haltheincandescent

Yeah--I totally understand this. Some sites are really great, and have features built in to sort profiles by research interests (yay, UChicago), or list the highlights right on the main page, but others (Columbia.......looking at you) are a massive pain, with having to click on each profile link (they have a big faculty!). So yeah, always easier to ask those who have experience, first. The other way to go about this, of course, is to see where authors whose research articles you like are working (though, from experience, I also know that that can sometimes be problematic with things like sci fi that don't have as much scholarly prestige [yet!], meaning sometimes great scholars are at un[der]-funded programs). But, If any more profs come to mind later, I'll shoot a pm--I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

Possible that they're waiting for everyone to accept/reject (i.e. waiting til after April 15) before starting to send official stuff, so they can do it all at once/to one email list? All I've got, too, is one auto-generated thing (about transcripts, mostly) after filling out the online response form (though it also said to look out for follow up info about transcripts), as well as a message from my dept.'s secretary that they'll be emailing everyone that's officially joining in like, June or something. Essentially, I'd imagine that some grad schools delay official communication until the class is for sure set, though I'm sure it differs from school to school.

Adding to the list from the last thread: Monique Morgan as well as Prof. Kilgore at Indiana (she mostly works on Victorian Sci. Fi., though), and, I know of someone at Harvard working on a sci fi project w/ Stephen Burt, even though sci fi's not his "main" research focus.

Thanks, everyone! And, yep, English (dunno when my little tag there disappeared, but, yeah). Got to see Emily Dickinson's desk/piano/etc. while visiting Harvard, which was too much for my English major self (even though I don't particularly study Dickinson), and might have been what pushed it over the edge. (Not really--everything else was amazing too )

Whoo!, okay, it's all done, and I'm officially a grad student next year, yay! (One DGS just never responded to my letter about declining, which is pretty lame, especially as I really hoped to keep at least the minimum of contact with people at that department, as it really was a good--but sadly, ultimately, not the best--fit for me, but I guess that bridge is burnt out and smoldering already; but everyone else has been supportive, and so, yay, everything's pretty much awesome now! Time to relax and chill )

All this talk of hair is so foreign! I've never even had my hair long enough to reach my shoulders.... After my brother decided, when I was 5 or so, to try to curl my hair with a comb, getting the comb stuck, leading to all my hair having to be chopped off to get the comb unstuck, I've stuck with keeping it short--as soon as ponytails are possible, I know I need to immediately go and get it cut again! I seriously don't even own a brush/comb. No need for it.

And, after my last visit.....: ready to accept an offer! Just trying to write letters to POIs at other programs, first, so I can send them all at once (having a hard time writing them, because I really do wish I could work with those individuals, even if the overall programs aren't right for me......) But yeah. Very excited about everything about the program I'll be attending.

I can't make it to that, actually, but I'm being hosted for a couple of days for my program's visit by a student currently living in the dorms, & plan to ask about how it is to be there. I'll definitely let you know how it goes!

Very good to hear! I'm looking forward to getting a look inside this coming week, and seeing what people in my program think of them. I really am hoping they think the same, as it does seem particularly convenient.

It's more a problem of cost (the low for a studio seems to be 1500!) and not being sure if I'll have much of a chance to actually get there for the purpose of looking for a place to stay. There seem to be some sort of affordable places, if one is willing to have several housemates (which I am), but, knowing no one else, and also not knowing where a good area would be is making it harder... Going into it very blind right now.... I'm vaguely considering at this point just going with the dorms for the first year--it's guaranteed, it's not outrageously expensive (even if slightly more than the cheaper options I've found around craigslist), it'll get me there before orientation, and I'll avoid the even-greater-chaos of trying to find a place mid-April without really being able to visit. Then, hopefully over that first year I'll either be able to find people to room with for the following year, or will at least know the area better and will actually be present to do tours and the like. Lots to sacrifice in terms of back-to-dorm quality of living (yikes, communal showers, again), but I think I can survive 10 months in exchange for the up-front convenience. Maybe. Going to chat with students while I'm visiting about what they're doing, and am spending a couple of nights with a host in the dorms, so, that might help clear things up.

Thought I'd go out on a limb and look around at housing in Boston/Cambridge today (haven't committed Harvard, but it's in the top two, probably, so....) But anyway: heading very quickly back to the wine! Yikes! More stress in that housing market than I really want right now.....but the excitement of Harvard still trumps all that, still, I think.

