Fall 2014 applicants??

[toasterazzi]

 I don't have anything against the south or ANYWHERE (and I'm not offended by people who don't want to live in the Midwest either!) but location is a factor for me and, because I hate warm climates, the south has been largely crossed out for me even before I started thinking about laws. (Though, like I said above, there are some schools that I applied to in spite of location and there will likely be a couple of those next year too. Nashville seems great even if it doesn't really snow.)

 

 

Haha, I've lived in the Midwest my entire life, which I think makes me more biased toward the Midwest than anybody else. I welcome any and all hatred directed toward my state because it's totally warranted lol. 

 

I LOVE Tennessee. All of my grandparents are from Tennessee, and I have many relatives there. It's such a gorgeous state. I've never been to Nashville, but I've heard some great things about it .

[squire_western]

Eta, didn't really mean to up vote pepper or whatever their username is now (especially since they're clearly not actually responding to what I'm saying but rather the arguments they want me to be making) but bygones.

 

Oh, thank god. My whole view of the gradcafe universe was really distorted there for a minute.

[practical cat]

Oh, thank god. My whole view of the gradcafe universe was really distorted there for a minute.

Let's just pretend I up voted this one instead, yeah?

[squire_western]

 We could keep arguing about this point by point...

 

I doubt it, you haven't answered a single question I've asked you so far!

 

In all sincerity, though, good luck in your selections and applications. I seriously think finding a list of schools you're interested in applying to is more than half the battle.

[squire_western]

Let's just pretend I up voted this one instead, yeah?

 

WHAT IS THIS? I almost feel like you're being nice to me!!

[toasterazzi]

*sigh* 

 

So does anybody have a different topic they've been wanting to talk about? 

[smellybug]

Ha, ha. This is hilarious. Touchy, touchy.

[planesandtrains]

It's a tone that suggests that, as the reluctantmidwesterner put it, we're incapable of coming to these conclusions on our own. It's totally snide and condescending to pretend like we can't understand law and politics without the help of someone on the Internet. And it's not about voting patterns, trust me, my entire undergrad department is speckled with these really cute hippie maps of the US that are totally purple and it's lovely and everyone is happy. Like, I get it. There are some people everywhere who are great and some who are not so great. And that is independent of red and blue too. But there are entire states that have laws that mean I can't even count on any sort of response/protection if I am attacked again. That's a factor, it just is. I'm NOT making decisions based on stereotypes, I'm basing them on well-researched understandings of law and law enforcement (which, again, I DO actually know some stuff about) and accusing me of being biased isn't really productive. We're all being selective in different ways, like I have already said. I don't have anything against the south or ANYWHERE (and I'm not offended by people who don't want to live in the Midwest either!) but location is a factor for me and, because I hate warm climates, the south has been largely crossed out for me even before I started thinking about laws. (Though, like I said above, there are some schools that I applied to in spite of location and there will likely be a couple of those next year too. Nashville seems great even if it doesn't really snow.)

Also, all of the well-thought-out stuff that reluctantmidwesterner said. I think some of you are responding to things that we just aren't saying and I think rm has a great response to that.

Eta, didn't really mean to up vote pepper or whatever their username is now (especially since they're clearly not actually responding to what I'm saying but rather the arguments they want me to be making) but bygones. I need to stop reading these boards on my phone.

 

i think it is a problem to call attention to what you perceive to be "tone" when that interpretation is not actually coming from their words. someone is not being rude just because they don't agree with you or because you feel that they are telling you something you already know. it derails the conversation by turning it into a tone argument (as you see here!). doesn't it make sense to model the tone you'd like to see by responding evenly to the substance instead of accusing others of rudeness based on an uncharitable interpretation of their implicit meaning and then proceeding to do the very thing you're accusing them of yourself, explicitly, through sarcasm?

 

the conversation was started by someone who said "hell no i would never live in the south," because of their perceived culture of the south. the map i linked does not, in fact, show the whole country as purple, as you sarcastically dismiss it as showing, but is rather quite uneven - just not in ways that correspond with the normal stereotypes we tend to have, including the one expressed about the south. some of the deepest blue (not purplest!) streaks are in the south. i have experience living in both red states and blue states; my experiences really were far more determined by local cultures than regional ones. like i said, location is fine to let weigh into your decision, but it's not rude to remind folks not to hastily pre-judge or paint places with a broad brush. no need to get defensive.

[smellybug]

Yeah, totally. Because lit faculties/grad students at UGA, Emory, Arkansas, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Vandy, South Carolina, Duke, UNC, Rice, UT-Austin, Chapel Hill, and Mississippi are full of right-wing Evangelical bigots and the college towns/metro areas have nothing to offer beyond the stereotypes propagated by people who have never been there.

 

Ha!

[practical cat]

WHAT IS THIS? I almost feel like you're being nice to me!!

Quick! Say something I disagree with!

