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Pamphilia

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Everything posted by Pamphilia

  1. I contacted 30 professors by email between July and September (then a few more later on, as I got replies and people said, "Oh, you should email Dr. So-and-So!"; most of those people have responded, too). I received 27 replies back. A single one of them was rude (I had asked the professor if she felt the department encouraged rigorous interdisciplinary studies, or just allowed it when necessary, and she responded that "nothing in the description of your interests exceeds the bounds of English"--when yes, lady, because I didn't give you a FULL rundown of all of my freaking interests, just a one-sentence summary of my honors thesis). About half of the replies were cordial enough, but seemed more or less like form responses. About half of them were wonderful, detailed responses. I got into a good email correspondence (for as long as I could figure out something incisive to say back, which faded after a while) with about half of those who responded thoughtfully. Several of the people I emailed mentioned that they would "keep an eye out" for my application. So, I would really disagree that professors are often cold and/or too busy to respond. One guy I emailed (notorious for not responding, according to people who know him) responded two months later to tell me how sorry he was to have lost my email in the business of his inbox. I think it probably very much depends on what you say and how you say it. I'm not exactly sure what I did that was different from other people, but as I said, almost every single person I emailed responded, and nicely. And I emailed a LOT of people. Anthaspirant's advice was good, I think. I did not email anybody whose work I didn't at least look up cursorily. For the people whose work I knew, I made it really clear that I knew it. For the people whose work I didn't know, I at least looked it up and read enough snippets (sometimes just reviews) so that I had some vague idea about methodologies, major themes, etc. For several of the profs, I asked them if they were taking on new advisees (and some responded back in a way that clarified their advisor system, which was very helpful). I didn't ask all of them, and I didn't say anything like, "This will affect my decision to apply." I DID namedrop my undergrad advisor, and my other undergrad mentor for people I knew she had a connection with. That seemed to go a long way. I also emailed early enough that I could say I was "considering" applying. I think that helped a lot too. I seemed less like I was kissing ass and more like I was honestly curious about the department. If you email the first time now, I would be really careful about your phrasing to avoid coming off like, "I'm applying and I want to network at the last minute so you can push my application through!!!" Anyway, that was my experience.
  2. It depends on the policy of each program to which you're applying. I also spent six months studying abroad. My classes were "exchange" credits, so they were transferred pass/fail and just the credit showed up on my home university's transcript; in fact, I never even knew what my grades were in those classes. I emailed and called every program I was applying to to confirm whether or not I needed send the overseas transcripts. Most of them said no (none of the credit counted toward my major, and I was only there for six months, and my home university accepted the credit). However, five programs did say YES, it's their policy that I must get the transcripts sent. This was a huuuuuge pain because I don't think my overseas school has ever even heard of the mysterious "interwebs," but I got the transcripts sent to me (with six extras, just in case...I don't want to have to do that again). You really ought to get in contact with each program to find out. I'm even taking a single elementary language class this semester at a local college (it's really not part of my "undergraduate record"--I graduated 2.5 years ago) but two programs require that I get that transcript sent too, even though it won't be ready for more than a month after the application deadlines. Some schools are just finicky about this stuff. As for George Tech specifically--they tell you right there that you probably don't need to send the transcripts. You did NOT attend for "at least one academic year," you attended for half an academic year. However, if you are anxious and want to find out directly, and they won't answer your emails, CALL. If you're international, use Skype. It will cost you like, two cents to call an international land line. That's what I did to get in contact with my exchange university (after a good tip from someone on this forum). Just make sure you figure out the time difference
  3. To JerryLandis: Yeah, Diem's pretty awesome. My primary focus is early modern, though. I love the Medieval stuff, but it very much a secondary interest (and I haven't the bazillion languages under by belt that are necessary for acceptance as a Medievalist). My priorities for applying are to programs with strong early modern and gender/queer studies faculty. Thanks for the thought, though!
  4. Err.....it's quite possible that I am being a HUGE bonehead here, but I have seen no mention anywhere on UCLA's website of a personal or diversity statement in addition to the statement of purpose. There's a little space for an essay to say why you should be considered for certain fellowships, but that's all I can find. Is the personal statement required (or an option) for UCLA and if so, where did you see that? Eep. Have I missed something important and glaringly obvious??
