University of Kansas

[lyonessrampant]

Just got an email! Visiting weekend is March 28-April 1. I'm waiting on lots of other schools, and while this is pretty far from my top pick, I'm so excited and relieved that I will be going somewhere next year! The email didn't say anything about number admitted or how much the GTA is. Good luck to everyone else who applied!

[anonacademic]

Congratulations! I imagine that's a relief. Plus, you can now commence with lame Wizard of Oz jokes. Win-win

[osodulce]

Congratulations, lyoness.

I got waitlisted there, and I have an etiquette question. I got a very nice, apologetic email, which I think was implying that in addition to shrinking the size of their entering class they are also only admitting students for who they have funding, saying that they hope to be in touch soon with a definite answer. Do I reply to this email? What do I say?

I have one offer which I would rank fairly equally to KU (from last year--I had to defer) and a lot of schools where I would rather be which I haven't back from. What's the politic thing to do in this situation?

I'm typically a pretty straight forward person, but I am learning that this doesn't always play in academia.

Thank you.

[lyonessrampant]

Osodulce, I found/find myself in a similar situation. Obviously, I'm very grateful to have been admitted and especially with funding, but to be honest, KU is the bottom of my list. I applied because my partner's aunt and uncle live in Lawrence. . .Anyway, I'll basically go anywhere else I've applied to that gives me a funded offer. That said, I emailed back right away and said thank you and that I was excited (which is true), but I think I'll probably not contact them a whole lot more until I hear back from some more schools. I think it would be appropriate to reply to the email and thank them for the offer and say you look forward to hearing more information from them. I wouldn't close doors at this point, and the email they sent me suggested they expect this is how we will handle the situation. It said they knew I am probably waiting on other departments and that there was no rush for me to respond. Their visiting period is March 28-April 1, so there's plenty of time for us all to learn things and then make some decisions before that arrives (either to keep KU in the running or decline an offer). Either way, congrats and best of luck!

[crae]

I was also waitlisted. Lyonessrampant, congratulations! Would you mind sharing some info about your area of interest, publications, test scores, etc.?

Honestly, I was just happy not to be rejected outright, and I'd be thrilled to go anywhere, including Kansas. :-)

[lyonessrampant]

Oh please don't get me wrong! I think Kansas is a great school. I'm just a mountain girl and go a little crazy out in the flat land! I study early modern poetry and critical theory. I am especially interested in poetry from about 1590-1620 (Spenser, Sidney, Donne, Herbert, etc) and my theory interests lie in psychoanalysis, structuralism/poststructuralism, and affect theory. I have an MA from UChicago where my GPA was 3.9. I got a 680 on the subject test and my GRE scores were 700 V, 650 Q, and 6 AW. If you have other questions, let me know. Best of luck!

[Medievalmaniac]

Congratulations on your admit! Even if it is not your top choice - you know you're going to a program next year. How relieving is that?

[crae]

Thanks for the info, Lyonessrampant! And don't worry - I was only talking about myself. :-) I'm not very confident in this whole process, so I really would be happy to go to even my bottom choice. And I'm thrilled that Kansas isn't your top choice, because it gives me more of a chance!!

Edited February 2, 2011 by crae

[Tybalt]

i don't want to be a negative nancy here... but i saw on the results board that the load is 2/2 for ~13k. that seems rather exploitative. i teach 1/1 at a state school MA (unranked) and make more than 50% of UK's stipend. i honestly can't imagine teaching 2 sections and doing ph.d coursework, even if it's two sections of the same course. i guess the only exception to this would be if it was 2 discussion sections for a larger lecture done by a prof. it would still be awful come grading time, but at least prepwork etc would be slightly less.

i didn't apply there, so maybe i shouldn't interject my commentary... but i am curious if others have taught 2/2 loads early in their ph.d program and how it went for them?

I was quietly thinking the same thing. It was my understanding that anything over a 1/1 load was exploitation. That said, if I end up going 0 for 11, I'd likely be first in the line to be willingly exploited if someone were to offer a spot with a 2/2 load, so who am I to judge!

