Malumat

An MA is a useful stepping stone toward a very competitive PhD program for sure. It allows you to continue language study, broaden your horizons while honing your specific research interests, and form relationships with Professors who can write letters attesting to your potential as an advanced graduate student. I am in the U Chicago NELC PhD program now and most students come in with an MA. NYU is great place to do this I'm sure, and congrats on getting funding.

I don't know about CMES acceptances, but I'm guessing they come out later because there are many times more acceptances, and I think they also refer some PhD applicants who are not accepted into the NELC PhD to the CMES Masters.

Acceptances for Chicago NELC have been sent out. Not sure when rejection letters will be sent though.

I know for certain that this conversation happens between professors in my department and professors in departments of other top programs. These professors know each other personally, as my field is quite small, and they do this in order to maximize acceptance rates. I don't know how widespread this is, though.

This is true, but usually either a POI or the chair will send an informal acceptance by email before the official letters go out. I would expect those emails to be going out this week or next week at the latest if they haven't already been sent. Good luck everyone!

Backpack for me. I am always hauling loads of books so for me the health of my back has to take precedence. I have a smallish North Face that fits really well and distributes weight to make carrying things more comfortable. I also get groceries on foot so I use it for that too.

Like I said, I think my department must differ quite a bit from what happens in English departments. We have fewer programs and fewer applicants, and so discussing specific applicants isn't as implausable. I have heard it straight from the horse's mouth, excuse the cliche, that professors at University of Chicago discuss the applicant pool with people they personally know at Harvard and Princeton. The specific case I heard of was Harvard not accepting a student who U of C was accepting as a result of such discussions. Ie, "We're taking him, he will probably be better off here anyway, don't waste a funded spot on him". This type of scenario is obviously dependent on the presence of a group of professors who know each other personally and discuss such things "off the record".

I have a North Face that has a laptop compartment and it has room for quite a bit of stuff but doesn't seem awkward if there are only a few books in there. It is also built really well for distributing weight-- the waist straps are substantial-- so on those days you are carrying a lot of stuff the weight sits on your hips and saves your back. Mine is the Borealis but I'm sure there are quite a few different models and they are not very expensive for the quality imo.

Is there a reason you don't want to order them online? Not a snarky comment, just curious.

I say follow the money. Competitive applications for PhD programs coming out of more general MA programs are ones that have great letters from professors that are recognizable in the field and have clearly gotten to know the student, and that show promising work in the writing sample. Language proficiency can also be an important element. I don't think where the program is matters so much, especially because these programs are only valuable as means to develop your research interests and develop relationships with faculty, as I've mentioned before. Anyway, if you get get these things and not have to go into debt that would be very good.

I agree with divinemg about interpretation of posts... I think it would be best to give someone the benefit of the doubt that they're not "fishing for compliments" and just discuss the issue brought up. I think that some people are being really sensitive based on their own insecurities. Anyhoo... I would like to add to a theme that keeps coming up: that the Adcom's prediction, based on certain factors, of where you will actually accept in the end, can be considered part of the overall idea of FIT. I know most of the people here are in English departments so I am bringing a different perspective as someone in Near Eastern Languages and Lit. But, I happen to know that among the top handful of schools in my field, there is discussion among Professors from different schools who know each other about the applicants and where they would be better off, and if one school is certain to accept a student, another school may not offer admission to this student, knowing they will be accepted at the other school (and with a concern for yield rates at the forefront of this decision). Although this is not the same dynamic that we are talking about, it displays a concern for not accepting a student who the adcom has determined, for whatever reason, will probably go elsewhere. On the topic of rankings, and the concept of a student trying to determine what array of schools to apply to, I think it must be more difficult in English than in other fields. In other words, I think there must be less variance in the preparation and "on paper" credentials of those accepted into various "levels" of schools. I know there has been a lot of discussion about whether you can order schools realistically, and even though it's a problematic process I think everyone can agree there are schools that most people in a certain field would rather go to, regardless of where they are on the official ranking. This could even be affected by where they are located, attractiveness of life there etc... My point is that it seems to me that students in English have a more difficult time gauging where they belong, even within their own personal ordering of schools. I say this because I feel like in my field, for me and my peers it has been pretty clear. Schools that are not highly ranked typically just don't have the resources to provide, just as one example, language training in less commonly taught languages with low enrollment levels. On the other side of the coin, the top schools have fairly clear criteria for who is a competitive applicant, and it includes language proficiency in both local languages and European academic languages, as well as a proven track record of working with primary source material. Of course it's more complicated than that but my point is that there seem to be more tangible or measurable skills for an applicant to gauge themselves in my field, and I imagine in many other fields. English may be particularly tricky in this regard (in ascertaining where you will be a competitive applicant), but correct me if I'm wrong.

For what it's worth, I didn't perceive the OP's original post as being pompous, it was more a matter of curiosity, and an invitation to discuss an aspect of the admissions process, that is: Adcoms taking into consideration the applicant's likelihood to be accepted at a "better" school and therefore decline an offer of admission. The question of whether these schools are actually better or not in a particular subfield etc is somewhat irrelevant as many people, whether for a "good" reason or not, would prefer to attend a top 10 than a 50-60 and so these preferences are taken into account. It is a legitimate topic of discussion. Does this really occur and to what degree? Is it occurring more often in the context of a worsening economy? Will it/ should it affect applicants' considerations about where to apply? Are these not valid questions? I don't see anywhere a reason to think that she needed some kind of comfort or explanation about not being accepted into a school... was she being pompous merely by indicating that she was an excellent candidate who was accepted to highly ranked programs?

