rising_star

When I applied to MA programs, I didn't even know about grad school forums (livejournal, princeton review, etc) until after I'd submitted 2/3 of my applications. This forum was actually created during that application cycle so it didn't exist as a resource. Couple that with applying to a social science that you've never taken a class in from a humanities background, having people write letters that didn't know you super well because you didn't know many profs in your major (thanks to study abroad), not having a stellar GPA or GRE scores, and you can begin to see why people like me think they have very little chance of getting in anywhere. It got worse when, after I'd already done a bunch of apps, I found the NRC rankings and realized I'd applied to a top 5 program. Oh yea, I only had friends (who weren't applying to grad school) to read my SOP and, after reading applyingtograd, learned that I made it way too personal and not academic enough. Had it not been for the fact that I got an acceptance in late January (thin envelope with Admitted on the outside though campus mail had covered that up with a label), I would've been thinking I wouldn't get in anywhere.

I would use it as a 4th letter. But definitely have 3 academic LoRs to give the admissions committee too.

They often don't have the money to keep systems updated, a situation that's only gotten worse at state universities in the last year or so.

Some of us have been waiting for 3 years for these rankings to come out... I remember hoping they'd be out when I was picking MA programs. Then hoping last year they'd be out when picking PhD programs. As it stands now, the rankings were published the year my advisor received his PhD...

Have him/her send the letters ASAP. Often schools know that recommendations arrive late and are willing to include them in your application anyway.

I would take it again to see if you can improve the writing score and either the verbal or the quantitative. Right now, your total is right at 1200. I think you should shoot for 1300, if you can. Otherwise, you may not make it in with funding at the top programs.

Some professors have a policy of not answering emails from prospective students. Or your email could've ended up in the spam folder. You never know...

t_ruth, they may review applications in more than one round but, that doesn't mean you have less of a chance of getting in. If they don't have your stuff and they review in more than one round, they'll hold off on a decision until they have all of your stuff. In my old program, they did admits in a couple of rounds and did funding all at once for everyone. So, getting admitted in the second (or even third) round of review didn't lessen chances of funding. And, current students reapplying for the PhD were always considered in the last round of applications.

You might be interested in this article: No Margin for Error: A Study of Two Women Balancing Motherhood and Ph.D. Studies Robin S. Grenier University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut USA Morag C. Burke University of Georgia, Atlanta Georgia USA http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR13-4/grenier.pdf

This is fun! If I'd done this when I originally applied (fall/winter 05), here's what I would have listed: 6 applications 1-2 acceptances 1 waitlist 3-4 rejections It actually turned out a lot better. I got 4 acceptances, all with funding. This was shocking since I applied to a new field that I knew little about with no guidance on the process.

I don't think there's anything rude about this response. The department has to wait to receive the materials from the graduate school. That goes for you and dozens, if not hundreds, of other applicants. As long as the grad school received it by the deadline, you're fine.

I never got a graduate application in more than 3 days before the deadline. Between MA and PhD apps, I got into 11 out of the 13 programs I applied to, all with funding. Hope that helps, t_ruth.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. Your professors are busy and, while you may find it frustrating, they do wait until the last minute sometimes to submit their recommendations. You'll be fine. Don't panic.

I don't think I had any letters that started with "Congratulations"...

You can find your admissions decision on Ohio State's website. Or at least you could a few years ago when I applied there.

miratrix, believe me, I know how car buying can be a headache. It took me six months to find a car, and I spent most of the summer dedicated to car shopping (online and in person in a major metro area). Luckily, my aunt and uncle have three cars so I was able to borrow one of theirs for the six months until I got one of my own... They saved me life, seriously.

I drove my car cross-country for my PhD. I didn't have a car during my undergraduate years and bought one used after starting my master's. Why? I moved to a town with lots of hills, few bike lanes, and not-so-great public transportation (once an hour if you're lucky), plus my family lived 80 miles away but the only way to get there was a 2 hr bus trip on Greyhound that costs $39 each way. Much cheaper to buy a quality used car. Now I live walking distance from campus and mostly use my car on the weekends for groceries, sightseeing, and visiting friends. How expensive is my car? I've bought 3 tanks of gas since August. I've had one oil change. The total for that is maybe $80-90. There's the club I bought for the steering wheel (there's a lot of car theft in my city) which cost $10. I guess the only real expense besides that is insurance but that's not so bad either. Plus I love being able to get out of town whenever I want, on my own schedule. FSIA: FYI, while Princeton is totally doable without a car, it is a kinda sucky place. You have to take a bus to get to a decent grocery store (not Wild Oats/Whole Foods but Wegman's or ShopRite), the mall, the movie theater, etc. While NJ Transit is good, it helps to either have a car or have a really, really good friend with a car.

