lompoc727

I know that this post is very old, but I thought I'd add my thoughts as a 19th century poetry person, versus someone who is interested in the 18/19th century novel (as I think you, strokeofmidnight, are?). I had a problem identifying romantic into Victorian poetry people with whom I'd like to work at Cornell, NYU, and even Duke (their main romanticist is more interested in continental romanticism(s) and only did some of his earlier work on Wordsworth). Either way, I'd second everyone's advice to look at faculty research beyond their general interests. In my case, a professor who claims to be interested in "romantic literature" could have written articles on Shelley 10 years ago, but has since concentrated upon the applications of 19th century legal theory. This is all well and good, but if you want to work with someone active in the field when YOU'RE becoming active in the field, it might become problematic. I'd also second the exhortation to find a school where you could imagine yourself working with more than one faculty member. After all, shit happens where professors leave or change interests, so you want to have a few options. And your own interests will grow and transform as well. Anyway, to conclude this barrage of unsolicited advice, I'd say that programs with good 19th century poetry programs (either British or American) would include: UVA, Duke (not for me, though!), Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Michigan, WashU, etc.

I don't have an MA. I received my BA in 2008, took two years off to work and be a person, and then applied to PhD programs with happy results. Honestly, I think the reason to do an MA is either 1) if you're not sure you want to do a PhD but want to pursue upper-level work, or 2) if you didn't feel that you produced the sort of work during undergrad that could be developed into a kickass writing sample. Before anyone freaks out on me, these are just my perceptions, based upon friends and colleagues who've done MAs with happy results (including either pursuing PhDs or deciding to use their MAs to go into publishing or high school teaching).

Colin Jager told me they're aiming for 10-12. P.S. It seems that we incoming students are all stalking each other on facebook at the behest of the current first-years, so feel free to join!

But yearning to be understood! So much detailed, mind-bending yearning...

**Felt like I should amend: tired because they just got back from Spring Break and most had been out of town. Not because they were miserable.

Makes two of us in the romanticism boat??? Forgive my excitement, but I know there aren't a lot of us going around. It went well: Rutgers knows how to roll out of the red carpet while still focusing on what prospective students really want to know, like job placement stuff, professorial culture, etc. I enjoyed it a lot and liked a lot of the students I met, though I found the classes they had us sit in to be underwhelming. People seemed tired and shy, though I hear this isn't students' usual behavior I do wish they hadn't felt so inhibited. However, upon emailing with people in my fields of interest, their work seems very interesting, incisive, and sometimes cutting edge. I do hope some of the other prospectives I met there decide to go, as well!

I'm also pretty sure I'm going to accept Rutgers's offer. I see that MJP's interests are listed in their signature. Anyone else care to share? Mine are in British/American romanticism, history of lyric poetry/aesthetics, and the intersections between literature and philosophy.

So far I've declined my offers from UCLA and BU (Boston University). Good luck to all of you on wait lists!!!

I can't overstate this. For my first visit, I bought a pair of flats that I THOUGHT were cute and comfortable. After making the multiple transfer, hours long train trip down to the university in question, the shoes were definitely still cute, but my bleeding ankles and toes were not. And I still had the rest of the day to tromp through. Honestly I think the question of dress depends on your field and the activities for the day. For the bleeding feet visit, I was the only one visiting, so it was pretty casual. My "fancy," very dark jeans sufficed. I wish to God I would've bought my black sneakers. For the visit I'll be going on tomorrow, the first day of the Open House includes a class, professor meetings, a lecture, and some kind of dinner reception in the evening at a moderately expensive (for me) restaurant. So I'm planning to wear a gray, semi-casual dress with a cardigan and time-tested flats for that day, and for the next day my black sneakers and jeans will make an appearance since a campus tour is involved. Seriously, don't be in the position where you're overdressed to the point of discomfort. You don't want to have to take off your shoes and walk around campus barefoot because the pain is so excruciating. If you're uncomfortable, you can't pay attention to your surroundings and professors/current grad students as well. Then again, it is a measure of how chilled out the department is if you can walk around barefoot for the entire afternoon and no one bats an eye.... Good luck!

I'm also strongly considering UVA for my English PhD. What's your subfield? I am eager for more info regarding their open house, etc, but I'll have to be patient I guess!

Hi there, I was just in contact with UVA since I was requesting information about their Open House (I was admitted back in the 2nd week of February and have heard more or less nothing until today). Their grad administrator informed me (verbatim), "We are still processing final admissions selections and extending offers. You will be contacted soon regarding the Open House arrangements." So don't lose hope! A professor also emailed me today to let me know that they had over 500 applicants, so they have a lot to sort through. Good luck

I'm going to start visiting schools this week, and I was wondering if any of you had any tips regarding how to handle it when a professor or current grad student asks if you've received other offers. So far, I've been asked this by both a prospective adviser and a grad student (who is sorta in my field), and I've answered, "Yes, but I'm not sure about the etiquette concerning naming names, but I'm definitely seriously considering XXXX's program and am excited about visiting." However, the "excited about visiting" part may not make much sense when I'm actually, you know, on campus. I mostly feel weird about naming names since I don't want to encourage "other department bashing" or whatever. I'd also prefer to keep the focus upon the department on hand. Any thoughts? Do you not tell professors but fess up to other grad students in order to get some grapevine info? Increasingly nervous about EVERYTHING....

You're not wrong; that's the number they're aiming for (just talked to person on admissions committee today who happens to be compatible to my research interests). He added that they made a slightly fewer offers this year.

I don't know about comp lit, but I know that for BU English that they tend to notify acceptances at the very end of February, so never fear. I know that due to having friends in the program currently Good luck!