Brown_Bear

One option is to scaffold through US News's rankings of English PhD programs, like the top 100, and go through each program looking for Victorian specialists. You may find some lowly ranked that are excellent for your interests. If you have the time or energy, it couldn't hurt to look at a ton from a ready-made list. It would also give you ideas for schools you may not have looked at originally. Just one piece of advice, and strategy for defining possible programs.

Accepted off the Michigan waitlist! Beyond thrilled.

Very happy to announce that I have accepted Washington University's offer of admission! It was an immensely tough choice, but I am thrilled to be joining such a welcoming and supportive program.  

Heya, 
I did my MA at a smaller, regional school, (a R2 state college in my hometown actually), and there is no one here that really shares my research interests. At the time I started grad school, I wasn't really aware of my field yet and had no intention of continuing onto a PhD or doing serious research. That all changed midway through, and I'm leaving highly specialized in a field that isn't offered at my school at all through a serious amount of independent research. So, it's doable, but it depends a lot on faculty, and the specifics of your department and POI. For us, for example, we absolutely cannot take undergrad courses under any circumstances, but we can take independent studies as we like and substitute our courses pretty freely if we find something we'd rather take in another department. This is certainly not the case at all schools. Questions about independent studies and undergrad courses would be great for the DGS at the school.   
For what it's worth, I'm very satisfied with the MA experience I've had, and I've been relatively successful applying to PhDs and getting selected within my subfocus without having a huge amount of super-specific coursework in it. I will say this, though: I think I probably had to be a lot more self-motivated than other folks who had more generalized focuses within our program. I spent a lot of time going to conferences and skyping with specialists in my field at other schools to make up for what I couldn't get where I was, for example, and I probably got into way more debt (even while fully funded) than I would have had I chosen a different program.    

I have a lot of hard emails to write over the next few days, but I will be officially committing to Yale on Monday. It really hurts my heart to walk away from all the lovely people I met at both Northwestern and Michigan (not to mention Michigan's Rackham Merit Fellowship!), but I think deep down I've known Yale was where I most wanted to be since even before I applied. In spite of all the turmoil in the world right now, this really is a dream come true.
Best wishes to all who are making tough final decisions in the next few days!

Heading to Yale!!!!!!!!!
Was genuinely so tough to decide between Yale, Princeton and Columbia, as they were all legitimately tied as #1 in my mind and each had unique strengths for me personally, but something about New Haven just already felt like home. Whether that was just because they had their visit days and Princeton/Columbia didn't, it's a little hard to say, but at one point I just had to say to myself that counterfactuals aren't helpful in this scenario, it is what it is, and I have to go with my gut. If I'm honest I'm going to feel pretty sad about turning down Princeton/Columbia for a long time, but still feels like the right decision, if that makes any sense... 
Good luck to everyone in the next few days! Hang in there.

After much deliberation, I have decided to accept UNM's offer! Albuquerque, here we come!  
Best of luck to everyone else who is still considering their options, and a BIG congrats to everyone who has already made their decision!

I'm seconding @killerbunny's point about independence. While I haven't taken any courses directly in my fields in the MA I'm currently attending, and there are no profs who are in the exact same area of interest as me, I've been able to adjust seminar papers to fit my interests in all six of my courses so far. This may just be a feature of the program I'm in (which is wonderful and supportive), but being willing to do some extra research and spend a lot of extra time reading has allowed me to still pursue my interests while receiving guidance and feedback. For example, in a course on Contemporary American Lit & US Empire, I asked my prof if I could write about whiteness and settler colonialism in horror film instead of writing about a piece of contemporary AmLit, which she was actually really excited about and supportive of! In this way, my MA has actually really expanded my breadth of knowledge, via the course readings and seminar discussions, while also allowing me to pursue my own interests and write the kinds of papers I can submit to conferences, via the final seminar paper. And actually, taking classes not in my field has actually helped me refine my research just as much as taking classes closer to my field.
For the thesis, I wouldn't underestimate profs in other departments, as @killerbunny said, and I also wouldn't underestimate faculty's secondary interests! Sometimes, you can make up for not having the ideal reader for multiple fields by having two or three readers who can cover the fields between them (e.g. someone from your theoretical specialization who doesn't primarily work in your period alongside someone from your period who doesn't primarily work in your theoretical lens). Obviously it's not totally ideal, but it can work. 
For the PhD, I would stress the fit a bit more (from what I have heard/read). But personally, I think in the MA it's slightly less of a concern, depending on what your ultimate career trajectory is.
Overall, I would say, in the context of an MA, courses in your field are definitely less important than funding, but I think it's up to you to weigh how much courses matter when compared to other factors (location, distance, assistantships, cohort size, relative prestige, etc). Hope this helps!

