2017 Final Decisions

[cfog4]

Hello!  I can't figure out how to respond to the posts written by @ricksanchez @piers_plowman and @ProfessionalNerd

I wanted to share, though, that I'll also be joining you all at Cornell for English PhD!  The flexibility the program affords is incredible.  I'm excited!

[JessicaLange]

I will be attending Fordham's MA program in the fall! I kind of made the decision a month ago, but had to wait to hear from a couple of places.

[sgc001]

I just accepted my offer from Arizona State University!!

[Captain Cabinets]

I'm off to Oxford in the fall! 

[Krystal]

I've been a lurker this application season, but just wanted to share that I've officially accepted University of Pittsburgh's offer (I'm an early modernist, for anyone who is interested)! I've seen a few fellow future-Pittsburghers on the forum and I sincerely cannot wait to work with you all! 

Congrats to everyone -- you all totally and completely rock.

[Dr. Old Bill]

16 minutes ago, Krystal said:

I've been a lurker this application season, but just wanted to share that I've officially accepted University of Pittsburgh's offer (I'm an early modernist, for anyone who is interested)! I've seen a few fellow future-Pittsburghers on the forum and I sincerely cannot wait to work with you all! 

Congrats to everyone -- you all totally and completely rock.

Huzzah to a fellow long-time early modernist GCer getting great news! 

[loganondorf]

35 minutes ago, Krystal said:

I've been a lurker this application season, but just wanted to share that I've officially accepted University of Pittsburgh's offer (I'm an early modernist, for anyone who is interested)! I've seen a few fellow future-Pittsburghers on the forum and I sincerely cannot wait to work with you all! 

Congrats to everyone -- you all totally and completely rock.

Congratulations! The campus is beautiful, and Pittsburgh seems like a great place to live.

[Krystal]

1 hour ago, loganondorf said:

Congratulations! The campus is beautiful, and Pittsburgh seems like a great place to live.

I was originally on the waitlist, and am 99% sure after speaking to the DGS that I'm taking the spot you declined. So as far as I'm concerned, should our paths ever cross, your gigantic beverage of choice is on me!

[loganondorf]

1 hour ago, Krystal said:

I was originally on the waitlist, and am 99% sure after speaking to the DGS that I'm taking the spot you declined. So as far as I'm concerned, should our paths ever cross, your gigantic beverage of choice is on me!

I'm so excited to hear that my spot went to you! Congratulations -- I pretty much fell in love with Pittsburgh when I visited. You're going to be surrounded by such great people (plus imagine walking through that Cathedral of Learning every single day!).

Are you a medievalist, by chance?

Edited April 13, 2017 by loganondorf

[Krystal]

7 minutes ago, loganondorf said:

I'm so excited to hear that my spot went to you! Congratulations -- I pretty much fell in love with Pittsburgh when I visited. You're going to be surrounded by such great people (plus imagine walking through that Cathedral of Learning every single day!).

Are you a medievalist, by chance?

I'm an early modernist, but the DGS said that they did a "cluster recruitment" for MedRen students this year, which isn't something I've ever heard of before. From what I understand, they currently have one medievalist on board and one early modernist (me) -- and one student who is still deciding, whose interests toe that ever-so-delicate medieval and renaissance line.

Also, the Cathedral of Learning is something else entirely! I visited a few months ago and thought, "If I have to be sleepless and overworked somewhere, I wouldn't mind being sleepless and overworked here!"

[loganondorf]

11 minutes ago, Krystal said:

I'm an early modernist, but the DGS said that they did a "cluster recruitment" for MedRen students this year, which isn't something I've ever heard of before. From what I understand, they currently have one medievalist on board and one early modernist (me) -- and one student who is still deciding, whose interests toe that ever-so-delicate medieval and renaissance line.

Also, the Cathedral of Learning is something else entirely! I visited a few months ago and thought, "If I have to be sleepless and overworked somewhere, I wouldn't mind being sleepless and overworked here!"

Yep, that sounds about right. The cluster recruitment was something new to me as well, but I quite liked the sound of it, particularly because it seems like they put in a great deal of thought to how the interests and research areas of the cohort will mesh. It sounds like you're going to have a great deal of flexibility with your program as well, and that in and of itself will be a strength.

