Ategenos
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Posts posted by Ategenos
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I got my acceptance to the PhD program and info regarding my TAship last week... but am attending elsewhere (so let them know on Monday). Were you just for the MA?
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None of mine are even close to being that high, unless you count the S-ratings from the NRC (in which case UConn is in the top 20 ;P).
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UCL. London is more expensive than Edinburgh, but not as much as one might think - especially if you look for shared accommodation in the suburbs (and commute in), or get university accommodation... they're both capital cities, after all.
Of course, the more important thing is which one will prepare you better for your PhD applications. They are both very well respected universities (although UCL does have the edge in that regard), but it depends what direction you're wanting to take your studies in. Take a look at the professors at each, and the courses you'll be doing, and make your decision based on that.
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Some people are just arseholes. Unfortunately, I don't think this had anything to do with his acceptances/rejections. Such arseholes will be getting into programs ranked both highly and lowly... this one just happened to be rejected.
For instance, I was told about someone else who accepted an offer at a top 40 program, because that's the best one they got into... but they were obviously just doing it to pass time until the next application season, because they are dropping out of their current program to go to Berkeley now.
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When I was interviewed, I was told that they wouldn't start notifying until the middle of March (and that it might take until April). I still think this is a bit weird, considering the fact that the interviews took place over that one week... but I'd imagine they are also making decisions about the other teaching staff, and they probably just do it all in one go.
Admittedly, it would be nice to know sooner rather than later!
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How are those of you having a hard time making a decision dealing? I am visiting the school that I am most likely to attend, but another school is looking better every day... although it is ranked much lower, it has higher job placement rates and there are more opportunities to teach literature courses. Although I am still leaning toward the school I am visiting, and of course anything could happen during the visit, I wish I had the time/money to visit the other option. I'm wondering if I should just spring for the visit... I mean, I am deciding where I'll spend the next 4-6 years of my life.
I know how this is. I also have the problem that different ranking systems rank my schools at different levels... and one of the wait-lists is really great, but I'd have a two hour commute to that uni each day I had classes, and wouldn't be able to take advantage of living in a very cool city (both academically and socially) as I'd always be having to head back.
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Is anyone else still waiting on Boston University (English PhD)? It looks like they've sent out some acceptances, rejections, and waitlists but I've heard nothing!
Far as I know, Boston has sent out all of its acceptances and wait-lists... I spoke to the graduate director after being wait-listed. Their wait-list isn't ranked, but instead is done via area of interest... so I guess there's a small chance that they have some people on a secondary wait-list, in case the acceptees and wait-listees in that area all turn them down...
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I've flown numerous times. I love and hate flying. Petrified the plane will crash. In part because I've seen too many Seconds from Disaster/Mayday/Air Crash Investigation episodes.
My fiancee was scared of flying. Those programmes actually did the opposite for her, because they highlighted just how rare these disasters were, that and years of other people reminding her that you're more likely to die driving in a car than you are flying in a plane.
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Thanks! I know a lot of the schools I applied to were a long shot but I just needed to get it out of my system and vanquish the "what if" gremlin that would have holed up in my head if I didn't even bother to try. Even though they were long shots--it still stings. I am definitely trying again next year and focusing on more specific programs. I have heard that they choose people based on interests in particular years to fill gaps--which does make me feel a little bit better. I will definitely take your advice if my last two don't work out.
Don't I know that sting. I tried last year, and still went for one tiptop program this year, but... eh... as long as you go somewhere with a good fit, a supervisor who pushes you, and a reasonable reputation, it'll all be good.
