Supportive climate?

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I know someone who got into both NYU and UMich for English and ultimately chose UMich because of the greater sense of support she saw there between colleagues and in the faculty-student relationships.

I am a firm believer that at least part of success and happiness in a program depends on quality of life.

Does anyone know of English or Comp. Lit programs that are friendly? This can be anecdotal or I'd love to hear about what others think of their undergrad institutions.

I'll start- I went to NYU and found the department too large to be truly welcoming. Great classes and great books but there you go.

[Stately Plump]

I think you'll probably find that many departments at R1 schools will be "large." My experience--while admittedly limited--has been that you will not form close bonds with the entire department, but rather with certain faculty/students in your field.

I visited both UMass Amherst and BU and found the departments to be very, very welcoming. The grad students there had nothing but good things to say about their departments, and the word "collegial" was used in both places.

My undergrad was beyond friendly and supportive, but I went to a small liberal arts college. There are seven full time faculty in the English department. Heh.

[WendyMoira]

I was talking to a few schools when I made my decision, and they were all pretty welcoming. But UT-Austin, where I ended up, was and is by far the most social of the three options I had. The ethos presented at recruitment was exactly the same as the one I'm now living in, which is nice. I can't speak for any other schools but UT goes out of its way to make you bond with your cohort (dept-funded happy hours every day after first-year orientation, anyone?) and the atmosphere is extremely collaborative. My cohort now has a standing weekly hangout and usually gets together almost in entirety another time during the week too. Wemget together to help grade and to read.

This was not the case with other programs that I visited, even though those programs were still strong. Depends on the goals of the department. I can't speak for any other school long-term, but I know UT is really on the far end of the sociability/support spectrum. Also. If you're thinking of applying to Austin, I would mention that you're looking for a program that has that sort of support and collegiality built in--they want people like that. Hope this helps.