Philosobroad

yay I did too! I'm excited and terrified

thanks everything is helpful right now lolol which having said that, I'd love to hear from anyone at either place re. just how happy they are there because I think at this point the pros and cons cancel each other out

i REALLY LIKE them both and will definitely be missing out on something no matter what I choose why is this so hard

How do you choose between schools when you're a good fit at both but in different ways, one is a smidgen more name-brand-y, the other seems a smidgen more collegial, one has a lot of top-notch university resources for professionalization, the other where the department itself seems to have more focus on professionalization, one that has well-known recommenders while the other has (apparently) more involved mentors, one that has no core courses because you're free to build your degree, while the other has core courses that help you better get a handle on disciplinary conventions, one that's located in boring city that's close to a bunch of cool cities and the other which is located in a small college town? Helppppppp

yes! I've been an international student in the US since I first started college though, so I'm pretty used to it. Sorry I haven't been on gradcafe in a while, I don't want this thread to die! Have you already taken their offer?

Irvine is definitely an amazing fit, the atmosphere seems collegial and the weather is nice! I'll probably take the guaranteed on-campus housing offer, but I might splurge on the furnished apartments if they're available

Hello! I am strongly considering UCI

Sounds like the OP

Oh my God, I'm getting flashbacks. Don't worry, this is completely normal!!!!! That said, it's a good idea to try to figure it out before you start applying to PhDs (if that's what you're going for) - I didn't, which is why I needed two cycles to finally get into a program. I would suggest doing a directed study (or two back to back in consecutive semesters, if you can wrangle it!) with a professor you like. It should be someone who knows something about the field as well as has similar interests as yours, if possible. Work out a flexible reading curriculum with them of things you enjoy with the goal of writing a really good paper at the end of it all. That way you can go deeper into a topic as the interest grabs you, and and get a really good feel for and knowledge of a subfield that you really enjoy. The professor should be able to direct you to current happenings in this area and give you a really good grounding in it. Use this grounding, and the questions and interests you have generated, as the basis of your SOP, and use the paper you produce, after polishing it up as much as possible, as your writing sample. This will make your writing sample flow well with your stated project interests in your application as well, making you look like a focused candidate. (You can change up your goals in your PhD to some extent, so don't worry that this will box you in). Also, working closely with a professor will make them a really good recommender for you.

I literally just applied to a bunch of schools in the same area (and got one acceptance so far, which is nice :D) Definitely look at comp lit programs. You may have to work in two languages (though it's not necessary for some, as long as you're mixing regions in some way). Northwestern has a really good Asian Languages and Cultures department with some cool courses. If you can think of a compelling focus that uses Indian writing in English they would be a great program to apply to. Lehigh University has a small but really good (personal attention!) English dept with at least one person who works in Indian lit. University of Washington also has a good complit program with one India guy, but also a good supplementary South Asia Studies department you can work with on the side. Purdue school of interdisciplinary studies is good. UW Milwaukee has a couple of people doing india in their English dept. Louisiana State has one Indian lit person in their English department (but I've heard terrible things about the way they treat grad students, so tread carefully!). A lot depends on what kind of research you want to do on Indian writing on English as well, so make sure you have an interesting focus that is current but not done-to-death. If you have any questions about the application process (esp about emailing professors - which you should definitely do!) feel free to message me. I did this EXACT PROCESS for this exact topic for the fall of 2017 haha).