bluegirl

In the meantime, I finally figured out that my school is one that goes the 'direct' route - i.e. any loan applications, etc. have to be through them. I turned around the financial aid dept.'s requests for documents (mainly my tax info) the same day and am now (a week later) still waiting to see that these have been received and logged (nothing yet). After that, I assume, I can apply for Perkins/Stafford loans and the like. I'm just really antsy re my financial situation for the fall and wish I could expedite the process before the funds run out. (Because they do, don't they? Pardon my ignorance.)

I have not received my official package from the DGS or anyone else, and at this point can only estimate what tuition costs will be (I will be attending unaided). Nothing available from the department. I got my FAFSA in before the overall school's deadline, though. Now what? Should I go ahead and start tackling the Stafford/Perkins/other loan process now? Because, otherwise, could money run out ... if I wait for this slow-in-coming official docs to get to me? I'm sort of in limbo right now and not sure what the next step is.

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. In my acceptance letter, the department made it pretty clear that no departmental assistance (grant, TA/RA, what have you) will be forthcoming, at least for my the semester. There was even an entire paragraph stressing their fervent desire etc. that I still choose to attend the program despite their inability to help me out in any way ... One fact I left out: The acceptance came straight from the department, which wanted to know my answer before they send my application on to the Graduate School for what I assume is the official, final processing. So maybe financial info will come when I get the official word from the GS. It's a good idea to call the financial aid office and talk to someone! I will do that. They even have contact names and numbers listed for aid counseling.

I was accepted into my program, accepted the offer, though I was denied a TA-ship. I am now expected to pay full tuition. I was remiss and did not meet the university's own financial aid deadline. However, I did get my FAFSA in. Now what? What happens after you have submitted your FAFSA? Does someone contact me (the university? The federal government? Obama himself??)? Do I need to do anything else proactively, or do I wait to hear back about potential loans, etc.? I am a bit clueless about this. It's been nearly 15 years since I last applied for financial aid in any form. Thanks for any help.

I applied to one school only. Location is a factor for me: uni is already 30 minutes away, I am an older candidate, I am settled here and have two small children, etc. Haven't been rejected yet, but now I am seriously second-guessing my SOP. I think it is the sole weak point in my application. (GRE: Great V, terrible Q (English dept. website says it does not care), 6 on the writing. I applied for an MA in English - would like to do the PhD - and I already have both an MFA in writing and an MA in translation. I know that I have 4 stellar LORs, two from top/nationally known professors/writers with their own Wikipedia pages, awards, etc. I had a 4.0 in my MFA program.) Soooo ... what would I/will I do differently? I probably should have applied for Comp Lit as well, since this is a serious interest for me and my language skills are excellent - that so-called fit would have been excellent. I should also have applied to the one other university - an hour's drive, but what the hell - that I could possibly matriculate to. That would have been a safety I would not have minded attending for two years of a Master's, and THEN I could have applied to my local uni for a PhD. The main thing: If I get that rejection (this week! supposedly ...), I will take a grad English class with the professor I really want to work with (via their Access/Continuing Ed program), be the perfect student, cultivate that contact. I already knew what area I *really* want to focus on, and I'm beating myself up now for not really stressing that in my SOP and instead sounding like some unfocused "I really like to read/I LUV literature" idiot. And, finally, I will craft a new SOP that tells the true story of moi in all my messy glory and emphasizes my actual specialization plans and how well they fit in with the English department's. In short, I guess my real worry is that my application tells the story - and it is part of the story - of someone who wants into this school's program only because it's the only game in town. Which it is. DAMMIT.

congrats on UNC, igel & sleepingpoet! igel: I wanted to pick your brain a bit about the CU Boulder program. Just perusing their online presence, I can't quite get a handle on it. Focus? Ranking? Professors you like? What drew you there? The program *looks* very small on paper, almost like an afterthought tacked on so that people can add a bit of German to their Comp Lit. Please disabuse me of this notion if it's mistaken. I'm actually applying for English this year (I went for MA-only applications since my BA was in German, not English, though I also have an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in Translation), but if nothing pans out I have Plans B, C and D lined up: reapply for English; apply for Comp Lit (German, Spanish, French, Anglo-Saxon ... either the Romantics or Medievalism; apply to Law School; or, you know, write my National Book Award-winning novel ... Maybe not in that order.