callmelilyb

Hello, I think your language training will be more than sufficient for many solid programs. I was recently admitted to a top 20 program (you can PM me or look through my other posts on the forum if you really want to know which program) with fluency in Spanish and one semester of French. When I had an informal interview type thing with the DGS she said, "So you're lanuguage skills are basically Spanish, is that correct" and I said yes and then sort of mumbled something about elementary French and loving languages...and she basically replied, "Oh, well great you'll just learn two more languages while you're here!" Which leads me to believe there must be opportunities for language study while in the program. At any rate I think if you've got at least ONE language down to fluency, and thus show a capacity for learning language at all (which I honestly believe some people just don't have) I think you'll be fine. Also, keep in mind technically you only need a "reading competency" of that language....which I think comes much easier than actually speaking or writing in a new language. I know it varies by program but after looking up the criteria to pass language requirements at some top programs I SWEAR I could pass damn near any romance language requirement if I studied on my own over the summer or something. Anyhow, don't let people scare you off with their: "Hello I'm fluent in sixteen completely unrelated languages that I've been speaking since birth" stories. Of course this is all assuming that you aren't trying to get into Harvard...that's a whole other story. But for most solid (top 15-30 programs I think you'd be fine).

I'll be going straight from a BA in IR to a PhD program in English this Fall. I had actually only finished up half my English minor at the time that I applied to programs. I think coming from this kind of background makes the SOP even more important -- you've got to make some sort of claim for why the non-English baskground you've got has prepared you to undertake advanced study in your new field. Not sure that I did the greatest job of this myself but I think it's a different kind of SOP than traditional English majors/English MA-holders would write. As I mentioned I think there's a big move toward interdisciplinarity in the field at most major programs so as long as you've got the rest of your credentials lined up I think it's actually a plus to be coming from a different field! One of the other people on the forum right now that's been wildly successful at getting into major programs double majored in Economics....definitely makes you stand out in a crowd of 500 applications when 450 of them are English majors.

Hello! I am an IR transplant myself (though only my BA in IR, with a minor in English) and have been successful getting into PhD programs in English Literature this application round. I think having a different background worked in my favor and of course my area of interest directly relates to the things I studied in IR as an undergrad. I too, worked on nationalism, but the bulk of my research and interests were in immigration history/policy, theories of assimilation and acculturation/accommodation, and subaltern studies. So my interests are in immigrant narratives, migrant literature, subaltern studies, bilingualism, discourses of mestzaje, post-nationalism, blah blah blah. I think an IR background lends itself quite well to some of the major trends in literature...questions of globalization, identity, ethnicity, of course postcolonial lit/theory, subaltern studies, national identity, social, ethnic, cultural and critical race theory, etc. etc. I'd start with poco stuff if I was you (in the way of Spivak, Bhabha, Said, etc.) and I think you'll find a lot of interplay exists between the two fields. I'd also look into transatlanticism. Do you have any foreign language skills? If so you might want to look into Comp Lit, which lends itself quite nicely to incorporating other fields...although I feel like the trend in most English Lit programs these days is toward a "comp lit" interdisciplinary methodology. For one example of a recent book that blends IR and Literature take a look at Joseph Slaughter's "Human Rights, Inc." in which he demonstrates that the twentieth-century rise of "world literature" and international human rights law are related phenomena. Just an example of the type of work you/I could undertake by blending the two fields. Hope this helps! And welcome!

I think a lot of the delay is due to the fact that the departments don't seem to have direct control over the notification systems (be it online or hard copy letters or mass emails). It seems to me that many departments make their decisions and then turn them over to administration to be "officially processed." As we all know, admin can be a slow-moving machine! So accepted students tend to find out sooner (because departments can just contact them individually by phone or email)....but there would be far too many calls/emails to make to individually notify students who can't be offered admission. Frankly I get the sense that individual departments are as irritated about the notification process as we are. Anyhow, I'm sorry this application round has been tough on you. Don't lose hope though, many, many people get in to top notch programs in subsequent application rounds!

