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I agree with the 3 posters above based on my experience as an undergrad. The professors who knew my academic goals (grad school and an academic career) were harder on me in order to toughen me up for two tough careers: grad school and an academic career. They rewarded and encouraged me where it still counts, mainly in detailed and enthusiastic feedback on research projects. I found that they also tested me in classrooms by responding to my contributions with noticeably less enthusiasm than they responded to other students', and even sometimes discrediting my contributions, but this trained me to assert, defend, and crystallize my ideas quickly. This is a quality I've noticed in the best academics I've encountered or seen speak, and I imagine these academics learned the hard way, too. Those that didn't must have fallen by the wayside and left more room for the serious and strong thinkers we all admire. Your professor is probably hard on you because she sees potential in you, and is training you to stand strong.

I don't think it's awkward at all. If he took time to discuss his work with you, he thought highly of you and of your projected work. He could be someone who could offer valuable guidance later on as you make your own career. Just because the adcom voted to decline your application, for any number or combination of reasons, doesn't mean you can't have interesting exchanges with this professor in the future. When you send your thank you letter, you could just say something about how talking with him has opened a new angle of research you want to look into now. It's unlikely he'll see your name on the envelope and immediately think: "We rejected this applicant!" More likely, he'll remember talking to you about your works, and might reciprocate by opening a new avenue of communication.

I can handle some of the qualities you listed: central Texas (where I'm from) is hot, good music & coffeeshops; I'm not the bar afficionado here or anywhere. It sounds like I'll have to seek out a little scenery for biking. Maybe the surrounding countryside is nice? I did the Appalachian Trail in 2004, and went near Asheville, NC, so I have an idea of how the countryside might look. I plan to take a look when I visit SC in late March for the Comp. Lit. conference; maybe I'll see you around on campus. Edited to add: What's your intended focus in English lit? I plan to work with Milton & Dante, classical and religious literature in Comp. Lit.

Trevor, That's awesome: a major theme of my projected MA thesis or dissertation will be poetry as prophecy in the epics of Dante and Milton. The thing about prophets proper is that their cultures see them as possessing divine authority; so from their cultures' perspectives, the prophets aren't imitating at all, but creating the material for others to imitate and shape society around. Our modern minds view the phenomenon differently in that we are more conscious of the phenomenon of imitation, but the alleged prophets' cultures granted their prophets tremendous authority. Imitation remains a major thread in much literature and art--religious and secular--but with different intensities in each. We still see movie and "reality" stars setting fashion and behavioral trends in our society much as religious literature set models for imitation in earlier societies. You might agree with these last two sentences. I look forward to talking all this out if we get the chance. Good luck as you finish your thesis.

Trevor, It's true that our modern literary minds perceive imitation as the root of much in our culture, but not all literary eras have. Some Medieval authors treated literature as virtually real, with the potential for very real societal effects (or so some hoped; I handled this topic in my undergrad thesis on Dante). Another example would be the Bible, which any believer would argue is not imitation at all but the divinely-inspired word of God, and which for some people has unshakable authority to shape lives. (I approach the Bible as a literary document.) Recent studies on empathy and mirror neurons suggest that reading has effects as real as living experience, albeit tamer. These are some things I had in mind in my previous post to Ernesto in this thread.

Caroline, Are you in the program right now, or have you finished? How do you find GA life, and Columbia? BTW, There's a thread specifically on SC's English at:

Poor Yorick, I'm going into Comp. Lit. too, and can add a little advice. You could look into and/or contact some current grad students at the programs where you hope to earn your PhD. If PhD students at some schools all have their MA's from those schools, then it might be a safe assumption that those schools don't favor external applicants. As for fit, I would personally incline towards the school with more professors whose work interests you: your own work would be much more enthusiastic with innate interest, your experience more enriching, and your LoR's better due to closer work with faculty. As for money, the $10k tuition doesn't seem to include living expenses, which would enlarge your loans an undetermined amount, and which you'd have to contend with in the future. Unfortunately, the funding situations look very different at each school, but the points I made above may be useful as you weigh your decision. Good luck.