*shuffles in*....Hi, again! Glad to see you all on this other side, now that I have a chance to get back here after the insanity that have been campus visits on top of a normal work schedule! (one more still to go, but, getting back to usual nonetheless.) Anyway, congrats to you all, and many cheers, and happy drinks all around . I'm still yet to make a final decision (given still waiting on a last visit....) but I've got choices I'm beyond excited about, and am happy happy, and glad to see a supportive place here (some of my field specific boards have gotten a bit--realistically, but still--dim, which has my anxiety back, but, yay for here, and celebratory wine, and yeah.)

If you're absolutely sure nowhere that you might want to apply to requires it, it's probably worth just skipping it altogether. Even if you ended up taking it and scored a ridiculously high score, I doubt that it would make too much of a difference for anywhere that marks it "optional." (Unless you, for example, went to undergrad somewhere that has no historical distribution requirements, and so have conspicuous gaps in your studies [only 20th c. lit courses, for ex., or only medieval], or did your undergrad in a different subject--point being, a good score on the Lit GRE in this case would give you a chance to show that you have a wide [albeit shallow] knowledge of the traditional literary canon, etc., for what that's worth, despite what your transcript shows). (If you're even wavering about whether to send an app to a program that requires it, though, I'd say: go ahead and take it, probably, as your idea of where you want to apply might change, and getting shut out of one bc of no scores would be lame) Other hand: If you had to take it for some other application anyway, and your scores were okay enough (70th% / 600 or so or above?), there's probably no harm sending them. If they're lower, it'd probably be good to opt not so send them--it won't exactly be a conspicuous absence, as they have no way of knowing whether or not you took it, and so might just assume you didn't take it at all, which (considering how many programs are moving away from requiring it) is pretty common. This path might cost you a bit more in score-sending fees if you do later opt to send them, as you'd probably not want to use the few free ones since you can't see your score before they get sent, but, maybe worth it, in the case of a poor score. point being: if you've got them anyway: send them if they're good and you can spare the 27$, don't if they're not/you can't.

Just to add: there's always also academic publishing, which is fairly welcome, in my experience, to a path of MA and perhaps PhD first and then on into publishing work. A lot of the editors I've worked with have their doctorates (in the fields they acquire in, so, English, folklore, musicology, etc.) or a masters (also in lit. and related areas). If you do end up deciding to accept your offer at Boulder, I'd check into opportunities for grad students there to maybe work with the University Press of Colorado which might let you continue to juggle both possibilities.

I second this. While on a visit one DGS basically said the same: as long as each funding package is livable, pick the program among those that's best for you, not the one that's just going to give you 5000 more a year, because this is temporary, 5-8 years or so. Of course, this was coming from someone at the school that probably has the tightest budget of those I applied to, and so kind of has to say something like this to make up for the fact that they can't "compete" flat-out financially--but I'm pretty sure he meant it generally and sincerely, and I'm taking it to heart. All offers I have now are similar, within 5K or so, somewhat adjusting for CoL, and so I'm turning focus to mostly now on: research resources available, my interactions so far with faculty, interdisciplinary opportunities, teaching opportunities and responsibilities, location (somewhat), job support, interactions w/ other students (both current and other prospectives), and general program reputation (not in terms of ranking or just pos/neg, but how each department sees itself/is seen oriented w/in the discipline--as far as it is possible to glean that from a distanced perspective).

Pm'd. But, tbh, the particulars probably don't really matter, as the bit about having particularly attractive interests was sort of a joke, as (just to note, for posterity's sake) I wouldn't exactly encourage anyone applying next year to jump on whatever seems to be the hot-button areas (and all that follows here is just general advice for anyone applying next year that might stumble upon this)--as you've said yourself, solomonski, and as many many many have on here over the years: yes: it's definitely about fit, and there are many different programs with many different really strong areas (I applied to none that didn't at least have 3 people working in my areas--and there were a lot that didn't meet that criteria [but would have if I was working on something else]) but also something about somehow conveying both a breadth of interest along with a depth of passion in your particular subject (which is hard if you try to jump into something because it seems more "marketable," or something) within the 500-1000 words you have for a SOP, one that connects somehow to your writing sample. So really: everything that gets repeated on this board is totally true, regardless of area of interest (as long as you somehow come into conversation with recent scholarship on that area).

