guinevere29

I thought I'd pipe in on this discussion since we are both medievalists. Poliscar is right that most of the international MAs you listed (both British and Canadian) are going to cost you a lot. I was accepted to the MA at Toronto, but as is typical for international students, was offered no funding. I didn't even apply to any programs in England because I knew I wasn't willing to pay. Unless you've really looked at the finances and you're on board to pay upwards of $50,000 for your MA overseas (knowing you will likely carry that debt into a PhD program if you choose to move on), I wouldn't bother spending all that application money on interational MA schools. As far as funding for master's students, Western Mighican University (I've posted about it elsewhere on this forum) offers funding for masters students and is an excellent place to study and build your resume for applications to PhD programs later on. Medieval studies is a speciality there and they have the faculty to support their medieval lit and history students. A friend of mine who got her MA from WMU got into Notre Dame, UIUC, and Minnesota for the PhD after attending WMU's program. Not to mention you'll get to see the big medieval conference every year without traveling, which could be great for networking for PhD apps. Georgetown also offers a funded MA to some students. This is a more expensive place to live, but I've known medievalists (with specific Anglo-Saxon interests) who have successfully used this program as a stepping stone to top PhD programs. However, I wouldn't count yourself out of all the PhD programs just yet. "Fit" is definitely a good thing to take into consideration, but you don't want to limit yourself too much, or take yourself out of the running for the schools. Some more anecdotal evidence for why you shouldn't make assumptions is that a good friend of mine who had an unusal application (considering she did not major in English) ended up getting into the medieval english PhD programs at Stanford and University of Virginia. You just don't know what is going to interest POIs on your applications and a lot of them are willing to overlook percieved shortcomings if they really like your writing sample or personal statement. My advice is to apply to more PhD programs if that is truly your end goal and to ask around to more people about MAs in the states that offer funding. Five PhD programs isn't going to give you a good statsitical chance of getting into one. I applied to 9 programs total and got into 3 MA programs and one PhD program. I'm really happy with the fit of the program I did get into, but I had no leverage to ask for more funding because I didn't have any better offers to compare it with. The best way to search for good programs in medieval is to ask your adivsors/professors and current medieval graduate students. It's so hard to look at the rankings and decide because a school could have awesome faculty for medieval cycle plays and have few Anglo-Saxonists and the overall rankings wouldn't reflect that.

It always suprises me that they don't attempt to narrow down the medieval field a little more, if only for the purposes of describing what you study within the larger scope of medieval literature. I probably know more about some random periods like the Victorian era than I do about the 14th and 15th centuries. My one piece of advice to you on applicaitons is to make sure you do your research on specific faculty members interests within medieval. For example, I expressed a strong interest in ancient Germanic texts and philology and not coincidentally the school I am currently attending has some star facutly members in that specific area. If I was looking to concentrate on Chaucer, I might not have been accepted even with the same crudentials. I'll echo Champagne's thoughts on this; I would retake it if you can, but if not don't get too distraught. I also was unable to improve my score on the reading comp question no matter how hard I tried. I got to the point where I would get all of the vocab questions right and still consistently miss two or more reading comp questions. The thing to remember is that the type of thinking those contrived reading comp questions test is the opposite of what English PhD programs are looking for. If you can prove that you can think outside the box and support your claims in your writing sample and personal statement, that will be more of an asset to you than a top GRE score.

This may be the equivalent of having to pay "non-remissable fees" at other schools. We probably end up paying that much in fees for various things at my school, but technically tuition is waived. Poorly worded though on UT's part.

I think UIC is a school that can be excellent if you have the right "fit," but may not offer as wide a range of English Lit-oriented faculty as you would find at say, the Champaign-Urbana campus. I'm sure you've looked at their website, but they give a pretty fininte list of suggestions as far as the interests they're looking for. My impression was always that UIC was stronger in creative writing, media studies, urban and cultural studies than some of the more traditional literature areas, which is not a bad thing as long as that is what you're interested in. One of my favorite research papers I've written outside of my concentration was on the fiction work of Luis Alberto Urrea, who is a faculty member there.