  5. Oh, I'm definitely taking it seriously. For Northwestern, where it's optional, I jumped at the chance to show off more of my bad self. And I think I have a fair to decent personal statement written for the schools that ask for it. I'm just wondering if I should try to slip some of my attractive-but-not-wholly-relevant information into the SOP (if, of course, I can do it gracefully and in a way that makes it seem more directly relevant), where I know it will be read by the adcomm.
  6. Hello, wonderful people, Another question here. Yes, I have many. I've heard in several places and on several forums that personal history/diversity statements (mandatory or optional) are not *too* important to the actual application, but are used mostly to determine funding and fellowships. I'm wondering how much English adcomms even look at these statements. Do they, or it is mostly the larger graduate program/school that looks at them? Anyone have any idea? I'm just curious because I have some information in my personal history statement about my background/what I've been doing in my time off that I think may make me a more attractive candidate to certain programs. At the same time, it's not information that's strictly relevant to an English grad application, which is why I'm really only putting it into the personal history statement (and therefore only bringing it to the attention of the three programs that require or give the option to submit a PHS). If the English adcomm won't be looking at the PHS, I'm thinking about trying to slip some of that information into my SOP. Maybe. Has anyone heard about how much weight lit adcomms put on personal history statements, or if they even look at the PHS? Thanks! You're all stars.
  7. Thanks, everybody! Good to know.
  8. What I have learned, sadly, from this application process, is that you can almost always cut material out of your undergraduate work and make it more effective than it was before. I cut a 63-page thesis to 20 (didn't excerpt it, just hacked away), and though the argument is slightly different now because I've narrowed its focus considerably, the overall paper is much stronger. For a school that requires a second, shorter writing sample in addition to the longer one, I cut a 15-page paper down to 7. Bear in mind that this was actually a very good paper, which my professor has been using as the example of an "A+ model" paper in her classes since I graduated. To use it as a writing sample, I did have to cut out some well written and even very original thinking, which was quite hard. Nonetheless, I am confident that it is a MUCH stronger paper since I cut it. This is super aggravating, and I feel your pain. Some months ago when I began the revision process on my writing samples, I was completely convinced that there was no way I'd be able to cut enough pages without weakening my arguments. However, I learned that it is always possible to be more concise and precise. You are likely to improve your papers, not weaken them. And if there's no "fluff" at all, cutting them will require you to refocus your argument more acutely, which will probably improve it. Any undergrad papers will need serious revision, anyway. As my mentor said, "there is a real gap even between a very respectable honors thesis and graduate work."
  9. Hello! Quick question, possibly stupid-- Should I put my GPA on the CV that I am including with my applications? I'm not sure what standard practice is here, seeing as how it's an applicant's CV and not a strictly academic/professional one. THANKS! (To all the folks who took the Lit GRE today: congrats! You did it!)
  10. Thanks, JFO! That's helpful advice from your professor, and makes perfect sense. As for my SOP, I do feel that I'm mentioning faculty members for specific reasons, I just seem to have a particular fear of having my statement sound like a laundry list of names. For one school in particular, I mention six different faculty members at various points throughout the essay. That's probably too many, I'd imagine, even though I've been in contact with all of them and each is doing work relevant to my interests or parts thereof. To the Screaming Hairy Armadillo, I would say that if you mention people for a reason, and articulate that reason, you're probably okay (at least I'm hoping that's okay, because it's what I'm doing), though I have heard it's very important to avoid just listing a bunch of people like you copied and pasted the whole list from the "faculty specialization in X" section on the website. At the same time, it sounds like you are applying in the sciences (?), and the advice I've gotten has been specifically directed to applications for literature PhD programs. I don't know if SOP standards differ for science-y programs or not.
  11. Mornin', How are you all dealing with referencing specific faculty members in the SOP? How many is too many? I know it's not a good idea just to shoot off a list of names robotically in the "fit" paragraph, and I also am aware that most "SOP tips" websites suggest mentioning 1-2 faculty members by name. However, I find that I'm mentioning more than two in most of my SOPs, out of genuine admiration for the profs and interest in their work. My SOP doesn't conclude with a "fit paragraph" in the traditional sense. I do sort of come back around to why I tooootally love University Awesome for reasons A, B, and C, in the conclusion, but in general my "fit" information is rather sprinkled all over the entire SOP (like, roughly, "I would like to study the intersections of Cats and Dogs, which Professor Catdog has already studied in the context of kittens. I believe that Professor Catdog's graduate seminar on kittenism afford an ideal opportunity to test assumptions about Catdom"; or, perhaps, "I am very interested in cookies, and would appreciate the opportunity to bake with Professor Pillsbury"). Therefore, no where do I have lists of faculty or anything like that. Nonetheless, I think perhaps I'm mentioning TOO many faculty by name (in some cases, several throughout the entire essay). It would make sense just to cut out a couple of faculty mentions. Yet, I hesitate to do this because 1) I really WANT to study cookies with Professor Pillsbury AND cats and dogs with Prof. Catdog; 2) Prof. Pillsbury already has studied cookies, and I feel that it would come off as naive about the criticism out there if I didn't mention that; 3) I want to show off how well I know the department and its faculty already. What do you think? How many namedrops is too many? And can neglecting to drop a name make you sound ill-informed about the faculty and/or subject matter? Thanks ALL for your help!! P.S. Sorry about all the animal/cookie sh*t.
