runonsentence

It's their online system that, like everything else about their website and application process, is entirely counter-intuitive. (I mean, seriously—I didn't realize until after I'd submitted the application that they had differing GRE reqs for Comp/Rhet because it was buried another 3 pages behind the rest of the reqs that apply to all applicants. The program looks great, but their website and application are both SO disorganized.) I got a hardcopy letter dated December 16th that gave me ID numbers for logging into their online system (Panther Access to Web Services; PAWS). It's signed by the director of grad student services, so if you're curious enough to want access, I'd give the Grad School a ring. (The website is www.paws.uwm.edu, but you need to log into www.epantherid.uwm.edu first to set up a password, and you'll need two different IDs from the letter...)

You're welcome, good luck with your apartment search. Tell your parents that campus is safe. My parents were worried, too, and asked me to to apply there for undergrad; but my sister does just fine leaving campus at night to bike back to her apartment (she's a junior undergrad) and it's rare to hear of something awful happening on campus. And there are plenty of safe areas to live in the city. If they come with you to visit, take some time to visit the rest of the city, too, so that they can see that the entirety of Philadelphia isn't like the ghettos of North Broad.

Ha well up until about two years ago, I would have told you that we don't get THAT much snow...but ever since I moved out to the Midwest, Philly's become a freakin' snow belt! The suburbs are really good at snow removal (it takes at least 6 inches to paralyze them, unlike SC which I'd guess is like Cincinnati—OMG there's an inch of snow, close everything!1!1!!). The city, though, has more trouble with plowing so the side streets get a little tricky if you're driving. Some kind of snow boot recommended for walking. Doesn't need to be hardcore, but you'll want something warmer than a sneaker. We definitely get all four seasons in Philly. You'll ned a few sweaters, yes.

I'm waiting on seven. I thankfully have one acceptance to hang onto, but I'm with you: this is brutal. This year seems tougher than the last two or three, or at least it does in my field. Can't tell you how many colleagues and mentors have been sympathetically surprised at how many schools I'm still waiting on.

While this makes it look very likely you'll be offered acceptance, I wouldn't count on it to the extent that you start re-arranging your life until you see something in writing. Not to panic you, but: two years ago (F09 season) I visited a campus and a DGS said all kinds of incredibly complimentary things ("I remembered your application when you emailed me about visiting," "You seem like exactly the kind of student who would do well here," "I wouldn't be surprised if you were offered acceptance,", and the like) and then I got a big fat rejection in the mail about 1.5 months later. A friend of mine in the program assured me it probably had mostly to do with funding issues at the uni, and maybe it was because a meeting I'd had with a POI didnt go very well, but still, who knows what happened. It sounds like you heard something more strongly reassuring than I did, and I really don't want to rain on your parade (congrats on the successful visit/interview you described!) but my point is to wait for official word before you start changing around your life. You never know what kind of surprises might crop up between your visit and the committee's meeting.

Also, for anyone else locating here for the first time, this forum might be of general interest: Philadelphia Forum. I found it really helpful when I was considering a move from my parents house in the 'burbs to the city, to make my work commute easier. The locals on this board are pretty knowledgeable.

Plenty of students do it, and now that they finally built a grocery store two years ago you'll have more options than just the Rite-Aid and Chinese takeout for getting yourself some food (without having to take public transportation, I mean). I think it's up to you—I highly advise you visit the area first and get a feel for it. If you want my own opinion (and you're free to ignore it), I personally just wouldn't feel safe living off campus. Temple does a great job of policing campus itself (making the campus one of the safest in the country, my sister told me?), but you need to be careful off campus. Last December my sister and I visited some friends of hers somewhere a few blocks away from Temple (sorry, I'm not super familiar with North Philly), and about 15 minutes after we left, at 11pm-ish, they heard a bunch of gunshots not too far from their apartment. This is incredibly anecdotal, but I think general consensus out there is that off-campus is iffy and not as policed as it could be. This thread on another forum might be helpful: http://www.city-data...niversity.html. Note that the Broad Street el has a stop on campus at Temple; a lot of students live somewhere off the Broad Street line and commute in. There's some cool areas to live around South Philly, for instance, that would be accessible via Broad.

I'm also waiting on Penn State. (Plus SIX other schools, GAH.) I feel like I haven't seen too much action from them on the results board thus far.

I know they do rolling admissions, so I suppose I'm not too surprised I haven't heard yet. But it is somewhat disconcerting that they knew they were rejecting you and didn't notify you until you asked. The previous DGS was simply lovely when I visited last time I did applications (for F09). She said some nice things to me when I visited, which somewhat softened the blow when I got rejected a month or so later. Glad to know the department is still very kind and polite, at least.

