NotSpyderman

No, I didn't. I was looking for a program that offered the flexibility of dabbling in DH while subjecting me to the rigors of a traditional PhD program. I thought UT Austin lacked in the latter department, even though I know for a fact that DH there is very strong. Good luck to you, Scottstein.

Me! I was in this unofficial waitlist at U Washington that didn't convert and am accepting a UC Davis offer. UC Davis seems to have DH stuff at one of the centers, and not the margins of the program, which is refreshing to note. Overall, I am very excited about the option I have. And am looking forward to joining what seems like an incredibly friendly department. A few weeks back, I had heard 9 rejections in a row, and I had no hopes. Trust me, it only gets better with time. There is always the next time.

I know I am late but: Yes, I did.

And out of curiosity, any idea how long the restaurants/cafes in Davis stay open? Any places that cater to the nocturnal souls.

I'll be attending this fall, English. Thanks for your advice. I looked at DavisWiki, but there are very very few apartment reviews (esp recent). Generally speaking, which are some of the better complexes? And which are the worse ones?

That helps a lot. Many thanks!

Thank you so much everyone. Just applying for the Tourist thing. Wondering if printouts of emails would suffice as invitations to show for visa purposes?

Hi everyone, So I have been accepted into a PhD program at UC Davis and am planning to visit the campus on the visiting day. I just wanted to know which visa category should I apply for as a visitor: Business or Tourist. I am not sure which one of these would apply to my case. The university is ready to send me any documentation I might require but is reluctant to advise me for the visa category since I am not a student yet. Even the embassy helpline has refused to entertain my queries regarding visa category. Any idea which category should I apply for? Surely, international students must have visited campuses before? Also, when it comes to documentation for the embassy visit: Would printouts of emails (and official decision letter) do, or would I have to procure the same from the university through snail mail? Thanks.

Barring something unexpected, English PhD at UC Davis for me.

Let me tell you a bit about myself. I have a Bachelors in Engineering in Computer Engg. An international student from the middle of nowhere, I had only attended a few non-degree courses at a top-ish US univs in English, with decent-ish grades. I worked for a whole year, without ANY degree in English (or a related subject), having not given GRE Subject, trying to build a case about my suitability for digital humanities studies. I was applying only for English PhD programs and of the 10 places I applied, 9 rejected me. With such a profile (or the lack of one) and a background that involved a more weird career turn than yours, I had no reason to expect an admit. I got into UC Davis, but had I been rejected ( was perfectly plausible, and I was thinking everyone had rejected me until last week), there was no way I was thinking "I am not good enough." If anything, it just says "I MAY not be good enough right now." Our lives are long and unpredictable; there is virtue in chugging along and believing in ourselves, as long as we give ourselves enough elbow-room to demand improvement from self. If you want it badly enough, you'd work towards getting it, and there is a decent chance you'd get it. Rejections are the last bits of paper I'd use to judge myself. And breakups and emotional stress may feel connected to your academic scenario, but they really aren't. Keep those thoughts aside while you think about your academic/professional life. There are multiple ways of going at it again, and you mention some of these. None is better than the other (general rule: don't take on a lot of debt, tho.) It depends on where you want to go, and how you think your case will be strengthened by one or the other of these options. Also, depends on what would you rather want to do. Dust yourself up, and move on. You'd do better things in life, that's a surety.

"Almost no one fits in": That's comforting. Also, a huge, massive thanks.

Thank you so much; that helps a lot. Do you personally suggest university housing stuff? Are the apartments any good? How is the milieu? Any idea? P.S.: I am sorry if I ask pedestrian questions, but I am completely clueless, and slightly uneasy.

Hi everyone, I have almost zeroed in on Davis as my next destination. PhD in English. I was going through Daviswiki, trying to find info on apartments but it seems like too much information, and mostly focused on undergrads. I wanted, either a studio or a furnished one bedroom (with a personal bathroom), really really quiet. Davis looks like a pretty safe area, so no concerns there; and cute, small and artsy is something I'd love, but I was wondering 1. when should I start looking for apartments? 2. would I get something like what I want under 700-800? 3. Is it possible to stretch 18500 for 12 months in Davis? My costs are low usually, and I am a teetotaler, and 4. how to start looking for an apartment, sitting 2 oceans away from Davis. Also, how welcoming are the people in the city? As an international student with an ethnicity that differs from that of most of the town residents, I was just slightly apprehensive. How is the campus housing? Would that be worth exploring?

I have no idea how many do, and I don't know many (any?) who have applied apart from me, but I took bets all over the country and applied for PhD programs in English (or lit or media studies). Bonus points for weirdness: I come with just one degree- in STEM.

