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Agreeing with others--BC definitely sounds like your best offer. Placements at Brown, Cornell and WUSTL ain't nothin to scoff at and the fact that they're waiving the tuition and giving you TAships makes it seem like a no brainer to me, to be honest. I don't know anything about UVA or St. Andrew's programs, but I know MAPH is hella expensive. UChicago is amazing, but personally I wouldn't go ANYWHERE that charged the cost of UChicago's tuition without aid. Also, I don't know much about BC's master's program (I got accepted to it, but I'm not considering it), nor do I know the extent of your interdisciplinary/medieval interests, but BC has some cool resources for medieval studies -- their divinity school is hardcore and there are a good amount of solid medievalists there (Robert Stanton, Eric Weiskott). I applied there largely on the strength of their medieval theology and philosophy departments. Also, it's in Boston. A major plus.

Hm. Maybe Pre-logical. Conflation of micro/macrocosms, messiahs, etc. Things that illogically reasoned through via thoroughly logical methodologies. I guess that would make it 'Patalogical.

God, I miss los angeles.

Either that or the exact opposite.

Maybe too ugly, but you can find a decent pair of waterproof workboots almost anywhere for a fine price. I have a pair of Wolverine workboots that I got for like 60 bucks at a Macy's or something and they've gotten me through a landscaping job and three Wisconsin winters. I just slap some mink oil on them every once in a while.

Thanks for the helpful responses, iphi and Adelantero! I will definitely look into this. When doing loan exit counseling, I felt like this option was made to sound like doing so requires very dire and extreme circumstances, so it's nice to hear that there can be more flexibility.

Hey y'all, Wondering if anyone is going through a similar thought process to mine with regard to loans... I'm psyching myself up to go ahead and pull the trigger on making a final decision about what program I'm going to go ahead and start with, but the trouble is my grace period for my loans is about to end in mid-July and the program I'm 95% sure I'm going to be enrolling in doesn't officially start until late September (the school operates on the quarter system). I can take a tuition-free intensive language course over the summer which would be enough of a time commitment to theoretically (if the time frame worked) re-up my grace period, but the trouble is the language course wouldn't start until five days after my grace period expires. Ugh. I'd really like to keep that grace period from running out completely so I can have a little cushion after leaving my PhD program, and I thought taking the language course would be ideal for that, so now I'm scrambling to figure out what I can do. Should I just suck it up and try and find a summer job, or does anyone think I can find a way to work with the university on fudging the books a little so that I'm technically a student a few days before the "official" start date in the event I take a summer class? Any thoughts? I'm not trying to break the law, I'm just working with very limited financial resources for the time up until I start my program...

Thanks! Is it a top choice for you? It looks like you've gotten into some pretty awesome places for medieval lit already...

Officially turned down my offer at OSU, hope this moves someone in off the wait list. I got into this program and am trying to decide whether or not to visit. There's a good chance I'll turn down their offer since I have an offer elsewhere that works better for me in many ways (academically sort of, but also in a lot of non-academic practical senses)... but Cornell's program is so cool that it hurts just to write it off (it was one of my top choices). I'll try and finalize my decision A.S.A.P. :-)

I think it depends. My interests are pretty broad, comparative, and theoretical even if I'm (currently) "grounded in the high/late medieval periods." I don't think it's a coincidence that the two programs I'm considering right now are pretty interdisciplinary, comparative, and often theoretical in their orientations and that the places I got rejected from are generally more conservative and have a higher emphasis (it seems) on specialization. I dunno. Sure we have B.A.s, but I think it's kind of silly to be expected to be siloed off into our little insular academic boxes before we even start graduate school. I have no fucking clue what my diss will be on at this point and at the school I'm 90% sure I'm going to be attending that isn't going to be an issue. Some people (and programs) already know exactly what they want, but I definitely think there are some programs that would prefer students who seem open to change and experimentation. ETA: That being said, allplaid makes a good point though about small fields, which can vary from school to school. Resources for medieval work was important in my search, but the fact that the school I'm most likely going to be attending is more known for American lit and theory helped me a lot, I suspect: though there are wonderful medievalists across the university, the English department is NOT one that is flooded with medievalist applicants, I suspect, because there aren't many medievalist theory-heads.

