Liquirizia

Definitely leave out all high school stuff. Perhaps if your awards are highly relevant to your field, maybe add those to your Awards/Honors section, but realistically all high school related content should be left off. For reference, if you received your undergraduate degree and were applying to jobs, you shouldn't have high school stuff on it either.

Hello colleagues in the humanities, I've read some of the previous threads on eReaders but they're all from around 2011. I'm particularly interested in updated information on quality eReaders as well as how they would function for someone in the humanities. Do you recommend using one or not? If so, which eReaders would you recommend? How is using an eReader in class? I'm in the languages, and I've heard you can find books in the target language for cheaper on eReaders and then you have the added benefit of a built in dictionary and can take notes more easily in the text. I'm very old-fashioned so the idea of using an eReader isn't particularly thrilling, but at the same time, neither is lugging around copious amounts of books. Any information on the great debate of eReaders would be appreciated.

Northwestern - very safe (mostly). It's actually not in Chicago (unless you're going to their downtown campus in Streeterville area.) It's in a rich suburban town that feels very city-like called Evanston. I would watch out for where the Red Line ends at the Howard Stop - that part of town can be rough. Also, Streeterville is fairly safe, one of the more expensive parts of the city to live. Loyola - safe. This is in Roger's Park (plus a downtown campus for law?) - just south of Evanston. So be wary of the Howard area, as mentioned above. I lived in Rogers Park for a time and never felt unsafe, even though there were some random, brutal shootings of pedestrians. (A gunman just going up to a guy walking his dog and shooting him execution style). That happened in the park where I go running, but I didn't blink an eye. There was often police in the park thereafter. The areas closest to Loyola feel very nice and homey - it's a lot of students (not just Loyola students) mixed with regular Chicagoans of all backgrounds. De Paul - Lincoln Park with a downtown campus. Lincoln Park is a very popular, fun, nice neighborhood. I'd say it's pretty safe. Can't go wrong. Please, take all this with a grain of salt. Chicago is a city and every neighborhood has crime. Some more than others, but crime exists everywhere. It's a simple fact. I could tell you stories of crime in each of the above neighborhoods but that doesn't mean you should completely avoid them. They're still safe. Bad things happen everywhere is my point. However, if you're vigilant and know basic tricks to avoid becoming a target, living in any city (anywhere in the world), you'll be fine. For example, don't leave a bag sitting in your car in plain view - your window will get broken and the bag stolen, whether the car is parked (and you're absent) or you're present in the car driving and at a stoplight. Street smarts are make all the difference. TLDR: Northwestern & De Paul are very safe. Loyola is just safe.

They say I say By: Gerald Graff Write it Up By: Paul Silva Chicago Guides to Writing By: William Germano

You can explain that your circumstances have greatly changed and you need to decline the offer. Explain how grateful you are for his time spent interviewing you and considering your application - maybe add a little personal flair of something you discussed to show that this is a personalized email. And end with best wishes to him and hope to keep in touch or cross paths in the future.

Well, I'm excited to let you all know that I'm coming to OSU in the fall! ?

If you're applying to an English PhD, you will have to have proficiency in another language - meaning reading/translating (not having to be fluent in conversation by any means). This is common for any language PhD program. However, it is not necessary to have that before you start the program and programs often help you to achieve the proficiency. In any case, it seems you possibly already would have that proficiency in German or French. Since you're a modernist, Ancient Greek wouldn't be the one you would use for the proficiency exam. By all means, taking time to become more fluent now is always helpful and less stressful for you later. (That's what I'm doing currently - taking time to learn French now so that I won't be so stressed in grad school next year adding that to my endless list of things to do. We can practice together if you like!☺️) In terms of Comp Lit, you need to be fluent in 2 languages (in a addition to English). Since you're uninterested in your native tongue, you really need to hone German and French to be competitive in Comp Lit apps. Comp Lit is an extremely competitive field to get into. It's honestly much easier to get into a single language program like English. So if you decide that Comp Lit is your preferred program and you definitely want to begin in 2022, I highly recommend having some back up applications in English. Also, just rereading everything you wrote, I'd like to offer a suggestion. Maybe you've already thought about this, but reach out to people in both English and Comp Lit programs. Talking to them about the program and their experiences may really help you discover what's the best fit for you. I did that a while back and it was very helpful in deciding between Comp Lit vs Italian programs. People are generally really nice and willing to talk to you, too. Everyone has been in your shoes at some point.

I literally just got accepted to Ohio yesterday (for a PhD in Italian), and now I have no idea what to do. Can I ask what helped you all choose Ohio?

