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As someone in Comp Lit who is working on the Caribbean I can tell you that some departments would definitely be more hospitable to your set of interests than others. Make sure you do thorough research into that. My department is changing, but there are still very conservative requirements (like competency in a classical language) and ways of thinking. I find myself spending a lot of time with people from Af-Am, American studies, History, and English. As some have said above, in many cases English departments would be a better choice. I applied to English programs as well, got into some of both, but eventually decided Comp Lit would be right for me after weeks of indecision. If languages and translation and international archival research are truly crucial to your questions, then yes, Comp Lit is the way to go. But the reality of Comp Lit is that you'll still have to market your work to national language departments if you do plan to try and continue as an academic. DM me if you wanna ask more specific questions! Also, yes, make sure you have a pretty cutting edge or unique research proposal. What you're describing about I, Tituba, Wide Sargasso Sea, and so on, is well-trodden ground. That doesn't mean it isn't a valuable or interesting subject; it does mean it probably won't strike adcomms as the most interesting work to sponsor and nourish in their department, given that many students might apply with that kind of thing. Don't bother with (more) journal publications or conferences or any 'professionalization' at this stage. I would recommend thesis research as a way to explore, and also as a way familiarize yourself with how specific fields make their arguments. That will enable you to use the right language so that faculty will recognize your own work as interesting and unique. At the same time, while you have to write a solid statement of purpose, it isn't a contract by any means, and your work will take so many unpredictable turns when you actually start in graduate school. Don't stress out thinking that you have to totally define the direction your scholarly career at this point.

Just wanted to give some info about how the covid crisis is affecting graduate schools and future admissions. In Yale's case, what we know now is that individual departments will have autonomy when giving year-long extensions to current students, and will decide whether to give blanket extensions to everyone, on a cohort basis, or on an individual basis. Every extension of funding given out, though, comes with a trade-off: for six extensions of funding given out, the department will have one fewer admission slot to offer. This will probably play out over the long term, buying many current students extensions by taking two or three fewer students each year for a number of years. It's all in flux right now, but know that this will likely make admissions even more competitive (or it may even out with fewer applications overall, who can say?).

Congrats you two!! Hope to see you in NH soon!

I had a similar situation last year, and I ended up doing two transatlantic flights (Greta, shoot me). The latter flight was just for one visit. But it turned out to be oh so necessary! That was the school that on paper was the best fit faculty-wise, but I left there realizing that I just couldn't live there for the duration of the program. I'll note that the visits were a little farther apart (from late Feb to early March and then mid-March). It wouldn't have been feasible or affordable for me to stay in the U.S. those two weeks in between, so I didn't really have a choice. I guess my point is, do you imagine those later visits will really change much? For me, there was a lot at stake in that second visit. I could theoretically have gone on a third one, even, but at that point I had already decided.

Yes, the decision is released by the 'main' i.e. non-film department. At least that's how it went for someone I know in English and Film.

Probably administrative gears turning slowly. The offer has to be approved by the GSAS as a whole. My offer last year came on the 11th.

Just to let you all know, I heard from our DGS that Yale will be deciding today and official notifications will be going out early next week. They're only making 6 offers (as opposed to 8 last year)...

Well, I guess this means turning down Berkeley and Chicago. Very painful. Loved the faculty at both places, Berkeley especially, but can't see myself settling there for six or more years (I mean the avg. time to completion is like 8??).

It's kind of astounding how I came full circle and how much my feelings for each place spiked and dipped. But the pendulum has come to a rest.

Yale Comp Lit!

Taking a class at the institution that rejected you being like...

Same here! I talked to a POI at Yale and she knew some folks who had done it. I am certainly looking to, I'm just wondering what semester/year. Can you only do it during coursework?

On the fence between UChicago and Berkeley. My preference is for Berkeley, the fit is phenomenal, and I love everything else about the program, but the problem is money, plain and simple. I don't see myself being able to live for six years in the Bay Area with their current offer. Chicago offers me more and the cost of living is SO much lower, it's scandalous. Doubting whether I should try to wring a little more money out of Berkeley...

