dazedandbemused

Indeed. I was actually surprised that funding didn't really correspond with general rankings. But honestly, there are so many dozens of programs that fully fund all students that I don't really see any point in applying to schools where funding is uncertain or inadequate. I was surprised by how many people seemed to have offers that came with no funding this last season.

Oh man, I lol'd so hard. I'm assuming you meant you as in Americans, yes? If you have to ask that question, you are going to have quite the culture shock when you get here. I watch commercials everyday wherein people treat their pets like people. There is a refrigerated section in the pet aisle of my local grocery store because "your kids deserve the best." I can't even remember the last time I went grocery shopping in a store that didn't have a dedicated organic section. This place is CRAWLING with it. Not that that's bad, I've just become so used to it that I find it refreshing that anyone even needs to ask!

Yeah, I should have said what Two Espressos said: it was all about fit. The DGS even said that they were convinced that I was a perfect fit for the program because that place fits my academic interests like a glove. I am a huge believer in the power of the SOP because the rest of my app was just enough to get me in the top pile, it wasn't changing any lives.

Never say never. I did it, and I'm still not entirely certain how. Not complaining though!

I don't know anything about Iowa, but Pitt is a great place for your interests. My only caveat is that I do queer theory and I wish they had more people who focus on gender in that way, but that might not be a problem for you.

The thing is, many admissions committees divide the applications up between them, get rid of the ones that they deem unacceptable, and then bring the top few candidates to the group deliberations. In particular, an undergrad admissions committee is dealing with so many apps that there's simply no way that they all go through each application, so I have no problem believing that she really does have that kind of power.

I don't think so. I think I have some of the broadest interests out there, but I still had difficulty finding the 12 schools I applied to. Every school might have 18th century scholars, but if none of them study women writers (which is the case at a number of places) then it wouldn't be a fit. Also, methinks OP is a troll.

I really hope this is a satire of a crazy conservative because if not, whoa. I would love to know what school she's doing admissions for.

I'm in the "you might just have senioritis" camp. I finished my senior year on a serious high, because I was researching things that I felt very strongly about; right now I'm finishing the year in a state of inertia because I'm at the end of a non-degree semester and it just feels unbelievably futile to be doing anything. I'm not worried though, because all I can think about is that soon I'll have the time to write about texts that I love and develop a new theoretical framework that I'm really excited about and that I've been working on for awhile. Maybe you're just tired, or maybe you aren't passionate about the stuff that you're currently doing. If you still feel excited about your research interests and you feel better once the excessive stress of the end of school has worn off, you should apply

Seriously though. You burn bridges by being a dick, not by saying "hey, I'm going somewhere else." I turned down a school where I'm personally acquainted with a number of faculty, including the DGs, but I can't imagine being teary about it. There will never be a point where you won't have to make a choice that will mean rejecting other options; you're building a career, not ending a relationship.

Here's another link for you http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/english/graduate/placement/graduates-phd.php And I'd like to add that no one has to adjunct for low pay and no benefits. People choose to do that to remain in the profession, which to me is far more idealistic than my hopes for success. I intend to keep my career options open so that if this whole TT thing doesn't work out, I'm not going to spend my 30's on food stamps. Texas is invested in helping its grads do things outside of the traditional professorship if that's what they want to do.

I think that just about says it all. I'm going to bring my own story in here. I'm currently in a non-degree post-baccalaureate program at the University of Pittsburgh and I'm fully convinced that being here and being involved in the program helped me get accepted; the DGS and a few other people on the adcomm are familiar with me and have seen firsthand the work that I've done while I've been here. I was also able to get one of my professors here to write me a letter of recommendation. HOWEVER. I don't think that my acceptance was dependent on my presence here because there were three or four other non-degree students here who applied, one of whom was on the same fellowship that I am on, and none of them were accepted. Clearly, proximity isn't everything. What the distinction between us might have been, however, is a variable that I simply might never know.

On the real, though. Who saw Spike coming? I sure didn't. And Anya? She was by far my favorite. Each season of the college years was a bit harder to get into than the one before. I really loved season four though! Dawn definitely didn't help; I would say I spent the first half of season five praying that she would disappear and the rest of the series trying to pretend she wasn't there. And don't even get me started on Riley...I think the hardest part for me was when Nathan Fillion showed up in the end. He's supposed to be charming at all times, damnit!

