Slavic Studies

[zemzem]

Is anyone applying to Slavic Lang and Lit programs this year? I found a great thread from last year on this forum, so it would be cool to meet other hopefuls.

[rsldonk]

Yes, I applied to Washington for Slavic Studies, History emphasis.

[zemzem]

I also applied to UW but with emphasis in Slavic Linguistics. It looks from the Results page that we won't find out until Feb.

[pelevinfan]

Oops - replied to an older thread. I am also a Slavic PhD program applicant. Did not apply to Washington, however.

[Ablukhov]

Oh, I replied to the older thread too. I'm doing Russian Lit. Nice to hear from others.

[pelevinfan]

Rejected from Berkeley...here's to hoping for better news in the future.

[Ablukhov]

Aggg! Another day of unmitigated silence for me. This is made so much worse by not knowing when any of our programs are likely to report. I've already convinced myself that I've been outright rejected everywhere and I won't be told until March. How is everyone else holding up?

To pelevinfan: yes, to better news in the future!

[pelevinfan]

I heard from Yale, I'm having my interview in the next couple of days. Have heard of Harvard interviews going out, but I didn't get one - guess that's it for me and Harvard. Kind of a huge bummer, since Harvard was my first choice. But, I'm super excited to talk to Yale! I like their program a lot as well, and if I'm being totally honest with myself, it is probably better for my specialty.

Keep on keeping on, Ablukhov! I'm sure you'll start to hear soon!

[Ablukhov]

Congrats on Yale! Guess I'm out for that one. Too bad...

[lslavic12]

Oh- so glad I found this! I had started a Slavic thread a month or so ago, but I'm glad others are on this one! I'm, (obviously) also applying for Slavic! But my focus is Polish. Isn't this silence dreadful!?

[pelevinfan]

Hi lslavic! Yep, this waiting is the absolute worst. I don't know about you, but all of my professors also keep asking me if I've heard back, and are invariably shocked when I say no.

So, Polish! Very cool. I've dipped my toes in every Slavic language our department offers EXCEPT Polish. Oops. Are you focused in Polish language, or literature? If the latter, what are your research interests?

[lslavic12]

So I do both Polish literature and language. But my second Slavic language in the major is Russian (so my thesis is actually using a Polish novel AND a Russian novel!) But my SOP talked about branching off into the borderland literature of Poland/Ukraine esp. late 19th century Positivist lit. I'm also really into Russian Village Prose. I really hope to get a TA teaching beginning Polish language, though. How about you all?! I like your name- Pelevinfan! I once presented a paper at a small AATSEEL Conference on Omon Ra.

It seems like we are in such a small pool this year. My professors aren't asking me as much as my bosses at work are, and my friends... but it doesn't help the waiting process one bit!

[pelevinfan]

Hey guys -

Since Slavic departments are so small, does anyone know if they generally do admitted student days? I'd really like to go check out the school before I commit (though I'm 99% sure I'll be committing anyway). If anyone has any information, please let me know. Thanks!

Also, lslavic: I literally JUST finished writing the section of my honors thesis on Omon Ra earlier today. Such an interesting work. My interests generally lie in the same vein as Pelevin (I also do Soviet sci fi/fantasy). I've also done a bit with Shukshin, whom you obviously know since you're into Russian village prose!

[what lies ahead]

Hi all,

Anyone else accepted into OSU's M.A. Slavic Linguistics (or Literature) program?

[pelevinfan]

Has anyone heard a peep from Columbia? I find it kind of unnerving that, with how few of us there are on the board, acceptances may very well have gone out and we just don't know about it...

Also sorry, what lies ahead, didn't apply to OSU and don't mean to hijack the thread!

[lslavic12]

I didn't apply to OSU either.

Also- pelevinfan- I COMPLETELY agree- so unnerving is the silence. I also think the pool is so small, but I am also thinking my constant scouring of the results from previous years have made me think that past any given date that I am rejected etc. I just want to know! Even if it is rejection!

[pelevinfan]

EXACTLY! At this point, I'm just waiting to get my final answers (in all honesty, I don't care what they are either way) so I can accept the offer that I have. What could POSSIBLY take so long?? There are, like, five of us to evaluate (okay, maybe 25, but still).

[lslavic12]

How many do you think are approx. in each pool of applications? (haha- if ONLY it were 5!) It seems that it should be quite small and thus I don't know why in the world we haven't heard!

[pelevinfan]

I know at my current institution, which has a pretty well-known PhD program, they usually get in the neighborhood of 20-25 applications a year. I would suspect most of the programs get about the same, which the exception of the top few, which probably get a bit more. Does that sound reasonable? To be honest, I'm not particularly confident that that is even remotely right.

Still, I don't see how it can take upwards of two months to evaluate 20-25 applicants...

[lslavic12]

I guess considering how few spots they have open, 25 is a big number.

I know my institution had decided several weeks before I heard anything, and that deadline was Dec. 15. I didn't hear about my acceptance from the Graduate School until mid February. Here's to hopin' the January deadline schools are along the same timeline and we will hear at the end of the month. Or maybe that's something to say just to ease my mind...

Do you think that the results survey is seeming more useless as time goes on? Perhaps lack of $$$ is making it harder to give decisions this year. Hoorah icky economy for the humanities.