wetheplants

I agree with the other posters, but you could always email your contact and just ask if there are any other fees or anything related to funding that you should be aware of before you accept, because money is tight. You can ask specifically about health insurance and student fees, that sort of thing.

Thanks for telling me about your MAPH experience, that makes a lot of sense. I'm starting to think that may not be the best program for me - I'm very self-directed and have a good idea what I want to study, but I don't think I could even imagine starting drafting a thesis this summer. Part of the reason I wanted to do an MA was to get a better sense of the field and help direct me towards either a Theater history or English department for a PhD, and judging by what you and others have told me, I probably wouldn't have a great sense of that until the end of the year... so not so helpful in terms of applications. Good point about the postdoc in the UK. I do have one other question, how does a PhD program know if your MA was funded or not? Is that something that goes on your resume, or is written on your transcript or something?

Ah, I got all excited and it still says under consideration =[

Very true, that is a great point. Who knows what this guy was thinking... And thankfully he's not the director of the MA program, so even if he's a grumpy guy hopefully I won't be seeing too too much of him =]

Hi lyonessrampant - thanks very much for your input. I am definitely leaning towards BC right now because of the funding (although getting frustrated that I haven't heard back from all these other places, gah! ><), and as my mother very rightly pointed out, if we're going to turn down forty thousand dollars, there better be a really good reason for it. I've been posting here to see if I can get other people's perspective on either these options or the other programs themselves - largely to see if people think that the prestige or resources of other programs are worth the extra cost. Good to hear your perspective on the MAPH program - did you feel that one year was enough time to really buckle down and study and/or enough time time to really get to know your professors and department? I've heard vaguely wishy washy answers on these fronts from others who did the program, and no one has wholeheartedly recommended it to me so far. I'm a little concerned that in a traditional American format taking classes with lots of other people, and so spread out, a year isn't exactly enough time to get to know professors very well. And great point re: MAPH's fancy names for PhD acceptances. I suppose if you spit out a hundred smart kids every year, you're going to get at least a few good placements no matter what. I was just surprised at his weird vehemence against the UK programs, mostly because BC has such strong medieval and Irish studies programs. Surely they must have some people who want to go there for research, or want to teach there? But maybe not in the English department, apparently... Anyway, my interest in the UK is purely in Oxbridge. I'm considering St. Andrews for a masters, but I'd obviously be much more interested in one of the Oxbridge schools (if they ever get back to me!!!) But for a PhD, I would really only go for Oxbridge. I studied in the UK for study abroad and I think I actually prefer the more self-guided setup they have for their MA and PhD programs, as that worked very well for me in the past. Plus, the resources they have for medieval/Rennaisance scholars are outstanding. Anyway, I've been talking to as many people as I can to get different perspectives on studying at Oxbridge and transferring back here and the pros and cons of that, so I feel that I have a good handle on that. I understand that for many people it's either not financially viable, or it's not ideal if they want to instantly transfer back to the States, but I was just surprised at his vehemence - he was a little rude, actually, it was weird. (My mother thinks I might have offended him by saying "across the pond", apparently to some people that has a very fancy-shmancy connotation instead of just literal?) I have no particular tie to UC, I just applied to MAPH because my interests are interdisciplinary, so I figured that would be a good program. My goal for the PhD is basically to end up at an Ivy or Oxbridge. If I decide to do theater history instead (which I am considering), then obviously that might change. As for researching PhD placements, I'd be happy to hear if you have any recommendations about where to be looking online, other than just on departmental websites. I've been out of school for a little bit, so I don't have any professors on hand to answer questions or point me towards things. I had mostly been researching MA programs and wasn't looking so much at PhD stats just yet, but that was mostly because I wasn't anticipating getting into this many places, so I figured my choices at this stage would be more limited. Now that they're not limited, I guess I have more data to be considering.

