Ciboney

Se supone, de acuerdo a lo normal, que le informen a uno de la asistencia económica cuando le informan a uno que lo/la han admitido. O, por lo menos, que admitan a uno y le digan que le informarán sobre cualquier tipo de ayuda en X o Y tiempo.

Yes I am. A Spanish-speaking gringo. I am in the New England area of the mainland US. If you were accepted at Michigan (which was among the top of my list!), it should be between Ohio State and Michigan, in my opinion. Más vale pájaro en mano que cien volando. Ann Arbor is a great place to live and Michigan is a great program, although I found it to be "a little bit snobbish mixed with a couple of way-too-leftist-for-my-taste faculty members." Yet most of the faculty seemed very, very good to study with! I find it so ironic that I was rejected by Michigan, but I got in at Northwestern. It's a lottery, like I have said before.

Yes, they invited me to campus with all paid expenses. I declined the invitation. I already accepted my top choice; it is not fair for other people waiting if one already knows where one is going.

Good! Both are very good programs for literature/culture. Indiana is excellent and a great campus and place to live.

Marion: Congratulations on Iowa! Iowa City is a GREAT little city, from what I have heard in the past. Small, but remember that good perfume comes in small bottles. Also, the program at Iowa is highly regarded. The city is and university are very "progressive". I would not have minded being accepted there. Iowa, though, is highly conservative in the rural areas, but you did not have any problems in Alabama, right? I would suggest reading as much as you can today in searches in the Internet. Like Madison in Wisconsin, Iowa City used to have a very high "quality of life" index in the USA. There are several of these lists (given how diverse the USA is), but here is one of them. Remember what some of us were saying about the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul), check them out in this particular list. (There are others.) https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/27/cities-quality-of-life_n_5718585.html

Rejection was for the doctorate? You applied to the same university for a Master's as well? In different fields or departments, I assume. What fields were those? Do you have any applications or offers of acceptance besides Columbia?

Renzi: If you go through the process again, my advice would be to examine good programs nationwide, and not to limit yourself to certain schools exclusively (that is, Ivy League or the likes of Berkeley and others). There are excellent programs with decent financial aid and lower costs of living that foreigners are not aware of, but hopefully will consider in the future. When schools have 70 applicants for 3-4 spaces, chances are ... One of many factors to consider for me, I think I have said before, was the cost of living. Paying $2,000 or $3,000 a month for rent on a teaching assistantship income is ridiculous. And some universities offer small apartments for US$800 or US$1,000 with electricity and Internet included. Also, the "university fees" that are not covered by "full funding". I am not sure, but I think foreign students also have to pay taxes here on their stipends. And then there is the placement record; for most people, what is the use of going to certain universities whose graduates cannot find a good job? I am particularly attracted to graduate programs that offer free beer for their teaching assistants on Fridays. ?

Yes. It was a nice, calm celebration at home, with pizza and very strong Canadian beer! My spirit is relieved now that I know for sure where I am going (and it turned out to be my number one choice). I do not have to wait for others in this game. It feels so good to be the one in a position of power now. (Not that I am into sadomasochism or anything like that... ? ) Nothing on your side of the court? No recent news?

Ah... Emir Rodríguez Monegal, Horacio Quiroga...

Larra: I admire one of the writers of your country and I am planning to visit your country soon, maybe next year, combining it with Argentina and southern Brazil. Maybe. Do they teach Portuguese in schools to children in Uruguay? Although I am not Colombian, here is a video to make you laugh. It is pretty much how I reacted when the University of Maryland at College Park did not accept me for the Master's program.

Renzi: Not really, but I did take that course that I mentioned in my previous posting and the professor received her doctorate in literature at the University of São Paulo. When it came to the Brazilian part of the course, I learned so much from her! She brought materials from modernism from her own collection. Nice.

Renzi: I remember you with your previous username. ? Larra: That is actually a good question. I was wondering too about the previous studies of the applicants chatting here. I have undergraduate and graduate degrees in history and political science. In terms of languages, my undergraduate degree was done in Spanish; my other degrees in English. I do not have a degree in Spanish or literature per se, but I have a few courses in literature at the undergraduate level (plus the entire bachelor's degree was in Spanish), and I took a graduate course in Spanish American and Brazilian modernism last year. That is why I think that a graduate program that starts with an MA degree that is strictly organized at the master's level to cover all areas before the doctorate is a best fit for me. I am not convinced that programs that are too focused and accept you directly to a doctorate, and after 2 years you can apply for an MA "en route", is a good match for me, given my background. Also, that is not a good choice for those who actually plan to apply for jobs in the USA. Most places want courses in as many areas as possible and will look carefully at that, when it comes to placement. Foreign countries, I have no idea. And I am celebrating tonight with beers that today I paid my deposit (?) to the university that was my top choice. Of course, I also officially informed them I was accepting. Should I get accepted by those programs that have not communicated, which I doubt, I will decline those offers immediately. I do feel bad for one program that has already accepted with a generous offer and I have to say no. They have treated me with gloves, like a king!