Hi! Sorry I haven't been around for a little while so I missed this...I'm a medievalist as well! My interests are in Old English, language and translation studies, philology, Anglo-Saxon poetry, as well as French romance of the 12th century, religion, and Arthurian legend. Us medievalists tend to have some specific interests since "medieval" encompasses a lot of different periods. I'm actually already attending, so I won't be applying this year, but good luck to you! I turned down a full time job in marketing to come to graduate school as well. After working there for three months though I couldn't wait to come to school. I just enjoy the work I'm doing so much more so I don't mind the lowered pay scale!

Well I mentioned this in my post right above so I don't know if it wasn't what you were looking for, but I sought paragraphs that gave context and instead of including the entire paragraph I bracketed and gave a 1-2 sentence summary of the paragraph. (A professor recommended I do this, so it much be a somewhat accepted convention.) This left me with more room to keep the paragraphs in which my writing and analysis really shown. Here is an example of a paragraph I bracketed if this helps: [in this section of the paper, I discuss Abelard’s account of his relationship with Heloise in Historia Calamitatum. Abelard portrays himself as a hero and Heloise as a submissive figure and object of his lust. Heloise challenges this portrayal in her letters to Abelard, calling into question the morality of his motives and asserting her own opinion of the morality of love in a way that contradicts Abelard’s depiction of her.] In the original version of my paper, I demonstrated these points through the primary source, but this paragraph is really just setting up the context for my reading of Heloise's letters. I don't mince words in my summary, I just state what the paragraph was about as blatantly as I can. I also included a note and the beginning of the paper explaining that the original version had been amended. Hope this helps!

I love how this conversation is like so many I had with my friends back in high school, sometimes I forget what fun it is to have a secret crush! Even since undergrad I've been very upfront and bold about my feelings toward guys, so my natural advice would be to go and ask one or both of them out to coffee - what do you have to loose!? However, I've been thinking lately about the merits of letting a platonic relationship develop before you play the dating card. Once you drop a strong hint that you're romantically interested in someone - especially with shy guys - things can get awkward if the person feels pressure. Or things could get romantically intense really quickly, before you get the chance to really know the person. I actually was friends with my current boyfriend of 3 years for a while before we started dating, there was flirting, but at the beginning we were either seeing other people or just not in the right place at the right time. And then a while later we both were single and he asked me to be his date to an event last minute when someone else canceled on him! We've been dating ever since So this ancedote is just to say - if you are interested in one or either guy, definitely ask them out for something informal! But if they don't drop "big" signs of interest in you right away, don't despair. Sometimes it all works out for the best.

Sounds like everyone has been having a great experience! I love my campus & everyone has been so welcoming! Every year I have moved up in the educational system I have been warned about "more work." However, with each time I move up I find I'm given more liberty to choose the classes I take and the way I interact with my work. Grad school is no different - I may technically have more work, but I enjoy doing it and am drawn to the topics of my classes. It seems like have I all the time in the world! Currently on a spree of decorating my apartment on a very tight budget.

Thanks for the advice! There are plenty of opportunities to apply for travel grants, I just don't know exactly how competitive they are to recieve until I apply for them. I already sent in paper proposal for one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) conference in my concentration within lit and I know most of the people in my department are going whether they are presenting a paper or not. Even if I don't get accepted to present or get travel money, I'm hoping it will be worth the experience.

Thanks for the advice. I'm in my first year of PhD school, so just getting started. Just asking around to other grad students in my department I was also advised to either 1) choose conferences that aren't too far or where I know I can stay with someone or 2) conferences that are located somewhere I really want to visit or present networking opportunties I can't find elsewhere. This echoes a lot of what you said of your field. I think I'll probably either limit it to one a year, or use it as an excuse to vist out-of-town friends if they are in the area.

