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disidentifications

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Posts posted by disidentifications

  1. Without knowing much about your situation, it sounds like there's something about the location of School 1 that's really putting you off what would otherwise be an ideal choice on paper. It also sounds like you're trying to justify your inclination towards school 2, despite its looser fit with your work. Given how much it takes to make one second-guess such a logical fit between one's research interests and a program, I'd say that it might be worth listening to your instincts this time. After all, if you're already convinced that you'll be miserable if you have to continue residing where the first school is located, I don't see how much happier or more fulfilled you'll be in time to come. 

    Regarding your concerns about school 2's academic profile and reputation, it would definitely be riskier to enter a program where your research focus and approaches aren't dominant. However, as plenty of people have already pointed out on these forums, your interests will likely change over time, and so will the direction and composition of departments. It is perhaps true that the English departments some Ivies are known for being a tad more conservative, but I think (based on what I've been noticing on GC and in recent hiring patterns) that they're generally moving towards more "cutting edge", multi- and trans-disciplinary research anyway. In this sense, I don't think that you'll find yourself being so out of place in such departments, considering that they've already extended an offer to you based on the work you propose to do -- it means that they like your research enough, and know that they have the capacity to support it. Other things that you might also want to look into are opportunities for you to take classes in consortiums or in neighbouring schools, or the possibility to invite professors from outside your university to sit on your dissertation committee. These are all avenues for you to draw on resources in other institutions (including, if possible, school 1), while being based in an area that you might prefer to live.

    Ultimately, like @urbanfarmer said, there's no reason to become miserable just to get a degree, especially when the job market is so dire and the name and reputation of your school is no longer a guarantee of a job. I don't believe that I'm in any position to tell you what to do, but, from my own perspective, I'd say that it's probably more important for you to weigh your well-being in the next six or so years over your longer-term plans, seeing as no one can tell what will become of academia in the future anyway. 

  2. 14 hours ago, Bopie5 said:

    That's exactly how I'm feeling! Even when pulling together my Villanova app, I realized how much I'd grown and become more focused in the last few months. But I feel the same way about the money too. I look at my bank account and realize that I could have about $900 more in there...eeeek.

     I'm taking a month long break regardless too. Fingers crossed for a good internship for you! 

    And re: the writing sample--this warmed my heart extremely this morning! I hope you enjoy Asher Lev. Affirmation on the WS means more than you know right now!

    Yes! I must say, the process of applying to grad schools was invaluable in compelling me to hone my research focus for my honours thesis much earlier than I was expected to (I mean, having to describe my project in my SoPs did acquaint me pretty well with its central ideas), so at the moment, I am much less frazzled about it than my peers. Still, it's an experience for which I've had to fork out just about as much as you did... (Imagine how many books one can buy with that $900!! ??) (I'm really not looking forward to lining ETS's pockets again.) 

    And yes, do take some time off! We certainly deserve it after all the stress that we've put ourselves through, not to mention that breaks will only be harder and harder to come by as one progresses through grad school and beyond. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you as well wrt Villanova, esp since the program seems so perfectly suited to your areas of interest! I really can't wait to see what you'll accomplish in the future! 

  3. Just now, Bopie5 said:

    Thank you friend ☺️ I'm really sad that the cycle didn't shake out the way that we hoped for either of us. What's your backup plans looking like?

    Good luck with your thesis, and I may be in the same boat regarding being back in the summer! Don't give up--my advisor says over half of the faculty in our English department are people who were shutout on the first attempt and accepted on the second!

    I am gutted for the both of us too... Though at this point, having done more work on my thesis and gotten a stronger hold on my areas of interest, I'm also quite excited to reapply, knowing that I'll likely be a stronger applicant the second time round! (To be honest, my heart aches most for the exorbitant application fees that have gone down the drain, because that really!! wasn't!! cheap!!! The time and effort that I've spent on my applications hardly feel wasted since I've learned so much about myself, my interests, and academia through this process.) 

    As for my backup plans, I'm not too sure about them yet. I'll be taking a month-long break right after I graduate, just to give myself some breathing room and space to refocus. Beyond that, I might take up either an editorial or a publishing internship (I'm currently looking at one with Taylor and Francis), because if academia doesn't work out for me, I'd probably like to work in those fields anyway. 

    Thank you for your well-wishes, and all the best to you with your future plans! (Also, can I just reiterate how much I enjoyed reading your writing sample? I've bought a copy of My Name is Asher Lev as a result, and it's now on my TBR pile, which I'll definitely get to after the semester ends.) 

  4. 9 hours ago, mandelbulb said:

    it's nice to still see you here @jadeisokay and @Bopie5!

    5 hours ago, kendalldinniene said:

    @Bopie5 and @jadeisokay can I just say I missed you both and I’m really happy to see you both back here.

    Seconding these sentiments, especially since you guys have been here since the early days of this thread! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all your backup plans work out for you, and perhaps we might see each other here again next year — hopefully with better news re: phd apps. 

    (I don't know when I'll sign out of this site proper, since I've gotten so invested in everyone else's applications, but I really ought to soon -- maybe after Harvard officially lets me go -- to get my thesis done ?. I'll probably be back in the summer though, to seek out advice on reapplying, so if anyone has any tips on reformulating SoPs, or on any part of the application process for that matter, I'd be your more than willing audience!) 