Did anyone see the movie Mr. Turner? I just watched that this weekend and thought it was pretty incredible. The cinematography was mindblowing -- these transitions from J.M.W. Turner painting to the landscapes he'd walk around in made the actual landscapes and his own paintings of them seem indistinguishable at times... gorgeous.

edit: oops, wrong thread

Quena, I e-mailed the department yesterday and just got a kind response saying that I wasn't accepted. Best of luck to you though!

Hey there! I just did my visitation at UChicago this weekend. When you visit, are you staying with a grad student host? I can't speak for how it will be for you, but when I visited I met a lot of graduate students who were all very warm and friendly and kind of made me feel at home right off the bat. I wouldn't be surprised if you find that you meet someone who will hold on to your stuff for a while in their apartment until you move to Chicago. If you're staying with a current student, maybe shoot them an e-mail about that? As for apartments in general, from my visit I found that a lot of grad students living in Hyde Park find places a little north of campus (I was staying off 53rd street) or a little east of campus by the lake. At least for my department, the stipend allows a lot of people to live on their own, and I'm going to be looking at places for around 800-900/month, which I think should be doable. The problem I saw with staying directly on campus is access to amenities. If you live a couple blocks off campus (again, look north or east especially), you'll be in Hyde Park proper with plenty of access to grocery stores, restaurants, etc. I didn't meet anyone living in student housing though, so I didn't get a good idea of what that's like.

Nope.

So on point, thank you for your comments! One thing that gets ignored in these discussions about "oh lord, if I don't go to an Ivy I'm screwed" (mostly based on articles in the Chronicle and oftentimes, Slate, the latter of which tends to be particularly melodramatic) -- you can go to a top-10 (or whatever) school and still have as difficult time getting a job as anyone else if that school's emphases make it perceived as "weak" for whatever field you're trying to specialize in. If you go to Yale to study ComeBackZinc's field of Posthuman Cyborg Novels of the Long 17th Century (please exist, please exist, please exist), and they only have one person doing that while that field happens to be dominated by Florida State, GWU, WUSTL, Brandeis, and UC Santa Cruz (completely random examples) -- if there are jobs in that field, maybe you'd be better off going to one of those (comparatively) "lesser ranked" schools. So yeah, like fancypants said -- it ain't some monolith or "all or nothing" kind of deal. We're talking about statistics, which are easily skewed and never individualized for special circumstances (and specializations and uber niche fields are a huge part of academia). But yes, do let's actually talk about things (besides teaching) one can do with a lit Ph.D.! I'm currently a teacher, but before this gig I did a bunch of library work (everything from Reference and research assistance to uber-dry library science and cataloging projects). One of the things I'm looking into is being able to find work during my program getting summer work/internships at research libraries as well as finding lectureship/adjunct gigs too -- one of the reasons why I want to study in a big city is the increased opportunities for such work. One thing I'm looking forward to being able to do in a funded Ph.D. program is to actually be able to take potentially unpaid internships that interest me -- I was never able to do that in undergrad because I was always working and couldn't afford to do internships or take summer classes and things like that. My program will give me that opportunity. Just a personal example of my current thought process -- I'd be very much interested in hearing what other people are thinking too! ETA: I'm sorry -- I don't mean to make assumptions about where people have gotten in and what kind of opportunities people will have. My case will be different -- I happen to have gotten at least one funding offer that will allow me to do what I said and I don't want to make it look like I assume everyone has that same situation. I'm very fortunate. But I do think it would be productive for us to brainstorm what sorts of opportunities for work besides teaching university that can be presented in a Ph.D. program, realizing that each situation will have different variables.

Congrats on all the admits! WUSTL! U of O! Temple! Michigan! Beautiful! Lovely! Bravo!