  12. My basic essay is about 900 words, so close to yours, Shai. Most of the example essays I've seen (granted, I've seen, like, four) have been around 1000 words, too, and the schools that give guidelines tend to say ~1000 words or 2-3 pages, double or single spaced. Some others don't give guidelines at all. I think I'm going to submit my SOP with single spacing unless the program specifically asks for it to be double-spaced. Generally, I'll use standard margins (1" all around), but the shortened version of my essay is just a couple of lines over one page, so I'll fudge the margins slightly on that one to make it fit on a single page. I'll just be using Times New Roman, size 12.
  13. Sigh. Yes, I figured that would be the case. When they say "jump," we ask, "how high?" When they say "stop," we say, "Hammer Time." It's not that I'm trying to be lazy. I have already cut the SOP down to those limits. I just worry because I don't think it reflects me, or my work, nearly as well. Such is life, I suppose.
  14. Hello! I'm wondering how strict those pesky "word limits" for statements of purpose really are. Most of the programs I'm applying to suggest the the SOP should be 2-3 pages in length (regardless of line spacing, margins, etc.), but Northwestern indicates that it should be 400-500 words. Yikes! That is...er...really, really short. I don't think my SOP is that long--it's well under a page and a half single spaced, and is shorter than most of the sample statements I've seen. I think it's nicely concise. Nonetheless, it's almost twice as long as the Northwestern word limit. UC Davis requires a 4000 character limit (with spaces) and my SOP for that school is still well over 500 words. The Northwestern SOP doesn't physically have to fit in the 400-500 word limit (not like Davis's, which requires you to paste the statement into a text box which can only contain so many characters). So, I'm wondering how "liberal" I can be with the word limit...I mean, I will cut it down, but I like the way it sounds, and I think it reflects me well. I just don't want to have to chop it in half. Does anyone here know how strict word limits tend to be? In particular, does anyone have experience with Northwestern's teeny tiny word limits? Will they toss me if I go significantly over the limit? Thanks! Happy apps to all.
  15. Are you looking at any particular period, or just gender/women across the ages? Any particular national or cultural focus (British vs. American, for only one example)?
  16. UVa's English department in general is badass. (Full disclosure: my BA is from UVa; I know the department well but haven't experienced it as a grad student, though my grad student friends seemed very happy there.) In my experience, it was (is) very collegial and friendly, and indeed academically rigorous. UVa's Curry School of Education is also great, so after an MA in English, you could look into that if you're into secondary school teaching. MAs at UVa are NOT funded, unless there's some kind of bonus funding from the Grad School for extra special people I don't know about. The department itself doesn't fund MAs, anyway. Plus, Charlottesville is beautiful and fun.
  17. I've emailed all the profs I'm interested in working with and their moms (practically). Almost all of them have responded, actually, some really thoughtfully and in ways that have led to a semi-regular correspondence. Some of the people I contacted have been Big Deals--not necessarily as big a deal as Spivak, but pretty up there on the big cheese scale. For the people whose work I really, really admired (not necessarily work of scholars in the big cheese category) I wrote something of a fan letter, but made a concerted effort (successfully, I think) not to engage in any ass-kissery. I say go for it--email her! Knock her socks off. Maybe she will want to be your new best friend. And, in your SOP, definitely articulate why she is an especially big draw for you at Columbia, but get specific and frame it in a unique way. I would imagine that because she is a rock star, a lot of people applying to Columbia name-drop her in their SOPs, so you'll have to distinguish yourself from the rest of them. ***Disclaimer: I am in the process of applying to grad school for the first time, so my take on this is based on 1) advice from professors and successful applicants I've spoken to, and 2) what I'm doing in my own application process.***
  18. May I vent for a moment? Thanks. I studied abroad for one semester in Scotland. I took three classes, which my home institution accepted with pass/fail grades. None of those classes gave me credit for my English major; they all counted as elective transfer credits. I did not have grades for those classes, only passing credit. On my home school's transcript, they show up as transfer credit, so most of the schools I'm applying to insist that I must have my Scottish transcript sent anyway. The Scottish school only accepts requests for transcripts by mail, accompanied with a check made out in pounds sterling. If my experience attempting to register for classes there is any indication of the way they deal with transcript requests, my transcript may or may not be sent by next June. GAH! For those of you who studied abroad, how are you dealing with the transcript issue?