Mine was 50% too, with the possibility that I may "qualify for additional financial aid." As far as I know Brandeis is a great, intimate program and if you ultimately want to pursue a PhD I think they have a good record of sending people off. When I was originally thinking of pursuing an MA first they were definitely at the top of my list. I have a bunch of information saved in my email from a student who's currently in the joint program -- if you're interested, PM your email address and I'll pass it along to you.

The numbers were referring to PhD applicants. Did you apply to the joint program or just English? I spoke to a student who is in the joint program right now and she too has a tuition remission but hers was through the WGS department. At any rate, it seems like it's not totally uncommon to get tuition remission for the MA programs there. I will be gracefully turning down their offer asap so that they can move on to someone else. Good luck!

I applied to the PhD program at Brandeis and last night I received an email that I had been offered admission to the joint MA program in English and WGS with a tuition remission scholarship. I won't be taking the offer so hopefully that will open up a spot for one of you MA hopefuls out there. At any rate, I thought I'd share because it seems that Brandeis is probably quite close to making their final decisions (if they haven't already). Of course the email mentioned that "We had a record number of excellent applicants for a very small number of slots and were able to admit only 3% of our candidates." Mmmmmmmkay.

Oh Brown...you were the only one left I really cared about. Sigh.

I recently finished A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man -- loved it. I am currently about 2/3 through Invisible Man -- loving it. I think I'll head for some nonfiction next....any suggestions? Oh Faulkner....you make me never want to write! But Oh Lolita! You make me hate myself!

Hilarious! Thanks for sharing, anything that can make me laugh during the next few weeks as rejections roll in is greatly appreciated! "Here, have this basket of stuff and come stay for the weekend!" ROFL.

Popstitute, your admissions record this round is out of control impressive! I want to read your writing sample just to see what kind/caliber of writing gets people accepted into damn near all of the top programs in the country. At any rate, congratulations!!!

Momentary surge in blood pressure.

I too received my official letter of acceptance via the website yesterday. I did not receive any sort of notification that the status had been updated, just checked on my own accord (after having been notified unofficially be email) and there it was!

If there's one thing applying to graduate school has taught me, it's underestimate the importance of numbers and overestimate the importance of your written work and your fit with a program. Unless you think your GRE score is below a "cutoff point" (I'd say 600-650 for most places) or unless you have some reason to believe that you will do significantly better (like more than 50 points because you were ill the day you took it) then I'd pour all of my energy into writing sample and SOP. As for writing sample, I expanded what was originally a 6 page paper written for a senior seminar undergraduate course. I put in a ton of extra work to get it to the 12 page mark (on the shorter end) but made sure that those 12 pages were rock solid and damn near perfect. I had about six people read it including three professors of lit, one grammar professor, my husband and my grandmother In total I probably did three rounds of significant revisions and two or three additional rounds of tweaking and perfecting. My writing sample was not even remotely related to my intended field of interest and I have had decent success this application round. I didn't get into WUSTL or anything, but I did get into good solid programs that I am very interested in.

This is the greatest thing I've ever read on gradcafe.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about Rutgers and New Brunswick! I've never been to the East Coast (outside of a week in DC). It's one of those situations where I'm feeling very excited about the program but unsure of the city/location. I've heard mostly negative things about Jersey and New Brunswick, though nothing specific. I'm planning on visiting in March so maybe you could give me the lowdown on things to look into/out for? Also, what would you say about the cost of living? How much for a decent one bedroom apartment how about a gallon of milk? If you'd rather talk privately I can PM you. Thanks!

I attended at state university in California (A CSU, not a UC but the budget issues have been more or less commensurate) and I will second the sentiments of the previous poster. All of my professors here seem to be optimistic that things are turning around. Outside of that, I'm not sure which UC's you're thinking of, but I think that places like UCLA and Berkeley have so much weight that it would be difficult for a few years of budget woes to do any devastating damage as far as faculty and reputation are concerned.

