clinamen
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Posts posted by clinamen
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5 hours ago, tinymica said:
I posted a little bit about this in the applicants thread but figured it's better suited to this one: I just finished up my UW virtual visit and I'm really pleased with how it went. It was undeniably awkward at points because of the webcam format, but I really enjoyed speaking with faculty (even those whose interests were far from mine). I'm relieved to get the sense from current students that it's a highly collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and friendly environment. My concerns, though, are about the fact that the teaching requirement begins the very first quarter and that, while there are efforts to prepare students for the job market early-on, they don't seem as....extensive (?) as those at other programs. I'm not sure where the standard is for professionalization initiatives, so if anyone has more information on that, please let me know!
Hi everyone! Current UW student here! I went through this process a few seasons ago and I can't imagine not having had the opportunity to make visits -- they were so crucial to my decision. I'm genuinely sorry to hear that many of you are being faced with a "site-unseen" decision. I offered my email through the grad assistant at UW but I want to say here that am happy to talk with anyone on here or over email who is considering UW!
To address your questions about professionalization, @tinymica there is a committee assigned to professionalization and there are meetings that I've been to dedicated to developing materials for students going on the job market. I am pre-exams so I will say I have not participated in "extensive" preparations for the job market at this point. That said, I'm sure that professionalization early on is something UW could improve. I don't know the standard, but I don't get the feeling that UW is significantly behind other programs (at least the ones I was able to visit). I'm happy to talk more about this or teaching or whatever if you want to pm me
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I’ve done some serious thinking about USC, and while it’s a fantastic program, I’ve realized that there are not enough (if any ☹️) faculty there for me to work with in my field. I had worries about fit there when I was applying, and looking back to the visit, it was the one school where I almost didn’t meet any faculty one on one and I find that alarming. I met one professor because I reached out after the visit but I’m not sure if his and my work gel. My friend in the program at USC had a talk with me as well that was very much an “I don’t know who you’d work with” talk. There are over ten professors that are in my field at UW. I think that at the end of the day finding professors to work with and to be in your corner is what will make a program great or not so great. I’d rather have more options than not. The chance to take classes in Geography on theorizing the city is also something that UW has that USC does not and I would say that the city is the cornerstone of my work. So I think that’s that! Thanks guys ?
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34 minutes ago, Bumblebea said:
I'm going to give you advice based purely on these programs' reputations (which aren't reflected accurately in the US News rankings) rather than anything personal going on in your life:
Go to USC, go to USC, go to USC.
USC is doing a better job of placing their students in what is a completely miserable job market. I run across their graduates all the time. I have rarely run across a graduate of UW (and, taking a look at their website, it seems that they are not very forthcoming about their placements). More importantly, the fact that their DGS isn't even going to bat for his/her own program ... holy smokes! Back away! That's a huge red flag. And four years of funding is likely not enough time to make it through a PhD program, even if one already has an MA. (Most people take a minimum of five.)
I'm less acquainted with UMN, but a glance at their placements page tells me that they are placing people, though not at the rate or caliber of schools that USC is. It's also less clear how they've placed recently. (The job market has really tanked in the last four years, so you should disregard information about placements from a decade ago.)
And the fact that USC is offering you three years of fellowship? That's incredible, and quite a credit to you.
Thank you I value this perspective and what you’ve said has given me a lot to think about. It seems that USC might just be the middle ground/compromise location wise between the three and the better program overall.
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5 minutes ago, Warelin said:
I'd like to add a note here that part of USC's success is that it has one of the best dual Creative Writing and English PHD programs. If I remember correctly, the creative writing department is highly prized within the English department there and most students are part of the creative writing program within the department.
This is exactly true. It created a different vibe because I feel like there was more excitement coming from (and perhaps directed towards) the Creative Writing half of the cohort. I wonder if the departmental attention paid to grad students will favor the creative writers or if there will be downsides to a program with courses and professors stratteling the two tracks. This is speculation, of course. But thank you for mentioning this @Warelin.
