E. Coronaria

@rising_star Thank you! I probably should have used the search function before I started this thread. Oops! @jrockford27 Thanks for your reply-- I had only considered the flexibility of my student schedule (as a positive thing), but I had failed to consider how the irregularity may negatively impact the dog. I wasn't thinking through the colloquia, meetings, and other department citizen activities. This is a great point. Thank you. @renea Thanks for such a detailed reply. The guilt is something that I've been thinking about, but I'm also fighting against the guilt of participating in (by means of not stopping) Charlie's abandonment to people we don't know. I'm not comfortable not knowing what happens to him, so I feel guilty about the possibility of him going to strangers. There's so much guilt to go around! I love gradcafe. Y'all are some wonderful humans.

Thank you everyone for the feedback! I sent my relative a note about my housing concerns-- moving in August and would like to secure a house first so barking won't be an issue-- but I told him I was willing to take the dog in August after the move. Otherwise, I told him to give his first choice adopters my name, phone number, and to tell them that if they decided to rehome Charlie for any reason that I will pay a cash reward for his return to me. Hopefully I've done enough for the dog. Thank y'all for giving me the confidence to offer to take him. I still don't feel great about it, but given that I won't know where I'm living until late June (I have a visit and a realtor lined up to show me rentals) I think I've done what I can with the information I currently have.

Hey y’all, A family member of mine has decided to surrender a dog because he “no longer wants the responsibility.” He’s looking to give the dog to anyone who will take him (including people who he doesn’t know) or potentially having a shelter place the dog. I am horrified that he’s doing this to a six year old dog for no reason other than he “needs to free himself from the responsibility.” How many of you have dogs and are going to Ph.D. Programs? I feel like I should take the dog from him to keep it from ending up in a bad home, but I’m worried about living arrangements/cost/time. I want to do the right thing for the dog. This is gutting me. For reference: I have lived with the dog for periods of time in the last six years. I do have an emotional attachment to the dog.

I declined offers at the University of Iowa and the University of Oregon last night. Hopefully this helps someone!

HI! I have a two year MA from the institution where I did my BA. We didn't get writing center or teaching experience. It was entirely about coursework and research. I also wasn't funded-- it was comparatively inexpensive, but I did pay for the degree. I had a great application season this time around. Last year I only applied to four schools, so I was (understandably) shut out. Someone else may have a different perspective, but I'm grateful for two years of research. I did just fine without the teaching component. I'm 3a/3w/5r this season. Best of luck to you!

Hi @clinamen! Happy to share. Unlike some of the other waitlists I have received, the email was very brief. It didn't include information about whether or not funding was a possibility, and it didn't provide any information about what my chances were of receiving an offer. I was notified by email on March 1. Hope this helps! They made offers to less than 10% of applicants this year.

Waitlisted at University of Washington-- Seattle.

I’m still waiting on Riverside too! Also, does anyone think that the University of Washington might post this week?

@M(allthevowels)H and @EspritHabile: Thanks for your notes. I've written and deleted a few responses, but I don't feel that y'all are really responding to the offhand comment I made earlier today anyway (or the clarifications I posted). Although this has turned into an (interesting and important) debate, I'm not comfortable being cast as the opposition in this debate, because it doesn't accurately reflect my original comments or any of the clarifications I posted after. Maybe my writing is poor/ineffective today. All best!

Hi! Couple of misunderstandings: first, I am talking about addressing grammatical issues as they arise in the students’ writing. I’m not suggesting that I stand up in front of a class and drive everyone to sleep with the recitation of grammar rules. Second, I never suggested that SAE was infallible. But the basic components are still required for success after graduation. I think it’s incredibly wrong to withhold “the code” from people who have never been given access to “the code,” even if I don’t agree with how it has been used in racist/classist ways. They can’t go to the writing center— nobody there will address it. How are they supposed to learn about their split infinitives, passive voice, and comma splices unless someone gently explains it to them when it appears on their papers? Third, and most crucially, I NEVER suggested that I would be lording over my classroom as the only one who could offer anything. My original post said that I would be reviewing some grammatical concepts so I could clearly articulate them to my students as they came up in their writing. It’s almost like you didn’t even read my post.

I’m 23 and I still feel like a baby. Honestly, I don’t even know you and you impress me. You are visiting Michigan because you deserve to be there! You’ll do fine without your parents (it’ll be scary at first but you can always call/text/Skype!) + you’ll learn to drive in the snow/ decide when it’s best to stay off the roads.

@EspritHabile: I’m at work and I don’t have time to answer this in full at the moment. I’m always interested in advice from others. However, I believe that there is a difference between penalizing students with grammar and taking the time to explain how their writing doesn’t meet SAE. As a student disenfranchised by a poor, rural public high school, I can tell you first hand that ignoring standardized grammar because we don’t want to be complicit DOESN’T do the student any favors. Job applications, internships, other college classes, and graduate school applications will hold them to that standard, and not providing the information is disenfranchising the student. You don’t have to beat a student down to provide information clearly and sensitively. Perhaps I didn’t articulate that carefully enough in my very informal post. I want to empower my students with information, not penalize them with it.

I have imposter syndrome SO HARD right now. I reviewed the survey courses that TAs teach in the first year, saw that the same anthology was used across all the sections, and ordered it already to being studying it ASAP so my future students don’t suffer for all that I don’t know. I’m also reviewing some advanced grammar concepts so I can clearly articulate to my students why their writing is poor/ineffective. I will review Art and its Significance this summer (probably starting in June—the whole point is to be fresh on the topics in August).

Oh! I'll check these out! Thank you!

I have an awkward confession to make: I haven't read anything strictly for pleasure in a long time. Please don't misunderstand, my research and learning give me pleasure, but it doesn't have the same feeling of escapism. I tried Dune last, but I didn't like the styling of the sentences (petty, I know, but it made it hard to slip into another world). What are your recommendations for something beautiful, intelligent, carefully crafted, that is also likely to whisk me away to somewhere special (while I eagerly wait for August ).