durkin65

<br /><br />I've lived in Pittsburgh for about 2 years now - and will be living here for quite awhile longer - and most students live in the Oakland/Shadyside/Squirrel Hill area. All of these neighborhoods are adjacent to one another and are all pretty great places to live. I live in Regent Square, which is a neighbor near Squirrel Hill but they are divided by Frick Park (a huge park perfect for running, biking, hiking, etc.) The rent in Regent Square can be cheaper - it's a very nice, intimate neighborhood in between Edgewood and Swissvale. If you start looking for places in Wilkinsburg, make sure to really ask the landlord some questions concerning the safety of the building due to higher rates of crime in that area. It's still a pretty safe neighborhood, but I'd still recommend asking some questions.<br /><br />I don't recommend living in the South Side unless you are addicted to alcohol. That's a place you only visit on the weekends to go to the bar and get a tattoo. If you haven't noticed, I don't really care for the South Side. Actually, it's a cool place to visit during the day, but at night...it's a beast to beware.<br /><br />All in all, Pittsburgh is a wonderful city with many neighborhoods with their own personalities. The longer you live here, the more you'll wonder why the nation has such negative national image of Pittsburgh - maybe it's our baseball team?

I noticed that a rejection went up yesterday. I've yet to hear anything, and I was wondering if anyone else has heard anything yet.

I hope for this as well.

Let's do away with the whole alphabetical order thing - even though I secretly continue to adhere to it - and I'm going assume that they've announced initial rejections. After that, they'll cut it down even more, and then announce who they've accepted, wait listed, and rejected. Now I'm speaking solely in terms of PhD in Lit. and Rhetoric. As for MA, I have no clue. Granted, no one should take my word on this because I am also in the dark.

I'm in the same boat as you, and, maybe surprisingly, think similarly. The alphabet scenario is my concept, and, since my last name begins with a D, I'm not rejected. That's my plan, and I'm sticking to it. Truthfully, I don't know what's going on. I applied to CMU last year and was placed on the waiting list, so I hope this year will be different. And they do not have an online source for checking up on your status. Good luck! Edit: Also wanted to say that they make a fairly large waiting list - 8 or 9? - so there's always the chance you are also on the waiting list, aside from being accepted. And that I applied for the PhD program, and I have my MA.

This is my second round in the application process. During my first round, I accidentally left an "insert school here" in my statement of purpose. While I adjusted the statement to the school, I discovered that I missed that one. So remember, if you use that similar method, CHECK YOURSELF! Does anyone else have any similar stories? Hopefully they'll help remind everyone else to check their work.

I don't know a lot about the program but here is what I do know: they concentrate primarily on cultural studies with literature as a secondary source. I met with Dr. Prucell this past October - very nice, enthusiastic - and I asked him how prevalent literature was in relation to theory and other cultural concepts. He stated that literature isn't as prominent as other English programs - I used University at Buffalo as an example of a theory heavy program and he said it runs along a similar vein. I'm big on theory - I attended Buffalo for my MA - so that appeals to me. They are also a very small program - CMU is prominently science-based - and the amount of course offerings pales in comparison to Pitt which is right across the street. However, students at CMU, as well as all of the other colleges throughout Pittsburgh, can take courses at any of the other campuses and are encouraged to do so. While I understand how many may perceive the department as small, which it is, it is still surrounded by many other programs and a rather rich literary community. I really hope to attend CMU - off the wait list! - and I think it's a very encouraging and tight knit department. I hope that answers some questions, but, if not, please ask some more, and I'll try to find you some answers.

Congrats to those who were accepted or placed on the wait list at CMU. I've been placed on the wait list as well. I'm curious as to the subfields of some of those who earned acceptances and those who've been placed on the wait list. Also, CMU is one of my top schools, so...if you don't feel like going to CMU...maybe... Anyway, I'm interested in Sci-Fi, specifically diaspora SF in relation to Marxist and Postcolonialist theory. I'm currently working through Hollywood's persistent churning out of apocalyptic movies and its relation to commodity fetishism. Again, congrats!

Me too. I haven't heard anything so perhaps I'm a waitlist. Perhaps. Let's just say yes until I hear something different.

I'm curious as to their wait list. I haven't heard from Pitt yet via mail and I haven't seen anything pertaining to their wait list on the results page. I'm sorry to those who've been rejected. A friend of mine also applied to Pitt - he's one of the most intelligent people I know - and he was rejected. Leading up to hearing back from schools, I was told that the entire application process is completely random. Now I know that that is true.

I've completed The Black Atlantic by Paul Gilroy this morning. I'm also reading The Plague by Camus. I'm working on reading one theoretical text per week. I've a list of texts which include Archaeology of Knowledge by Foucault, Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord, Against the Romance of Community by Miranda Joseph, and In The Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition by Fred Moten. In terms of fiction, I have a ton of potential books to read - I purchase books in bundles - like Distant Star and By Night in Chile by Roberto Bolano, Waiting by Goretti Kyomuhendo, and An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by Cesar Aira. I love having lists of books to read. The difficult part is letting down all of the other books that you've put in second place.

I forgot I made this post. Thanks for everyone's response. And you sir/madam are correct about the DOB on forms. I don't know what I was thinking at the moment of writing my post - anxious? tired? I've also seen many people write how an MA actually hinders someone's acceptance chances. I find it pretty strange - I also find the fact that some institutions like to accept students straight from their BA and put them on a direct course towards a PhD. During my time working towards my MA, I constantly asked myself if this - academia/teaching/research - was what I really wanted to do. At some points, I found myself considering to finish with an MA, but I eventually concluded that academia is what I truly want to do with my life. With that in mind, how do these programs rationalize accepting students straight from undergrad when the prospect of them changing their mind's remains present. Personally, if I see an MA grad or student applying for a PhD. program, I know that that person wants to continue onwards. Entering only with a BA - while I know many still continue and graduate with their PhD.'s - seems risky on behalf of the institution. I don't know - it's a strange thing to me that I have difficulty grasping.

I'm 23 and I've been applying to PhD. programs - already have my MA. So far, I've been rejected from all of my schools; I'm upset but it's not life-shattering. I'm just curious if any of you think that age plays a role in how department's make decisions, specifically if they prefer individuals who've had a little more life experience than those who've moved straight from undergrad to graduate like I've done. Edit: I know that school's won't know your exact age, but most likely infer from CV and other schooling.

I think we'll hear something this week as well. Good luck to you two as well.

Just curious if anyone has heard anything from Pitt. I know the storm shut down the school from Monday to Wednesday last week - my girlfriend didn't have any classes until Friday. From looking at previous dates, it looks like they should be announcing very soon, especially since they had a Dec. 12th deadline.