(To explain a little further, "papering" in theater lingo means giving out free tickets to a show that's under selling and was one of the best parts of working at PT because it meant I was either showering my friends with free things or enjoying them myself.)
Since I want this blog to be helpful to anyone hearty enough to find it, I figured maybe it would be a good idea to lay out where my grad school process is right now. Prepare to be fascinated.
1. Acceptance
Somewhere between last January and now, it seems everyone I know has forgotten that I have already been accepted to grad school. Well, in case you were one of those people, let me say it again: I have! I have been accepted to the Shakespeare Institute, I have successfully deferred admittance for a year and my classes will begin October 4. It's a done deal!
I don't know, generally, how English grad school admittance works. I had read a lot about how they are keen to take Americans because non-EU students get charged about 3x as much for tuition. I am a decently smart kid, and the Shakespeare Institute application required no additional writing (just a writing sample, for which I used a college Shakespeare paper), which is why it was the first one completed and the first one I heard back from. University of Birmingham ranks around the 20's in terms of British Universities and 94th in the world, so it's seems to have a solid if not glowing reputation, but DOES have the Shakespeare Institute which kind of trumps all in terms of what I'm looking to do. Point being, it was a generally easy application, I am both reasonably qualified and American and the school is one that wasn't a reach and the program I applied for is pretty specialized, so while I didn't have application issues, I don't know if this was just a perfect storm of advantageous circumstances.
2. Deferral
Deferral was as difficult as sending an email to the program director saying "I'll be coming in 2010, that cool?" and getting "yeah, sure" as a response. Seriously, that was it. Well, that and a lot of follow-up emails to makes sure I got my new acceptance letter for 2010.
3. Funding
The fun part! Except, not at all. University of Birmingham is eligible for FAFSA, so I have just now completed my form once and for all and sent it off. Next step is a little vague, but I think I get something that I then send to UofB proper and then am told what my loan options are? Maybe?
There are four things to consider when working out how much money I am going to need for the year: tuition, living expenses as dictated by the visa application (there is a certain amount of money you have to have in order to get the visa), living expenses as dictated by the school (a good bit higher than the visa estimate) and the exchange rate. At the time of writing, it's now 1.55 US to the pound, which is actually pretty good (when I went over last November it was 2.02...death).
Having done a decent job of saving, the main concern right now is paying for tuition. I've signed up with FastWeb.com, but they require you to give a school and UofB is not an option, so they have been sending my scholarships based on NYU, most of which are then not applicable for overseas. My main focus right now is trying to secure some kind of scholarship through UofB proper. Their main funding is through AHRC schemes, which I am not eligible for, but they DO have scholarships for international student specifically.
If you find yourself applying for an international scholarship through UofB: It is the SAME application as the AHRC and goes to the SAME place. It took me far too much time and far too many emails to lock down this information.
EDIT 7/19/10: The above is total and 100% fraudulent myth. The international postgraduate scholarship is a separate entity from the AHRC scheme and thinking otherwise will only lead to you uttering a string of profane oaths some Thursday night when you realize those essays you've written are worthless.
This application is due Friday, after which I will start concentrating of American based funding/grants, but it's proving pretty impossible to track any eligible ones down.
4. Visa
Truth be told, I'm really not there yet. I applied for my London2 visa in June for a November departure, so it's going to be May before I really get to this, funding being the main thing right now. Except I am keeping a watch on it as the money required for the visa has to be held for a certain amount of time before application? At least, I think.
EDIT 7/19/10: The holding rule only applies for independent funds, not for funds secured through an educational loan.
And that's where we're at right now. My funding application answers are almost done (I'm hoping to get it out Thursday night) and my references are taken care of, so it's mostly just hunkering down and checking things off. More information to follow when I figure out exactly what happens with the FAFSA/if I find any good scholarship/grant places.
Countdown 'till classes: 225
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