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23 minutes ago, jrockford27 said:
If you don't get a good vibe from UW (not trying to convince you to attend is a big red flag) and don't see yourself fitting in at USC, these should be just as important. Being cold for a few years but thriving academically is one thing, being warm but in a bad work environment seems much much worse to me.
You’re right. I want to make excuses, but all I have to hang on is the cold. Otherwise, I hear nothing but great things about Minneapolis. Thriving academically is the priority for me. I know it might be the best program fit for me, I just don’t know if in reality I could actually go through with that decision, or I believe I would have already committed there by now.
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24 minutes ago, agunns said:
I empathize with you regarding your concerns about location. Granted, I just decided to decline the only offer I received this round because I was really unhappy with the location of the school (and there were some issues with the program as well).
Thank you so much for contributing and for sharing your own experience. I read your other thread about turning down your offer and I think you made the right choice. I have always lived in large and large(ish) cities and that is honestly a real priority for me and I would have made the same decision if posed with your dilemma. Especially if the location and the school aren’t right then you are right to wait it out and you will most likely have much better options next year.
The fact that LA (as flawed as it is) is a large and active city is making it hard for me to justify turning it down purely based on location. Mostly because I realize that there are “worse” places to live far more incompatible with my need for the city life. LA is just ugh. It’s expensive and it’s ironically isolating because I don’t have any desire to spend hours in the car to travel over three miles. I certainly could make it work, but I would be bummed to have missed my ticket out.
Its funny because I really dedicated everything to these applications directly after finishing my MA, so thinking about having a life outside of academia/ a PhD program is a new consideration. But an important one I think. So thank you for bringing that up.
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@Melvillage_Idiot Thank you for your response! I will probably repeat this but I'm so grateful for this community, as we are such a small population of people going through very similar life decisions/following similar life paths and the shared experience on here is a relief from an otherwise isolating process.
You are correct to interpret my post as a real decision between USC and UW. I keep coming back to UMN because it was a program where there were real "warm and fuzzies" for lack of better terms and a great fit. But I think it may be time for me to phase them out considering I'd much rather live in LA or Seattle.
I am trying to decide if the presence of my partner and friends overrides the concerns I have with the programs. I think if any of the other programs had the same issues as UW I would rule them out easily, and that fact really really troubles me. But I feel that I should mention that I trust myself to be resilient and to make the best out of any situation. I do believe that I will find a way to thrive out of sheer determination wherever I am.
About my partner factoring into the decision: He is wonderful and lived with me in LA during my MA and we didn't have any problems with managing our relationship and academia. In fact, I felt incredibly comforted and supported by him throughout and he was always a welcome reprieve from the stresses of graduate school. All of this said, we are both very independent people and part of that for me means that I am very, very resistant to making any decision based on him and he doesn't want that either. We are both at a point in our lives where we want to do what's best for ourselves, even if that means that we have to do long distance for a while.
Also, I want to add that I was born and raised in Denver, and I know the DU area very well, and I am SO EXCITED for the both of you!! Denver is fantastic and please feel free to PM me with any neighborhood-related questions, or if you want places to eat, where to hang out etc.
Congrats!
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Hello everyone! This post comes from a place of desperation, as it is about ten days from the 15th when I will have to have all this sorted out. My problem is that I am deciding between three schools and am completely deadlocked and unable to commit, even mentally, to a single program. Things are not aligning to make this choice an easy one as I was hoping. Here is the situation, I will try to make it brief:
After visiting, UMN is the department I liked the most as far as ~vibes~ go, but the location (and more the climate) is something I don't think I could honestly get past. It also feels like a long haul as they fund for six years, but six years of teaching is a lot, and is a long time to live in the midwest.
