Fall 2019 - Comparative Literature

[correr]

@OrpheusGaze interests: poetics and cognition, science studies, latin american neobaroque. POI -- hard to say! jonathan monroe, laurent dubreuil, natalie melas, and philip lorenz are possibilities.

[dartdoc]

1 hour ago, correr said:

@OrpheusGaze interests: poetics and cognition, science studies, latin american neobaroque. POI -- hard to say! jonathan monroe, laurent dubreuil, natalie melas, and philip lorenz are possibilities.

OMG that's amazing! Congratulations

[Stardust_3001]

I just found this place! I'm dying to hear about Cornell. I got an e-mail saying I was waitlisted at the end of January but haven't heard back from them then. 

[CompLit]

Has anyone heard from the University of Michigan? I haven't heard a word since January, neither a rejection nor an acceptance. I saw that some people have been accepted. 

[AlmaZ]

21 hours ago, correr said:

@OrpheusGaze interests: poetics and cognition, science studies, latin american neobaroque. POI -- hard to say! jonathan monroe, laurent dubreuil, natalie melas, and philip lorenz are possibilities.

I am also working on Latin American Neobaroque! Applied to Cornell's comparative lit. but got referred to the Romance Studies... Big congrats on your offer!

[OrpheusGaze]

Ended up emailing the department regarding the status of my application, received a dry copy-and-paste email from the DGS citing some vague information about 'competitive applications' and 'limited funding'. For £105 you'd think they would care to elaborate a bit more at least. Would have loved to work with Cynthia Chase on de Manian deconstruction, but I suppose it was not meant to be - will try again with other schools next year. Anyway, congratulations to all of you admitted, I am sure you will do great!

[correr]

@AlmaZ 

That's awesome! Are you interested in going to Cornell for romance studies and planning on visiting? 

[AlmaZ]

12 hours ago, correr said:

@AlmaZ 

That's awesome! Are you interested in going to Cornell for romance studies and planning on visiting? 

I might choose other universities since the professors that I hope to work with at Cornell (mostly Andrea Bachner and Jonathan Monroe) are affiliated with Comparative Literature. Are you considering Cornell's offer? 

[correr]

@almaz

Ah, I see. Yeah, it's definitely one of my top choices.

[Compele]

Out of curiosity, who else here applied straight from undergrad?

[dartdoc]

6 hours ago, Compele said:

Out of curiosity, who else here applied straight from undergrad?

Me.

I was advised not to but was also told that if I am going straight from an undergraduate program, I will be competing with other people applying straight from an undergraduate program. So everything is put in perspective. 

[jadeisokay]

i'm in my last semester of undergrad right now.

[Compele]

nice to see some fellow undergrads! how is it going for you so far? I got one phd and one master offer, not sure if i should maybe take up the master and defer the phd so to try reapplying to some of my top choices again next year with a master in the bag. any advice?

[HnHao]

Hey~ I was wondering if anyone is familiar with the complit program at UC Riverside? I have been rejected by most of the programs I applied, and UCR is the only offer that I get. I actually really like the program's staff, but I am a little worried about the institution's ranking. btw my interests are ancient Chinese, Greek literature, comparative studies of Chinese-West literary criticism. If I reject this offer, I would probably go to an MA program with no fundings. So I would appreciate it if someone could give some comment on the complit program at UCR. Thanks, and good luck to your applications~

[itslit]

On 2/26/2019 at 9:15 AM, CompLit said:

Has anyone heard from the University of Michigan? I haven't heard a word since January, neither a rejection nor an acceptance. I saw that some people have been accepted. 

Hi there, @CompLit! I received word of my acceptance around the first week of February, and from what I understand, they have already issued the majority of their offers for this cycle.

I say that only because a more recent email regarding my campus visit mentioned that many of those admitted have arranged to come during the same weekend, but I can't say for certain if they have made all of their decisions. Don't hesitate to reach out via email to ask about the status of your application, and take what I have said with a grain of salt. I do know, however, that all offers will be out by the fifteenth of this month, per something I read on the department's website. Best of luck to you! 

