guinevere29

If there are any other medievalists out there...do your schools accept ancient langauges (other than Latin)? Mine doesn't even though they have one of the best Germanic langauges programs in the country. So, even though I am proficient in Old English and plan on taking more of that as well as Old Norse it won't count towards the requirement. I minored in Spanish in undergrad and also took Latin so I'll probably try to test out of those, even though I want to take French and German as well.

I feel the same way. I was offered a full time job and when I broke the news to them that I got into grad school after all, they decided to keep me for the summer anyways. I like the company, I like the people I work with, and yet I'm just not happy with the lifestyle. Every job has its ups and downs, but the corporate world just isn't for me. There's something I simply enjoy about my classes and the fufillment of the research and writing I do at school that I haven't been able to find in the business world. I know it does sound romantic but I know exactly what you mean!

Just southwest of campus. Decently far away from the undergraduate life and close enough to Balantine. How about you?

My goal was to break into the 90th percentile on both the Verbal and AW. My scores weren't astounding (163V and 5.0AW), but enough to get me a couple funding offers and into two top-tier MA programs. Still, I am a believer SoP, writing sample, and letters of req are most important.

I see no one's posted in here in a while, but anyone getting readying to move down? I'm excited to move in to my apartment!

Things I would have done different I'll echo a lot of other comments on this thread in saying I wish I would have done more work to determine my own "fit" for a program before I went ahead and applied. I could have, in some cases, narrowed down my list and in others, broadened it. I wish I would have contacted POIs from the schools I was most interested in before I applied. My SOPs could have been improved upon. I thought it would be easy to throw something together at the last minute for that and I was wrong. I should have looked more into funding opportunities at schools. I'm pleased with the PhD program I will be attending in a month and feel it is an excellent fit, but I can't help but feel I could have had leverage to ask for a better funding offer if I would have gotten even better funding from other schools. This I would NOT have done differently Studied more for the Subject GRE. I didn't crack open a single practice book or read about test strategies and my score was crap. However, less than half my schools required it and the one that gave me the best offer did require it. So go figure. Scratch and rewrite my writing sample a couple weeks before my first application deadline. While this lead to a lot of stress and panic, I do believe I came up with a much better sample by finally letting go of my old paper. Apply to a "back-up" MA program. I resisted doing this in spite of the advice of a professor, because I was convince my list comprised of only top-20 schools were the only schools I was willing to attend. I ended up deciding to apply, and it was the first acceptance call I recieved. It was a breath of fresh air amidst the stress of recieving rejections that honestly wouldn't have been a bad choice in the end if it was the only place I got into.

I think you're right to question this, but I know at least my motivation in coming on this site was to gather many different perspectives on the addmission process and graduate student life rather than rely only on what my professors and other students at my undergrad institution told me. Like anything, the true value comes in discerning which advice to take to heart. The answer is usually a comglomeration of a lot of varying perspectives.

In my experience, the only way to truly do well on that vocabulary section is to memorize those words - and more importantly, memorize the definitions listed in the practice books. I like to think I am good with vocabulary. Not only do I read a lot, I also study acient languages, which helps me to determine the meaning of a word in context just based on roots and etymology. Unfortunately, I found that this did not help me on the GRE - it actually screwed me up! The GRE will sometimes throw in words as an option with roots that would make sense given the context of the sentence, but the actual meaning of the word doesn't fit. For example, if you can figure out that "pedantic" has something to do with teaching, but don't know that it has a negative connotation, this will hurt you more than help you. You just have to memorize the definitions.

Same here! I love my Keurig. It gives me the perfect amount, and since it only makes one cup, I don't feel inclined to drink more than I need. When there is just a whole pot of coffee sitting there...I keep going back for more even when I could do without it.

Well, I can't say for certain but I think this varies from program to program. I'm in a direct-entry PhD program (i.e. there are students who come in straight from their bachelor's degree), and if you fall below a 3.7 GPA you face getting kicked out of the program and not finishing with your PhD.

I'm not sure "not very competitive" and "with decent funding" go hand-in-hand very often. What do you intend to do with your degree? If you want to go on to get a PhD, it's worth considering whether the school you are going to for your MA has a program that will set you up to eventually get into a PhD program.

So, I went to UIUC for my undergrad and worked closely with the professors. When I sent one of my professors my SoP for review - I had struggled to cut it down to 500 words - he told me it was a "bit short for a personal statement." He didn't even know his own department's website had that word limit.

If only this worked...it would be well worth the $55! I can't say how many times I've needed this. I decided to study abroad the summer before my applications, which actually turned out to be quite a hassle because it drastically cut down on the time available to start working on application materials, take the GRE etc. Wish I could have gone back and gotten some work down on my applications that summer.

