WendyMoira

Hazel bite, have you been able to find classes for UT? I can't seem to pull any up on the English website...

Also, while making this list, you might want to check out greekdaph's pretty exhaustive list of questions on this thread: It has really helped me get information so far.

Follow the placement rates! Oh, and the fit...

I'm with you, bdon. I feel a little over my head-did my BA in three years, teaching high school this year, and it's off to Austin for me (or at least it looks like it). I really really hope they didn't make a mistake... On another note, the whole starting marriage thing is a question for me, too. I really don't want to keep my relationship in a state of limbo for 6 years (which is how I would describe it now, since our application decisions are so sporadic), but I can't see another option. Kids, thankfully, do not trouble me. Don't want them, don't want to want them, and so glad my partner is ok with that. I want to foster.

"I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant." Marcus Zusak Also- "In order to correctly define art, it is necessary, first of all, to cease to consider it a means of pleasure and to consider it as one of the conditions of human life. Viewing it in this way we cannot fail to observe that art is one of the means of intercourse between man and man." from Leo Tolstoy's extended essay "What is Art?" This was an inspired and appropriate idea for a post here. I love words...

HUG! I wish I could give out real once, since these threads seem so extraordinarily supportive. I feel like this is a cyber-commune. Remember: it's not over until April 15th...and April 15th comes every year. I, too, have thought, "man, if people could decline an offer and nominate their replacement, we'd all be happy..."

I haven't had any conversations with POIs! It seems strange to me that schools want you to wait until the recruitment weekend to ask your questions--I have so many of them! I sort of want to email the professor I mentioned in my SoP, but she's in the American Studies dept, not English, so I'm pretty sure it would be random and confusing... On another note, how many of you all have MAs? I keep seeing people referencing their masters degrees. Now I'm wondering if I would have been more successful with phd apps if I were applying with a MA first. Not that I'm complaining--just curious.

I see lots of wait-listers. Any outright acceptances (besides pinkrobot)?

I'm sorry, antecedent. I'm still waiting on so many schools but lots are mplicit rejections, so it's looking like Austin is it for me. I was hoping to see you all there.

Congratulations, friends! I'm a longtime lurker and secretly congratulate people, but now I figured I would chime in and say it for real. Cornell is quite the accomplishment. Enjoy the glow! Sigh...children's literature. I love it, but I'm really sick of having to defend my interests at this point. I feel like I spent half my personal statement explaining my specific interests and half of it clarifying everything I *don't* want to study, lest the adcomm misunderstand me and think I want to write about Twilight for the next seven years. Really I applied for Victorianism with an emphasis on child labor and affected family structures, but even so, it's kind of a fringe specialty. Oh well, UT-Austin apparently wants a kidlit person, and they have Julia Mickenberg in their American Studies dept, so I'm pretty thrilled.

Damn, that steals the false sense of security I felt between the hours of 8pm and 7am. Can we have no peace? On another note, congratulations, take this waltz! That is huge! So excited for you. And jealous. But mostly excited. What's your field?

Is anyone else thinking of buying a place when they get to graduate school? I know it seems kind of extreme, but I'll be there for 6-7 years (which is the average time people sell their homes) and I would rather be paying a cheap mortgage than rent. Is it crazy?

Thank you for bringing this up! The likelihood of the long-distance thing has been eating away at my stomach for weeks. I got into UT-Austin and while one half of me is overjoyed, the other can't be excited at all. My boyfriend and I are both English majors applying to PhD programs :-/ We tried to break down our applications so they fit in weird ways (like applying to Michigan and Michigan State, Wisc-Madison, Wisc-Milwaukee, etc) but I'm worried we'll end up in Austin and Buffalo. Before applying, we talked it out and decided we didn't want to take turns, even though it's the smart idea, because we'd both be miserable in the off-time. The idea of 6 years of distance followed by a grueling job search makes me want to curl into the fetal position. The other side is, we're both obsessed with academia and it is a huge priority and something we share. And--I-got-into-Austin!!!!!! So....yeah. It's chaos.

Andsoitgoes- you're not by chance another children's lit specialist, are you?

Exactly! I feel like they're puppet masters. "Dance, monkey, dance!"

This. Yeah, 17. Exhausting and expensive. Really it was only 16 and a mistake. And it was only that many because I'm applying with a partner. We applied to more schools than normal in hopes of getting within a few hours. Doesn't look like that's going to happen, so far.

