jewelbomb

Hey Grifter, I'm finishing up my last semester of my MA at a small unknown Midwestern state school. I've faired alright so far. I didn't really apply to any spectacular schools (no ivies and such). I applied to a whole range of schools -- a few large state schools, a couple smaller private institutions, a couple of lesser known safety schools. I have had good luck across the board. More admits than rejections or waitlists at least. That said, I was pretty average as an undergrad. I got my sh*t together during my MA and was super ambitious. I presented at a slew of conferences, wrote book reviews, wrote a thesis, submitted articles for publication, taught composition, did a research assistantship for a semester. All of this is just to say that I think you can do fine applying to PhD programs with an MA as long as you make it count. Schools are going to want to see that you are heading towards becoming a professional. It was nice for me because it allowed me to refine my interests a little bit before I had to make that five year commitment. On the downside, it seems as though many schools wait until the end of the admit process to even deal with those of us with MAs. I'm still waiting to hear from four schools. Grrr.

Ha...I guess I forget that most people in this forum are in the field. I forgot where I was posting!

Sorry Minnesotan but you're a little late to the party; people have, of course, already been doing this stuff. See Robert A. Nye's "Locating Masculinity: Some Recent Work on Men" http://polforsk1.dk:8080/portaler/asian ... 202005.pdf Back to the drawing board sucker!

Chill. He's probably just on spring break this week.

I really don't think the process of teaching students to think and teaching them to write can even be separated. My experience dictates that they are basically one in the same. That is, my students who argue convincingly in class discussions also happen to be some of my best writers. Writing teaches us how to think and vice-versa. The next new field in the humanities must certainly must have to do with emerging technologies and their use in research and pedagogy, right? Digital bibliography, textual history, and the evolution of print culture seem like useful things to know. I think it might be a little reckless to enter the field at this time and not strive to be technologically relevant. I don't want to be a dinosaur straight out of my PhD. :twisted:

I'm with Tritone. If you tell them you'd be willing to attend without funding, I'd kiss any hope of money goodbye. If that's something you'd be willing to do just to get in, I'll bet it wouldn't hurt. That said, there's also the possibility that you might be better off telling them that you'd eagerly consider any offer, should space become available in the program. This way, you wouldn't appear desperate. I wonder if being overenthusiastic might make adcoms think as though you had no other options and wonder why. That is, it may in some ways confirm any hesitancy they might have about you as a candidate. Mind games are fun, no?

"This is a profession that is losing its will to live.": Not exactly the kind of thing I wanted to wake up and read this morning as a sift through my (few) PhD offers. While I went into this thing with open eyes, I must admit that every article that is even tangentially about trying to build a career in the humanities bums me the f**k out. Whatever, the economy is currently tanking anyway; we could do worse than have a contract for five more years of study, right? Thanks for the link!

Just to jump on the bandwagon, the idea of the "implicit rejection" is pretty much b.s. I bought into that nonsense and was proven wrong . . . twice. Just like we students, some programs complete their assignments ahead of time, and others work on their decisions until the last minute. Keep hope alive!

I have a friend that was watlisted (via postal service, I think) late last week for Ohio's lit. PhD program.

I just think it's funny that there are folks over at the results form suggesting that English PhD applicants be banned from posting due to some ongoing bickering regarding a Harvard applicant who posted the following: "3.3 GPA, 620 Verbal, 500 Math, 540 GRE Lit, one of my recommenders was Skip Gates. I'm really excited but I got in absolutely everywhere I applied." Perhaps this is a more suitable forum for discussing the issue, so...um, those stats do seem a bit low for Harvard. Even if we assume that the poster did their undergrad there, it's kind of shocking that they would let someone in with GRE scores like that. This not to disparage the op's stats. MY GRE scores are actually quite similar. That said, I didn't apply Harvard because I knew that I would be better off shoving my application fee in a paper shredder. So, is it possible that a "superstar" professor's lor carries that much cachet. Granted, there is a lot about the applicant we don't know, but gosh, so much for meritocracy, eh? That said, I'm not so sure I even believe the post is legit. Color me skeptical. Thoughts?

So, um . . .I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but the question is primarily about funding so here goes: I've been accepted (but waitlisted for funding) at a school that I'd very much like to attend. Any thoughts about whether or not it would be a good idea to send an updated CV to the department? An article I've written has been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal in my field (English literature) since I initially applied. I've also recently won a competitive travel grant. I feel like it certainly couldn't hurt my chances to let the department know that I've met with some academic success since we last spoke . . . unless they would find my badgering annoying. Maybe I should just call the department and ask if they would be willing to look over any additional materials. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks people.

I know someone who used another program's offer as a bargining chip and squeeezed some extra $ out of his top choice. His advisor said it was done quite frequently. Totally anacdotal, but that's what I heard.

I too would like some updated information about East Lansing, particularly regarding decent places to live. I've got cats and would like to live somewhere with a little bit of personality -- perhaps somewhere with a yard rather than some boring and obnoxious college type apt. complex. Applicant, Have you been admitted to MSU for English? Have you heard anything about funding? Are you going to the admitted students event next week?

I just realized that tomorrow is President's Day. GRRRR. An extra day without mail.

Minnesotan, just curious, why the hate for summer language programs? I took language classes in the summer as an undergrad and liked being able to focus my attention solely on learning the language. That said, it doesn't come easy for me; I need to have time to immerse myself in order to learn anything language-wise. Also, after three summers of doing it, I'd probably hate them too. What language(s) did you study? Sorry for the hijack, Southeast Penn.