wetheplants

What a nice sister you are!! I also find nibbling on altoids while I'm studying to be wonderfully helpful. So darn strong they kind of perk you up if you're getting sleepy.

Oh smokes this was reassuring to read. I took the September test and haven't gotten my scores back yet, but all my practice tests had me hoping for a low-mid 600s.... which I thought was terrible! I'm so relieved to hear you guys don't think that's terrible... hahaha. I just can't get my head out of my old SAT score range where I would have lost if I got a 650....

Hey guys, Does anyone know any practicing academics (or departments) that are working on reconstruction research in Medieval or Early modern drama? Like, not just talking about what's in the texts themselves, but also writing about stuff that would be more in performance theory/history, like stage conventions, performance styles, stages, etc. The only person I've been able to find so far is Alan Dessen, who has a great article about Elizabethan Stage Conventions. I'm particularly interested in people who are using a more literary methodology like Dessen is, but I'm happy to hear about anyone! And definitely medieval drama. Anyone have any ideas? I'm hoping to pursue this interest in an MA next year but I'm having a hard time finding anyone who even specializes in this kind of thing. Everyone who does drama seems to just looking exclusively at the writing! Thank you so much! D

Fanuiel Hall! Go to Copley Square and walk around! Mt Auburn Cemetary is BEAUTIFUL although you might need to drive there, not sure.

Has anyone out there taken this course lately? I'm trying to do some more resaerch to find out if I want to apply for this program, but their website is terrible... almost no information on the course. I'm mostly interested in drama, Shakespeare's contemporaries and just following. Also Milton, and people from around that time. I'm trying to decide if I want to go Early modern or medieval and hoping for some more info... Unfortunately, despite the fact that I knew I wanted to study early Brit Lit right ouf of high school, my tiny undergrad college just didn't have a medievalist on faculty for most of my time there, so I only managed to squeeze in one Arthurian Lit course and audit a Chaucer class. I'm also pretty worried about the language requirements. I took Latin in high school, but not since. I know a little French, but not much. (Honestly my best foreign language at this point is Old English after taking a few classes... not relevent here.) (I'm almost tempted to skip the Oxford app and just apply to Cambridge since they don't make you pick medieval or early modern in your application!! ><) Does anyone have any info about the course, or the medieval one? Like it or didn't? Does the faculty have any drama people onboard, and would they be supportive of a student who wants to do some performance history style work as well? Thanks!

Hey guys! So I'm taking the test tomorrow UGH and I don't have time to watch any movies (great idea, btw!) but I just wanted to throw "Thug Notes" out there in case you guys haven't heard of it... https://www.youtube.com/user/thugnotes/videos This guy summarizes plots of classic works in "thug" slang, complete with pictures and stuff, and then analyzes some of the major themes. Also, he puts up major quotes too. Check it out, they're fun! And he's got LOADS of them. Definitely good to check out over your lunch break from studying!

Thank you guys!

Hey folks! I'm going to be pursuing some kind of English/Performance Studies combo (still trying to figure that one out) and many of the US schools I'm interested require GRE scores. I'm really interested in getting into an Ivy or something with a high pedigree, so I'm anticipating tough competition. How much weight do schools actually place on your GRE scores?? I have a great transcript, GPA, I have a great writing sample that is really relevant to what I want to study... etc. I think I'm a great applicant! But I'm freaking out about the GRE thing right now! I haven't taken a math class since high school and I went through some of the problems on their website today... GAH! I'm hopeful I can get a solid score on the verbal part and hopefully the writing too. But what's gonna happen if my math part is terrible? I mean, I'm gonna study and all, so hopefully it won't be abysmal. But if it's not great, are schools going to hold that against me? Let me know what's up here, folks! This has totally got me freaking out =[ Thank you!

If you don't feel like you could bring it up to any of your professors there, what about asking one of your undergrad profs for some advice? Maybe they'd have some ideas for you?

Thanks for the ideas! I think I have a strong idea of what I want to study, the only thing I'm still trying to figure out is the time period. (Which is obviously very important.) But you're right in that I'm probably not stating it very clearly. Here is sort of my general research question - how are illiterate people consuming literature meant for entertainment or education? And how does this method of consumption affect the themes presented in the text? Anyway, that's sort of a rough idea. And hopefully during the masters part I can narrow this down to something more specific for an actual thesis. I just have to pick the time period now >< Do you guys have any opinions about studying the UK vs. US? I was very interested in trying to get into Oxford or Cambridge.

