brontebitch

Yeah, the philosophers you mention are all of great interest to me. I have yet to consider them in my research, but I am also interested in Gothic lit and have studied some Freud, so I think German would actually be very helpful. I love George Eliot too! Thanks for your input!

That's a very good point on the French. I haven't read Villette in a while, but it does contain a lot of French. I did do two years of French in high school, so it wouldn't be the most difficult to pick up. Thank you for your input!!!

Hi, everyone! Congratulations on all of the acceptances this round - I am so happy for all of you who had success and sending positive vibes to those who are trying to figure out next steps. I couldn't find this info anywhere on the thread, so apologies if I'm being redundant, but I have noticed some other questions about language training and am hoping to get an opinion on this. I speak Polish (intermediate) and Romanian (heritage speaker but I can't read or write), but these languages are not relevant to my area of interest (19th century British lit & women writers in this period). In my MA program at CU Boulder I need to pass a language exam in the language of my choosing, and I definitely want to do something that would be relevant to my area of interest. If I'm a Victorianist and primarily interested in women writers, does anyone have any recommendations for language? I'm not sure if I should study German since I have some interest in Marxist criticism, or if I should study Latin just to have a solid base if I go back to any EM texts (I could see myself doing that since I used to want to focus on EM and have a lot of experience in that time period). Another question: how relevant is the language you choose? Could I theoretically take the MA language exam in Polish, just because of my background and to get it out of the way quickly, without it hurting my chances of getting into a PhD program in a few years? I don't want to continue with a language that isn't relevant to me, but at the same time, not sure what language I should study instead. I am definitely open to studying Latin or German, I'm just not sure how helpful it would actually end up being. If you're a Victorianist or doing 18th/19th century Brit Lit, I would love to hear about your experience with language and what was recommended to you in either your MA or PhD program. I really don't see myself using lit or criticism using another language (at least at this point), so I'm just at a loss. Thanks in advance

Congratulations!!! My aunt is a prof in the English/Comp. Lit department and they have a great program.

While we seem to be a bit on the topic of housing, does anyone recommend or not recommend living on campus? CU has really affordable studio apartments for graduate students near campus and so far they are a lot cheaper than any of the apartments or even rooms I have seen on craigslist (Boulder is a super expensive area). I know on-campus housing is usually not cheaper, but this seems to be a good option. Are there any major down sides to living on campus? It's for sure graduate/post-doc housing, so it isn't with undergraduates.

Perhaps @Warelin could help some people on this thread out - do you know if students who did not receive funding their first year have had luck getting other positions/assistantships through the English department and elsewhere during their second year? It seems like there are a lot of opportunities for funding grad students, I'm just curious how often they go to incoming students rather than current students without funding.

I haven't signed but I called the DGS at Boulder on Tuesday to accept their offer! Excited to be continuing my education at such a great program after getting rejected almost everywhere else! Yay!

Michelle Dowd is AMAZING - my undergrad mentor (Julie Eckerle) and her have done a lot of work together. Just wanted to second this! I have heard great things about Alabama!

I was on the waitlist for funding at Villanova, but I just officially declined my offer. There should be some movement on the waitlist, at least, but it sounds like most of the funding offers have already been accepted by incoming students. Good luck everyone!!!!

I emailed Heather Hicks and told her I was working on confirming my offer from another program but wanted to check in with her before doing so - she told me there has been no movement on the waitlist and that only two funding offers have not been accepted. Those students will also probably be deliberating until after the visit days on April 8th, she said. Sorry for the bad news everyone I am turning down my offer officially today so at least there will be waitlist movement in the case that the two students do not accept their funding offers.

I am waiting on an email from the DGS at CU-Boulder to answer a (somewhat important) question. Unless I get a really weird response to the question (it concerns funding and the most likely date of my granted TAship), I will be accepting the offer from Boulder this week and letting Dr. Hicks know that I am declining Villanova's offer of admission. I hope that those of you on the waitlist for funding hear good news because of this!!!!

I'm sure you've been in correspondence with Dr. Hicks, but I am #7 on the waitlist for funding and when I contacted her to ask about my position and the typical movement of the waitlist, she seemed extremely optimistic that I would receive funding. She did, however, say that it would probably not be until after April 15th that I know for sure. I will likely accept the other offer as funding is a certainty, but I wouldn't give up hope yet if I were you - it sounds like there is usually movement on the funding waitlist - and you're in the top 5. I'm sure you will find out at the admitted students event, as well. Good luck!!!

