woolfie

Wait, you're saying you are going to keep working a full time job while getting a phd (with option 4)?? Everyone's different, but if it were me, I would die from stress. I did my BA while working full time and it was too much. I would pick option 1. Especially since I think Louisville is a great town and that school is decent.

Do you go to buckeye link (http://buckeyelink.osu.edu/futurestudents.html) and then click on application status, and then again, application status and it will say acadreview if there is no decision. Mine says "reviewed" and then you can click on more information where it tells me 'your application was not approved for admission.'

Hey guys, I'm currently making a list for next year and University of Florida is in my maybe column right now. Could you guys tell me some good (or bad) things about the program? The one red flag for me is that funding seems competitive and I'm wondering, since the website isn't very descriptive, how much of a chance for funding there is. Also, if people who recieved funding wouldn't mind sharing their stats, it'd help to see what the situation is like. Also, do they have a terminal MA? Is it funded? I think that that's what the website is saying, but it's worded in a confusing way.

I received a rejection, in the mail a couple days ago and on the website a week ago. I think that everyone that was accepted has been notified.

I see what everyone's saying here; I think everyone has made good points that are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I guess my problem is that, my goal is to get a tenure-track position at a decent university and dedicate my career to both research and teaching. I don't need to be the top in my field, but it would be nice to get my scholarly writing read by someone. Also, my relationship is very important, as we are both academics and will be applying for jobs at roughly the same time. I think that the top R1 schools are more likely to hire on couples than community colleges. Correct me if I'm wrong though. I do wonder if I will change my mind though. I see what lifealive is saying about fleeing when another position opens up and that kind of life. I don't think that that kind of career is pampered or that those kinds of professors are uncaring about students, maybe they are, I don't know. But they aren't dedicated to a community in the way that someone who lives there for 25 years is. Which, I'm not saying, is a bad thing; it's the way American life can be. It's just that, as far as myself is concerned, the problem I have with that lifestyle is that it comes down to simply I want to have a family and live in one place. I don't know if I could handle the stress of being rejected for tenure and having to move constantly. Maybe I have a misconception of what the lifestyle is like, but I see that as a personal hindrance more than anything else. So I guess I find myself wanting to be in between? Or maybe I'm trying to have it both ways and that's impossible?

I think that OSU is done; they severely cut back their program this year so I think that there were only a few external non-fellowship acceptances. I checked the website on Tuesday and saw a rejection, so I think they are slowly updating the website. I could be wrong, but I think they have made all the offers. We still have Penn State though!

Yes that was me and yes! I was actually *just* reading about UWM's program and faculty. And I was, in turn, getting very excited about it. I didn't know that about the digital studies track, that sounds perfect! Let me know after you visit how it went, I'd love to hear more about the program. I have to admit, both Buffalo and Milwaukee are not in my top locations, but you never know what a place is like until you live there. Right now I'm researching UC Santa Barbara and they seem to be a good program for digital studies as well and I wouldn't mind living in Santa Barbara

Hey, thanks for that story. It's helpful to keep in mind, especially after recieving some rejections, that a lot of perfectly qualified candidates are getting rejected. It really is arbitrary up to a point.

Re: fit in programs I certainly am gearing my research towards that and will ultimately be widdling down my long list for those reasons. But I guess I'm also trying to keep a practical sense towards the process and mainly, my question is about a top tier school, for example Cornell, that DOES have a great fit for me, but it's... Cornell. Same thing with Michigan. I also think that the top schools are going to be better fits for almost everyone because they are top schools for a reason: they have a large faculty with lots of diversity. Also, yes there are no 'safety schools' but there are definitely schools that are easy to get into if you are qualified, for instance I mentioned Kent State, which has an 80% acceptance rate. I also read somewhere that U of Louisville has a 94% acceptance rate. That seems impossible to me, but who knows. Perhaps those stats are referring to MA programs.

