bostdr4

I'm leaning towards Maryland because they offered me an awesome fellowship package and I felt like it was a great fit for me after my visit!

I'm doing work in Black queer studies and I applied to both English and American studies programs. I think my approach has been a holistic approach: considering faculty advisors (both core and affiliated)--because there are few doing this exact or even related work, funding--teaching asst. v. fellowship (which can aid or detract from academic pursuits such as publishing or conferences and collaborative efforts with other departments), location--outside academic resources and social outlets, and prestige--for a job's sake. For instance, given your concern over faculty, one school at which I'm accepted employs a gatekeeper in black queer studies but his administrative responsibilities prohibit him from graduate advisory work, and he was the main person with whom I wanted to work. However, I found other core faculty who study gender/sexuality or trauma or African-American lit who can all inform my research in some way. Look at CVs which give more extensive details about faculty research which their web profiles may miss. Also keep in mind, you can have outside readers for your work, though this does not take the place of all the opportunities you may be granted from having resources in your specific field on campus. After considering all of these I found that in actuality what formed my opinion was my visit. Visiting the program and the other departments and faculty with whom you'd like to work will help determine your decision. Right now, my first choice, though not the most prestigious, seems even more so to be the best fit for me after my recent visit. So, I say all this to say: go visit!

I finally got a letter yesterday, after noticing that the date on my admission status was updated on the website. The letter was dated 2/26 and I am wait-listed.

I've been admitted to UIC, and I'm waiting to hear back about a fellowship.