lcm

I can't justify spending that much when there are a lot of conferences closer to home-- was accepted into one in Europe to present last Fall... got $700 in funding but it still wasn't enough to even cover the plane ticket. I just couldn't afford it. Someday, yes. Maybe even when I'm a PhD student and need to network for jobs. But while I am working on my MA, I just couldn't justify it. (I even speak the language and have been to the country before-- aching to go back!)

Technically 9, as I did one in undergrad. It was a bit ridiculous and my social life suffered some for it-- luckily my job was only part-time and my partner loves to travel! (It was mostly weekend driving paired with hotel loyalty discounts-- couldn't afford anything else!) One pub came out of a conference, one I submitted at the suggestion of my advisor, and the third is part of my thesis (whenever it's finished) because my advisor has connections in the field. ...if you can't tell, my advisor has been pretty crucial and I owe him a fruit basket or something when I graduate.

$40k of federal loans for an out-of-state MA program. I've got the PhD acceptance and I know I wouldn't have gotten it without the MA. My professors at my school have been a phenomenal help-- I came into the program with a vague course of study and a lot of determination to do as much as possible in the 1.5 years before I submitted those PhD apps. I worked my tail off with 10 conferences and 3 publications-- though those are still tentative as none of them have yet to go to print. My acceptance (to my top choice) commended my commitment to my field and "academic achievements" despite a sub-3.0 undergraduate GPA! (To be fair, it's a particularly tough school and I maintained the 4.0 in my MA program.) If you do it, I second the suggestion to go all-in. It's not going to be worth it if you look back and think you should have tried harder and wasted the money.

I read this thread thinking how it was silly people were putting frowny faces and getting upset when someone said their favorite novel was a "book not to read"... until people mentioned Garcia Marquez! Now I'm irrationally sad, GGM is my favorite! I will echo the Stein comments, though. I've disliked some writing styles over the years (Dickens, Twain) but I can understand that other people may love them! What I can't understand is how Tender Buttons stood the test of time. I wish I could get into the canon by typing random words on a page! (I feel this way about most modern art, too, so feel free to tell me I "just don't get it!")

NYU, no question.

I'm still waiting for responses, but I did not apply to a program until after I'd contacted someone in the department to verify that they had a professor (or multiple) who found my research interesting and confirmed there would be enough professors to serve on a dissertation committee. I did receive two notices that the professor thought the program wouldn't be a great fit-- so I didn't apply to those schools.

I'm gonna chalk this one up to a loss. If some miracle happens and I get a call or email in the next few weeks, so be it, but NYU seems to get all acceptances out the same day.

Most recent acceptance says the call was from the Director of Graduate Studies.

My last name is at the end of the alphabet, so I'm pretending that they took a lunch break and are going to call N-Z this afternoon. (Mostly kidding, it was a long-shot from the beginning. It was nice to dream though...)

And scotch.

colorado's annoyed me the most. they updated it this year, but I have to click that drop-down menu so many times just to go through all the links... not a fan. also I hated their application-- type in everything you've ever done on our online forms but also upload a resume?? no thanks.

Got an email from one of my LORs this afternoon saying she will be in the office tomorrow morning so that all my Dec. 15th applications will be turned in on time... she failed to mention if she mailed out the paper recommendation for the application that's due tomorrow. I'm way too on edge for this.

Children's/YA literature, queer theory, folktales/ancient literature. And a growing interest in Victorian lit.

There are some others, but I am partial to this particular church? I am researching some others-- I looked into it over the summer and some met on Mondays and Thursdays last year, which are etter days for me, so I might consider branching out. I'm going to email the woman who runs the program and see if there is a big enough group to split into two days or if she knows of any other programs nearby. The church I'm currently attending/looking at is the head of the diocese (is that the right way to say it?) so perhaps they'll know about other programs.

To give you all some background-- 2.9 GPA from a prestigious undergrad, 4.0 GPA in my 2 year masters program (just starting my second year now and working on PhD applications). Will have great letters of rec, 6-8 conference presentations, 2 publications in my field. (I'm 23 and have been working like crazy to build myself up to fit into my field and get into PhD programs.) I'm in the Humanities and am only applying to programs where I've talked to faculty members and think I will be a great fit-- and I've heard very encouraging feedback from everyone I've talked to so far. I'm having trouble deciding whether to withdraw from a course-- the course meets at the same time as Catholic conversion classes. I would ideally like to withdraw and attend courses in order to convert before leaving for a PhD program next year. This wouldn't be a big deal, but I already have 2 W's on my graduate transcript-- basically there will be one W from each semester that I've been here so far. The first was due to a class unexpectedly not fitting in my degree (I was taking a class in a different department and it just wasn't a good fit) and the 2nd was because of snow days, the add/drop deadline was changed and I dropped the ball and didn't drop the course in time-- I never attended the class. I know I will get an A in the course-- I've had the professor before and am doing great in the class. The only reason I want to withdraw is to be able to fully convert and practice my religion. I know that the church will always be there, so I can always wait a year, but I have the opportunity to go on pilgrimage next summer and would like to be fully practicing and able to fully participate for the pilgrimage. (I've done the pilgrimage once before, and it's what drew me to Catholicism, so it would be a nice way to come full circle in my spiritual life.) If I drop the course I will only be taking 2 courses this semester and will have to take 4 next semester (well, 2 and a thesis, which I believe I will manage.) Advice?