irishcoffee

As long as you get a place in one of the in-town neighborhoods, I think you'll be okay...I live in Wales Garden, and I walk to campus. I also walk to Five Points, where there's restaurants, my bank, my optometrist, the drugstore, a grocery store, and the post office. Now, if I want to visit the other side of town or go to the mall, I have to drive. I use my car probably 3-4 times a week, come to think of it. It's possible to go car-less, but only if a) you're not lazy an you stick to certain downtown areas.

Oh, it didn't occur to me that you maybe meant "theatre" and not the movies. There are three (count 'em!) great community theatres (Trustus is the edgy one, Town is the oldest continually operating one in America, Workshop is...the other one), plus one sort of hit-or-miss theatre troupe that puts on Sleepy Hollow each Halloween down by the river. There's also two professional ballet companies with a pretty intense rivalry. Personally, I do not know anyone that takes the bus. I know that there is a bus system, but I've only ever seen homeless people chillin' at the bus stop when I've driven past. If you live in the in-town neighborhoods like Shandon, Rosewood, Five Points, etc. you can definitely bike and walk a lot of places, but I'd say a car is pretty much a must.

Columbia is not big and scary- I think it's just right, actually. There is not a "grad student" neighborhood per se, but quite a few live in the Rosewood area (google map the Publix on Rosewood Dr. for an idea of where this is) and near Five Points (which can often be a little undergrad-y). Looking across the river in Cayce/West Columbia is a good, affordable place to be as well as the Melrose Heights neighborhood. As far as sketchiness goes, I'd definitely avoid anything past the intersection of Garner's Ferry and Rosewood Dr...urban sprawl quickly becomes trashy out Garner's Ferry way. Anything north of Elmwood is also going to be iffy, I think. Other than that, I think it's a very safe city with distictly different neighborhoods and a laid-back vibe. Five Points is great for bars, the Vista has some great restaurants, and Devine St. has some really cute boutiques. There's a little independent movie theatre (the Nickelodeon) downtown, lots of good coffee shops, and two excellent used bookstores (Ed's Editions in Cayce has a huge selection, and the bookshop in Five Points has a friendly resident cat). It's not a very big city, but I'm from a relatively small college town and I feel like I've definitely moved up. PM me if you have any specific questions.

I've heard that UVa is the same.

It looks like you've already made a decision, but when I read your initial post, I was a bit worried about ya! I mean, come on! You're comparing what you describe as your perfect PhD program, funded to boot, to an unfunded MA? And your only reason is a stupid, rather arbitrary list somewhere? Santa Cruz, all the way! :wink: Congrats!

http://www.epodunk.com/top10/colleges/ Best College Towns rankings! Because everyone loves lists, especially grad students.

I'm just going to come right out and say it: Clemson may be a cute college town, but it's in the middle of freakin' nowhere. We're talking cow country. I don't know anything at all about Syracuse, but this largely sounds like a locale (and maybe funding) issue. Those rankings don't mean much to begin with, and their numbers are fairly close anyway. Definitely hit up the "city guide" section on here and check out the city data forums elsewhere on the web. Just my two cents!

Thanks, bluedude! I also want to second what you said about dropping not just faculty names, but other specifics. This is what makes that "fit" part of your SOP work- what resources are available to students at X university that you want to take advantage of? Do they have special institutes, a kick ass library, a special collection of interest to you, certain teaching opportunities that appeal to you? If your fit paragraph solely consists of a couple faculty names, you're doing it wrong. Troll the library websites and see what they've got that you need. Look at the courses offered in the past year. Look at their graduate association site, if they have one. "Fit" is so much more than a potential dissertation chair. The end!

Yeah, the Tulane/Loyola area and the French Quarter were not hit nearly as hard as other parts of the coast. The streetcars are all back up and running, and though Katrina is still on everybody's mind (and will be for quite some time), the living is generally good. NOLA is an awesome city. If you don't love it, something's wrong with you. :wink: The weather is hot and sticky from April-October. Winters are mild. As far as outdoorsy things are concerned, there are lots of beautiful state parks in southern LA and MS.

Hadunc- I spent many months post-undergrad working at the mall. AT THE FREAKING MALL. My very supportive undergrad thesis advisor said it's a rite of passage for humanities majors, and not to worry. By November I got a "real job" that I was still overqualified for (they were searching for someone with at least an Associate's degree). Such is life. If I were you, I'd be scoping out some funded Master's programs and avoid the mall at all costs (but know that you might end up there for a little while, and that's okay). The adorable puppets of Avenue Q expressed this best: What do you do with a B.A. in English, What is my life going to be? Four years of college and plenty of knowledge, Have earned me this useless degree. I can't pay the bills yet, 'Cause I have no skills yet, The world is a big scary place... Hang in there.

So, I'm going to essentially agree with a lot of what's already been said, but do so in a handy and concise list. Next time around: 1. Retake the GRE. Chances are high that the more competitive programs will at least spend more time with your application if your verbal is 700 or over. 2. Focus on the "fit" in your SOP. Make it personal, show that you've done your research. 3. In said "fit" paragraph, name-drop. Name two or three profs, and then fully explain WHY their work is appealing to you. 4. In the meantime, present papers at a couple conferences. 5. Apply to more schools on the "lower end" of things. Remember that there is no such thing as a safety school. I would argue that this list consists of things that you simply MUST do. I would also highly suggest looking into Master's programs, as they'll a) improve your scholarship and introduce you to even more people/methods/opportunities in the field. You may also want to apply to a limited but more diverse spread of programs next time around. I can't imagine applying to 14 programs without having something go awry. That's an awful lot of keep track of, and a lot of SOP revisions. Quite frankly, I don't think I could find 14 programs that would even be a good fit for me. You might be better and more focused if you limited your applications to around 9 but broadened your options by applying to, say, one Ivy and more below-40 programs. Also, I don't know what your writing sample is like, but you may consider submitting a wholly new one next time, ideally one that showcases your diverse interests. That's all I got.

To quote Liz Lemon: Blergh.

Sorry, everyone! I certainly didn't mean to be cryptic. The other site in question (are you sure you really want to know?) is Who Got In and it's English-only offshoot, the WGI Lounge on livejournal. I believe the waitlist in question was for the PhD program.

Hey, you "penders." I understand (from other site) that waitlist notifications were made today. Those that are on the list are still "pending" online. There were 12 acceptances out of 400 or so applications. So...I'm guessing that if for some reason you're still pending, it's over.

Just to second what others have said: money and locale are everything! If you're broke in Chicago, you're going to be miserable and your scholarship will certainly suffer. Rolling in dough in Alabama might be nicer, but only if you're okay with the climate and don't mind the lack of a nearby Ikea. There was a program in NYC that someone suggested I look at...and I was in love. But I ended up not applying because I realized that being a grad student in what is arguably one of the coolest/busiest/priciest cities in the nation would not be conducive to my personal happiness or my work ethic.