Shaky Premise

I'm yet another medievalist who's applied to IU. Looks like that spot is going to be tough to get! My verbal GRE score was outstanding, but my subject score, middlin'. I'd like to say that I have wonderful recommendations, but I haven't seen them. The profs who wrote for me are extremely accomplished in the field though, so that's a plus. I'd also like to say that my SOP and writing sample were brilliant pieces of literature, but that would depend upon what they're being compared to. I like to think they're pretty solid. I guess we'll know when the decisions come down! A good friend of mine earned an MA at IU a few years back (not in English), and she said Bloomington is an incredibly cool place to live. Got my fingers crossed...

I'm a medievalist too, but my interests are in the early part of the period, whereas it looks like most of the folks here skew to the later part. Old English and Anglo-Latin stuff, that's my niche, though I do enjoy Middle English literature, particularly alliterative revival works and some of the Christian "mystical" material. I don't get the sense that there are many of us Anglo-Saxonists floating around out there, but I kinda doubt that makes my chances of admission any better. There probably aren't a whole lot of spots open for Anglo-Saxonists either, so it all balances out. I think the long and short of it is that getting into any program is hyper-uber-ultra-competitive no matter what your proposed specialty is. I've been through this before and talked to lots of people about it, and I'm believing more and more that it's all a great big gamble, in which we pay lots of money and devote lots of time to the process and can only hope the stars align and we get admitted and funded (much better odds than the Powerball Lottery, but the same helpless feeling). Unless of course you've got an airtight application, which I most assuredly do not. It's worth a shot though! Good luck to all of you, and here's hoping there's a spot somewhere for all us medievalists out there...

Holy smoke! If that's the case, they might've let us know early on. I realize these numbers are bound to fluctuate. But 2-3 available spots? I'd have saved my money and applied elsewhere. I won't kid myself about being one of the top two applicants in the country! Congrats to the folks who got in...you've accomplished something indeed.