Fall 2013 English Lit Applicants

[The Whistler]

a Columbia acceptance has been extended, UPenn and Columbia in the same day... I love my friends but boy am I green right now

 

Seriously? I mean, I always say I want to know already, but they could've waited at least two more days. If I had nuts, right now I'd feel like someone is walking over them in heels.

[waparys]

Can't remember which thread had the discussion about partners/significant others but I just discovered that Michigan is the number one program for my bf's field. And he's been accepted. The pressure is seriously on now. I need lots of good vibes, please!

[It's (Not) About Me]

Nice!! Congrats to him, and definitely sending good vibes your way, too! 

 

My dude isn't applying to PhD programs yet, but the other day he casually mentioned that IU-Bloomington might be one of his top choices if/when he does, hah. Not sure if that means that the pressure is on for me to get in there, but that's just one more reason why it'd be GREAT if I did.

[bfat]

Just texted a friend (really more of an acquaintance) in Cornell's program to see if she knows if all offers have been extended... I feel like such a pathetic asshole. But it's still my #1 and I want the agony to be over already.

[figsmcfigs]

a Columbia acceptance has been extended, UPenn and Columbia in the same day... I love my friends but boy am I green right now

 

 

Email or phone call? Good for them... and I hope that neither of them having anything to do with the things I am studying, haha

[asleepawake]

Hmm, it looks like US News & World Report will have new English rankings in mid-March. One more thing to wonder about.

[HHEoS]

Hmm, it looks like US News & World Report will have new English rankings in mid-March. One more thing to wonder about.

 

Really? Sweet. It'll be nice to have those before making final decisions. 

[It's (Not) About Me]

Just texted a friend (really more of an acquaintance) in Cornell's program to see if she knows if all offers have been extended... I feel like such a pathetic asshole. But it's still my #1 and I want the agony to be over already.

Ooh! Please keep us posted. I am counting that as a rejection right now, but it's been hard to let go because I liked that program soooo much. It looks like they have had a waitlist in previous years, though--perhaps a glimmer of hope?

[Two Espressos]

Hmm, it looks like US News & World Report will have new English rankings in mid-March. One more thing to wonder about.

Thanks for mentioning this!  I saw that the other day and wanted to post about it but forgot.  I know these rankings are only generally useful, but I'm curious to see the program shifts (I have a general idea where all the major programs stand in the hierarchy).  A professor of mine really talks up NYU as currently having one of (perhaps "the") best English program in the world, so I wonder if they'll move up in the rankings?

Edited February 18, 2013 by Two Espressos

[bfat]

Yeah, I'm really curious to see where Penn State will fall (as it looks like it will be my only acceptance). It was my 3rd choice program, so I'm pretty happy, but it seems to be all over the place now. PhDs.org and the NRC rankings put it in the top 10, but USN has it at 29... Others I've seen put it between 10 and 20. It's not like some of the ivies that consistently stay ranked in (relatively) the same places.

[figsmcfigs]

Thanks for mentioning this!  I saw that the other day and wanted to post about it but forgot.  I know these rankings are only generally useful, but I'm curious to see the program shifts (I have a general idea where all the major programs stand in the hierarchy).  A professor of mine really talks up NYU as currently having one of (perhaps "the") best English program in the world, so I wonder if they'll move up in the rankings?

 

I am anxious to hear more about this... I got into NYU and am looking for whatever excuse I can find to stay in the city... do you have more info?

[asleepawake]

Even though the ratings really only measure reputation, not quality, I'm still going to be watching Buffalo and WVU like a hawk...

[ProfLorax]

I probably should google this, but what factors does US News and World Reports use when determining rank for graduate programs? Placement rate, publication output, faculty? 

[asleepawake]

I probably should google this, but what factors does US News and World Reports use when determining rank for graduate programs? Placement rate, publication output, faculty? 

 

Reputation: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2012/03/12/methodology-graduate-social-sciences-and-humanities-rankings

Edited February 18, 2013 by asleepawake

[ProfLorax]

Reputation: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2012/03/12/methodology-graduate-social-sciences-and-humanities-rankings

Thanks! This is interesting... not at all what I would expect. 

[asleepawake]

Thanks! This is interesting... not at all what I would expect. 

 

Nothing is as bad as the MFA rankings from Poets & Writers. They are literarily based entirely on how many applicants report applying to the program on a gradcafe-like website. A methodological mess. 

