margeryhemp

Finalist for the Fulbright to Belgium!

Ramzi Fawaz seems like he'd be a perfect fit for you at UW Madison. He does a lot of work on feminist theory and X Men, among other things. https://english.wisc.edu/faculty-fawaz.htm

RE: interdisciplinary opportunities 
Much of this depends on your program.  Specifically, do they allow you to take coursework outside of the department? Do they allow people from other departments to be on committees? Do they have strong programs in a wide variety of departments related to your interdisciplinary interests? Are there reading groups that cross departmental boundaries? Are some professors cross listed?  These things usually point towards interdisciplinary opportunity.  Some English programs are very insular.  In fact they are known for being insular.  Other programs are pretty open. For instance my program at UCLA is strong in Literature and the Sciences, even.  
 

You didn't happen to post as YoungCharlie earlier, did  you?

Tbh this sounds like a perfectly normal interaction with a medievalist.

I second this! Last year I chose the program that offered me the least $$ (UCLA) over other, lower-ranked programs. Not just because of its ranking-- on my visit with faculty, I fell in love with the department and its resources/opportunities-- but it was certainly a factor. I thought that I, too, would be living on ramen forever, but it's actually been super-liveable. Produce here seems to be a bit cheaper, so groceries don't run me as much; I got a roommate and an apartment that, though my half was equivalent to what I was paying for a one-bedroom back in Philly, is still manageable on my budget; and I'm still able to go out on the nights that I'm not swamped with work, plus save a tiny bit each month. Most of my cohort was actually able to find one-bedroom apartments in the West Side that would be pretty dang cheap split two ways (I'm talking $500-$700 a person, which in LA speak is cheap), so moving with a significant other would definitely help.
@NowMoreSerious is right-- within a matter of months you'll find out the cheaper neighborhoods and find the dive bars and restaurants that make it possible to both work and have fun. Money was my number one fear about coming to LA, but I'm happy to say that it's been much more doable than I thought it would be. Let the visits make the decision for you! And feel free to reach out with any other questions. Good luck!

I second this! Last year I chose the program that offered me the least $$ (UCLA) over other, lower-ranked programs. Not just because of its ranking-- on my visit with faculty, I fell in love with the department and its resources/opportunities-- but it was certainly a factor. I thought that I, too, would be living on ramen forever, but it's actually been super-liveable. Produce here seems to be a bit cheaper, so groceries don't run me as much; I got a roommate and an apartment that, though my half was equivalent to what I was paying for a one-bedroom back in Philly, is still manageable on my budget; and I'm still able to go out on the nights that I'm not swamped with work, plus save a tiny bit each month. Most of my cohort was actually able to find one-bedroom apartments in the West Side that would be pretty dang cheap split two ways (I'm talking $500-$700 a person, which in LA speak is cheap), so moving with a significant other would definitely help.
@NowMoreSerious is right-- within a matter of months you'll find out the cheaper neighborhoods and find the dive bars and restaurants that make it possible to both work and have fun. Money was my number one fear about coming to LA, but I'm happy to say that it's been much more doable than I thought it would be. Let the visits make the decision for you! And feel free to reach out with any other questions. Good luck!

Hi all! Congratulations on all the great news on this thread! I haven't been very involved on GradCafe this year, but I found the boards incredibly helpful last year as I went through the stress of application season. If anyone has any questions about UCLA, medieval lit, or anything else, please feel free to reach out. Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Yep.  I'm basically trying to hoard away as much cash as possible right now, since I'm probably facing a summer of unemployment in a new city, renting a room while throwing money at month of an old lease while I take a summer course.  My program doesn't start until late September and my current job (public school teacher) ends the first week of June, so I'm a little worried.  Oh, and I need to buy a new laptop, since the one I currently use belongs to the school district for which I work.  
 
I'm also taking an intensive language course to brush up on my Latin (which is basically free, so that's nice) and maybe putting together a reading group with one of my new professors.  Am I overestimating my capacity for money scrounging and academic ambition?  Most likely.  But that's okay.  Right?
 
For reading, I guess my recent routine has been just alternating between contemporary Italian philosophy, Philip K. Dick novels, op-ed pieces and twitter feeds on news and recent protests, and Portlandia on Netflix while telling myself I'm gonna get back to the pile of medieval English and Latin poetry I have in my office.  That is, when I'm not pretending to design Othello lesson plans and catch up on grading.  Minus the grading and lesson plans, I suspect this will continue to be the tune of my free time for the coming summer months.

This is a great topic! I just finished up my honors thesis and that was a real bear. I ended up falling back to my fiction roots and re-read Stephen King's On Writing. Which I always found helpful. Here's his top 20 hints to writing, which you'd think are only applicable to fiction, but in writing about literature I've found them really relevant.
 
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers/

May I extend or re-start the party? Because I've been accepted to the Book History & Print Culture collaborative program at Toronto and I really think I am going to accept!

RESTART THE PARTY!
 

 
Congrats

So I just found out today that I have been accepted from the wait list to Ohio University for the MA program!! I accepted the offer, and I'm officially a Bobcat! 

what has changed exactly since you last asked for advice and ignored all of it?

Congrats to everyone!!!!!!!!!
 
I know it's small potatoes compared to everyone on here, but...
 
Mississippi came through with a fantastic supplemental fellowship, so I have officially accepted their offer.

I've been admitted to UNC-Chapel Hill!!!!
 

 
I accepted the offer and I couldn't be happier if ice cream and waffles and cappuccinos started falling from the sky. I'd been hoping *hard* since February.
I'll be in North Carolina this fall. Go Tar Heels!

Congratulations!!! I don't know if we met during the visit weekend, but everyone I met there was SO kind and amazing-- not only is it a stellar department, but it seems like they have a lot of fun.

Pleased to say I will be at the University of South Carolina in the fall!

I'm v excited to say that I will be attending Rutgers for my PhD in the fall. 

I'm celebrating... by having my exam defense today. 30 minutes to go. Eeeeep (but also yay that it'll be over soon!)

Just made it official-- attending UCLA this fall! So thankful for all the amazing people I met thru GC this year <3<3<3

This morning, I was ACCEPTED TO UCLA! So excited! 
I had another very lovely offer, but this is amazing...UCLA's a top 10 school, I visited in March and loved it, the funding package is amazing, I'll get to work with Christopher Looby and Rachel Lee...
 
Last year, I was essentially shut out of programs (got into 2 unfunded things). I was rejected from UCLA. I took a gap year to move to Berkeley where I took classes and got a new rec letter, reworked all my materials, and began working as an editor.
 
If at first you don't succeed...KEEP APPLYING UNTIL THEY LOVE YOU 

Wonderful, breaking news: Stanford just made me an offer. Yipppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee doesn't even cover it!
 
Good luck to everyone waiting. IT CAN HAPPEN!

I've just declined an offer from Toronto (PhD Medieval Studies). Hope it helps someone on here!

You have to promise to keep in touch! (Ok, you don't have to promise, but I'd love to stay in touch). 
And I'm sure I'll see you at K'zoo or MLA in a year or so.
 
Wishing you all the best! I had a lot of fun hanging out at visiting students weekend.