USC is offering the best funding package -- five years with three years of fellowship. They also have a stellar faculty and reputation because at almost every visit the professors I've spoken to and the current grad students at varying institutions have implied that I would be a moron to not go to USC. The location isn't ideal for me, though. I have lived in LA for three years and I am very ready to leave and while I was at the visit, I just didn't see myself at USC for reasons I can't quite pin down.UW is a school I have wanted to attend for a while as I applied for my MA, last year for the PhD and again this year and ~finally~ have been accepted. I know I love Seattle and have been wanting to move back here (I did my undergrad here) for a while. All of the life-outside-of-academia things would line up quite nicely for me here. My partner is moving back here to finish school, so we could continue living together and not have to do x amount of years long distance. My friends are here, and I love the city. However, the program has serious problems. Because I will be entering with an MA the funding package is only four years because I would only take a year of coursework. As far as I can see the year of coursework has drawbacks and benefits, but I would basically have to hit the ground running. I also had a troubling conversation with the DGS, who didn't even try to convince me to pick UW. I've talked to four different grad students and they all had different experiences with completely different opinions. But I am absolutely in love with the campus. If this even matters.
I should mention that strong cultural studies and interdisciplinary opportunities are imperative for me, but I strongly believe that I would have this at all three of these programs. All three programs are comparable in ranking. Especially USC and UW at 33 and 35. But I am sensing that USC may have a bit more clout? It may be a question of location. I am honestly at my wits end with this decision process. I know it is an embarrassment of riches, but picking the ~right~ program has come to feel like an insurmountable decision (wrought with panic and stress) that I feel ill-equipped to make.
Advice, anecdotes, commiseration are all deeply appreciated.
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1 hour ago, Hermenewtics said:
UW has some history of squirrelly deals with funding, but I've mostly heard horror stories about not funding the first year. If you have funding for, say, the first four years then I'm sure Warelin's right on and you've got nothing to worry about
Yes I have heard the horror stories as well about no funding the first year, and luckily that is not the case here. I have it guaranteed the first four years.. so I am hoping that it isn’t difficult to secure funding beyond that! Thank you all, these comments are very encouraging ?
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9 minutes ago, Warelin said:
Congrats! I’d also like to add a small note here that some universities also “guarantee fewer years” in order to make it easier to increase your stipend after certain exams at some schools. Other schools guarantee your stipend for one year only in order to adjust their stipend for inflation and to ensure all students receive equal funding in the program.
Out of upvotes but thank you so much for this information! I hadn’t considered this type of funding situation — I will keep my fingers crossed that there is something like this going on at UW!
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28 minutes ago, JustPoesieAlong said:
I responded to this on the other thread. One of my universities has a similar funding situation, but I heard from a grad student that they mostly use that just in case a student doesn't progress--but basically, everyone who does their work gets an additional year. You could check in with some current grad students to see if there's a similar situation at UW.
P.S. Congratulations again!
Ahh thank you so much for this!! You have made me feel better and a bit more equipt to be happier about this development! I am definitely going to check in with current grad students. Luckily I am visiting this coming week so I will come prepared with questions. I am only concerned because the DGS had told me over email only a few weeks ago that all phd students receive five years of funding and that my incoming cohort (smaller than previous years) would be the first to get the sixth year guaranteed as well. I'm anxiously awaiting a response to the email I wrote to ask about this conflicting information.
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52 minutes ago, M(allthevowels)H said:
@clinamen @melian517 My people! I'd narrowed it down to three with an ever shifting rank until last week. Now I'm 80% sure it's two, but don't ask me which one is in the lead. God help me if I get off of a waitlist.
I feel this so hard. I just got off the waitlist at top choice and the funding package is only four years.. whomp whomp. God help me is right. This was not meant to be an easy decision process for me apparently!
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Officially accepted to UW off the waitlist!! But my funding offer is for fewer years than I expected...
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14 minutes ago, melian517 said:
Yesssssss. I have one school that I think would be the best for my career but the city would make life and finances more difficult for us, and another that is lower ranked but the cost of living is soooo cheap and I know my partner would be happier there. Trying to choose has honestly been the most stressful part of the process for me.