I do think there is quite a concern with yield rates. Yield rates contribute to the program and the school's over all rating. One factor to consider is the recent trend of people applying for more and more schools. As the economic conditions deteriorate and people, even highly qualified individuals, are concerned, and rightly so, that there won't be a spot for them at a top university, the apply to a wide array of schools to increase their chances. So lower ranked schools are getting more and more applications from applicants that would typically be applying mostly to top tier schools, maybe with one or two lower ranked schools as a backup. If they accept a cohort only of these applicants, likely they will get a lower yield rate as these students will prefer to go to any top-ranked program they get into. So there is definitely a calculation going on whereby if it is clear to the admissions committee that this applicant will most likely be attractive to top-tier schools, they won't "waste" a spot on them. Maybe they accept some of these students but to accept a whole cohort of this type of student might result in a close to 0% yield rate which looks really terrible for them. Anyway I think this has always been a consideration, but like I said as applicants form a safety net in a time of uncertainty by applying to more and more schools it has become a bigger concern.

I just wrote nice cards. I think that's good enough. Another nice thing, if you have this sort of relationship with them, would be to buy them dinner or even just a coffee.

I use Dear Professor ---, until it's obvious a lower level of formality is appropriate, which usually comes for me after knowing them for a while. But for older Professors I still use the more formal address even after I get to know them better because I think many of them like to see that. In fact, maybe I fabricated this in my imagination, but I feel like one older professor has responded quite positively to me partially because I am very polite and deferential towards him while some other students just treat him as if he is from their peer group. He is so nice that he would never say anything about it, but I think he appreciates the respect that some formality reflects. Also, just because they use your first name doesn't mean you should use theirs in return-- like it or not there is still a great distinction between Professors and graduate students, which some faculty care about and some don't. But you don't really want to find out who does care in the wrong way.

I really don't think it matters at all. If anyone did notice it would be the admin person who received your papers and put them in your file. Professors don't do that stuff. Even if they did I don't think anyone would think much of it. Maybe if you signed with a crayon they might think twice about accepting you.

Thanks! If you end up going to Chicago, I'm sure we'll meet. I can't wait for the Fall. And congratulations to you as well!

It will be stressful to move so far and not have so much time to settle down, but you can do it. I have done equivalent moves multiple times, and it sucks but once you do it you'll see that most of the stress actually comes from the anticipation of stress. Try to pare down your stuff so you don't have much to move, maybe do furnished graduate housing for the first term just so you can have not such a busy start, and you'll be fine. You may be having fun now but grad school is fun too, if in a different way. And it's a new adventure. Besides, who knows which way the economy is going and you'll be kicking yourself if you let go of this opportunity only to not get it again.

I'll be moving to Chicago in June and starting a program in the Fall, but am not doing the campus visit. Any others headed to Chicago out there?

Wow. Since you're married, I assume you share expenses, so when you put effort into scholarship applications to ease your shared financial burden, it benefits him too, not to mention your whole family. The fact that he doesn't appreciate that is pretty disturbing to me, especially alongside the info you gave about him not contributing to raising your child. I think you need to have a serious talk with him about his denigrating behavior toward your pursuits at the very least, but it sounds like there are a host of other issues as well. What you are describing does not sound like a healthy relationship.

As someone who is at UW and is heading to UChicago, go to Chicago. If you compare the Mid-East related courses offered each quarter it will be clear. The only advantage for you at UW might be that Selim Kuru (who I love) teaches a Turkish Lit class which is nice but not nice enough to offset the difference in both quality and quantity in general which favors UChicago, in my opinion. See my post on the thread about UW vs UA for more info and feel free to ask any questions.

Ok here's the scoop on UW. I'm just finishing up the MES Masters program there this quarter. Whether it's a good place for you vs. other programs will really depend on your specific interests. I highly encourage you to check out who is at each school in terms of faculty and what classes are currently being taught. The course listings for the last year are a good start. The catalog is not-- it may include things that aren't actually offered. The program itself is barely a program. There is no structure. You find classes that are at least somewhat relevant to your interests and take them. That can be good because it's flexible, but bad because there is not much in the was of advising. It is up to you to find a professor that wants to form a more personal mentor-like relationship with you. There are no professors in "Middle East Studies" as such, it is not actually a department. Things you should know: Jonathan Brown, who does Islam-related courses in NELC, is leaving for Georgetown. The Arabic program is consistent but you must test in if you are wanting to enter a higher level than year 1. If you miss the test you can't enroll. Beginning and Intermediate Turkish are offered every other year alternating which is lame. If you come in on the wrong year and you wanted to do Turkish, sorry. Intermediate Persian has disintegrated due to no funding. I think some students do independent study but that's not the same as regular class time. There are basically no classes which are graduate only. The classes you will be taking will be mixed grad and advanced undergrad. And the language stuff is really important, for funding and for being a competitive applicant if you want to go on to a PhD. Speaking of which the PhD at UW is very small and only admits a handful of students every year so don't assume you will just progress from the MA here. I didn't apply here as my dream PhD program is elsewhere (and that's where I'm going but some other students in my year assumed it would be a sure thing and it sure wasn't. I think we get a pretty big FLAS allotment but there are a lot of applicants too. What else? Why don't you just ask me what you want to know.