I certainly am not qualified to say whether this would hurt your chances of getting a job and with how things are I'm not sure anyone can predict with any certainty (I think other, more "professional" fields like law are more predictable in this regard). To me though, this sounds like a nice offer if you really would like the idea of spending a couple years at that same school and can work a job there that you think would be fulfilling. I'm currently starting to try and think of ways that I can fit in meaningful job opportunities into whatever Ph.D. program I enter so as to keep my resume vital and diverse even when I'm in a program designed to prevent me from needing to get a full-time job, so based on your description it sounds like that could be a potentially good option. Especially if you eventually enroll in a Ph.D. program that will let you transfer some credits so as to get started on your orals and dissertation a little quicker. I wasn't working toward a master's or anything, but I worked full time for my undergrad college for the summer and fall after graduating and I found it rewarding. I got to do research assistance and help with curriculum and syllabus design and get some TAing experience while keeping my jobs at the library and it served as a really nice stepping stone for me figuring out my next moves after graduating instead of having to be thrown into a rather bleak job market (at least where I live) while also wanting to apply to grad schools (I was also able to take free classes and refresh my loan grace period). Obviously my experience is different and reflects a much shorter commitment though.

word. Out of upvotes for you guys above, but unraed, proflorax, and chanteaulafitte -- I would give you them if I had any right now. For the record, I agree with the people who say debt sucks and should be avoided if possible. Also about Ivies -- I know there are plenty of cliches about them, but plenty of people go to ivies who don't fit into those cliches. Any talk about elitism should not go so far as to take away from the intense amount of work that people put in to getting into those schools -- yes, admissions can be kind of a "crap shoot," mostly because of a lack of transparency, but hard work rewarded is never something to brush away. We should all be happy for people who get into the programs they want -- whether those programs are in the "top 100" or "top 6." Hard work rewarded is worth all our support and good wishes. I, too, would never advise anyone to go into more debt than they need or think they can pay off, but like I said, that's an individual choice. We're adults and can handle our own lives, and I think cases like NowMoreSerious's are very admirable. I'd also be interested in learning more about job markets in other countries. I'm not surprised by unraed's comment about England -- but what about continental Europe, or Canada, or Latin America? Or wherever, really. I know there are some Canadians floating around on here... There's also a Plan B thread already for people who don't get into their dream programs... I would also be curious about people's thoughts on plan Bs when they are in funded Ph.D. programs. Or in the M.A. programs they wanted, for that matter.

No, you're right. I wouldn't say it's vastly different, but still preferable. This is a good point. What you say about adjuncts is very strange to me; I keep trying to understand the logic of the various prejudices against this and that type of Ph.D. and I just can't. It's very hard to balance my abject pessimism about the state of affairs in this country and my unabashed enthusiasm for having the privilege of going to a funded graduate program in the Fall. I suppose realizing the state of affairs will at least make us more prepared to make alternative plans and preparations while in our programs. Has there been any talk on GC of placement in teaching jobs abroad? Because I feel like on a couple places I've gotten into/looked at there are several placements in other countries (for UChicago, I'm seeing England, Korea, India...). Anyone know the deal with that? Is the job market abroad just as stiff? Or is it just that most people try to stay in America for other conveniences? I'm curious about that job market though...

