yanicus

Yay another 18th-centuryist! Best of luck with everything Happy to talk via PM if you want to talk about c18 stuff, or have any thoughts or questions!

I think you're perhaps approaching the idea not entirely in the best mindset. There are lots of things you could be doing that aren't "wasting the year off" that aren't strictly academic or academic-adjacent things. I'm sure you've heard by now that you shouldn't treat grad school in English as strictly a pre-professional endeavor, given the job market and such. Why, then, treat applying to grad school as a strictly pre-professional endeavor? There may be lots of job which would broaden your horizons and help you develop your skills that aren't just "English" or "academic" jobs that you could do for a year while working on applications and reading. As for some concrete suggestions: I would ask your alma mater's library (or other large university libraries near where you live) about guest access, either for alumni or for local residents, for free or for a nominal fee; you may not have as much traction with access to databases, but nothing is stopping you from downloading to your heart's content now and stocking up for later. If you really felt your application would be bolstered by taking courses, I would definitely look into university jobs because they may come with the ability to take courses at a discount (faculty/office assistant jobs, for example, may be something to look into). Definitely, especially if you're still living in the area as your alma mater, stay in lots of touch with your recommenders - keep going to their office hours, etc., and keep them abreast of your plans and progress. As all our circumstances are different, I would be very happy to chat more in pm if you'd like.

Congratulations on your decision! And thank you for sharing this.

@shoestofollow good luck to you and all the other Columbia applicants! Can't wait to read all your good news.

I don't mean to derail the thread, but a quick question for those more experienced than me - when we talk about top X program, is there actually a definitive (meaning something like "matters to hiring committees") ranking for these things? I've only seen the ones on USNews and phds.org, for example.

I'd like to vent about how it's still February and that September seems so far away, especially for those of us going into lit partly to get out of what we're currently doing.

I think for your MA it should be okay especially if it's a great fit, although as a matter of signalling on the job market, and your professional growth, I imagine some of the same dynamics apply for this as it does for not doing your BA and your PhD in the same school. Specifically, it can't hurt to have more schools (implicit validations) listed on your CV, nor can it possibly hurt to have as broad a range of exposure as you can to different faculty. N.B.: This is just me regurgitating what some of my mentors have told me. I may or may not be sad that I love them so much and they want me to go elsewhere for my PhD than for my undergrad.

I agree; @Mippipopolous start a decisions thread!

@imogenshakes wow I am rooting so hard for you to get the clean sweep. Congratulations on all your successes so far!

@orphic_mel528 @positivitize did you literally both just post the same gif at the same time O.o

Damn you Pixar

Noooo not Bing-Bong :'(

Oh actually you're right. I misremembered; apologies to OP for being somewhat misleading.

The fact that the essay is machine-graded probably means that if you want to improve your essay score, being as formulaic as possible (ignoring all your training in how to actually write well) is probably important. It was definitely a bite-the-bullet thing for me but it seemed to work out okay.