2019 Applicants

[kvlt.nihilist]

Hey all, anyone taking language courses this semester in prep for PhD requirements?  I thought I might brush up on the ole chinese again, and now my schedule is looking extra tight.

[j.alicea]

@rxing963 I really wanted to take a course to brush up on my Spanish, but between the cost of taking an additional course that my department wouldn’t fund, my thesis, and grad. ass. research assignments, I decided to not do that to myself... So instead, I have required my family to only speak to me in Spanish or Spanglish for the next few months, and I am working on translating some essays by Antonio Benítez-Rojo with a friend/prof. In the philosophy dept. for fun/maybe for my thesis. Finally, set all my electronics to Spanish. We will see how this all goes.

What requirements do you all have? I was surprised by how many programs require an ancient language, so I am thankful for those two years of Ancient Greek that I hardly use.

And @rxing963 (and others) to what extent do you expect to use secondary languages for your research? I do a lot of Latinx, Caribbean, and decolonial work from 20th/21st centuries, so Spanish and French have been and will continue to be absolutely necessary. I would like to be exposed to other languages, too, especially Eastern languages (of which I am utterly ignorant)

[kvlt.nihilist]

33 minutes ago, j.alicea said:

@rxing963 I really wanted to take a course to brush up on my Spanish, but between the cost of taking an additional course that my department wouldn’t fund, my thesis, and grad. ass. research assignments, I decided to not do that to myself... So instead, I have required my family to only speak to me in Spanish or Spanglish for the next few months, and I am working on translating some essays by Antonio Benítez-Rojo with a friend/prof. In the philosophy dept. for fun/maybe for my thesis. Finally, set all my electronics to Spanish. We will see how this all goes.

What requirements do you all have? I was surprised by how many programs require an ancient language, so I am thankful for those two years of Ancient Greek that I hardly use.

And @rxing963 (and others) to what extent do you expect to use secondary languages for your research? I do a lot of Latinx, Caribbean, and decolonial work from 20th/21st centuries, so Spanish and French have been and will continue to be absolutely necessary. I would like to be exposed to other languages, too, especially Eastern languages (of which I am utterly ignorant)

I'm thinking I might use it but in small doses.  I want to research punk identity and trauma, which is necessarily of the 20th and 21st centuries, and I'm currently planning to focus on the UK and US, since those are punk's origins.  I also know though that punk has become a worldwide phenomenon, and since i know french and chinese, i'm planning to research whatever i can about their contributions to the scenes.  i know that asian contributions and scenes are extremely overlooked, so the chinese part should be really useful to bring some recognition to heritage.

i've been self-studying chinese at home lately.  planning to do the same for french. i don't know if my programs require an ancient language, but the possibility of that is making me second-guess myself--the closest i have to that is old english.  (i doubt it though, since i'm applying to contemporary)

[j.alicea]

@rxing963 To clarify, I was looking at quite a few Literature and Comp. Lit. programs, which (from my research) tend to have an ancient language requirement. The onl program I ended up applying to with such a requirement was UCSC (minimum of 1.5 years in ancient and 2 in modern to qualify for acceptance). 

Your research sounds fascinating! Don’t know much about punk (more of a reggaetón and rap head, myself), but I suspect that its ardent anti-commercialism and taste for anarchism has seeped into other contemporary counter-cultural discourses in ways that are too often uncritically brushed aside. Also happy to hear you are interested in engaging with Chinese contributions to the culture - I imagine this will be rather interesting considering the political and economic differences between the UK and US and China.

Edited January 20, 2019 by j.alicea

[Warelin]

39 minutes ago, j.alicea said:

To clarify, I was looking at quite a few Literature and Comp. Lit. programs, which (from my research) tend to have an ancient language requirement. The onl program I ended up applying to with such a requirement was UCSC (minimum of 1.5 years in ancient and 2 in modern to qualify for acceptance). 

FWIW, WUSTL offers a dual English/Comp Lit PHD that requires only one foreign language which can be modern or ancient.

[jadeisokay]

1 hour ago, rxing963 said:

 

i've been self-studying chinese at home lately.  planning to do the same for french. i don't know if my programs require an ancient language, but the possibility of that is making me second-guess myself--the closest i have to that is old english.  (i doubt it though, since i'm applying to contemporary)

have you listened to chinese football ever? they sound just like american football/90s emo and are, well, Chinese. 

[barshmie]

Did anyone else get a cryptic U Chicago email asking for availability for an interview next week but essentially saying *do not get your hopes up*?

Wondering if this means I'm in the second round?