[itslit]

On 3/1/2019 at 6:50 AM, Compele said:

I got one phd and one master offer, not sure if i should maybe take up the master and defer the phd so to try reapplying to some of my top choices again next year with a master in the bag. any advice?

First off, @Compele, congratulations on your offers! That's impressive! This is a tricky situation, but it ultimately boils down to what you hope to achieve down the road. Is the school that offered you admission to their PhD program one of your top programs? Is it a program that you would thrive in, that would support your interests well, that could help you secure a job later on? If so, I would take that route, no questions asked. 

But because it sounds like you have some reservations about accepting that offer, you might do better to complete an M.A. Like you said, earning an M.A. would likely help your chances when you next apply for PhD programs. As someone who is finishing up their M.A. right now, I can say that this path has felt like a waste of time, money, and energy at times, but it has also presented me the opportunity to narrow my areas of interest, gain professional experience, get a better "feel" of what advanced work will entail, and pick up relative degrees of proficiency in a few more languages. 

So it's a toss-up. If I were you, if I could do it all over again, I would probably go with the latter option a second time, as frustrating as it may prove to be in your case. I think having elected this path will make my transition considerably smoother when I begin work on a PhD come September. One important consideration, however petty, concerns the reputation of the M.A. program in question. If it would be a "lateral move" from your undergraduate institution, I might accept the PhD's offer or even take a year off (if that's an option for you, of course). If the M.A. program or university isn't ranked higher than the one you are currently in, I would be hesitant to accept their offer. Not because it wouldn't be meaningful and enlightening in any number of ways—not to mention the opportunities to network it would likely present you—but because academia is so miserably entrenched in perceived status (which we, as the rising generation of academics, may well combat in the years to come!).

I was lucky to get into my current program. It was a step-up from my previous university, and I doubt I would have been as fortunate this application season were I to have applied straight from the small, middle-of-the-road university from where I earned my bachelor's degree. 

If you're intending to apply to competitive schools and feel that this master's program might give you a leg up, by all means, take that road, but if you have the sense that you would be better off beginning your PhD at the institution that has offered you admission this cycle, do that. Trust your instincts. I hope that my rambling bit of advice is of some use to you. 

[Compele]

10 hours ago, itslit said:

First off, @Compele, congratulations on your offers! That's impressive! This is a tricky situation, but it ultimately boils down to what you hope to achieve down the road. Is the school that offered you admission to their PhD program one of your top programs? Is it a program that you would thrive in, that would support your interests well, that could help you secure a job later on? If so, I would take that route, no questions asked. 

But because it sounds like you have some reservations about accepting that offer, you might do better to complete an M.A. Like you said, earning an M.A. would likely help your chances when you next apply for PhD programs. As someone who is finishing up their M.A. right now, I can say that this path has felt like a waste of time, money, and energy at times, but it has also presented me the opportunity to narrow my areas of interest, gain professional experience, get a better "feel" of what advanced work will entail, and pick up relative degrees of proficiency in a few more languages. 

So it's a toss-up. If I were you, if I could do it all over again, I would probably go with the latter option a second time, as frustrating as it may prove to be in your case. I think having elected this path will make my transition considerably smoother when I begin work on a PhD come September. One important consideration, however petty, concerns the reputation of the M.A. program in question. If it would be a "lateral move" from your undergraduate institution, I might accept the PhD's offer or even take a year off (if that's an option for you, of course). If the M.A. program or university isn't ranked higher than the one you are currently in, I would be hesitant to accept their offer. Not because it wouldn't be meaningful and enlightening in any number of ways—not to mention the opportunities to network it would likely present you—but because academia is so miserably entrenched in perceived status (which we, as the rising generation of academics, may well combat in the years to come!).

I was lucky to get into my current program. It was a step-up from my previous university, and I doubt I would have been as fortunate this application season were I to have applied straight from the small, middle-of-the-road university from where I earned my bachelor's degree. 