One of my POIs at Yale who I feel is doing a great recruiting job actually told me having people from other schools on your committee can be a great professional benefit, it shows that you're in conversation with a wider scholarly community.

I'm glad that you are also thinking about the feasibility of this. And I'm considering personal aspects as well: going home to friends and my parents in Europe would be easier and cheaper from the northeast, not to mention that many of my college friends will be around NYU, Yale, and NYC more generally. Edit: also, I actually love reading on trains!

Thanks so much @sugilite! I'm trying to talk these things through with as many people as possible to get a sense of how I actually talk about Chicago vs Yale. Like you said, it does seem like I'm trying to sell Yale to myself. I'm still trying to speak to some graduate students at both places who are close to my field. Both have a lot of positives, so at this point I'm trying to figure out what problems I'm willing to put up with. About the commuting thing, I've heard from several people that do it. Also in later years, some people move to New York. The Metro North even stops in Harlem around 125th street if I remember correctly, bringing you fairly close to Columbia.

I'm hoping any of you can weigh in on what I feel is a related question. With one visit still to come, I'm trying to make up my mind between my two current top choices, Yale Comp Lit and Chicago English. My question essentially comes down to: how much does your main dissertation advisor need to be an expert in your specific field? Versus, what if that dissertation advisor is no good at responding to your work in a detailed and timely fashion? Secondly, how much you can compensate a lack of field-expertise with committee members at other institutions? Given my interests in Caribbean and global anglophone, Chicago is a great place right now, with lots of new hires coming up (some getting tenure, some of their current postdocs getting tenure-track). Yale, on the other hand, is in a sort of transitional phase w/r/t these fields--to put it euphemistically. Chris Miller, one of the big name Carribeanists, is retiring, and some great people in Af-Am have left as well (Hazel Carby is on her way out, Anthony Reed is moving to Vanderbilt). Apparently they're hiring a Caribbeanist in English, but several failed searches in the past are making me skeptical. At Comp Lit, I don't think they've ever had anyone working on global anglo or Carribean. Given the situation, one person at Yale French has frankly advised me to stay away from there, and choose Chicago. However, there are many reasons I see myself fitting in better at Yale. First, there's the fact of Comp Lit--I do want to continue working in French, and want to add Spanish, if not one Caribbean creole language as well. Although Chicago seems open to that kind of work, the fact is that most of my peers won't be doing it. Yale Comp Lit also has much more funding for international research trips. At Yale, there are still great faculty in (North) African (Jill Jarvis, Stephanie Newell), and Lisa Lowe is joining American studies. Plus, I assume Tavia Nyong'o and Daphne Brooks will stick around. Finally, I think it's important to reach out to scholars beyond one's institution, which Yale's being in the Northeast would make very easy (so many good people in my field at NYU and Columbia, where I could also take classes). I guess what I'm trying to figure out is how important it is for me to have a deeper, department-wide support in your specific field, versus how much the freedom to stake out my own path will help me grow as an independent thinker. I also think there's obviously no bad choice here, but I'm trying to exercise some control over the next six years of my life, so bear with me...

Declining waitlists at Princeton and Stanford, declining offer from Rutgers.

I'm declining my offer so I hope you get one!!

Will be getting off the Stanford English and Princeton CompLit waitlists! Hope it helps anyone here

Also in at Rutgers! The nicest email correspondence with a POI while I was on the plane to New York for my visits this week. So glad this anxiety circus is all done for me and hopefully for a lot of us now.

Same here, oh well!

@trytostay Haven't gotten any invitations, yet, no! But we'll see. And @thismortalcoil is probably right, if I'm in the area at the right time I could potentially visit. I'll check with the DGS.

Sooo... waitlist at Princeton Comp Lit! I have two waitlist positions now, not sure how to feel about them. On the one hand, they're programs that on paper I'd be thrilled to attend. On the other, how can you make a decision on a school / department you haven't even been able to visit? How do other waitlisters think about this?

@kef5@eekemelye Did you receive funding info? I'm still waiting on that...