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I see a troll
Who's out to lol
Just leave it be
And you'll soon see
He'll go elsewhere
Out of our hair
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I don't know. While I agree that you can tell a big difference from your first round of applications in your second, this is my second year of applying and I am striking out again. Mind you last year I was only half way through a one year MA program and was not completely sure what exactly I wanted to do but this year I was so confident. I raised my GRE scores 25%, totally revamped my SOP and WS, and got great recs. Is it just me? I thinking my willing to give it one more go but I don't know if I will be able to do a fourth round. Maybe I'm not applying to the right schools? I know my focus is very narrow but it is also a new field that I thought would maybe give me an edge, but obviously not. Maybe I should focused on broadening my interests...I'm just losing hope.
African American Studies and DH aren't exactly that uncommon... admittedly, I don't know so much about Print Culture. There's a bunch of other schools you could be applying for, either for a PhD in the English, American Studies or, in some cases, African American Studies departments. As for specific unis you chose:
NYU, Yale, Rutgers: so competitive that it is sometimes easier just not to apply to them (my supervisor at my current university, for example, said that my work might be good enough, but my record would exclude me).
BU, meanwhile, lets in very small cohorts (5 this year!) in order to give them a ridiculously good package (3 years no-duty fellowship and then a light teaching load, 24000 dollars a year, yes please!). Toronto, like most Canadian universities, apparently has a preference towards Canadians. In other words, 5/10 of your choices were already tough nuts to crack (and I can't talk for the others, as I don't know too much about them) in a process that is difficult enough already. If you apply again, maybe try including more mid-high and mid-range schools.
Then unfortunately there's just all the hackneyed old suggestions: make contact with POIs, try and visit departments, and try and target your SoP to really show an understanding and appreciation of each individual department - to this end, I always thought it looked good to find something a bit more obscure about the department to show that you have really researched them. Of course, also show an understanding of your POI's research (and make sure that they are active in the department when it comes to supervision, publication, etc). Obviously get as many people as possible to read the SoP and Writing Sample, especially if you can find a couple of faculty members who are willing to tear it to pieces and tell you how to put it back together.
I can't really talk about it in detail without seeing your SoP, but also try not to be -too- specific in what you want to do. Remember that the majority of these places want to mould you, and you have more coursework to do. You want to have a solid direction, but you don't want to imply that you already have a thesis in mind... although I'm sure others might disagree with me here.
If you've already done all of this, then I have less to offer... one other thing, though... it can also be useful to email graduate directors once you've got your first list of potential programs (before you begin cutting it down to your final choice) and ask them whether the department is actually looking for students in certain fields. Very often they're looking to fit particular holes in the department, after all... for example, one of my universities (I was told by the assistant graduate director) was not looking for ANY budding Victorianists this year, so anyone who applied to them with this in mind was shit out of luck.
I got absolutely nowhere last year, but made sure to do all the above - and this year, despite being confined geographically by the location of my fiancee, things have gone much better.
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Hi, I've already started planning to reapply next Fall, after being rejected by 3 schools. I do have a list of questions that I'd be grateful if anyone here would answer:
- For cop. lit. programs, is it enough to be fluent in a foreign language (Arabic/mother tongue)? Or should I try to learn another language like French, Spanish, or Persian...?
- So many people talked about how important it is to have connections? What is an appropriate way to make connections with the depts. that you're going to apply to? Are there specific details that I should say to professors or things that I should never say?
- Is it necessary to take the subject GRE? Some highly ranked programs require it, but not so many. Should I take it or should I just stay away from those schools that require it?
- I guess my writing sample sucks cuz I really really didn't work hard on it, I just summarized my MA thesis. How to choose a topic to write about? a topic that would be interesting to read and reflect my interests too.
- Is attending conferences, just attending, worth mentioning at all?
I know this is a long list, but I'm trying to hard to be well prepared for next year. Thank you
1) As far as I've been told, it depends on your focus... although obviously, more languages will never hurt you when applying for a comp lit program... although personally I'd go for Hindi or Mandarin (though it really depends on what sort of work you are wanting to do again).
