do you go to one of these Unis?

[yank in the M20]

Hey guys,

So, I've been researching universities like mad the last few months and have gone from about 150 possible choices down to about 30 that look quite good for me and my research interests. I was hoping you might put in your two cents about any of the following. What I'm mostly looking to hear is, obviously, if you've heard anything bad about the department, internal strife and the like, but also what the intellectual environment is like (competitive, supportive, lacking), how good they are with lectures/papers/reading groups, if they have reserved study space for PhDs, what funding is like (that's a big one!) and if you have comments on the location. If you go there and would be willing to answer a few questions about specific faculty members I am possibly interested in working with, can you let me know so I can PM you? I'm looking at the Modernist area so anything you know about the faculty and grad students in that area would be especially helpful. Thanks in advance for any advice/help you can provide.

Here's the list:

Alabama
Berkeley
Bloomington
Brown
University of Illinois at Chicago
Colorado
Columbia
Connecticut
Cornell
Delaware
Fordham
Greensboro
Kent State
LSU
NYU
Oregon
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rhode Island
South Carolina

[yank in the M20]

Whoops, my hand slipped and I posted too soon. Also:

Southern Mississippi
Toronto
Vancouver
Villanova
Virginia
Washington University in St. Louis
Western Michigan
Yale

[stillthisappeal]

A few passing thoughts:

I got into the University of Illinois at Chicago and was unimpressed with the $14.5K TA stipend that they offered me. I would advise taking it off the list. It's a hard school to get into despite a mid-range U.S. News ranking (faculty members seem somewhat leery of the NRC ranking which placed it near the top). There are better schools you could put in its place.

I would be wary of Kent State. I've heard bad things about their placement statistics. Look for solid numbers.

I did my undergrad at Pitt from 2002-2006. I had a great experience in the English Department. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about specific faculty members.

[Historiogaffe]

Yank, by Vancouver do you mean UBC? I'm doing my undergrad there, so if that's the place you mean I can put in a couple of cents.

[yank in the M20]

Yank, by Vancouver do you mean UBC? I'm doing my undergrad there, so if that's the place you mean I can put in a couple of cents.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!

Speakwrite, sorry, I've been keeping track of Unis by city name so I can keep track of what I've covered. Yes, I meant UBC. Any tips? Also, the faculty there that best match my interests are Marlene Briggs, John Xiros Cooper, and Ira Nadel.

[ahembree]

I just found this thread because I was looking for more info on WashU. They seem to have a great presence of 20th/21st Century Americanists and Women and Gender Studies. Both of which interest me.