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Actually that might make for a better icon... his needling voice may be just what I need in my ear as I complete my apps.

I don't know who did the illustration but I think it's from the New Yorker. Murakami and spaghetti!

As an owner of Blackberry stock, I'd advise lots and lots of caution. I've had my share of heart attacks with that stock. As per any stock investment, don't invest money you can't afford to lose. Better yet, consider it already lost and anything else is a happy upside.

There are a few scholarships open to US/Canadian residents I believe as well as global ones but, from my research in Humanities-related ones, the awarded funds are so small that they wouldn't even cover a fraction of tuition. If you're looking for it to help your living costs, it might be worth it. I'm sure TakeruK will be able to give you a much more in-depth answer, especially as he is in the sciences. In any case, you should go talk to your OISS or whatever it may be called at your school (or potential school).

One of those things could be simply that the professor has been embittered by his or her own experience with academia. Long ago, I was going to approach an undergrad professor for a reference letter and I mentioned that to another one of my letter writers. He looked at me and sternly advised me not to ask that one professor because he was known to have a mean streak when it came to encouraging or even helping his former students apply. He had some weird vendetta against academia because he had been wronged somehow that he didn't believe that others should go through it as well (for their sake and as a stab at the heart of the university). Strange but I'm really glad that other professor told me so.

Thank you for the insightful feedback as per usual, Wyatt and proflorax. Although this has me quite anxious now: I guess that's just how grad apps go...!

Thank you! I read your message and made a point of doing so. I couldn't actually find a SAO for most of the schools I was looking into but I emailed the Graduate Division people so they would probably know.

I am trying to walk a tightrope here by posting this: I don't want to sound like I'm "bragging" (because I'm really not... I really don't think highly of myself) but I'm also genuinely curious. I've emailed a couple really influential POIs in my area of interest and they've been very cordial in a normal way but also included little notes in their response like "I would really enjoy working with you" and "You seem like an ideal candidate." Is this normal? Is it kind of part of the "POI response" boiler plate that they probably send out to all students that email them? I know it's within each department's best interests to encourage students to apply, even if they have no chance. If so, I don't want these little comments to get to my head and make me think I have a better chance than I really do at getting into these Top 20 schools. If not, I want to do a little happy dance. Any feedback is appreciated!

This is great to hear from both of you! I was going to just not apply to any UCs because of scary stuff like this from the UCI site:

I'm glad to hear you say this! I had been getting the impression from some that gender was very overdone in this field, but that may be specific to Milton. As for your Shakespeare thing, I would go with my gut. You're probably right that it might be a little late to be starting a writing sample to submit for December! Awesome! It's an examination of gender fluidity in Paradise Lost. I hope it has legs! I'm following in the path forged by some really awesome scholars publishing in Milton Studies, namely Leah Marcus (Vanderbilt).

Any other early modernists out there? I might submit a paper on Milton and gender/sexuality. Either that or go 180 and submit a paper on same-sex marriage.

I just want to throw in my thanks to those who are sharing their experiences and general tips. I'm an Oct test taker and really appreciate everyone's kindness and generosity

That's what I'm scared of! I guess the best thing will be to message the grad assistant. Oh UCB does that? I guess only the top UC schools can afford to fund international students. Sigh. Sounds like I should just get married and get a green card

Wonder why! Ugh. I can even understand the concept of non-resident tuition but to double in-state tuition is just absurd.

Seriously. I think all my applications are basically focused on private schools now.

I noticed on their department site that they state: I'll probably have to email the grad assistant but I thought I'd try here first. Any international grad students at UCLA want to confirm/deny that they offer full-fee remission only for the first year? Is it not possible at all to get this in subsequent years meaning basically the rest of your Ph.D is partially self-funded? Thanks!

Hmmm I can see the logic in this but I feel like that's a bit severe for my application strategy, to cut out programs if they don't reply. Here's hoping they do soon...

Thanks for the feedback, all! I emailed a slew of professors on Monday using a modification of proflorax's template. Haven't heard back from anyone... this is normal right? As you can tell, I'm slipping right back into that neurotic applying to grad schools mode again...

I guess I'll revive this thread instead of starting a new one. What are some good ways to make first contact with a POI (especially one that REALLY REALLY aligns with what you'd like to research)? I sent out a bunch of these emails during my MA applications and got some snarky replies, probably because I asked some dumb questions so I'd really like to avoid that this time. Any feedback is appreciated!

Ah, yes, reading back that is unclear. No, I know their requirements about written assurance that I am only submitting to their journal. But it would be safe to submit to one of those and then a lower ranking journal (by assuming I will be rejected by the more prestigious one and possibly be accepted by the lower ranking one, right?)

I'm definitely looking to get one of my works on Milton and sexuality published and I'm looking at less narrow venues for submission. (I'm still going to do the hail mary submissions to Milton Studies and Milton Quarterly but not banking on it, of course.) Anyone here have experiences they'd like to share about Early Modern journals that aren't way out of my league as a first time submitter? I did a search and there were just piles and piles of places I could submit, so I thought I'd ask here in case someone wanted to point me in a specific direction. Thanks in advance!

Good "feather in your cap," though, no? I'll see you there! What panel are you in?

Anyone applying for this year's PAMLA? Submissions due this Thursday!

Absolutely agreed on all points. My school is near LAX and if I were to drive, it'd probably take me about 45+ minutes. Luckily, I'm on a scooter so I can weave between traffic or skip huge lineups at lights, which makes my rush hour commute about 30-35 minutes and my off-peak commute 25-30 minutes. I can't say how much having a short commute has bettered my life. I can "pop over" to school whenever I want or pop home if I really need to throughout the day between classes. That being said, I'm a HUGE proponent of finding side-routes and smaller roads to get to your destination. Driving along Santa Monica at anytime is a deathwish if you need to be somewhere and the slightest mishap happens a couple miles up the road. tl;dr: I highly advocate getting a non-car and also living closer to campus. I don't know what LA you're living in but I've only witnessed really scary environments for bikers. LAist and LATimes both concurrently ran pieces on "why it's not worth biking in LA" (short answer: you'll die). I live right off Santa Monica (Barry Ave, what what) and I find that whole strip of Santa Monica filled with nasty, psychotic drivers. It just gets worse as you approach either side of the 405.