yank in the M20

I was curious if anyone asked their lecturers writing their letters of rec if they could see them or if anyone simply checked the box on the applications stating that they did not waive their rights to read them. I'm sure my lecturers wouldn't mind showing me the letters they wrote, I know they were all positive, but it seems gauche to ask. It would be useful in case I'm reapplying next year to have some idea of what they said in the recs so I have a better idea of what to make sure I cover in my SOP and what I can maybe leave out because it was emphasized in the letters. Of course I feel in a bit of a double-bind now because even if it's not weird to ask, it does seem as though I'm suspicious if I ask them when I've been rejected, as if implying that their letters had anything to do with it. Suggestions?

That's something that drives me crazy about British universities. People in the sciences or math can get 100, but not in the humanities. I do like the idea behind it, however annoying it may be, that nothing is perfect, there's always room for improvement, but it's frustrating that it only affects those of us in subjects without objective answers--and it just gives those science people who think that we humanities or arts students are just playing around ammunition. Errrr...So what's the situation in Canada re. funding? Is it like the States with certain Unis providing full funding to all admits or like the UK where you have to apply for funding separately? And what do you think of the Canadian system overall? Can you situate it for me by comparing it to the US and UK (the only two I know anything about)? I'm starting to look at places to apply next year.

It's got to mean an acceptance or waiting list...you could contact her, though I'd just force myself to wait. If people are being contacted by individual faculty members in their fields, however, maybe the person that's supposed to get in touch with you is the hold-up? Good luck!

That's ridiculous! I myself am worried about my undergraduate GPA which I stupidly let drop from over a 3.75 to just over a 3.5 because of adding, yes, I'm serious, an art major. As in painting/photography. I feel like a moron now, but at the time it was refreshing to work for work's sake and not care about making the Dean's list. But I graduated in 2000 and did my MA just this last year so I was hoping that they'd consider my undergrad less because of such a gap. I'm glad she's so successful now and I'm sure she'll get into a program. If not, she might consider applying for funding in Scotland. They look much more at your research proposal than at your grades and Scotland (unlike England/Wales) still offers the Overseas Research Scholarship for non-citizens. Hard to get, but it covers fees and maintenance. There's always a way around these things if one's willing to work hard enough and she clearly is.

That sounds really interesting. I would guess that maybe having such a strong theoretical perspective, you don't have to be as rigidly within a time period, but I don't know. I'm definitely going to look for work back in England after (or if, I should say) I get my PhD because there it is much more common to span a range of time periods in one's studies. One of the lecturers at my old Uni studied Early Modernism, but also historical fiction and representations of history. Whereas I met a lecturer from an American Uni at a conference who said that she had to really stretch to be allowed to research on turn of the century (as in the 20th) when her area of specialization was Victorian. And I don't think Jane Austen links to Modernism, I meant that the themes of work ethic and labor have much in common with my interest in class in the later period.

What about you? What are you planning to study?

No problem. It was way off period-wise, but I'd hoped that the linked underlying themes would be enough. My writing sample was on work ethic in Jane Austen and my proposed project was on Englishness and class in (as one of my lecturers calls it) the early Modernist period--the early 20th century, not Shakespeare. I wanted to consider Modernism as not the totality that most look at it but follow new scholarship that separates it into distinct categories with the early significantly different from High Modernism and so study the early part of the period for these themes. Anyway, while these link in my mind (or at least they linked enough when I was in a time crunch and knew I couldn't fix up a Modernist essay in time to use as a writing sample), she said that it would mean having Modernist scholars read about Jane Austen and not be able to situate my work within the scholarship or know how I would succeed as a Modernist scholar or having 18th/19th Century scholars read and situate my work, but not be able to evaluate me as a Modernist scholar. Double bind. Good luck in your feedback. I'm going to steer clear of 'ignorance is bliss' toward 'knowledge is power'.

