Saltshaker

Hi! I can't speak for Spanish in particular, but I'm currently working towards a PhD in French Literature at an Ivy League and don't have a masters. It's more common for accepted students to have an MA, but mostly because those students tend to be more advanced scholars and are therefore more likely to be accepted. But it's definitely not necessary, and often if you already have an MA, you then end up having to redo coursework in a PhD program. For my undergrad, I went to a small liberal arts college that no one has heard of, so to echo @frenchphd, your writing sample, recommendations, and personal statement matter more. But definitely go somewhere funded. The best advice I got from professors when I was applying to grad schools was, "Make sure you don't pay a penny. Going into debt isn't worth it." This is even more true now, I think, since the job market will be abysmal for the foreseeable future.

I received my Cornell acceptance on January 30, though I’m sure the date changes every year! I also currently go to Cornell, so feel free to message me if you have questions. I’m curious to know which professors you’re interested in contacting there!

I applied and was accepted to LSU and UVA last year! I think LSU is great for Francophone studies, but they didn’t even bother to invite me for a visit (and when I asked, the professor just went, “Oh, we don’t just offer vacations.”) I visited UVA and really enjoyed it, it was one of my top choices but after weeks of agonizing, I ultimately went with Cornell because it was a better fit for me. I will say that the nerve wracking part about UVA is that, when they invited me to visit with other applicants, none of us had been accepted yet! So if you do get an invite, just be prepared Afraid I can’t say anything about Brown, I know nothing about its program and didn’t apply there.

I’m a bit late to the party, but I’ll be attending Cornell in the fall!

I feel the exact same way, my undergrad GPA was perfect but I went to a tiny college in the middle of nowhere, and I imagine a good portion of my competition attended/were attending far more prestigious schools. It still astounds me that I got accepted into an Ivy League.

I actually just secured a place in Fall Creek via Craigslist! Yeah, most people told me to stay away from Collegetown, too, because of the frat parties.

@Frenchlady My response won’t be as long and detailed, but I was in your shoes a few weeks ago! I’d narrowed it down to my top two schools, a prestigious public one and an Ivy League, and agonized for weeks. Prestige was the last thing on my mind, because for me, it came down to the French departments and their academic fit for me rather than the school’s reputation. I didn’t take funding amounts into account that much, either, because like @madamoiselle, schools gave me equal amounts of funding (all depending on costs of living, of course, but it all evened out in the end.) Length of funding was slightly more important, but not by much, because every school I’d been accepted to offered a full five years (one of them offered seven years). But my top two schools each give a full five years, and since most people don’t finish by then, will renew the stipend/TA salary. Out of your factors, variety of faculty mattered the most for me. Would there be enough 18th century scholars in the department, and would they give my studies diverse perspectives? Did any of these 18th century people focus in feminism, as well? Were there other professors with interests that matched mine, such as disability or queer studies? Could I include professors from other departments in my committee? As for my decision, I agonized for weeks over the individual departments. Did I want a traditional, larger French-only department where I would be required to study every literary period and follow a departmental reading list, or did I want an intersectional, small Romance Studies department where I could create my own reading list? After some intense soul-searching, I decided that, although I’d dearly miss having classes conducted in French in a French-only department, I’d be happier structuring my own program. Hence, Cornell! Location played a very brief role—did I want somewhere an hour away from home, with weather I was used to, or did I want to risk a school way up north with long winters I’d never experienced before? In the end, despite its harsh winters, Ithaca won because it’s famous for its gorgeous scenery, and I’m happiest when I’m surrounded by nature. I’m sure this won’t influence your decision, seeing as you’re French and don’t live near any of the schools, but I also knew that if I went with the public school over Cornell, it was so close to home that I wouldn’t leave my comfort zone at all. I don’t know if this will help you any, but I hope it does!

Lyon is amazing! Even if you don’t get placed in Lyon itself, the Rhône-Alpes region is beautiful and I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find something to dislike about it.

Hi everyone! I just accepted a PhD offer, and was wondering if anyone knew of good, quiet places for grad students to live? I do have a car, but don’t know if I’ll be bringing it. My stipend is $26,426 for the year, with an added $5,568 for summer support. A studio or 1-bedroom apartment would be ideal! When I visited campus, current students in my program suggested using Craigslist..does anyone know if this is a good option?

After weeks of agonizing, I've made my decision, too---Cornell, here I come! I hated telling the other schools no, but I think I was Cornell the moment I cried over the thought of having to leave their campus and turn them down. I'm so excited that several of us have made final decisions, and I can't wait to see where we'll go from here!

It took Penn State seven weeks to reject me, about time! I’m not bummed at all though, I have two top choices I’m debating between—it’s just a relief to finally cross them off my list.

Congrats on your decision! I imagine a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders and it must be wonderful to know where you’re going to live for the next 6-7 years.

No, not weird at all! I’m already dreading having to tell people no.

Hm, interesting. No worries, please don't feel rushed! At this point, I don't even think I'd accept an offer if they made me one. Are you enjoying the visit?

Oh, okay, gotcha. I wouldn’t worry too much, I’m pretty sure the French classes are conducted in French. You just have to watch out for the cross-listed ones because those courses will be open to non-French speakers, and so they’ll have to be conducted in English.