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Not really a native Wisconsinite, but I do live in Wisconsin. I went to a private school out here, so I wouldn't know from direct experience. UW Madison and UW Milwaukee are both fantastic schools though and I'm under the impression that education in Wisconsin has been pretty well funded for a while. If you've already been given a funding offer, I can't imagine that they'd have any legal right to take that back and reduce it because of government budget cuts -- my main concern would be about the ability for other services to function and pay cuts for professors and workers. Definitely try and talk to as many grad students at both institutions to get an idea how the English departments in particular have been/will be affected. But keep in mind that it might be kind of a touchy subject with some people. Definitely check this out though. UW Madison's budget people have an email to which you can field questions about the recent slashes, which might be worth checking out (top left corner): http://budget.wisc.edu/budget-news/fact-check-how-much-is-the-proposed-cut-really/ That being said... have fun touring them! Both are fantastic schools and Milwaukee in particular is a great city.

Super impressed by everyone right now. Congratulations to all the new admits!

Quite the poetic feat though! It would make a great SOP for MFA programs... (lol I kid... chin up, WT, we'll make it through this)

Mark Fisher -- Capitalist Realism... decent analysis of this...

sestinas are awesome. I've written one to completion. So I've definitely written more about them than I've actually written them. Definitely worth it to check out some of OuLiPo's many variations on the form... One could quite feasibly write an n-ina using the schools one has been rejected from as the end-words.

Jeez, major congrats to the harvard admits/waitlists! woo!

Hm, I'm thinking sestina... Sorry to hear about all the rejections. Starting to think all of us Ivy rejects should get together for off-brand caviar and champagne some time...

And also yes. This is what we all want, right? The trouble is that science is profitable -- scientific research makes money. Humanities research doesn't. As long as our current capitalist economic systems continue expanding and growing, humanities will shrink and shrink. As a medievalist, I'm required to just say this: secularization and the introduction of capital is a bitch. Capitalism destroys culture. Done. Teaching is our main way of making money, but more and more people don't give a shit about what we have to teach because they know there's no money in it. Humanities-academia as an industry doesn't work because it isn't designed to be and isn't naturally an industry, which is why it's in such shitty shape. ETA: many heart shaped wishes to WT. Full disclosure: I just finished a day of teaching teenagers, so I guess I still feel like I'm being attacked from all sides.

No, I agree. I guess I phrased that badly. I meant that with a lot of the statistics and the patronizing speech about how shitty the market is, there's an assumption that this is an exceptional situation. I wasn't trying to be offensive or argumentative either -- just suggesting (putting forth a question?) that maybe the relationship between employment and tier isn't quite as dramatic if we put less emphasis on TT jobs? I dunno. Whatever. Nevermind. I was just trying to suggest that maybe its not so bad to go the 46th best school instead of the 21st or 2nd. Because the job market for the "dream jobs" sucks for everyone, and the differences in placement between the different "tiers" doesn't seem as radically different than the hierarchy of "best" schools seems to suggest. No degree guarantees tenured employment -- I was just trying to say that the selectivity of the school doesn't seem to be in proportion at ALL with the competitiveness of the degree on the job market. It wasn't meant to be an argumentative or radical claim, so sorry if it sounded accusatory. The only argument I was putting forth was that the elitism is a sham and a facade. *phew* lol ETA: Sorry, missed you all from morristr down. I agree with you all too. Lol. <3

Yes, Academia is super tiered and ruled by hierarchy. Economically, the system is completely broken. The elitism of the universities, though, extends, as empress-marmot implies, to individuals as well. That includes us. The statistics about jobs include a bias that extends to the way we look for jobs: we cherish the "dream jobs" off TT gigs at R1 schools. We have to stop feeling entitled to that. I can think of no other industry (and yes, it is an industry) where people expect that getting the dream is the norm -- we need to start diversifying and becoming more flexible just anyone else. I dunno. I think the job market won't be easy for anyone. Some "Lower tier" schools have benefits that "elites" don't -- more teacher training, more workshops and resources for job searching (including for alt-ac and non-ac jobs) and, in general, from what I can tell, more realistic outlooks. It's something I'm definitely considering as I consider my "differently tiered" offers (OSU and UChicago).