[smellybug]

P.S. Just to get back on topic: The point is that you should pick somewhere you'll be happy. I could have been happy in Urbana, or Athens. But probably not Reno, Nevada. And that's just me. I know there are great places in the South (obviously! since, yes, I have actually been there...) but was more just making the point that disregarding place entirely (which, yes, is what you'll probably have to do once you're on the job market) isn't necessary at the graduate level. People tell you it is, but I don't agree.

 

Good luck with this, guys.

Edited March 24, 2013 by smellybug

[practical cat]

i think it is a problem to call attention to what you perceive to be "tone" when that interpretation is not actually coming from their words. someone is not being rude just because they don't agree with you or because you feel that they are telling you something you already know. it derails the conversation by turning it into a tone argument (as you see here!). doesn't it make sense to model the tone you'd like to see by responding evenly to the substance instead of accusing others of rudeness based on an uncharitable interpretation of their implicit meaning and then proceeding to do the very thing you're accusing them of yourself, explicitly, through sarcasm?

 

the conversation was started by someone who said "hell no i would never live in the south," because of their perceived culture of the south. the map i linked does not, in fact, show the whole country as purple, as you sarcastically dismiss it as showing, but is rather quite uneven - just not in ways that correspond with the normal stereotypes we tend to have, including the one expressed about the south. some of the deepest blue (not purplest!) streaks are in the south. i have experience living in both red states and blue states; my experiences really were far more determined by local cultures than regional ones. like i said, location is fine to let weigh into your decision, but it's not rude to remind folks not to hastily pre-judge or paint places with a broad brush. no need to get defensive.

Not sure we're on the same page here AT ALL. But I do want to say I wasn't being sarcastic. The U of M PoliSci dept has a ton of purple maps. Because of the unevenness of various districts. It's just that most people who actually talk about elections are really over red state/blue state discourse and even red/blue discourse at all. It's not productive, meaningful, or interesting. Which I think is what you also mean? And like I have been saying, I am not talking about that AT ALL, I am talking about laws that are actually on the books at the state level that may or may not offer me protection. I'm not painting places with a broad brush, which is why I AM feeling defensive here -- I'm being consistently portrayed by you as saying something quite different than what I actually said. I'm not a person who has said anything against the south writ large and I'm not sure why you think I am.

I'm really over this discussion, as it seems most other people are too. But, ONCE AGAIN, I have nothing against the south. Or anywhere.

[champagne]

FWIW, girlwhowearsglasses, I initially went about the process with an inverse weather-motivated selection process to yours. I quickly realized that I was SERIOUSLY missing out on some great programs simply because I don't like to wear heavy layers of clothing.

 

Also, while you certainly won't get as much snow as you've gotten in Ann Arbor (Thank Christ!), this latitudinal plane is pretty good for one good 3-4 inch snow every year. I think it's a pretty good change of pace.

[practical cat]

FWIW, girlwhowearsglasses, I initially went about the process with an inverse weather-motivated selection process to yours. I quickly realized that I was SERIOUSLY missing out on some great programs simply because I don't like to wear heavy layers of clothing.

Also, while you certainly won't get as much snow as you've gotten in Ann Arbor (Thank Christ!), this latitudinal plane is pretty good for one good 3-4 inch snow every year. I think it's a pretty good change of pace.

Fwiw, I looked at a TON of places way south of Nashville (in part because my interests could really grow and develop with the influence of some southern studies). The only other place I found that was half the fit as some of the programs I applied to was UT-Austin and even then I'm still conflicted about that one for next year for reasons that have nothing to do with location. I'm not missing out on any programs because of it, promise. I just haven't found that many that are good fits and well-ranked period.

Ann Arbor never got enough snow for my tastes. I don't think the lower peninsula is quite the winter waste land that it's given credit for. MADISON, however, is way appealing for their brutal winters. I know this makes me weird and I hope the admitted students at Wisconsin feel differently and got really spectacular offers in, say, California. :-)

Eta to future UM students: Ann Arbor gets enough snow and doesn't plow/salt well enough that on those yearly 6" dumps, you will definitely be walking to class in snow up to your knees. I don't want to misrepresent. The poor snow management makes it seem like there is way more.

Edited March 24, 2013 by girl who wears glasses

[toasterazzi]

Ann Arbor never got enough snow for my tastes. I don't think the lower peninsula is quite the winter waste land that it's given credit for. MADISON, however, is way appealing for their brutal winters. I know this makes me weird and I hope the admitted students at Wisconsin feel differently and got really spectacular offers in, say, California. :-)

 

Weirdo. 

 

In other news, this was the Kaplan question of the day that I got today:

 

 

If  , what is y in terms of x?

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 

And this was my general response to that question:         

 

ETA: I'm sure this is super easy for a lot of people, but math will absolutely never be easy for me. Except for proofs. I'm a boss at proofs

 

Edited March 24, 2013 by reluctantmidwesterner

[Datatape]

In other news, this was the Kaplan question of the day that I got today:

 

 

If  , what is y in terms of x?

