dazedandbemused

So yeah...that episode was bollocks. Still probably going to submit though.

Yup, that's it. I'm seriously considering it even though I don't really do pop-culture.

Oh shit, I definitely forgot to watch. However, I did just see a Call for Papers for an essay collection on Girls if anyone's in the mood to write about it.

Congrats, nada.am! Maybe we'll be cohort-mates. If you have any questions about life in Pittsburgh, I'd be happy to answer them; just PM me.

I was surprised when she was in The Descendants because, having seen a few moments of Secret Life, I was truly amazed by just how bad acting could get and still be given that name. Also, it just seems like weird casting. As for Delirium, I didn't read it (just didn't look interesting) but I can't imagine how it will become a legit TV show. Then again, the CW has done lots of unexplainable shit.

Yeah, it's kind of sad how not great Insurgent is. I mean, Divergent wasn't breaking any records, but I'm seriously disappointed in how the sequel ended and I can't see the third being at all satisfactory.

Thanks guys. I'm not gonna lie, I was terrified that I would get through a second season with nothing to show. This is a huge weight off of my shoulder. I'm rooting for you, too! I can't wait until you hear something amazing.

Holy shit guys! I just finished feeling sorry for myself because I haven't heard anything good all week. I just got accepted to PITT!!!!

No kidding! I somehow convinced myself that this week would be chock full of news, but one notification later...I've been disappointed.

I had the same reaction to Mockingjay too! First time I was all "Really? That's it?" but having read it again, it's so obvious that almost any other ending would have been glossing over the intensity of the story far too much. Also, I loved Peeta the first time, hated him the second. He was a little too perfect and his...change in the last book didn't really fix my opinion of that.

Another problem is that even when schools fund their MA students, the stipends are almost always dismal. I mean, I don't exactly live rich, but I certainly couldn't live on some of the MA stipends that I've seen without getting a job of some kind. I almost took one of my consolation MA offers last year, but now I'm so glad I didn't because my debt is already pretty unfortunate. I was lucky to have known I wanted a degree in English from the beginning, so I started taking junior seminars in my freshman year and I actually managed to take classes in pretty much every specialization. However, I'm still at least marginally worried about my no-name degree.

What did you think of the Hunger Games on the second run? I'm curious because almost everyone I know who's read it twice said that they just sped through the story the first time, but that they were unable to look past the writing the second time.

Grad apps do that to all of us. You're not alone!

Well, lucky you. I'm super excited. I'm just trying to represent possible reasons why people would say that padding wouldn't help, but I'm glad you find me so sophomoric. I swear to god, when did trying to be reasonable/pleasant on the internet become such a chore?

Okay, first of all I've read every single page of this thread. I am aware of what has been said thus far. What I consider pumping the CV is presenting at every little conference and publishing in unheard of journals just to add a line to the document. It has been said countless times, and by many established academics, that evaluators can tell what you're trying to do and it can just be embarrassing later on. As to the straw men argument? "If CV pumping doesn't help there's no reason to advise freshly minted BA's to hang out and hope for the best next time around." How does this phrase make any sense? No one told people with just a BA to "Hope for the best" though people out of undergrad have managed to get accepted in the next cycle with a bit of application polishing. I think you might have an extraneous negative in that sentence, because it would be the MAs doing the pumping, not the BAs... Doing good work and presenting it and publishing work that you can get behind can never hurt you. Presenting the same paper at three different conferences just to make your CV longer (which people have done in the past, trust me)? Not gonna do you much good.

The lack of news is getting to us, yes, but there's no need to get snippy. Look, I think a lot of people have made some great points here, and I also agree with I'mWantHazPhD that there have been counterarguments to arguments that never actually existed. I don't have an MA and I'd be willing to do one if my PhD apps don't work out. The thing is, padding the CV isn't the same thing as actively doing things to increase your academic exposure. Some of us might not get accepted this year; that's life. But we all know that this is a crapshoot, none of us are on adcomms, and at the end of the day we just don't know what they're actually looking for.

Whoa, who wants to claim the UConn acceptance? Damn it, I wasn't going to start worrying about them for another week!

I agree. I particularly hate the schools that don't send rejections until a month later. It's like, why drag out the agony? And yes, I am talking about Penn State.

It's so strange that Austin is sending out so many rejections first, but it's made me super jumpy. All day, every time my phone sent me an email notification my heart jumped into my chest in fear that it was a rejection. It was, of course nothing of importance.

Thanks for the details; I figured as much but I'm really good at being worried.

Hey, do you know if UIUC has finished notifying yet? I've only seen two acceptances on the board, which is surprising because I know they accept quite a few more people than the average program.

Now that there's been a first notification for Austin, my anxiety has absolutely skyrocketed. It's easily in a tie with USC for my number one choice right now; I hope I only get in to one of them (if either) because I could never choose. I didn't expect to hear from them until next week, but now I won't be able to stop thinking about it!

Btw, asleepawake, thank you so much for drunk Ron Swanson. He is my third favorite person behind Leslie Knope and Duke Silver.

Not a problem! I'm actually surprised that they only got 350 considering that the app was free.

I've heard that if you're going to do this sort of thing, it's best to wait until the app season is completely done. So, end of April, beginning of May. As for who to contact, I think I'd be more likely to contact the DGS, though I will note that you shouldn't be surprised if they don't reply or refuse to tell you anything.