Thanks And, yeah--it's pretty crazy, and somewhat unexpected. I mean, I do have a pretty solid application/background/collection of recommendations, but I honestly wasn't expecting quite this positive of a response. Would probably have applied less widely if I knew that my particular combination of research interests was as attractive as it apparently is.

I got in --probably one of my top 3 choices, so, definitely excited..! But, when a decision is made, they'll email you, which directs you to applyweb, where there'll be a new section between print receipt and checklist, a "decision" section, a section that still appears if you just go straight there. (It still just says "submitted" in the corner, no change there.)

Okay, so, when I got my first acceptance, it was pretty early, and we set up a visit fairly early on--which is in a few weeks. Since then, however, I've gotten several better offers, and am planning on turning down this first one. I'm caught between two schedules, though: one, is that the travel is already set up. I don't have too much of a problem with my plane ticket, as I can get the funds to apply to a later flight, and will probably be needing to buy a plane ticket sometime in the next year, anyway--whether for when I move or for conferences, for coming home for holidays, and so on. I am, however, worried about any other plans already made (hotels, etc.) on their side. I would really hate for them to lose anything potentially already paid (if that's even how these things are done? It's still 20 days out, so perhaps it's not even paid for yet??). Anyhow, though, I'm also weighting this against the value for them of just knowing I'll be turning down the offer now, so that someone on the wait list can be accepted (and possibly use that same hotel reservation for their visit, if, still very hypothetical, already made??), rather than dragging it out for another few weeks. I know that some on here often advise to just go ahead and visit, because, who knows, I could fall in love if I keep an open mind--but in terms of future job prospects.......the others are hard to pass up (as very much suggested by one of my advisors). Ultimately, it is really a fantastic program too, so I (1) feel a slight, odd guilt even though I know students choose not to accept all the time, and that someone will be able to end the anxious waiting stage but, simultaneously (2) I don't want to cause any frustration, given how small a community academia is--I certainly still admire the work of the people at that program, and will have reason to possibly work with people there in the future, so..... yeah.... Any advice? Cancel and decide now, or wait? And thank you.

I love seeing all the places popping up with gluten free offerings these days--same with vegetarian/vegan. Not because I myself have to avoid them, but, because I (unlike a lot of really uninformed people who bizarrely criticize GF options as if they were only some sort of Whole Foods produced dietary trend....) can appreciate the need for special restrictions.....and also dream of the day when peanut free options become so ubiquitous (not that peanut products are as widespread as things containing gluten, but still. Cereals, granola, all varieties of desserts, other "nut" products [not that peanuts are actually nuts, anyway] processed in the same facilities.....I would love to one day be able to eat. But instead it's sliding the other way, now with peanut butter Oreos and poptarts, two of the only cookies and breakfast 'foods' previously actually safe. Alas. Fewer calories and less junk food, I suppose.)

Hey food allergies friends! Many tasty (allegedly.....) foods are off limits for me, too: aka anything with peanuts, aka any Asian food except Japanese, aka pretty much all chocolate produced in the US (except Hersheys, which.......not even worth it). I do love visiting Canada or the UK, though. So much peanut free chocolate. So good. (I really gained like 15 pounds when I studied in London--though beer and chips probably were culprits too. It was sad, but also so awesome.)

Hah. Yeah. That reminds me a bit of my old advisor--great guy, super smart, great advisor--but when we'd set up a meeting, I' say: I get out of class at 3:00, so just let me know when you can meet. Inevitably, he'd say: Okay! Let's meet at 3:00 (in X coffee shop a 20 minute walk from my class). Like.......that was supposed to be the time I can't meet. (I just ended up telling him I got out of class at 3:30 instead.....) But, probably, you should just remind them--in my case, he was just your normal average absent-minded prof., which seems to be a pretty common (and accurate) trope, so, they probably just didn't read something close enough.

Ahhh! I'm so exited for this, now

Social tree-stumps unite! (I'm somewhat convinced that interviews, despite being the "last" stage, aren't ultimately weighted that heavily for the schools I interviewed with...because, oh, they were bad. Likes, ums, awkward silences, and Well, I....don't know, really-s, everywhere. When my last interviewer sent me an email about my being accepted, he only mentioned being excited about my writing sample and statement--interview glossed entirely over. Hahaha. Worked in my favor, I suppose....)

Thanks! And, yeah--trying to visit as many as I can, but also meeting soon with my old advisor to talk through the pros/cons of each.....definitely going to be a hard decision (though I'm leaning ever so slightly toward Chicago, currently.)