[lyonessrampant]

I don't have details about the funding. I have friends who do a 2/2 load in Ph.D. programs now. I'd rather not, but if that's the only offer I get, I'll take it. If the choice is between potential exploitation and no Ph.D., I'll go with exploitation. I think that is how CUNY survives, no? They give tiny stipends, especially for NYC, and require a lot of teaching.

[TC3]

Yeah, ideally the teaching load would be 1/1 and the stipdend ~15k for a low cost-of-living city, but I also see how that's hard to justify when doling out funding. I'd also take the somewhat exploitive funding, as I'm currently earning a grad student stipend to teach 9 courses per year (so-called "PT" adjunct at a 2-year college).

[againstourfaces]

I was quietly thinking the same thing. It was my understanding that anything over a 1/1 load was exploitation. That said, if I end up going 0 for 11, I'd likely be first in the line to be willingly exploited if someone were to offer a spot with a 2/2 load, so who am I to judge!

Just wanted to say, nice name Tybalt. Good to see another R+J fan out there.

[Amalia222]

Hiya, I'm still in the "hurry up and wait!" phase for all 10 of my schools, but I saw this and I was encouraged by your success! It must be a huge relief to get into a school, because at least you know you are going somewhere. My terror is the idea of universal rejection, which is very possible because of my emphasis (creative writing). It seems so incredibly competitive these days!!!

[Tybalt]

Yeah, ideally the teaching load would be 1/1 and the stipdend ~15k for a low cost-of-living city, but I also see how that's hard to justify when doling out funding. I'd also take the somewhat exploitive funding, as I'm currently earning a grad student stipend to teach 9 courses per year (so-called "PT" adjunct at a 2-year college).

I'd take it, too. I didn't mean to sound like I was raining on your parade lyonessrampant. Sadly, I suspect that we'll see the stipends continue to fall and the teaching load continue to rise until the market settles down a bit.

TC3-- I noticed that you applied to Fordham. Were you able to find out anything about their funding? I liked the look of their program when I did my initial program reviews last summer, but IIRC, their funding situation wasn't very clearly defined on their website. I may add it to next year's list (if needed), and I'm curious as to whether you found out more about their funding structure.

[Tybalt]

Just wanted to say, nice name Tybalt. Good to see another R+J fan out there.

He's one of my all-time favorite Shakespearean characters. He's Scrappy-Doo with a sword, which just absolutely gets to me every time. I thought John Leguizamo (sp) played the part superbly in the 90s--just goofy enough to capture the humor of the lines, and just serious enough to make him a real threat.

[lyonessrampant]

I didn't mean to sound snarky at all. I agree that's a big teaching burden. I'm just saying I'll be exploited if that's what I have to do Hopefully, we'll all get offers with generous funding. That would be excellent. I would like to say that it makes me sick that the hard sciences get $30K stipends routinely. GRRRRR. . . .. Also love Tybalt

[TC3]

Amalia: I applied to 11 creative PhDs last year. Most programs took 2-3 poets and 2-3 fiction writers each. Utah was an exception, taking 4-5 per category. Ohio University took *one* creative writer, I think. Needless to say, I was passed over for all 11 programs (I have an MA).

Tybalt: I first looked at Fordham because Sarah Zimmerman's work played a role in the article that I sent as my writing sample, and I've since caught on to John Bugg and the New York Romanticism Group. I'll admit that the website was frustrating, as the English department seemed to defer to the Graduate School page for info on funding, application requirements, etc. I was impressed, however, by the openness with statistics of time-to-degree, funding percentages, cohort size, cohort score ranges, attrition rates, etc. Of course, there wasn't a complete list of job placements (only the highlights, as is usual). You know, I can't find any specific funding or teaching load information. I figure that it's 2/2, a stipend a bit low for NYC (albeit Bronx). According to the data page, less than 100 people applied last cycle, so I'm hopeful about my chances. If I'm lucky to get in, I figure, I'll find out what the numbers are and go from there. Not exactly the most meticulously planned application, but what are ya gonna do, eh?

