Jbarks

I second this recommendation. We used this anthology in my literary theory MA class. It's hefty, but a great investment.

I've been playing mah jong all day.

Everyone was really supportive. I got a lot of "Congratulations!" and "I told you so." When I told my boss, he looked at me and said, "So, what I'm I going to do here?" He's quite a narcissist anyway. Guess what? Not. My. Problem.

I'm pretty sure we work in the same office. I told my boss two weeks ago that I would be leaving mid-June to get my PhD. Of course his major concern was how my leaving would affect him. Dude, that's so not my problem. Good luck with that one. It was the response I expected. 26 more days! (Yes, I have a countdown.)

I like the Peter Gibbons reference; I totally feel that way right now. My last day will be June 15th, as well. I'm putting in my notice tomorrow. I work at terribly boring (and just plain terrible) office job. However, since I accepted my PhD offer, I haven't given two shits about anything here. It is rather liberating. There's a lot of chauvinism in my office, and, unfortunately, before now, it was difficult to combat for the fear of losing my job. Now, who cares? If you give me crap, I'm giving it right back. I love it!

Good luck! My spot opened up, as well. I turned them down at the beginning of last week.

I'm assuming you've visited both programs. If so, where did you feel more comfortable? That was a big thing in my decision process. I think personality fit is just as important as academic fit. Also, if you have any more detailed questions about NYU, feel free to PM me. I did my MA there. I wasn't a Victorianist, though, but I can answer any questions about the program itself.

I agree with others who have mentioned the money factor. In NYC, $25,000 will not go a super long way, but it will make your life easier than $18,000 will. Another thing to consider is the teaching load. I’m assuming CUNY is a 2-2, right? Fordham is definitely cutting you a better deal; they’re paying you more to teach less. However, CUNY is stronger in terms of theory. On the other hand, Fordham does have an incredibly strong group of medievalists. You’ll receive great training there. Even though it’s not (arbitrarily) ranked as high as CUNY, Fordham has a great reputation. A few other things to consider are placement rates, professional support, and the happiness of the current grad students. Beaten down grad students are a sign of not good times within the program. If you had (or have) a chance to hang out with the grad students, which group seemed happier and more productive? I know CUNY is a better academic fit for you, but is it a good personality fit, as well? I know academic fit is more important, but what program jives more with your personality? It may seem like a silly thought, but it can make a huge difference in long term happiness and productivity. Speaking of long term, which program has a faster completion time and higher completion rate? You have an incredibly difficult decision ahead of you, but, in a way, it’s a good thing, because you’ve been accepted to two competitive and fantastic programs. I wish you the best of luck!! Let us know what you decide!

I just decided this week. It will be Purdue in the fall. I went on a two day visit, and it is such an amazing and congenial department!!!

Thanks, Wherewoolf! I thought Rochester would be the best fit for me, but, as I talk to students and faculty in the programs to which I've been accepted, I see that may not necessarily be the case. I'm happy and grateful for the acceptance I have.

Congrats, lascosmo. I was rejected. Even though Rochester was my top choice, I'm surprisingly okay with it. Now I can move on and start making some important decisions about where to go next year!

Thanks, mresene. I just emailed Mary, as well. I haven't heard anything from them, and I am trying to make my final decisions, so I would like to have some closure soon! Congrats also!

I would assume that means rejection letters or, if you applied to the PhD without an MA, MA acceptance letters. Rochester is usually an email-the-acceptance school. I mean I could be wrong. I also don't mean to be the killer of dreams. Edit: Could also be wait lists. A little more positive.

I've never taught before either, so I am a little nervous. I've narrowed it down to three schools-- two with a 1-1 load and one with a 2-2. However, the primary reason I'm getting a PhD is to teach, so I'm pretty excited.

Academic awards, scholarships, academic organizations and memberships. I also included my work history-- current job (unrelated to English and academics) and past tutoring jobs. I didn't have any formal classroom teaching experience.

I'm not waiting either. Pretty much at this point if I haven't heard from a school, then I'm not factoring them into my decision making process. There's only a month left!!!

I saw that on the N train; it made my day.

March 23rd, really?! I will have probably made my decision by then.

I'm completely with you on gut. I'm leaning toward a particular school, and I'm going to visit next week. If it feels right, then I'm going. If it doesn't feel right, then I'm going to check out my other top two choices. I think gut is an important factor.

I'm also curious about the housing situation near Purdue. I'm going to visit next Monday, so I can get a better idea of what it's like. I would ideally like to live by myself. I'm tired of having roommates. I've been looking around, and I've seen a few good options. The only problem is that everything seems to disappear so fast. I've heard great things about Franklin Park. Any advice on grad student living would be welcome. Thanks!

I'm actually going not this Monday, but next Monday, so I'll get to see everything in action. I'm getting excited/nervous, but I'm hoping it will help with my decision.

Ha! For one of my apps, I put 1997 as my year of birth instead of 1987. Yep, I'm a 14 year old genius / 24 year old moron.

I'm keep my fingers crossed for you, Lolo. I'm going to visit next week, so, if you're still in limbo, and I hear something about the process while I'm there, I'll let you know. I still wouldn't give up on Mississippi either; I don't know if they've sent out their wait lists yet, so you could get something there.

Sobeobe, Yeah, I'm medieval. Ole Miss has two medievalists whose work I'm interested in, and apparently they are getting Stephen Justice from Berkeley next year, which is pretty cool. I agree; I like how their teaching load is 1-1. They also seem to put a lot of work into helping and training you as teachers, which is really important to me. It definitely beats FSU's load, which is a 2-2. It's not that great of a deal. The stipend is 12,500, but they don't offer health insurance and fees are a little more than other schools. In the end, it ends up being even less than Ole Miss. Right not I'm deciding between Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and Purdue. I'm leaning toward Purdue, and I'm going to visit this week to see what it's like. However, I've had very good interactions with people from the other two programs, which is making my decision super hard. I'm trying not to think too much about location. I'll be coming from NYC, so everything is going to seem like a let down. Is Mississippi your top choice, or are other programs in the running?

I wouldn't concern yourself too much with the 40x rule. I live in a three bedroom with two roommates. My landlord is really chill. We pay our rent on time; we're respectable. He doesn't care how much money we make as long as he gets his rent at the first of the month. I also live in Brooklyn, where finding an apartment is still a pain in the ass, but people are a little more flexible. A lot of the brownstones are owned by individuals who rent out the units themselves. In Manhattan, on the other hand, a lot of buildings are owned by large management companies who are way more strict about income limits, etc. Look around Craigslist for a share, which is how I found my current apartment, and which I've lived in for two years with the same people. I think I got really lucky though. When I first moved here, I lived on Thompson near NYU in a building run by a management company. I needed a guarantor; I fortunately could use my parents, but I hated the building and the location. Plus, it was ridiculously expensive. I would recommend living in Park Slope, which is where I live now, near Atlantic/Pacific. You can find some good/affordable places, and it's about 15-20 minutes from NYU. For $700 though, you may have to live farther out. I knew some people who lived in South Slope/Windsor Terrace. I have the warn you, however, the F Train is a bitch. Good luck with your search. If you have any questions about locations, don't hesitate to ask.