I think people will forgive that misspelling. "Retorica" is the Italian, too. As I learn Italian, I have a hard time keeping my Spanish out of it. My Spanish on its own needs work, so you can imagine the muddle when I try speaking Italian. Ernesto, Are you attending SC's Comp. Lit. this fall? I must have misunderstood your questions in the "SC Comp. Lit." thread. Sorry about that. Did you find out about the ACLA, and if it might be useful to your studies? Rhetoric/Retórica/Retorica--Aristotle, Cicero, and others--will be a big part of my own studies on Dante and Milton. In both these poets' major epics, the consequences of effective speech reach the spiritual level. Ernesto, You're right that art works seem more to imitate ideas than actions: each action in a literary artwork stems from the author's imagination, and relies entirely on the reader's or audience's imagination to give flesh to that imagined action. Action embodies the idea, but idea is source, it seems to me. Trevor, Where are you finishing your MA?

Yes, Comp. Lit.'s annual conference is March 22-24 this year. They seem to be doing the grad recruitment over the same weekend, along with the Rhetoric dept. I'm lucky enough that they're paying my airfare for the visit, though the dates of my flight aren't finalized yet. I'd like to see the campus and Columbia for at least a day to decide in what part of town I might want to live, but that's in the air for now. Like English, Comp. Lit. is also active in publication, which is a key factor in career prospects, as I understand. They're hosting the ACLA (American Comp. Lit. Assoc.) through June 2016, which I hope could tie me into the field for networking and professionalization. Are you doing your doctorate at SC, or only an MA?

One benefit to taking the subject is that it might give you more options when you come to sending out your applications. I took the subj. in Eng. Lit. which allowed me to apply to English programs as well as Comp. Lit. Prepping for the test was a lot of work, and the test cost another $140 (about 2 application fees). I couldn't say whether it has helped or hurt or otherwise my applications, but I preferred to have more options when I assembled my application packages. I came to HATE the test as I prepped for it, but did pretty well on test day. If you decide to take the subject in your field, I would advise you prep for it pretty extensively, and train to pace yourself to answer all 240 questions in the 2 1/2 hours of test time. That time blinks past when you sit down to the test, and that test book is pretty thick.

Still waiting on 5, all Comp Lit: UT Austin, Rutger's, U Georgia, U Mass-Amherst, & UNC-Chapel. Rejected UIUC; accepted SC. Do you know anything about grad student life at SC? I read this and its follow-up article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed. from 4 years ago, and seriously hope things have changed for grad assistants there. I'll be visiting campus late March for their Comp Lit conference to get a feel for things. Many of the faculty fit my interests quite well, so I hope GA life is tolerable. Classical rhetoric and crit. theory are areas I expect to spend to good time with: CT in general as a comparatist, and CR for a Dante-Milton project that will be the backbone of my studies. Which schools did you apply to, and what results have you had?

starlajane, how did you find out UT has sent its Comp Lit acceptances? I saw waitlists on the results board, and acceptances for English, but nothing other than waitlists for Comp Lit. Maybe schools string along their rejects until March in case their acceptances reject them, so they can keep some kind of entering class.

I got into Comparative Lit. and intend to study Milton alongside Dante, classics, and religious studies. What are your interests? I'm Edgar, nice to meet you, too.

How Humanities faculties work in the US is fairly unclear to me, but people tend to find out about prospective faculty in a number of ways, among them: 1) by having worked with a professor who knows a good deal about research in his/her area; 2) by having grown intrigued with a researcher's work through researching for papers; 3) by exploring faculty webpages and looking into the faculty's work; 4) by scanning a faculty member's list of publications on his/her CV, and then reading the articles which interest you; 5) by scanning a faculty's profile and getting an idea of his/her interests, then emailing him/her asking about more details; 6) by combining any of the above steps where possible. Some people do know a lot about their prospective faculty, but others don't. Those who don't may be still in the process of fine-tuning their interests, which is fine and allows for growth and new directions during grad school. But in assessing the decision to attend graduate school, it might be wise to also assess the strength of one's own research interests. If these interests are strong, they'll carry the student through 2-7 years, and also help to map out prospective directions and faculty. I've never set foot in South Carolina, so I can't reply to your curiosity there. On this forum there's a thread about the city Columbia, SC, which you might read to get an idea about the city where U. of SC is located. To find out how their student teaching works, you could email the grad program Director with any questions not answered in the grad student handbook. ACLA is the American Comparative Literature Association. If you google it, it will take you to their hompage. Good luck.

eoyarbidem, What specific advice would you like? If you ask detailed questions, I'm sure people will be happy to reply to them. Rupert, I know English and Comp. Lit. are different departments, but what was your general impression of the grad students at SC? I recently read this and its related article from 2008 in the Chronicle of Higher Ed., and I seriously hope that things have improved for the grad assistants there (especially because I could be one of them!). Also, I'm hoping to work with others who are serious about what they do, proactive in conferencing, and seeking fresh ideas--did you get these impressions when you were there, both from grads and undergrads? From exploring the school's website, it looks like they offer a good bit, but I hope my student community--grad and the undergrads I'd be teaching as an assistant--utilizes the resources to the extent I aim to. Thanks.