ROFL <3 I hope your carriage has a good pulley system I'm from Los Angeles too, midwesterner-by-transplant of five years. The weather out here has been rather schizophrenic, bouncing around between temperatures a lot. All those temperatures will probably translate as "cold as the ninth circle of hell" for you though. In March, it won't be so bad as February, depending when. If you're in the city, a parka and snow boots will likely be overkill. Number one rule in the midwest is to have layers available. Bring a winter jacket -- by this I don't mean a parka, just something synthetic that can take cold weather. Shoes, you won't need boots, but something water resistant and with some sort of grip might be good. If you're wearing a dress, bring leggings. Check the weather ahead of time and be prepared for it to be, like, 10-20 degrees warmer or colder depending on how far ahead you're preparing. I dunno, you can dress the same in Chicago as anywhere else, just be willing to throw a coat over if you have to. The weather can be unpredictable sometimes, which is why the weather is a totally legitimate and widely accepted form of conversation -- from small talk to speculative debates -- all over the midwest.

Time to dig out the old do-rag I guess...

out of upvotes... I dunno. I worry about this stuff a lot and I would think others would too. Maybe I spent too much of my youth being labelled as the "poor kid" wearing hand-me-downs and $10 jeans that didn't fit me and always looking like shit.

How can you go through the process of taking tests with ETS, wrap your head around the extent of the CIA's tentacle-extensions into almost every country in the world, explain the entire decade of the 1980s, or justify the results of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. presidential elections and the invention of drone warfare and NOT believe in the existence of the Reptilians??? Come on, man. How can you not have seen the yellowy lizard-like gleam in the president's eyes? Look again. He's a lizard.

Thanks for starting this thread! I'm jealous of all you UCLA admits talking about wearing sandals and t-shirts in February. Ugh. So I guess my questions will be limited to the midwesterners amongst us ;-) But it'd be nice to have input from men too. Do y'all reckon different schools will have different expectations? I've never been able to tell where academics buy their clothes. I was thinking of wearing the same sorts of clothes I wear for teaching when I visit UChicago next week -- corduroys, some Dockers shoes (classy, but comfortable), my faux-tweed jacket and a collared shirt, maybe a tie? Too fancy? My students always tell me I dress more fancily than most of their teachers (I was teaching about prejudice and had them give me their first visual impressions of me when they met me -- "uptight," "listens to classical music," etc. ) but I'm also a young teacher and just want to be taken seriously. Not so sure with academics though -- I went to a super casual SLAC and I just imagine, probably irrationally, all the bigger universities being much more "serious" and "classy" than what I'm used to as far as academic settings go....

YES. Do this. None of these things need to take more than a few minutes. I should have mentioned this though -- my interview was via Skype, and I was told ahead of time who the two profs interviewing me would be. Luckily, I had had some correspondence with them and had already gotten a feel for them. Even if you haven't done that, looking over their profiles or seeing some of the general type of work they've done can help. They know a little about you -- it can help to know a little about them too.

Relax. You're smart. You're awesome. If you are getting interviewed, they just want to confirm that -- you've already done 98% of the work. I have a very short track record with this -- one interview that happened to work out quite well for me. And I don't consider myself a good interviewer at all -- quite the opposite, actually. I do suggest not overthinking it -- it helped me that I had just gotten done with my first day at a very scary and stressful job, so I hadn't had time to over-focus on my interview. Read over your SOP and glance at your WS, because those are your most important materials -- if things have changed since you wrote those, this will be your chance to casually mention interesting developments in your academic life that may have happened. They know you through those documents, which by now you've submitted a few months ago. Really, try not to overthink it and get overly stressed about it. I have a history of stage fright, so I know this is easier said than done. But try to go into it like a friendly conversation, only with professors who share some similar interests to you. I think it goes a long way, or at least it did for me. Which is like, one of the TWO good interviews I've ever done, out of like, a million (for jobs and things).

I'd be curious to know y'all know these statistics, I've gotten three results and have none of this information...

Nice! If you go, I'm gonna have to ask you to go give Samuel R. Delany a big hug for me.

Woo-hoo! Major congratulations! What wonderful news!