@ soxpuppet and M.J.P: I was just accepted to Comp Lit and would like to talk about the university and area if you have any information. I'm from N. California so I know nothing about Jersey. I know that the DGS of Comp Lit said they took eight people this year, and Comp Lit is certainly smaller than English if that helps at all.

That Harvard one made me smile too...there are a few other good ones on there, like one of the Princeton acceptances says "Holy Shit." Which sums up my feelings about getting accepted anywhere! Yay for good news!

I totally have a new hobby now. Did anyone see this one today? University Of Texas, Austin EE, Electrical Engineering, PhD (F10) Other via Other on 17 Feb 2010 U 17 Feb 2010 Hello stupid American that thinks this is a chat room. My first choice would be your mom's anal tract.

I have heard that Berkeley's Rhet/Comp program was unique...now I know why!

Thanks! You know we're all dying for any little bit of information from behind the scenes!

I just wanted to throw in some of my own perspective on the "stats" issue... Personally I've never asked for stats, but I have posted my own on the forum and am also guilty of looking for them on the forum (as well as placing too much emphasis on them). For me, posting my stats and searching for stats came not from a sense of "bragging" or "competition" but rather from an authentic sense of insecurity and inferiority. Like others on this forum, I come from a no-name undergraduate program where 99% of the people in English become k-12th grade teachers. Hardly anyone from my school applies to places that I was hoping to apply and the "numbers" were able to provide some sense of comfort that I could in fact "hang it" with some of the kids from Ivies. I can't read the writing samples or SOP's from other people so I had no real way of gauging my "eligibility" for applying to somewhere like Columbia without checking the numbers. So while numbers can be a source of anxiety for some of you, I do believe they are a source of validation or comfort for others. However I have to agree that at the beginning of the process I was wildly misinformed about the purpose and significance of numbers in this process. Fortunately, this forum, and my interactions with the wide range of people from different backgrounds and with different applicant profiles have taught me that numbers really serve as nothing more than a bare minimum baseline qualification for most programs. And the programs who only care about numbers aren't the places I want to be anyway. When I see programs that have taken people with a 600 Verbal, it makes me think highly of that program. I also appreciate the camraderie on this board: more imporant than collecting stats, I have been able to connect with a group of people who have pulled through for me in ways that some of my closest friends (and husband) have been unable to in this process. People on this forum helped me discount the importance of a mediocre subject test score that nearly resulted in my calling off applications this cycle (and I've already been accepted with full funding at one of my top choices!), not to mention the people who have taken the time to read over my SOP drafts, offer advice and information on programs, etc. While I've found myself caught up in the "Stats" vortex I've also tried to be a source of support, information, encouragement, etc. I feel like I have already begun to engage in and be a part of academia by interacting with and making connections to others on this forum. And yes, the stats requests and other messages on the results page are obnoxious.

I have to agree that the finality of rejection provides relief. I think that "No" is something I can digest and move on with, while silence, or not hearing keeps me on this emotional up and down rollercoaster that vacillates between kicking myself in the brain for being presumptuous enough to even apply to some of these places and trying to cultivate that tiny seed of hope that just *maybe* I'll squeek in somewhere. It's the up and down that kills me. I've been rejected at two places officially and after recieving each notification I went through this, "Okay, now I can move on" moment that actually felt really good.

I think perhaps that it is experience and maturity that are far more important than strictly age per se. I know the three are often linked, but not necessarily. For example one of advisors said there would be programs and professors out there who are looking for people that have "done something besides just go to school..." Age of course, makes extra-academic (is that the right phrase?) experience more likely. Of course this does depend on the program, professors, etc. I think there are probably plenty of schools who don't care if you've done anything outside of school, but I think there are no schools where it's bad to have BOTH done well in school AND have done well in other things.