NYU or Indiana Bloomington (Victorian Studies)

[coffeecurls1]

Ok.. So just as i almost sent off my letter to NYU, I hear from Bloomington saying they might have a spot open for me . Funding in Bloomington is through teaching starting first year, whereas, at NYU, one has the Mc Cracken Fellowship which allots full funding for five years ( If i choose to, i can teach from the third year onwards and accumulate funding for a sixth year). but the faculty at Bloomington is great for Victorian Studies ( NYU is not too far behind). also, its New York City vs. Bloomington (Im an international student and have seen neither yet , but NYC sounds very interesting)

I can really do with advice on this...

[lyonessrampant]

I can't speak to the specificity of Victorianists at either school, but at NYU you will also be able to work with faculty at Columbia and CUNY. This will really maximize your resources. Given that and the superior funding, I would go for NYU. Also, New York will be a better venue for conferences and networking.

[ComeBackZinc]

To be honest, given the choice I'd rather spend years devoted to work and study in Bloomington than in New York. But I'm weird. You can all pelt me with vegetables now if you wish.

[Jbarks]

I'm assuming you've visited both programs. If so, where did you feel more comfortable? That was a big thing in my decision process. I think personality fit is just as important as academic fit. Also, if you have any more detailed questions about NYU, feel free to PM me. I did my MA there. I wasn't a Victorianist, though, but I can answer any questions about the program itself.

[WendyMoira]

coffeecurls--maybe I should PM you. I think we were talking in another threat (maybe?) about being wait-listed at IU. Either way, I, too, was pulled from the wait-list and am now divided between IU and UT-Austin. I visited last weekend. Two of their three long-term Victorianists were out of town, but I heard amazing things about all of them. And, it really did seem like Victorianism is IU's "thing." Let me know if you want further impressions. Not sure if I can provide any insight, since I'm undecided myself, but it seems we're in almost the exact same position.

[poeteer]

To be honest, given the choice I'd rather spend years devoted to work and study in Bloomington than in New York. But I'm weird. You can all pelt me with vegetables now if you wish.

Yes, I feel the same. I love NYC, but it is not where I'd personally want to be doing Ph.D coursework and exams. I think it would be an overwhelming place to be in an overwhelming time. I think NYC is best when you're bumming around and have the time and headspace to really take advantage of all it has to offer.

However, if you can be on fellowship until your third year, that does change things! You will have much more time to devote to your work (and more to play, too). If the funding is enough to live on in NYC, that's a pretty awesome deal. Not many places allow you to start teaching whenever you feel like it (or not at all! which wouldn't be wise, since you should get a bit of experience doing it, but damn). It's almost as if NYU anticipated the stresses of its location.

It's also true that NYC is more likely to have archives you'll want to visit, as well as (as lyonessrampant said) more intellectual, cultural, and academic resources in general.

But can you visit NYC? Maybe they can scrape up some money to help with your flight?

[Stately Plump]

If I had been accepted to any of the NYC schools to which I applied (NYU, CUNY, Columbia), I would almost certainly have gone.

But I <3 NYC, so that's just me