thegirlintheafternoon

There is no doubt in my mind that, had I jumped straight into a Ph.D. program, I would have failed right back out. My M.A. was a fantastic learning experience.

Best of luck! What do you study?

Good luck to you!

Anyone headed to KU for Fall 2013? I was accepted last fall for my Ph.D. in Literature and deferred admission until this year, and I'd like to get to know my future/potential cohort I've seen some rejection notifications go up on the results page, but no acceptances yet. For what it's worth, last year's first round was notified through e-mail around the 10th of February, so things should get going any day now. Good luck to everyone who has applied! Hope to hear from some of you soon!

Hi there! Although there are obviously exceptions/differences, I've found that, in general, Ph.D. programs don't really seem to be admitting as many students to the straight Ph.D. track as they have in the past - there are just too many well-qualified applicants. And M.A.s in other fields really don't carry as much weight as those in the same field - especially, I think, when it comes to fields like English, where there are SO many applicants (at least, that's my perception). So, in addition to the excellent advice offered by the previous commenters, I would say maybe focus some more effort on funded M.A. programs for next year. I'm completing a fully funded two-year program right now, and I went from 1/5 acceptances during my first round of applications (to Ph.D. and M.A. programs) to 4/6 acceptances this time around, so it really does help. Good luck next year!

Thought I'd update here - I officially declined my position to Ole Miss last week, so hopefully someone here will be hearing/has heard from Dr. Trefzer with some good news by now. Good luck to all those still waiting!

Readwritenap, You're right! I just mistyped that. It's still a lighter load than Kansas, though, which is 2-2 starting from the very first semester enrolled, which includes a guaranteed two-year composition assignment right out of the gate. I see you do Cognitive Approaches to Literature! My boyfriend does Shakespeare and cognitive theory - it's such a fascinating field. And I'm with you on it being the most difficult decision I've ever made. I keep going around in circles. Good luck with your decision!

Hi there! I'm one of the admits - sorry I didn't see this forum earlier! Since I posted, I've received a couple of e-mails letting me know that the stipend package has increased to $11,500 per year for TAs. I also received a $2000 Graduate School Honors Fellowship renewable for a total of four years and a one-time recruitment fellowship of $1000. I'm weighing the benefits of Ole Miss (specifically the 1-1 load) against Kansas (better program, more money, but an INTENSE teaching load). I do African-American and queer literature, focusing specifically on Baldwin.

Hey there cunninghamww - I think I'll probably end up at Kansas with you (not that you don't already know that). But I want to do a bit more research on other programs first. SAGE does look intriguing - EGO has been good at 'Bama, so I'd like to get involved in another similar program out there.

Groupon was killing me today. KILLING ME, SMALLS!