Two Espressos

Oh look, another person with a foolishly Utilitarian view of a liberal arts education. If universities didn't require a broad, liberal arts education, they'd cease to be universities: they'd be trade schools.

Great posts, Phil Sparrow!

Also, the pink elephant in the room of academia, I think, is that an uncomfortable percentage of students in more "pragmatic" majors--business, secondary education, etc--are really quite incompetent. At least, that's been my experience. There's a big problem when a roomful of largely business and economics majors completely bomb an economics class (2 A's in a class of 40 students, in this age of egregious grade inflation, is not a good thing), but probably the only English major in the room gets an A.

On-the-job training is easily acquired; what's more beneficial, in the long run, is the kind of high-order thinking and writing skills (not to mention foreign language skills) that a solid humanities education provides. Anyone can be a corporate lackey, but it takes real effort to engage in serious critical thinking skills.

The self-defeating attitude of many students and professors in the humanities isn't helping anyone. We need to move past that.

As much as I should probably let this thread stagnate, I must say that I've largely changed my opinion on this after thinking about it for a few days.  I do think that aesthetic concerns still matter, but I'm with other posters now in claiming that really productive, fascinating work can come from a great number of texts, even the most "non-canonical."  I think a better--and more nuanced-- position than I previously espoused would be to judge the reasoning/arguments behind studying a given text on its own merits.  That's where I'm at right now.  I think many of the criticisms about a lack of intellectual common ground in English still stand, but I guess I'm in the anti-canon camp at present (kinda).
 
As is and has been the case, I've posted lots of stupid things on this website over the years.  Know that my thinking is always in flux, and ideas I entertained in the past may very well have changed!

I'm very interested in the Duke Literature program (I plan on specializing in "theory"), but my application season is next fall.

It seems extremely theoretical, and it encourages interdisciplinarity, which is always a good thing.

I'm glad to hear that others are enjoying their first week of classes as well!  I agree that the workload is intense--my one seminar has 600+ pages of reading this week-- but I'm loving every minute of it.

I'm glad to hear that others are enjoying their first week of classes as well!  I agree that the workload is intense--my one seminar has 600+ pages of reading this week-- but I'm loving every minute of it.

It's been a lot of work (a LOT of work), but I'm so jazzed about being here that it doesn't seem like it.  I've got one class that's predominantly theory-based, one class that's pedagogy-based, and one class that's professionalization-based, so I feel like I'm getting very well set up for taking the rest of my coursework.  There are ups and downs, as with starting any program, but the ups far outweigh the downs.

My first week was AWESOME. I haven't really gotten into the nitty gritty of school yet, since classes started on Wednesday, but the last few weeks have been pretty boss. I met the professor that I desperately wanted to work with, and she's amazing and really friendly. I'm still a little awed at how much time everyone spends hanging out together here, but I love it. I'm definitely not missing Pittsburgh right now.

"Already Attending"

!!!

Short answer: no.
 
Slightly longer answer: hell no.
 
As long as you didn't score in, say, the 8th percentile, your quant score is not going to matter a whit.  It's certainly not worth re-studying and re-taking the GRE for.  A 148 quant is not going to raise any eyebrows and nobody's going to hold you to a higher standard than that.  Focus your energy instead on your SOP and Writing Sample.

Hi antigone. It's really a crapshoot. Some of us got into one, some of us were wait listed before we were accepted, some of us got into several, and some got into none. It's such a strange process, really difficult to predict. I know of a few folks who "only" got into UNC Chapel Hill, which is, you know, an AMAZING program. Just remember, no one's worth as a scholar is determined by how many programs s/he gets into. If you look into the threads for the 2013 Acceptance Freakout, Wait list, and No Confidence threads, you'll see a variety of different experiences.
 
Hope this helps!

