nothingatall

Done! I'm in Warsaw, Poland, but I'm a US citizen. And skybythelight: man! well, if they can guarantee you funding after the first year...is there any chance that if someone else walks away from their funding you might get a chance? Best of luck! And maybe we'll see each other in the Fall?

Hidalgo! Sorry to hear that, bud. Are you an MA or PhD candidate? You still considering or weighing other options? I also received word via email, re:funding, and I've been offered a TAship! If others haven't heard, I know they just mailed out the official letters. I got mine via email because I'm overseas. Gonna go check out the school April 3-5. I'm 95 percent sure I'm gonna commit. After all, I hear Seattle weather makes one's hair look amazing, like, all the time. Good luck everyone!

Exactly. I'm wondering if we'll be lucky enough to learn the outcome today? And sebastian: that's truly bizarre/annoying. When was the last time you wrote to find out what's going on? I'm wondering if there weren't people they had in a holding pattern until the funding meeting? Still: this seems like a not-so-effective way of getting things done.

State College, but, yeah, no one I know can remember that. Not even after me being there for two years. Even before I started there, I think I referred to it as College Station or something. It's basically like saying Anywhere USA. And thanks for your input! I honestly have no idea what I'm choosing yet. Both programs have a lot of pluses. Just airing the pros and cons, because, well, you know....driving one's self nuts with overanalyzing every aspect of this choice sounds like such a good way to kill a couple of weeks. And I totally appreciate your input. Also: what are your research interests, if you don't mind me asking?

Funding points, well taken. Though, I asked the same question of a prof (unequal funding=worrisome and/or a sign of an unpleasant environment) and he said that competitive/unequal funding was status quo until the largesse of the Clinton years. Since then, we've come to expect that sort of situation. Now, since $'s on the decline, a lot of programs are heading back that way. Though, I do like your point about: only accept those you can fund. That, I think, would look better, too. BUT, for perspective: in terms of MFA programs, two of the best are Iowa and Columbia and both offer dismal funding, entirely unequal. Because of that and the horror stories I heard, I didn't consider either. Since I've only been at a place that offers equal funding (people find other shit to get uptight about anyway, so...), I can't speak for what it's like somewhere that doesn't, but, yeah, it's always been a point of concern for me, too. Though...if I did get the funding, I'm not saying I wouldn't take it. Who knows! US News and World Report. All I gotta say is: Bryn Mawr. I'll never say that rankings don't matter, but, I think the disparity here is almost negligible. And I think everyone in the field feels like they aren't really trustworthy, either. The rankings, I feel, are for Deans and parents (and people's whose schools are really well ranked). I think the ball park snapshots (top 10, 30 or 50) can be helpful, but when you get down to it, anything between 11-35 probably offers the same competitive lists of pros and cons. Yeah. From the informal polls I've done of both programs, doesn't seem like anyone outside of said programs knows much about them, to be honest. But, being at PSU, I can say there are a lot of amazing profs doing well-regarded/recognized work.

I wasn't contacted at all, but I did reach out to Dr. Guerra with questions and had a really nice chat with him on the phone. Also, got the complete spreadsheet of job placement from their placement office (very colorful! literally), which was interesting. Some really good years, some not so good. Some peeps from the 2009 class that have tenure-track positions at places like Berkley! Reached out to some grad students via email, but haven't heard anything back. Also inquired about the pretty bad 2010 NRC rankings. Got a pretty complete answer about problems with institution wide data collection and such, which is really interesting, because I know that PSU, whose ranking shot up, was super proud because they worked so hard on a 100 percent response rate from their profs. Makes me think that the NRC rankings prove little more than how good departments are at getting their profs to fill out questionnaires. I do remember sebastiansteddy remarking somewhere else about funding issues, but that isn't the case right now. They dealt with this four or five years ago, but they are on the mend, getting raises, doing two new hires. sebastiansteddy: where did you hear that, out of curiosity? Also, to the PSU v UW end, I did see that you had posted something about profs of yours saying that PSU is on the rise, while UW was on the decline. I think that might be true of the NRC rankings, whatever those are worth, but, as someone who has been at PSU for the past two years, I can tell you that they are dealing with their funding cuts right now and it hasn't been pretty. Makes me wonder how much all these "rankings" are five years behind of what is actually going on.

