Schools to visit, schools to turn down?

[lotf629]

What would you do?:

Columbia (English)

Cornell (Medieval Studies)

NYU (English)

UVA (English)

Wisconsin (English)

Fordham (English)

Indiana (English)

[socialpsych]

...visit the ones you think you may want to go to?

[radicaliterata]

Columbia and NYU FTW

but it definitely depends on funding, where you want to live, who you want to study with, etc...

[lotf629]

Yeah, socialpsych, the problem is that I don't know; I guess that's why I was posting. Maybe I should have posted this in the lit forum. I can see myself being happy at any of these places, but at the moment I am certainly leaning toward Columbia, one of my two top choices going in to all this. I don't know how many other programs I should hold onto: how many options do you think it's wise to hold onto?

Columbia: awesome advisor match, so-so funding (would be okay except that cost of living in NYC is so astronomically high)

Cornell: so-so advisor match, awesome funding (and in Ithaca!) but interdisciplinary degrees are notorious as useless on the job market

NYU: interesting advisor, okay funding

UVA: interesting advisor, okay funding, super-interesting department, but don't like location at all

...

Also: my own financial situation sucks, my parents are really struggling and I have to occasionally chip in, and I have a million dollars in debt from my MA. So funding really matters.

[Tumbleweed]

My sister was an English major at UVA and loved it. She has nothing but positive things to say about the department, campus, and town; however, everyone's experiences are entirely subjective. I did undergrad in NYC and had to transfer out after the first year due to the high cost of living.

[Louiselab]

I would say visit as many as possible, but talk to the grad students already there to narrow down the list, and any you know who are already in the field but not necessarily those departments. Grad students love to gossip and talk about their departments it seems [and other grad students] and might be able to tell you "STAY AWAY!!! They treat their people horribly, you do NOT want to be there!" I've had some tell me "Oh, I see the Columbia people at conferences. They're all very cliquey and their work serves to further the work of their adviser, I can only imagine what would happen if they disagreed with him." They might be the most helpful in narrowing down the list.

[lotf629]

Thanks so much for all that feedback, you all: I have taken it to heart.