CarolineNC

I'm in off the waitlist at chapel hill!!!!!!!! I'm walking around downtown Charleston SC sobbing and I don't even care.

Rejected at Vanderbilt. I'm amazed that even though I have other options, it still makes me feel bad. Blah Vanderbilt! You should just accept everyone so we don't get our feelings hurt!

Allplaid, riverside sounds wonderful. three Kansas PhDs just got tenure track jobs! If they can do it from Ku...

Have you visited Michigan yet? I hear Ann Arbor is super nice.

It's a definite compliment! But you have Austin!

YAY! INHAC!!!!

Ditto this. I cannot imagine going to into a PhD without my MA. I'm sure some people are ready, but I'm going to go ahead and say I think most people aren't. Sorry to fall back on a cliche, but I think this might be a blessing in disguise.

I think you need to make your interests pretty clear. You can do that by flat out saying them, then also emphasizing them during a section on who you want to work with. A section on your thesis or whatever your writing sample is, is also a way to articulate your research interests. Here is the blurb I included in my letter of intent. I changed it slightly for each school to reflect that school's strengths. "I hope to focus on methods and movements relevant to my main interests: nineteenth- and early- twentieth-century American literature and culture. Within this period, I focus mainly on American regionalist, sentimental, and domestic literatures. My other scholarly interests lie in gender and sexuality studies, critical race theory, and space and place studies. I concentrate specifically on the historical construction of urban spaces, particularly those that were hubs of activity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including but not limited to San Francisco, New York City, Philadelphia and my own hometown, Charleston, South Carolina. Here, I focus both on the cultural meanings ascribed to these places and the power these places exert in producing gendered and racialized subjects."

Aside from the many articles I'm having to read on African legislature (why did I sign up for a graduate level political science class?) and the theory for my English class, I'm reading The Crimson Petal and the White and I am Pilgrim for funzies.

I second the declining programs and specialty thing! I've declined all the programs I've crossed out and I'm 19th C American.

I did too. With my mom when I was a kid. I'm 30.

I have to start watching Designing Women again. Suzanne Sugarbaker is my spirit animal.

I assume Vanderbilt is a rejection. I emailed them but they ignored it.

Man, these are making me feel awful, and I thought I'd done kinda well.

I do love Charleston, but I think the area around Asheville is my favorite part of the South.

They might (i think there is a good possibility that they will) offer you in-state tuition. I know I got a couple unfunded MA offers a couple years ago that offered to in-state tuition. If your stipend is sizable it might be worth it. At least ask.

Thanks, guys! Also, hi cjmullis! It's always nice to see another South Carolinian! (I'm from Charleston but lived in Columbia during college)

I'm watching house of cards and eagerly awaiting the return of Orange is the New black. And I might be looking forward to the return of Outlander don't judge me I'm ashamed already.

How important is ranking when your potential schools are ranked closely, within one level of each other? Should you automatically go with the one ranked higher just cause? I ask because Austin is looking better and better but I do have that wait list at unc, which is one spot ahead of ut)

I did my undergrad there. Holly Crocker is super nice. She was actually in one of my French classes. I don't know Dr. Gwara.

Yay! University of SC is the best!! What's your area? Who do you want to work with?

Awesome. Thanks so much for responding. Y'all are making me so excited. It sounds great.

Yay! Congrats! Is Mississippi one you really like?

I didn't visit my MA program. If you're really, seriously considering one of your other offers, then visit. But if you know you're going to Rutgers (which I would if I were in your position) I wouldn't waste my time (or their time) visiting. (Edited to add: I mean I wouldn't waste my time visiting other programs. I'd definitely visit Rutgers!)

Also, is it typical for Wayne Lesser to ignore emails? Or is there someone else I should be emailing with questions?