Hecate

Super frustrated from waiting as well. I had high hopes for today, for whatever reason, but... crickets. This needs to come to an end because I am stress-eating absolutely everything and don't have the focus to do anything productive. Basically surviving on ice-cream and binge-watching Buffy. I agree that it's better not to rely too much on the results page date, but it's hard not to. And yes, happy March everyone!

Oops, I suppose my message was super confusing. I'm actually not applying to MCC this time around. I'm an international and I just can't afford to do an MA in the US. Sticking to Québec and its low tuition for my MA. But I'm already planning my list of schools for PhDs in a couple years, and it's definitely up there! Either way good luck to you! Good luck to everybody else also! It's getting closer, hopefully we should hear very soon. Stay strong guys!

MCC looks like a such a great program! It's definitely on my list for when I apply to PhD programs in a couple years. Waiting on Masters for now.... And I'm right there with you in the crippling anxiety boat. Best of luck to you!

Still nothing on my end either and I'm reaching breaking point haha. I'm so anxious to hear! I only applied to 2 programs - I could not apply to more, for many reasons, but I wish I could have. Not really liking my odds, there. I know Canadian schools take longer to notify, and it seems like things are starting to happen, both my schools have been sending out decisions. Nothing from the departments I applied to as of yet though... Besides wanting to know whether or not I got in, I need to organize so many things that will depend on whether or not I get in anywhere and, if I do, on where I am accepted. My life is basically on hold at the moment. Stalking this forum and living vicariously through everybody that has received acceptances (also genuinely happy for those people, way to go guys!! ). I hope y'all hear soon! Hang in there.

Hey everyone! Anyone waiting on Canadian universities? I've applied to two MA programs in Montreal and anxiously awaiting to hear back, although I'm not expecting any news until March. Good luck to you all!

Hello everyone! I do hope this is the appropriate place to post this, but I've seen others ask similar questions, so I' m assuming it's all right. If not, I apologize. I am currently a Masters student in Translation Studies in Canada, but I have finally decided to take the plunge and apply to other Masters because Translation isn't what I want and won't afford me the same opportunities when I apply to PhD programs in the future. So I'm in the process of applying to MA's in other fields and I have a question concerning GPA. I did my undergrad in France and my overall GPA translates to about 3.3 to 3.5, according to the website of the school I'm interested in (which I think is a bit low comparatively, as I found the grading system much more severe in France than it is here in Canada). Their minimum required GPA *is* 3.3, so I' m not overly worried, but they do say that successful applicants usually have higher GPAs, which is a little upsetting. My undergrad is extremely interdisciplinary, and I lost a lot of points because of subjects that weren't my forte. I however did very good (A and A+ equivalents) in subjects that are relevant to the MA I'm applying to. I also did everything through distance learning, which is honestly an added difficulty, and also means that 100% of my grade in every single subject was just one final exam. So it's a very hit or miss kind of situation. My question is this: should I mention this in my SOP or does it just sound like I'm making excuses? I' m wondering if it's necessary also, since I feel the rest of my application is fairly strong. I have a 3.85 GPA in my current MA program and will have strong recommendation letters from my professors. Thank you!

Thank you! You're absolutely right, I know that. I'm very prone to freaking out - and turning to Grad Café with my doubts before doing proper research. Sorry about that, I just panicked a little bit after seeing my score. After doing some research though, my understanding is that the AW is not that big of a deal, and that a poor score can be offset by an excellent TOEFL score for international applicants. I do have an excellent TOEFL score and a very good Verbal score, so I will try to relax about this and instead focus on the more important parts of my application.

I just got my scores back and only got a 4.0 in AW. I'm super disappointed in myself and I don't know what to do... So my final scores are 162V, 151Q, 4.0 AW. Is it a bit naive to hope that I can still get into a top program? Is the fact that English is a second language going to somewhat "excuse" this poor score in AW? I can write papers in flawless, beautiful English. But I do make little mistakes when I don't have sufficient time to check and re-read. I'm very confused. Should I retake the test? Problem is, I did pick 4 schools on test day and they are gonna see those scores either way. I'm really worried and would love some opinions on this. Thank you very much.

All departments do a program overview and talk about requirements, as far as how many courses I'll need to take, language requirements, and yes, every other thing that students are expected to do in order to complete their degree. But generally not much, if anything at all, is said about choosing advisors on such websites. I feel like they focus a lot on students that are already attending, not much is said about how to actually get there. Grad Café is super helpful for that part though! I have thoroughly explored the websites of all programs I'm interested in, and some departments do have detailed Graduate Handbooks, but some don't. It's frustrating how little information some schools give... but it's the minority, and like I said there's contact information that I can use if need be so I'll be okay.

Thank you very much rising_star, that's all really helpful! Unfortunately, not all American Studies departments have Graduate Handbooks, and the websites aren't always particularly well-made - I suppose this has to do with the interdisciplinary nature of such programs. Most do have have contact information and urge prospective students to ask any additional questions they may have, so I always have that option if the information I'm looking for isn't on the website. I did not know that about postdocs and lecturers, I definitely won't list any of them as POI's then. Thanks again for taking the time to enlighten me on those admittedly rather obvious points.