[kvlt.nihilist]

4 hours ago, jadeisokay said:

have you listened to chinese football ever? they sound just like american football/90s emo and are, well, Chinese. 

no i haven't!  it's one of those bands i've heard of but never got around to listening to. 

yeeeah, i have way too many of those bands on my list.  so much i want to do, so little time...

[jusrain]

2 hours ago, IDonneKnow said:

Did anyone else get a cryptic U Chicago email asking for availability for an interview next week but essentially saying *do not get your hopes up*?

Wondering if this means I'm in the second round?

Yup! There’s another thread on it here if you’re interested , and it’s discussed a bit on the results thread

https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/115185-uchicago-doodle-poll/

[barshmie]

13 hours ago, swarthmawr said:

Yup! There’s another thread on it here if you’re interested , and it’s discussed a bit on the results thread

https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/115185-uchicago-doodle-poll/

Holy sh*t! @swarthmawr we are in the final pool?!? A total shock for me as I have *no* connections at U Chicago but it is an incredible program and among my top three. Psyched.

If we do get scheduled for interviews let's exchange notes. 

[jusrain]

1 hour ago, bardie said:

Holy sh*t! @swarthmawr we are in the final pool?!? A total shock for me as I have *no* connections at U Chicago but it is an incredible program and among my top three. Psyched.

If we do get scheduled for interviews let's exchange notes. 

I’m not holding my breath for an interview, but if by some small miracle I get one, I’d be happy to!  I hope you do! 

[Fedallah]

17 hours ago, bardie said:

Did anyone else get a cryptic U Chicago email asking for availability for an interview next week but essentially saying *do not get your hopes up*?

Wondering if this means I'm in the second round?

Yup. I think about 35-40 people got "be on notice" emails re skype interviews next week. 

[havemybloodchild]

I started writing my 2019 SoP today.

Anyone else already lost their entire mind and any shred of hope it ever contained? ?

[victoriansimpkins]

24 minutes ago, kendalldinniene said:

Anyone else already lost their entire mind and any shred of hope it ever contained? ?

I FEEL THIS IN MY BONES! The waiting game is trying to murder me (though I do have to say I feel terribly for my partner for having to go through this with me a second time) 

[placeinspace]

Me too! I’m already planning my move and future travel with no regard for budgeting for living on a stipend next year anymore. Honestly, kind of liberating haha.

[dilby]

I am sort of breezily thinking about what programs I might apply to next cycle if things don't work out this time around. UCSC History of Consciousness and Minnesota Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society both seem pretty cool. But not nailing anything down. 

If you can't stop checking your email and are looking for a fun distraction, check out Steven Soderbergh's Mosaic. It's a pretty cool interactive narrative series.

[ArcaMajora]

3 hours ago, kendalldinniene said:

Anyone else already lost their entire mind and any shred of hope it ever contained? ?

Honestly been thinking this for my apps tbh.

I haven't yet received any official confirmations from any programs but I don't think my SoP or WS were strong enough to make the cut, especially since I applied to mostly name-brand programs. My test scores on both the general and literature (especially the literature test, which did not go well) I should've taken as signs that I should've applied much more wisely instead of letting ambition take the best of me in the form of app costs... I am grateful for the process (for round 2, I now have a much better idea of articulating fit), but it really does take a lot out of you and forces a deep, inward look into your scholarship and interests. Even with a lot of the sunk costs (those app fees...), I'm grateful for the things that I've learned throughout this process.

Beginning to think academia may be one of those things that I'll never be cut out for. I've dreamt of this opportunity for a vast majority of my undergraduate career and dedicated the last two years into building my profile for PhD applications, but now... I'm just thinking it's probably not meant to be. I love researching and reading poetry and I can't imagine doing anything else, but I think life is slowly telling me to take a detour or to pivot directions into another path.

I'd be grateful for one acceptance, but at this rate... A shutout is all but guaranteed (I've applied to seven, and a vast majority I'm feeling are implied rejections already knowing the crumbs of information that programs put out for the profile of an accepted student)

Edited January 22, 2019 by Ranmaag

[havemybloodchild]

10 minutes ago, Ranmaag said:

Honestly been thinking this for my apps tbh.

I haven't yet received any official confirmations from any programs but I don't think my SoP or WS were strong enough to make the cut, especially since I applied to mostly name-brand programs. My test scores on both the general and literature (especially the literature test, which did not go well) I should've taken as signs that I should've applied much more wisely instead of letting ambition take the best of me in the form of app costs... I am grateful for the process (for round 2, I now have a much better idea of articulating fit), but it really does take a lot out of you and forces a deep, inward look into your scholarship and interests. Even with a lot of the sunk costs (those app fees...), I'm grateful for the things that I've learned throughout this process.