  19. Ooh! That's what I did, too! The spreadsheet really helped me narrow down my choices. And, now that I've finalized the schools I'm applying to, it's helpful because I have a nice chart that lists faculty names and emails, application deadlines and fees, and so forth. Good for quick reference.
  20. Same. I looked at faculty bios, researched and read faculty members' scholarship, and so forth. I've also looked for programs that have a depth of faculty in my main subfields (Renaissance lyric, incidentally, and gender studies). I've also gotten lots of advice from my undergrad mentors in those subfields.
  21. Phew! I'm relieved. And, I really couldn't believe it could be considered so horrible. I think if I were they I would prefer "Professor," at least in an academic context. Thanks for the advice!
  22. You may think this is a very silly question with an obvious response, but here I go. At my undergrad (UVa), we used funny words a lot. It wasn't the campus, it was "Grounds." You weren't a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, you were a "First Year," "Second Year," "Third Year," "Fourth Year." And, a prof wasn't "Dr. So-and-So," she was "Professor So-and-So." Being one of those Wahoo tools and proud of my school, I continue to stick to Virginia-ese for the most part. Now, I've begun contacting faculty at potential PhD programs. My partner saw an email that I sent--just to make this clear, not to a faculty member at UVa--and addressed to "Professor So-and-So." He thought that it was disrespectful and trivialized the fact that this person was a doctor. Yikes! The last thing I want to do is be disrespectful of a potential advisor! I didn't even really think about it. It was drilled into me for four years that "Professor" was a (if not "the") respectful way to address a professor. I suppose I should have given it more thought, and realized that at most other schools you call your teachers "Dr. So-and-So" every time. As I continue to email faculty, I'll probably start addressing them as "Dr." I'm wondering, though, do you all think it is terribly disrespectful to address them as "Professor"? Thanks!
  23. I actually visited my undergrad institution last week to meet with my old mentors and we discussed exactly this. I've been extremely stressed out trying to research individual faculty members at every school I'm interested in and trying to read everything they've ever published to see who matches my interests best. My mentors' overwhelming responses were that I was waaay overthinking and over-researching. Basically, they advised that while finding someone who meshes perfectly with you is great, but that it is much better to find a generally strong program with a breadth of faculty who you would be interested in working with (that is, for example, a depth of people working in your period). First, your interests may change dramatically while you're in grad school. Second, faculty leave, die, retire all the time, so it's unwise to choose a program for only 1 or 2 people--they might not be there in a couple of years. Third, you might thing Prof. X is great, but that doesn't guarantee X will be your advisor. Fourth, you may love Prof. X's work, but it doesn't mean you will love Prof. X--clicking with someone's scholarship doesn't guarantee a fruitful relationship. My mentors DID emphasize fit, but for all of these reasons cautioned me against looking for too narrow a fit (i.e., one or two profs whose scholarship I love, as I was doing). I would say talk to your old profs. Get the inside scoop on program/faculty.
  24. Take as many practice tests as you possibly can while doing your other note-taking/re-reading/general studying. The tests and practice tests alike seem to be a real crapshoot as to content, but, in my experience, the simple act of taking as many practice tests as possible is key for success. My method: 1. Find every practice test available, even the ones in the review books that barely resemble the actual exam. Take them ALL, grade them, and assess your weaknesses (for example, did you miss a lot of 18th c. drama?). Study extra hard on those areas. 2. Read, read, and thrice read. And take notes to ensure that you're absorbing what you're reading. Carry your Nortons around with you. I actually really enjoyed studying for the GRE lit test, too! The fact that I enjoyed studying for a horrible and painful standardized test just because it had to do with literature made me think that yes, I really and truly should go to grad school. Now I just have to get in! Fun next few months. Who's with me??
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