coffeecurls1

Ok.. So just as i almost sent off my letter to NYU, I hear from Bloomington saying they might have a spot open for me . Funding in Bloomington is through teaching starting first year, whereas, at NYU, one has the Mc Cracken Fellowship which allots full funding for five years ( If i choose to, i can teach from the third year onwards and accumulate funding for a sixth year). but the faculty at Bloomington is great for Victorian Studies ( NYU is not too far behind). also, its New York City vs. Bloomington (Im an international student and have seen neither yet , but NYC sounds very interesting) I can really do with advice on this...

@everyone-- thanks a lot! this was really helpful. It is reassuring to put the whole thing in perspective. though some of my favorite profs do have great ratings on this site... some others, whose work I really admire ( and whom i always dreamt of working with), got horrible reviews.. what upset me, i guess, was that.. at this point, when everything seems to be coming together.. after working so hard all of last year with the applications and stuff...it all began to feel so alien and slightly scary... I really want to go to a place feeling good about it. and getting the above responses really reassured me. thanks a lot, everyone.. really!

@vordhosbintwin and unlikeleygrad-- thanks a lot. this really puts things in perspective. the posts on ratemyprof do look really over the top... and they did trouble me a bit, because these are the people i will be spending the next 5 years of my life conversing with... but this really helped. thanks p.s.-- I love Jameson's work.

I was just looking at the reviews for a prospective school at rate my professors.com. And some of them are very scary ( "so and so is rude, unhelpful, and a very tough grader" or "WORST teacher on the planet" types)... feeling very unsettled... How does one take such reviews? Also, who else is looking through such stuff? And even if silly at times, is it entirely dismissable, especially if there is no other way to gauge the faculty? ( my profs do not know the ones at this school)

@aeplo- oh no... no issues. I understood. And many congratulations again. I think very highly of the faculty at IU... but the funding is a bit of an issue, right?) I am yet to hear anything further than "you are on our waitlist" from them- but do write to them with any queries that you may have.

aeplo-- wow! im still on the waitlist-- so this must have been someone else. Many congratulations -- have you decided on taking this up?

@aeplo- sure.. UCLA, CUNY,NYU, Brandeis, Berkeley, Penn, Chicago, UVA, Michigan..and Indiana, Bloomington

@Royo-- WOW! this is fabulous! just sent you a PM.

Anyone who is thinking of foregoing their offer to Bloomington, (Victorian Studies specialization)? I have been waitlisted, and have offers at other universities. but i am very interested in Bloomington, and it would be great if a Victorianist who decides to decline the offer, can let me know.

@Antecedent, Stately Plump and Phil Sparrow- Thanks a lot! I was thinking of learning French ( My area is Victorian). I am looking only at fulfilling the language requirement, since I am fairly well off (Used to read literature in that language in school, and did all-right by way of comprehension, and speak it very fluently) with Hindi, which I am guessing I might need to look at some of the documents for one part of my thesis ( which is post colonial in orientation)

@anxious_aspirant- thanks a lot. That really put me at ease. I feel much better now @Datatape- Yes, that makes perfect sense. Thanks

@anxious_aspirant, sparky- thanks a lot. My case is something like this-- My specialization is Victorian British and Post Colonial Indian Writing. I can read primary material in Hindi, and speak it very fluently. I'm guessing most of my material will be in English, and at most perhaps I will need to look at a few papers in Hindi. The school i plan to attend gives me the chance of opting for one language at an advanced level. Now, im wondering if i should just start reading Hindi (just getting myself to read at a comfortable pace for I haven't read high Hindi literature in a while) for this. Also, if I am advised to take a second foreign language, I'm hoping to do French.. if only to make better sense of the many French terms thrown into the novels of Victorian England. I did take beginner's French a couple of years ago, but thats just basic, and I'm guessing il need some more tutoring before actually taking on an exam. I would be very grateful if you guys could let me know what you think of my chances, given the above scenario.

Dear All, I would really like to hear about how feasible (or not) you think it is to learn a foreign language from scratch to meet the language requirement. I do know one modern language, but i'm wondering about the second. It would be wonderful to hear from people who have done this in the past, and how they went about it. In my specific case, the graduate school that accepted me does provide free language tutorials, but I'm also looking at how to manage these with the graduate coursework that one will have to do.

@eoyarbidem- They notified me through email.

@Tripwillis and Aubergine-- wow! thanks a lot! This looks really nice!

@JBarks-- Just read your post! Thanks a lot for taking out the time to share those fantastic insights, specifically on their Victorian programme. This really helped me ... thanks @ComebackZinc-- ha ha! yes -- I just realised how important that is

@deebee and rainy_day-- thanks a lot! those are fabulous suggestions! did not think of it that way. This really puts things in perspective. Thanks

@all-- thanks a lot for responding to this post. Yes, NYU's offer comes with a better funding package. I was just wondering how CUNY's department would measure, purely on academic terms, vis-a-vis NYU's. I am wondering if it will be worth it to slog it out, and work my way through grad school by teaching, just to be at CUNY. More importantly, if it makes sense, academically, to give up on NYU for CUNY. Please do share your thoughts on this.

I have offers for the doctoral programmes at CUNY and NYU. My area of interest is Victorian Studies (Women's Writing). I would be really grateful for any advice/suggestions on what you think is a better programme, which one i choose, or what i should consider while choosing. CUNY's letter mentions some fantastic rankings, but NYU shouldn't be too far behind(if at all) on that front. Both departments have impressive Victorian scholars, though I am more familiar with the work of some of the profs at NYU. Would really appreciate some help on this. ps- I am awaiting the funding decision at CUNY, but just thought i need to start thinking seriously about this, because i may not have much time to decide once they make their funding decision...

For the M.Phil-PhD programme (English) , it might be a good idea to finish the applications end jan... only so one makes it in time for scholarships..

Thank you...your post was very informative and helpful.

How does the English PhD programme in English ( particularly Victorian Studies) at Brandeis compare with others? I looked through their website and found it interesting... I wanted to know what the general sense of this programme is in the U.S.... I am an international student, and it is a little difficult to place all these schools in perspective. I am aware of the problems involved in the ranking system.. i am looking for a general response to how the programme is thought of...

@Violet, Surefire, Litjust- Thanks

When do Admission Committees actually sit down to assess files? Most graduate offices still seem to be matching documents to individual files and updating online statuses of applications...

How does the English PhD programme in English ( particularly Victorian Studies) at Brandeis compare with others? I looked through their website and found it interesting... but I would like to have other people respond to this... I am an international student, and it is a little difficult to place all these schools in perspective. I am aware of the problems involved in the ranking system.. i am looking for a general response to how the programme is thought of...