I just want to say that our Buffy conversation last fall inspired me to give the show a second try. I spent January and February devouring that show, and you guys were totally right. And I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling proud of us right now. We did alright, y'all.

Congrats Sebastiansteddy and HHEoS on your decisions! I think Ohio State must be this year's UT Austin; it seemed like all the peoples on gradcafe went there last year. Y'all are gonna have some crazy fun!

I think it seriously depends on the part of the country. I found the place where I currently live at the start of July last year; I'll be moving to Austin for the fall and I've already signed a lease because I heard so many stories about the good cheap stuff disappearing crazy fast. Plus, because there's so much turnover, I couldn't look at some places and then mull it over for awhile like I did when moving to Pittsburgh. Half of the apartments that I looked at when I went to Austin a few weeks ago had already been leased out by the time I called two days later! I don't think it's close to that bad in most cities though, except perhaps New York. I'm really not looking forward to buying furniture again though; taking it with me is just not going to be feasible.

Wow, that's both awesome and crazy! I don't envy your next 24 hours. But at least you really can't make a wrong choice, although I don't know if that makes it any easier. Did you use Datatape's method of choice-making above?

Are you still feeling uncertain about your choice?

I'm dead. I just died from cuteness overload. Good lord.

Congrats!

Seeking, I really hope you were being purposefully melodramatic with your post, because I can't think of any other explanation for half of it. No one has said that a brand name is the only one that will get you a job. In fact, I think it was made clear that you should aim for schools with great placement, and neither Harvard or Yale are in that group for English. I know a number of respected senior scholars who think the departments at HYP have long outlived their usefulness because they've refused to adjust to the realities of the profession and the market. There are schools whose names people never even think of (West Virginia comes to mind) with far better placement than many in the top-20. The name on your degree might get you higher in the pile when applying, but it certainly won't get you a job. In my recent visits and conversations, I heard quite a few anecdotes from people on hiring committees who said that they'd interviewed quite a few people from Ivies who were unimpressive and under-prepared. People from Irvine, actually, tend to do well. Your comparison is between two straw-men; you can't possibly think that a "non-descript PhD" from a top-20 would ever beat a dynamic and successful researcher from a lower ranked school. If the person from the top 20 gets the job, it's because they're excellent. This is just patently ridiculous. We're not a socialist state, for chrissake. Reputation has a bearing on success, there's no denying that. Often, it probably shouldn't. But the above is not a solution to that problem. Yeah, the faculty at Nebraska probably went to the top 20. But who said anything about a difference in teaching quality? We're talking about a difference in resources, networking opportunites, travel funding, etc. Smart people are everywhere, but being smart doesn't get you a job in this market. It's far more important to be in a program where you can make the connections that will increase your hireability.

Yeah, I've read that article. I agree that you probably should take low placement rates with a grain of salt. I will still reserve the right to be extremely impressed with UT's numbers This sounds amazing. I'm so jealous/excited.

I've heard good things about shipping by Amtrak. I'm really hoping not to spend a ton of money on the move either, so I'm going to call next week to find out the specifics. I'll post here if I find out anything good.

Honestly, I don't take issue with the content of the article. I agree, it sucks out there. The majority of humanities PhDs starting this fall will probably be adjuncts, and the ones who get TT jobs will be lucky. However, I hate the paternalistic tone that pretends to be giving advice, while just spewing bitterness. I get that it sucks, I really do. I just don't think someone who claims to have known what they're getting into has a right to be bitter. If I finish my PhD and can't get a TT job, I'll do my level best to move on to something else; I'm not going to moan and groan in adjunct hell because I know what I'm getting into and I'll work with the cards that I'm dealt. As I said before, the constant screed against doing a Lit PhD just assumes that all Lit PhDs have the same shot at winning the lottery, which is patently untrue. You can stack the deck in your favor. You can attend a school that, like UT, places a heavy emphasis on good teaching. I've seen placement stats that are obviously fudged; but they make it pretty clear which students are getting TT jobs, and that number is consistently high. A lot of people like to wink and pat those of us who are just starting out on the heads like we're so full of idealism and god, just wait until we get ripped a new one. I might not have the cynicism of someone who is three years into a job search, but I'm not ignorant, and I don't think anyone can be a successful applicant at this point in time if they are.

That's true. I had planned to set some cash aside over the summer for it, but I hope they tell everyone ahead of time. It would suck to have large charges like that come out of nowhere.