Hi mollifiedmolly - thanks so much, that is great advice! I know they have a strong divinity program, but I probably should be looking into what classes and resources they offer too, so that's a great point! I've checked the class schedule for next year, and at least according to what they say now, I can take a class with both Weiskott and Stanton before my first year is over, so that's a big plus! And yeah, MAPH's ridiculous cost is definitely off-putting.

I agree with both the people above!! Definitely email them - you can even tell them that you have a few other schools you're considering, but you'd really like to hear back from them about funding before you make a decision, because they are your top choice!

Moving in in August will be difficult, as almost all the leases start on September1 . You could potentially sublet for a little bit in August but you'll have to move again after September 1. 'In terms of craigslist... probably things will start popping up April and May. I would ask Northeastern's housing office their advice too! They will definitely help hook you up with roommates and stuff.

Gahh, I got that email too! I've been checking my email like crazy and still nothing. Oxford says they might not tell people until April, which really stinks because St. Andrews told me really early and their deadline is March 31 =[

Ramus and empress-marmot, thank you so much for your helpful feedback! Great point about the placement too - I suppose you might even have a better shot if you really succeed and go above and beyond in a lower-ranked program. Looking at BC's classes, it sounds like I would hopefully be able to piece together something related to my subfield, and they seem to have some flexibility in being able to do independent studies/classes in other departments. Chicago would obviously be the most flexible, but oddly enough I'm not seeing too many courses which appeal to me on their lists, even looking through multiple departments... And empress-marmot, I hope it didn't come across like I was bragging about funding. I apologize if it did!

Thank you empress-marmot and thepriorwalter ! I am actually in the unusual position of not having to worry too much about funding. BC is the only place offering me funding right now, but my parents have basically said I should go to whatever I think the best place is. And gap years, oddly enough, aren't really a big deal for me because I'm also a playwright - so basically any years I'm not in school, I'll be working to get my shows put up and that kind of thing. BC is definitely the lowest ranked program I got into (and the only program with a TA offer), but I visited and really, really liked one professor who said he would be my advisor! They say they've placed students in Brown, Cornell and WUSTL occasionally, but no other elite colleges. And of course they're offering full funding, so that's nice. Oh and their PhD director got super weird at me and barked about how awful they are when I asked if they ever sent people to PhDs in the UK, which was kind of odd. Chicago is the highest ranked program so far, which is the one-year MAPH - I know they place very highly.

Oh, also, I'd love to know how helpful you guys think teaching experience during your Masters would be in making you a better PhD candidate. Boston College is offering a TA or TF position for the second year with a stipend, and a pedagogy course. I was a pretty good candidate coming out of undergrad - do you think having teaching experience in a Masters program would make more competitive for PhD programs? Would an Ivy level school with no teaching experience be better than BC with teaching?

What did you guys think? Have you gone to visit yet?

Hey guys, I'm glad that we are talking about this on the English forum! I am trying to decide between four right now... and waiting on another four! I am applying to Masters programs though instead of PhDs. Do you guys have any different advice for choosing a Masters program, especially if you did one? Do you feel like course offerings are more important, or is liking your advisor more important? I am trying to decide at the moment between BC, which is offering me full tuition, and UChicago's MAPH program, UVA's English Masters, and St. Andrew's Shakespearian course. I'm hoping to study late medieval/early renn English drama.

Has anyone heard from Cambridge or Oxford yet? Cambridge was supposed to get back to me sometime last week, according to an email they sent... I'm hoping that's not a bad sign... and I have deadlines coming up really soon =/

Hey guys, I'll be here today! Ask me any questions you have...!

