2017 Acceptances

[Dr. Old Bill]

3 minutes ago, piers_plowman said:

Northwestern is me, got the email this morning at 6:11 AM from the grad school - details and funding to follow shortly from the department itself. So thrilled! First response! Already feeling the Lake Michigan chills.

Congratulations!!! Northwestern is a fantastic program, and has great funding to boot! And easy access to the Newberry Library is a major boon! What's your field -- medieval, I'm guessing?

[piers_plowman]

This is somewhat (quite) embarrassing, but it's actually early modern - I created a medieval handle because I was venting massive anxiety on these forums that I didn't want traceable to me by other members of my current department.

 

I'm an early modern ecocritic with subfields in the history of science and sound studies, applying with MA. Northwestern had (in your excellent phrase, Wyatt) a couple hand-in-glove fits.

[Dr. Old Bill]

Ahhh. Splendid! And yes, Northwestern's early modern program is (obviously) very strong. Congrats again!

[piers_plowman]

Thanks Wyatt! Another person posted an acceptance as well, hopefully they also claim it!

[loganondorf]

1 hour ago, piers_plowman said:

Thanks Wyatt! Another person posted an acceptance as well, hopefully they also claim it!

Congratulations!! Northwestern is such a major win!

[imogenshakes]

10 hours ago, piers_plowman said:

I'm an early modern ecocritic with subfields in the history of science and sound studies, applying with MA. Northwestern had (in your excellent phrase, Wyatt) a couple hand-in-glove fits.

Congratulations to another EM ecocritic! This is so exciting!!

[KikiDelivery]

11 hours ago, piers_plowman said:

This is somewhat (quite) embarrassing, but it's actually early modern - I created a medieval handle because I was venting massive anxiety on these forums that I didn't want traceable to me by other members of my current department.

 

I'm an early modern ecocritic with subfields in the history of science and sound studies, applying with MA. Northwestern had (in your excellent phrase, Wyatt) a couple hand-in-glove fits.

So cool to have another ecocritic on the board!  My ecocritical focus is contemporary, but it is exciting to see other ecocritics across disciplines.

[Kilos]

Got a phone call from one of my academic/professional heroes Saturday afternoon; she was letting me know that Carnegie Mellon was excited to offer me a spot in their Rhetoric M.A. program. I'd applied for the Ph.D., but she very kindly explained that they only take 2-3 people into their Ph.D. program per year, and that those admitted almost always have graduate degrees (typically from CMU's own M.A. program). I knew this was the case before I applied, but the huge difference is that the Ph.D. program comes with a full tuition waiver. We had a really nice conversation (almost half an hour) and she got me really excited about an amazing program that I know I ultimately can't afford.

If anybody's curious, I think CMU's tuition is around 42k a year. They offered me a very significant scholarship and an RA-ship, but it would still leave me on the hook for a chunk of money (over 10 grand). Before I'd even started this application process I promised myself that I wouldn't pay for graduate school; if I can get a full-ride I'll take it, but I'm not paying for relocation, housing, tuition, etc. I told her I'd be considering it (which I genuinely will, as it's just about my top choice); she told me that another POI would be calling me this week, and that they'd be in touch with further info and an official offer letter, and that was that!

[Dr. Old Bill]

Congratulations, @Kilos! The funding situation may be less than ideal, but an acceptance is an acceptance...and Carnegie Mellon is one of the best in the country for rhet-comp.

I know the prevailing advice around here is to not pay for grad school (and I think that's generally great advice), but if the cost is mitigated a great deal by scholarship and RA money, it still might be a reasonable option if you plan on moving forward with the Ph.D. in the future. I suspect that a rhet-comp MA from Carnegie Mellon could help your chances in the next cycle.

All of that being said, it's still early, so it may be a mood point in the face of other Ph.D. acceptances very soon. Either way, congrats again on this positive result!

Edited January 30, 2017 by Wyatt's Terps

[Kilos]

3 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Congratulations, @Kilos! The funding situation may be less than ideal, but an acceptance is an acceptance...and Carnegie Mellon is one of the best in the country for rhet-comp.

I know the prevailing advice around here is to not pay for grad school (and I think that's generally great advice), but if the cost is mitigated a great deal by scholarship and RA money, it still might be a reasonable option if you still plan on moving forward with the Ph.D. in the future. I suspect that a rhet-comp MA from Carnegie Mellon could help your chances in the next cycle.

All of that being said, it's still early, so it may be a mood point in the face of other Ph.D. acceptances very soon. Either way, congrats again on this positive result!

Thanks, @Wyatt's Terps! That's more or less what my wife said (about the acceptance being an acceptance), and I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to have my first result be a semi-positive one. Helps with the impostor syndrome/stress levels a bit, knowing that all of my applications aren't in trash cans across the country. 