I am not sure, I am assuming you're on the waitlist if you didn't receive an email about funding, but if you were accepted I definitely think it's worth emailing her and asking. I got a call from a grad student there on Monday night and that's why I knew about funding coming out today (I think a few others on GC got a call as well), but funding was always supposed to be announced in March so I would totally email and ask. Good luck!

That's awesome - I am also into feminist and queer lit but my focus is primarily in Victorian women's authors, Gothic Lit, and male depictions of female narrators. VU does have strong Gender Studies faculty (plus the certificate!) but nothing specifically in what I'm interested. I definitely also feel a TAship is an advantage, which is also pushing me toward CU. CU is so gorgeous!! My sister lives in Fort Collins and my family 6 hours from Boulder, so the closeness to my family is a huge perk. I will almost certainly choose CU at this point, and UIUC sounds great for you! I feel the same about Villanova being unranked, and everyone I have talked to from there has talked about how they have had trouble placing MA students into PhD programs in recent years. Good luck either way! Congratulations again on all of your acceptances!

Thank you for that info! CU is offering me a TAship in the English department which comes with salary + tuition waiver for one semester, and I can TA in the women's studies department and work in the writing center to fund me for the other 3 semesters, so even if I receive funding from Villanova before April 15th, I'm not sure if I would choose it over CU because I will receive funding there for sure and I think it might be a better fit for me. Dr. Hicks told me I will most likely receive funding based on my waitlist position, but it might be after April 15th, so I will most likely decline. I am going to wait until maybe April 1st to decide for sure though. Congratulations on the funding offer, though!!! Are you thinking VU?

I agree, I was kind of surprised! Not sure how many students got offered funding packages either. I think they probably anticipate that lots of students will decline the offer/drop off the waitlist? I am #7 on the funding waitlist and she said it was likely I would receive a funding offer, but I may not hear back before April 15th (meaning I would have to initially accept without funding) so I am probably going with a different school.

To those waitlisted for funding (like myself) I will most likely be declining my offer, so at least that will mean movement on the list!!! just heard from Dr. Hicks that I am #7 on the waitlist. Not sure if I should wait a while to accept my other offer?

I am on the funding waitlist. Dr. Hicks said I am "high on the waitlist" but it may be weeks before I find out if I am going to receive funding. I was leaning toward CU, so I guess this is a sign. Will most likely decline my offer

I got a call as well! Nothing yet, though

Actually just got a call from a current student at Villanova to answer any questions I might have and she said funding decisions will be out within the next two days, in case anyone else is wondering!

I am not sure if it matters if it is a Canadian school or not, but I had the same sort of preconceived notion that PhD was preferable to an MA program, even if you only have a BA, but I have been talking to a lot of people on here and some professors that seem to disagree. Getting an MA first can make you a much more competitive applicant when you do apply to PhD programs again, and if the program provides some good funding options, I don't think you can go wrong, especially if you like the program and you see yourself doing well there. I am in a really similar position and was disappointed because I always thought going straight into a PhD was ideal, but having a few options for an MA program has made me consider other options and realize that an MA really might be best for me based on what I know about myself and the feedback I have gotten from others. You could always take a break and reapply (something I'm also considering), but there is the chance that you still won't get into PhD programs next cycle and you will end up wasting a year. That is a SUPER pessimistic thought, but it's definitely one that's been plaguing me as I consider taking a gap year to improve my applications. It's risky, but you were waitlisted at two universities, so maybe if you think you can improve your apps significantly you should go for it! I don't think you would be at a loss taking the MA; it would probably put you in a much better position when you apply to PhD programs again, and more school/perspective/learning is never a bad thing. This is how I am choosing to look at it anyway! I am not sure about the Canadian v. American MA situation, but if UBC is a good fit for your research interests, it would probably be okay. I think it would be wise to wait to hear back from the other schools. I was rejected from MN and my advisor reached out to the DGS there and he said they are much more likely to admit students that already have an MA based on the current financial situation at the university and the job market in general. I bet if you got an MA and reapplied at MN, you would definitely get accepted considering your research still fits and they are accepting Medieval students when you apply. Overall, I don't see an MA hurting you and if it's not a financial burden, you should definitely consider going for it.

I am so curious though!!! Have you heard back from them at all?

Has anyone heard back from Villanova concerning funding? I thought we would have heard by now since we're well into March. I know we have until April 15th to officially decide, but I am eager to accept another offer. I am, however, curious to see what (if anything) Villanova will offer me in funding.

Out of upvotes but yay!

I got that too... I was like.... k