2) Attend conferences, email POIs and graduate directors, see if it's possible to go and visit the department. In terms of POIs, the best thing I found was just showing that you know about their work, the field they're working in, and in general can somewhat engage them. On the other hand, I got wait-listed at a department I never even went to or had any contact with (then again... I bet you that if I had managed to visit and made good contact with people, it would have been more likely to be an acceptance).
3) Don't base the schools you choose on whether or not they require the subject test. If the school fits you, and they require the subject test, then you should be taking it. Just prepare as much as possible (read the Norton Anthology of British Literature, the Norton Anthology of American Literature, and the preparation books for the test, and you'll be fine - luckily, you have plenty of time to prepare!)
4) You should work to death on your writing sample. Remember, alongside your SoP, this is pretty much the main thing you are going to be judged on. It has to be excellent and, in my opinion, it should also tie into the work that you want to do - it doesn't have to represent it exactly, but they should be able to see the connection.
5) Eh... it can't hurt, but it means nothing. Apparently undergraduate and postgraduate conferences are sort of 'eh' to admission committees, and so is mere attendance at conferences. If you've attended and presented at a professional conference or two, however, THAT can look good.
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It looks like UVA sent out their rejections around the second week in March last year, so there's that to look forward to next week
Wonder why they wait so damn long, though.Oh, that's simple. Once you get to a high enough position in academia, you turn into a vampire. You drink blood to survive, of course, but to walk in the day you need to drink in people's despair. Most of the year, the stress of one's own students is enough to get them through the day... but once a year, as winter turns into spring, as the days grow longer and life once again blooms, an extra infusion is required!
Cunning and intelligent as academics tend to be, they soon came up with the graduate application process. Think about it: doesn't that explain it a lot better than any so-called rational explanation? ;P
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You don't think physical education courses are legitimate college classes?
Every school I've attended has had them, though they have often been worth only like 1 credit.At university? I'm gonna say no. I don't judge people for taking them (I was an undergrad - easy credit!), but I'm a little surprised that the universities offer them. I reckon that sort of thing should be very much extra-curricular. Then again, I've done all of my university education (thus far) in Britain, and we obviously have a different view on these sort of things.
For example, one of the TA handbooks at the place I got into talked about giving people extensions for sporting commitments, whereas over here the lecturers/TAs would just say that it wasn't a good enough reason, and send you on your way... so yeah, different strokes for different folks.
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Ish. I have a one-year taught MLitt and am in the process of doing a one-year research MLitt (in Scotland)... so it is postgraduate work, but neither of them have the same emphasis on professionalisation that the MA does (or at least, as much as the MA/PhD program that my fiancee is currently going through).
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Hey, semicolon2013. I second what everybody else has said, and I think you'll be fine. My overall GPA from undergrad was 3.75, and I had two grades in the "C" range. In fact, one of them was a C+ in yoga! I was really upset, and I thought it would look like I'd skipped class all the time because, really, what do you have to do to get a C+ in yoga?! (in my case, the answer was have a teacher who never took attendance and who, I am sure of it, mistook me for a girl with a similar name who looked similar who skipped class right and left . . . however, the teacher never answered any of my emails as to why I received my grade--(incidentally, the class grade was entirely based on attendance and participation--and since it was spring of my senior year, I then moved out of town). Anyway, I had two grades in the "C" range (the other was in a music composition class, and frankly, my music just wasn't aurally pleasing), and I don't think it hurt me. Right now, I have several offers, and one of them includes a 5 year presidential fellowship at a top 3 university. English departments care much, much more about your overall GPA and your grades in your English classes. I hope this gives you some ease of mind. Good luck.
I agree with this sentiment... After all, we're still using psychoanalytic studies that are decades out of date, and all but mocked by the people who actually study this stuff - so I don't think any English department is going to cock a snook at some bad chemistry grades. ;P
On a more important note, a credited university class... in yoga? Please say it was an interdisciplinary course, looking at the history of yoga, psychological studies into its effectiveness, its representation in popular culture and/or literature... or part of some kind of sports science course, teaching future sports scientists how to do it. ;P
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Does anybody else think Boston University might still be sending out acceptances?
