la_mod

San Diego State University's special collections lib has a HUGE collection of comics, zines, etc. We only have a MA program, but you might be interested.

My boyfriend came with me to a welcome day, and since I was staying in a hotel that the school had paid for / arranged, I emailed them to make sure that I wasn’t going to be rooming with any prospective students. They were really nice about it and told me I should def bring him! A few other people had brought their significant others as well. However, he didn’t meet any of the people I did, but instead did his own thing while I was on campus / hearing presentations. I think it’s pretty typical for people to bring people if they have the means to do so, so then the SOs can get a feel for the town, etc

The DGS at USC just let me know that they’ll be offering my just-declined spot to someone on the waitlist; hope it’s one of you all!

Just committed to Michigan :^)

I agree! I hate that they release admissions like this.

Thank you for clarifying tax info too! I’ve been trying to start a preliminary budget and am hoping to save 25-30% of my stipend / salary after tax, but I really have no idea how much taxes will be...

Can someone explain how to calculate living wage ratio?

CONGRATS! I know this makes your decision harder, but what a wonderful problem to have!

I'm currently on a gap year right now! I did NOT want to take a break but was shut out last year. I was lucky to find two great part-time jobs in very different fields (I work at my university's library and as a nanny) and it has been nice to be in a semi-academic setting while still getting a break. I didn't think I needed a break, but I did! The best thing I've done on my gap year is treat it as a break. I did go to an international conference last summer, but aside from that I've tried to distance myself. It's so easy to get tunnel vision in academia, and I think that -- especially if you've had a really frantic past few years, as I had -- it's good to step back and realize that there's a ton of life outside of the university. Not only has this been good for my mental health, but it made facing the uncertainty of grad school admissions much easier. When I was rejected last year I was DEVASTATED and thought my life was over. This February was still tough and my first few rejections still sucked, but I also knew that I'd be okay if I didn't get in.

I heard back on Monday with an offer for admission via email. I hope you get good news soon!

Finally heard back from Toronto after that cryptic email last week! They also offered a small scholarship, which was nice.

I’m sure someone who has a MA could speak to this better, but: fuck prestige for BA / MAs! It matters what you do there. I went to a kinda meh-ranked school and made up for it by doing well while there, taking extra research opportunities, etc. I know that other people on this forum went to unranked MAs and got into great schools.

I'm leaning heavily towards Michigan right now. I'll probably wait until visiting to accept, but I feel like it's the best for my long-term personal goals. It's hard, because UCSB has the people I most want to work with, but living there would be tough financially, the job placement isn't as good, and I'd have to be in a long-term relationship for 3+ years instead of 9 months. Also I'm so worried about moving across the country! Still, I'm really excited about Ann Arbor in general.

I'm mainly gonna read Woolf because that's who I want to work on, and then Ulysses. I'll get around to finishing some stuff by Forster, Waugh, and Lewis that I've been slow to read.

Yes! So bizarre...