Kaharim

Just in case any of those who have been offered funding by Temple Eng. Dept and still have not accepted the offer is reading me, I would really appreciate that you decline the TA as soon as possible if you do not intend to attend. I am in a crossroads at the moment and I might lose the opportunity to start pursuing the PhD next Fall if any of you declines on 15th April or around that date. So please, try to be respectful in this sense (and same to any of those who don't really want to go to an institution but remain undecided. Your rejection might be very valuable for others). Btw, @cassidyaxxcongrats! I'm so happy for you ?? Let's hope for the best.

Hello there! The title is pretty self-explanatory, but apparently there's a high chance that I might be offered a TA to pursue a Spanish MA and I would really appreciate some advice. My plans at the moment were to directly pursue either an English or Comp. Lit. PhD, but I have been shut out by all the universities I applied to this Fall except the one that is offering me the TA (which has also waitlisted me for their English PhD). I don't know yet what's going to happen regarding the waitlist, but I would be okay with either transferring from one dept. to the other whenever I get the Spanish MA or reapplying for PhDs after earning it. The thing is, would a Spanish MA increase my chances of being admitted to an English/Comp. Lit. PhD? I guess regarding the second it could possibly help and I would like to write a thesis in which I address works written in Spanish and English, but I am not that sure about how this MA might increase my chances regarding English doctoral programs. Thanks a lot beforehand for your help! ??

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS. Several things have kept me from answering to your message but I certainly appreciate all of the info you have provided me with. When you are an international student applying for PhDs in a country different from yours is difficult to be aware of this kind of stuff. I will do some research before accepting Temple's offer (if I finally get one) to be sure that I am ok with the possible professional outcomes of this doctoral degree. One last questions, just in hopes you could help: what about pursuing a professional career with an English PhD outside of academia? Is that something that can actually be done in US? Like, in publishing houses/journalism, for example? I have read different opinions on the net about that, I'd like to know yours.

I have a question regarding this quote. The program which is my top choice is Temple U English PhD but this institution is not in the Top 100 of the country according to USRanking and the English PhD is 64th according to the same website, which makes it not highly ranked either. However, as you might have read in a previous message, there are several other variables (vibes about the department, funding, place/resources, weather, etc.) which are more than positive. Only real inconvenience is that I have no way of meeting possible advisors before starting the program, I would choose them while taking courses the first two years and there is not a lot of information about the courses themselves either, so it feels like a bit of 'gambling' to me regarding that part. This being said, if I am able to finally get an offer from them, it's more than likely that I will accept it because of all the pros mentioned and the fact that applying next year would entail a series of inconveniences I'd rather not go through. However, I wanted to know your opinion on this matter as someone who "recently" completed their PhD in the same field. Would you say I am making a mistake if I plan to pursue an academic career after submitting my thesis by not reapplying next year to get a chance of being accepted in higher ranked schools? I also appreciate all opinions from those who have a bit more of experience about this than me! ?

Thanks for the info about the tuition, but regarding the second half of your message, in my experience numbeo is not the panacea... I also used it back in the day but ended up discarding it. Guess I would contact people that are living there at the moment if I need to. Gotta say that living in a one-bedroom apartment is almost a luxury in any large city though.

For me Toronto would be sold lmao If worst comes to worst and I have to reapply next year, I will definitely make it one of my options! Only one question: don't they offer full tuition remission for PhD students?

I am so sorry to read this Kim and I can definitely empathize with your situation. I wish you the best of lucks next cycle and encourage you to invest the rest of the year in publishing articles, presenting papers in conferences, etc. to increase your possibilities of being accepted next round! Don't feel like this is your fault at all. We're possibly going through the hardest application cycle since 2008 or so

I still think it's too soon to ask any university to give real updates, but I am glad you got some valuable intel on your situation. I have the feeling things are going to start moving for real from the beginning of April onwards and that it will be very fast. Before that time, I think we should try to keep ourselves as distracted as possible (in the healthiest ways ??).

There have been a ton of messages from people that know way better than me about a situation of this sort (and I am really happy for those who managed to be close to their dear ones who were ill/ended up passing away because they made the 'right choice'). However, I'd like to share something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. Your dream school might not be the school for you. I don't say this regarding any characteristic of UW in particular — according to your first message, the program and faculty are great and two of the most important reasons why you want to go there. However, where do you feel you're supposed to be? I had to go through a process myself to be completely aware of the fact that one of the universities I have chosen to apply to was my top choice from the start. Main reasons it took me a while to be aware of it were the difficulty to determine if the faculty was a good match with the information available online and the program not being particularly highly ranked (although I don't care about the latter anymore); however, because of location, stipend, teaching experience and friends nearby who might help in case anything unexpected would happen, that institution should have been in the podium since the beginning. My point is that I feel you, but even after doing your research carefully regarding the departments and considering all the facts, you're going to have to follow your instincts to make this choice. If you think it's better to stay close to home because of your mother's condition, just do it. Perhaps, even if you consider UWisconsin your dreamplace now, you will feel happier in SMU in the future. You never know.

Have you tried contacting them to know about your situation regarding that list? That would probably help you ease your mind a little bit. Best of lucks for you! No worries! I just guessed it was that way and asked out of curiosity ?

I am curious: according to your profile, you are already attending a PhD program (correct me if I am wrong, maybe it's a MA). I wanted to ask you, in case you have experience about this, if you found any trouble at the time of applying for other PhDs when alreadly enrolled in one. Btw, it's already 16th of March and I'M NERVOUS. Hang in there everyone, the countdown has already begun!

I mean, the rejection in the results page is definitely not mine, but I received a pretty standard rejection letter (although it is way nicer that some I have seen around here): "Dear ..., Thank you for your application to the University of Washington Graduate School. I am sorry to inform you that your application was not among the few that were selected for admission. The number and quality of graduate applicants to the University of Washington are extraordinary, and these difficult decisions are made after careful consideration of all applicants. In many cases, enrollment restrictions and other factors limit our ability to accept all qualified applicants. Thank you for the considerable time and effort that you invested into the application process. I hope that you will be able to make alternate plans to pursue a graduate education, and wish you well in your future endeavors." I actually value that they put some effort in recognizing the applicants' work in their application and that they highlight the existence of external factors that determine acceptances. Because they do. And most of the time we forget about them.

I got an email, yep, but I guess you might have some new info in your application portal if you check it.

I got a rejection from UW today. Kinda saw it coming but I remained hopeful until the last moment. Well, I hope you were all luckier than me! ??

I guess you are the one who published their results in the page. No news here on the MA front, at least for now.