French - Fall 2011

[Alyanumbers]

Do you accept Comp Lit candidates/French majors who intend to focus partly on French 20th century lit and film?

[JoeySsance]

Do you accept Comp Lit candidates/French majors who intend to focus partly on French 20th century lit and film?

Bien sûr ! Welcome ! Feel free to share your research interests. If you're considering some of the same schools as others on this thread, it's likely that you're considering similar faculty as well since there's usually a fair amount of crossover between Comp Lit and French. Which 20th century authors and filmmakers ?

[Alyanumbers]

Bien sûr ! Welcome ! Feel free to share your research interests. If you're considering some of the same schools as others on this thread, it's likely that you're considering similar faculty as well since there's usually a fair amount of crossover between Comp Lit and French. Which 20th century authors and filmmakers ?

OuLiPo and Nouvelle Vague. I want to work on the similarities between France in the 60s and contemporary Egypt, in literature, film and socio-political movements.

[JoeySsance]

Awesome! I'd really like to explore some film studies courses. I'm not 100% sure about Comp Lit depts. (though in general they're usually open and interdisciplinary) but from what I've seen regarding "secondary fields," you might really like the opportunities at Berkeley and Harvard! All the French programs I'm considering have Francophonists, so working on Egypt would be possible. You could probably receive advice from French faculty, too... As for OuLiPo, at least two other posters on this thread hope to specialize in their work, so you're in great company. Where are you applying?

And hey, how's everyone else doing? It's the home stretch for a lot of us!! Just a few weeks left (about a month max for some schools). I know I'll be happy once everything's in... but then of course there's the accursed waiting... Definitely feel free to post here with questions, to vent or even as you're waiting for time to pass... I hope everyone's doing well! Good luck!

Edit: Lol Alyanumbers, I didn't realize your list of schools was in your signature. Those are some great depts.

Edited November 25, 2010 by JoeySsance

[Alyanumbers]

Awesome! I'd really like to explore some film studies courses. I'm not 100% sure about Comp Lit depts. (though in general they're usually open and interdisciplinary) but from what I've seen regarding "secondary fields," you might really like the opportunities at Berkeley and Harvard! All the French programs I'm considering have Francophonists, so working on Egypt would be possible. You could probably receive advice from French faculty, too... As for OuLiPo, at least two other posters on this thread hope to specialize in their work, so you're in great company. Where are you applying?

And hey, how's everyone else doing? It's the home stretch for a lot of us!! Just a few weeks left (about a month max for some schools). I know I'll be happy once everything's in... but then of course there's the accursed waiting... Definitely feel free to post here with questions, to vent or even as you're waiting for time to pass... I hope everyone's doing well! Good luck!

Edit: Lol Alyanumbers, I didn't realize your list of schools was in your signature. Those are some great depts.

Berkeley is very attractive, but the funding isn't. :/ As an international student, I need guaranteed full funding for five years, or there's no point moving across the planet and then being unable to afford continuing my PhD. Harvard doesn't seem to have anyone working specifically on modern Arabic or Egyptian lit.

My top choices are Yale and Cornell, though I know I'm reaching, there. They both have amazing French specialists, and flexible programs that would let me take lots of courses outside my department. They also really encourage interdisciplinarity, and have interesting programs in Art History and Film Studies that would be useful to me. Oh, and of course, they have Egyptian/modern Arabic literature specialists. Some of them even work specifically on the Egyptian novel and film!

I'm also considering working on Latin America. I don't know that much about the literature, though I speak Spanish and understand Portuguese, so I'd like to be somewhere where there's a strong American Studies/Hispanic and Latin American Lit department, in case I do decide to go down that path.

Good luck, everyone! I hope we all have a successful application season.

Edited November 25, 2010 by Alyanumbers

[JoeySsance]

Hey everyone! So I'm sure most people are finishing up their applications soon and some may even be done by now. *Whew*

Just wondering how everyone's doing. Feel free to come back here if the wait is killing you. You are absolutely not alone and will have a nice community of fellow applicants with whom to relate ... /commiserate.

En tout cas, je vous souhaite plein de bonheur et de réussite...

Oh yeah, and bonnes fêtes à vous tous !

-Joey

[forsberg]

Warm greetings to y'all

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas

I'Ve been going through the results section on this forum, and found the following stats.

