dazedandbemused

Ok, this is ridiculous. Has society made people with PMS and bad haircuts the scapegoat and mascot for the ills that "plague" us? Do we look down upon them as lesser (morally, intellectually, ethically) than the rest of us? These are things which overweight people constantly get from those around them, whether it's done consciously or not.

Exactly! I think I made it clear that the reason behind one being overweight isn't really the point, it's about the pathologizing that occurs which is a real issue. I specifically stated that I see it as being about reducing the fat to an undeserving scourge on society rather than allowing for personal agency and individual meaning.

Yeah, I don't get the personal responsibility comment at all. I only recently started thinking about Fat Studies in any kind of critical way because it came to my attention that fat people are increasingly used as examples for the deterioration of society. Just like gender studies, I think it examines the assumptions we make and the qualities we assign to those who have been effectively othered. For comparison, I think of the term "deficiency" used to explain homosexuality as a defect; in the same way, "epidemic" Is used to describe fat people, as though it's a contagious disease that must be eradicated. I don't see it as fat forgiveness necessarily, but as an attempt to return people's right to dignity and existence regardless of circumstances.

Now I'm curious. What makes you uncertain?

Yeah, what is that about? I can't even imagine a situation in which a school would have the time to call rejects. And the idea of getting a call that basically consists of "thanks for trying! But no," sounds horrible!

I happened to be looking at the Graduate Handbook a few days ago and in the section about the MA, they say that you can either accelerate admission to the PhD after your first year of the MA or wait until you finish the MA to start the PhD. It said you have to apply, but from the sound of it, the application is more of a formality. http://www.english.msu.edu/graduate/graduate-handbook/

I'm curious, what was your decision? I'm basically in the same situation, as documented in the Post-acceptance thread.

See, this is interesting. I believe you've said at one point that UT was your dream program, right? I know someone said something about cognitive dissonance earlier, but considering that so many people seem to have turned down better offers to go to UT, knowing the financial possibilities, I have a hard time believing that that is the case. I really can't wait to find out what seems to draw people to it so strongly. Fit and atmosphere are basically synonymous for me, because I need a lot more than world-class academics to be happy; like Swagato said, I want my future program to be full of people and things that I can feel personally connected to. I don't know if either of my schools can do that, but if one of them can that's where I'll be going, regardless of the money.

Did you know that the MA program apparently feeds straight into the PhD? I was not aware of that when I applied, but that's actually pretty cool. It's unfortunate that they can't offer everyone funding anymore, though.

It's interesting that you use the phrase "gravitational pull" for your choice because I've definitely felt pulled in a specific direction this entire process. Then again, I don't really know if it's the allure of the unfamiliar, new territory that's pulling me or not. God, I sound so indecisive and pathetic.

Werd. I'm continually thankful that first world problems are my only problems.

See, this is kind of where I am right now. I don't want to be in grad school forever; I want to get in and get out. part of me thinks that getting my MA first, like I would at UT would be ridiculously beneficial for me. But there are so many things drawing me to Pitt. Since I've been here for a year, I already have a lot of useful credits; add in this new fellowship and I basically get four years without teaching in which to focus on research. Then again, I don't know how I feel about the idea of only getting two years of teaching experience. Ugh.

As far as I could tell, there's no summer funding for the first year, but you can teach the second and third summers. So basically, the first year sounds the roughest. But the summer funding for years 3, 4, and 5 is reassuring. I just don't fancy living off of bread and butter for a year. Before, the funding for years 2-6 at both of my programs seemed about equal, but with this new fellowship offer, the scale is tipping.

Honestly, I think UT is very unusual in having such low funding for the first two years. My other acceptance is offering significantly more than that, and the cost of living appears to be lower.

If you're coming in with a BA, about 13.5 for the first two years and 16.5 for the next four, give or take a few hundred. Mostly take. It's the first two that I'm worried about.