I definitely do plan on moving forward with the Ph.D., and the one-year M.A. program is a big draw, but I can't help feel like it's a huge gamble with that kind of price-tag. It's comforting to know it's an option, though.

Congratulations to you about Ohio State, by the way! I've been watching the season unfold and I was really excited for you when I saw your great news. It's a wonderful program, and the city ain't that bad either. I currently live in Akron, Ohio (about 1:45 from Columbus), and I think Columbus is a really nice city; I'm from the Pacific NW, so I'm a bit spoiled, but if you have to be stuck in Ohio, Columbus is a great place to be stuck. OSU's sports fans can be insanely obnoxious though. ha.

[Dr. Old Bill]

Yes, I remember when I first got my M.A. acceptance at UMD a couple of years ago -- there was the "possibility" of funding, but I was very lukewarm about it since a.) I had only applied to Ph.D. programs, and b.) I wasn't prepared to shell out lots of money for a Master's. Fortunately, I was eventually offered a 1/2 TAship, and was then able to find a full GAship...and long story short, in both years I've been at UMD, I've actually made more money than the Ph.D. stipend, while having tuition waived, health insurance covered etc. In other words, you may find that this option works out for you, depending on how CMU is structured.

And thanks for your kind words about my OSU acceptance! Even though I'm still eager to see whether or not I get in elsewhere, I know I'll be very happy at Ohio State, all factors considered. The low cost of living would be quite a treat. I'm also from the Pacific Northwest, incidentally (Vancouver, Canada), though have lived in Virginia and Maryland for the last seven. I'll miss not having the ocean within driving distance, but I'm pretty sure I can stick it out. Frankly, I'm looking forward to the fresh start!

 

[Kilos]

9 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Yes, I remember when I first got my M.A. acceptance at UMD a couple of years ago -- there was the "possibility" of funding, but I was very lukewarm about it since a.) I had only applied to Ph.D. programs, and b.) I wasn't prepared to shell out lots of money for a Master's. Fortunately, I was eventually offered a 1/2 TAship, and was then able to find a full GAship...and long story short, in both years I've been at UMD, I've actually made more money than the Ph.D. stipend, while having tuition waived, health insurance covered etc. In other words, you may find that this option works out for you, depending on how CMU is structured.

And thanks for your kind words about my OSU acceptance! Even though I'm still eager to see whether or not I get in elsewhere, I know I'll be very happy at Ohio State, all factors considered. The low cost of living would be quite a treat. I'm also from the Pacific Northwest, incidentally (Vancouver, Canada), though have lived in Virginia and Maryland for the last seven. I'll miss not having the ocean within driving distance, but I'm pretty sure I can stick it out. Frankly, I'm looking forward to the fresh start!

Good to know about UMD; perhaps I'll ask them more directly about what kind of options I may have to close the tuition gap.

I LOVE Vancouver. I grew up way down the Cascades, near Eugene, Oregon, and spent a lot of time in Portland and Seattle. Vancouver and Victoria are two of my favorite places--heck, I still have a handful of friends that live in Vancouver. I have fond memories of visiting Nanaimo as a child. I too miss the ocean, and the mountains, and pine trees, and whitewater, and basically anything that isn't flat and boring. Ha. At the end of the day, you're right, the fresh start is always nice.

[piers_plowman]

14 hours ago, imogenshakes said:

Congratulations to another EM ecocritic! This is so exciting!!

Thanks so much, and congrats to you as well, I see you're already on the board yourself! Early modern is such a fascinating pair with ecocrit, so many assumptions about the status of the human (what defines it, what its differences are from animals and other matter) aren't in place yet, even if you can recognize them forming.

13 hours ago, KikiDelivery said:

So cool to have another ecocritic on the board!  My ecocritical focus is contemporary, but it is exciting to see other ecocritics across disciplines.

Thanks very much, and congrats to you too! I'm always irked when ecocrit isn't on dropdown menus of subfields - hopefully we'll be able to start changing that! 
 

[piers_plowman]

23 hours ago, loganondorf said:

Congratulations!! Northwestern is such a major win!

Thanks so much, and I hope they start rolling in for you as well!

[slightlymoreanonymous]

56 minutes ago, Kilos said:

Got a phone call from one of my academic/professional heroes Saturday afternoon; she was letting me know that Carnegie Mellon was excited to offer me a spot in their Rhetoric M.A. program. I'd applied for the Ph.D., but she very kindly explained that they only take 2-3 people into their Ph.D. program per year, and that those admitted almost always have graduate degrees (typically from CMU's own M.A. program). I knew this was the case before I applied, but the huge difference is that the Ph.D. program comes with a full tuition waiver. We had a really nice conversation (almost half an hour) and she got me really excited about an amazing program that I know I ultimately can't afford.

