hmurray

Hi all, I'm a visiting graduate researcher at UPenn Kislak library August-September. I research antebellum American fiction at University of Nottingham. It would be great to meet up with any fellow English/Comp Lit graduate students on campus for a coffee or go for a beer in town. Archive trips can be lonely!

I do share these worries. I have a PhD offer (hopefully with some funding to come) from my alma mater, where I did my BA and MA. It's funny because whilst it's probably the best place for my research topic and supervisor (who I've known for three years), my research interests have been shaped so specifically by my MA (the only course in the country) that I only really 'fit' in at my alma mater and a couple of other schools! Anecdotally, I also think that in the UK more people stay put for three degrees, I know plenty of people who only applied to their alma mater for the PhD, this may be because they have a better chance of funding, which is so limited here.

I think I will end up making a list of pros and cons (or maybe a table!) because my gut seems to be pulling in four different directions. Oxford--it's freaking Oxford! UEA--they want to give me all the money! Leeds--it's my home school and really great supervisor Nottingham--the best fit and really friendly supervisor Fortunately I have a while to decide; unfortunately I can't make any visits because I'm on the other side of the world. So I'll be emailing for the next two months...

Accepted: Oxford, UEA, Leeds, Nottingham Rejected: Cambridge It's different for arts and humanities in the UK, the competition is lower so as long as you meet the requirements and have a good fit you're pretty much in for a research degree. The real competition is over the very limited funding. I still have no clue if I'll get $$ at Leeds or Nottingham. I wasn't sure about Oxford and Cambridge because the competition is stronger and the fit at these two wasn't as strong as UEA, Leeds and Nottingham. My Cambridge rejection was sort of expected because it was my first application, the personal statement had a really low 500-word limit and one of my referees submitted her letter three days after the deadline. Oh well, it wasn't my top choice!

I am in a similar situation, weighing up an unfunded offer from Oxford versus a fully-funded place at another UK uni. I don't know if Oxford is my top choice for supervision and professional development. My sister's response, 'No go to Oxford you idiot'. Gahhhh. Not helpful.

Hey there personalhelicon, I also did my BA (2006-10) and MA American Lit (2010-11) at Leeds. Did you take any of the American classes during your BA? I've been accepted for the PhD but need to weigh it up against my other offers to see what funding I get. Pretty hopeful of some money from Leeds or Nottingham, even if it's not the AHRC. Unfortunately didn't get any £££ attached to my Oxford offer, so will have to seriously think about that. Congratulations on the US acceptances, I was about ready to take my GREs but had a complete change of heart (personal and academic reasons) and decided to stay in UK.

I am actually moving to Melbourne in September so have to negotiate taking the GRE and Subject Test in Melbourne and Canberra. Not making life easy for myself! Oh well, if I'm not happy with the score I will just put things off another year. It's really annoying that the subject test is only offered three times a year, hopefully the centre in Canberra will be bigger than Canterbury! My top choices at the moment are Columbia, PSU and Duke but I need to start investigating some mid-tier places as well. As koshtoom said, there are just so many places in comparison to here! My MA was in American literature and my dissertation was on the grotesque body in Chuck Palahniuk's horror trilogy but my future research area is primarily the deformed/disfigured body and racial liminality in 19th century American writing. Y'know, the body and death and race and stuff. I'm going to put that in my SoP! Better start writing that now...

I am in the same boat, I have my BA and MA from University of Leeds and am hoping to go to USA for my PhD. I also studied for a year of my BA at Penn State so I might go back there. I'm also looking at 2013, trying to get my GRE score up (it's like the 11+ on steroids or trying to complete an entire General Studies A Level in three hours). There's so much work in applying compared to the UK. Sorry to hear about the rejections but fingers crossed for 2013!

I'm sure you've made your decision already, but I've just seen the topic! I'm completing my MA in American Literature and Culture at Leeds. The faculty in English are fantastic (if you decide to take a medieval literature class) and I've heard great things about the IMS. The Brotherton Library is one of the best in the country and you have close access to the British Library in Boston Spa/Wetherby. I'm sure you're aware that getting any kind of finance for the humanities in UK is nearly impossible, so if you've been offered money at Leeds, take it. It will look great on your application for PhD that you've already been awarded scholarships. Also, Leeds is a fantastic city. There's a lot more to do there than in Oxford. I've lived here for nearly 5 years and love it!