Thanks for the insight- may I ask how many top 25 schools you applied to? What's your outcome for this year? I definitely agree with all that has been said previously and I'm really dedicating myself to researching faculty for fit. I can just see the pain of so many people who applied to the top 20 schools and are getting rejected across the board. I think it's a good strategy to only apply to a couple that are a perfect fit, instead of more schools with less fit, like strokeofmidnight was saying. Now I find myself debating 'is it really necesssary to apply to low tier schools? Like the ones that I don't really want to go to, but would get an MA at if I had no other options (Kent State or Bowling Green State offer funded, terminal MAs). They are definitely not good fits for me, but if it takes getting an MA at some non-ranked place over getting rejected from everywhere... I just might consider it

Thanks guys! I feel surprisingly okay about the whole thing. I'm not surprised and I'm glad I've already started on next year. It keeps me goin.

I apologize if it sounded at all like I was categorizing anything in a negative or harmful way. I was trying to ask a question, not make a statement. I'm just trying to ask people from other countries/regions/areas to share their experiences on the place of the academy and the role of the intellectual in their culture or public life.

Just today, it's in 'reviewed' status now. I noticed someone posted a rejection a couple days ago, I think it might take a while for them to enter them all.

I have been checking the site obsessively. It said that I will recieve a letter by mail. I don't think they send out e-mails for rejections.

Ooh, thanks, that book does sound interesting.

Obviously I don't think that everyone everywhere is the same, otherwise I would be very bored by literature I meant a general, cultural belief, not that every single person would hold it. I should know, I come from a rural red state area and people there are very diverse. But there is still a general culture of anti-intellectualism. That doesn't mean that everyone believes it or takes part of it, but it's there. I also wasn't suggesting that the UK or France are 'smaller' or anything like that; in fact I didn't mention anything of the sort (I don't think). I'm sorry if I implied it. It is hard to communicate over message boards I think, without context of the person. I am interested in different cultural attitudes so that's what I tend to think about. But I would never think that an individual from a certain place MUST have certain qualities. I don't think its unfair to say that the culture and place of academia in public society is considerably different in Europe than America, saying nothing of generalizing what individuals think about it. Perhaps I am wrong, and certainly I would welcome a more knowledgable person to explain so to me, but I don't think it's out of line to be talking about cultural attitudes in a wondering, accepting way.

Yay, this is the last program I'm waiting to hear from, so that's great. Though, I'm still making plans for next year already. I'm fully prepared to be 0/3

Well at least I'm not sitting on nothing anymore. Got rejected from both programs at OSU and it looks like I'm going to be waiting another year. This wouldn't suck so much if I weren't also about to lose my seasonal position and the fact that the job situation in my city is just awful.

I know, right!? I really mean it when I say that everyone has a different course in life and it's just fine with me if people aren't interested in scholarship. I respect that people are different and have different skills. That's fine. But why don't other people think that about me? Why is it considered okay to denigrate someone for choosing an intellectual life? I wonder if it's some kind of preemptive thing, I think that some Midwesterners think that I am going to be snotty about their life so they preemptively try and denigrate academia. But the act of going to graduate school doesn't mean I automatically look down on other professions. But people seem to think it does. It's really depressing because I love the midwest and I'd like to stay here in a college town. But I don't know if I can deal with people looking at me in that way. People from other areas: is it like that on the east/west coast, etc? Is this a red state thing or just an American thing? Or a human thing? I'm wondering if it's something I'm just going to have to live with no matter where I am. I also wonder if it's like that in places like the UK or France. I'm thinking not, though I've never been there.

I'm very sorry about your father, medievalmaniac. That must be rough, too about your mother and sister. I feel like people are so judgmental about women and their children esp when women try to have a career at the same time. I hope you don't listen to them and realize they just don't understand. I'm sure you have a great and loving family and that no one would bat an eye if your husband was the one pursuing a phd. It's really difficult- I am in a situation where I know that I am going to need 7-10 years right now to dedicate for school. And I am at an age where I need and want to have children in the next 5 years, but I also know I'm going to be going to school soon. So I really don't know what I am going to do, I feel like I have to make a choice between school/career and children/family. My partner is an MFA program right now, he'll graduate in a year and then we don't know what we're going to do as far as an income for ourselves, let alone supporting a family. It's even more rough, considering the fact that we are both trying to get jobs in academia in a tough time. I don't really know what my point is, but I guess I'm just lamenting that family and personal relationships aren't set up to easily go to graduate school and start academic careers and the people who find a way just aren't understood by people who go the traditional route.