I unfortunately can't speak in general terms regarding the quality of Kzoo's output. The one graduate student I knew who received an MA from their program is an Anglo-Saxonist and I know she was accepted into a number of good medieval PhD programs. In the end, I was happy to have the option of a funded MA from Kzoo, even though I don't know if I would have chosen it over any of my other options. Also, I completely forgot to mention to look into the University of Toronto. They have a world-class medieval program and one of the best for Latin studies. I don't think they offer much in the way of funding to international MA students though. At least, they didn't offer me anything.

I realized my post could be kind of misleading. Only the parts that go directly to school expenses are not taxed. If you spend it on non-school related expenses they are taxed :-/

I took the subject GRE only 3 weeks before my first application was due, because my original plans to take it a month earlier were foiled when the test sold out in the locations nearest to me. I emailed my schools in panic, because the GRE says to allow up to 6 weeks for your subject scores to come it (whereas with the General, you can at least report them unofficially even though the official scores are not in). I emailed my schools with the earliest application dates in panic, and not one of them seemed the least been concerned over the fact that my subject scores would come in a little late. Since you're taking in a full 6 weeks in advance, I'd say you're fine and I wouldn't spend the $50 to move your test date!

I also got a 4.0 on the writing the first time I took the GRE, and was devastated as well. I got a perfect score on the ACT writing my first time taking the test and as an English PhD applicant, my entire application was about my writing abilities. I hadn't prepared at all for the writing section, and that was my big mistake. The writing section really grades your ability to follow their guidelines for structuring an argument, not your overall writing ability, and I think most admissions committees are well aware of this. That being said, I didn't want to get thrown into the "questionable" pile at any of my schools before my writing sample was given full consideration. For this reason, I did retake the GRE and ended up getting a 5.0 on the writing. I still don't believe this is an accurate reflection of my writing skills, but it was in the 93 percentile (I also got a 163 Verbal and 154 Math) and I didn't think it was worth spending an all the extra money to try again. Good luck to you, and I wouldn't get too down over the 4.0 score...at least that's what I tell myself

This is another reason I chose to live alone. My boyfriend and I will be living 4 hours apart this first year, and we'll be alternating who visits whom since we both will have cars. So, when he comes to visit me my apartment will be our space.

They are not taxed (thank god). I found this blog very helpful actually: Funding Grad School . He has a post outlining which incomes are taxed and why stipends and fellowships are not. Expenses are majorly stressing me out right now. The car, apartment, etc. are costing a lot more than I thought they would. *Sigh*

While I cannot comment on your likelihood of getting into a program, just looking at your story I'd encourage you to apply. In the end the quality of your personal statements and writing sample will really be the determinants. Sometimes the personal statements of doe-eyed undergraduates who have no idea what advanced education will really entail are not as convincing as someone who has experienced more of what life has to offer and is now making the informed decision to go back to school. There's no harm in applying to both MA and PhD programs. Some PhD programs will even consider you for their masters program even if you don't get into the PhD program. Sometimes if your academic history is more of a wildcard, having a master's in literature under your belt will give PhD admissions committees the confidence that you can do the work. Then again, I had a friend who majored in Spanish and in her last year of undergrad took up an interest in medieval Celtic studies. She ended up getting accepted to Stanford's PhD program. You just never know when your writing is just going to click with a faculty member at a school. It looks like you've already given this thought, but do yourself a favor and make sure you think through your goals in obtaining a PhD. If not only to solidfy them in your own mind, then also to be able to articulate them clearly to an admissions committee. Good luck!

I use "best" as the closing of my emails. I hope it's not offending anyone, but I started using it because I thought it was a nice, polite way to end an email without sounding too formal or informal.

I also wouldn't advise rushing to retake the GRE. 163 on the verbal is a good solid score that I don't think will exclude you from any program. The 4.5 on the writing is unfortunately on the cusp; I think the percentile scores jump from 78th percentile to 93rd percentile just between 4.5 and 5.0. That being said, I can't imagine any literature program valuing the GRE writing score above your writing sample and personal statements. Any number of factors could have lead to a mediocre score on the GRE, but the writing sample has been selected by you as the best example of your academic writing. Bottom line, I wouldn't spend the money or time to retake it unless there was some way to only retake the writing portion. Those efforts are best put towards your SoP and writing sample! Hope this helps and good luck on your applications.

Is it possible to add options once I've posted it? Those are all good ideas, but I can't find where I would edit the poll.

After 4 years of living with roommates, I'm going it alone my first year in grad school. I loved some of my roommates, others I had a few issues with, but for the most part I was an agreeable roommate. However, the thought of living with a completely random roommate my first year of graduate school didn't sit well with me. Heck, even if you do know someone you never know what it will be like to live with them. I'm considering getting a pet to help with the lonliness and hoping that there will be enough work do to and friends to make once I move in to school that I'll be pleased with my choice. What is everyone else doing their first year?