If you're an ambitious BA-only applicant, like I am, and you want to jump straight into a PhD program, please also consider applying to MA programs too.
I applied to 14 doctoral programs and was shut out. I did not apply to a single MA. But, at the last minute, I found some whose deadlines hadn't passed and now have standing offers.
I thought that I was a good candidate. It turns out, however, that the PhD pool is insanely competitive. Consequently, where I struggled to "keep up" with PhD applicants, I shined bright in my MA ones.
There are many wonderful MA programs, and these usually have deadlines in Dec/Jan (the same time that your PhDs are due). Please, please, please...heed my own warning. You can get into a doctoral program off the rip. People do it all the time--some have multiple/many acceptances. But, I think it still makes sense to add in a few funded MA programs into your list of "where I'm applying."
So, to reiterate, don't automatically pass on a funded MA because it is not a PhD. Deciding to apply to some may drastically increase the chances that you have a graduate program to look forward to next Fall.
As someone who is almost at the end of their first application cycle, I wish I had taken this notion more seriously. I am appreciative to have salvaged what almost became a relative disaster. I'm lucky to have MA offers, after a PhD shutout! If you really want to go all-in, it is, of course, up to you. Best of luck no matter how you decide to apply. It is still a (somewhat) uncertain-to-predict process.

I would accept the offer and not wait for the next cycle, which may be the worst cycle in the history of English PhDs. We live in a time of great economic uncertainty, nonexistent job opportunities, and professors who will never retire. Programs are already limiting their incoming cohorts, meaning less spots, meaning less of a chance to get in. Next cycle could be much worse than this one.
Or that huge unemployment could mean that lots of students go to school and so some applicants adjunct in college instead of applying, which is what didn't happen this cycle because unemployment was so low. The low unemployment caused a huge spike in applicants this cycle because many adjuncts/non-TT didn't have jobs and decided for a PhD.

Annnnd I just accepted my offer from the University of Pennsylvania. This was an agonizing decision but I'm convinced that I've made the right choice. So pleased to be joining a program featuring so many brilliant and generous scholars in and beyond my field. Equally thrilled to be doing a PhD in a city that I know and love. My path to the PhD has been rough, and for a long time I did not expect to get here at all, so this feels especially sweet. 

I'm heading to UNC in the fall! My decision was tough but after talking to a number of students and faculty members at my two top programs, I really believe this is the best choice for me. Super excited! 

If you're an ambitious BA-only applicant, like I am, and you want to jump straight into a PhD program, please also consider applying to MA programs too.
I applied to 14 doctoral programs and was shut out. I did not apply to a single MA. But, at the last minute, I found some whose deadlines hadn't passed and now have standing offers.
I thought that I was a good candidate. It turns out, however, that the PhD pool is insanely competitive. Consequently, where I struggled to "keep up" with PhD applicants, I shined bright in my MA ones.
There are many wonderful MA programs, and these usually have deadlines in Dec/Jan (the same time that your PhDs are due). Please, please, please...heed my own warning. You can get into a doctoral program off the rip. People do it all the time--some have multiple/many acceptances. But, I think it still makes sense to add in a few funded MA programs into your list of "where I'm applying."
So, to reiterate, don't automatically pass on a funded MA because it is not a PhD. Deciding to apply to some may drastically increase the chances that you have a graduate program to look forward to next Fall.
As someone who is almost at the end of their first application cycle, I wish I had taken this notion more seriously. I am appreciative to have salvaged what almost became a relative disaster. I'm lucky to have MA offers, after a PhD shutout! If you really want to go all-in, it is, of course, up to you. Best of luck no matter how you decide to apply. It is still a (somewhat) uncertain-to-predict process.

Never mind! Happy to say that I've finally made my choice and I'll be attending UW this fall

I think people have a tendency to be dramatic when it comes to crime. When I was heading to study in Russia, everyone was going on about terrorism. When I was moving to DC, everyone was going on about crime. I say perhaps talk to real people who live there. I have an aunt, uncle, and three cousins who have lived in Toledo forever, and a good friend from college from Toledo. They're all fine. I went a few times as a kid and I lived, haha. I hear Toledo has a great art museum.