OK. Thanks everyone. *heartbeat back to normal*

This community is incredible. Thank you all for the support and advice.

Hi, I applied to a number of places for DH-New media types studies. My interests in Digital Humanities are quite flexible, and tend to steer towards the qualitative in the digital rather than the quantitative in the analog. I have so far been rejected from every place bar one, UC Davis. Which happens to have a growing DH scene. I was hoping for an acceptance from elsewhere so I am still not sure as to whether I will take up the offer. But yes, would be great to connect with other DHers. Also, among other great schools, I'd seriously suggest looking at UChicago. Stanford (obv) and Columbia have a great program as well, as do Duke, UTA and Brown.

We could all be.

Hi everyone, I have been a perpetual lurker here (mainly because I lost my GradForum Username & Password). First up, congrats to all you seriously talented folks. You guys are incredible. Also, I have had rejects and implied rejects from like 9 places (so I thought I really didn't belong here) before I got an acceptance from UC Davis (that too, 10 days after the first acceptance was sent). Now I was wondering if anyone could give me some inputs on how good is UC Davis before I make a decision. It is hard, I read, which is great! It has a great New Media program, which is great. But how's the English department's reputation on the whole? Also, the placement record seems very disappointing. My only decision right now is to take this up or wait for another year, work on my writing sample and go someplace better? Any inputs?

I am applying for all PhD programs in English this fall (except one, which is a PhD in Modern Culture and Media.) I have been trying to catch hold of someone from my prev university who has enough free time to read my Writing Sample and tell me how horrible it is, but to no avail. And I am pretty sure I am going horribly wrong somewhere with this one. So, I'd be glad if someone could spare some time and give me feedback on how it looks and where I can improve. I am applying for top-tier programs, and am looking at New Media / Digital Humanities as my areas of interest. This paper is around 20 pages long and has been adapted from a paper I wrote for a course, but I am pretty sure I have managed to drag the original paper back by trying to improve it. The topic is Spatiality of Twitter and how it interacts with Twitter short stories. If anyone could help me, I'd be thankful. I could offer my time in return. A second opinion on SOP, WS. Anything. P.S.: How do I get the paper? Should I post it here? Or email? Or some other way?

I get your point. Interesting. It is weird how different are the approaches of various admission committees. UChicago doesn't even want to hear about it, NYU recommends it but doesn't require, Berkley swears by it. A part of the oddity that is this admissions process, I guess.

I guess I'd need to kill it with my writing sample to have any chance whatsoever. Thank you so much. Is there any good list of decent funded MA programs that you guys can recommend? And yes, NYU recommends the subject test, but doesn't require it. Is there any reason for me to be wary of the word 'recommended' here?

My grad program GPA is nothing stellar, I admit. The lowest I ever went was a B+ but it was such a huge shift from engineering to English (and changing countries) that it was extremely tough for me initially. I improved by the second quarter (3.53 to 3.725), but had run out of money by then. The profs who gave me B+s are all happy with my performance (or atleast seem to be) and are writing me LORs (Would that be an issue? They seem to be very positive about writing letters for me (could they be faking it? ) , but would bad grades in their classes be a problem?). On the other hand, I have had a largely improving curve everywhere I have gone and profs who said I was a superfast learner. Both my univs don't have inflated grades, and on top of it, I took courses that graded strictly. Any way to capture all this on my application? Maryland was something crawling up on my list, and thanks for the other two suggestions. P.S.: I am committed to a top programs, even if takes 5 years to get there.

Hi all, I have a unique profile for a phd candidate in english and I was wondering if any of you could suggest me some good univs that I can apply to. Here is my profile: International student with a major in computer science and engineering (Yes, you read that right) from a highly selective school in my country: GPA=7/10 GPA in the three english courses in my undergrad school=10/10 Two quarters at UChicago as a non-degree graduate student: GPA in 6 english/comp. lit courses= 3.58/4 (+ one creative writing course with an A) GRE=331 (168 Quant, 163 verbal). will retake not taking the GRE subject test TOEFL score=117/120 Fluent in 3 languages (Hindi, Punjabi, English) and competent in Spanish LORs should be good, but we all hope that. No research that I can show one gap year after all of this I am looking at a new media specialization (One reason is that my background enables me to move all across the horizons of new media and into Digital humanities seamlessly). My writing sample should deal with something in new media (I am on it!). I had narrowed down on this list of univs to apply to: columbia, upenn, uchicago, duke, michigan ann arbor, brown, NYU, northwestern. Could you guys suggest my any other good univs to apply to? Is my profile even good enough for applications? What else can I do to improve it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!