Yup. Funding meeting is on Monday.

I'm curious to know if it was one of your top choices and why you applied? Fingers crossed that you get the funding you want!

While we wait to hear about funding (soon!), I was curious to know if any of you are 1. going to UW no matter what? 2. have other enticing offers?, and 3. if you're playing that game where you say "If I get funded..." and then weighing your options just yet? I'll start! I'm playing the "if I get funding" game and then weighing UW against my fully funded status at PSU, because, I'm a masochist avoiding deadlines. Anyway, so far, looking at job placement, location, rankings, etc.: I still can't decide, even if I assume funding will be (about) equal. UW has a far superior location (plus my husband is from Seattle and can get good work there) and their job placement seems pretty good (a grad from 2009 is in a TT position at Berkeley! Need to compare it to PSU, for which I don't have complete data yet). However, they are ranked lower than PSU, though, we're not talking Top 10 vs Top 50 or something. More like a few notches from each other in the Top 30s (with the exception of the NRC rankings, which place UW way lower than PSU). I also do a lot of Critical Theory, post-1900s literature stuff, which makes UW seem like a better fit (no pre-1800s prerequisites. score.), though I already have good relationships with folks at PSU I'd like to work with. BTW: this post going to (not) be HILARIOUS when I don't get funding.

I, too, feel super icky thinking in terms of rankings, but I don't wanna be a dummy and ignore how much they "can" matter as well. After trying to figure out exactly where these schools sit in relationship to one another, however, I give up. I'm basically in the place that: they are both sturdy English programs at well-regarded Research I Universities. It's not like I'm trying to compare either to a top 10. And PSU might be more well-regarded, higher in the NRC Rankings, but not particularly for the areas in which I work, at least, that's my impression. In that case, I think it may just come down to the best fit. It's funny because the two comments I got are so emblematic of the general advice I'm getting--split straight down the middle. Some say W, some say P. I guess I wish I had a really clear cut choice, because these sorts of calls make me feel crazy. Anyway, thanks for the input! If anyone else wants to chime in about the relevance of prestige, tiering, and why it matters or doesn't, I'm down to read your opinions!

I'm looking for some advice, doods, because I've informed myself into total confusion. Here's where I'm at: Penn State vs University of Washington. I've got a rankings question/crisis. The two schools are listed as being the same rank in US News & WR, but University of Wash is ranked MUCH lower in the NRC's 2010 rankings. What gives? Also: if you had to pick between the two, what would you choose and why? Informal poll, so to speak.

Just curious if anyone wants to claim the wait list spots for USC's Creative Writing and Lit Program? I emailed yesterday and was told that offers were going out this week, and all rejection letters will be mailed next week. I have no idea if this means all offers have already been made or not. I figure that wait listers would hear after offers were made, but who knows? I'm just wondering if it's REALLY time for me to count USC out? Any one that can offer a glimmer of hope and/or help me avoid two days of needless waiting/anxiety? Cheers!

Very cool. I'll try to find it. Also! Quick etiquette question. When applying to MFA programs, some of my recommenders encouraged me to write schools that hadn't made decisions to tell them of my acceptances and funding packages elsewhere. For some reason, I'm feeling all weird about doing that right now. Since University of Washington hasn't made funding decisions, is it appropriate to write them and tell them that I have full-funding in another similarly ranked program? Should I be specific about that program? Should I be honest and say I can't go to U of W without funding? Just wondering if you'd send "that" email and how you'd phrase it so you don't sound like a spoiled brat. Thanks!

So, I'm here to answer my own question for those other UW acceptances I saw on the board. Heard that they'll be making funding decisions on March 18 and sending out letters around then.

For those waiting on University of Washington Seattle, I just checked the website and saw that I received an offer! However: no word on funding or anything. Anyone else apply there and know how to find that info?