of other factors like cost of living, geographic location, campus culture, etc.) I do want to teach - and I don't really mind where - and I hope I will be able to accomplish that even if I do not attend a top 20 school. I love the work - the reading, writing, analysis - and I simply can't see my life without exploring that deeper, so I will keep trying this year and see what turns up. Thank you again for your detailed, and very encouraging response

These are my thoughts right now exactly. I am thinking that by next year, if going through the PhD track with a wider set of schools yields no success, once again, THEN I will begin to consider how much of an investment in an MA program I would be willing to make (and even then, I doubt it would be a $50G investment, which would sit heavily on top of my undergrad. student loans). And perhaps if I want to be careful, I will throw a funded MA app. or two into the mix if I find a program that seems like a good fit. Do you have a particular reason not to pay for an MA at MAPH? I'm curious now!

Thank you so much for shedding some light on this! I'm keeping IUB at the top of my list as I actually wouldn't prefer to live in a big city, and the entire atmosphere of campus and the surrounding community seems so exciting, welcoming, and stimulating. The 1-on-1 teaching load sounds sweet - and thank you for the tip on the shrinking incoming class! It's daunting, yet encouraging to hear that while spots may disappear, funding opportunities might increase. I'm from Boston, and the thought of $450 rent (!!!) is making me swoon

Hi Guinevere! I'm already gearing up for the application season this Fall, and I'm trying to take a closer look at IUB. My advisor went there and absolutely adored it. Can you shed some light on the funding situation? It doesn't seem like the PhD program is fully funded, but I'm not quite sure what partial funding would really look like or if I can afford it. It seems like there are some really exciting work positions, but I also don't know how competitive they are. Any thoughts?

Hi Everyone, Being fresh out of undergrad, this was my first round of applying to Phd Programs in Literature -- and my first receipt of negative results. After applying to 6 top-tiers (Harvard, Penn, Chicago, Michigan, Wisconsin, Columbia), I was rejected from all of them aside from the outlying MAPH offer from Chicago with no sign of funding. (A nice moment, but the cost - $47G, excluding living - makes me highly uncomfortable.) Now planning for my Fall 2014 applications, I'm conflicted. Several of my professors have recommended simply widening my search for PhD programs to look past Top 20s. (So far, I am particularly intrigued by U-Texas Austin, WUSTL, OSU, and Vanderbilt.) I also have spoken to several successful mentors who enrolled in Masters Programs that they felt assisted them in landing a PhD; on the other hand, I have heard that some PhD programs prefer those straight from undergrad, and that a Masters can essentially prove a waste of time and money. Does anyone have any more information they can throw into my cesspool of confusion? Or any information on Lit. MAs that might fund the study of 20th-century literature, gender and masculinity studies, and representations of the body? Or easily overlooked PhD Programs with similar interests? I am the first person in my family to go through this mess of a process, and right now, all my parents want me to do is go to UChicago's MAPH program because they recognize the name. Any advice would be appreciated.