DorindaAfterThyrsis

Who's going to cave first and call/contact the department for more info?

It's an interesting theory, and I wholeheartedly approve of all theories that allow me to continue to hope that my yesses are coming, despite all evidence to the contrary.

As much as I honestly and realistically didn't think Harvard or Rutgers (or Brown, or WUSTL, or UPenn, or Columbia) were/are a possibility for me, I still feel a little ill right now. Head and heart don't really agree much on this topic of Grad School probabilities, I'm afraid. Ouchie.

Someone just posted a Harvard acceptance on the survey (claim POI phoned). This person was not me. First Rutgers, now this. I hate today.

Congrats!! ....now DISH!

They didn't even provide any notes in their posting......how the hell are we supposed to obsess and analyze without any notes?! So cruel...so cruel.

A ball?! Your life is clearly more awesome than mine.

I think I'm in the same boat, but since a couple of my still-to-respond schools have traditionally sent rejections via post (not e-mail), I may, through that wonder of inefficiency that is Canada Post, be spared the process of finding an inbox full of sad trombones for five straight days. However, I suppose that means that I will just be prolonging the agony....

From what I gather on these boards, paid visits before you've received and official admissions offer (with or without a funding package) are essentially extended interview-type situations, with greater or lesser degrees of formality depending on the program. YMMV, but I think it's safe to assume that you're among the final pool of applicants, and you will be evaluated along with your fellow short-listers during the visit. Wouldn't hurt to e-mail the department and inquire about whether a formal interview process will be part of the scheduled activities. Good luck! Congrats on the good news.

Worst has to be the Ethan Hawke Hamlet. Julia Stiles should be criminally charged for her work in that film. I second (third?) the votes for the BBC Sherlock series as being awesome, and I am very picky about my Sherlock's. I've been a Holmes fiend since I was nine, so I take adaptations rather personally, and I must say that while I normally love Robert Downey Jr, we are currently not on speaking terms because of his portrayal in the recent films. Give me stodgy, brilliant Jeremy Brett any day. *sigh*

Interesting. I was shocked (but ecstatic!) to discover while putting together my applications that an interview wouldn't be a part of the process for any of the schools I applied to. While this fact exponentially increased my odds of getting in anywhere (I am an automatic fail in an interview situation, no exaggeration), it seems a bit....rash for programs to offer to invest upwards of 6 years of time/effort and more than a quarter of a million dollars in tuition and fellowships/stipends in a product that they are purchasing sight unseen, essentially. I mean, I'm not complaining that my Grad programs don't interview (like I said, it's honestly my saving grace), but I had three interviews in order to determine if I was sufficiently "qualified" to work at Starbucks. Just sayin'. The disconnect seems a little wacky. Yet another thing about the admissions process that I will never understand, I guess. *sigh*

Just a random question I have, and wondering if anyone has any insight. I've noticed (from perusal of these boards) that a lot of Comp Lit programs seem to do interviews (via Skype or in person) as a part of the admissions process, where most (if not all? I'm guessing here) English programs don't do any interviewing at all. Any thoughts on why this might be? And anyone know which (if any) English programs do conduct interviews as part of their process?

I don't even know where to begin. I am, all things considered, an astonishingly un-well-read person. It's a little embarrassing, and not at all helpful to my already raging impostor syndrome. (On an unrelated note: this post just taught me that I've been spelling "embarrassing" (embarassing) and "impostor" (imposter) wrong for an awfully long time. Oops! Thanks, Google Chrome.)

Is "just Milton" even something you're allowed to say? That construction is nonsensical to my brain. Loving the diversity and (very) surprising opinions in this thread. Beginning to realize I'm totally guilty of assuming all Lit folks love/hate EXACTLY what I love/hate.

This thread is great. I place myself squarely in the "I heart Dave Eggers" camp, on the the strengths of Heartbreaking Work and You Shall Know Our Velocity alone (i actually hated Zeitoun an what is the What). I got a subscription to McSweeneys for Xmas last year, and find it a charming, often horrible, and occasionally brilliant surprise that shows up in my mailbox every couple of months. As for Joyce, I have a cat named Stephen Dedalus. 'Nuff said. (I should note that the preceding opinions are entirely those of a casual reader, and not a scholar. I make no claims to depth of knowledge on anything written past the late 17th century)

@takethiswaltz: are you going to the visiting day/recruitment thingy in March?

Too true, too true.

As someone who just fabricated an entire paper on The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, I cannot agree strongly enough with this statement. The woman should be purged from the collective consciousness and never spoken of again. *shudder*

Will I get tarred and feathered if my response is "any novel written in the 19th century"? Just kidding. I love me some Victorian hand-wringing prose.

How'd you find out?

I am beyond unprepared for this. The only weapons in my apartment are two plastic lightsabers, which I don't think will do me much good. I'm too cheap to own the awesome glass replica ones, so I can't even break them and then hope to fend off the zombies by inflicting them with many tiny cuts from shattered glass. Damn you, Canadian gun control laws! I'm doomed.

Forgot to add: The Canadian in me is glad to see Atwood's name popping up (even though I personally like her less and less the more I read her....and being a lit major in a Canadian University, you can trust me when I say I've read her A LOT. ), but I'd like to make a plug for a few (imho) far superior and less widely read Canadians: Anne-Marie MacDonald's Fall on Your Knees is absolutely heartbreaking, if a little over-wrought; anything by Michael Ondaatje should be read, and re-read, and then read again, simply for the unreal beauty of his prose; and if you're looking for something lighter and a little acerbic, you can't go wrong with Mordecai Richler (I'm fond of Barney's Version. Great summertime cottage/beach reading). Yay for Canada! I am slightly-more-than-moderately enthusiastic about some of the literature produced in my country in the past half-century! Hooray for lukewarm patriotism! This post has been brought to you by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Did a quick scan-through and don't think anyone has mentioned this one yet: I honestly can't say enough good things about Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. I don't think I've ever read historical fiction done so effortlessly. Her characters are utterly engrossing, and her writing is devoid of the usual conspicuous affectations that seem to plague other writer's of the genre. I read it over Christmas (and immediately post-application submitting), so perhaps my judgement is a little skewed by it being the first novel I've read solely for pleasure in godknowshowfreakinglong, but I was fascinated by this book. Her Thomas Cromwell is one of the fullest, most nuanced, and most compelling characterizations I've read from a contemporary writer in a very long time, and the paradoxes, contradictions, and rigorous self-awareness she builds into him result in an incredibly complete and rich portrait of a society in transition (which, being an Early Modernist, is something I am obsessed with). I think it's a timeless piece of work (and so did the people who decide the Booker Prize), and am beside myself with excitement that she's going to be making it into a trilogy. I never rave about contemporary fiction this way (gotta maintain my hip lit snob image, ya know? ), but this book absolutely beguiled me. It had already secured itself a place on my "Top 10 Novels" list by the time I was two chapters in. I was utterly and ridiculously smitten with this book. Everyone must read it.