6 Jan 2010 UCLA Accepted via E-mail

14 Jan 2010 Wisconsin, Madison Interview via E-mail

20 Jan 2008 UVA Accepted via E-mail

25 Jan 2010 Princeton Interview via E-mail

25 Jan 2008 Berkeley Accepted via E-mail

26 Jan 2010 UPenn Interview via E-mail

28 Jan 2010 Vanderbilt Interview via E-mail

29 Jan 2009 Duke Interview via E-mail

31 Jan 2007 Chicago Accepted via Phone

1 Feb 2010 UT Austin Accepted via E-mail

4 Feb 2010 Yale Accepted via Phone

4 Feb 2008 Northwestern Accepted via Phone

5 Feb 2009 JHU Accepted via Phone

6 Feb 2009 Pittsburgh Rejected via Postal Service

7 Feb 2006 Columbia Accepted via E-mail

7 Feb 2009 NYU Accepted via E-mail

8 Feb 2010 Stanford Rejected via Postal Service

11 Feb 2008 Cornell Rejected via Postal Service

15 Feb 2010 Brown Wait listed via Website

17 Feb 2010 Michigan, Ann Arbor Accepted via E-mail

19 Feb 2009 Rice Accepted via E-mail

5 Mar 2010 Harvard Wait listed via Postal Service

These dates are, I believe, the earliest date mentioned by people being contacted by each of the above schools So most likely no news for a few weeks. And then things start to roll.

[JoeySsance]

Hey everyone.

First of all, thank you forsberg for compiling that really useful list. J'espère que vous avez tous passé de bonnes fêtes. If anyone hears back about interviews or quoi que ce soit, post here too and let us know !

As for me, I'm in Paris right now, having a great time ! While it feels great to put my applications behind me and though it seems like decisions are pretty far off (admittedly most schools are probably only starting the review process), some of us may hear back by around February-ish (!)

What's on everyone's mind ? Feel free to share whatever you like. I hope there will be more discussion here in the coming weeks.

Bien à vous tous.

-J

[forsberg]

I'm glad you're enjoying yourself Joey It must be hard, not to, though. You are in Paris after all.

I'm not letting myself be swept away by the stress of waiting for responses just yet. Still want to enjoy the last few weeks before school starts

[Elucidarius]

I'm not letting myself be swept away by the stress of waiting for responses just yet. Still want to enjoy the last few weeks before school starts

Man I don't know how you do it. The waiting is killing me! I know it'd be easier if I were taking classes the Spring semester but I finished in December.

Now all I have to comfort me is Le Mythe de Sisyphe and other various French novels.

[JoeySsance]

Hey everyone! A quick update from Paris. I'm having an awesome time here! Being around French folks 24/7 coupled with going to various French museums and charming bookstores are all really psyching me up for the French Ph.D, as nerdy as that may sound. Anyway, I won't say who, but a friend of ours on this thread heard back some great news about an acceptance, already ! I don't expect to hear back until at least February, but hey, that's pretty good news, n'est-ce pas? Has anyone else heard back yet? I'll be sure to post here as soon as I do. I hope you're all doing well! Hang in there, mes amis.

Edited January 14, 2011 by JoeySsance

[gdqsm]

Twofriends:

1. University Of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

French And Francophone Studies, PhD (F11)

Accepted via E-mail on 12 Jan 2011

A

13 Jan 2011

2. University Of Pittsburgh

French, PhD (F11)

Interview via E-mail on 13 Jan 2011

A

14 Jan 2011

Hey everyone! A quick update from Paris. I'm having an awesome time here! Being around French folks 24/7 coupled with going to various French museums and charming bookstores are all really psyching me up for the French Ph.D, as nerdy as that may sound. Anyway, I won't say who, but a friend of ours on this thread heard back some great news about an acceptance, already ! I don't expect to hear back until at least February, but hey, that's pretty good news, n'est-ce pas? Has anyone else heard back yet? I'll be sure to post here as soon as I do. I hope you're all doing well! Hang in there, mes amis.

[gdqsm]

Another one

Emory University

French, PhD (F11)

Other via Phone on14 Jan 2011

Invited to attend acampus weekend in February. They pay.

[Elucidarius]

Why have none of these people posted in this topic? I'd like to hear from them!

[JoeySsance]

Why have none of these people posted in this topic? I'd like to hear from them!

I second this sentiment! I'll encourage the friend I mentioned earlier to post.