I can totally relate! At least it seems you have narrowed it down to two! I have only narrowed it down to three and one (the one I think is my first choice) is a waitlist so I'm really feeling the stress. The one I liked most after visits is in a climate I just don't think I could handle and in a region I just don't particularly want to live in. I had no idea that this part of the process would be so stressful (or even stressful at all)!!
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Anybody else still having a tough time making a decision?
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2 hours ago, marisawhy said:
To my fellow waitlisted: If you're waitlisted at a school you know you would accept but also have an offer from a program you like, how long are you waiting to hear back from the waitlist? I've been thinking evening April 14th/morning April 15th at the latest but is that too late? What are your thoughts?
I am also interested in how this is going to play out for me, because I think I am going to wait out my spot at UW. I haven’t even gone so far as to think about the logistics of waiting till that very last day if I have to — I am hoping it won’t come to that. UW has been great at communicating with me about the waitlist and mentioned that they would do their best to move things along on their end before I accept any other program. In fact I was told not to accept anywhere else before giving them a chance to “move things along.” I think open communication with your waitlist school is key! Regardless I feel I am in for a very stressful end to this application season!
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4 hours ago, a_sort_of_fractious_angel said:
You picked the right day to ask, haha! I can happily (and now officially) say that I'll be heading to Carnegie Mellon this fall.
Congratulations!! So happy for you! I can't wait until I can get to this point!!
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21 hours ago, katie64 said:
Is it expected to inquire about your status on the waitlist, or wait for the school to contact you?
I have had really detailed responses from simply asking if they can give me information on how the waitlist works (e.g. is it ranked or is it by field). I’ve asked this twice and on both occasions I was told where I was on the waitlist, how it works, and how likely an offer of admission is. Good luck!
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8 minutes ago, darcyt said:
Received an email that I was waitlisted for funding at Temple. If anyone received a funding offer and knows they won't be accepting it, would very much appreciate you letting them know!
I declined my funded offer at Temple on Wednesday -- hope this means good news for you!
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I'm wondering if anyone can give me some information on UW. I have received news that I am the top-ranked applicant for my field and that there is a good chance I'll receive an offer of admission eventually. My only hang up is that UW is the only school I applied to that has admitted applicants without funding. I have emailed the DGS asking about funding but have yet to hear back, so I'm wondering if anyone on here has heard of or knows of any applicants who were admitted off the waitlist and also received a TAship. I don't want to get my hopes up if funding is a long shot.
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I am currently in the process of declining my offer (including a TAship) at Temple University. I hope this means good news for another Temple applicant!
Edit: I had no idea how hard it would be for me to send that email! Even though I know that I wouldn’t pick Temple over my other options it felt awful letting them go. I feel like I selected each program with such care and put so much into every application that it’s just terribly difficult to say “no.” Anybody else feel this way?
The only thing that got me to hit send was the fact that the sooner I declined the sooner someone else got good news. ?
- Conradical and bumbleblu
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10 minutes ago, punctilious said:
Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you! Did you get any details regarding your place on the waitlist?
No, the email didn't offer specifics about my place on the waitlist or how it works -- so I responded asking about it. I'm really hoping to get some info as I'm going into visits this month and they are definitely a top pick for me!
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15 minutes ago, EspritHabile said:
Seattle is a wonderful place! I hope your waitlist turns into even better news (and golly, do you have some tough decisions to make with all that green in your signature line)!
Thank you so much, I'm hopeful! This season has been such a delightful surprise -- I feel so ecstatic and so incredibly thankful to have the options I do. Ah I could cry.
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Waitlisted at UW!!! I'm so thrilled! I definitely thought I'd been rejected as they seemed to notify everyone last week! Going back to Seattle is an absolute dream for me!
- LibraryLivingJT and punctilious
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2020 Decisions
in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Posted
Just wanted to pop in and say: Yay!!! Congratulations and welcome!! ???