Katia_chan

Yay, Latin party! ...Where else in the world can you say that without getting beaten up, I wonder?

That would be fantastic. I graduated in 2012, so my academic resources have sort of dried up, and it's not exactly easy to find a Latin study group. Also, thank you for the course recommendations--I'll take a look at those. My goal is to at least get a good start on things from now until September, when I can take actual classes again.

Thanks for the Latin rec. I *love* learning languages, but I kind of suck at it. And my current choice for grad program wants me to have one modern language, and one ancient one (joys of being a medievalist...), and I'm terrified, because I feel like in 2 years of Latin I don't remember a thing. So, doing all the brushing up...

They did say they take a lot from their waitlist.... Now if we can just get on that.

Also distracting myself... I didn't fill out the list of other schools. I don't necessarily believe it would hurt me; as someone said on here, they're not trying to trick you into getting yourself rejected; there are plenty of legit reasons to chuck any one of us. But IMO, it's... none of their business. If they explained why they wanted to know, I'd probably fill it in. But as is, I can't see the purpose, so I'm not touching it. I also said no to having funding outside of assistantships. I can't/won't pay for a 6 year program, so didn't feel like I should even imply that I might. If it was an MA, done in two years, I'd consider it. But not for a PHD program.

I don't know what your sushi standards are, but I have lived in Minnesota all my life, and found some awesome sushi places. It's probably not quite as good as the coast--we don't have anything fresh out of the ocean, but I've always been able to find awesome food. (And don't go by looks alone--my favorite sushi place in the whole world is attached to a gas station). Traffic congestion is bad. If you get stuck at the wrong time, it can take forever to get where you're going. But (I'm going off stereotypes here) it's not a Dallas or some city like that where traffic jam is a whole different animal. Finally, I wanted to second the above-poster's comment about renting with heat. This winter, we got over 20 days of sub0 weather in a row. I don't mind it chilly, and my tiny heat bill still doubled. And STAY AWAY if they want you to heat with gas/oil. It will bankrupt you. Besides that...invest in fleece-lined tights, boots, and a good winter hat, and prepare to suffocate during the summers, and you'll be good. It's really a fabulous state; I'm going to miss it.

Just wanted to give a shout-out and a hello. I'm in the same boat, except medieval English--still waiting to hear from other schools, but St. Louis is looking like the top-runner. If you're doing work with the center for medieval studies, perhaps we'll bump into each other someday. I'm wondering the same stuff for housing. I'd like to be within (safe) walking distance, or an easy bus ride from the school, as I don't drive. But I also don't want to be living in a crazy nest of undergrads. I'm more of a sit-around-with-tea-and-cats kinda person, rather than a nightlife and bars kind, so I'd prefer a quieter neighborhood. But I want to be as close as possible to campus. And can anyone from the area weigh in on the public transportation thing? How is it, what's the best way to get around sans car, what's safest, etc. I'm visiting next weekend, so I'll report back here if I learn anything.

...and it's starting to look like the flood. Dammit. Given that every Email comes out the same day, does anyone have any idea if it's, like, a mass Email? It seems so consistent and fast...

Can anyone weigh in with more info? Time of Email, etc?

We should know something soon...they seem to accept a fair chunk, so we'll know when things start pouring in... *returns to stare at inbox*

But in theory, all the acceptances come in one day. So even if the rejections are spread out (which is evil who does that), after that one day we should know whether we are accepted or not. Then there's the fresh hell of the waitlist, but let's cross that lake of fire if we're fortunate enough to come to it. Also bummed--there are only a few results, but looks like WUSTL is a no-go...I wonder if they'll do Valentine's day rejections again. That was an added bonus to that "lovely" holiday last year.

I want to up-vote all the Community love, but I can't. It's making me stupidly excited though. You guys are automatically the coolest!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! That is so awesome, and an awesome package to boot. Also, if anyone else applied to Missouri, I just got news that they are meeting tomorrow to put together the final list of acceptances--apparently creative goes out a bit earlier than Lit. I haven't seen anyone else talk about them, but thought I'd share the info. Now I'm going to go back to staring at my inbox, after that notification from Washington University in St. Louis...

My go-to "make them uncomfortable" is to ask to feel their faces. I'm kidding--I have never done that and just the thought of doing it makes me die inside, but it's a lovely thought when someone is being too "sensitive" and politically correct. It gives me secret joy to make overly-cautious people awkward. During my MA exams I did debate pretending to fall down the stairs. Then the closer it got...the more I debated really falling down the stairs. That was certainly the darkest timeline....

