mares

OMG, I went through the exact same thing a week ago when I got that email! I almost had a heart attack, hahaha. I would love to get into Rutgers, not only because it is the only program I applied to, but also because I would possibly incur no living expenses since I could easily commute by train and live for free/cheap with my mom-- that's if I don't get sick of her and move out. I looked at LIU and St. John's, but both were about double the cost of Rutgers. Unfortunately those are the only three universities in NJ/NYC that are ALA accredited for the MLIS (don't want the MLS, I think it'll be obsolete in 5-10 years anyway). Good luck!

I can't offer any definitive insight into the questions you are asking, being as I have not applied for their program, but I do know that I have an English professor-- whom I respect very much-- who is a Loyola Chicago alum (MA/PhD) and I told him that if the MLIS program that I applied to does not accept me, then I will apply for an MA in English. I also told him I had looked at Loyola Chicago for their medieval lit program. He could not stop singing Loyola's praises-- of course, being a successful, well-published alum with tenure at his home university (he is only at my university as a visiting profesor for four years, but my uni was his undergrad university as well... digression), he might be a bit biased. Anyway, I guess it depends on what you're looking to study within an English MA program, but from what I have read and from what he says, it seems to be a very strong program. To me, an MA from Loyola seems worth it. Edited to add: For what it's worth, he also told me that doing my MA there would be a good way to see if I would want to/be able to handle the rigors of a PhD program if I decided to go that route.

Thanks! Rutgers is a pretty good program from what I understand. Plus I was born, raised, and did my undergrad degree at a private university in NJ, so I have the benefit of getting state residency prices for tuition. Also, my boyfriend lives just outside the Bronx, NY, and may be doing his MAT at our alma mater, so I didn't want to move to, say, the Midwest and be so far from him. So I guess it's a win all around, provided I get accepted, that is.

The only program I applied to was the MLIS program at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. I got all my stuff in before the Feb 1 deadline. On Tuesday I received an email stating that my application was complete and was being forwarded to the Admissions Committee and that I would have a decision by March 15. I hope I didn't make a mistake only applying to one program, but I didn't want to go anywhere else in the country and the two ALA accredited programs in NYC were too expensive. So here's hoping I get into Rutgers! Good luck to you all on your applications.