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For what it's worth, I can tell you what their typical package was last year; teach one class a semester and they waive something like four classes a year, teach two classes a semester they waive all six (or more perhaps). When I interviewed with a faculty member, she called the system "exploitative." Given how funding in higher ed is going, I can't see that it's much improved. They have a fantastic reputation, but I don't think it's being maintained well right now - all the late notices could be an indication of that as well. If you get in, I would advise bartering for a better deal. If you have questions about that, send me a message!

I agreed (now and then). I was really forthright that I simply wouldn't be paying tuition, and they said they would try to find me a little more money but there was little they could do about the tuition. I had to decline. It seemed to strange to me that they would operate that way, when every other place gives a waiver to their PhD students. If you want to check out in advance, I can give you some names and emails. They ARE SO NICE, and it seems like a really cool place.

Just wanted to chime in, I'm not a candidate this year - but I went three years with all rejects until my third year and then had a great year - so hang tough. I just thought I'd let you know that last year, I was accepted into UNLV (Nevada Las Vegas). The funding was a 60% tuition remission, and a GA'ship of which I never determined the amount or workload. They were VERY nice and wonderful, and have some very interesting opportunities to meet authors etc. I declined on funding. Unless something has changed, I think that may be what you can expect. I hope this is helpful.

Denver University? My experience last year: Rejection letter in JULY. Seriously. July. When I called they were total jerks. DU is a sucky department full of weirdos and they totally ignore Grad Council agreements, even though they are members. ha!

Hey Craig I actually spoke with a professor there with a Japanese last name - I can't recall it right now; she was very articulate and engaging. I was accepted at CU but I decided upon Stony Brook instead. You might try contacting the faculty and asking them to put you in touch with a current student in the program.

Bookchica, I'd only like to say that I feel your pain - This year was my third round before getting into programs. In the meantime, I took graduate courses at a local University MA program. It helped me because I had been out of school for a while.

DU has a beautiful campus. It is a non-smoking campus, which is kind of neat. (Or torture, if you smoke!) I live in Westminster, and on good traffic days I am on Auraria campus in fifteen minutes. I think the bussline and lightrail systems are useful, but I have always had a car to get to the park and rides. I wouldn't really recommend Aurora as a place to live, but that's not totally true. Aurora has a lot of affordable housing, but it seems to me to be divided between the haves and have nots. Cool little places in the city are often old and small if they are affordable. But Thornton and Northglenn have affordable apartments and are near park and rides. I have lived here for ages. I love it. The snow is rarely an issue, but it's good to have a front wheel drive or ESC. Denver often closes things too late, so if there is a snow storm, sometimes it seems like you are already in trouble before the official closures are made - so be sure to use your own judgment about the weather when it's snowing. The mag chloride keeps the streets clear, most days. Auraria campus, which hosts three schools, can be kind of a challenge. It is definitely a commuter campus. That said, UCD boasts some fairly strong academic programs. They definitely have the jealous sibling thing going on with CU Boulder, so there isn't a ton of collaboration between those campuses. There is not a "feel" of a college campus at Auraria, probably because some 35 - 40k students are attending at any given time, and since it's shared by a community college, a four year college, and a graduate granting college, there's no synergy of identity. For me, I loved that - Auraria is urban, it's about the practical aspects of pursuing higher ed. It feels integrated with the city if that makes any sense. DU is way different, it has the feel of the hallowed grounds of higher ed. One cool thing about Auraria is it is right down town, so the 16th street mall is just a few steps away, about a five minute walk. Depending on where you are moving from, it will seem cheap or expensive. IMO, a decent apartment will run about 750 or so a month. But there are plenty of alternatives. For families, I would say that the suburbs are the way to go - the burbs are accessible to everything and give you a more realistic environment (ie, no drunken parties keeping you up, the neighbors and you have yards). The economy is tough. Unemployment and foreclosures are high. It's probably a great time to buy, if you are ready, but you will have to wait quite a while to see a return on such an investment. Anyhoo, happy to talk about Denver if anyone wants. Particularly questions about neighborhoods, although a visit is always best.

