hopefulwoolfian

Congrats! I applied, but have heard nothing, so counting them out by now. I have heard, however, from an acquaintance that went to CMU that the city of Pittsburgh is really great and affordable to live in.

I'm trying to avoid that second-time-around psychotic break. Doesn't help that I'm currently jobless (which did, however, give me the time I needed to perfect these apps) and have no good ideas as to a Plan B if this doesn't happen...

I've been stuck inside sick for the last week, which makes it even worse because I don't have enough to do to distract me. Plus, this is round 2 for me, so everything feels much more scary than last year. Most of my schools don't have results popping up yet (except Pitt, which makes me sad, as it was the best potential chance for my boyfriend and I to go somewhere in common), but I'm still going crazy.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/franco-looks-likely-to-join-kidman-in-sweet-bird-of-youth-on-broadway/ To add to thegradcafe's James Franco obsession: he will also apparently be appearing on Broadway next Fall. Maybe he'll take a leave from Yale? Or maybe he'll make one of his body doubles do it...

Thank you so much for the info, JMA!

Forgive me if this is too off-topic, but as long as we're discussing funding at NY schools, anyone know anything about SUNY Stony Brook's funding record? They say that all admitted PhDs get funding, but don't seem to offer any numbers about stipends. Thanks!

Also, USC allows you to combine both papers and send in a longer sample if you want. Oxford does the same thing.

Hi all, I looked for this in previous topics, but didn't find much. I'm very interested in Loyola Chicago, but I know they only accept 4-5 funded students a year. Does anyone know how many applications they normally get? Or have any other information about their current admissions status? I'm still definitely applying, but just trying to temper my excitement with the reality of acceptance rates. Thanks!

I wanted to thank everyone who commented here- this has been very helpful. Definitely avoiding being disingenuous. I'm doing a lot more reading of the prof's current publications this time around (I'm a second-time applicant) which helps, but it's good to know that if it feels forced I shouldn't include it!

Hi everyone, So I'm working on the dreaded "fit paragraphs" for my SoPs and I'm trying to figure out when pointing out complementary interests starts to ring false. For example, at one university I'm interested in, Professor X talks about subjectivity and time in Woolf. I talk a little bit about subjectivity in Woolf in my thesis, but mainly focus on other elements. I could emphasize that I talk about subjectivity, but I don't feel like that part of my work represents my best abilities. I'm wary of bullshitting too much, but I also want to market myself well. Any ideas? Thanks!

I'm currently a proposal writer for a construction firm. It can be pretty mind-numbing, but it's stable and fairly low-stress. Also, I make decent money for an English BA, which is nice (and means I don't have to move back to my hometown, whoo!).

I just wanted to thank everyone for the incredibly helpful responses. I feel like I'm kind of shooting in the dark on this one after such a bad season, so this discussion is really helping me think about how to start formulating a strategy, which I definitely need to do BEFORE e-mailing anyone.

Hi everyone, I'm new here, though I've been reading for a while. I'm currently recovering from a horrible season of 13 rejections and starting to look ahead to 2011. One thing that I really want to try to do this time around is to contact potential future professors at programs before applying, rather than just mentioning them in my SoP. What is the best time to do this? Obviously right now is way too early, as they are dealing with the new incoming class, but is the summer a good time or is it better to wait until pretty close to when apps are due so that they remember me? Thanks so much for any advice! This place is extremely helpful and I'm really looking forward to taking part in the community. Thanks, HopefulWoolfian