Kbert: I hope you're overstating the case a little (it seems like you are), but it's a fun read nonetheless--you might try your hand at creative writing just for fun. If the waiting bothers you that much, you might email the directors of the programs to which you applied asking about your status. If you don't hear the decision from each school, you might start running or cycling to alleviate your anxiety. If you don't get into any of your schools and you hold on to your goal of earning a PhD, then you might use the next year to study as much anthro. as you can: it will help strengthen your SoP for your next round of applications if you show you're studied in your discipline, are familiar with scholars and scholarly trends, etc. You could also sit in on classes at your undergrad if you're out of school right now. Take it easy, and try *something* new: doing anything productive is better than doing nothing productive. Good luck.

I'm closely considering South Carolina's Comp. Lit., partly because they accepted me to their PhD program, and partly because their faculty fit my interests quite well. I know that South Carolina doesn't boast a high general ranking with ARWU & Times Higher Ed. (200 and lower in both), but the NRC rankings for faculty productivity (which you posted) score them in the top 10 or so. The NRC Comp. Lit. rankings on PhDs.org place South Carolina among some pretty good schools despite their lackluster ARWU & THE ranking; they are particularly high in student outcomes. Granted, the NRC numbers are already 5 years old, and in any event can account for only a fraction of the whole graduate experience. The main attraction factor for me is faculty fit (classics, religion, and literature), though I expect good networking and professionalization opportunities because the ACLA will be at SC through June 2016. I plan to visit SC's annual Comp. Lit. conference this March 22-24 to get a feel for them.

hazelbite, is this 6 in addition to the 12 accepted to the English concentration? Or did UNC accept 12 total applicants between Eng. and Comp. Lit.? (I get the 12 admits from the thread I posted, containing the email from Thrailkill.)

I personally see no reason to hide your involvement with Occupy, though I can understand why you might be hesitant to emblazon it across your SOP. I think you might strengthen your SOP by describing how your involvement with Occupy solidified your commitment to your academic discipline, and how the skills you learned and were able to exercise with Occupy pertain to skills you anticipate needing in grad school and in your intended career. It might look "gimmicky" if you were to simply tack on your involvement with Occupy, whereas if you were to describe how your involvement helped focus your academic goals and skills, you might strengthen your SOP. It's of course an option to leave it out altogether in order to be purely PC, but if from Occupy you gleaned skills which you value and which you believe will be valuable in your discipline, then it could be to your benefit to describe how these experiences shaped your development.

I applied to UNC Comp Lit PhD for F12 and have received no response as yet, though I too noticed the sporadic results on the board. Check out this thread on the English program there: Not sure whether the number of applicants they have admitted is only for English concentrations, and if admissions for Comp Lit concentrations are forthcoming, or if the number they admitted is the total entering cohort. On a related note, what about UT Austin's Comp Lit waitlists? I saw 4 go up last Thursday, but no admissions or rejections. I have an application there too and haven't received any notification.

Congratulations on your admission and assistantship offers. I agree with Frozenroses that you might want to clarify all pertinent issues. It sounds to me like your stipend is paid after the school deducts a part of your tuition bill--but would you be assessed in-state or out-of-state tuition? (I think GA's usually pay in-state.) It sounds like the letter-writer wants your informal acceptance of the assistantship offer in an email by Feb. 20, and then your formal acceptance w/ signature on Mar. 1. If this were my situation, I would express my enthusiasm and appreciation, and then ask a few questions: 1) Does accepting the stipend commit me to accepting the offer of admission into the program? (I.e., I am still awaiting acceptance offers elsewhere, and may ultimately choose another school, but I'm really glad I got this great offer from your school.) 2) Would I be assessed tuition at the in-state or out-of-state rate? 3) When would I have to pay the tuition for which I am responsible? (I.e., before I receive my first stipend payment, or otherwise? [Possibly on their general tuition due date.]) These are just a few things I would want to know before committing, but their stipulation that you respond within a certain timeframe seems reasonable, if a little inconvenient. Congrats again and good luck.