punctilious

Congratulations! That is so wonderful!

BU, I see that acceptance and those rejections on the board. If you're trying to send us onto your MA, you really don't have to... lol.

Husband took himself off the UMD waitlist--he was at the very top for his field, so perhaps someone else will be able to move up!

I really hope so! Keep us updated!

I added Harvard! Looks like UDel is updated. Our waitlists didn't give us funding details unfortunately.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! This makes me so happy!!!

My husband has been out of his BA for close to two years now. He took a job as a Background Investigator, which is not directly related to English, but it requires a lot of report writing and interviewing, which I think is great for interpersonal and organizational skill building. However, the main reason he took the job was for flexibility. Having a job that he could set aside at the end of the day and not worry about, mold to his schedule, work from home, and make pretty decent money was fantastic for giving him time to focus on his writing and applications. He's published two book reviews and a short story in this time, written countless stories, worked on his novel, read a ton, and refined his research interests. I don't think a job has to necessarily be something closely related to your field of study. It can be, but ideally you should pursue something that gives you the time and freedom to get PhD apps done!

Good luck! It doesn't look like Arizona has sent any decisions, have they?

Husband was waitlisted at BC on February 11 and was informed that he was first in line for a spot in his field. However, he declined his place on the waitlist 11 days ago. It's always possible there's a secret waitlist, though?

It is absolutely exciting. It has finally started to settle in that this is really happening, and we are pumped. I am thankful that in the end, our decision was a pretty easy one. Keep up updated on your process!

YUP. Husband’s main POI at Harvard was definitely in recruiter mode and seemed convinced he got into UChicago or Stanford. It was sort of hilarious and unexpected! Steph Burt wasn’t on his main POI list (husband is into fiction rather than poetry, despite both of his writing samples being on poets haha)—but we’re intrigued by her interest in science fiction. Husband’s POIs are David Alworth, Louis Menand, and Andrew Warren, all of whom have reached out to him and he’ll get to have meetings with during the visit days! I would imagine the adjustment going from NYC to Iowa would be tough. We were super limited in the locations we were willing to live—we wanted to be in or near a major city with good public transit. Let us know what you decide!

This thread offers a lot of advice on this topic:

These are obviously both fantastic opportunities--huge congratulations! I think its highly subjective and difficult to calculate, but there are a whole lot of questions you could ask yourself, of course. What is your most pressing desire for you right now? To become a creative writer or an academic? You can do both, of course. But what do you want to focus on? Where do you prefer to live for the next 2-6 years? Would you fit in better to one program or another, based on the vibe of the students? Do the faculty at one institution or another draw you in? You can of course do a PhD after an MFA, but are you okay with the possibility that you won't get into a program of that caliber again (or any program at all)? Do you have a goal for a creative project you want to complete in the program (if not, it may not be a good time to pursue an MFA)? My husband debated also applying to MFAs, and this might not apply to you, but he ultimately decided not to because 1) He felt he could improve his creative writing on his own while in a PhD program, but couldn't get the qualifications to be a literature professor while in an MFA, 2) He is semi-skeptical about the benefits of an MFA, as plenty of great writers publish without an MFA (not to say they aren't valuable), 3) There wasn't necessarily an MFA program that called to him or seemed like an ideal fit, 4) A lot of PhD programs also allow students to pursue creative writing coursework (this is something you may ask Berkeley about). He's happy to hear that creative writing is big (and getting bigger) at Harvard, so that's something he can engage in while he's there. We're looking forward to hearing what you decide!

Husband officially declined his spot in the University of Delaware's PhD. Hopefully that helps someone on the waitlist! It's such a wonderful program, and everyone has been incredibly kind and informative.

Aren't you just itching to get another master's degree, though?

Assuming husband has been rejected from Colorado's PhD, as he was just accepted to their MA without funding. NO.

Good luck to you! That is a really tough decision to make! Congratulations!!! I hope the visit is awesome.

I'm sorry to hear that. The process is just so unpredictable, you never know what will happen no matter how "strong" or "weak" the fit appears to be! Riverside still looks close to the ocean, though! But perhaps that's just because I'm from a state without coastline (Vermont).

Rejected from Brandeis yesterday evening!

Same here! $8k is like not even a dent at all.

I tried to reply to this yesterday but GC was giving me issues. My family has already been excitedly planning our move up from Virginia, and my grandfather is especially looking forward to helping out! My husband has never been to Philadelphia, so it would be awesome to stop along the way. I was deeply intrigued by your note about haunted prisons and had to Google it. I'm not sure grandpa would go for it, but I would!!!

Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you! Did you get any details regarding your place on the waitlist?

Congratulations!! I LOVE the DC area and hear that Howard is fantastic!

Thank you so much! We debated waiting for the visit day and visiting other schools, but considering it was his dream program and has the best funding and likely the best chances for him to land a gig in the UK/EU, we figured there's no reason to delay! Already submitted our housing application so things are in motion!

Husband officially accepted Harvard's offer! I'm so excited!!!