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mattyd05

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Posts posted by mattyd05

    Waitlisters Paradise

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    For one thing, 12k gross income with no summer teaching option is just not enough to live in the Vegas area. Rent, food, utilities, incidentals, etc - and you're talking about the most basic, pauper life. And while in and of itself that isn't a reason to decline admission, I've been having second thoughts about the whole Ph.D. thing for quite some time now. My only other admit this season was UGA, which was approximately the same 12k for teaching 3 classes per year (which would be easier to manage in Athens, GA than Las Vegas). I've been in school for 6 straight years now - I'm finishing up my M.A. at UB - so I honestly think I need a little time off to regain some perspective. I'm more than a little burnt out at the moment, and I don't want to go somewhere far away on a pittance if I'm not absolutely sure I'm doing this. So as of yesterday I turned down both offers and am taking at least 2 years off.

    GRE scores

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    About the subject test: rather than spending all that money/time on anthologies, really take a hard look at the Princeton review study guide. I studied from it for about a month and got 640/82% on the test. They really do what they're talking about. It's a truly awful test that has absolutely nothing to do with the current state of literary studies (or currently trending disciplines within the field), but points-minutes ratio, short study guides like the Princeton review's are the best.

    For us rejects

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    Now that I've officially been rejected from all 6 schools (Brown hurt the most since my boyfriend is in his 1 year there :( ] I will probably move to Providence to be with him and do temp or adjunct work. I want to save money to do some traveling and try to enjoy the rootlessness that aforementioned work enables. I am also going to start applying much earlier, and do serious work on my writing sample this summer. However, I've toyed with the idea of just saying fuck grad school, the MA was enough, and find a job with an actual salary.

    Are any other "rejects" thinking of leaving academia (or the dream of it) and doing something else entirely? My something else would be teaching secondary school or something in publishing (another industry with great job prospects lol) while working on my masterpiece novel so one day I can say fuck you Brown, not I won't come give a talk :) Clearly I'm still very bitter.

    But for the next week I'm going to be consuming lots of processed food, soda, cigarettes, and mary jane as I wallow in self pity and feel like a loser.

    Sorry, Skeleton!! I've been feeling the same way!

    Giving up

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    I'm a couple hours south of you (finishing up my MA at St. Bonaventure). Three of the schools on your list (UFlorida, UNLV, and Rutgers) are on my list as well. I sincerely hope that we both wind up with acceptances to the same program, because I will make sure that you never live down the fact that you had a mini-mid-life crisis at the ripe old age of 24.

    Signed,

    Your 31 year old fellow applicant

    :)

    Quarter-life crisis? :) (Or third...)

    But seriously, this wasn't exactly a plea for encouragement, as one poster said. It was more of a momentary venting of all my frustrations and anxieties that have been building and layering for the last 3+ years. Sorry to anyone who thought I was being narcissistic or selfish. Not my intention.

    Giving up

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    You're all absolutely right, of course! I guess it was a poor way of saying that I feel the clock ticking, you know? I want to get moving on my life... But I guess we shall see how this round does completely pan out and then go from there. I'm not ruling out coming back to this in the future, but i think I may take some time off from academia if I receive 11 rejections to gain some perspective. Thanks for all the kind/wise words!

    Giving up

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    Hi all,

    This is my second round of applications and it is not panning out well so far. 0/5 at this point, and I applied to eleven total. I applied two years ago for Fall 2009 with a B.A., didn't get in anywhere, and did my M.A. to increase my chances. I have a 4.0 grad gpa, presented papers at several conferences, have an excellent writing sample, and some very good letters of reference, etc etc... (we all think we have strong applications). B.A. SUNY Geneseo, M.A. University at Buffalo. If I get rejected everywhere a second time I think it's going to break me - I just don't think I can muster the motivation to go through this whole process AGAIN sometime in the future; nor do I necessarily want to be in my 30s when I'm coming out with my Ph.D. (I'm 24 now).

    I don't know, maybe the Ph.D. and academia were just ideals? Maybe it's just not for me? But this whole process has really sapped me of my academic ambition. Sigh. Maybe it's time to move on with my life.

    Rejections: UB, UDel, Princeton

    Implicit Rejections: Hopkins, WUSTL

    Still waiting: Rutgers, Stony Brook, UNLV, UGeorgia, UFlorida, UNC CH

    Field(s): Early American Postmodernism and Public Theory&Pedagogy

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