I had a dream last night that Texas rescinded their offer to me, "because of my lack of enthusiasm at my admission." I'm serious. On another note, I've only heard back from 5 programs (out of 17). Wait-listed at Pitt and accepted at Texas (during waking hours, anyway). I feel so guilty because while I really am OVERJOYED about Texas's program, I really don't want to live in the heat. Almost all my programs were in the north. Is it horrible of me to be less excited because of where it's located? (Also, my SO and I both applied this year and he didn't apply anywhere in Texas...)

MyshkinLit--I'm not sure if this is helpful, since I'm in English and it could be different, but I was admitted to UT-Austin with six years of funding. TA-ship for the first two years at 13k for nine months, then instructor positions for the last four years with 16k for nine months. Four of the summers are funded. One semester of non-teaching fellowship for research, and one summer (I think). Again, don't know how helpful that is, since they could have different packages for CompLit.

Yeah, I had mentally absorbed rejection already. Think it was an error? Someone chose English instead of Education or something?

I applied to the MFA-PhD, too. Shit, yeah, I really wish I had known that my app would be viewed separately. My discussion of creative writing is going to sound moronic. Oh well, it was a long shot. My GRE Lit scores were mediocre, and I'm from a tiny liberal arts school. Oh, yeah, and I study one of the least-desirable fields. At least I can stop wondering if they're going to send anything out (until next week).

Keep your head up, guys (and girls--I've given up guessing). If I've learned one thing from stalking the results board, it's that it's just chaos. I'm one of the UT admits. It's my only acceptance so far (wait-listed at Pitt), but I promise I'll pull out ASAP if I decide not to take it. For now, I'm downright thrilled. I would love all of you to get in off the wait-list. Then I would feel like I already had friends...even though usually I just read all these conversations and never respond. ;-/ So here is me responding...ugh...I've been staring at this board too long.

congrats, you guys! Looks like I'm a no, but it wasn't really a good fit for me. Pretty sure there are abou 3 schools in the country that want a Children's Lit/Victorianist. At this point, I *hate* the word "fit." Hazelbite, will I still see you in Austin for the recruitment weekend?

Good idea for a forum. I kind of feel like an imposter because I have one acceptance (UT-Austin) and one wait list (Pittsburgh...I'm no TripWillis but I was told I have a very good chance at Pitt. I honestly can't decide how far to push for Pitt, because I know Texas has a much higher rank. The thing is, with my weird specialty, Pittsburgh could be a much better fit. Would it be stupid of me to pick the mid-tier school over the top-tier school? Then again, if it really was a better fit, why wouldn't I have gotten in there right off the bat? I know what you guys mean- its driving me crazy thinking about how I could be wait-listed at Pitt but enthusiastically welcomed at Texas. I can't figure it out! Also, I'm another maniac: I applied to 17 schools. I've only heard officially from three, but I think I have about six or seven more implicit rejections. I'm so bummed that Texas's visiting weekend is so late! On the subject of gifts: I am giving small gifts to my letter-writers, but each of those people also sat on my honors thesis committee and helped vet my application. Also, I'm coming from a small liberal arts college, so I think the whole thing is more intimate. It's pretty customary here to give gifts for favors like that. I chose an Out of Print tee (those of you that like lit-themed stuff, definitely check out www.outofprintclothing.com. My favorite!), a six-pack of Stella, and a novel. But again, these are professors with whom I've worked closely. Since we're on the subject, does anyone know anything about interdepartmental politics at either Pitt or Texas?

Ha! Wow, I'm behind. I should get on Facebook and do my homework... Did you rhet/comp people get the same people as the English people? Can't tell if we're all mixed together. I'm in English, specifically Victorian lit with a focus on childhood/technology studies. I'm definitely going to the weekend...such a bummer about the date, though. I really would like to decide before then. Anyone know a lot about the Austin area? I'm vaguely considering buying a small house instead of renting, but it's still too early to tell, I think. Also, has anyone talked to their POIs, or anyone else?

Antecent- mind elaborating a little more about your specialty? I ask because my significant other has applied this year, too. He does linguistics analyses of literature and had a really hard time choosing schools because so few seem to fit. He didn't apply to Texas, but I'm wondering if maybe he should have. Thoughts?