2019 Applicants

[barshmie]

UChicago is opening back up tomorrow, according to their website. I'm guessing we will get news Friday. 

*also jk about having doubts about Chicago. Admissions, if you're out there, I love youuuuu ?... ??*

[dilby]

3 minutes ago, bardie said:

UChicago is opening back up tomorrow, according to their website. I'm guessing we will get news Friday. 

*also jk about having doubts about Chicago. Admissions, if you're out there, I love youuuuu ?... ??*

lmao the idea that adcomms are on this thread looking at my memes is a god damn nightmare

[disidentifications]

2 minutes ago, bardie said:

Admissions, if you're out there, I love youuuuu ?... ??

same, and to prove our love, we are more than willing to endure -20°F temperatures... (aren't we? *glances worriedly at my very sunny, very tropical wardrobe*) 

[dangermouse]

35 minutes ago, Bopie5 said:

I also use the enneagram! It's my favorite personality test too. AND I'm also a Four, and have been feeling soooo called out by the EnneaThought of the day recently!

it REALLY goes straight for the gut doesn't it! but i love waking up to a gentle neg so it really does work somehow.

in other news, villanova (who i haven't applied to nor shown any interest in) have moved on from emailing me suggestions to apply to their masters and have actually sent me a leaflet about it, all the way to england?! i do respect their commitment but my GRE wasn't THAT good haha.

[Warelin]

Last year, certain schools sent out acceptance letters even when they were closed. Often, there are some staff and faculty members who work from home or make calls from the office despite the university being closed. Not sure how anyone feels about this, but I thought it might prove helpful to pass along what we experienced last year on this forum.

[barshmie]

4 minutes ago, dilby said:

lmao the idea that adcomms are on this thread looking at my memes is a god damn nightmare

To the contrary, I think your memes would be a real boon to your application. Especially the one with the lab, which had me in stitches ?. 

Anyway it's almost insulting for me to suggest that they have the time/energy to read this forum, which they most certainly don't. 

[barshmie]

4 minutes ago, Warelin said:

Last year, certain schools sent out acceptance letters even when they were closed. Often, there are some staff and faculty members who work from home or make calls from the office despite the university being closed. Not sure how anyone feels about this, but I thought it might prove helpful to pass along what we experienced last year on this forum.

@Warelin Thank you, you are always so helpful. However, now the anxiety has returned ?.

[disidentifications]

i'm not sure if anyone here's a fan of hamilton, but on the note of chicago's polar vortex... 

 

[dangermouse]

8 minutes ago, flungoutofspace said:

i'm not sure if anyone here's a fan of hamilton, but on the note of chicago's polar vortex... 

 

shot(s) Fired. that is brutal

[j.alicea]

Tbh the weather isn’t that crazy for Chicagoans. every year it hits at least -20 or -25 for a day or two, plus wind chill, it’ll then feel like -35, and cold day closures are inevitable. It’s definitely colder than it’s been in my time, but only bu about 15 degrees. I spoke with my mom (who is out and about because she works for BEDS; the homeless and those who can’t afford heating need our prayers or well-wishes), and she said it honestly doesn’t feel much colder than previous Winters (and many homeless will freeze, as they do every  year...) we are all kinda surprised a fifteen degree difference caught so much media attention. Not to hate on those who are missing Hamilton, but, idk, if you’re from chi you should be used to shit getting cancelled this time of year, and realize the extreme winters are literally killing people, not just plays.

that said, I love Lin, Boricua pride and all From Chirican to Nuyorican, just wanted to add that perspective after talking to the ma. 

Good luck everyone, and remember how lucky we really are.

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[j.alicea]

And back to grad stuff, @dangermouse I am finishing a MA at Villanova now, and I know for a fact that they really don’t care about gre, and, if it were up to the department, they would do away with that requirement. Also, it’s a really nice program with tons of faculty support, tuition waiver, good stipend, and lots of interesting new hires in ethnic studies, postcolonial lit, queer theory, and gws. Pm me if anyone is interested in further info.

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[pdh12]

@j.alicea just noticing you got into UCSC too! Comp Lit or English? (we have common research interests!) ..also my fam is from PEI, so pretty cool that you applied there, too! pretty uncommon.

[dangermouse]

@j.alicea oh yeah, i wasn't being negative about villanova, sorry if it came off that way! i just figured they had got my details through the GRE and so that was all they knew about me. i'm glad you've had such a good experience there tho!

[j.alicea]

@pdh12 ah yes!  Litersture, since they don’t have an English PhD program! I am particularly interested in Caribbean culture as a sort of bridge between Anglo and Hispanic and non-Anglo literary canons of the Americas, so I’ve been very inspired by all the recent work in the humanities with regional and island studies! Since I got into the PhD, probably won’t go to PEI. (although I would love to visit and pick some brains over there...) what are your research interests? Also, have they gotten back to you about travel funding to visit in March? Or an official acceptance letter yet? I am anxious to find out whether I will be lucky enough to get the multi-year funding deal, since that city is ridiculously expensive.

