hj2012

That does sound like an incredibly tough decision to make! I'm not sure if I have any insight to offer, but I just wanted to comment on something that you mentioned. From what I understood, there might be fewer medievalists, but there are also fewer jobs in that field. If you are really drawn to contemporary lit, I wouldn't abandon that interest because of more jobs in one field or another.

Wow, your philosophy toward roommates sounds nearly exactly like mine! Are you searching for a roommate for the fall?

I don't know anything about the programs themselves, but UIC will be quite expensive. Gainesville and Bloomington will probably be cheapest. You can use MIT's living wage calculator to get a sense of basic costs: http://livingwage.mit.edu/ In terms of warmth (and weather), Gainesville has year-round summer, while Midwest winters (Chicago) can be quite brutal. My dad is a university professor and he did a gig at Bloomington when he was younger. My mom, who accompanied him there, still complains about the place to this day. But this was nearly 15 years ago, and I expect much has changed. I do want to put in a plug for Raleigh. Though I've never lived there, I've always felt that it would be a great place to live every time I visited. Good luck on your decision, and congrats on all your offers!

It really depends. Admissions consultants will advise you to get scores above the median at your target schools so that you're in line with the competition. This means bumping up your verbal score a few points, and hopefully doing a little better on the AW as well. That said, I don't think the V score will be a dealbreaker, but if you have other inconsistencies in your application (poor grades or a low TOEFL score, for example), a good GRE score can help offset that. I also must echo QASP: the competition is very, very, very stiff at the California schools, and it's even MORE difficult for international students. I strongly advise you to broaden your search.

Well, this advice was more for the OP, who's in engineering. I was making the assumption that engineers have more options for jobs in their field, provided extenuating circumstances (abysmal GPA, lack of requisite coursework).

Hey there! Congrats. I'm not attending GMU but I'm a NOVA native. (Wooooo, suburbs!) It'll depend on what you want. Will you have a car? What's your budget? Do you want to be close to campus as possible, or would you rather be living in an interesting neighborhood? (The area directly around Mason is very suburban.)

Glad to be of assistance! I second Kamisha, as Irvine is very strong in crit theory. You might also be interested in Santa Cruz's Literature program or Stony Brook's Cultural Studies program.

Duke Literature, Stanford Modern Thought and Literature, Minnesota Comparative Studies, Berkeley Rhetoric (or an English degree with a designated emphasis in Critical Theory). I'm really interested in postcolonial theory (particularly diaspora / migration / theories of belonging) as well.

Yes, I can totally understand that. I think other people mentioned this, but you might think about applying more broadly, and to less competitive schools. This is a general rule of thumb that's passed around (so it's not always true!!), but if you look at the list of grad students at a school and there isn't a single Asian international student....it might be a waste of time and money to apply. =/ I'll PM you the list of places that we keep that are deemed "friendly" to Korean international students. As to the lit GRE question ... if you have the time and money, I don't see why you shouldn't retake it. However, if you have limited time and resources, they may be better spent elsewhere (refining the writing sample and SoP, for example).

Hey! For future reference, gradcafe usernames appears left-justified in the blue bar (mine would be hj2012). "Mocha" is just a nifty little gradcafe moniker for how many posts you have. I suppose I'm just confused by your argument, because in our present world the humanities and STEM are NO WHERE near equally funded. There is far, far, far more money for STEM than the humanities. Google "scholarship for humanities" and "STEM scholarships" and see which way the pendulum swings. My programs (in the humanities) accepted 5-10 students per cohort; it's not uncommon to see STEM cohorts triple or quadruple that size. I find it interesting that you are bemoaning the lack of funding for university STEM students when (1) STEM funding far outstrips the humanities; (2) STEM carries much greater prestige; and (3) STEM students and faculty outnumber those in the humanities. The fact of the matter is that our society already places a very high premium on STEM, and the number of humanities students is already dramatically and drastically shrinking. I'm not arguing that humanities funding should outstrip (or even equal) funding for STEM. But I do think it would be a real shame for our society if the humanities died out altogether -- and these days, they're in real danger of doing so.

Listen to Juillet -- she's spot on. A post-bacc would only be necessary if your grades were truly abysmal (and thus preventing you from securing a FT job) or if you're trying to switch fields and don't have the necessary pre-requisite coursework. I also suspect you are overplaying the importance of staying in school if that seems like the "clear" option to you. For professional degrees, my understanding was that work experience often trumped your academic record.

Hey there! I nearly applied for the Rhet program, but decided that my interests were more aligned with the Ethnic Studies program. (I'd say my primary field of interest is critical race theory and migration/diaspora, so the faculty in E.S. were a better fit.) I'd say your interests sound very much in line with the kind of interdisciplinary work done in Rhetoric, especially if you are methodologically committed to critical theory and psychoanalysis.

Depends. Why do you think you didn't get in? If it's because of a lack of relevant coursework or a GPA problem, then the post-bacc seems reasonable. If the problem was lack of research experience or a poor GRE score, then your path would be different. Is looking for a full-time job out of the question?

Agreed. If your interests aren't strongly quantitative, you might also look at media studies departments or ethnic studies departments as well. There are lots of great California schools with strengths in your areas of interest, so the geographical restriction isn't quite as stifling. Santa Barbara should definitely be on your radar, though. Best of luck to you!