[Tybalt]

Amalia: I applied to 11 creative PhDs last year. Most programs took 2-3 poets and 2-3 fiction writers each. Utah was an exception, taking 4-5 per category. Ohio University took *one* creative writer, I think. Needless to say, I was passed over for all 11 programs (I have an MA).

Tybalt: I first looked at Fordham because Sarah Zimmerman's work played a role in the article that I sent as my writing sample, and I've since caught on to John Bugg and the New York Romanticism Group. I'll admit that the website was frustrating, as the English department seemed to defer to the Graduate School page for info on funding, application requirements, etc. I was impressed, however, by the openness with statistics of time-to-degree, funding percentages, cohort size, cohort score ranges, attrition rates, etc. Of course, there wasn't a complete list of job placements (only the highlights, as is usual). You know, I can't find any specific funding or teaching load information. I figure that it's 2/2, a stipend a bit low for NYC (albeit Bronx). According to the data page, less than 100 people applied last cycle, so I'm hopeful about my chances. If I'm lucky to get in, I figure, I'll find out what the numbers are and go from there. Not exactly the most meticulously planned application, but what are ya gonna do, eh?

Yeah, I'm a Shakespearean, so I was looking more at the trio of Mark Caldwell, Mary Bly and Stuart Sherman. It seemed like so many of their scholars were doing "fun" sorts of research. I was also drawn by their advertised acceptance rate (20% when I looked last summer), but the ambiguity over the funding scared me off (UCLA had the same ambiguity, but they also had three scholars whom I would LOVE to work with, so I risked the app fee on that one as a long shot). Good luck!

[Danmarkland]

I been also accepted to Kansas. Should I accept? My english is good for a dane, and all my work home has been given grades as high as A. Comparative litterature is my interst. I have been given TA and so money is not a problem. Mostly worried I will fail out and waist time. My toefl result was 24. Should i accept???

[lyonessrampant]

Are there people there you would like to work with? Are you waiting to hear from other schools? I wouldn't make a decision one way or another until you have news back from all of your programs. I got the official notification today (about a week after the unofficial acceptance), and I'm just going to keep that in my inbox for awhile.

[Danmarkland]

Danmarkland,

Kansas and Denmark have a lot in common, and I think you will find the Sunflower State to be a pleasant place to live, even settle for good if you enjoy the wonderful weather and progressive politics of the place (very much like back home in Denmark, I think). There are many places of worship that are home to all perspectives too. And don't worry about the TA stipend; TA salaries in the US are plentiful and foreign students often save money, even after accruing significant legal bills fighting off prosecution for 'visa issues'.

PS, if you like the diverse culture of Lawrence, KS, you should also check out the University of Arkansas.

I am from Copenhagen, the biggest metropolitan city in Scandinavian region. I doubt the kulture will be why I go there. I am glad money is good. It is hard to save money now since I am single mother. Want to read literature to make life a better place. Appreciate your answers.

[lyonessrampant]

Umm. . . pretty sure the previous poster was being sarcastic, but just to give a few points of clarification (if your request for info is earnest) but I've heard the GTA isn't great. I haven't actually got full details, but I've heard it is a 2:2 load and the salary is just under $13 K a year. While the cost of living isn't high in Lawrence, that still isn't a lot of money to support 2 people (you and a kid) on. . . However, maybe you'll get more offers, and maybe you'll be eligible for some extra funding.

[lyonessrampant]

Gosh SteveNSactown. . .you don't have to be so mean, especially as you're mocking spelling when you have the word "social" misspelled in your handle. . .Even if you might have a relevant point, civility is always a good idea, I think.

[lyonessrampant]

I don't believe a comment encouraging respectful discourse is being "mean" while an ad hominem attack is rather different. Besides, if this person was accepted by Kansas, I would suspect they had a reason for doing so.

[anonacademic]

Guys, the poster might be a spammer. I think your argument might be over nothing. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. For one, that TOEFL score makes no sense.

Perhaps Howard Stern?