In all of my cross listed classes, I found undergrads wrote 8 - 10 page final papers and graduates wrote 15 - 25. All profs made a distinction and assigned the grad students more. I felt the problem was that the discussions focused more on understanding the plot rather than critically engaging the texts, which left me at a disadvantage. If you have the time, the best way to compensate for that is to pop in during their office hours and try to have some of those conversations. I just can't understand them proposing five classes, regardless. But maybe the overall workload is lower? Hopefully you aren't working...

Thanks for asking - I came out blessed. On the loneliest days, I still had the characters for company The papers, however, were another story. I still have one hanging over my head that I am trying to start But I found that I hated life, on many days, but the literature - never. That's what makes me insane enough to pursue the PhD!

Hahah Americana, it's all the people who will hate YOU when you have taken more than three that I had to struggle with My friends must have been so SICK of checking in only to hear the exact same moan-fest every time they called. I got to the point where if they asked how I was I would just say, I can't do this to you any more - you know how it is - thousands of pages to read, major papers to write -- how are YOU?! I would leave it at that. It became a very lonely pursuit because there was no one to share it with. My fellow students were not even remotely in the same boat, and in all, I am glad it's over and will never load myself down like that again -

ANother major concern in this conversation is whether or not you have to work for your stipend. I have in the past taken three graduate courses, worked a full time job, and taught two sections of 24 students each. I nearly died. I had to give up football and all manner of TV for a year. Someone having a birthday would nearly drive me to a maudlin frenzy of self pity, because before they even asked I knew in advance I would not be attending any parties. On the flip side, I scaled things back this semester, kind of - MA Comps, one class, teaching one class, and a prt-time job. All I can say is that the reading loads mentioned above are accurate - I see at my PhD program a leaning towards 25 - 35 page papers (ACK!). I am worried about keeping up. I will be a TA, lead recitation and attend the UG class. I intend to work vigorously to refrain from any extracurricular commitments my first year. I have often wondered how I possibly took more than three classes as an undergrad. I don't know how I could have ever taken four at the graduate level, especially if I had to work. DC, you'll be OK. You have enough drive, I think, to power through Fingers crossed for you! I think I will try to stick with three and take some summer credits... sigh...

I called the adcomm chair of the dept, and left a message saying that I thought I should check in regarding my waitlist status given the Thursday deadline. I mentioned that I was still very interested in the program. Just call and say what's on your mind. I then followed up with an email. I sent two other emails out to two other waitlists - one got back to me right away saying that it wasn't looking good, that despite them only offering as many positions as they had spots, most students were waiting till the last minute. I am not sure if I will ask for an extension from my final choice or not. I hate to do it

I am an English PhD and I will likely be there this fall... I definitely need to find some off campus housing because I am moving from Colorado with my dog Maybe when time gets closer we can try to plan on catching up!

Ion Trap - I have the same exact story - got the GRE up to 800 and the MA with a 4.0. Three years straight - "no." When I read an article saying that the founder of Vanderbilt, more than a hundred years ago died of syphilis, I felt a little Better. FU ETS and FU Vandy!

I declined all of my schools except my top choice, but I am on two waitlists with better funding options (my MA is complete, PhD app in English). I was forthright with the adcomm of my choice (about my declines as well as my waitlists), and I am prepared to call my waitlists on the 13th to see what they think, as well as ask for a 1 - 2 day extension from my school of choice. The worst they can do is say no, and at least I can make an informed choice. I plan to do it in this manner: "I have known PhD students to accept and offer and renege after the deadline, and I do not want to do that. Ethically, I intend to honor whatever admission offer I accept. I am not completely comfortable accepting, knowing that there are two other potential offers I would very much like to weigh. Are you able to grant me an extra day or two to finalize this choice?" Anyhoo... something like that. Adcomms would rather you not renege on an offer, and I think there is a good chance to negotiate for a small amount of time after April 15. I will try to couch this request in a strong affirmation of my gratitude and excitement about the school I have chosen, and characterize it as needing to finalize the decision with as much information as possible. Not sure how I am going to avoid sounding like a jerk in this one, but I am going to try. I am happy with my choice, but as many of you here, my waitlist options are higher ranked. I really liked the post that noted that it may be better to be a prime recruit as opposed to a second choice. In my field, however, admissions are usually in the range of 5 - 8 spots per school, per year, and so the difference between the admits and waitlists are not huge... That said, I am definitely more encouraged by the schools that took the time to convince me that I was wanted, vs the ones that simply notified me that I had made the waitlist...