Beginning to think academia may be one of those things that I'll never be cut out for. I've dreamt of this opportunity for a vast majority of my undergraduate career and dedicated the last two years into building my profile for PhD applications, but now... I'm just thinking it's probably not meant to be. I love researching and reading poetry and I can't imagine doing anything else, but I think life is slowly telling me to take a detour or to pivot directions into another path.

I'd be grateful for one acceptance, but at this rate... A shutout is all but guaranteed (I've applied to seven, and a vast majority I'm feeling are implied rejections already knowing the crumbs of information that programs put out for the profile of an accepted student)

I'd really encourage you to try again next year if you are shut out.  This is my second round, and I can tell you my applications this time are much, much stronger.  There is so much to this process, I think the first year should pretty much be viewed as a practice run.  If you don't feel strongly about your materials, start revising them now.  Just having been through the process has taught you so much, I'm certain.  You'll have more tools in your tool kit next time.  If it's your dream, I think you owe yourself another try, personally. Good luck!

Edited January 22, 2019 by kendalldinniene

[j.alicea]

@dilby You may want to consider UCSC’s Literature Phd. Chief reason being that lit. Students receive funding, while the history of consciousness students are unfunded. Also, history of consciousness usually admits 5 or fewer per year, and literature dept. admits something like 12 to 15. Finally, if you are doing a literature PhD, you will still be able to take HoC courses. Their lit program is super interesting, some liken it to a cultural studies program as opposed to an English program. An issue with the literature PhD: you need to have a masters degree in English, cultural studies, American studies, or some other related field. Not sure if this is the same for history of consciousness.

 

@Ranmaag I wouldn’t give up yet, it’s not even February yet! Also, most go at this process several times, and many “leave” academia to pursue an alternate path, and find themselves coming back. Now is a good time to think about what you could do for a year that will allow you to work as an independent scholar. Keep looking for opportunities to publish and present at conferences, and research scholars and other universities that fit your research interests, rather than the big names that may or may not be a great fit, and receive 500+ applicants annually (I presume this is what you meant by "name-brand" programs). I've been at this process since 2014. Tried once for a philosophy PhD after undergrad, failed, gave up, taught high school math to ESL students in Chicago, then tried again years later and found myself in an English masters, now looking at PhDs. Point is, keep your options open and enjoy the ride.

Edited January 22, 2019 by j.alicea

[j.alicea]

@dilby Oh! Also look at Stanford’s modern thought and literature program - Very similar program, and they have funding (I think).

[barshmie]

6 hours ago, kendalldinniene said:

I started writing my 2019 SoP today.

Anyone else already lost their entire mind and any shred of hope it ever contained? ?

Don't lose faith yet ❤️ You haven't even heard back 

[dilby]

47 minutes ago, j.alicea said:

@dilby Oh! Also look at Stanford’s modern thought and literature program - Very similar program, and they have funding (I think).

MTL is probably first on my list of the programs I applied to this year (if I had to rank them) 

That is VERY good information to know about UCSC though!! Hopefully I will not end up needing to consider it because I'll be admitted somewhere this year, but .......... you never really know.

[barshmie]

8 hours ago, swarthmawr said:

I’m not holding my breath for an interview, but if by some small miracle I get one, I’d be happy to!  I hope you do! 

Fair. Yes you too !

7 hours ago, Fedallah said:

Yup. I think about 35-40 people got "be on notice" emails re skype interviews next week. 

Cool! Thanks for the info and congrats, let us know if you get scheduled. 

 

[Bopie5]

Ugh. I'm feeling really discouraged about my prospects. I know I shouldn't give up but that's a bit how I'm feeling right now. And I know that I still haven't even heard back from 6/7 of the places I applied, but it's been a long time since I've wanted anything this bad and I just feel anxious anticipating the feelings of rejection/failure. But what's supposed to happen will happen, and if I have to try again, I'll try again as a stronger applicant!

[dilby]

1 minute ago, Bopie5 said:

Ugh. I'm feeling really discouraged about my prospects. I know I shouldn't give up but that's a bit how I'm feeling right now. And I know that I still haven't even heard back from 6/7 of the places I applied, but it's been a long time since I've wanted anything this bad and I just feel anxious anticipating the feelings of rejection/failure. But what's supposed to happen will happen, and if I have to try again, I'll try again as a stronger applicant!

Hang in there! Have a meme!