My sentiments exactly! They, and their students, make it sound unbelievably perfect. I told a friend about their amazing reputation and he said "maybe that's their way of luring you in and when you get there they'll turn out to be egotistical jerks who will ruin your life." I, of course, explained to him that they didn't need to lure anyone in; they could probably promise to send you home crying to your mother and there would still be someone desperate to go there. I know it's far too early to be making decisions, but I really hate the stressfulness of indecision. Apparently course listings come out in early April, but I'm hoping we'll be able to see them sooner than that, because that would definitely help.

How are you feeling about the decision at this point? I don't want to do anything until I visit, but a month from now is a long wait.

Congratulations Mercyhurst2010! A 2/2 teaching load sounds extremely daunting, but having choices is amazing. Hopefully you'll have many more coming!

I have ideas about who could direct my dissertation, but ultimately I have really accepted the oft-spoken wisdom that your interests will change during grad school. My interests are both extremely broad and extremely focused in that I have a distinctive theoretical place that I'm coming from, but I haven't selected a literary period or theme. As such, the programs that I felt the best fit with, and the ones I ultimately got accepted to, are about training and helping students eventually narrow their focus, without being too self-defined ahead of time. I don't really know what my eventual dissertation may look like, but I see myself as someone who's open to many things and with time, I know I'll be able to really hone in on a topic. I would hate to feel set in my ways now when there are so many possibilities out there. I know who I'd like to work with and what I definitely won't be working on, but other than that, I'm up for anything. Then again, my goal is to work at a SLAC, so I'm also keeping the possibility of being a generalist open.

A lot of people don't have POIs. It's really not something that people consider to be absolutely necessary in the humanities, at least not as far as I can tell. In fact, UT's FAQ says that they discourage potential students and professors from making contact ahead of time so as to keep the playing field level. Besides, as this process has proven for many people, our conception of fit and the school's conception of our fit are often radically different. I think I fit, they think I fit; that's enough for me.

I don't actually have POIs at UT, and I'm pretty familiar with all of the pertinent people at Pitt, but I have been reading work by people that I'd be interested in working with. However, I don't feel like I should have to; I'm going there to learn from them, not about them. And yes, depending on where you're headed your POIs will probably be important names in your field, but I have a hard time believing that they expect you to know all of their work ahead of time. If they do, I'm screwed! In other news, my decision just keeps getting increasingly more difficult. I just got offered an amazing three year fellowship that would basically make my financial situation extremely comfortable, and as time passes the scales have been tipping to the point that I'm basically at 50/50 between schools right now. It's an awesome problem to have, but it's also stressing me out. I don't want money to make my choices for me, but moving across the country for an amazing program with little funding is a really daunting possibility.

I'm really glad that this thread exists, too. Whenever people say that they'll apply for five years if they have to because being an academic is the only thing they can see themselves doing, I wonder whether that's a healthy point of view. The idea that if one pursues an academic career it should be their entire life, is so problematic to me. It seems more like self-flagellation than anything else. I honestly think that we should all think very seriously about whether or not academia is the place for us, and while I admire people who apply three or four times to a certain extent, I also know that if I hadn't been successful this app season, I would have moved on with my life. I don't think that shows a lack of dedication, but I just think the idea that one's "dream" is more important than living a viable lifestyle is ridiculous and naive. I mean, it's amazing to live your first dream, but sometimes a secondary dream will have to do.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you there; I live in Bloomfield and the bus comes every 20 mins and has never taken more than 15 mins to get to campus. I don't have a car, and I get around just fine. As long as you make sure to live near the bus route (the 54 goes through Lawrenceville and Bloomfield on its way to Oakland), you should be fine.

I'm pretty sure the website states that it's only available to American citizens and permanent residents. You can double check though.

Hey, I applied to the same joint program, but I"m not holding out any hope at this point. Considering that they supposedly only accept two applicants, and there's one acceptance on the board, I'm assuming all we can continue to hope for is either a waitlist or a rejection. I know this isn't the hope you were looking for...but hopefully you've got a few more baskets in which to place your metaphorical eggs.