gooniesneversaydie

I really hope so. As much as I want to be accepted, I'm going to be ultra pissed if no one in our little waiting group gets in.

We made it to March. Hopefully this torturous waiting (*cough* BU *cough*) will finally end soon.

I'm really glad I found this out now. This changes the actuality of being able to live off of a stipend in a major city. I live two hours away from my one school and now I'm considering staying in a hotel on the days I'm there or commuting - at least for the first year until the stipend increases.

@Cryss I'm confused, one student mentioned having taxes taken out. I thought grad instructor/TA stipends weren't taxed?

I'm incredibly grateful that you're here to share these experiences with, so... While I hate that it comes down to this last school for you, I think you should recognize what an incredibly strong and bomb-ass person you are for going through this process. You are not taking anyone down - by being here and sharing your experiences you help lift us all up and give us comfort in knowing we're not alone. There are so many roads left to go down, so don't let this one throw you off completely.

Someone needs to call the Fab 5, Dr. Phil, Sally Jessy Raphael, Oprah, and Marie Kondo, to help BU.

No, because the universe is enjoying our torment too much.

Holy crap that BU acceptance (not lit) on the board nearly made my heart stop and drop into my stomach. My heart/brain/head/waistline/wallet/mental health can't take much more of this.

Out of reacts, but congratulations on your acceptances, I feel the disappointment with you on your rejections, and I hope the decision process goes smoothly!

Just got that sweet, sweet Penn rejection on the portal!

I'm so sorry to hear that. I wish you the very best of luck on whatever comes next.

Also, I'm ready for my official Penn rejection. Checking the Penn portal is taking away precious seconds that I could be using to check the BU portal.

Woah! I've never heard anything like that (as if I would actually know anything). I've always assumed programs would prefer those with MAs because they wouldn't have to give out as much in funding and they would be better prepared to start teaching? My opinion would be not to read too much into it as 7-8 years is long enough that significant changes could've/would've been made to the program (unless some of those are more recent?). I still have hope for myself, for you, and for those who may be facing a shut out regardless of our backgrounds.

I love this. Nothing better than a group of desperate lit students stalking a department. Then the DGS spotting us and chasing us away with a broom. I've now officially started an inner monologue as Gollum. Every time I check my email or the portal, I get angrier: "We wants it!! We wants the precious! Gives it to us! Stupid fat hobbits's!"

Info on the board about BU sending out notifications late Feb to mid March. Good lord, out of the 9,000 of us who are apparently waiting, how many will get in?!

I really hope this wait means that they'll at least release the rejections with the acceptances. Because having to wait after seeing acceptances on the board isn't going to be a cute look for me.

@tinymica Oooo - thank you for the tip - I'll look for that list on the other thread!

I'm in the process of coming up with questions to ask current grad students via email and when I go to my in-person visit. Their profiles online do not state what year they are, which is a bummer. But out of the 8 people I'm emailing, I'm hoping to get varying insights. I don't want to bombard anyone (I probably will anyways, because 'type A' personality), but does anyone have any recommendations on what should be asked to current students?

Well, I got offered a MA spot at Boston College (same thing they offered last year - scholarship of 11K). BC was my dream school when I was in high school many moons ago - my god, the architecture - and it was hard to walk away from the offer last year. However, as much as my heart wants to accept on aesthetic alone, I don't know if going into more debt is worth it. However, however, it opens the possibility of getting into a """better""" PhD program afterwards with a stronger writing sample and teaching experience. However, however, however, I'm also very, very tired of this process and want to just start the damn PhD already. Hey! Hey, Boston University! Yeah you, ya punk! I need you to hurry the F up and make my life either easier or even more indecisive!

You may want to copyright this sentence, because I'm going to make a motivational poster out of it. It fits perfectly with the quotes from JK Rowling's Harvard commencement speech I turn to during really tough times.

@Rani13 Thank you for the insider information. It's a shame to hear about the whiteness issue. It's an issue in Medieval Studies as well, but we keep fighting the good fight, so I hope Tufts is able to do so as well. @tinymica DO NOT! "Don't Open Dead Inside!" It made me have a minor freak-out, even though I'm aware of the issues we all face. @onerepublic96 Thank you, thank you, for your very kind words. Sometimes it's hard not to get lost in the fear that accompanies this space. It was hard to see some people so completely adamant that anything outside of a top 10-20 is a complete waste of time that will only result in regret.

I just finished reading the forum "Is attending a lower-ranked program worth it?" and now I feel sick. I honestly don't know if I could do this a third time... Tufts has a consortium with BU, Brandeis, and MIT. Surely that has to count for something? That I could have the opportunity to forge relationships with people in my field outside of my home program? Someone tell me it's going to be alright...

I think I finally figured out how to add stats at the bottom, so I've got that going for me. Plus, it distracted me from thinking about BU for about 15 minutes. Winning....

Still out of reactions, but I'm loving the medieval love! In other news... I'm curious to know why it's still February. Why can't this month just move on? It's over, February. No one likes you anymore. You can't sit with us. March is the new February, so take a seat already. I need to hear from my last two schools so I cant start making tough choices, because obvi I'm not under enough stress as it is!! March holds the answers to all.

I'll see you at Tufts! I might do a recon visit beforehand to scope the joint as I don't live very far.