I've applied and been accepted to present a paper at a conference in October and I'm running into all sorts of trouble with funding. This may be partly due to the fact that my research is with the writing center, and not the English department per se, but I've heard rumors it is difficult to get travel grants even within the department. I applied to one travel grant and did not get it. There is another grant I can apply for, but it is offered by the association that is holding the conference, not my institution, so I have no idea what my chances of getting it are. I'm committed to going to this conference regardless, but I'm looking for some general advice on how tenaciously I should puruse presenting at conferences in the future. Does the benefit of having presented at a conference outweigh the potential cost? Is it normal to get funded for conferences, or is it very competitive? Should I limit myself to one a year or attend as many as I can get accepted to present at? Any help with this would be much appreciated, since I have another opportunity to submit a paper to a conference coming up and I'm not sure whether it's worth the time and effort. Thanks!

Also good for stuff that you literally can't trasnport/carry. I just ordered a bed and a futon; due to be delivered any day now! I have a small car and not a lot of arm strength, so delivery to my door was kind of necessary. I have been sleeping on an air mattress this past week, so I am definitely ready for the bed to be delivered. Did most people get furnished places or unfurnished? I wanted a furnished one because I don't know if I will be in this exact apartment for more than a year, but it still didn't come with all the furniture I needed.

When applying to English degrees (which I assume is somewhat similar to history), I was told that the quant score most likely wouldn't be taken into account. If it is taken into account, it will for sure be the least important aspect of your application, so wiegh that into the amount of time and money you spend on retaking it.

Maybe I missed this information, but are you in an MA or a PhD program? I just assumed when first reading your post it must be PhD because as an MA only lasts 1-2 years, fit is not as big of an issue. I agree with Fuzzy's suggestion that it might behoove you to give it a try since you've already invested a lot in getting to the point you're at now. If you are in a PhD program and do not yet have an MA, you could consider leaving after you have finished the coursework for an MA. I know people who have decided that grad school isn't for them and leave with an MA, but in your case you could apply elsewhere. Maybe it would help for us to know some more information about what type of program you are currently in.

I can't post the ariticle because the link I have to it is through my student subcription, but if you can access it, check out "The statement of purpose in graduate program applications: Genre structure and disciplinary variation" Samraj & Monk, 2008. They bring up a very interesting point - that the success of specific content strategies in personal statements is a "semi-occluded" genre (i.e. there is little to no numerical data, and most of it is confidential). It is worth a read if only for the testimonies of AdCom members, since these serve as a good reminder of your audience. I worked at the Writer's Workshop at my undergraduate institution, and we saw a LOT of personal statements. After going through the experience of reading many of them in many different fields, here is my advice: 1. You do not need a "hook" like you may have been taught in middle school. No quotations, no "I loved to read since childhood." 2. The only exception to the "no personal stories" rule is if you have a specific instance of something that got you interested in your field of concentration (i.e. after reading X piece of theory, I began to think about Y, which lead to the topic of my undergrad thesis etc.) 3. If you mention someting on your CV, your personal statement must answer a question that is not evident just by reading the CV. Your CV gives the AdCom a laundry list of your experience, publications, relevant course work etc, but it requires the AdCom to interpret why a particular experience is important. For example, your CV says "taught Writing 101," your personal statement should say "Writing 101 prepared me to balance teaching with my graduate studies by..." 4. The hardest part: finding a balance between being too specific and too broad. Use your research experience and interests as examples of the work you can do, not as the only topic you love and want to research, or are capable of researching. 5. Answer directly the question that is on their minds: are you a good fit for this program? You can talk about how special you are until you are blue in the face, but the sad reality is that this process is a crapshoot and what one AdCom member finds relevant and interesting may not impress the next. But program fit is the question they are trying to answer. If you can answer that effectively enough to convince them and you have the writing sample and letters of rec to back up your claims, you may have just earned yourself an acceptance.

I had to cut my sample down for one school that asked for a smaller page range than others. Instead of just cutting it down or including the first 10 pages I showcased the paragraphs where I felt my writing really shown and then cut paragraphs where I really was just making a simple point that was neccesary for the sake of my argument. Instead, I included a bracketed summary of cut paragraphs within the paper. Incidentally, I wish I had done that earlier just as an exercise becasue it really made me think through which elements of my writing were worth showcasing, and which were rather superfluous.