  5. 15 hours ago, optimistic_nihilist said:

    Anyone 20-21st Century American and British?

    i feel like this is a competitive concentration to choose. Idk if schools have been taking people with this research focus or not this year, anyone else know?

    i think my parents r in disbelief that I haven’t gotten in anywhere yet, but I’m totally believing it lmao it’s just sad

    C20/21 women's life-writing here. It does seem like a rather crowded concentration, though I suppose that's partly due to the diversity of everyone's areas of interest -- not to mention the overlaps that occur more frequently between this period and other cognate disciplines (film/cinema studies, visual culture, theory/philosophy etc), which means that there'll likely be a larger applicant pool for our concentration.
    (Of course, this bodes well for neither of us, so I'm preparing to be shut-out this cycle...) 

  6. 25 minutes ago, WildeThing said:

    Nothing yet. This is the 3rd or 4th place that has allegedly sent out some rejections and I haven’t received anything so I don’t know what to think anymore. There is no reason why rejections would not be sent en-masse. 

    Does Columbia not also do as Chicago does and refer some of their applicants to their MA program? Perhaps that's why rejections are staggered.

    Edit: In which case, it's also time for this meme to return--

    On 1/26/2019 at 5:46 AM, dilby said:

    8MJlOFj.jpg

     

  7. 4 minutes ago, trytostay said:

    I was told by my POI not to expect a decision until next week, but I got mine today via a non-personalized email. 

    I filled out the form to be on the waitlist and it says: “We have received your response, and you have been placed on the waitlist. When the program's admissions committee completes its review, you will be notified of the final decision regarding your application.” 

    Ah, I see some acceptances have been posted on the results board, so I presume I can chalk this up to another no for me... 

  8. 1 hour ago, Ranmaag said:

    Has anyone here had dreams about applying to grad school/decisions so far?

    Haven't had any dreams/nightmares about grad school per se, but I'm rereading Paul Saint-Amour's chapter on perpetual suspense in Woolf's novels (vis-à-vis the prospect of total war) for my honours thesis, and it seems I'm trapped in a perpetual waking nightmare ?‍♀️

  9. 10 minutes ago, bardie said:

    I'm nervously awaiting news from some of my top schools this week and am hoping it will come soon ?

    me @ pretty much all my remaining schools this week: won't you be my valentiiiiiine?
    (let's just hope this week won't cumulate in a tragic heartbreak.) 

    (edit: though, of course, Chicago got there first, so to all the schools attempting to reject me this week, don't even bother trying, because none of you will hurt my soft and fragile heart as much as Chicago did. jk.) 

  10. 1 hour ago, Bopie5 said:

    Maybe she's giving me false optimism, but it felt good to be believed in. I've been weirdly feeling sort of ashamed or like I'm a disappointment for having been rejected? I know the pools were small and selective, and I was aiming really high, but it's hard not to let the negative self-talk take over. It felt really nice to know that she doesn't think less of me or is disappointed in me for being rejected.

    This!! It was so hard for me to break the news of my first rejection to my mentor, given that he's been nothing but encouraging throughout the process. But he was kind enough to remind me of all the unknowable factors that are in play in the admissions process -- and of the fact that this sort of randomness of chance will only continue to plague us even, and especially, in the job market -- so I suppose that helped to ease my feelings of guilt and disappointment. (Then he told me to get off this forum, but there's no chance that's happening -- not with all the dog pics and memes anyway.) 

  11. 15 minutes ago, The Wordsworthian said:

    Same.  I've even acquired a new horrible routine of checking my phone in the middle of the night whenever I wake up, which results in more anxiety-ridden sleeplessness.  I'm restless!

    it really doesn't help that i live on the opposite side of the world, so i find myself staying up till ungodly hours in the morning just in case an email pops in. 

  12. 3 hours ago, Bopie5 said:

    Does anyone else kinda feel like waiting to hear back is sorta like a middle school dance? Like, slowly everyone you know has someone to go to the dance with, and you're stuck not knowing what's gonna happen to you ?

    meanwhile, everyone else is telling you that there are still schools that you've yet to hear back from, but you're finding it harder and harder to stay optimistic... (perhaps we shall organise our own alternative prom -- a book club reading of cruel optimism, perhaps ?)

  13. 16 minutes ago, j.alicea said:

    Tbh the weather isn’t that crazy for Chicagoans. every year it hits at least -20 or -25 for a day or two, plus wind chill, it’ll then feel like -35, and cold day closures are inevitable. It’s definitely colder than it’s been in my time, but only bu about 15 degrees. I spoke with my mom (who is out and about because she works for BEDS; the homeless and those who can’t afford heating need our prayers or well-wishes), and she said it honestly doesn’t feel much colder than previous Winters (and many homeless will freeze, as they do every  year...) we are all kinda surprised a fifteen degree difference caught so much media attention. Not to hate on those who are missing Hamilton, but, idk, if you’re from chi you should be used to shit getting cancelled this time of year, and realize the extreme winters are literally killing people, not just plays.

    of course, i definitely understand that. i've just been reading reports on how the weather's been affecting the homeless in chicago (come winter, the survival of those without proper shelter's always a concern -- though that should, tbh, be a concern throughout the year) and the situation seems extremely dire. massive props to your mom for helping alleviate the condition. 

    (on a side note, as someone who lives in a tropical country, a fifteen degree difference in temperature sounds terribly drastic to us here -- we are usually told to keep our air-conditioning at about 75°F, which seems a considerable change from the 85°F that we're usually faced with...) 

  14. 11 minutes ago, bardie said:

    Guys UChicago is closed today because of the polar vortex (feels like is -43 ?)... so I'm thinking none of us are getting congratulatory calls/emails from the Dean today. 

    Frankly, all of this is giving me doubts about moving to Chicago anyway. 

    i've been feeling the same ever since my mentor mentioned the polar vortex after i told him about my likely rejection from chicago. im not sure if it's self-consolatory or a genuinely practical concern, but i'll take it as long as it assuages my poor, sensitive heart ?

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