Frank and honest opinion -- your GPA won't hurt you, but it's not high enough to help you. Your lack of an English major might also raise some eyebrows, but won't be a killer as long as you have a substantial history of English coursework. Doubtful that your work experience will help you in the PhD admissions process, as the most important factors are writing sample, statement of purpose and letters of recommendation. Your GRE scores are not bad, although you should know that the verbal score will disqualify you from some schools. If you're super committed to applying to places like Harvard, Yale, etc. you may consider retaking it. In your case (non-English major with a variety of interests), I'd recommend that you also think about applying for master's programs to confirm that you want to continue along this path. You may also want to consider some interdisciplinary programs -- media studies, gender studies, communication/rhetoric, cultural theory, etc. -- as they may be more welcoming homes for your diverse academic interests. I'd look into the PhD program in Culture and Theory at UC-Irvine, the Literary and Cultural Studies PhD at Carnegie Mellon and the Cultural Studies PhD at UC-Davis. Hope this helps. Good luck to you!

What is the relative cost of the two degrees taking funding and other relevant info into account? If, for instance, you're a California resident, I'd say the financial aspect would outweigh the pros of being in DC. Also, what are your eventual goals?

As of now, the first university seems to be the only viable option, seeing as you don't have funding information from the second. I'd wait to see the kind of funding package you receive from the religion program, as I think that should be an important factor in your decision.

Wow -- congratulations!

Sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate that English departments are biased against international students. I was simply asking because there's no point in bringing up your lit GRE score until your general GRE score is up to par. Frankly, I'd advise ALL English lit applicants to aim for a 160V. Many international students think that it's OK to have a low V score because they're not native speakers. This simply isn't the case if you're applying for humanities. I'd also echo proflorax: many, many domestic students get routinely shut out of English PhD admissions, so I wouldn't take that as a sign of bias, or take it too personally. The fact is that there are too many qualified applicants, and not enough spots. I also have to note that if you did both your undergrad and M.A. coursework abroad, you will be at a distinct disadvantage. Again, this is not because of bias, but because your schools (even if they are the best in Taiwan) will not be well-known in the States, and your recommenders likely do not have connections or may even be unfamiliar with how to write a good recommendation letter. (Tip: It's not to simply gush about how you're the best student who ever existed; a good recommendation letter will talk specifically about your accomplishments and situate your future research in terms of a broader scholarly discourse and your personal/scholastic qualities in terms of professional ability.) Someone in Korea went through and looked at top-ten or top-fifteen English Ph.D. programs and found that not a SINGLE Korean international student had been accepted by these programs without first doing a B.A. or M.A. in an English-speaking country. (There was a sprinkling in the top-25, but were concentrated at schools who sometimes accept students without funding, like CUNY.) I suspect the same is true for Taiwanese students as well. Make sure you're applying very, very broadly in terms of rankings. If you don't mind me asking, what are your research interests? Where did you apply this season?

Rising_star is absolutely right -- you're going to have access to some awesome internships and practicums in NY, and from what I understand, that's what's most important. Congratulations on all your admittances, and best of luck making a decision!

I agree that SUNY or CUNY won't have much of a brand name recognition, but you might be fine for your field. My cousin did her AuD at a NY instate school and she had no problem transitioning to the Seattle market after she got married (she received job offers even before she moved). In the end, considering the general lack of funding for AuDs I would follow the money.

Not trying to be a jerk, either, but as someone who migrated from science to humanities, it really surprises me the number of people who go on and get a PhD in the sciences. I love what I do, but the other half is knowing that my work is useful in understanding and interpreting a world that is more overcrowded and 'complex' by the day. I am sure there are topics in the sciences that are useful, but when these PhD students usually talk to me, it's usually about 'Euclidean vectors' or 'seasonal reproductive success of sandgrouses.' It boggles my mind that funding even exists for these topics in a time when many Americans lack a basic knowledge of their own national history. Sorry, I know this is harsh to some. It just seems like there are way too many going this route. The number of STEM PhDs stuck in an endless loop of post-docs certainly agrees with me. Look, I actually have a deep respect for the sciences, but consider how ignorant the above paragraph sounds. I don't attempt to convince STEM people that their research is worthless because I can't immediately understand its significance (you're going to spend your entire life observing the mating rituals of jellyfish? that's cool). Knowledge production in the humanities differs from that in STEM, but we need people devoted to the task of interpreting and challenging our social structures and cultural norms, just as we need people to push the boundaries of our knowledge of the natural world.

From your description, SAIS sounds like the school that you really want to go to, and it's the one I would suggest for you. The only other consideration: if you're thinking that you'll be primarily searching for employment in Korea, the name-brand value of Columbia might be a boost. Good luck to you!

In general, the GRE is a bit more important for international students because it's seen as an "equalizer," especially since adcomms are often unfamiliar with the quality of the applicant's undergrad institution and/or the grading scales in place. Lavender, before you concentrate on the lit GRE, I would look at your general GRE scores. Is the verbal 160+? Do you have near-perfect TOEFL scores? I work at an admissions consulting place (albeit in Korea), and years of test data show that this is a huge, huge factor for Asian international students applying in the humanities. I think adcomms might be more doubtful of an international student's ability to succeed in a reading/writing intensive program if they do poorly on the general GRE/TOEFL. Best of luck to you!

That is a lot to consider, and it seems you have some good offers on the table. If you're able to find an RA/TAship at Maxwell, it seems a pretty good deal considering the (relatively) low cost of living in Syracuse (in comparison to DC or NYC). Also, though there aren't many opportunities in Syracuse during the year, I feel like that Maxwell has a good national reputation. The rule of thumb I always heard was to avoid taking out more in loans than you expect to make in a year. Others can comment on the truthiness of this statement, though.