Yes. This is what I've tried to say before -- I understand when people say that TT jobs aren't glamorous or that the job market is hopeless or whatever. But I still cannot help but think this. I obviously don't know the people on this board personally, but all the people who've told me that shit in real life came from nice, comfortable, upper middle class backgrounds -- I honestly think those people will always dramatize the bleakness of a market more than anyone else. They can't handle change. Honestly, to me, no one put it to me better (and I know this will sound naive as all get out) than my advisor when she told me her attitude towards getting her PhD: someone offered us a living salary (yes, perhaps a modest one by some standards) to read books and become as educated as we can be. She told me that her attitude going into it was that even if there were no teaching jobs in universities she could always go back to teaching in public schools or being a maid in a motel. The point being, I've made a living doing some pretty unrewarding and downright shitty jobs and am currently working a job that a majority of people find undesirable. And totally fine with it. But I could do it more if I have to, and in my current situation I wouldn't even mind it -- I have no intention of letting myself get overly comfortable and "settling in" to academia while I'm in graduate school because I recognize that to let that happen is to let yourself get ensnared by all the contradictory bullshit of the academic pseudo-industry. I can scrape by and have no real problem being a little transient and ungrounded. I almost want to say if you have a problem with that, then maybe you should look into something else. I almost want to say that I would feel more comfortable moving around a bunch or abandoning academia to use my education elsewhere -- or at least feeling unattached enough from the fucking system to do it if I feel like it. I do feel a little wide-eyed and naive a lot of the time. I'm getting courted by universities I would have never imagined myself ever being able to go to -- they're offering to pay me to read a shit ton of books and torture myself over intellectual problems, and there's literally nothing I'd like to do more than those things. A little over a year ago, I didn't even know that that shit happened. I had no idea you could get paid to get a Ph.D. solely because a program was interested in you. My only stipulation is to never work for a corporation again. If I'm teaching public high school kids, or doing the day labor type work that I did in high school again, or bumming around between adjunct gigs, or working in a library, or joining the peace corps, I don't really care -- but the work you do purely for yourself, for your own edification ("cultural capital"), is something no one can take away from you except yourself. That's why I hesitate to talk shit about any program or say it's "unrealistic." I think it's foolish to go in to this with the same mindset as someone going to a graduate program to enhance their career. Is it worth going into debt up to your eyeballs? Probably not. I'd say not. That's me though. But anyone getting financial support to get an education that they think is valid and they think will make them more intellectually satisfied (if not "happier") human beings -- I feel I have no fucking right to tell them not to do it if they genuinely think that it will be good for them. What is there to lose, really? That's for everyone to decide on their own. The way I see it, if a system you think, hell, know is broken offers you money to do something you love -- take it, but try not to buy too heavily into the system that gave you that opportunity. Which I recognize isn't simple, easy, fair, or reasonable. So feel free to ignore me. At the same time, I probably shouldn't be saying shit because I've gotten in to some pretty damned good, reputable schools -- yet I can't get around the feeling that this fact gives me no real "security" in the economic sense of the word. In a way, I feel like having the opportunity to go to a good, reputable, "prestigious" school almost makes me more susceptible to getting snared in to a bubble of false security. Rant over. Going to bed now.

With that in mind, I'd still be interested in hearing a discussion about people working on the "margins" of academia. My interests lie largely in the fuzzy territory that is characterized by the overlapping of medieval studies and radical critical theory, and I feel like a decent amount of people in that "scene" are adjuncts, working at the margins of academia (like Eileen Joy, a hero of mine who left her academic job to do non-university sponsered, largely open source, publishing that mixes academic and critical inquiry with DIY sensibilities, openness to various levels of education and interests, etc.: please check this out if that sounds remotely interesting: http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2015/02/let-us-now-stand-up-for-bastards.html)and people who work at the "podunk" colleges and universities that are so maligned sometimes. It made my grad school search hard when a lot of people I would love to work with were at schools that either didn't have grad programs or were unranked. I agree with CarolineKS about the elitism and resistance to it -- what I always wonder is why we don't have a discussion on what we can do. A lot of us, even those here going to "elite" schools are very likely looking at spending some or a lot of time adjuncting and being kind of nomadic. I'd like to see discussions about taking these margins loud and active and vital. My UG advisor, an old 1960s/70s radical feminist-turned-medievalist and a dear friend of mine, tells stories of trying to put together teacher's unions at colleges and having little success -- I'd like to think that actions like that would be a lot more viable with our generation. I dunno. I think it's encouraging that a lot of the people I've talked to on here don't come from the "traditional" backgrounds -- are older, or didn't go to ivies, or came from working class backgrounds. Honestly, I get sick of academics incorporating things like radical feminism and marxism into literary critiques but letting those ideas remain in the bubble of research. I think we can find ways to balance our "traditional" academic environments with alternatives that open up these environments in ways that go beyond simply talking about non-canonical texts in the same old canonical journals. The elitism of the Academy isn't sustainable -- it's very important that we start imagining alternatives and experimenting with them.

...Thanks!

Argh, not English or Comp lit but I don't know where else to say it... accepted to Cornell's Medieval Studies Ph.D. program and Fordham's medieval studies M.A.... both with full funding...