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I've also got a campus visit coming up at the end of the month, er...oh good God it's next weekend. Anyway, I've never done this before. So any general advice on campus visits would be really great... And, as a secondary and more obscure note, I don't know if anyone on here has a disability, but if so, would be curious how you navigated the visiting process. I'm blind, and in theory the school knows that (it was mentioned in my sop--yeah I kinda hate myself), but that's adding to the anxiety of wandering onto a totally new campus with complete strangers. I'm going to make arrangements with the department, but advice would be good to. But the actual general stuff, like things to ask or what specific things to look at, or things not to do, would be really great. I still have this quietly screaming fear that I'll make an idiot of myself and they'll just be all "oh... we admitted you by mistake. Go scoot back on up to Minnesota like a good crazy person."

They've notified MA's? How did I miss that... when? Also I don't think it's too weird--maybe they just have a high volume to deal with. In theory, if last year's schedule is anything to go by, we should maybe be hearing something from them within the next day or two. Or at least I hope so...I had a running start with hearing from two schools right away, then complete silence from *all* of my others. I wanna know, one way or the other... even with an acceptance, I still feel like I'm in limbo. Saying that makes me feel like a tool, but it's true.

I will give a huge nod of "yes!" to the UK thing--I was going to have that as an option this year if I didn't get in anywhere, and I had two professors give it huge thumbs-up. But like other-poster said, it is hella expensive, so that must be taken into account. Maybe worth it though, if you can swing it. England is my real birth place; I'm convinced of it. I'm awkward and pale and love tea--I was meant to be British. As for re-doing the process... at the end of the season, you're sick of it and you never want to look at it again. But at least for me, come about August, the siren's song would start again, and I'd find myself grudgingly researching schools once again, because I couldn't *not* apply. It's probably a sickness or something. It might be different for you, but for me, I just had to keep reapplying. Though I'm not convinced you'll need to; you're a pretty awesome scholar. But if you do need to reapply, and you really want it, the self-administered kick in the pants will come for you when you need it most. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'd hazard a guess that at least half the people who apply need to do it at least twice. So if the first round doesn't go well, don't let that make you feel like any less of an epic student. Just continue being awesome, and eventually a school will pull its head out of its butt and realize what it was missing by not taking you, and then you'll have an awesome offer. TL;DR: I sound like a children's program, but you're awesome; don't give up!

Agree with everyone else. I've heard numerous stories of a visit making all the difference--either they got their choice confirmed, or they just didn't have a good feeling about their top choice after visiting it. And it's not like you're taking someone's spot. They want *you*. There's a slight chance that a waitlister might get to go if you don't, but that tiny chance is no reason to rush your decision. The department sets aside money to do this--so take advantage of it. Be as informed as possible. And at the very least, it's a chance to network like crazy.

Thanks so much for this info. I'm trying to be careful not to get my hopes up, but this is a nice little "maybe" to keep in my mind. I know you won't necessarily know the answer to this, but, if you knew others who applied or something, are they switching to Emails this year for notification? Last year it looks like they rejected by post, but I've heard one or two things this year about them sending Emails. But maybe that is just for certain candidates. It's not all that important, really. Just a matter for "hmm-ing

Curious about the Boston rejection--from what we've heard, I'm assuming that they've done all their acceptances, and are now moving onto rejections. But does anyone know if they give them out over a few days or something? Or if perhaps that person only got notified because they were under consideration for the MA? I'm assuming they are a no for me, but curious if anyone has any insight into their rejection process.

Yeah, I'd suggest this too. Obviously, if you've done it, and it was good, that's awesome. But many schools are dying right now with app stuff, so it could be overwhelming to them. Not saying it's forbidden, but I'd consider it carefully first. You're also less likely to hear anything from giant schools that get 600-700 applications, unless you've been in contact with someone personally. So don't be upset if you don't hear anything.

I'm probably going to get my head chomped upon for saying this, but I'd maybe give it at least another week before you do? That way, if they're getting stuff together, you've given them time, and you don't look pushy. Rejections did just go out a day or two ago. And it's been a short enough time that they could even still be rastling up funding. We don't know. But it's totally up to you. Just my two cents. Not looking to step on anyone's toes.

University of Minnesota Duluth has a similar set-up to New Hampshire. GTA-ships where you are in charge of a freshman writing class with a tuition waver, or paid TA-ships. Not everyone gets funding, but they give it to as many as they can.

I think I can speak on behalf of most to all of the veteran applicants around here when I say we didn't mean to bully you guys. For me, personally, I apologize if I've been a pain. I did this 3 and a half times, and really just wanted to try to be helpful. As I said, I can only speak for myself, but I do know we have a great community around here, and that no one intended to hurt anyone's feelings. We are people, and sometimes we help the wrong way, or say things in a way that come across differently than we mean them to. But either way, sorry...

This is one of my favorite simpsons moments ever.