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Kam

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Everything posted by Kam

  1. Definitely send a thank you after an interview, as soon as possible. Make sure the thank you is personalized (mention something said during the interview).
  2. I'm going to second readgreen's questions and add, How did you go about asking your LOR writers for the second time around? Also, since it isn't really a year between now and when applications would be due again, what sort of work did you do to improve your academic attractiveness, if anything?
  3. I'm waiting to hear from 5 of my 6 schools. I'm really, really hoping for at least one more acceptance so I could at least have some choice regarding my next however many years in school. To make matters a bit more 'urgent' I'm not completely sure that my current acceptance is the best fit for my research goals...whereas three of my other schools are amazing fits, but also major reaches. I'm guessing that this last week of February will either bring me lots of joy (a single acceptance from one of the three would do this), or lots of sadness.
  4. Congrats! That's great news!
  5. chrissy88, you make a really good point about translations. There are definitely medieval stories out here, Arthurian and not, that are awesome if you can read them, but most people can't/won't. And I guess the older translations, even those from the 20th century, just don't cut it for the type of reading people are used to now. If new scholars in Arthuriana can get new translations out there for the public, and maybe even get some of the lesser-known stories turned into modernized novels and movies, then that would be awesome. And along the lines of great translations, Stanley Lombardo's translations of the Aeneid and Dante's Inferno are both excellent and very readable. I haven't read his translations of the Iliad or the Odyssey, but I would suspect that they're just as good. Feel free to recommend them to your customers! (or read them yourself!)
  6. You guys are making me wonder if I want to refocus on Arthuriana again! lol
  7. Congrats to everyone accepted!
  8. I can't say for sure, but I would assume that most programs would allow you to develop language proficiency while in the program, especially if you want to do research in that language. If you have the required language skills upon matriculation, I don't see why they'd dislike if you gained more if you can handle it. At least this is what I'm hoping lol. I haven't had a chance to do any study in the Celtic languages, and while my research interests don't necessary need to include Celtic literature (like you, I presented myself in relation to what knowledge I currently have), I'd like the chance to include them.
  9. Venetia - Arthur from a political standpoint sounds like an interesting one, and that's definitely something I haven't seen much of in my own reading. It actually never occurred to me to think about the matter politically before (which seems kind of silly, since he's King Arthur and everything...haha), but now that you mention it I'm kind of intrigued! The aspects of Arthuriana I'm interested in are somewhat numerous, but all kind of related. Mostly I was interested in the supernatural aspects of Arthurian literature, and how they were different across periods and national literatures. Kind of connected to that, I wanted to look into how those supernatural aspects (many of them relate to the genre of romance) changed through history (from Spenser to the much more contemporary Marion Zimmer Bradley) and in different national literatures (English, French, Italian, German, Celtic, etc). I'm also interested in the lesser studied Arthuriana that isn't in English, French, or German (like texts in Italian, for instance) and relating it back to the more often studied texts. oh, and PS, I completely agree that Gawain is the best knight lol Medievalmaniac - The application of psychological and philosophical principles sounds like an original one! I didn't think about the fact that newer theories and ideas could be applied for new interpretations, but it's definitely something that could bring about a lot of new readings. And congrats on the book deal!! Is it through an academic press, or commercial?
  10. I have to say that I'm surprised by the number of people with research interest in Arthuriana, and I wonder if the percentage here correlates with the general Medievalist applicant pool. Do those of you wishing to work in that field have more specific interests/aspects of Arthuriana that you want to look into? Last summer, when I was thinking about what I'd want to focus on in grad school, I briefly considered topics in Arthuriana, but I thought the subject might already be packed with research from the past couple centuries. Do those of you wanting to go into this part of the field want to do something completely new in Arthuriana, or are you looking to re-visit older research?
  11. Yup, I'm writing a thesis. I was supposed to write 1000 words a day this week. As of right now...I've done 1000 words. Needless to say, I'm a bit behind. But it's not easy to concentrate on my documents/texts when I'm glancing at my email/phone every minute or so.
  12. According to past years, I'd guess that next week is when a lot of English programs will start making decisions, going into March. Though, strangely, my undergrad advisor asked me at the end of January if I'd heard anything yet. As far as I know he's been on admission committees before, and my school's PhD program usually notifies at the end of February, so I'm not really sure why he asked so early...(I'm trying to tell myself it's some kind of good sign, though I don't know how that makes any sense haha)
  13. Thanks, kriskraft! Knowing a date (even a general one) is definitely helpful. Now I know when to start getting paranoid
  14. I know that, for English at least, there aren't really many (funded) MA programs in the States. If you don't have the money to pay for the MA and don't want to do (more) loans after undergrad, then your options are slimmed down a lot. Factor in location, program fit, and other points, and you might only have a handful of schools that you'd see yourself going to for an MA, making the PhD much more attractive, especially since an MA is (essentially) earned on the way to a PhD at most schools.
  15. Thanks kdilks! I'll make sure to keep that in mind.
  16. I spent several hours (I won't even try to guess how many) last week searching craigslist and figuring out where I'd want to live, how much it would cost, how long it'd take to get to campus each morning, etc. for different schools. I actually found some really great places! Now I just have to be admitted...
  17. I got an acceptance phone call around 6 on a Monday (well, really, he called my actual house around 5, then my mom called me and told me, then he called my cell phone at 6). Has anyone received news during the actual business day? So far they seem to be outside of the business day itself.
  18. I'm not completely sure, but when I was researching the program it seemed to imply that when you apply to the MFA/PhD program, it's basically submitting two applications. The MFA committee with look at certain aspects of your application, and the PhD committee will look at others. As far as I could tell, they don't actually communicate during that time, so you would be held to whatever criteria each committee makes for its applicants. In the end you could be accepted to the MFA only, the PhD only, or both programs. I don't think there's anything special about the process, and it's simply the fact that, if accepted to both, you could pursue an MFA and a PhD without switching schools in between.
  19. Congrats poppyensemble! And I guess I can now obsessively watch my phone for the next week...(though I wonder if it means anything that there's only been 1 acceptance around here...maybe there's still a good chance for others!)
  20. Several posts here seemed to imply that you should watch out for questions like "Have you heard back from anywhere else?" or "Are you considering any other offers right now?" from people at schools where you've already been admitted. Is there a reason why this is more suspicious/worrisome? Would it be a better idea to let them know exactly where you've heard from and the results, or to be more coy about the matter?
  21. Baking is my savior. I made some chocolate buttermilk cupcakes the other day that were pretty amazing -- and I don't even like chocolate. Besides the baking, I'm working on my honors thesis and keeping up-to-date on several TV shows haha I also do a good bit of movie watching, thanks to netflix.
  22. Thanks for the info/reassurance, Jenny. It's so easy to get concerned and carried away about every tiny bit of possible info revealed in this process haha
  23. I wonder if it means anything if you don't get that message, though. I haven't received any FAFSA reminders from anyone.
  24. haha YES!
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