1Q84

"You put in your sweat equity and profit down the road." I don't even..... Oh, I know. I mean why hasn't it been updated! Very few if any entries from the F14 cohort. It would be really interesting, instead of overwriting data to keep a running tally of how funding is changing from year to year.

love boat

I updated the USC entry for Fall 2015. So many of them are from Fall 2013... what's the deal?!

Even though this is what you feel has shaped your interests, I wouldn't ever phrase it this way in an SOP. Just saying. In any case, I would definitely check out the UC Irvine Culture and Theory program. http://www.humanities.uci.edu/cultureandtheory/

Oh don't worry... I'm not offended. I've long ago come to terms with the fact that I'll be older than most people in any of my programs!

I wish I had read this yesterday. I emailed a POI to explain why I was turning down the offer at Program A. I didn't want to say anything about funding so I mentioned that Program B's non-teaching years were attractive and, I thought, conducive to my graduate development, which he took as me belittling TAs in his program. I quickly responded and tried to clear up the matter and he said he understood but it was not a great feeling. So yeah, I totally back this advice up 100%, having learned from experience.

pure poetry

Right? Guess I'm going to be the only 29er (soon to be 30er) in my program when I begin in the fall...

Turned down University of Toronto (early modern). I don't even know if there's anyone here still waiting for UT but here's hoping!

22,000/a is a pretty nice, steady income for 5 years! Congrats! I'm not sure if I missed it in your original post but you mentioned that you applied kind of on a whim because of the fee waiver. I guess I'd ask... do you like the school enough? Is there a strong fit? I know it's a very strong program, as I've heard from people attending, but do you know that you'll have POI to work with, you'll have the resources you need to do your research, etc?

Not to belabor the point or hog any more of the thread to myself, but I wanted to thank you all for the kind outpouring of congratulations (since I can't with nonexistent upvotes) I'm so lucky to be a part of this cohort of TGC!!!

Thanks! Couple people already posted and I'm still kinda shocked at how expensive the permits are. I'm really thinking of its relying on the Metro. Does anyone have experience with this? I wouldn't be living in LA proper I don't think.

You said applicants are guaranteed "admission" by April 1, which leads me to think that line applies only to acceptance offers. No such guarantee exists for rejections or wait list spots.

I just accepted my offer. Any random tips and tricks for tackling USC's campus?

Just turned down offer from UCR (I was categorized as early modern). Hope it helps someone here!

market economy

Ah, I'm a dummy. Should've assumed you looked through there! My brain is now not-as-mushy so I'll add something below. Agreed! I didn't do this and I think it really hampered my success. I also wrote a paper and submitted it that was (apparently embarrassingly) out of touch with a lot of recent and foundational work on the topic. So, being super up to date in your WS will really impress the adcomm. I know this can be a controversial piece of advice but I firmly believe that contacting POI is very, very important, if done well. That is, don't just shotgun, mass-email a bunch of POIs hoping for the best, but do research about their work, the program, and try to have a good phone conversation with several that allows you to demonstrate your readiness, inquisitiveness, personality, and that you know you'll be a good fit for their program. I mentioned elsewhere already, but I'm convinced that my doing this helped me get a wait list spot rather than an outright rejection at a school or two.

I am out of upvotes as well but thank you, everyone!!!! It's been such a long road and I don't think I could have maintained my sanity without everyone's support around here. Really hoping today is the day good news comes down the pipeline for everyone still waiting!!!

USC just emailed. I'm. in. Actually crying real tears right now as I sit in a pile of books.

Not sure if it's all right for me to name the school, but when I had asked about my wait list chances, a committee member said he should be able to tell me by April 6 since that was the deadline they had given out to acceptees (as you mentioned). Having just spoken to him again today, he said I would be given time to deliberate and that the deadline for my decision is TBD. So considering they don't even have a date set for my decision deadline, I think it's more than likely that you could get that extra time if you asked. Go for it!

Congrats! Welcome to LA

Thanks, WT And here I was just yesterday saying I shouldn't have applied there (due to the ongoing strike/financial issues).

Congrats BLeonard! One of my MA colleagues is at Brandeis now and enjoys it very much! As for me, got an email this morning... In off wait list at Toronto...!