JeremiahParadise

You're right on here. They need folks who not only are committed to te field, but have also actually demonstrated that commitment. Otherwise, as you said, it'd be near impossible to decide among applicants. I actually like that this happens. It makes sense to me. It's the same in any other professional job market or academic field. I think people tend to forget that a PhD is a job in itself -- not just a degree to help get you one, eventually. You wouldn't get a management job (or any competitive job, I mean) without prior experience, so why should you get a PhD admission/TT job without experience beside student/undergrad/MA in-classroom stuff? That's just the lowest common denominator, no?

Do both -- teach a couple night classes and work 9-5. Best of both worlds. Plus, you'll have insurance!

Has anyone read Judith Halberstam's new book, The Queer Art of Failure? I hear it's wonderful, but I haven't yet had a chance to read it.

So, uhhh... why is everyone disregarding the advice from this year's applicants who said the GRE is the least of our concerns? According to every accepted applicant on this forum (as well as every admission committee member I've ever encountered), we'll be evaluated on our writing sample, statement of purpose, letters, grades, and scores -- in that order. Focus on your writing, friends -- we have a long year ahead! The GRE is probably the least of all our problems. Stately? Grimwig? Others?

PCA/ACA -- Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (I joined because I had a paper accepted for last year's conference.) BSA -- Beat Studies Association (I've found this one to be super helpful in staying abreast of the field's latest topics/papers/publications thanks to its listserv.)

Somehow, if it's possible, try to prepare yourself for hours-long, very complex conversations with other smart people about complicated subjects. I used to get headaches every night after seminar. It's so good, seriously -- but all the learning I was doing was literally hurting my brain.

Here.

UIC FTW. 10k is a lot. And a thesis is a good thing to have.

Stately, I'd run with your other offers (UMass and BU?) -- Columbia's tempting, but that's some BIG TIME debt you're talking, if you're considering living in NYC unfunded.

I don't know anything about ULL, but I just spoke with a prof at a top-10 school this past week, and he said that IU is cranking out some of the best graduate students/prospective TT applicants in the country. That said, he might have thought similarly about ULL, but he didn't say so. Tough call, though -- especially with the family being so close. Good luck with the decision.

I met a prof at a top-10 school the other day, and he told me the adcom looks at things in this order: writing sample, SOP, letters, grades, scores. I think if your writing and research interests are ready to roll in 2012, you shouldn't let your grades (which are still good) stop you. The questions of fit and potential research/writing ability are by far the most important pieces, he said. I say go for it.

Congrats, all who've been accepted! I'm really looking forward to applying, but I'm afraid the program's website will kill me. I remember applying for my MA in 2008 (didn't end up going there) and having the hardest time with the website. Tabs n tabs n tabs.

Us undergrad overachievers want to know! Is it inappropriate? Is it helpful? Do adcoms care? Did they care/comment on it for you? I have enough from my MA (conferences, teaching, etc) to fill out a solid CV without this UG stuff, but I'm wondering if including it will help to round me out in top programs' eyes. I promise I'm not just looking for filler. Thoughts?

No writing sample for a PhD? Fishy.

Just wondering if there was anything particularly memorable or forgettable about your recent campus visits/interviews -- perhaps about the classrooms, buildings, grad student offices/carrells, libraries, etc? As a Nashville resident and frequent visitor to Vanderbilt's library, I can start by saying that it's physically not the best lib I've ever visited. The ceilings are very low in the stacks and the aisles are wicked, wicked narrow. Otherwise, it's lovely and campus really is gorgeous. The English Department building is especially pretty and centrally located. Others?

Congrats! Since you had mentioned driving thru campus sometime soon, and since I assume this means you're unfamiliar with the area, keep in mind that even though Brandeis/Waltham are pretty suburban, they're both just 10 minutes' drive from Porter/Davis/Harvard Square/Mass Ave/etc. As for UVM, I had a buddy get his MA there, and he was always someone I looked up to, academically, and I know he really enjoyed his time there. And, from personal experience, I can say that Burlington is lovely.

So interesting! I have been wondering about this for a while now. I teach in the south (though I don't know if this phenomenon only persists here), and I get stuff like this all the time. I wonder if it has to do with the way students learn to speak in this dialect or what. I get it ALL the time.

FYI, Penske does a AAA discount of 10-15%. Possibly worth looking into.

If you're looking for adjunct work, it can be done. I earned my AB/MA in New England and got an adjunct job at a community college here in Tennessee via email/telephone. Community colleges' enrollments are growing so much these days that I don't think they care to discriminate based on region -- at least not for adjuncts. TT might be a different story, but I don't really understand why it should be. I'm ignorant to CC hiring norms, though. Good luck!

"tards" -- really? Are we in the middle school lunch room or are we applying to graduate school? Ohhh, right.

Man makes these??

Anyone interested in claiming the latest acceptance? Congrats, whoever you are! Also, if you're around: what's your field? POI?

Hi, recipient of admission offer from CUA! Congrats! Now, who are you? I haven't seen many folks on here who are interested in CUA, so I'm wondering what you're studying and how you managed to navigate their website! It drives me crazy. Tab after tab after tab. Bleh. Anyway, would love to hear. Thanks.

I think you can totally do it. If you're great enough to be admitted into a PhD program, you'll easily be good enough to teach introductory composition. In fact, I bet you'll find most of the subject matter to be sort of second nature at this point. Congrats and good luck!

I don't think people on this board are pretentious at all. Really! And I'm sure I'm not alone, either. I think you just might not be used to how grad students talk to each other about their interests/work. All the stuff you indicated as being somehow problematic/annoying/unnecessary is pretty much par for the course. Hm. I think something that's lost on many applicants to MA/PhD programs (and I include myself in this group because I was the same way) is just how far along you're expected to be, both academically and professionally. Sure, it's great to be excited about literature, but that excitement can't be the end of it. As a grad student, you DO need to have an idea of why your work is important and how you plan to develop it. Remember, we're not applying to "school" in the sense that we are going just to learn. We're expected to produce. Our professional scholarship starts day one, if it hasn't already. This fall, you'll no longer be a student, really -- you'll be working a job (albeit as a "student") in one of the most demanding fields in the world. That's why they're paying you to go. And in this field, your work sort of does need to be your life, and you sort of do need to take it seriously, in spite of how pretentious it might make you sound. I do think it's good to be critical of how we communicate with one another, though, so I'm glad you posted this topic. I'm sure others will want to chime in, too. Good luck with the rest of your apps!