abluedude

Hey all, I'm a 29yo PhD student who needs a home from Aug-Dec 09. Anyone want to rent an apartment with me for the first semester or share an apartment they've already rented? Send email to ami.blue@eku.edu if you're interested in going in together on this. me

So, another week has gone by without a single indication that I exist from Quirky Purdue. WTF?

To relax while waiting, I like to log on and off of the Purdue website to see if my "Under Review" status has changed in the last 5 minutes. I then go onto Facebook and change my status to a newer, cleverer way to say "nope, not yet." This gives me peace. :roll:

I'd love to have a decision to make, but so far, I've only heard back for sure from 2/3 of the schools to which I applied. University of Minnesota's English PhD program rejected me straight out, no comment, no questions asked. Michigan State recruited me pretty generously, and unless Purdue, whom I haven't heard back from, offers me a comparable package, I'll be thrilled to start at MSU in the fall. My list began with 8 PhD programs: 4 English, 2 American Studies, and 2 Women's Studies. I had to narrow my list to 5 because I couldn't afford to both apply to all those schools and attend a conference I'd been invited to. I sent out 3 applications before I heard back from MSU. I stopped applying after that because I couldn't foresee spending more money that I didn't have to apply to schools I may or may not be suited for (read: I chose to pay the mortgage). After what seems like a terribly vicious application season, I'm 100% pleased with having been accepted with funding to MSU. I'd reject an offer from Purdue under only two conditions: they do not offer me a financial package at all or one that doesn't compare with MSU's, or they accept me after April 5th. That's the day I plan to accept MSU's offer because shame on Purdue for dilly-dallying around and messing with people's lives like they do. That's *if* they accept me. Big IF. So there's a little bit of my mental workings concerning the logistics of grad school applications, for what it's worth. If I do get a choice between Purdue and MSU, I'll consider that icing on the cake.

I heard the other day that Keith Olbermann has 10,000 Twitter followers, but he's not even on there. It's some guy pretending. Letterheads aren't difficult. Great.

touch

Yaggles -- she waits about 3 days to return my emails. Just saying.

Open mouth, insert foot, eh?

Glad I could help. Good luck!

Piccgeek and all, Isn't this exciting? Congrats on your acceptance! /me freaked out.

Your comment made me laugh heartily <-- too few and far between --> thanks.

