rising_star

I think you'll have a good shot at the MA programs but the PhD could be more of a reach given your GRE scores. Hopefully they'll take the whole package into consideration though. Good luck!

April and Claudia are both super-nice people. Pretty much all of the undergrads in comp lit love them. Though I feel like April doesn't really do email, if I'm remembering correctly... What exactly don't comp lit departments do? I loved being in comp lit because it was the opportunity to do everything!

Who are you interested in working with at Princeton? There are some good folks in comp lit there...

Not exciting? What could be more exciting than trying to teach social studies to a bunch of 12 year olds? Actually, I'm thinking of going back to the theater backup plan. Check out the job listings at idealist.org, they give me hope.

Oh, I'm big on backup plans. I need to have something in case all this goes wrong. Last time my backup plan was to apply for theater internships. I might still do that this time though my plan now is to get a teaching certificate and teach middle school or high school if I can't/don't get in anywhere.

My thesis and I are going to start spending about 4 hours a week together, beginning on Thursday. I have a draft of the whole thing due on Feb 1 (which is sneaking up on me all of a sudden). I wish I had the time/money to do more research and apply to more schools. But, that's life. My logic is that if I don't get in, I can take more time to apply next time around. And maybe adjunct in the meantime...

Not a horror story really. I'm currently in a MA program and applying to PhD programs. I'm reapplying to the school where I'm getting my MA but also applying to other schools.

Thank goodness I didn't retake the GRE. It should be fine... I think. It lists my study abroad transcript as received (the 05 date) and then says it's missing spring 06 on my undergrad transcript and my transcript from grad school. *sigh* But I'm just bitter about the money.

Apparently, if you applied to UT-Austin in the past and apply again, even though it's for a different degree, your application ID number is the same. when you log in, they list the documents they've received and old ones are still there (ie, GRE scores and transcripts). Too bad there is no indication of that before you actually submit the application otherwise I could've saved myself at least $20.

http://cfp.english.upenn.edu/ It's a very comprehensive resource for finding conferences and calls for papers in English. Be forewarned that undergrads aren't really expected to have traveled to and presented at conferences.

He knows someone at every school I'm applying to. At my top two choices, he's old friends with the two profs I want to work with. They'd just pick up the phone and call him to ask about me (my advisor has reminded me of this repeatedly).

Well, I just ordered GRE scores today and I ordered all the transcripts I need last week. So that's done. I asked three folks for letters though I'm worried one will try to sabotage me. *sigh*

I considered applying to some sociology programs but decided against it because I don't have any real background in the discipline and my interest would be more qualitative, which is difficult to find. Good luck to all of you!

I'm never ready for early deadlines. I'm going to be struggling to make Dec 31/Jan 1 deadlines as it is. lol. i'm a huge procrastinator.

There isn't a coursework-only option in my program if you want to keep your funding. I haven't requested LORs yet, just finished drafting my SOP, and um... no scores or transcripts have been sent out.

I dunno but I totally feel ya. One of my committee members may be out to sabotage my entire career.

I would say the Ivy League schools (Princeton, Yale, and Harvard come to mind), University of Chicago, Northwestern, Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), Boston University, Univ of Miami (FL)... But I'm not actually in sociology.

Is it weird that I feel less organized this time around? Either way, I'm happy to see the forums are back and to see some old friends around here.

Based solely on what I've heard, I'd say the MPA. I heard the MA in economics is what people get when they can't hack it in a PhD program but that could just be a rumor...

My advice would be to make sure your Statement of Purpose and recommendation letters are strong. Did you get a chance to ask any programs why you were rejected?

Hey Sonny, I hope things work out better for you at UW than they did at IU. I thought about applying there (and was maybe considering it for PhD work) but I heard some scary stories from a current graduate student about funding and competitiveness between students. When you get there, let me know what it's like, ok? And good luck!

Which do you like more, history or political science? Figuring that out first might help you figure out what the job possibilities are. Without knowing what specifically you're interested in, it's really hard to say about job possibilities.

It wouldn't hurt to contact people and ask about research positions or to seek positions outside the department.

I'm just jealous I hadn't thought of that yet. On the other hand, please don't move spam into my forums. I'm just returning from a nearly month-long absence due to school and travels and conferences...

I don't quite understand why you'd need 50K just for one year... Why not do a combination of private and government unsubsidized? The government loans may have a lower interest rate...