CatBowl

The journal that accepted my paper on white racial anxiety in Kate Chopin's short fiction went live this week! Yay for my first academic publication!

There should be no limit to reacts today!!!
 
Congrats everyone ❤️ We did it!  I’m so glad to have been a part of this community, for all the support, and for all the joy in seeing folks’ dreams come true.
I just know in the future whenever I see some truly incredible thing happening in our field, I’m going to proudly be like hmmmm, I bet there’s a GCer behind that. 
 

today in surreal sentences: headed to UVA in the fall! 

Officially going to UVA!
Thanks to everyone who has helped with advice, information, and just generally making this community the supportive place it is. I've been here for 3 years now and I'm glad to be moving on to the next stage finally.

Accepted off the waitlist at UVA! I can hardly believe it, I was sure it wasn't going to happen.
If there any people who went to the visit, or who are current or ex students, please DM me! I'd like to ask some questions about the area and there's not really a lot of time to wait for responses through the regular channels.

I'm probably going to sign off on GradCafe for the foreseeable future! This place was incredibly helpful to me throughout this process, but I think I'm going to dedicate the rest of spring/summer to just reading, relaxing, and trying to prepare myself for the next 6+ years. (Also I should start learning French.)
I do plan to check back in periodically (plus I'm sure I'll have questions or see a discussion I'd like to chime in on), but if any future applicants look back through this thread and have questions about applications/programs/etc, feel free to PM me! Hopefully I will check in frequently enough to see it and respond. I'm not sure how helpful my advice may be, but I thought I'd put that offer out there. Over the past few months, I've become really upset with the admission process and the way it makes applicants question their worth as scholars... I know my ass was saved a few times by people who were kind enough to sit down and give me pointers, so I'm happy to do that as much as I can for anyone else. 
I'm really proud of the group we had here this year. I'm not sure if this is common or not, but I was pleasantly surprised by the support we gave each other, and the genuine happiness we felt for others success even in the midst of our own "failures" (yuck, that's definitely not the right word). I'm really hoping this is representative of graduate students on a larger scale, but I guess I'll have to wait until the fall to find out more about that. Thanks for everything guys!! Hope to see you around.

Just confirmed with SUNY Buffalo Poetics!!!!!!!!! I am going to drink a beer the size of my face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! stay tuned for my tell all memoir regarding that deleted post from earlier this week lmao!!!!

Just received an offer off the waitlist from Johns Hopkins! Time for the difficult deliberations that some part of me wished would never be necessary. Still, not complaining; I feel unbelievably fortunate to have this choice that needs making. 

anyone else feeling at least a little nauseous at all times as we enter the last week of waiting here? if not, that’s cool, I’m nauseous enough for all of us! it’s gonna be a loooong week
(for the UVA waitlist crew: I heard movement is expected “early” this week, fwiw)

Officially accepted my offer to Indiana!

Just accepted Penn's offer!

Just got an email that I got the tuition waiver + the stipend at Villanova! Will be confirming my acceptance of the offer tonight!

It's difficult to live in the Bay without housemates for sure. You can find some decent spots in places just outside of Berkeley, like El Cerrito. I managed a bedroom in a private home for 600 a month on the north side of campus, but it was a rare situation and I didn't have kitchen or laundry access. I'd expect to pay northwards of 1k for a room to yourself or 1700+ for a studio. Depending on your standards of living (and your offer), it might be worth trying to make it work. After my weekend trip to Chicago last week, I can say that I am not at all stoked on the area surrounding campus or the city itself (too big for me). The Berkeley campus feels much more alive, as well. I suppose that may be due to the fact that I toured Chicago during Spring break. 
And my contribution to the thread: I committed to Chicago some weeks ago. I couldn't pass on the program itself.

I am officially joining the UC train again. Going to UCSC  

Will be attending UPenn in the fall!  ? 

Yes!  I had a great visit to Yale but, get this—I am still strongly considering Rice! That's a big decision, so I've got lots of phone calls to make and emails to write before I'm comfortable pulling the trigger either way. (Of course, I haven't even been admitted to Rice, so doing my best not to jinx anything here).
You were there during my visit, so you definitely got a sense of how happy I was and how much I fit in with just about everyone I talked to. This is definitely where Rice has a leg up on Yale, where the overall atmosphere was a little stuffier and more self-important than I'd prefer. Although of course that doesn't apply to everyone I met, and some of the professors I talked to were really warm, honest and helpful. And their work is really exciting, and meshed well with my own interests.
My academic and academia-adjacent friends and mentors are going to get a lot of questions from me in the next couple of days, to be sure.

If I were in this situation, I’d let school c know that I have another offer but am still more interested in their program. (If you haven’t done this already). Maybe something to mention when you reach out to ask if you could talk to students/ faculty to get a feel for the program? Good luck!! If anything, you love the program you have funding for so you’re in a pretty good position!

How long before there is just some kind of grad school Tinder where you super like all your fave schools and they laugh with their friends at you as they swipe a hard left?

HAHAHA
My dad remembered the word "Chicanx" today (I was so proud), but when the person he was talking to didn't know what that meant and asked, my dad did a big sigh and was like "please don't ask me that.  It's just book stuff."

@tacocat211 that's awesome news!  It's going to go great!
 
On another note, anyone else struck by how funny it is that this one thing has been so all-consuming for you for so long, but no one else in your life (or maybe mostly no one else) really gets exactly what the hell you're on about?  Listening to my parents try to tell people what I'll be studying is always a hilarious reality check.

Dallas bound y’all!

GOT INTO THE VILLANOVA MA! Funding pending, but I am OVER THE MOON! 

Okay, I heard back from the grad program coordinator at Davis! He was very friendly and helpful, and even gave me a few direct quotes from the Adcomm. Ultimately, there wasn’t much to work on—he said that my app was highly rated by all 3 profs,  the comments were almost entirely positive, and that they thought my WS was “very competently written” and “strong,” but not as interesting as some other applicants, and that they think I would probably benefit from getting my MA. The transparency and clarity of his email makes me feel better about the denial letter, and encourages me that the Adcomm had positive feelings about my app as a whole! Might look to get this kind of feedback from other schools. 

*Clicks on hand held recorder*
Day 472 - still no word from UVA. All is silent here. Not sure how much longer I can go on.

waiting for the official letter, but from Southern Illinois - Carbondale - "You have been admitted, and we plan to offer you a teaching position as a Graduate Assistant. I will send you the offer letter and details soon."
 
!!!!! This is where my favorite scholar (should I have a favorite scholar? what if she thinks i'm a dumbass? what if i'm actually a dumbass?) teaches and where one of my mentor/LOR writers earned their PhD!