ComeBackZinc

I don't have any insider info to speak of, but I can say for certain that rhet/comp chooses its own candidates and notifies them on its own schedule. I believe that's true for each subdivision in English, but I'm less sure of that. So if you are in a different focus, don't get discouraged.

I didn't find out until well into March myself. Same with most of my cohort.

A friend of mine applied to Harvard three times. The first time, he was rejected. The second time, he was placed on the waitlist at #1-- and nobody declined. The third time, he got in. I can't imagine going through that, but stuff like that does happen. Such great advice, rainy day, thanks for sharing.

I'm not gonna try and sway anybody to come here or anything, but I am very happy to answer questions, whether publicly or in PM. Also, if you want the scoop from someone in lit, or theory or cultural studies, or whatever, I can definitely check with someone and get back to you.

You're not too old. At many programs, at 26 you would be one of the younger students in the doctoral program. I think the median age for a doctoral student in English is in the 30s. And, you know, I'm sure you're not planning on dying anytime soon.... I know of a prof at a prominent program, a very successful one, who didn't start her PhD until she was 45. There are many reasons not to do this, but feeling like you're too old at 26 is not among them. The money is a big deal. There's a lot of ways that money troubles are mitigated for funded grad students; so many things are subsidized, for me, by the university. Those things really improve the quality of life. And if you don't need much, you can live quite comfortably. But itis hard. I get paid tomorrow, after weeks of worrying and scraping. I'll get paid tomorrow, pay the rent, pay the bills, buy a couple books I absolutely need, and be wiped out again. It's really tough. Worth it, for me, a thousand times over. But hard. And, you know, we've got to be realistic about the numbers. Despite people constantly predicting that the job market will turn around, the English job market has been in crisis mode since at least the early 90s. The likelihood is that some majority of the people who post here are not going to get tenure track jobs, ever. (I could certainly be among them.) That's just the raw numbers. Think things through very carefully.

Here's what I think about you guys.

Good of them to be so informative. I've become pretty disillusioned in English departments, thanks to this forum this season....

Right. There's a narrow path to walk on this board, between being appropriately supportive and being completely honest. Fit absolutely is super important. But "fit" is a deliberately nebulous term. And as much as we all want our focus to appear unique, schools probably aren't parsing our definitions of that focus as closely as we like. We talk a lot about how problems like grades and GREs can be mitigated, which is good, because they definitely can be. But at times that talk goes overboard to the point where we're acting as if they don't matter at all, when they do. And as SP said, schools are rejected literally hundreds of immensely qualified applicants. In that context, even problems that are considered minor can make the difference. I'm also glad that the perception of BA/MA school competitiveness has come up. Because it does matter. Again, we tend to minimize it because people can and have gotten into top-flight programs with noncompetitive BAs and MAs. But look-- that stuff does matter. They do care and it is a factor. I think people don't want to talk about it as much because it's something that we truly can't change. And I certainly am someone who has dealt with that dynamic; my BA school was open admissions and my MA school was not very competitive at all. I'm not saying this stuff at all to discourage; quite the opposite. When people are taking stock of where to go from here and trying to evaluate themselves, these issues need to come into play.

I've got one word for guys, just one word: plastics.

I'm consistently surprised by the number of people who complain about having to teach; if there's one lesson that everyone seems to draw from the recent brutal job markets, it's that you have to demonstrate experience in and enthusiasm for teaching.

Placement is very important. I think there's a narrow line to walk between being enthusiastic and inspired by academia and looking at academia through an overly romantic lens. A lot of people I know fall on the side of the latter, unfortunately.

So sorry guys.

Big smile! Let me know if you have any questions.

An amazingly hilarious and disturbing text. Why is he obsessing about a blind, teenaged student of his? Creepy.

For my school, and some others, if you passed a language requirement in your MA program you're exempt. I didn't, so I'll have to take something to satisfy the grad school. We have grad level reading/writing classes that are specifically designed for people looking to pass their requirements, although I may take something more rigorous. As I understand it, at many schools the language requirements are easily met, usually with something like a timed translation test where you can use a dictionary. I'm sure you can find out about particular departments on their websites.

ASU has a great program, and I don't mean to tell them their business, but March 1st seems really early to ask for a decision.

Hey, but that's good news! Real, personal interest. Did they mention not liking people who already have MA's in their application materials?

Awesome. Congratulations.

Agreed. You've got to be respectful and polite, of course, but for me a big part of grad school has been recognizing that I am a valuable asset to my department. Part of that recognition is certainly getting paid. That doesn't mean you'll be successful, of course, but any department worth its salt should expect grad students who value what they bring to the table.

First of all, getting funding in English MA programs is a rare feat, and you should feel proud of that accomplishment. As far as going with the same school for your MA as your BA, I think you'll find that quite common. I wouldn't worry about it too much. The only thing you want to watch out for is not going BA-MA-PhD at the same program; the term you hear a lot is "academic incest." The fear is that you could have been promoted out of personal connections to the faculty of that program rather than out of merit. Also, there's a concern that you wouldn't get enough breadth of knowledge or exposure to different kinds of scholarship. I'm not saying those are legitimate criticisms, but that's what you hear. It doesn't sound like you're planning on doing that, so no problem. As far as schools wanting PhD students without an MA, it depends. My understanding is that this was quite common for awhile but has become much more rare. Now there are many schools that specifically require an MA before applying to the PhD program. Some schools, though, still support that practice. I'm afraid you've just got to research individual programs. Hopefully, they'll be upfront about that preference or requirement. In any event, you're not going to just turn down your funded offers, so you can't please those programs at this point anyway. Nothing to worry about. As for your biggest question, it's tough. I know how hard it can be to move outside of a program you're comfortable and happy with, particularly with a significant other to think about. I have to say: if you're serious about making a life in academia, and you're convinced that you have offers at more prestigious programs, you probably shouldn't stay. I know it's very easy for me to say that, not living your life, and all. But in a brutally competitive environment, you need to give yourself every advantage, and I'm afraid they don't give do-overs on this stuff. Just my opinion.

Network theory is really big right now. The Exploit by Galloway and Thacker is a prominent text.

Tufts is a great school.... If you were set on getting into a particular PhD program, getting a funded MA and reapplying might be an option. But only if you're funded!

I'm just gonna leave this here. Night all.

Tasty!

I'm going out to get drunk and have fun. You should too. (Yes, you.) Put grad apps aside for the night and live your life. The acceptances will wait for you. I know I'm probably being annoying but it needs to be said. Time to shut the laptop.