Right?! It's such a crazy place (in the best sense of the word). I have to admit, I took several videos while I was there just because I couldn't get over how cool it was. Definitely a great study space, if you can get over the people like me traipsing through just to gawk at the architecture.

[Dr. Old Bill]

45 minutes ago, Krystal said:

I'm an early modernist, but the DGS said that they did a "cluster recruitment" for MedRen students this year, which isn't something I've ever heard of before.

27 minutes ago, loganondorf said:

Yep, that sounds about right. The cluster recruitment was something new to me as well, but I quite liked the sound of it, particularly because it seems like they put in a great deal of thought to how the interests and research areas of the cohort will mesh.

UMD did the same thing this year -- they wanted to reduce the cohort size and raise the stipend a bit, as I understand it. As far as I know, they only took (and waitlisted) Medievalist Ph.D. candidates, and no Renaissance folks. (I think they took a Renaissance M.A. student, however).

Realistically, even though it meant that I didn't get in to the doctoral program at UMD, it probably makes sense, given the shrinking job market and how low the stipends are. That being said, there are quite a few Renaissance profs at UMD, so they could likely have borne the numbers if it weren't for the desired size of the cohort.

 

[tvethiopia]

On 4/6/2017 at 8:57 AM, FeetInTheSky said:

After a great visit with students and faculty yesterday, and a funding offer last week, I've officially accepted an MA/PhD spot at UMass Amherst! I'm so excited -- the rhet/comp community is just the kind of thing that I'm looking for, the faculty are really nice, and they just moved out of a crappy old building into a snazzy new one. Now to actually be a graduate student!

Thanks so much, everyone, for your help through this whole hulabaloo. It's been a long, strange trip, but the reassurance and the advice I found here was invaluable. 

yooooooooo i will see you there, man!!! i'm going straight into PhD, but i'll be rhet/comp at umass also! i feel the same way about the community there, i think it's going to be an awesome experience. see you in the fall!

[Dr. Old Bill]

51 minutes ago, tvethiopia said:

yooooooooo i will see you there, man!!! i'm going straight into PhD, but i'll be rhet/comp at umass also! i feel the same way about the community there, i think it's going to be an awesome experience. see you in the fall!

It's educational!
 

 

[jackdacjson]

Hey all,

 

I've just accepted my PhD offer from the University of Michigan! While a lot of people I know have pressured me to hold out for Princeton, just in case, I think I would probably end up choosing Michigan anyway because it is a MUCH better research and temperamental fit. So yeah.

 

Good luck everyone who's still in the throes of uncertainty!

[orphic_mel528]

8 hours ago, tvethiopia said:

yooooooooo i will see you there, man!!! i'm going straight into PhD, but i'll be rhet/comp at umass also! i feel the same way about the community there, i think it's going to be an awesome experience. see you in the fall!

@FeetInTheSky @tvethiopia See you both there, although not in R/C. Can't believe there's no one else here from the lit PhD cohort. 

[loganondorf]

On 4/13/2017 at 1:34 PM, Old Bill said:

UMD did the same thing this year -- they wanted to reduce the cohort size and raise the stipend a bit, as I understand it. As far as I know, they only took (and waitlisted) Medievalist Ph.D. candidates, and no Renaissance folks. (I think they took a Renaissance M.A. student, however).

Realistically, even though it meant that I didn't get in to the doctoral program at UMD, it probably makes sense, given the shrinking job market and how low the stipends are. That being said, there are quite a few Renaissance profs at UMD, so they could likely have borne the numbers if it weren't for the desired size of the cohort.

 

If anything, it just emphasizes the seemingly-arbitrary nature of admissions results -- obviously hard work pays off, but there's certainly an element of chance in the mix. The best candidate in the world could get shut out if they happen to apply to programs that don't quite fit in that given year. It's of course the nature of the game, and not something that I'm particularly bothered by, but knowing this certainly helped me last year when I received less-than-thrilling results for my application season.