After posting on here and getting some positive responses, I just looked for the grad director's email. For Duke I assume the person to write to is Professor Alexis Psomiades kpsomiad@duke.edu. And as I was writing you this, I got a response from her. So, she's the one. She told me that my writing sample was just not close enough to my topic area and so people in the field I am proposing to study won't be able to judge my sample as experts. Well, now I know and at least it's something I can fix next year. For all of you Duke rejects (I can only be that harsh since I'm one of you), she said that they received 312 applications and were only authorized to admit 12 people, less than 4% acceptance rate.

Wow, that's harsh. I guess the positive side is that if you aren't going to get in because of something you can't change, you'd better reevaluate your goals. It saves you spending a large sum of money on applications next year. Or if you know what the problem is, find a way to sufficiently explain it in your SOP. Did your friend end up in a funded program eventually?

Thanks guys! I gave it a go with Northwestern since we received emails from someone in the department rather than the automated email and never heard back so thought perhaps it was a big faux pas. It's reassuring to hear that it's not. I'm going to go ahead and send an email to Duke's program director and see if I hear back.

Hey, have any of you guys that applied to schools before asked the schools that rejected you for feedback on your application? I'm expecting to have to apply again next year as I too (like so many others on this site) found this site late and because of money and time only applied to three schools. I got my MA in England so my lecturers haven't been able to provide much advice re. the application process since it differs so widely from the funding apps over here. The site has been hugely useful in reevaluating my SOP and writing sample so that I can be more in line with what the schools are expecting next time around, but of course hearing from someone that's seen my work would be hugely useful. Advice? And since I haven't done my roundup yet: rejected from Northwestern and Duke waiting on Brown

I'm American, I don't know about harpyemma. I think it'd be harder for anyone getting a British PhD to get a job in the States, whether British or American, but I don't think the subject area would matter. Since they don't have comprehensives and it is strictly research-based and the taught MA is only one year, they just don't leave their programs with the same qualifications you have in the States. In the States you leave your program as an expert in your PhD topic, but you also have the usually two areas that you took comprehensives in that you can say you are qualified to teach--they might be just as qualified to teach those subjects, but they don't have that kind of empirical proof. Also, anyone can get into a British PhD program, they don't have difficult admissions standards as they just want people to pay the postgrad fees. On top of that, the British aren't really into giving lots of awards the way Americans do. I'd noticed on grad student profiles in the States that people had awards for things like best paper at a conference, etc. I've seen nothing like that over here, which means again less quantitative data to provide for a hiring committee. If students over here have gotten funding, that's a badge of honor, but even then I think they would really have to prove themselves by getting a lectureship first and maybe after five years of experience, they could look at the States. Unless they went to Oxford or Cambridge in which case Americans seem to lose all perspective and see them as the best of the best, though ironically over here people are really aware of the pitfalls of those programs, the utter lack of theory, etc. Luckily for anyone getting a PhD in America, for these very same reasons it's easier for us to get a job in England than it is for those graduating from English universities (except for lack of connections), at least so my American and Canadian tutors over here told me.

Really? Funny, I've probably seen you at some of the events. I finished up last year but since I'm in Manchester working I've been going to the Poetry Centre series, etc. Which tutors are you working with? And I agree about the UK PhD--that and funding is why I'm headed home.

I just finished my MA at Manchester. Great university! The faculty is doing some really interesting work, there are tons of masterclasses/guest lecturers, reading groups, seminar series (more than at most of the British Unis I've heard about) and the faculty and PhD students are a great bunch of folks. Their gender sexuality dept. is really renowned. And I was just at a conference in Warwick--beautiful campus. Are you applying for funding in the UK, then? I'm applying back in the States because of the whole funding issue, but I'm likely going to have to reapply (really broke with finishing the masters and job-searching so only applied to three this time around). I'm looking into Scotland (as well as others in the States) next year because they still have the overseas research scholarship, ie full funding. If you have any questions about the Uni system over here or about Manchester, let me know.