If you have been accepted to programs this year, you will likely be accepted next year. Clearly, you are a qualified applicant. Taking a year off won't harm you; it will only help you. In my opinion, the debt is not worth it. It's not like you're going into CS where you'll be making 6 figures after you graduate. A career in the humanities will not be fruitful in the beginning, if at all. My advice is to learn from this application cycle to create an even better dossier for the next cycle for PhD programs. It'll be easier next year anyway because you've already been through it. Taking a year off will also give you time to get work experience as well as extra money that can go towards your existing loans and be saved for retirement (start now). The work experience is more valuable than you might realize. As you mentioned, the PhD programs you wanted weren't accepting applications this cycle so it is better to wait to be in the right program than to be in the wrong program earlier. Grad school is not something to rush. Yes, these programs are cash cows and what's worse is that the professors know it and will treat you as a second class citizen because your only purpose is to fund their PhD students. You want an enjoyable as possible experience in grad school. To achieve that, you want to be a prioritized student. You especially don't want to carry the burden of financial stress every day. If you're funded, you can at least sleep at night. Finally, I wanted point out that you didn't need to hesitate on applying due to not having a thesis in your application. I'm sure it will make your applications next cycle even more competitive, but you could've been an excellent applicant without it this year for PhD programs. I applied without a special thesis and have gotten into multiple PhD programs this cycle. I only have a BA. I think you deserve to be more confident in yourself.

I'm surprised no one has gotten back to you. I'm by no means an expert on this, but here is what I suppose: If you start publishing research in medieval history that can help with the career change. Shows your change in interest is serious. As for languages, depending what languages you already know, learning new ones could be a breeze. You'll need to know Latin and ancient Greek to do a wide range of research. Knowing English already helps a bit for learning Latin, but knowledge of any Romance languages will really make learning Latin easy. Greek will be a little more challenging, but it's doable. I'm speaking from a Western point of view. If you're talking about Eastern history, I know much less about the languages involved. However, if you're thinking Western histories, you can really get into other languages depending which location you're focusing on, like Occitan. In any case, I think anything is possible. The switch is not as drastic as wanting to be a CS professor so I think it is feasible. In a lot of ways, it makes you more versatile for jobs because you could be an expert in both and can fill in where needed.

UIUC's CS program is top notch. I wouldn't even hesitate. Sure you might think the location isn't as "cool" as LA, but the people at UIUC are amazing, and there is plenty to do there, too. Also, this thread below has a similar topic. Not sure if you've already seen it. Could be helpful.

Seems that there hasn't been a lot of recent responses from current residents of Eugene in this thread, but I want to take a shot in the dark anyway. Does anyone know what typical single bedrooms/studios cost in Eugene? I've been looking and it seems to range from 900 to 1.5k seems to be the range, but I'm not sure if I'm using the best search tools (Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia). What are the best ways to find housing? Also, how affordable is this city on a humanities stipend? To me, it seems more pricey than I expected. If I want to live alone, most of my stipend will go to rent alone.

I don't know if you feel the same way, but I love organizing/reorganizing. It's an oddly satisfying activity for me. Sounds like you're doing lots of good productive things before school starts! ☺️ I tried to look into courses at the university I'm most likely going to, but there was nothing I could find. I only know one required seminar I have to take in the fall. Lots of well wishes for moving countries! I've only ever moved abroad for short living experiences, nothing as long as grad school. I know it's always a long, tough, stressful process with visas, finding housing, etc. Depending where you move in the US, the housing process can be easy. It's the big cities that are often a bit more complicated with application fees, etc. Smaller cities you can find places with ease. I'm sure current students in your program can help you figure out which neighborhoods are best to live in.

This is a great post; thanks ProAtOverthinking! My current rough plan is: Reading as much as I can in my field - research (articles/books/etc.) as well as Italian lit. Trying to write in Italian everyday to get back into thinking in it. I need to learn a 3rd language so I've been studying French now to alleviate the burden later. Once I know what courses I'll be taking in the fall, I plan to reach out to those professors for the syllabus and start reading things ahead of time. During the pandemic, I figured out what type of routine best fits me now - I like to workout in the morning, start working soon after, work until dinner, and then my evenings can be spent however I need. I think big meal preps on the weekend have been helpful to keep my weekdays productive - not losing time to cooking. If people haven't figured out their ideal routine/lifestyle, the summer would be a good opportunity to experiment. I plan to move 1 month prior to starting school. TBD still. I've been digitally tidying - cleaning up my computer and getting it organized. Creating good systems of organization for school. I start drafting a CV - not much on it, but hey, it'll be easy to add to in the future now. I took the Coursera course "Learning How to Learn" so I might revisit that. I also plan to look into Coursera courses on writing and hope to take something to help improve my writing. That's all I can think of for now. You mentioned looking for housing, and my general plan for that is: Figure out what neighborhoods I want to be in. (Talk to current students/professors to assess this.) Check out Craigslist. Check out the Facebook page for students searching housing at my uni. Find out the realty groups and check out their listings.

I would wait for the financial package to come out before accepting. This season I was burned by one school. They accepted me and led me to believe they would fund me. I was planning to accept, but after a month of waiting, they finally revealed they weren't going to fund me. Luckily, I have another option, that overall is a better fit, but had I accepted prematurely, I would have been more devastated.