Gonza y Larra: Minnesota sí es una muy buena institución. El programa de postgrado en español tiene muy buena reputación. Yo casi solicito allí, pero terminé no haciéndolo no sé por qué. Y la ciudad (en realidad son dos ciudades) no es una Boston (donde vivo), pero tiene un índice de calidad de vida de los más altos en EEUU. Además es un estado generalmente progresista, y no una basura medieval como otros. Borderlands: ¡qué bueno que tienes otros prospectos!

Renzi: from a Portuguese-speaking country? And, yes, to your previous posting. Anyone can read this, not just the people who are active on this thread. I also do not want the committees' members to track me when I put a Massachusetts' witches' curse on them for not accepting me.

Borderland: you still have other options, right? UCLA, was it?

Hola Larra. Yo solicité a Michigan; me rechazaron. Felicidades.

I had never heard of the 10 days deadline for accepting an offer. Did they provide financial aid, funding? It just sounds strange... Exactamente lo mismo conmigo: No news from Wisconsin@Madison yet, but I have seen several people have been accepted, so I am taking for granted that I have been rejected and they simply have not sent the damned letters yet. Or, like some say here, Wisconsin@Madison has several layers of the process. Has anyone been officially rejected by Wisconsin@Madison? I have no idea. On the other hand, I have been admitted to the two programs at the top of my list: Purdue University and Colorado at Boulder! And they offered me teaching assistantships and one of them full funding for the summer without having to teach. I am quite relieved now. I will wait for the others who are taking so much time, but I think I already made up my mind. It is a good day. (Also, my ego had been hurt. LOL!!!)

? ? ?.... ¡Ayuda con la desesperación! Y mucho.

JGL: That is why I said that I am not a fan of rankings. ? And... I also would take what professors say with a grain of salt. I have found that instructors can be extremely biased, especially in the humanities. But most humans are, anyway. Yet the more input you can gather, the better. I only took seriously two professors' opinions in all my life; and that was after they proved to me that they were truly wise human beings. And I used the NCR as a starting point, like I said. The original list was changed a lot. Yet, it did direct me to faculty that I ended up studying very carefully. That is why when departments like Illinois at Urbana rejected me I was surprised, but I was not sad or whatever --definitively not devastated! Why? Because the faculty there was lacking heavily in my areas, in spite of their claims that they covered all areas. I was very surprised by Maryland, College Park, because I thought I was a good match for several members of the faculty (who could easily NOT have been members of the committee of admissions). But this is like playing the lottery, as I wrote here once. It is a matter of luck. Little to do with one's qualifications per se. And there are so many factors in the equation! Some programs, for example, expect applicants to have a master's "in a closely related area" to Spanish literature or linguistics or Portuguese. Other do not. Others are exclusively Spanish American literature. Period. Others expect you to be fluent in both languages before you start the damned program! Others have mediocre faculty and programs, but rely hugely on the prestige of the university as a whole. I have learned so much exploring all of these for almost a year now. Ok. I am done! (I know I should not bring my laptop with me to a bar!)

Cafeconcharis: I have no preference for small or large programs. However only one students for the master's is strange. Maybe they will admit more to the program. It is still early in most places. There are programs still reviewing applications or admitting in March. Most wait to see which admitted students will reject the offer and therefore "open a space" that they can offer to someone they want.

Definitively ask for an extension! I have not heard of such a thing. That university must not belong to the Association of American Universities. Those have an understanding that April 15 is the last day that applicants who have been admitted can reply. Check to see if that institution has legal services for graduate students and, if so, contact them and explain your situation and ask for advice. Also, contact a Graduate School officer in that institution and ask them. I had not heard of that before. ?

I have seen several postings in Results for Columbia and Princeton. That is it. I did not apply for those programs. Oh, and those who are going to accept Berkeley better get ready for a shock --the rents in the San Francisco area. 2-3 thousands a month. ? ? ?

Borderland: besides Brown and Columbia, where else have you applied to? Columbia and Brown have a lot of money (financial aid). Brown is very highly rated. So is Yale, but 3 or 4 years ago none of those who were offered admission at Yale accepted their offer. The program was notorious for ugly politics and rivalries, plus the graduates were having serious problems getting jobs. It was in the press. Brown, I do not know, but they have a reputation for snobbishness (whether it is deserved or not) among many people I know in Academia. What is your field or area, Border? I am interested in 19th and 20th century Spanish-American narrative. Rodrigo: tell Bolsonaro in your country to send me some money for the move at the end of the summer. ?

Sorry to hear about Berkeley, Rod. I considered applying there, but decided against it. If I hear anything about Northwestern I will let you know, but I do not expect news until early March from them. I think that is when they invite those applicants they accept for some "recruiting visit" or something like that. Some programs --very few--do this kind of thing which I find weird, but ... This sort of stuff that those programs do is new to me. I have graduate degrees and I never heard of such a thing before until this academic year when I am going through the process of applying to graduate schools again, although in a different academic field. I did check the "Results" page a few minutes ago, and I saw a lot of postings for Spanish and Hispanic Literature or Hispanic Linguistics. ANGTIP: Several postings about SUNY-Stony Brook since you were so interested in that particular program.