Jack Cade -- I'm forwarding your awesome advice list to my grad coord. at an MA school. Thanks much for taking the time to synthesize what's already been said and adding your own tidbits. Extremely useful info. *addition* I revised the note ever-so-slightly to cater to some individual students I know at my MA school, so here's my revision of Cade's most excellent list: Hello -- As you know, I'm applying to English PhD programs for the fall, and a member of a discussion board I keep up with posted the following list of advice which I think is fantastic and true. Obey it. To those of you not planning to go to grad school (but who were tagged anyway), this might be a good list to provide to students seeking advice. The market is unbelievably vicious this year, and I don't expect it to get any easier. Almost every English program reduced the number of people they accepted by at least 1/4, but I've seen some that accepted 3 this year after accepting 20 previously. It's not impossible, but it's not easy. 1.) Contact every program you'll be rejected from. Make them earn your money and give you feedback. Use that criticism next time. Do it. 2.) Your scores and GPA could all be better, but they are not keeping you out. I promise; I know folks with bad scores in every way, yet they are in good programs. It's most likely that your stuff is good, but not exceptional. To get in somewhere, you must have written materials that are exceptional. For some its a score or two, the writing sample, the SoP, the LoRec, extracurricular activities, or the fit and/or connection to the department. Attempt to raise your GRE score by at least 100 points if you can, regardless of where it is. 3.) Build an impressive CV. Go to a conference or two. Make contacts. Publish. Send articles to journals that are a good fit for your area, and list those articles on your CV as "under review." This shows that you're trying to be published, which appeals to grad committees. If you attend a (national) conference, review the agenda to see if professors from your dream schools are in attendance, and make yourself known to them. Do not attend a plethora of local, virtually unknown conferences. Attending one national conference trumps 3 mysterious city-wide conferences, but every one of them helps. After you present at conferences, send those papers into conference contests; revise them, and submit to journals. Always think forward. 4.) The advice of your Teaching College professors, whose grad school days are long behind them, might not be the best source of guidance; however well meaning and supportive they are. This is especially true since you seem committed to getting in at a top school. The game has changed rather dramatically over the past decade or so. Visit the forums at thegradcafe.com to locate excellent advice from people going through this process in the here and now. 5.) Do not rely on the advice of your partner. They are not objective. The end. Besides it messes with you and your relationship. 6.) "Safe schools" DO NOT EXIST. They are myths, the closest you get is an unranked school in which you have a clear natural fit, and with whom you have had some contact. The difference between U Mary at 34 and U Mich at 12 is simply not that great, if it exists at all in your focus area, certainly in some cases, for some emphasis areas Mary might be the superior program. You must know the difference. Plus remember, all schools in major cities get 300-500 applicants. Those schools often have cut off criterion, i.e. scores, grades, alma mater, etc. Top 40 schools outside of major cities get similar numbers and have similar tacit cut-offs. Apply to schools that fit your area from all over the US News and World Report list (for your field). Do not apply to only schools in the 20-30; rather, apply to several 20-30, a few 40-50, and beyond. Don't get cocky. 7.) Know the schools you are applying to and know your field. Know them both very well. Contacts are the often the keys to success. Research, read essays by the faculty you want to work with, perhaps include these essays in your writing sample (or the names of the professors in your SoP, along with some indication that you know their field and want to study under them). Get material of successful applicants to compare your material with. Literally: ask successful applicants for a copy of their SoPs, and then write one that's better. 8.) Have a plan, if you don't crack the top fifty, or even tier one, or even ranked, that is ok. Have a back-up plan. Perhaps consider applying to MA programs alongside PhDs. Apply to unranked schools. Apply for Teach for America, to teach abroad, or to teach college classes at your MA/undergrad school. Do not limit yourself to PhD or bust. 9.) Work on your supporting materials (SoP, other statements/letters, writing sample) tirelessly for *at least* one month. Throwing together something at the end doesn't impress anyone, and committees discern the thoughtful statements from the hastily compiled ones. Have professors, students, enemies, friends, and Writing Center tutors review your written works and suggest ways to make them more readable, authentic, deep, professional. Don't settle for texts you're not proud of. 10.) Don't stop working toward success after you've sent your packets out. Continue to attend conferences, shoot for publications, serve your academic community, etc. because if you're called in for an interview, these are all things you can mention above and beyond your CV. Gain teaching experience, which makes the difference between funding/no funding, or an offer of a TAship at all. Teach a diversity of classes: grad programs like to see a willingness to expand, not 4 semesters of teaching ENG101 only. Keep an ear out for opportunities in closely-related programs, community colleges, and online schools.

For the English PhD, mentioning profs by name, IMO, is advisable, but only if you're willing to put in the extra research to figure out what the profs' scholarly works are like. I mentioned profs in my MSU app and was immediately scheduled to meet with each one of them, face to face, on a paid visit to the college. I mentioned profs in my UMinn letter and was rejected. In order to determine what you should do, it might be a good idea to email some PhD students and ask them for their SoPs. I did that and received several great SoP examples, from which I drafted my own. To be fair, each of the SoPs I got from current PhD students mentioned profs by name. Some even mentioned particular theorists (Sartre, Hegel, Beauvoir) they were interested in. One even went as far as to quote from a theorist to get to the heart of her intended focus. There are as many ways to craft an SoP as there are people crafting them. Go with your instincts for the most part, but it never hurts to have solid examples from people who made it into the program. I emailed English PhD students from top-10 schools for examples. You can usually find a student email list on the website (near/with faculty/staff emails). I asked about 10 people and received 3 SoPs to go by. Good luck!

I agree with Rising Star to a point. At my MA university, only 1 professor had good advice about what to do and how to do it. The others (Others?) were too old and out of touch to know much about the current trends and expectations. Be wary of old folks telling you what to do -- they're not in the loop.