And the reality of waitlists are setting in for me. I have declined all but Stony Brook, but even after others have declined Tufts and WashU in St. Louis, no word from the adcomms. I will keep holding on until the last minute, but happy to be at Stony Brook if that's the case.

To MA or not to MA... I will throw this little story out there. Three years ago, I was waitlisted in Vandy's PhD program, and didn't make it off the list. Since, I have applied twice. This final time, with a completed masters of 36 credit hours and a 4.0. I never made it further into Vandy's little world than I did three years ago, back when all I had was a 3.76 undergrad GPA from over eight years ago. Go figure. Some of my admits allow credit for the MA, but rarely as much as work as I completed. If youc an do the straight MA PhD, do. If you can't, look for schools that give some credit - I believe that most do. Of my applications, Stanford, Vandy, and Stony Brook did not. All the rest did.

Ah, Diet C0hke you know I am dying to get into WashU I'll pm you if they let me in!! Hope you're well!

Poppy and Simpleton, we all very much want to know where you are going

On Thursday, I will decline Fordham, Northeastern, and UNLas Vegas. Then again, that's April fools day so maybe I should do it tomorrow These are PhD fully funded lines. (MA completed) I am going to Stony Brook, but waiting on wait lists at Tufts, Washington University in St. Louis and CU Boulder to make a final choice. I already declined Miami. I like this thread too - I started it! But I think people have been a little wary to post these things until the final decision is made. I think we all wonder if our adcomm committees are secretly watching us I really like Stony Brook, but the offer at WashU and TUfts would be better if I come off of the waitlist. Thank god there's time to think this over, but I really hope my declines help someone out!

Muffinlit, I finished my masters while in this process of trying to get into a Phd I actually asked new letter writers and with the old ones took a new approach. I reminded them of particular projects I completed in their class and re-sent papers, etc. I asked them to highlight my potential as a future scholar instead of my total academic record. I asked them if they would mention some of my specific work in their classes because the competition was getting tougher. I also made a particular effort to stay involved with them through random other things (attending the reading here and there, offering help, etc.) In your case, you might as a faculty member to mentor you on your personal statement or writing sample. That would give them more info and experience with you that you could ask them to mention in their letters. Another tactic, go visit them - let them know you are trying to improve your application and ask for their advice. Faculty love being able to help their students and to feel needed in that way. Also, be very clear with your letter writers about what you want to study and why - I think it helps if they can share your commitment to the discipline with the AdComms. There is no magic one thing, but I think being as strong as possible in all areas is probably needed in this environment... GOOD LUCK to everyone. It was tough on me getting rounds of rejections. I love it how proactive and energized everyone here is.

All, I had a phone convo with a faculty member from the PhD program at CU in English, where I am waitlisted. I have posted this in other places (or at least the gist), and at the end of the day, funding in Colorado is bad. As a PhD student, only one of six cohort admits, I would be eligible to teach two classes for tuition remission and stipend. Two classes, at the PhD level -- and I am quoting the prof -- "exploitive." If you teach one class, you get 5 credit hours of tuition remission. If CU is your dream school, consider this - after the MA, it's a short program - only six classes. But it takes as long as a program that requires ten because you are either teaching too much and can only carry a load of 2 classes per semester or you are paying out of pocket to free up your time. She noted additional funding opportunities in the second and third years but they are all competitive. If you have the choice, it seems that taking funding somewhere that will allow you to focus and study, where there is solid support for travel and presentations, seems a more professionally sound choice.

All, I wanted to just chime in and say that this year, for me, was the third round of PhD applications. It finally panned out for me. I think my letters of reference and my writing samples helped a lot in terms of improving my app over the years. If it is what you want, be sure to make a tiered app strategy - I pretty much struck out on the top tier, but I got a few good admissions that I am excited about. But again. Third year - before - all rejections.