Hi everyone, I will be applying to a range of American Studies PhD programs for Fall 2016, and I have a few questions about potential advisors. Some schools don't actually list the faculty of the American Studies department but instead list all other affiliated departments (English, History, Sociology....). Does that mean that any professor in any of those listed departments could become an advisor to students in American Studies programs? Also, are teachers who specifically teach only Undergrad courses off limits, or do they also take on PhD students? What about lecturers and postdocs - can I voice my interest in working with them or is that just " not done"? Sorry if that all sounds a little naive, but as an international student I'm not exactly sure how the US system works and I can't really find any specific information anywhere. Thanks so much!

Oh wow, that's amazing, good for you! You're absolutely right. I figure, as long as I'm not being rude or harassing anybody, I have nothing to lose by writing to POI's. And I suppose that if they don't want to write me back, well then they won't, and no harm done. I will most definitely reach out to some professors as soon as possible.

Thank you very much, that does help a lot! I've also stalked the Internet and found out that many people in the Humanities also have weak Quant scores - and got into top programs regardless- so I feel a little better about my own scores. My GPA in my MA is good so far, 3.85 I believe. If I keep this up this year I should be just fine. I did an interdisciplinary program for my Undergrad and had excellent grades in all subjects that matter most for American Studies (overall GPA is really good as well, I do have a couple embarrassing grades but they didn't really affect my overall GPA - can't give any real numbers since I did it in France and the conversion is a little confusing, but I was in the top 10 to 5% of a very large class - I'll have to have my transcripts translated, that's on my to do list, although I don't think my grades need to be converted, adcoms understand our grading system. Well, hopefully they do because it's a lot more severe than US/Canada, and a lesser number is actually an amazing grade - sorry, rambling). I'm not overly worried about my grades, that part should be okay. I'm a little worried that I may not be able to swing publication, but that is very good advice and I will try! I am lucky to have amazing teachers with whom I have built good relationships, and I know they will want to help me any way that they can. I will be meeting with them to discuss all of this in the next couple weeks when school starts up again. That link is great. I can't believe some people actually write things like "Hi please help me. Thanks, bye" to professors. I would never think of doing that, but it's helpful to have a template nonetheless. I was a little shy about writing professors, but I actually wrote a Department head the other day because I thought I may want to apply to 2 fairly similar PhD programs at the same school and I wanted to make sure that this wouldn't be deemed inconsistent by admissions. She replied straight away and was really nice and helpful and urged me to apply to both programs. She was pleased that I had researched both programs thoroughly and was asking "the right questions". So that really boosted my confidence and I think I will definitely be writing to some of my POI's in the next month! Thanks so much for all your help and best of luck to you!

Once again, sorry for the terribly late answer! I've been studying hard for the GRE and have tried to stay away from message boards and any other distractions! Just took it this morning so I'm free to roam Grad Café this afternoon - and reply to the people who have been kind enough to offer their help. So, thank you for your input, it is truly reassuring how many people are saying that there are a great many ways to acquire funding these days. I've lived on minimum wage my entire life -not complaining, I've always managed pretty well with low income- and so I'm pretty low maintenance. I'm sure I'll find ways to pay for my studies.

Hi all, I just got back from taking the GRE and I'm not really sure how I feel about it. My unofficial score is 162 V, 151 Q. I was shooting for a 165 Verbal and 155 Quantitative, as it was pretty much my average on every practice test I've taken. I'm a little disappointed with my 162 but, objectively, I think it is a good score. I wasn't expecting much as far as my Quantitative score. I'm not good with Maths but I worked really hard and managed to grasp a lot of the basics, but the time limit gets me every time... I had to guess on a lot of questions that I could have answered correctly with a bit more time. :/ I will be applying to a range of American Studies/Cultural Studies programs at top schools, mostly 10-100 schools and two "top ten" schools. I've been looking through the Magoosh GRE blog, and my Verbal score is just fine, but apparently top ten schools want you to have at least 153 on your Quant section, which I'm shy off by just 2 points. I'm not really sure if I should trust this data completely though, and I'm hoping that Quant doesn't matter that much for American Studies. I've looked for additional sources online, but norms for American Studies are extremely difficult to find, as it is such an interdisciplinary program. No school I'm applying to is giving any information on minimum scores, but most say that there's no minimum score required. Not sure how much to trust that either. I also got a 116/120 on the TOEFL, which I'm hoping will further attest to my verbal ability (even though I know it is a completely different approach, and nearly not as hard as the GRE Verbal Section). Not sure how relevant that is, but it might save my application from ending up on the "not good enough" pile based solely on test scores. Should I retake it or are my scores okay as they are? I'm not sure what to do. I'm a little worried over my Quant score but I'm not positive that I could get a much better score if I took it again. And I can't exactly afford the money, and especially not the time, to take it again. I was hoping to dedicate all of my time to other aspects of my application starting tomorrow. In any case, whether or not I retake it may largely depend on how well I did on the AW. If my score there is also bad, I will retake it. I think I did all right but I honestly have no idea. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!