^ Truth. I was all suspicious of the realtors here based on my experiences in Champaign, but my new apartment company has been nothing but nice and accomodating. The original six pack buildings though are/were pretty scummy. I like to consider that a character building experience, preparing me to have low standards of luxury. Prime is definitely the way to go if you have it. 2 day free shipping. I leech off my mom's Amazon Prime account and it has worked wonderfully. I also have recently gotten into buying books for class on my Kindle. The "search" and bookmarking features are godsends when you are trying to find a something you remember reading, but didn't mark. Plus it made carrying multiple books around easy. Not the cheapest way to purchase books though.

I completely agree. However, I will warn that in hindsight, I felt that I focused too narrowly on the research I did for my writing sample in my SoP. In my last couple of years of undergrad, I did a lot of research that focused on ancient languages and translation, and I discussed this at length in my SoP. Not coincidentally, the one PhD program I got into has a very strong medieval language department. Although I'm happy with my program, I didn't realize how narrow my focus actually was and that might have prevented me from getting into other programs. It would have been better to mention some of my research interests, but not tie myself down to the research I did for my writing sample.

One of my professors at my school who has been around for a while and is currently a department head told me he got a 25th percentile score on the quant and a 99th percentile verbal. Granted, this must have been from a while ago, but the story was meant to convey a certain point: the AdCom really doesn't care about your quant score for English.

I got a 4 my first time around as well. I took it again to get a higher verbal score and ended up getting a 5. I just can't imagine why any program would place higher emphasis on a contrived essay written in 30 minutes graded by someone outside the department over your writing sample or personal statement. I would be interested to know if some departments have a cut-off for the AW section score as long as your verbal score is good. 50th percentile in both would indicate poor writing and reading skills, but a 166 in verbal and 4 in writing indicates that you just didn't prepare for how they grade the AW.

As I was reading this thread I was thinking I need to bring up the slow cooker! You can make almost anything in the slow cooker; it's best when you are busy in the evening but have some time to prepare food in the morning. I always go looking on this website for slow cooker recipes: 365 Days of Slow Cooking They have everything you could dream of!

Less than one week until move-in day for me! I am actually on this forum avoiding packing right now. Classes start August 26th...can it really be that soon? Is anyone else really excited about staring their graduate courses? No longer do I have to take some general education requirement in a 200-person lecture with disinterested TAs and rowdy freshmen. I'm looking forward to being able to concentrate on my literature seminars without annoying assignments and group projects for Bio 101 croping up all the time.

I would echo others thoughts in saying that if they took the time to write recommendations for you, letting them know you were accepted would probably be welcomed news. With my recommenders, I knew them well and saw them often, so I was able to tell them in person and I actually sought their advice during my decision process. I'm guess if you're asking the question though you may not be as close with your recommenders. In that case, they might appreciate an email (or thank you card) at the end of the applicaiton season letting them know your final choice. I wouldn't go so far as to give them a blow-by-blow of all your acceptances and rejections as they come in though. My personality is a lot more enthusiastic, so I think from my Just Chill's email would come off as kind of cold if someone who knew me was on the receiving end. I don't think anyone would begrudge you showing your appreciation for their help!

I also agree with proflorlax. I wish I would have spend more time on personal statements and contacting POIs; I honestly believe that could have made the difference in getting into some programs I was rejected from last season. I had the same experience where professors in my program who contacted me after I was admitted knew my writing sample and my personal statement - I highly doubt they looked at my GRE scores beyond looking at them and checking off that they were in the "competitive range." I think it is helpful (if only to ease your mind) to stay in touch with your recommenders throughout the sememster. I sent my a finalized list with all the due dates of the program applications about a month after they agreed to write them. Then, as due dates approached, I sent them a follow-up email with reminders of the program dates and asked them to let me know if there was any trouble with receiving emails from the online apps. They all thanked me for being organized so hopefully it wasn't an annoyance to any of them!

I've been on a lot of road trips so this doesn't phase me. My family drove from Chicago to Rochester, NY with an 8 week old puppy. We stopped at Niagara Falls on the way. Road trips can be kind of miserable while they are actually happening, but that's where all of my best/craziest stories come from.