[Dr. Old Bill]

3 minutes ago, loganondorf said:

If anything, it just emphasizes the seemingly-arbitrary nature of admissions results -- obviously hard work pays off, but there's certainly an element of chance in the mix. The best candidate in the world could get shut out if they happen to apply to programs that don't quite fit in that given year. It's of course the nature of the game, and not something that I'm particularly bothered by, but knowing this certainly helped me last year when I received less-than-thrilling results for my application season.

Exactly! If anything proves that rejections are truly "nothing personal," it's this.

[FeetInTheSky]

7 hours ago, orphic_mel528 said:

@FeetInTheSky @tvethiopia See you both there, although not in R/C. Can't believe there's no one else here from the lit PhD cohort. 

Yes yes! So exciting!

[yung_comparatist]

On 4/11/2017 at 11:40 AM, cfog4 said:

Hello!  I can't figure out how to respond to the posts written by @ricksanchez @piers_plowman and @ProfessionalNerd

I wanted to share, though, that I'll also be joining you all at Cornell for English PhD!  The flexibility the program affords is incredible.  I'm excited!

Hi all, friendly lurker here—I'll be at Cornell in the fall as well! Actually in the Comp Lit department, but I'm sure I'll be spending a fair amount of time down the hall in English  

[Tybalt]

On 4/13/2017 at 4:34 PM, Old Bill said:

UMD did the same thing this year -- they wanted to reduce the cohort size and raise the stipend a bit, as I understand it. As far as I know, they only took (and waitlisted) Medievalist Ph.D. candidates, and no Renaissance folks. (I think they took a Renaissance M.A. student, however).

Realistically, even though it meant that I didn't get in to the doctoral program at UMD, it probably makes sense, given the shrinking job market and how low the stipends are. That being said, there are quite a few Renaissance profs at UMD, so they could likely have borne the numbers if it weren't for the desired size of the cohort.

 

It could also be programs shifting to reflect the job market.  There have been a LOT of jobs the last couple of years that want Med/Ren.  Some were specific about wanting a Ren who could dip back, but most just wanted someone who could show that they could handle both fields.  I wouldn't be surprised to see programs shifting to make sure their early fields folks get good coverage on both sides of the Med/Ren divide.  For those of you starting grad school now, I would recommend focusing your work (not your Diss, per se, but coursework, conference presentations, and maybe a publication or two) on achieving a 70/30 or a 60/40 balance of Med/Ren or Ren/Med (depending on which one you are). 

 

Also, this site is wild in the way it lets you track where the slots go.  Same thing happened in my year.  Someone had an admit to Indiana, but was waiting on another school (I don't recall which one).  She got in to the other school and turned down Indiana, who then accepted another poster who was in at Rochester but waitlisted at IU.  That poster accepted IU and turned down Rochester who then admitted me.  All of this happened in about a 10 hour span on the 13th of April and we were tracking it in realtime on the Gradcafe, haha.

[cowgirlsdontcry]

On ‎4‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 7:57 AM, FeetInTheSky said:

they just moved out of a crappy old building into a snazzy new one.

I was at UMass on an exchange for a year as an undergrad and was in the crappy old building that was condemned. We even had an outbreak of snakes come up through the toilets in the basement. They were working on South Hall when I was there. Great Victorian. I only met lit profs but they were great. Good luck! You will like it there.

[biyutefulphlower]

The paperwork is in! I'm officially headed to U of Florida in August~!

Will anyone else be down in the heat with me?

[Yanaka]

1 minute ago, biyutefulphlower said:

The paperwork is in! I'm officially headed to U of Florida in August~!

Will anyone else be down in the heat with me?

Not going to school there but my dad lives in Orlando and I visit often 8) ! So maybe we can meet one day!

[Scarlet A+]

Everything is in! I am officially going to The University of Alabama (for an MA), the proud winner of their Graduate Council Fellowship!! 

Pretty soon I'll have a challenging and rewarding education, a new home with my partner (who also got accepted, as a TA), a new dog, and a more than livable wage ($17,000 fellowship + part-time tutoring job + double income household).

I could not be more excited about this chapter in my life!