My problem is that what I want to eventually do my PhD on and do for a living spans three fields... literature, creative writing, and theater. Everyone in my family went into law or medicine so I literally have no idea what I'm doing. How do I even get started trying to decide what TYPE of programs to look into?

Hi folks. I am interested in studying something a little multidisciplinary for a MA/PhD. I am looking to study performance history and literature in Northern Europe/England. Ideally, I'd be able to study both the literature of the time period and also the means by which people were actually absorbing said literature - maybe a little bit like a history of entertainment. (Trying to pick a time period - can't decide if I want really early, or all the way into Renaissance). I personally think this kind of thing would be a really cool thesis topic and I'm trying to decide how the heck to actually get to that point. I just graduated with an English major, creative writing concentration, and Theater and Dance minor from Colby College in Maine. Are there programs out there remotely anything like this? I'm seeing some hits for theater history, which is sort of what I want, although it won't include anything outside the neat bubble of "theater" but almost nothing for performance history. And certainly nothing combined with a literary approach. Anybody have any ideas for me? How should I go about researching this?

I'm pretty dead certain I wouldn't stay in England forever, I would want to move back to the US East Coast to teach eventually. Do most Americans tend to stay there once they get in? Do you have any ideas on how interested they are in interdisciplinary pursuits? Like I said before, I'm interested in Medieval (or early modern) lit along with performance history. I don't mind a more... inclusive teaching style, I guess, as long as people are happy to let me move between disciplines.

Wreckofthehope, I am interested in either medieval or early modern lit, haven't quite decided which yet. Do you think that those departments are also limiting in their scope? I don't mind a traditional focus, but I am interested in doing some cross-disciplinary research, probably into some performance history in the same time period. What I read briefly on Cambridge's site was that they encouraged multidisciplinary approaches.

I don't know specifically about which card to apply for, but something from Bank of America is very useful because they literally have ATMs eeeeverywhere. In every city, all over the place. (Or at least, every city I've ever visited, which is quite a lot).

Hi guys - I'm a recent graduate of Colby College trying to learn more about some of my options (not applying this year, thankfully). I am very interested in learning more about pursuing a PhD and am also interested in studying at Oxford or Cambridge in the UK. (Not sure which college or anything, still very early in this process) Firstly, what do the DPhill and MSt abbreviations mean? I am assuming its a PhD and Masters, but does anyone have any more information on that? Does one need a masters to apply for the PhD programs? What is a research degree vs a taught degree? Also, Oxford's website says you need a 3.75 GPA if you are coming from the US... I was awarded honors and distinction within my English major at Colby, but I only have a 3.68. Could I really not apply then? Thank you!!

Are there many PhDs that allow/encourage you to pursue interdisciplinary studies? IE, if I want for a straight English PhD, would I be encouraged to also write creatively if I wanted, or to study theater (the other thing I'm thinking about studying).

Hey folks, So I'm a graduating senior this year at Colby College and I'm just starting my grad school search. I'm planning to take probably two years off before I apply (one year in my hometown working, then hopefully the second year I will be teaching English in Vietnam) but I'm really stuck in how to even begin to look for the kind of program I want. I really want to study both English lit (probably medieval) and creative writing. I also think that I want a PhD as it'll better my chances of getting hired. I'd be happy enough to just go for the straight English lit PhD, but I've heard that it's just getting really hard to be published as a novelist unless you're coming out of MFA programs. Ideally, I'd like to be able to pursue scholarly literary research and get some creative writing feedback/make the right connections to get published. I want the research portion to be substantial because I don't want to be limited to teaching only creative writing. I've seen some programs that offer dual PhDs in Lit and Creative Writing, like USC, but they accept so few people that I'll obviously need to apply to more places. I also know that there are some dual MFA/PhD programs? (Also, does anyone know about similar programs in the UK or anywhere else outside the US? Do the programs there work differently?) I would love some advice! Thank you so much!

Hey guys - I'm just graduating from Colby College and starting to do a little research into this stuff. Does anyone know if there are other schools that offer this kind of dual PhD program, with creative writing and literature? USC's program sounds perfect for me but gosh that acceptance rate is low. Anyone know of any similar programs?