I don't think so. I've been wait-listed, and they've sent out all their acceptances and wait-lists already. I guess if everybody turned them down, the situation might change, but... that is unlikely.
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ugh, you guyyyys. when does it get any easier!
When we're dead. ;P
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It is a pretty good book. It's also worth checking out Waldeman's The Submission, El Rassi's Arab in America, and Naqvi's Home Boy. I'm currently doing my MRes project on representations of community in post-9/11 fiction, so I am overloaded on post-9/11 stuff.
Personally, I want to find a bit more fiction written by American authors of muslim descent... I have those latter two, and also Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist (not that Hamid is American, but he's spent large sections of his life there)... I want more! -
Man, this season kicks the ass out of last year. Just got a response from a query to Boston University saying I have been wait listed, with a reasonable chance of coming off the list.
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I'd be living in Northampton anyway, because that's where my fiancee is. The 1h10m commute each morning AFTER dog-walking is a bit of a b***h, but that is really the only major con with UConn. The only major cons with UMass is the heavier teaching load (3 sections a year) and slightly lower stipend. UConn has more faculty in the areas that interest me (and is larger, better funded, and higher ranked), but UMass is better for the area that interests me the most (not that this area, Native American Studies, would make me very employable apparently...). I have people I'd love to work with in both departments...
... so, all in all, I'm a bit stuck! Still, at least I'm stuck in a good way, so I can't really complain.
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If it helps, prof, I've lived in Maryland all my life, and while UMD-CP is a great school, the DC corridor is a total nightmare. I'm in the Baltimore-DC area right now, and I can't wait to get out. The lifestyle here is just really stressful--insane traffic, fast-paced everything, grumpy people.
Amherst, on the other hand, is a haven of free-thinkers, freaks (in a good way), and generally awesome people. Of course, it's also kinda filled with obnoxious hippies, but some people are into that. My sister lived in the 5-colleges area for more than a decade, and I spent many summers of my youth up there. It's laid back and amazing and also clean and beautiful (except Hadley, which smells like manure).
I can't say anything about UI-UC, though, sorry.
So, if all of the programs are amazing fits, I would turn to what place would make you happiest. Hope this is just a little bit helpful. Good luck!
ETA: I know this post might have sounded really harsh against Maryland, so keep in mind that I've got the whole "grass is greener" thing going on. There are, of course, some really wonderful aspects to the area as well. I'm just at a point where I'm aiming for (literally) greener pastures, rather than gridlocked beltways.
Hadley is just the place you pass through when you're going between Northampton and Amherst. ;P
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Anyone else accepted and thinking of attending? What are you going in for? What are your thoughts? I'm currently in at UMass and UConn, so trying to weigh up the two of them. I have a few more schools to hear back from, but I think (based on a whole number of things) that these two are definitely my top choices...
UMASS - Amherst
in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Posted
Thanks, Josh. I was emailed... looks like, from Proflorax's forum post, about the same time as her. I'm probably going to accept... for one thing, my fiancee already goes to UMass... added to that it's great for American Lit and Cultural Studies (which, albeit with a little more analytic as opposed to continental philosophy, and modern science as opposed to antiquated pseudoscience like Freud, is what I want to do).
My other top choices... UConn... I really like the person who would be my supervisor there, and the money is a little better, but overall (and even the potential supervisor thinks so) UMass would be better for what I want to do. Boston would be awesome (the stipend is ridiculous, the additional funding for conferences and stuff is also just wow, and the Boston Area Consortium gives you resources and course options that the Gods themselves would envy, and the department has some killer faculty that I'd love to work with), but I am just wait-listed there, it would be one hell of a commute, and I still think UMass would be a slightly better fit...
... so all in all, I am thinking UMass, but still haven't made my final decision.