So I get an email yesterday from Michigan State. Because it is so early in the application process (I didn’t hear back from my schools until March last year), I assumed that there was some part of my application that I had missed or that they didn’t receive. I open the email and look at the first lines: “Below is a letter we will be sending you through the mail…” My heart sinks. You have to understand that the stream of rejection letters last year left an indelible mark, so I assumed that anything being mailed to me would be bad. Boy, I thought to myself, it sure didn’t take them long to reject me. But, much like the morbid allure of road-kill, I was forced to keep reading:
“I am pleased to inform you that you have been admitted to the Ph.D. program at Michigan State University for the Fall semester 2008. The graduate admissions committee was very impressed by your academic achievements; and your interests match well with emphases in our program. We have several faculty members who would be delighted to work with you.”
Hu?! What? Really? They accepted me? Yes and yes. Though I can hardly believe, I have been accepted to an English Lit Ph.D. program. Well, I did the only thing one can do in such a situation: called up some friends and went out for Thai food.
We are the Spartans!
The great myth propagated by the economic right is that American is a meritocracy: if you work hard you can be as successful as your skills and abilities will take you. Any objective analysis of this claim, however, shows just how false it is. We need look no further than the average wages of the middle class over the last 50 years. They remain stagnant. Are all of these people too lazy to improve their station in life? No, of course not. There IS an American aristocracy, and it has existed since the country’s founding.
That’s why I have such a problem with the argument that the wealthy shouldn’t be taxed more heavily than they are because it’s THEIR money, they EARNED it. Perhaps. But more likely they are the recipients of phenomenal good fortune, and undeniably they owe their wealth to a country that gave them the opportunity to have their success. But don’t take my word for it. This interview is particularly interesting because the opinions expressed come from one of those hyper-wealthy people that are supposedly clamoring for more tax cuts.
And by “ships” I mean my applications to PhD programs. I turned in the last one yesterday. I must say, it is a load off. I don’t know that my chances of getting into a program are any better this year than they were last year, but for good or ill, I don’t have to worry about it any more. Yes, if I don’t get accepted to any of my schools then I must still muddle through the 15 stages of grief (some of us grieve more than others), but all decisions are out of my hands at this point.
I called up UC Riverside to make sure they received my application materials. The graduate secretary looked up my file for me and informed me that my file was complete. She went on, however, to apologize for not emailing me that information sooner because UC Riverside had a record number of applicants this year, and it just took so long to file all of the applications… arg! If ever you happen to be talking to an applicant for anything, never say that. Just tell them that it’s between them and 3 others; you’ll save the applicant all kinds of dread.
The upside of having my applications complete is that I’ll have more time to write in my blog. But, since I’ll have my finders crossed for the next 3 months, pleaz forgeev anee tiepows. Thax.