Hey! I thought I'd catch up.
 
it's so awesome to hear/read what everyone has been up to , and SUPER congrats again and again for how crazy far we've all come this year - in most cases literally school for me doesnt start until the last week of Sept, so I've just been hanging out by the pool, going to comedy shows and FINALLY watching Battlestar Galactica (in the "just one more" mode obvs). 
 
soon i'll be moving into a 3bd on Irvine campus with, uh, 2 other girls. and i'm incredibly nervous because i've only ever lived with guys before and have only had like maybe 2 female friends, ever. 
 
OH and i finally finished my undergrad thesis and turned it in like 2 weeks ago! - yay i can actually earn my BA 4 weeks before starting PhD :/ Oh well, a month of vaca is enough. 
 
basically, just like everyone else, i'm very, very anxious in a positive way  about starting classes, moving in, and meeting my cohort. AND it seems as though out of 9 people in my class, i am the oldest one. i'm pretty ramped up about taking on the crazy older sister role
 
oh, and in a couple weeks hopefully i get a new tattoo of a passage from Gatsby. 
 
Anyhoo, i love creeping on threads to see how everyone's doin. Good luck to all in your moves, orientations, and Fall sessions!!

Paint swatches? They'll let you repaint your walls?
 
Things are gearing up for me here in New Haven; orientation begins next Monday, I have a slew of GSAS and departmental events/sessions lined up, meetings with both DGSs, and what not...
 
And I recently got a proposal accepted to the Society of Cinema and Media Studies conference in Seattle next year, so that was a nice start to life in New Haven.

I'm practically giddy about classes starting. I've been rushing about buying things/unpacking but I finally got my TA assignment today, and I can't wait. Austin is, of course, super hot, but I can totally work with it. It still feels like school is too long away, but orientation starts Monday!

I've officially moved into my new apartment!  I've only been here for a few days, but I can already tell that I'm going to love it here: lots of great restaurants and bars, a plethora of both chain and local stores, awesome locally sourced food, tons of opportunities for intellectual collaboration both at UNC and at peer institutions like Duke-- not to mention the gorgeous NC weather.
 
I don't know about you guys, but with classes starting in less than two weeks, I can barely contain my excitement.  We're really going to be Ph.D. students!  Just think about how stressed/nervous/self-conscious we were about our abilities and grad applications a year ago... and here we are.  
 
Best of luck to those who are in the process of moving or are yet to move!

I've officially moved into my new apartment!  I've only been here for a few days, but I can already tell that I'm going to love it here: lots of great restaurants and bars, a plethora of both chain and local stores, awesome locally sourced food, tons of opportunities for intellectual collaboration both at UNC and at peer institutions like Duke-- not to mention the gorgeous NC weather.
 
I don't know about you guys, but with classes starting in less than two weeks, I can barely contain my excitement.  We're really going to be Ph.D. students!  Just think about how stressed/nervous/self-conscious we were about our abilities and grad applications a year ago... and here we are.  
 
Best of luck to those who are in the process of moving or are yet to move!

I've officially moved into my new apartment!  I've only been here for a few days, but I can already tell that I'm going to love it here: lots of great restaurants and bars, a plethora of both chain and local stores, awesome locally sourced food, tons of opportunities for intellectual collaboration both at UNC and at peer institutions like Duke-- not to mention the gorgeous NC weather.
 
I don't know about you guys, but with classes starting in less than two weeks, I can barely contain my excitement.  We're really going to be Ph.D. students!  Just think about how stressed/nervous/self-conscious we were about our abilities and grad applications a year ago... and here we are.  
 
Best of luck to those who are in the process of moving or are yet to move!

Up and running here in New Haven. It was a crazy weekend with three trips back and forth from NYC (made me so glad I'm not heading across the country instead of just a couple of hours). But, it's a beautiful apartment already, the cats are fine and exploring at will, and the weather is just lovely. 

The best part of rereading this thread is seeing people like Girl Who Wears Glasses who thought she'd have to do things differently next round...and then didn't need a next round.  It makes me happy.  
 