If you're intending to apply to competitive schools and feel that this master's program might give you a leg up, by all means, take that road, but if you have the sense that you would be better off beginning your PhD at the institution that has offered you admission this cycle, do that. Trust your instincts. I hope that my rambling bit of advice is of some use to you. 

 

Thank you very much, this is all very useful advice! I messaged you with some more questions, I hope that is okay! Thanks so much again. 

[whatislife69]

On 3/1/2019 at 6:05 AM, HnHao said:

Hey~ I was wondering if anyone is familiar with the complit program at UC Riverside? I have been rejected by most of the programs I applied, and UCR is the only offer that I get. I actually really like the program's staff, but I am a little worried about the institution's ranking. btw my interests are ancient Chinese, Greek literature, comparative studies of Chinese-West literary criticism. If I reject this offer, I would probably go to an MA program with no fundings. So I would appreciate it if someone could give some comment on the complit program at UCR. Thanks, and good luck to your applications~

I haven't heard anything negative about the program. so if I were you, I would accept the UCR offer.

Unfunded MA would not actually look that good on your CV. A chair of a comp lit department told me that unfunded MA is likely just a cash cow for the program, and usually don't give you a proper education. It might hurt your chances if you are considering reapplying after MA. Fully funded MA is another story.

That's my two cents. Hope it helps.

[HnHao]

15 hours ago, whatislife69 said:

I haven't heard anything negative about the program. so if I were you, I would accept the UCR offer.

Unfunded MA would not actually look that good on your CV. A chair of a comp lit department told me that unfunded MA is likely just a cash cow for the program, and usually don't give you a proper education. It might hurt your chances if you are considering reapplying after MA. Fully funded MA is another story.

That's my two cents. Hope it helps.

Thank you so much! I am waiting for the decision of scholarships for an MA program, and I am not decided between the MA and the UCR offer, so your advice is very helpful! Good luck on your applications~

[Compele]

hi everyone, me again with yet another question. Has anyone attended a campus visit yet after receiving an offer? I am visiting Northwestern this weekend and I just got the program. They arranged for me to meet with six (six!!) professors whose work is related to my area of interest, and now I am terrified! Do you think I need to prepare anything, or is it just going to be a quite informal meeting where we talk about the program in general? I am now paranoid they might revoke the offer if I don't come off smart (which i know is silly, but nerves). any advice on how to prepare/anyone who had similar experiences?

[whatislife69]

21 hours ago, Compele said:

hi everyone, me again with yet another question. Has anyone attended a campus visit yet after receiving an offer? I am visiting Northwestern this weekend and I just got the program. They arranged for me to meet with six (six!!) professors whose work is related to my area of interest, and now I am terrified! Do you think I need to prepare anything, or is it just going to be a quite informal meeting where we talk about the program in general? I am now paranoid they might revoke the offer if I don't come off smart (which i know is silly, but nerves). any advice on how to prepare/anyone who had similar experiences?

I had one campus visit where i literally meet the whole comp lit department + some related fields. Don't worry. It's usually just very chill conversation. They are trying to recruit YOUUUUU now!! The table has turned  

[surewouldread]

Has anyone heard since those first acceptances to Michigan in late January/early February about their application status? Looking to make some decisions in the next few days here and can't decide whether to wait to hear from them or just  to go elsewhere. 

[CompLit]

17 minutes ago, surewouldread said:

Has anyone heard since those first acceptances to Michigan in late January/early February about their application status? Looking to make some decisions in the next few days here and can't decide whether to wait to hear from them or just  to go elsewhere. 

I haven’t heard from them either... Could it be that we are waitlisted?

[surewouldread]

3 hours ago, CompLit said:

I haven’t heard from them either... Could it be that we are waitlisted?

I emailed the department and they said they'll have decisions out by the end of next week. Best of luck! 

[CompLit]

26 minutes ago, surewouldread said:

I emailed the department and they said they'll have decisions out by the end of next week. Best of luck! 

Thank you very much! I'm excited!