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 

 

[practical cat]

Bahahahahahaah. This is one of my favorites ever, datatape.

This is what I tell my students about fractions in algebra: when in doubt, cross-multiply.

[bluecheese]

You might want to get the official ETS books for math--they have people solving the problems on Youtube (both Magoosh GRE, and another guy) and they are actual GRE questions (they usually just replace the numbers).

[jazzyd]

 

Weirdo. 

 

In other news, this was the Kaplan question of the day that I got today:

 

 

If  , what is y in terms of x?

2. 
4. 
6. 
8. 
10. 

And this was my general response to that question:         

 

ETA: I'm sure this is super easy for a lot of people, but math will absolutely never be easy for me. Except for proofs. I'm a boss at proofs

 

Solve for y by dividing the left side by 3, which then gives you ( (x + 1) / 4 ) / 3 aka ((x + 1) / 12) = (1/y) which should mean y = 12 / (x+1).

 

Unless I'm wrong

 

Tbh I wish I could have taken from my Q score and piled it on top of my V. Though I doubt I'll be getting into any mathematics doctoral programs anytime soon, my quantitative was in the 60%, which I figure isn't too bad for not taking any math in 3 years and not taking any algebra/trig for 5 years.

 

Proofs are awesome though

[toasterazzi]

 

Basically.

 

This is what I tell my students about fractions in algebra: when in doubt, cross-multiply.

 

That was one of the only things I remembered lol.

 

You might want to get the official ETS books for math--they have people solving the problems on Youtube (both Magoosh GRE, and another guy) and they are actual GRE questions (they usually just replace the numbers).

 

I have a Barron's book, a Princeton Review book, a Gruber's book, and the downloads from the ets site. I'll definitely be watching videos as well because math works much better for me when I can see it worked out.

 

Solve for y by dividing the left side by 3, which then gives you ( (x + 1) / 4 ) / 3 aka ((x + 1) / 12) = (1/y) which should mean y = 12 / (x+1).

 

Unless I'm wrong

 

Tbh I wish I could have taken from my Q score and piled it on top of my V. Though I doubt I'll be getting into any mathematics doctoral programs anytime soon, my quantitative was in the 60%, which I figure isn't too bad for not taking any math in 3 years and not taking any algebra/trig for 5 years.

 

Proofs are awesome though

 

That's the one I picked and it was right hehe, but it was a fairly lucky sort of thing because I wasn't sure I was doing it right. I haven't taken a math class since 2006, and I don't remember anything from that class. It just fulfilled the one math course requirement at my undergrad university. 

 

Proofs have words and are thus infinitely more awesome

[bluecheese]

There are "free" PDFs of the ets books online if you look--I found them super useful in that there are videos that solve every problem in the books, if I got stuck on a certain question I could watch someone else solve it.

[toasterazzi]

Yar. I do like free things

[refinement]

Hi all,

 

It appears I'm late to this thread, but I'm applying next year too (just registered here). I've been out of undergrad for coming up on five years (good lord), which presents a host of challenges. Three of my best professors have died in that period, and I'm wondering how well the remainder remember me. I was a bright, if precocious and immature, undergraduate with good but not perfect grades. I never stopped reading, though, and in my time away from school I've really solidified my research interests and writing skills. In the time before application I'm hoping to develop my German reading knowledge and try to get some Italian under my belt, in addition to the usual rigamarole of GRE, SOP, LOR, OMG, WTF, ETC. I'm primarily applying to Comp. Lit, though I'm still open to pursuing pure English for the right program. I'm open to any and all recommendations! The current strategy is to stay organized and tenacious with what I assume is a pretty typical Excel spreadsheet setup.

 

Right now I'm most curious as to how prepared Comp. Lit. students are in their secondary languages. Obviously this is central to these programs, but I have little in the way of institutional proof of study (except for Latin, which is not really relevant to my interests). Should I shell out the (deeply needed) cash to take a program at the Goethe Institut? Or should I just study on my own?

 

Good to meet you all!

[toasterazzi]

Hi refinement!

 

Welcome to the party! I don't know much about Comp Lit, but a site that I recommend for language practice is duolingo.com. I use it for Spanish and my fiancee uses it for French, and we both find it pretty useful. they also offer German, Italian and Portuguese study materials, and the site of kinda makes it like a game so it doesn't really feel like I'm doing work hehe.

[Laokoon]

I LOVE Tennessee. All of my grandparents are from Tennessee, and I have many relatives there. It's such a gorgeous state. I've never been to Nashville, but I've heard some great things about it .

Meant to reply to this and may well have (ah, the drink). I'd suggest googling Stacy Campfield, Sex Week, and funding - does seem to bring this all to a point.

ETA: that was a quote (again, drinking &c.)

Edited March 25, 2013 by Laokoon