What would I have done differently?  I would have paid much closer attention to fit and funding, applying to a different set of schools.  Oddly enough--or maybe not?--  the one program on my list that ended up being an excellent fit for the direction my research interests were going is the one I'm attending this fall.

The best part of rereading this thread is seeing people like Girl Who Wears Glasses who thought she'd have to do things differently next round...and then didn't need a next round.  It makes me happy.  
 
What would I have done differently?  I would have paid much closer attention to fit and funding, applying to a different set of schools.  Oddly enough--or maybe not?--  the one program on my list that ended up being an excellent fit for the direction my research interests were going is the one I'm attending this fall.

We finally have a place to live! So now I can join the "Oh crap, now I have to move my stuff" party.
 
It took us forever to find a place. Rentals in the area were kind of a nightmare, all geared toward undergrads, and moving with a family and pets made it really tough. But what we ended up with is something out of a fairy tale: a stone cottage 7 miles from campus, backed by woods and next to an organic farm. I had goosebumps when we drove to look at it.
 
A little worried about paying for living expenses before hubs has a job in the area. A lot worried, really. But still riding the high of finding the best house EVAR.

We have started the trek to DC! The hubs, dog, and I left our home yesterday, and now we are spending a few days in a small, remote town in way Northern California where my in-laws live. Our journey truly begins on Tuesday, with stops in Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Ohio. We plan on visiting Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Badlands along the way. The dog was not coping super well with all the changes, but he's happier now that he knows he's coming along with us. Oh! And the DGS officially approved my plan to study ASL at Gallaudet as my second language. I'm thrilled!
 
When does everyone else start their trip? 
 
Also, I've lived in a den of coastal fog for the past five years. How do people deal with actual summers?! This heat. It melts. 

I use the online thing for grading and don't keep a paper grade book. Instead, I record all grades in a spreadsheet on my computer then upload that to the OLS (in my case Desire2Learn). So, a student could change their grade but, I'd be changing it back each time I upload the spreadsheet since it imports all the columns that I've inputted data into. TBH, I'd never heard of students trying to hack the OLS to change their grade. That seems beyond desperate to me.

From what I've heard, grad students are taxed on any take-home income. The rub is that taxes will be withheld from TAships, but not from fellowships; if you are receiving fellowships, I recommend putting aside some money each month in preparation for tax season. 
 
The following is directly from one of my acceptance letters, and I think I saw it repeated on the other acceptance letters as well:
 
"You are also responsible for federal and state income taxes, which will be withheld from your TAship salary, but not from your fellowship."

I often feel bad for saying this, because this tends to be such a supportive community (and that's great). But getting into a really prestigious program really does matter, if you're in lit. When people say that you can't just chase the top departments, I understand what they're saying, and exceptions happen. (Feel free to name some you know of personally, if you'd like.) But the reality is that jobs tend to be staffed by people from the biggest name departments, and I genuinely feel that most people who have a choice between a Berkeley/Harvard/etc and a better fit with less prestige should take the former over the latter. The numbers are what they are.
 
For those of us in rhet/comp, the landscape is different, with better numbers generally and a very different set of schools being the best programs. It's also the case that rhet/comp has (again, with exceptions just like in lit) amounted to a trade between getting TT jobs period and getting the most high-profile, high-prestige jobs. You are much more likely to get a job at State U with a rhet/comp degree than a lit degree, by pure numbers (in terms of # of PhDs issue to # of jobs proportionally), but with a few exceptions such as jobs that pop up at Stanford or Georgetown, you are not going to get a job at Elite English Department X with a rhet/comp degree. I love to teach and would be thrilled to work at a big public research U, personally, which was part of my choice to pursue a doctorate.
 
I guess all I'm saying is that, aside from no duh stuff like "be great" and "get a single-authored, researched paper published in a major journal before you go on the job market," going to the most prestigious program is the best thing you can do to set yourself up to get a TT job rather than to end up adjunting. (In my only partially-informed opinion!)