anxious_aspirant

@Isidore: Thanks! Since I was waitlisted, I didn't get the same email as you guys. Definitely clears things up! I'll add my contributions after this week's interview, too. Sounds like the library is a good stop. We also have pretty similar application lists (I did my undergrad & grad at Clark). I suppose I should figure out how to add that thing at the bottom of posts, huh? Good luck. I would say "strength in numbers," but numbers seem to keep kicking us when we're down these days.

Has anyone here already interviewed with the Writing Program? (Not sure what their overall timeline is.) Also, I'm trying to decipher their website (as well as the English dept.) Looks like the Writing Program only gets you 2 years of funding, then you can teach lit courses. Once you move on past the Writing Program, do you guys know if they guarantee these other classes / tuition remission / funding? I'll ask in person, too, but the idea of having to quit halfway through because I'm too poor is pretty disheartening. Also, since I'm heading out there this week, any suggestions about what to see/visit/eat (on- or off-campus)? I'm "close" but have never been out that way; figure I should make the 2 hour drive worth it.

I had willed myself, since Jan 1, to forget I ever applied to Brown. Somehow, I thought this would be much healthier for me. Yet, this in no way mitigated the virtual panic attack upon getting that email/decision/rejection. [Now wishing I'd applied to more schools and been less whiny about exorbitant test/application fees.]

Thanks for the info - It's a bit more encouraging. Granted, I did take tons of English courses as an undergrad, got a masters in teaching it, and have been teaching it ever since. But I do fear an "studio art degree" sounds bogus, even if it's from a liberal arts school. Good luck, Silent_G! Here's to the odd ones out in every applicant pool.

Hello, all - fairly new to the site. To satisfy my curiosity, wondering if anyone on here is applying to a graduate English program with an undergrad/other-grad degree in another subject. (Also, to be honest, wondering if I'm the only one.) Specifically, has anyone had success getting in, if that's the case? If you did, what do you think won over your schools? Optimistically, I hope the extra-disciplinary thing gets me points for being different from other applicants. Pessimistically, I assume it means they'll take me as an impostor and scoff at my app. (Even if it doesn't apply to you specifically, I'd love any anecdotes you could share along these lines, too. Any colleagues who did it?)

Sometimes it's worse...it's not a cute malapropism, but a terrifying opinion. A class of mine, studying fantasy & childhood, was watching the tail end of Pan's Labyrinth today, and a kid told me, "I think the Captain isn't bad at all. He's just doing what he has to do." *Ahem.* The fascist captain who kills children? The merciless torturer? One of the most remorseless characters in recent film? Half the point is that he's entirely gratuitous with violence...That's right, folks. I might be educating a future dictator. To lighten up a bit, though, I had a teacher who used to share the anecdote of a student who wrote: "This author won the Poet's Surprise." As in, Pulitzer Prize.

Echoing the thanks. The schools themselves seem to speak very positively about waitlisting, too. Anyone else for whom the wait list worked out, let us know! It eases the stress a bit every time I hear about one...

I teach high school junior/seniors. Glad to see these ridiculous comments/errors persist across the board - I sometimes wonder how they'll make it (or how their essays got past undergrad admissions standards). I had at least 5 students, on a recent final exam, attribute an excerpt of John Winthtrop's "City on a Hill" to Winston Churchill. One said Churchill gave the speech during the "British Revolution." Also: "Roman sculptures showed many similarities to Greek sculptures, such as arms and legs." "Individual struggle against society because there are forces acting against you, in Bartleby's case they so happened to be supernatural."

(Just kidding about the question, jma, I saw your earlier post just now. Getting the hang of this thing, I'm not typically a forum-goer. Best of luck!)

I love Wanda. At this stage of the game I feel like we're old friends. To answer your question, jma310 - my SOP outlines my research interests as the intersection between visual arts and literature, late 19th / early 20th century. My undergrad degree is in art and (almost) English, Master's in English education. Other interests include gender and cultural studies, contemporary Brit lit, and postcolonial. I've been teaching a ridiculously wide range of courses the past couple of years - prehistoric through contemporary art & lit, global and British/American, so my research interests have become equally as broad, in some ways. Your field(s)?

For anyone else with similar questions, I did inquire with UMass. They just got back to me and said it's not super clear-cut - they separate waiting lists into concentrations, so there is no one overarching ranking system. They also said to check back in a few weeks and they'd give me more detail / their best guess about how things are going. Very encouraging and cordial overall! Perfectionism has me kicking myself, but I should probably be happy with the wait list (applying as a non-undergrad-major). And thanks for your insights! Here's to more decisions coming in soon...

Hello folks, new to the site - got the wait list email from UMass this week. Did any one else have this issue - got your call for an interview w/ the Writing Program last week, then your wait list notification this week? I thought it was a bit out of order - getting one's hopes up... Question for anyone who knows of wait lists - how many people do they usually wait list? Obviously varies school to school, but specifically for UMass, or an average, etc...? Any insight would be great. I got my masters degree at my undergrad institution, so the app process is a bit new for me. Good luck to all!