Hah I suppose you're right. That is extremely odd. Well, if you decide you're curious enough to get in touch with the program, I've emailed the coordinator before about some missing materials in my application (discovered a week after the deadline that I hadn't sent a transcript from my current institution!!) and she was BEYOND friendly and kind. Also, speaking of odd, Milwaukee's PAWS has been telling me for weeks that my application is complete and sent on to the department...but now it tells me that it needs a copy of my transcript with a posted degree from my current institution. This seems strange, since I'm still in-progress and won't have the degree posted on my transcript until this summer. Hope you both hear about funding soon (especially given recent turmoil). It's a nice program, my mentor went there for her PhD and said they have a good range of opportunities and people to work with.

Personally, I wouldn't just drop in (even though this seems serendipitously convenient, I understand the temptation!). Some programs warn explicitly against this on their websites. Even if they don't, people are busy, and while you could get lucky—making time for an unexpected prospective student might not bother some people—there's the chance that the person you drop in on could be grumpy about it. If it were me, the last thing I'd want to do is take the chance of souring the taste of my top choice school for myself by having an uncomfortable visit with someone who's annoyed I've popped in. Definitely try emailing. I've emailed POI and DGS on short notice before; depending on the person, they're sometimes surprisingly responsive if you ask for 15 minutes of their time in an email a day or two beforehand.

Were all of you literature applicants, or is anyone else out there also waiting to hear back on UNC for rhet/comp? UNC is still one of my mystery 7...I'm emailing them if I don't hear back at the end of this week.

Yes, congrats! Also, I see that you're still waiting on OSU—that might mean you're still in the running there, they send out some notices pretty early (I got my rejection in early Feb).

Hear hear, lifealive, I completely agree. For the OP: I've taught on a 1-1-1 load (including my first year as an MA), and I will be leaning more strongly towards the schools that don't ask me to teach more than one section at a time (or, like stillthisappeal says, under another optimal load) when I make my decision on a PhD program. Even though pedagogy falls under my own research interests. I think that in the first year, even two years, of graduate school it is incredibly important to have as much breathing room as possible. You're learning how to navigate the academy, research, the classroom, theory...really, you're learning a new way of thinking and speaking. Sure, as evidenced by this topic thread, plenty of grad students out there teach two (or more??) sections at a time, and if you go on to land a faculty position you'll teach even more than that. But my own personal, humble opinion is that a one-course load is important for this formative point in your career, if you are lucky enough to land one.

I completely agree with Chris83 and Pamphilia. Rankings are weird. And even if they weren't, I personally don't think the ranking of the program is as important as the work you're able to produce for when you're out on the market—and the work you produce is influenced by the quality and support of the faculty and your colleagues, the support you have in your program (i.e., working PT at Mickey D's makes it hard to write a good novel before you graduate), and the kinds of experiences you're able to get before graduating. Also, on an incidental note for the OP, I'm currently at Cinci. While I'm not a creative writer, I'm happy to help talk about our program if you'd like to PM me sometime.

I'm also willing to answer any PMs with questions about Philly as best I can. I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and worked downtown (in Old City) for two years. My sister and brother have both been undergrads at Temple, and both currently live in the city. So while I've never lived downtown myself, and while I have to admit that University City is the area of Philly I'm least familiar with, I'm happy to try to answer any questions I can. Some disorganized thoughts on Philly living, off the top of my head: Northern Liberties and South Philly are some of the most affordable places to live, from what I hear (and my bro loves living in Northern Liberties). You won't be walking distance from campus, but Philly has so many buses and the els are fairly convenient. Lots of people bike in the city, too.My sister managed to get a cheap apartment (3 BR) near Washington Square/Jefferson Uni, though, and I know others have succeeded in finding some cheap places in the midtown area. But this involves lots of looking a bit of getting lucky, perhaps.Anyone considering Temple, my advice is to try to live somewhere in the city off the Broad Street el line. Living right off of campus is...well, people do it, and my sister is blase about visiting friends who do it, but I personally wouldn't. I'd prefer to commute and be more comfortable leaving my apartment at night.

Thanks for the info, murkyama! At this point, I'd even welcome 7 rejections over all this waiting.

Hi All, Coming late to this party, glad to see a group of rhet/compers. Just stumbled across not only this thread, but this entire board for the first time while trolling the Internet in desperation tonight. Still haven't heard anything from SEVEN of my schools! Here's where I applied (in deadline order), with decisions boldfaced: Michigan State (rejected)Ohio State (rejected)Wisconsin-MilwaukeeUNC Chapel HillLouisvillePenn StateOhio UMiamiCincinnati (accepted; this is also my current MA institution)Georgia State Anyone else had news from these schools? I think one or two of you just mentioned Louisville decisions? I heard tale of UNC-CH and UW-M decisions elsewhere on the board...is that primarily lit, or have some of you heard rhet/comp decisions from those programs, at this point? I know Chapel Hill is rolling decisions, but I'm wondering if it's worth starting to email/call around. Anyway, good luck to everyone else with hearing back, and congrats for those who have been posting acceptances!