I would definitely take Harvard up if they're offering you housing. The market here is pretty crowded and crazy, it'll be easier for you to get into the swing of it for the first year and then move into rental housing the second year. As for the car, do NOT bring two. You MUST ask Harvard accommodation if they have parking if you even want to bring one - it's very difficult to park in some locations. And keep in mind for following years, not every apartment has parking available. Apartments that do may be slightly more expensive, depending. Oftentimes you can get a resident permit so you can park on the street, but again it's street parking so not guaranteed. I would say that keeping a car is kind of a luxury here. I would say that if you're both planning on working like IN Boston, you won't even want to use it to drive if you're going to the other side of town. Taking the public stuff is still going to be faster (and cheaper). IF there's any likelihood that you'll be working in the suburbs, then you'll definitely want the car because it's quite difficult to get out there without it. I have no idea what your partner's industry is, but basically that's how I would see it. Just know that driving IN Boston is basically useless. Public transport is definitely faster. During rush hours, the subway is crowded, but the driving is even worse. So if you're planning to be going in and around the city, you don't need a car. I would advise you to check out a map of Boston and see where the subway actually goes to. Boston is fairly small for a major city and the suburbs are pretty close. There's still a lot you can navigate just with the subway, but I would look at a map. The only other nice thing about having the car is that you have flexibility to drive OUT of the city if you want to go on vacations, go shopping, go travelling, etc. But it's definitely not required and you're likely to meet friends/classmates who have cars who you can carpool with. Or you can use zipcar, which I know is a fairly popular option if you're looking to like take a day trip out somewhere (lots of cute places to go to!) But again, consider this like a luxury expense - if both of you are working in the city, it is NOT necessary and is an extra cost. Most people I know who live in the city do not have a car. Like only 1/3, 1/4 people do. It is totally not necessary. Basically, in total, I would say unless there's a good likelihood of your partner working in the suburbs (AND Harvard has somewhere you can park), there's no need to bring a car at all. It'll definitely be cheaper, and you'll do fine. In terms of the economy, I would say it totally depends on the industry. Some of my friends have an easy time finding jobs, some have a harder time. But even the ones who have a harder time can usually hop from temp job to temp job and get paid decently, it's just not very secure...

Also, in terms of program length, consider this - if you're going to go into debt to go to the UK program, will you be able to pay it off in the extra two years you gain? Do you have a definitive plan for what you would do in those two years? If not, or you don't think you'd be able to make the money back, I would go to UPenn.

I'm also applying to UK schools for masters this round - based on information I've heard so far, if these are your two choices, think about where you are intending to work. If you want to work in the US, I would definitely go to UPenn. They'll have more connections here to other US universities and I think that would outweigh the slight rank difference!

I'm wondering the same thing. I think it also depends on your field - I'm interested in medieval/early modern drama, so I know that the departments tend to be a bit stronger in England - not everywhere in the US has a sizable medieval faculty, let alone a really good one.

Great question, lol. I want to do something a little weird, so I guess I'm just trying to figure out who would want to work with me... I want to do theater (relationship between text and performance) in late medieval to early modern England. So I dunno... maybe Weiskott? Or Andrew Sofer?

I mean, rent is expensive, there's no way around it. But I don't think it's any different than any other big city, in fact, it's better than NYC (although lord knows that's not saying much). But, the Allston/Brighton area isn't too bad rentwise, my friends lived there last year. And I know many BU students live. Other than rent, I mean sure stuff is more expensive than when I lived in Maine, for example, but other than that really, you can definitely live frugally and be pretty happy. It's not like the $20 tax in NYC (joke where you always have to spend 20 every time you leave your house). That area has a lot of restaurants and bars that aren't too pricy and they're really nice. Grocery prices are probably the same as any other city. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions

Thanks!!

Hey guys! I just posted about the BC MA in the English forum - I got offered some funding to go there, so I am strongly considering it. I'm from Boston, if anyone has any questions. I'm visiting on Monday morning, anyone else?

I got accepted into their English Masters program, and was offered a full tuition scholarship...! Yeah, no idea how that happened. So obviously it has moved up to the top of my list so far Anyone else applying/accepted here? Anyone planning on going? =] Oh, and by the way, I'm from Boston, very familiar with North suburban areas as well as the city, so feel free to ask any questions, or message me! Worked as a tour guide for a year or so