If anybody's curious, I think CMU's tuition is around 42k a year. They offered me a very significant scholarship and an RA-ship, but it would still leave me on the hook for a chunk of money (over 10 grand). Before I'd even started this application process I promised myself that I wouldn't pay for graduate school; if I can get a full-ride I'll take it, but I'm not paying for relocation, housing, tuition, etc. I told her I'd be considering it (which I genuinely will, as it's just about my top choice); she told me that another POI would be calling me this week, and that they'd be in touch with further info and an official offer letter, and that was that!

Congrats, Kilos! From all I've heard, it's a great program!! Is their MA still a one year program, though? I knew someone who was in it and she said it was pretty intense trying to fit all of the MA stuff in just a year. But then she got into great PhD programs after, so it all worked out!

And for what it's worth, all of the r/c people I know who applied straight to PhD programs with a bachelors were accepted for the schools' MA programs instead. It sounds like most big rhet/comp programs want people to get their masters and teaching experience first. But that could just be where I applied:) Where else are you applying? 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Ashley828
grammar

[Kilos]

3 minutes ago, Ashley828 said:

Congrats, Kilos! From all I've heard, it's a great program!! Is their MA still a one year program, though? I knew someone who was in it and she said it was pretty intense trying to fit all of the MA stuff in just a year. But then she got into great PhD programs after, so it all worked out!

And for what it's worth, all of the r/c people I know who applied straight to PhD programs with a bachelors and were accepted for the schools' MA programs instead. It sounds like most big rhet/comp programs seem to want people to get their masters and teaching experience first. But that could just be where I applied:) Where else are you applying? 

Thanks, @Ashley828! Yes, CMU's M.A. is still one year, and yeah, I too have heard it's really intense and fast-paced. They do allow part-time study, which could theoretically allow you to drag it out to two or three years, though I'd personally do anything I could to avoid that. I've also seen the same results you mention--very few R/C or Rhetoric programs take B.A. applicants; they almost always want applicants with graduate degrees and experience. 

I'm applying to a handful of other schools, but because of my (apparently unconventional) field of research interest (environmental rhetoric/science rhetoric/environmental literature/ecocriticism/education and social policy), those schools are spread out across a few disciplines. I targeted a small number of schools that perfectly fit my interests, even though it may ultimately result in my getting shut out this season. CMU is the only Rhetoric program I applied to. Among the others I sent apps to were the University of Oregon's English Ph.D. program (concentrations in Environmental Literature and R/C) and Harvard GSE's Ph.D. in Human Development, Learning, and Teaching. I even threw a MFA application into the mix because there's a professor whose work meshes so well with my creative honors thesis. The others are English Ph.D. programs that have an environmental/scientific/rhetoric bent.

[loganondorf]

37 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

I'll miss not having the ocean within driving distance, but I'm pretty sure I can stick it out. Frankly, I'm looking forward to the fresh start!

It's no ocean, but Lake Erie is kind of nice! I'm partial to Lake Michigan, but it would be a bit more of a drive for you.

22 minutes ago, piers_plowman said:

Thanks so much, and I hope they start rolling in for you as well!

Thank you! Hopefully this marks the beginning of a great season for you!

[Lovegood]

Someone claimed that more people will be notified on Monday by PSU, does anyone hear any good news from the department today? 

[Thersites]

Anyone going to claim the University of Delaware acceptance? 

[anon4now]

@piers_plowman Congrats on your Northwestern acceptance!!! 

Wondering if anyone has any information regarding Northwestern's English program sending out more acceptances or just rejections from here?... 

Edited January 30, 2017 by PoeticsofPossibility

[Warelin]

Congrats to the UCIrvine interview applicant.

These interviews from universities seem common this year as opposed to previous years.

[Dr. Old Bill]

45 minutes ago, Warelin said:

These interviews from universities seem common this year as opposed to previous years.

It's definitely an interesting turn of events! I'm very curious as to what has precipitated the "interview turn" in Ph.D. acceptances. I could hazard a few half-hearted guesses, but they'd be only that. Hmm...

[claritus]

58 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

It's definitely an interesting turn of events! I'm very curious as to what has precipitated the "interview turn" in Ph.D. acceptances. I could hazard a few half-hearted guesses, but they'd be only that. Hmm...

I know in at least one case, it is because too many students accepted admission offers from a program. Interviews allow them to whittle down applicants that much more, and get a feel for the students who will really be the best fit/want to accept offers from the program. 

[FeetInTheSky]

When you get a phone call from an unfamiliar number with an area code that may match up to one of your schools.... and it's a telemarketer. 

This week is going to kill me.

Edited January 30, 2017 by JeremyWrites

[TeaOverCoffee]

I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND! Thank God!

I cried in my office for an hour because this is the best news I've heard all year.