As for me, I managed to prolong my stay in Paris by two extra weeks!! The longer I can stay in this beautiful city, distracted from the grad school wait, the better!

For those of you who've heard back already and been accepted, come and share. I bet I'm not the only one who'd like to learn a little more about your academic interests and your overall perspective at this point in the waiting game.

Everyone else, feel free to elaborate a little bit on your interests. Is anyone looking to explore a slightly (or very) different area of French studies in grad school from what you've already studied? Is anyone hoping to continue researching an idea from an undergraduate or masters thesis as a possible area of further investigation at the doctorate level? Is anyone particularly excited? Scared? Ambivalent? Looking forward to living or moving to a particular city among your grad school choices?

The questions above are meant as suggestions for discussion. Feel free to answer any or all of them, or to throw something fresh and new into the mix. I know we have a cool community in here somewhere.

J'espère que vous allez tous bien.

-J

[Overboard89]

I second this sentiment! I'll encourage the friend I mentioned earlier to post.

As for me, I managed to prolong my stay in Paris by two extra weeks!! The longer I can stay in this beautiful city, distracted from the grad school wait, the better!

For those of you who've heard back already and been accepted, come and share. I bet I'm not the only one who'd like to learn a little more about your academic interests and your overall perspective at this point in the waiting game.

Everyone else, feel free to elaborate a little bit on your interests. Is anyone looking to explore a slightly (or very) different area of French studies in grad school from what you've already studied? Is anyone hoping to continue researching an idea from an undergraduate or masters thesis as a possible area of further investigation at the doctorate level? Is anyone particularly excited? Scared? Ambivalent? Looking forward to living or moving to a particular city among your grad school choices?

The questions above are meant as suggestions for discussion. Feel free to answer any or all of them, or to throw something fresh and new into the mix. I know we have a cool community in here somewhere.

J'espère que vous allez tous bien.

-J

Hi everyone! I wasn't sure about how anonymous we were all supposed to be about results, so I wasn't going to post anything, but since you asked: I just recently got an email saying I was accepted to UCLA. I'm so excited! They invited me to visit in February, so I'm really looking forward to that. And I've basically been reading their website over and over again, waiting for the semester to start so I can ask my professors specific questions about the faculty there. In any case, I'm definitely looking forward to going to California, since I've never been there before!

How's everyone dealing with the wait? I agree with JoeySsance - we should all have discussions to distract us. What's everyone's favorite French book? Genre? Century? What's everyone looking to study? Good luck everyone!!

[Elucidarius]

Hi everyone! I wasn't sure about how anonymous we were all supposed to be about results, so I wasn't going to post anything, but since you asked: I just recently got an email saying I was accepted to UCLA. I'm so excited! They invited me to visit in February, so I'm really looking forward to that. And I've basically been reading their website over and over again, waiting for the semester to start so I can ask my professors specific questions about the faculty there. In any case, I'm definitely looking forward to going to California, since I've never been there before!

How's everyone dealing with the wait? I agree with JoeySsance - we should all have discussions to distract us. What's everyone's favorite French book? Genre? Century? What's everyone looking to study? Good luck everyone!!

Mind divulging your GPA/GRE/extra curriculars? I'm curious because I know none of mine are that amazing.

I'm dealing with the wait as best as possible. I'm just trying to distract myself really. Looking for a job in the mean time while reading French novels and teaching myself HTML.

My favorite French book is Guy de Maupassant's "Le Horla." It's just so fantastically written it pulls me in every time!

I'm looking to study Existentialism, the absurd and any sort of sexuality studies I can fit in between( this one doesn't necessarily go with the other two, it's just an interest I have too). I absolutely adore existentialism and the absurd, especially the writings of Albert Camus. Something about it just clicks with me and seems right. It makes me feel like the world I live in makes some sort of sense. I want to study it more, look at it more in depth and maybe eventually come up with my own theories/ideas based on existentialism.

[Overboard89]

Mind divulging your GPA/GRE/extra curriculars? I'm curious because I know none of mine are that amazing.

I'm dealing with the wait as best as possible. I'm just trying to distract myself really. Looking for a job in the mean time while reading French novels and teaching myself HTML.

My favorite French book is Guy de Maupassant's "Le Horla." It's just so fantastically written it pulls me in every time!