After a solid two months of agonizing, I am beyond thrilled to say that I've accepted my offer to the MA/PhD program at Penn State! If anyone else winds up PSU-bound, hit me up--I'd love a chance to get to know some of the incoming cohort since we weren't able to meet at the open house.
Also, good luck (thoughts, prayers, the best of vibes) to those of you still deliberating--whichever way you go, hopefully there's some comfort to be found in the fact that there are only nine days left of this part.

I feel your pain ? I think pro/con charts are definitely the way to go! I personally have a spreadsheet that desperately needs filling out. Best of luck to you (and everyone else) during this stressful time!

I can't sleep thinking about my choices! I'd like to be on the same coast as my family, but I have to sacrifice some things I want to do that. If I went the other way, I'd get those things but I'd have to give up being closer to family and also my relationship. Shit's tough

Hello all,
I have asked this question in a variety of forms on other posts, but now I really need to be direct and get as many opinions as possible.
I've been shutout from PhDs, applied to MA's at the last minute, and now have some acceptances. Of these, 2 are offering me full-time graduate assistantships, which pay monthly, but I would still need to pay around $15k (over 2 years) in graduate tuition.
I am graduating from undergrad very soon. I already have $40k of student loan debt. I am highly reluctant to go much further into debt. However, the programs are decent and the coordinators extremely nice. In the long term, I want to get into a PhD program and try to be a college professor. This would support my career goal. But, it could be ruinous financially.
So, what is the best play? I know there are totally-funded MA's, but I was too late to apply to them for this cycle. In my situation, is it advisable to decline my offers and attempt to reapply next year, to those fully-funded? Would I just work in the meantime? Or, do I just take the financial "L" and continue forth, trying to finish graduate school as streamlined as possible? Am I unreasonably getting myself further into debt? What if I don't get into a fully-funded MA next year, and then regret declining the partially-funded ones?
Please give me some help. If you have any experience with this at all, I would be grateful to hear. I'm in a really tricky situation, and have only a few weeks left to decide.
Thank you all.

If you're an ambitious BA-only applicant, like I am, and you want to jump straight into a PhD program, please also consider applying to MA programs too.
I applied to 14 doctoral programs and was shut out. I did not apply to a single MA. But, at the last minute, I found some whose deadlines hadn't passed and now have standing offers.
I thought that I was a good candidate. It turns out, however, that the PhD pool is insanely competitive. Consequently, where I struggled to "keep up" with PhD applicants, I shined bright in my MA ones.
There are many wonderful MA programs, and these usually have deadlines in Dec/Jan (the same time that your PhDs are due). Please, please, please...heed my own warning. You can get into a doctoral program off the rip. People do it all the time--some have multiple/many acceptances. But, I think it still makes sense to add in a few funded MA programs into your list of "where I'm applying."
So, to reiterate, don't automatically pass on a funded MA because it is not a PhD. Deciding to apply to some may drastically increase the chances that you have a graduate program to look forward to next Fall.
As someone who is almost at the end of their first application cycle, I wish I had taken this notion more seriously. I am appreciative to have salvaged what almost became a relative disaster. I'm lucky to have MA offers, after a PhD shutout! If you really want to go all-in, it is, of course, up to you. Best of luck no matter how you decide to apply. It is still a (somewhat) uncertain-to-predict process.

If you're an ambitious BA-only applicant, like I am, and you want to jump straight into a PhD program, please also consider applying to MA programs too.
I applied to 14 doctoral programs and was shut out. I did not apply to a single MA. But, at the last minute, I found some whose deadlines hadn't passed and now have standing offers.
I thought that I was a good candidate. It turns out, however, that the PhD pool is insanely competitive. Consequently, where I struggled to "keep up" with PhD applicants, I shined bright in my MA ones.
There are many wonderful MA programs, and these usually have deadlines in Dec/Jan (the same time that your PhDs are due). Please, please, please...heed my own warning. You can get into a doctoral program off the rip. People do it all the time--some have multiple/many acceptances. But, I think it still makes sense to add in a few funded MA programs into your list of "where I'm applying."
So, to reiterate, don't automatically pass on a funded MA because it is not a PhD. Deciding to apply to some may drastically increase the chances that you have a graduate program to look forward to next Fall.
As someone who is almost at the end of their first application cycle, I wish I had taken this notion more seriously. I am appreciative to have salvaged what almost became a relative disaster. I'm lucky to have MA offers, after a PhD shutout! If you really want to go all-in, it is, of course, up to you. Best of luck no matter how you decide to apply. It is still a (somewhat) uncertain-to-predict process.

