rodgepodge1

I just officially accepted yesterday. I was in the same boat as you; I live in NY, and although I did get into a couple of in-state schools (Albany and Stony Brook), there just seemed to be more support and opportunities at U of Washington. I spoke to Kathy on the phone for a little bit over the week and while there is no funding during the first year, it seems like the university provides a lot funding opportunities after that. Personally, I can't wait to get started.

Just a heads up, my letter stated that students had until April 29th to give the department their answer. So I guess it won't be nearly as bad as having to answer by the 15th.

I think my plan of attack is to go with the temp on-leave scenario. Even if it's just for one quarter, that's still a lot of money I'll be saving. Afterwards, I'll be applying to literally every funding opportunity I can find. There's no way for me to avoid taking out loans to cover tuition, but I've had a full-time job for a while, and I've been putting away half of every paycheck just for situations like this. It should be enough to cover living in Seattle for a year. Also, I have a pretty simple lifestyle, and I'm pretty good at squeezing the most I can out of every dollar. My experience of moving to Seattle is going to be opposite of yours, I think. Coming from Buffalo, where the cost of living is pretty low, I feel like it's gonna be a major shock to my system. Also, I'd just like to say that the English graduate office at Washington has been the best out of all the schools I've talked to in terms of communication. They're super quick with replying to my e-mails, very detailed, and most of all, actually talk to me when I call, rather than sending me to a voicemail or sending me to another department.

I just received my offer of admission today to the MA program. No first year funding, but they did say I can enter the department's composition pedagogy training program for teaching composition classes, which after one year of training has a stipend and tuition waiver attached to it. However, I still think I'm going with my first choice (U of Washington). Good luck to everyone else!

Thanks! I stated in my SOP that Language and Rhetoric would be my concentration. I just got the physical letter of acceptance from Brian Reed today in the mail. To know there were ~465 applicants and that I was one of the few that got admitted feels AWESOME.

This is my first posting on thegradcafe- figured this was a good place as any to make my introduction. I just found out last week that I've been accepted into the M.A./Ph.D. program at Washington and I'm stoked beyond belief. Washington was definitely my top choice and I can't wait to start the program. I haven't ever visited Seattle, but from what friends and family who have been there have told me, it's a great place. I really hope I can find time to make a trip out there to visit the school, but living on the east coast and working a 9-5 job makes that kind of hard.