I completely understand, Branwen. It's very frustrating for a variety of reasons and I often wonder if choosing this route will result in me having to make a choice between old friends and family and then being completely alienated by them. My family doesn't really care what I do, they've never been controlling like some other people have indicated. But I see that there is this idea that what I'm doing is "haughty" or kind of snobby, even though I go out of my way to make sure I never give the impression that I think I'm 'better' or whatnot for trying to pursue an intellectual career. I think that our culture similtaneously respects high level degrees, but also there is a deep anti-intellectualism, at least in America right now. I have had a couple of random people at parties and stuff, friends of friends, hearing that I'm applying to graduate school, just go off on how academics are evil and that what I'm doing with my life is wrong. What gives people the right to just tell me that? Maybe that's a midwestern thing. Anyway, what really gets me, is my one friend, who didn't go to college at all, and is doing just fine for herself (actually way better than me, she's got a family now and is in the process of buying a really nice house in a nice neighborhood) when I mention how I'm planning on being a professor someday, she always makes a point to express that it would be the "easy life" and it would be nice to have summers off and to have so much free time. And every time she says that I try not to get mad, and say, no, Emily, listen, it's not like that, it's intensely stressful, and I try to explain about pressure to publish, administrative duties, tenure acquisition, but she just doesn't listen to me. She thinks I'm just being defensive. That one really gets me, that if I'm going to dedicate my life to something like this, that my friends and family think I'm just being lazy, choosing scholarship over the "real world" it just might make me crazy. But obviously there will be other academics to sympathize with. And the fact that I see it as a 'calling' the way nuns and preists talk about their vocation. I really can't do anything else with my life- I'm not an administrator, I'm in no way a business oriented person, this is the one thing I can do and do well. And people who say that it's "wasting time" going "back" to school is silly. I feel like I'm wasting time NOT being in school. Because what am I doing just working an administrative job that I don't care about? I have no purpose here and my talent would decay if I stayed here. Anyway, end rant.

I saw that too... I don't know, it seems to suggest so, but I haven't seen any acceptances besides the fellowship acceptances early in Feb, there must be more right? Not everyone could get fellowships, they have to have the TAships and I haven't seen those at all.

I have to admit, I feel a little bit envious and bitter (no hard feelings though) about the people who are stressed out who have been accepted somewhere. Though I applied to only 3 programs and I am not taking it personally (next year I am able to apply for more, as location will not matter next year), it sucks to not get in anywhere. I feel really bad for the people who are 0/17 of just 0 for anything. So to the people who are stressed and didn't get into their top program, but you got in somewhere, you should feel really blessed and confident in your writing abilities. This year was a record year, the two English programs I got into had record applications. And at the samet time, programs are slashing their incoming student numbers. So hopefully that makes a few people feel better, and to the people who are also 0/whatever, I think I'm about to join you.

Didn't mean to double post this..

I don't know, guys. I'm really thinking that they are, at least for me. A waste of time, that is. Because I applied to Ohio State and Penn State this round, and OSU got a record 400 apps and at the same time cut their entering class numbers in half, while PSU got 700 apps. I just can't compete with that, and that's OHIO STATE and PENN STATE, not to mention what's going on at UPenn and the like. I am in the process of really buckling down and doing research- reading every single faculty page and reading choice publications or selections. This will take me probably the rest of the year, which is fine. But I'm not going to apply to a top tier school unless, after doing that research, I am floored with excitement. And right now it looks like Michigan might be doing that for me. But Cornell and Rutgers did not, even though they impressed me. I have to be blown away to spend my time. At least that's my philosophy right now. And in the meantime I'll be researching schools like UW Milwaukee (which I can never spell) and Arizona.