Kudrov

Yeah, start with that. If the grad director wants anything else, she'll ask.

Yeah, I got that e-mail. They specifically want you to look at the schedule and indicate which options that offer a supplied lunch you intend to actually eat a meal (you only get one, regardless of both sessions you go to say "meal available on request").

I'll be there. I'm looking forward to it!

I'm currently at U of Louisiana (I'm, sadly, leaving due to the sudden death of UL's Anglo-Saxonist). I've been on the Lit track, but I've been very happy with UL's program. There's a solid amount of individual attention, and all the professors I've been around are all high quality. Program focus tends to be very heavy on "preparation for the job market," and you'll hear about this from the day you set foot on campus. I'll tell you up front, though, that the facilities are lacking and the stipend, while manageable, is a bit tight. Comp/Rhet is also the minority in the program, as about half of the grad students are Creative Writing, with the other half being split between Lit and Comp/Rhet. Also, the deadline to be considered for Fellowships is Feb. 15, but the general deadline (assistantships included) is March 1. You also get quite a bit of teaching experience, if that's what you're into. Let me know if you have any questions.

I'm in the "haven't heard anything" boat. I'm little shocked at how early those e-mails are coming out, honestly. I didn't hear anything back from Penn State last year until early April.

I've followed a "one conference per semester" rule for the last few years, and it's worked out well. Generally, I attend a regional conference in the fall that I pay for out of my own pocket and a major conference in the spring that the school assists in funding. This actually works out pretty well, as it keeps the presentations well spaced out and keeps them from being a burden on my wallet.

I took it in stride. I got an offer from my top choice between when they told me of my missing application and when the details of what had happened came out, so I didn't see a reason to put up a fight about it after my initial request to have my application fee refunded was denied.

I actually had a program admit to losing my application materials a few years ago. I called them in Mid-April to ask about their decision, and, after a long pause, was told "We remember seeing your application...did you never receive any response?" I eventually was informed that the folder ended up in a professor's desk drawer. Requests for an application fee refund were met with indifference. I've also received the exact sentence about my "academic record not being competative" before. However, my "favorite" response of this nature is the university (which shall remain nameless) that sends out an e-mail entitled "(University Name)- Deny Letter." Historically, this e-mail also comes at fairly late hours (I got mine a little after 10 PM). There's no feeling quite like checking your e-mail right before you get in bed to see that title line.

I'm simultaneously making my way through Tolkien's The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún for this year's International Medieval Conference, as well as reading Jasper Fforde's third Thursday Next book for pleasure. I'd highly recommend reading Fforde to anyone who hasn't read him, because he pretty much caters to people like us.

This might go without saying, but I'd advise to read the paper aloud and time yourself as many times as possible. Try to keep the paper a few minutes below the time limit to allow for unexpected happenings, especially if you're using technology in your presentation (I am officially 0 for 4 on multimedia functioning correctly during my own presentations). The aim for presenting is to get people to pay attention to what you say, offer good feedback, and hopefully make a few contacts while chatting after the session. The odds of all of these happening plummet if they fall asleep because you're pushing the time limit. Even worse, people tend to remember the names and institutions of presenters that go over time, and this can actually be pretty damning. Finally, make sure you go to as many sessions as possible, and actually talk to some people. Chatting with someone after their session or during lunch can be as beneficial in the long run as nailing your own presentation.