gr1277

Thanks. I went into this with the goal of only attending grad school if I could get funded, so I'm pretty happy to have two funded offers currently. I'm just wondering how important the presigue is and how you can really tell the difference between programs if they are not top-notch in the first place. I've looked around at collected lists, but haven't seen any that were English department specific. I know that one student this year received her BA and MA at my current school and was accepted into some decent top 20 schools... but that could be the exception and not the rule. Side note: The Purdue OWL has been a life saver quite a few times. The programs available at some schools just blow my mind. I'm still holding out a little hope that I can get an RA in the Cather Project at UNL.

I applied to MA programs this year and mostly focused on state schools where I could get funded. So far, I've received two acceptances with GTAs (full tuition waiver and stipend at both). I'm still waiting to hear back from Nebraska and Missouri, but I don't have much confidence in them because I was waitlisted at KU. Right now, it looks like I'm going to stay at my undergrad school for my master's. How much do you think this will hurt me in the long run when applying to PhD programs? A lot of people are applying straight to PhD programs from their bachelor's, so it makes me think it could possibly not be too much of a factor. However, then I think about the programs that don't want applicants with master's and everything goes out the window. Also, I have the same dilemma as others with my significant other. He is currently still finishing his undergrad and staying at our school for my master's would be so easy. I love the English department here and I think it's an amazing fit. I just can't get over the fact that I'm probably settling. I almost hope I get rejected at Nebraska and Missouri because it will make my decision easy.

There are a few Creative Writing PhD acceptances and one English PhD acceptance up on the results board. Anyone heard anything about MA? Also, what is your overall impression of the school academically? I visited at the beginning of Jan and wasn't that impressed.

I was waitlisted at KU for the MA program. Although they said "chances are good" that I'll get accepted off the alternate list, I'm not holding my breath. Rock. Chalk. Jayhawk.

Has anyone heard anything about MA applicants? Most schools seem to be finalizing the PhD decisions first...

The school is listed as a member though. I assumed they would follow it then. It's frustrating because I don't want to accept this offer if I have a possibility at better schools.

So I was under the impression that we had until April 15 to accept offers (http://www.cgsnet.org/Default.aspx?tabid=201). I just received an acceptance today that gave me a deadline of March 19. I'm worried that I might not even hear back from some of the other schools I applied to by then. Mizzou said "on or before March 31" and Nebraska said it would take until March too. I'm applying to MA programs by the way.

I am currently applying to MA programs and I am only going to go if I get funded. However, the school I'm attending for my undergrad sounds like they are going to offer me an assistantship with a tuition waiver and stipend. I am graduating with my bachelor's with under 10K of loans and would prefer not to add to it since it's so low. It's all relative though. I'm not getting the most top-notch education and that could hinder me later in life when I'm looking for a job. Since, I double majored as an undergrad though (Business and English)... I feel like I could always cop out and look for a job in business.

The head of the English department at my current school (which is one of the five I applied to for grad school) told me to make sure to negotiate with them. He said "Just make sure you negotiate. We'll try to match, but if we can't, at least other places might give you more!" as a comment on one of my posts on Google+. Has anyone done this? If so, how did you go about it? Ex: School Z offered me a tuition waiver with a $12,000 stipend. You offered me a tuition waiver with an $8,000 stipend, can you do any better? I'm really not sure how to word it of if I should send an official letter to the university?

Does anyone know the approximate number of applicants a school would waitlist? Is it comparable to the number they accept straight out, you think? Also, how encouraging have your waitlist letters been? The last sentence in my email about being on the "alternate list" was "Your chances are quite good!!"

Yes, FBS is a category of college football. Specifically, I'm interested in schools that are also BCS (Big 10, Big 12). I'm currently attending an FCS school (one that is very good), which is a ranking below FBS. College football is definitely a factor in my decision.

I just received a wait-list email from KU.

I'm a new user to this forum, but have been looking around for helpful information for a few months. So far, I have heard back from two schools. The K-State English department sent me a letter stating they were recommending me for admission and would notify about GTA after all applications have been received (deadline was Feb 1 but I submitted mine late December). Today, I received a wait-list email from KU. This really disappointed me because I assume my top choice, Nebraska, will probably do the same if KU did. Any insight would be appreciated. I know a lot of people on this forum have applied to more prestigious schools, but I'd really just like to get into a decent FBS school.