I'm looking to study Existentialism, the absurd and any sort of sexuality studies I can fit in between( this one doesn't necessarily go with the other two, it's just an interest I have too). I absolutely adore existentialism and the absurd, especially the writings of Albert Camus. Something about it just clicks with me and seems right. It makes me feel like the world I live in makes some sort of sense. I want to study it more, look at it more in depth and maybe eventually come up with my own theories/ideas based on existentialism.

I don't know if I feel comfortable putting my grades and other stuff on some public board. Sorry. If you want, I can tell you what they are by a private message. But, I really don't think you need to worry too much about grades and extra curriculars. When I was asking advice from my professors about grad schools, I showed them my grades and extra curricular activities, but one actually told me that they're not important at all - that the only truly important parts of the application are the writing sample, the letters of recommendation, and the statement of purpose. As long as those are good, I don't think the grades will keep you out.

My favorite French book is Le Comte de Monte-Cristo. It's just so much fun to read - it's been my favorite book since I was little, and I chose French partly so I'd be able to read it in French one day! I'm interested in translation - the theory behind it, how translations affect literary history, etc. Specifically, I love 19th and 20th century French lit, especially l'OuLiPo, since I'm also a math major.

[Elucidarius]

I don't know if I feel comfortable putting my grades and other stuff on some public board. Sorry. If you want, I can tell you what they are by a private message. But, I really don't think you need to worry too much about grades and extra curriculars. When I was asking advice from my professors about grad schools, I showed them my grades and extra curricular activities, but one actually told me that they're not important at all - that the only truly important parts of the application are the writing sample, the letters of recommendation, and the statement of purpose. As long as those are good, I don't think the grades will keep you out.

My favorite French book is Le Comte de Monte-Cristo. It's just so much fun to read - it's been my favorite book since I was little, and I chose French partly so I'd be able to read it in French one day! I'm interested in translation - the theory behind it, how translations affect literary history, etc. Specifically, I love 19th and 20th century French lit, especially l'OuLiPo, since I'm also a math major.

Nah, you don't have to post them or PM me. What you said supports what I hear a lot. I'm just paranoid.

Honestly, I love those aspects of translation too. It gets so hard to narrow down what I want to study because I love poetry too, especially Pierre de Ronsard and Rimbaud. I mean there are so many poets I love. I hate having to make the distinction of what I want to study because I love it all really.

[forsberg]

Invited to Princeton (via E-mail today) to visit the department on Monday February 21 (Presidents' Day). Exciting!

Good luck everyone!

Edited January 25, 2011 by forsberg

[ouibeque]

Congrats on the Princeton interview, Forsberg! I applied there last year and was soundly rejected

Phone interview with Pitt tomorrow, and Northwestern later this week! Eek! I HATE HATE HATE DETESTE AI HORREUR DE the phone... does anyone have any advice on these things? Other than brush up on the department and why I like it, that is?

[forsberg]

Thanks

Good luck with the phone interviews, Ouibeque! Let us they how they go

[Elucidarius]

You guys are lucky. The only school that has gotten back to me is my safety school. I got in, but I'd rather here for other, more awesome schools.

[ouibeque]

Don't despair, Elucidarius! It is still early. And you got in somewhere, which is better than I did last year... and better than I've done so far this year! What's your safety, if you don't mind my asking?

Forsberg, the Pitt interview seemed to go ok, but how do you ever really know? I mean, I doubt any of these professors are going to say "You know, now that we've spoken, I can't IMAGINE why we even thought you were worth interviewing in the first place. Why don't you just resign yourself to your career as a sanitation worker?" Although this, of course, is still my secret fear.

Basically, he'd ask me a question, let me ramble until I was done talking, and then go "Uh huh. Ok, so [next question]." And I started the conversation by talking about the weather! Granted, it's been insane, but still! That was the best I could do REALLY? Aargh. Word of advice to anyone who has one of these: think of a better response to "How are you?" than "Glad it stopped snowing!" Try "exhausted from my many hours of volunteer work with orphans" or "still sore from my last ninja fight!" ANYTHING!

/end venting

Edited January 25, 2011 by ouibeque

[Elucidarius]

Don't despair, Elucidarius! It is still early. And you got in somewhere, which is better than I did last year... and better than I've done so far this year! What's your safety, if you don't mind my asking?

Safety is University of North Texas. I know it's not the best school out there for French but I really would like to work with Marie-Christine Koop, as she deals a lot with contemporary culture.