cokitty

x (posted by mistake, please ignore)

Well, Russian is a Slavic language, so I tend to just lump it all together. What's been the process to find professionally vs academically focused programs? It does seem pretty difficult.

Yes, I've had all three of my profs (none of which went to Harvard) say as much to me. I'm trying to stay hopeful. And, in the end, if academia doesn't work out for me, then I've still spent time doing what I love and I won't have felt like I've wasted my time Anyway, like I said, although academia is #1, if it doesn't work out, that's ok, in the end.

Yeah, Bloomington is waaaay better than U-C. You can't always get what you want, I guess. I've been dabbling a bit more in 21st century lit, but 19th and 20th are my core areas of interest and focus. Northwestern's program does look good but honestly I'm a little scared by the fact that they don't require GRE scores. It seems to me that every other place requires GRE, so why wouldn't they? Lack of rigor? I don't know. Yeah, UChicago isn't even accepting applications... it's so strange! I wish it said why. It's my dream to be a professor (ha), so that's really what I'm working towards. I know the market is pretty sad at the moment, but there aren't a plethora of SLAC PhDs and it seems like a lot of faculty might be aging out in a few years...

Yes, I noticed quite a bit about translation on their site pages, which makes me hopeful. The reason it's so far down on my list is because, quite frankly, I like the Illinois program more and I despise the location. I lived in the midwest for 10 years and I'm not thrilled at the idea of going back, although if I liked a program enough, I obviously would - location, of course, isn't everything, but it's something.

Hello all! Just thought I would start a new thread for those of us who are or are considering throwing our names in for this round of applications. Of course, to some extent, this also operates as a "what are my chances" thread (as most "chances" threads do not apply to our speciality...) and a thread to discuss different programs and their relative merits. I graduated this past May with a degree in Russian Language and Literature. Last fall, I did some initial canvassing of websites and came up with a shortlist (from an already short list of programs available!) of programs and I'm working on narrowing those down and starting my applications. I'm living in Moscow right now and teaching English, not only to bolster my language ability and teaching skills, but also to be more competitive by having spent time in Russia (which is my area of interest) as I wasn't able to study abroad for financial reasons. I'm hoping to complete an MA and continue directly to a PhD in Russian Literature. Programs currently on my list are (more or less in order): Illinois U-C UCLA Ohio USC Northwestern Washington Indiana Harvard Initially, I was very interested in Berkeley and Stanford, but not many of their faculty have interests similar to mine, it seems. I'm mostly interested in translation and representation of women (esp. in Soviet literature). So, let's have it! Of course, I am also interested in current or past students of SLLC and your impressions and opinions.