Yeah, Richard Jean So at Chicago appears to be doing some really, really interesting DH work and at Chicago there's already a lot of cross-departmental dialogue and collaboration. My (limited) experience with DH is from the perspective of medieval studies and from that experience I know St. John's and SLU have a lot going on with DH work -- both schools have been pouring money into that general field in the past few years. WUSTL has also had a lot of awesome contributions to DH-informed research. Again, my experience is from a medievalist perspective, particularly with regard to medieval manuscript studies, but I'm pretty sure those schools are doing a bunch of great DH work outside of medieval studies too.

Yeah man, you should be proud of that shit! Even in the scenario where that's your only option, when you do get to go to a PhD program, you'll probably be way more prepared than people like me applying/going to PhD programs straight out of a B.A. UMD's an awesome program too.

Davis is a great school. I know less about the English program, but I know for USN (whatever that's worth) it's solidly in the top 30. In general though, Davis is considered one of the best schools in California. If you're worried about placement, I would inquire about non-TT and alt-ac jobs -- these are questions I plan on asking at the program I'm visiting next week. Personally, I think a lot of academia is headed in that direction. TT jobs are not things our generation/cohort should feel entitled to and we need to start asking different questions when it comes to employment. I would think with a PhD from Davis, even if the TT job market is tight (it's tight for everyone), you would probably fare well in California CCs and maybe in the Cal State system. California has the biggest state university AND CC systems of any state and I would think having a degree from a well-regarded UC like Davis would serve you well if you're willing to look for jobs and send your CV around to places outside of the obvious name brands. Something to think about. I'm a California native and most of my high school friends who bothered to go to college went to CCs, which have become completely overcrowded since the Governator slashed funding for state-run education and upped the tuition for UCs and Cal States. I would imagine they really need teachers.

Yeah, if you can afford to, it's worth it to take a lighter course load in your senior year. For me, it made it easier to give more attention to each class and to focus on writing my honors thesis -- and even then, I was so busy that a full course load AND applying to grad schools would have driven me nuts. I definitely advise to give yourself a little break if you can. I'm a workaholic who tends to overextend myself -- if you're anything like me, giving yourself even the slightest break can go a long way. Especially when you have health and/or personal issues. Feel free to PM me if you ever need help or to vent to a relatively anonymous stranger. Colleges/universities can sometimes be shitty at understanding that most of their students are adults with real issues and lives outside of their studies rather than overgrown children trying to put off "real life." I know right?? I'm terrible about this. I justify it to myself all the time though -- "I'm a temporary teacher who is underpaid and doing most of my work off the clock. Damned kids can wait." I'm a monster. Worst teacher. And 1Q84 -- don't sweat the small stuff! You have an acceptance and a pretty promising looking waitlist! One rejection from a premier journal, when you already were "lower on the totem pole" than the average contributor isn't the end of the world. I've never submitted to an academic journal, but I have to poetry journals -- getting told that people though it was interesting in its ideas is far better than getting told that your work doesn't have a place in the journal's "vision" or whatever. At least it shows your on the right track and that people were interested enough to read the whole thing.

Like kuraymino's mention of Columbia, I'm pretty sure UMD was one of the schools I applied to where I was asked to check a box if I wanted to be considered for the M.A. if not accepted to the Ph.D. I guess in such a case it could be considered a "consolation prize," but I don't think it is on the same level as some schools who don't offer that check box option. UMD is a pretty selective school with what seems like a pretty limited number of slots per discipline (it being what appears to be a rather large department). I would look at such a case as more like a two-for-one application than as a Ph.D. option with a consolation prize for its runners-up. At least, as WT has mentioned, there's a chance of getting a little funding for the M.A. and it's something the applicant can opt for while filling out the application. From looking at past results it looks like UChicago would often offer its PhD rejections (ugh, can we think of a different word than "rejects" for people turned down from programs? it's an awful word) unfunded offers for their ridiculously expensive MAPH program (a general Master's in the Humanities -- a great program, but very pricey). With Chicago's English program, there is no terminal master's, so such an option would, I'd imagine, sting a little more. Unless you've got like 50k lying around waiting to be spent -- then I'd imagine it's a pretty good option. UMD is the only school I can remember applying to that offered such an option; I'll post more if I can think of them. I know with Cornell, they ask you if you want to be considered for another program if you're not accepted to the one you're applying to (I applied to their Medieval Studies program and put Comp Lit as my backup...).