Boomski

Thus far I’ve been shut out. I still have several applications pending, but one is Brown’s MFA (lol) and I think at least two of these are implied rejections at this point (U of I Chicago and Utah). I have a suspicion that I’ll be admitted to Georgia State but that was a safety and a school I didn’t really want to go to, but I live in Atlanta currently and figured why not. I’m not quite sure what to do, but an MA from a second rate state school and a PhD from another, it just doesn’t seem like ideal circumstances to launch an academic career. I’m not sure what I’ll do. I’m feeling pretty bitter, particularly because I can’t help but think that my institutional pedigree has a lot to do with my results. Obviously, that could just be my ego protecting itself, but I’ve creeped on a lot of current grad students via the department page and compared pub records and writing, and I think I measure up. Been reading a lot of Bourdieu on cultural production to make me feel better lol. I can’t really imagine going through this again, and since I’m a creative writer, I could use the time preparing apps to actually write and publish and receive actual results. I think I’m most worried about finding an intellectual community to involve myself in outside academia. Because of this I’m looking at a few teaching gigs at private schools. Not what I dreamed of doing, but if it pays the bills and gives you summer off... With the market what it is I think it’s fair to try and think of it as a blessing in disguise. Hugs to everyone out there feeling similar to me.

This. Any Intro to Grad Studies course worth its salt will begin with "The market is really rough - like so rough that I barely managed to finagle this job twenty years ago with my top tier PhD and well received book. Anyways, you're already here, so we should get started..." That's about as transparent as you can get!

I think it's typical for MA programs, particularly those with a thesis component, to feel somewhat rushed. Because you are more than likely going to be moving on to another institution, and since your prospective mentors have a billion other time commitments and probably several other grad students, yeah, you're likely not their first priority. I really don't think that should be too much of a concern. Your using the time in an MA program to sharpen your skills, broaden you reading, and see through to completion an extended and concentrated intellectual project. All that being said, a thesis isn't a diss, and no one expects it be an original contribution to the field. It doesn't require the kind of mentor/faculty attention that a diss necessarily does. If you want to get the most out of the faculty members you choose to work with, there are a few things you can do. Obviously, you're going to want to take some classes with faculty you're interested in. But also try to narrow your interests as quickly as possible and make every assignment / term paper / writing situation something that works toward your larger project. As an example, imagine you take two classes with your thesis advisor during your MA. You write two papers that become chapters of your thesis or at least significantly develop some kind of idea crucial to your thesis. The faculty member obviously reads and responds to these for the class, but will also read them again and in their various iterations while you're assembling and drafting your thesis. They will be privy to the flow of your ideas and changes in your writing, and all told will probably end up reading your work four or five times before you are ready to defend. Also, if there's a faculty member you like and can work with that is new to the tenure track, that would also be ideal if you want extra attention. This is what I did, and while my advisor was involved with several theses / diss', they were only directing mine.

Any kind soul want to claim that Illinois-Chicago acceptance from the 12th? It's the only one I've seen, is kinda early, and posted the same day as a FEW UIUC acceptances.

Congrats on the admit to UWM. Did you apply to the rhetoric track or the prof/tech writing track? I've applied to UWM as well in cw and I'm wondering if they admit different concentrations on different timelines. I've only seen rhetoric on the results board thus far. Most of the other schools I've applied to are still a few weeks out from notifying and I'm going crazy waiting and would really like to hear something good from Milwaukee!

Also applied to GSU. The departments website is super unhelpful, but I hope y’all aren’t waiting until March to apply because I’m pretty sure the app deadline is tomorrow! http://english.gsu.edu/graduate/graduate_resources/graduate-frequently-asked-questions/