If you're an ambitious BA-only applicant, like I am, and you want to jump straight into a PhD program, please also consider applying to MA programs too.
I applied to 14 doctoral programs and was shut out. I did not apply to a single MA. But, at the last minute, I found some whose deadlines hadn't passed and now have standing offers.
I thought that I was a good candidate. It turns out, however, that the PhD pool is insanely competitive. Consequently, where I struggled to "keep up" with PhD applicants, I shined bright in my MA ones.
There are many wonderful MA programs, and these usually have deadlines in Dec/Jan (the same time that your PhDs are due). Please, please, please...heed my own warning. You can get into a doctoral program off the rip. People do it all the time--some have multiple/many acceptances. But, I think it still makes sense to add in a few funded MA programs into your list of "where I'm applying."
So, to reiterate, don't automatically pass on a funded MA because it is not a PhD. Deciding to apply to some may drastically increase the chances that you have a graduate program to look forward to next Fall.
As someone who is almost at the end of their first application cycle, I wish I had taken this notion more seriously. I am appreciative to have salvaged what almost became a relative disaster. I'm lucky to have MA offers, after a PhD shutout! If you really want to go all-in, it is, of course, up to you. Best of luck no matter how you decide to apply. It is still a (somewhat) uncertain-to-predict process.

So, we're just over 3 weeks away from the April 15th deadline. The silence has become absolute. I'm reminded of the episode of Spongebob where he visits Glove World and gets stranded in Rock Bottom.
"This isn't your average everyday darkness. This is...advanced darkness."

If you're an ambitious BA-only applicant, like I am, and you want to jump straight into a PhD program, please also consider applying to MA programs too.
I applied to 14 doctoral programs and was shut out. I did not apply to a single MA. But, at the last minute, I found some whose deadlines hadn't passed and now have standing offers.
I thought that I was a good candidate. It turns out, however, that the PhD pool is insanely competitive. Consequently, where I struggled to "keep up" with PhD applicants, I shined bright in my MA ones.
There are many wonderful MA programs, and these usually have deadlines in Dec/Jan (the same time that your PhDs are due). Please, please, please...heed my own warning. You can get into a doctoral program off the rip. People do it all the time--some have multiple/many acceptances. But, I think it still makes sense to add in a few funded MA programs into your list of "where I'm applying."
So, to reiterate, don't automatically pass on a funded MA because it is not a PhD. Deciding to apply to some may drastically increase the chances that you have a graduate program to look forward to next Fall.
As someone who is almost at the end of their first application cycle, I wish I had taken this notion more seriously. I am appreciative to have salvaged what almost became a relative disaster. I'm lucky to have MA offers, after a PhD shutout! If you really want to go all-in, it is, of course, up to you. Best of luck no matter how you decide to apply. It is still a (somewhat) uncertain-to-predict process.

If you're an ambitious BA-only applicant, like I am, and you want to jump straight into a PhD program, please also consider applying to MA programs too.
I applied to 14 doctoral programs and was shut out. I did not apply to a single MA. But, at the last minute, I found some whose deadlines hadn't passed and now have standing offers.
I thought that I was a good candidate. It turns out, however, that the PhD pool is insanely competitive. Consequently, where I struggled to "keep up" with PhD applicants, I shined bright in my MA ones.
There are many wonderful MA programs, and these usually have deadlines in Dec/Jan (the same time that your PhDs are due). Please, please, please...heed my own warning. You can get into a doctoral program off the rip. People do it all the time--some have multiple/many acceptances. But, I think it still makes sense to add in a few funded MA programs into your list of "where I'm applying."
So, to reiterate, don't automatically pass on a funded MA because it is not a PhD. Deciding to apply to some may drastically increase the chances that you have a graduate program to look forward to next Fall.
As someone who is almost at the end of their first application cycle, I wish I had taken this notion more seriously. I am appreciative to have salvaged what almost became a relative disaster. I'm lucky to have MA offers, after a PhD shutout! If you really want to go all-in, it is, of course, up to you. Best of luck no matter how you decide to apply. It is still a (somewhat) uncertain-to-predict process.