loganondorf

Whew! That sounds a lot more manageable. And still extremely impressive. The Sagas are so much fun, especially because most of the locations can be found on Google Maps. I had a blast zooming in and trying to track all of the crazy events that happen throughout them.

Maybe I'll see you here, then! The Medieval Institute's resources are to die for, and the ND faculty (at least in English) seem really supportive and friendly. Good luck with your goal! 100 academic books is quite the challenge. Doing that much reading will definitely get you in shape for the program! I do wish I had spent more of my two-year break reading academic texts. I did read quite a few, but at a very leisurely pace. I'm sure you'll be uber-prepared for school come next fall! A History of Balance sounds interesting, I must admit -- I may add it to my summer reading list.

I'm also MedRen, and honestly, my only exposure to Latin was through a one-semester intensive course. That's all I have on my transcript, and through coupling that with independent study, I was able to list basic competence in Latin on my C.V. In my epxerience through talking with professors, adcomms tend to look at your languages and trust your listed experience; if you feel that you can achieve basic competence (or better) through independent study, you'll likely be fine with that. All that's to say that I wouldn't pour much money into post-bacc programs, because even one class should prove sufficient to boost your C.V. About half of the medievalists I know who've been admitted to Ph.D. programs had no real experience with Latin, and their programs didn't have much problem with this either. A caveat: some programs (Toronto's is the big name that comes to mind) are very particular about your Latin knowledge, and they'll want to see very strong language skills. If you have an eye on those programs, then disregard my advice. But there are plenty of very strong MedRen programs that aren't particularly bothered about your languages, because you'll have plenty of time to pick them up once you're admitted. (For independent study, I recommend Wheelock's Latin, since it's very user-friendly, though Moreland & Fleischer is more intensive and perhaps better-suited to a graduate-level plan of study.)

If anything, it just emphasizes the seemingly-arbitrary nature of admissions results -- obviously hard work pays off, but there's certainly an element of chance in the mix. The best candidate in the world could get shut out if they happen to apply to programs that don't quite fit in that given year. It's of course the nature of the game, and not something that I'm particularly bothered by, but knowing this certainly helped me last year when I received less-than-thrilling results for my application season.

Yep, that sounds about right. The cluster recruitment was something new to me as well, but I quite liked the sound of it, particularly because it seems like they put in a great deal of thought to how the interests and research areas of the cohort will mesh. It sounds like you're going to have a great deal of flexibility with your program as well, and that in and of itself will be a strength. Right?! It's such a crazy place (in the best sense of the word). I have to admit, I took several videos while I was there just because I couldn't get over how cool it was. Definitely a great study space, if you can get over the people like me traipsing through just to gawk at the architecture.

I'm so excited to hear that my spot went to you! Congratulations -- I pretty much fell in love with Pittsburgh when I visited. You're going to be surrounded by such great people (plus imagine walking through that Cathedral of Learning every single day!). Are you a medievalist, by chance?

Congratulations! The campus is beautiful, and Pittsburgh seems like a great place to live.

Good plan. I'm obviously biased, but Notre Dame! So many amazing resources for medievalists. When I came to visit the university I was completely floored by their collection. It's like paradise, haha. Over the summer, I'll be building my Latin back up from where it was two years ago and working my way through a couple of books in the how to be a graduate student genre. I'm almost done with The Elements of Academic Style by Eric Hayot, and I have to admit that I've really enjoyed it. Also lots of pleasure reading, because I know for a fact that I'll never read for fun again after starting the program.

I'm sorry to hear that. Definitely a good sign for next year, like you said, and I'm sure some kind of funding will work out for your MA programs in the UK!

Good luck! I hope you get a great response.

@LadyPole That's a tough one. Especially since you said you haven't communicated with the DGS since discussing the waitlist, I don't think it could possibly hurt to reach out one more time. If nothing else, expressing that you're still excited about the chance to attend won't hurt your chances, and there's always a chance (even if it's a small one) that they'll go for you if and when someone declines an offer because they know you're still interested when others on the waitlist may have moved on. I'd go for it! Especially if it helps put your mind at ease for the next few days.

@LadyPole Glad to have you here. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you -- being in that waiting position can just be so frustrating, but hopefully it all pays off! A program in the UK would be a dream. What a cool opportunity! Publishing in NYC sounds like an awesome way to spend a couple of gap years. After I graduated, I moved to San Francisco and got a job teaching high school. It's been really great for me, because I think the teaching experience it gave me bolstered my application, and it also helped keep me focused on my field. I really enjoy teaching, and I've learned a lot these two years.

I'm sorry. That's a great plan, though! I grew so much during my two-year gap -- I know for a fact that I wouldn't be the researcher I am now without that time. You're only going to get stronger! Also sorry. It's really too bad that they look for such formal Latin training -- congratulations on your MA and PhD options, though! Toronto's a big disappointment, but there are plenty of other programs that rival Toronto's in medieval lit, so you didn't need them anyway. Fingers crossed for your waitlist!

Where I'm headed, class registration happens sometime during the week-long orientation right before the start of the semester. PhD classes don't max out, so we've been told not to worry about not finding a spot in the course, which is encouraging. About a week after I officially accepted the offer, I received information about locating housing, setting up my new e-mail address, figuring out healthcare, etc. I'd assume that if your programs haven't sent you much information in that vein yet, surely they won't wait very long after April 15 to get that out. Regarding independent studies: one of my potential programs mentioned that we would be able to propose independent studies to the specific professor we hoped to work with, and then approach the DGS with our ideas. They seemed to think it would be better to propose early rather than later, but my instinct is that it would probably be best to wait until after the official course lists have been posted and emailed out -- that feels like it would be a natural time to respond with enquiries about independent studies. Of course, I'm sure it's all very program-specific, so perhaps what I've been told/given isn't particularly helpful in other instances. I hope you can start getting all that figured out soon! It's so exciting to start making it a reality.

I turned down a lit position at Pittsburgh. Hope this helps someone!