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[placeinspace]

I'm only half joking but hearing this weather is actually NORMAL for Chicago is just reinforcing that I really probably don't belong at Chicago (or UMich tbh). I have legitimately cried because it's too cold for me at 20 degrees before.

[j.alicea]

@dangermouse no worries, I didn’t take it as a negative, I’m just happy they are doing more outreach and excited to tell anyone about the changes they’ve been working towards! Also, the philosophy department is stellar, Gabriel Rockhill (translator of Rancière’s Politics of Aesthetics) is a rockstar and super helpful to any and all radical students, regardless of department.

@placeinspace you get used to it right away! Just get yourself a puffy jacket, multiple pairs of long johns, heat sealing socks, and snow pants!

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[spectrum-in]

2 minutes ago, placeinspace said:

I'm only half joking but hearing this weather is actually NORMAL for Chicago is just reinforcing that I really probably don't belong at Chicago (or UMich tbh). I have legitimately cried because it's too cold for me at 20 degrees before.

Having a similar thought about Wisconsin, tbh. NYC is supposed to get to -5 tonight and I am fully in hibernation mode ?

[j.alicea]

Additional note: when I say it’s normal, I mean this normally happens, and everything shuts down just as it did today. No school will have you coming to class in -25. Everyone, breath!

my point was more about the homeless and how little state and federal governments do to ensure that they don’t die in this cold (as I said, this happens every year, and my mom has to see it, so, you know, I just got a little passionate for a moment)

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[fortschritt22]

1 hour ago, bardie said:

To the contrary, I think your memes would be a real boon to your application. Especially the one with the lab, which had me in stitches ?. 

Anyway it's almost insulting for me to suggest that they have the time/energy to read this forum, which they most certainly don't. 

I, for one, welcome our new adcomm overlords.

[Bopie5]

@j.alicea Yeah honestly I was thinking the same thing about Chicago weather? I grew up there and it was normal to have school cancelled for "cold days" in the winter when there wasn't even snow!

[disidentifications]

16 minutes ago, j.alicea said:

Tbh the weather isn’t that crazy for Chicagoans. every year it hits at least -20 or -25 for a day or two, plus wind chill, it’ll then feel like -35, and cold day closures are inevitable. It’s definitely colder than it’s been in my time, but only bu about 15 degrees. I spoke with my mom (who is out and about because she works for BEDS; the homeless and those who can’t afford heating need our prayers or well-wishes), and she said it honestly doesn’t feel much colder than previous Winters (and many homeless will freeze, as they do every  year...) we are all kinda surprised a fifteen degree difference caught so much media attention. Not to hate on those who are missing Hamilton, but, idk, if you’re from chi you should be used to shit getting cancelled this time of year, and realize the extreme winters are literally killing people, not just plays.

of course, i definitely understand that. i've just been reading reports on how the weather's been affecting the homeless in chicago (come winter, the survival of those without proper shelter's always a concern -- though that should, tbh, be a concern throughout the year) and the situation seems extremely dire. massive props to your mom for helping alleviate the condition. 

(on a side note, as someone who lives in a tropical country, a fifteen degree difference in temperature sounds terribly drastic to us here -- we are usually told to keep our air-conditioning at about 75°F, which seems a considerable change from the 85°F that we're usually faced with...) 

[j.alicea]

@Bopie5 ah i didn’t realize there was a fellow Chicagoan here! And you’re in California now?? Truly living my dream... I’m from la villita in South Lawndale (however moved to west suburbs in carpentersville). I miss it and I don’t... I really just miss the Latino food and cultue, which is hard to find where I am now...

@flungoutofspace oh I’m sure you will adapt if you move out to that area! My abuela came from San Juan, and before long she was wearing short sleeves in 30 degrees! On the other hand, judging from the schools to which I am applying, and my jealousy of your tropical life, perhaps I am being a little hypocritical of all your fears  and you are so right, we should be concerned about people’s lives year round, not just when it’s sub-zero ?

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[jadeisokay]

it's been getting down to 30ish at night here in florida-- I'm north/central fl so we actually get a vague approximation of seasonal variance sometimes-- and people are dressed like it's -30. forecast has us back at 80 next week. stay warm, yall. 

[havemybloodchild]

I live in Sacramento rn after living in Portland for several years and my first summer here I thought I was going to have to move back (113 degrees, wth even is that? And no apartment I could afford had ac). But everywhere I’ve moved there’s been something to adjust to (freezing rain while driving was probably the most exciting). I think it’s usually easier to adjust than it seems like it will be.

That being said, if everyone above wherever I am on the reject pile wants to deny admission, I won’t complain too much ? jk

[Bopie5]

@j.alicea Yeah! I was born on the north side and lived there for a bit, and then hopped around various suburbs growing up. Spent the most time in the Elgin area, about an hour/45 mins west, and not too far from Carpentersville! I moved to Colorado in middle school, so I never know which place to say that I'm "from" because I really grew up in both Illinois and Colorado. And yeah, California for undergrad, and sometimes when I think about moving back to the Midwest I think I've certifiably lost my mind...