Edited February 18, 2013 by asleepawake

[patientagony]

Reputation: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2012/03/12/methodology-graduate-social-sciences-and-humanities-rankings

Wow, so in other words, US News rankings are kind of bullshit? NRC rankings seem to be much more legitimate then.

[Gauche]

First rejection from UCR is up. I just had to check the website too, and now I see that there is no longer a checkmark for "this app is currently under review," yet I'm sure there was one before. Still, they haven't made a decision yet. I wonder what that means.

[intextrovert]

Wow, so in other words, US News rankings are kind of bullshit? NRC rankings seem to be much more legitimate then.

 

I love seeing this epiphany happen. And not just because my program is ranked #13 by US News and #4 by NRC.

[Phil Sparrow]

Wow, so in other words, US News rankings are kind of bullshit? NRC rankings seem to be much more legitimate then.

 

Yes, but even the newest NRC rankings use unreliably old data. [Read: years pre-recession; in some cases the data are at least 10 years old.] Your best bet for figuring this kind of thing out is to look at placement--not just the percentage of doctorates who get TT jobs, but where and, perhaps more importantly, how quickly. Where and when is incredibly important, as humanities programs, like our friends in business and law schools, sometimes fudge their numbers to make their placement rates appear higher. Also ask around among faculty in your field, especially junior- and mid-level faculty; senior faculty often remember what programs were great in the '70s when they were on the market, but can be a bit clueless about the hot jams of today. (Guess who fills out the USNWR rankings polls? The older cats, generally.)

 

Edited for subject-verb agreement!

Edited February 18, 2013 by Phil Sparrow

[InHacSpeVivo]

Yes, but even the newest NRC rankings use unreliably old data. [Read: years pre-recession; in some cases the data is at least 10 years old.] Your best bet for figuring this kind of thing out is to look at placement--not just the percentage of doctorates who get TT jobs, but where and, perhaps more importantly, how quickly. Where and when is incredibly important, as humanities programs, like our friends in business and law schools, sometimes fudge their numbers to make their placement rates appear higher. Also ask around among faculty in your field, especially junior- and mid-level faculty; senior faculty often remember what programs were great in the '70s when they were on the market, but can be a bit clueless about the hot jams of today. (Guess who fills out the USNWR rankings polls? The older cats, generally.)

I have to echo this. Both the importance of placement and who you get advice from. One of my profs got her PhD from Brown and recommend I do a campus visit before I apply (they don't do that anymore), then suggested I look at Michigan State's American Studies Department, which is in the process of being dissolved. She's the chair of the English Department at a top public school, s she's no slouch, but I'm pretty sure she hasn't even thought about the admissions process (beyond LORs) since the early 80s.

[intextrovert]

Yes, but even the newest NRC rankings use unreliably old data. [Read: years pre-recession; in some cases the data is at least 10 years old.] Your best bet for figuring this kind of thing out is to look at placement--not just the percentage of doctorates who get TT jobs, but where and, perhaps more importantly, how quickly. Where and when is incredibly important, as humanities programs, like our friends in business and law schools, sometimes fudge their numbers to make their placement rates appear higher. Also ask around among faculty in your field, especially junior- and mid-level faculty; senior faculty often remember what programs were great in the '70s when they were on the market, but can be a bit clueless about the hot jams of today. (Guess who fills out the USNWR rankings polls? The older cats, generally.)

 

My favorite story about the US News rankings is that a few years ago, in the History subfield rankings, Harvard was near the top for Latin American history. The catch: Harvard had absolutely no Latin American history faculty. Now it's #9, and they have exactly one historian of Latin America, and she's junior faculty. The subfield rankings are especially bullshit, since it's based not only on professors' vague sense of what programs are good (often, as you said, based on their own experiences from the '70s), but also from people not even in those subfields. Oh, and US News faculty survey that the rankings are solely based on also has a 30% reply rate, and it's done completely voluntarily and not through randomization.

 

They actually did an update on a lot of the NRC data fairly recently, but you're right in that there are a ton of holes. The bottom line is that treating rankings like gospel or in any way objectively superior to the research you can do about these programs yourself is not only foolish but absurd.

Edited February 18, 2013 by intextrovert

[Deadinthewater]

Man, back when I applied I thought Buffalo was well-ranked, but it seems to be drowning here.

[DontHate]

Hot jams? Old cats? What year is it and how did I get here

[InHacSpeVivo]

Out of up votes intextrovert, but YES! Anyone who has looked into Pitt, for example, has seen what ridiculous placement rates and resources they have, but US News puts them at #35.