No, mims, you're not the only one that believes this. I got into top programs, not in English, without having top percentage GRE scores or a 4.0 GPA.

Before applying. I'm pretty sure I said that in the other post.

You and I have vastly different ideas of "the way it is", polumetis. Can you link me to articles (research not just one person's opinion) on this? I'd really appreciate it. EVERYTHING is socially engineered. It's part of the social construction of society. You'll get no arguments from me on that. I realize that some people are cynical and that English admissions are highly competitive. (For the record, please don't tell me what I do and do not grasp. You have no idea what I do and do not know.) From reading the introduction of Michael's book, it seems that he is railing against the conflation of race with diversity. Fine. Diversity should be considered across multiple axes including, but not limited to, sexual identity, economic background, parent's marital status, only child vs family with multiple children, or what have you. But how do you suppose admissions committees consider all those factors? You'd need more research to show that only children are at a disadvantage or that kids raised by a stepmom and dad are more likely to be successful. You generate the studies and maybe they will be considered when programs are trying to diversify. What is clear, not just in the humanities but throughout academia, is that African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, etc. are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to graduate school and college admissions. Lots of factors play into this: school quality, parental involvement in education, being pushed by teachers, the structure of standardized tests, not necessarily being able to afford to pay for GRE/SAT/LSAT prep courses, etc. Are you suggesting that these things don't matter? Would English programs be better served by just admitting students with the highest combo of GRE scores and GPA? Taking that position is basically saying that though the standardized tests have a racial bias and the educational system puts minorities at a disadvantage, no one should consider that. If you don't want diversity in your program, fine. But don't force that on everyone else. Sometimes brilliant scholars are those that don't have a 1500 on the GRE or a 4.0 GPA from an Ivy League school. Passion matters far more than a GRE score does when it comes to long-term success.

I would say that not being a native speaker of English and getting the 95th percentile is pretty damn good. As in, will definitely not keep the OP out of consideration. But, for the record, minority students are rarely judged by a separate set of criteria. While they may be judged with research about the disparities in standardized testing or in school quality in mind, I would be completely shocked if there's a school that uses "a separate set of criteria". I'd be careful about coming across as racist, polumetis23, if I were you.

You know, I never even ran that email by my advisor before sending it out. But, one thing I learned doing my master's is that you should be interviewing faculty as much as they are interviewing you. It's about finding the right match for you. In my MA program, one prof strongly encourages all students to interview prospective advisors about their advising and mentoring style before committing to one. I think it's great advice. Because, honestly, it's like a job interview: you have to convince them they want you but you also have to be convinced that they are worth your time and that they offer what you need.

Nope. I probably won't publish until I start doing my dissertation work, unless my advisor gets some more funded research projects.

jackassjim, I think you gave some really great advice. Your questions about joint programs are a lot like the questions I often asked profs when considering programs given that my interests are interdisciplinary. It's very important to figure out whether the collaboration is on paper or actually done. If it helps anyone, I just took a look at the emails I sent prospective advisors when I was applying to PhD programs last year. They were much longer than your standard email (two lengthy paragraphs) but I always got a friendly reply (this could be my discipline and the fact that I had been networking). The first paragraph told them about me, my current school and research, and that I'm considering their doctoral program. The second paragraph is where I went into questions. An excerpt: "I have several questions for you. First, are you looking for graduate students in the upcoming admissions cycle (to begin in fall 2008)? If so, what kinds of students are you interested in? Is it a problem if a students regional interests are not directly aligned with your own? ... [deleted thing about how our regional interests don't match] Last but not least, how would you describe your advising and mentoring style with your graduate students? Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer my questions. I apologize for the length of this email and I look forward to hearing from you in the near future." I hope that helps. Billy1, if you're really looking for something to ask, ask about the mentorship of their students. Ask if they see themselves as a mentor and how they act in that role. Find out how involved they are during coursework, in qualifying exam prep, and at the dissertation stage. Is the person going to read for content or copyedit? Be a friend, a peer, or what? For example, my advisor wants to know nothing about my personal life. He says it has nothing to do with what we do. But that doesn't stop us from having a beer together at happy hour, going out for dinner and drinks, etc. But everyone's style and interaction with their students is different and you want to make sure you're comfortable with the situation you're getting yourself into before you attend. I actually had several profs point out that prospective students hardly ever asked them that last question of mine above and that it was really smart to ask it.

I feel like Feb 1 schools have a disadvantage because people are too burned out to submit...