BookGeek

I have turned down offers from URI and Loyola Chicago and removed my name from the waitlist at the University of Minnesota. Good luck all!

Yay! Thanks both of you. I'll do so now.

My campus visit was wonderful today and definitely persuaded me that UCONN is the way to go. I just wrote to Charles Mahoney to accept my offer. Exciting times!

Thank you! Statistically speaking, UCONN has a much better standing than the other school, which I unfortunately have not been able to visit. I know that that should count for a lot more in my deliberation process given the job market, but I think part of me has been holding on to the desire to move to somewhere with a bit more excitement than Storrs and to be able to work with the other school's theology department. The offers were both late, and because I teach now and work a part time job elsewhere, I haven't been able to travel. Part of me is irrationally nervous for this meeting, as if they're going to take one look at me and/or listen to me speak one sentence and decide they shouldn't have extended me an offer. I know I'm being crazy, but it's still there.

Alex Stinson & Shortstack, thank you thank you. For the most part, the placement records on each seem pretty good (the NE school is UCONN which I'm pretty sure you just accepted Shortstack?- the MW school is not Iowa, sorry I can't help there!) There are a few subfields being studied at UCONN that I could dabble in. I've looked at the classes for the fall and there are definitely some I'm interested in, despite their not being a perfect match to my research interests. I'm going for a short visit tomorrow, since mine was a late acceptance of the waitlist and my teaching/work schedule is restricting my ability to get to Storrs, and I'm hoping that will help influence my decision so that I can get a vibe for the people I'd be working with and how amenable they are to working with me. Side note: a home-brewing group? That sounds magical.

The decision making process is heartwrenching. I'm torn between staying in the Northeast or heading to a Midwest city. Both are relatively similar in rankings and have funding within a couple thousand of each other, but the less-funded program would be in the city, thus no car insurance or gas issues. (I'm spending roughly 150/month on gas in MA as it is, so I'm not really that upset there. I also hate cars.) The Midwest program doesn't require teaching in the first year and instead focuses on training graduate faculty first and easing them into teaching, while the Northeast program has students begin teaching right away. I already have college adjunct experience so I was not exactly fearing teaching like some others might, but I would love to have more training and feedback on what is expected of me and how to proceed in the classroom. That said, I thoroughly enjoy teaching and would be thrilled to get to continue doing it this fall. I also found out in conversation with dept. chairs today that my POI at the NE school no longer teaches at that campus and that many of the other profs in AmLit are not necessarily in my field (religion & lit and trauma studies, post WWI). The MW program however also has a theology program and the dept chair there said I would be fully able to take courses in that dept. Both schools seem to have a wide variety in their job placement, from several well known universities to a couple community colleges. UGH. I feel like I'm playing volleyball against myself. I think my main concerns are A. the guilt from friends & family for leaving the NE and B. the somewhat real fear of not being able to afford living in the city/not "making friends" (I recognize and fully admit how much I sound like a kid on the first day of school & I'm not dating anyone at the moment who'll be tagging along for the ride).Is anyone else considering making a cross country change without a SO and if so, how are you approaching this decision? I feel like I can't make the change solely on the anxiety of potentially being lonely. Almost no one in my life is in academia so I think I'm just looking for feedback other than, "but you'll be able to come home for Thanksgiving!"

Has anyone here had any experience with Loyola Chicago or living in Chicago in general? I'm deeply interested in their program and what the school offers, but wary of trying to afford city life on a budget.

Just got in off the waitlist and I am over the moon! I'm still waiting to get finalized offers from a couple schools, but I am LOVING all that I've heard about UCONN from you guys and other sources. It's so nice to be finally able to get excited about this process instead of agonizing over it.

Those of you who are on waitlists, are you planning on contacting the departments now that the cruellest month has rolled around?

Are there any current URI Ph.D. students here? I just received my acceptance, but have not heard anything about funding yet. The results page seems to suggest that this is common.

@dmmar- This: I, of course, have no idea what your individual situations are, and don't presume to know, but if it makes anyone feel any better, this is my third round in applying to graduate schools. The first round, I was rejected everywhere. The second round, I was rejected from all the PhD programs, accepted to an interdisciplinary MA program at NYU with no funding, and accepted to a MA program at a totally unknown school in my area. I ended up doing the MA program in my area, and after working like crazy and getting good grades in all my courses, developing a much better writing sample and personal statement, plus letters from professors who knew my most recent work and really supported me, only now, in my third round of PhD applications, have I been accepted *anywhere*. I know a lot of people (including professors I admire) who also had to go through a few rounds of applications. This is really inspiring & helpful. Thank you for sharing

Umm... what to do if none of the 19 schools I applied to admit me...

Out of the 19 places to which I applied, I have gotten a rejection from one place- but haven't heard anything from ten other places that have already sent out acceptances. Super depression emerging.

Out of the 19 places to which I applied, I have gotten- ...I have no idea how to delete this double posting...

Have you perhaps also seen some English dramas, too?

This results board is both a blessing and a curse. (Mostly a curse lately, especially since none of my schools have actually contacted me yet either way.)

Oh, The Book Thief broke my heart so many times. Wonderful, wonderful.

Seriously. Thank God they scheduled Girl Scout cookie time during application season.

Maybe if I sit here with my eyes closed and think really hard I can send a mysterious telepathic message to the NYU adcomm...accept me...ACCEPT ME! I feel like I am losing way more sleep than is necessary over this.

Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. First time with Calvino- I spend way too much time on Flavorwire and they did a piece on the best books for book lovers. Pretty fun so far, if a little aggravating at times. http://www.flavorwire.com/335372/10-essential-books-for-book-nerds Side note: super impressed by some of your motivation to read.

Well said. I think you pretty much summed up how I was feeling and gave a great response. I agree (obviously) with what has been said (repeatedly) about school/class/whathaveyou affecting job choice & PhD acceptances. I admit it is a question our generation needs to keep raising. My concern was more with the perceived tone, which I'm willing to accept was unintentional. Mostly, I think we're all just anxious about our acceptances, which aren't guaranteed no matter what Ivy/backwater/foreign school any of us attended & asking each other whether or not we think we'll get in is really just a way for us to hear what we expect to anyways, good or bad.

The only positive I can see in regards to the shorter papers is that they'll already be conference length, which may or may not be an end goal of the capstone class. Otherwise, I'd have to agree with you- longer papers are much more effective. Good luck on that battle!

Man, I thought my anxiety level was bad. You've definitely got the Ph. D. in pretension... Ps. Not everyone gets into the Ivies, nor do they need to. And I'm sure teaching at a state school or community college (which tasted heavily of condescension) is not quite as degrading as being a homeless pickpocket, which some people want to make it seem. There is more to great minds/ideas than a brand name. In other news, good luck all!

I met with my M. A. department chair this week to discuss potential Ph.D. programs and he said that instead of the original 15-17 programs I was planning on applying to (which I thought was a generous number), he said I should be applying to "no less than 30." Oy...Is this realistic or not? Especially since a lot of the application fees are hovering around $80-90, I'm hoping that I can apply for fee waivers to several (all) of them.