emily.rose

Just to kind of give the alternate side, I've been accepted into a program that is in-state, making it affordable enough that I would have no loans. In addition, there are opportunities to work on campus as a tutor, at the writing center, etc. They also give MA students the chance to apply for a GA for their second year and receive full funding, and there are often open GA positions at the University Writing Center. I know that the general rule is to never accept an offer that doesn't fully fund your education, but there can be extenuating circumstances. I wouldn't want to go into debt or be in poverty to get an MA in English Lit, but if you won't have to, I don't think it would be the stupidest decision of your life to accept their offer. Take this with a grain of salt...I have individual circumstances that affect my decision-making process. I also haven't yet attended an MA program, so I could actually be making dumb decision, ha! Let's hope not...

So I googled "alt-ac career english phd" and this link came up: http://fromphdtolife.com/transition-q-as/ I know the majority of PhDs want to pursue a TT position, but some of these jobs look really cool! There doesn't have to be misery after academia. Not that I know anything about it just yet, but hey, at least it's a glimmer of hope.

Oh and I forgot to mention that the deadline for a GA is January 15, but the general deadline is March 1.

Maybe not as well known or talked about, but Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA offers GA's that fund tuition and provide a small stipend. If you don't get a GA position first year, you can apply again for the second year. Faculty looks great and from what I read about the program it sounds really thorough. There's also the possibility of a 12 month thesis assistantship for students in the last year of their MA. http://english.vcu.edu/ma/

I applied to 5 MA programs as well and have only heard from one. Even those applications that were due in early January have been silent, so I think it's normal. I wouldn't worry!

All of this talk about the job market and I don't think anyone has mentioned teaching at community colleges. Seems like many positions only require an MA, but with the job market being like it is, a lot these positions are going to those who hold a PhD. I know getting a PhD probably means you're aiming for a career in research, not just teaching, but it doesn't seem like an entirely bad gig to spend 5-7 years doing your own funded research and then teaching at a community college. It's not the TT position everyone is gunning for, but it's also not unemployment/teaching high school/being an adjunct. Any thoughts? P.S. I don't have experience in this area other than what I've read, so apologies if I'm totally off base!

Thank you! It feels good to have a place to go in August As for cost, it's definitely lean living -- the stipend would be less than half of my salary right now. Luckily, I have zero debt from undergrad and I've been working for two years and saving a lot. I plan to treat my savings as a salary, adding to whatever stipend I'm given (crossing my fingers that I'm given a stipend at all). I have a lot of friends where I live now who are attending grad school in the area, and while it certainly takes a lot of budgeting, they're not starving, they're clothed, and they have enough money to spend on cheap beers on the weekend! It's certainly not impossible. I think it just takes a lot of nit-picky budgeting and taking time to look for cheap living options. I have a friend who lives in a converted garage apartment, all utilities included, for a very affordable price. She's been able to work out her finances incredibly well for what she's making with her assistantship.

Now that I've gotten my first acceptance, I'm feeling so antsy for the rest!! I really hope I hear from UVM soon, the package they offer GTAs would be too good to pass up for an MA program. Brandeis seems like an awesome program, but I'm really not sure it's worth the cost. I know that's something all of us are probably worried about on this thread.

So this is probably more small cheese compared to many acceptances that are going out, but I got accepted into Brandeis's MA program with a fellowship offer!!!! This is my first acceptance, so I am currently in the process of calling all my friends and family

I'm wondering how much it matters where you get your MA when applying to PhD programs. I applied to programs all over, including a couple near where I live that aren't necessarily very competitive. I'm hoping that the faculty, research facilities, and good ole' hard work will help me get into a top PhD program eventually, but I'm worried that going from a fairly prestigious undergrad institution to an under-the-radar MA program will be looked on unfavorably.

Oh and pann pann, I applied to UVM as well! Looks like they have a great program. I'm from Virginia though, so I don't know how I'd be able to survive the arctic temperatures

I actually thought about starting a thread just for this reason, drownsoda! There are a lot of similarities between applying for PhD programs and for MA programs, but there are also a lot of significant differences too. Most of my applications were due February 1, so I'm not expecting to hear back from anywhere until mid-March at the earliest. I applied to 5 MA programs, most with funding options and two that are in my state and would therefore be a bit cheaper. I had started thinking about applying to PhD programs last year, but I want to be able to get into the best possible PhD program I can, which I don't feel I would be able to right now. I hadn't started thinking about going to grad school for English Lit until late into my senior year, so two years in a MA program sounds like a great way to narrow my research interests, get my GRE scores higher, and learn a lot more theory (I feel like my undergrad education was probably lacking in critical theory). But yeah, thanks so much for starting this thread! I felt the same way you did like I was a bit of an outsider amidst all the PhD applicants on these boards, even though they are all very lovely people!

You guys are great, thanks for sharing your experiences! I feel like much of this board is skewed towards doctorate programs, so it's good to get a different perspective from people who have been there!

I'm fairly certain I want to do the PhD, but it's a big commitment so I want to be sure. Also I don't feel entirely prepared because up until my senior year, I had wanted to go to law school. I'd like to get my research interests solidified and also bulk up on the theory background I feel like I'm missing. And I've actually moved to Norfolk, so it would be ODU...

Hi everyone! I've had a very hard time trying to decide what to do here... I know that location should be a very small factor, but it also seems like most the information on here is directed towards PhD programs. I have become very settled where I am and would like to take the time to get a Master's before going to do a PhD. However, there's only one university where I live and it's pretty low ranked...I went to a high ranked undergrad, so I'm wondering if going to this school for my Master's will set me back when I eventually want to apply to a PhD program. From what I've read, a lot of you seem to have gone through a Master's program before deciding to apply for your PhD. Do you have any sort of opinion/advice on this? I'm willing to travel the world for my PhD, but for 2 years of a Master's, it just sounds unsettling to jump somewhere new when I will eventually be moving again (possibly very far) for a PhD.

I'm not sure if this is a basic question or not, but when applying to Master's programs, which one is better to prepare for a future PhD program? I'm applying to Master's programs but want to continue onto get my PhD, but I'm unsure which one would look better for PhD admissions. I'm thinking thesis?

I'd be happy to participate in this! I'm only applying to MA programs though, is that alright?

I know this is a little over a month old, but any perspective on using an excerpt from a longer paper? I wrote a senior thesis which I would LOVE to use as my sample, but it's 50 pages...I want to choose my favorite chapter, possibly two, but I'm worried that sending in a chapter from the middle might be confusing. Any opinions? Thanks!

Primarily American. I wrote my thesis on Sylvia Plath and her works have connected me to her contemporaries and poets who were later inspired by her work. I love Adrienne Rich, Anne Sexton, Elizabeth Bishop, Louise Gluck, and Sharon Olds. My thesis in short breadth was about Sylvia Plath's attitude toward pregnancy and motherhood in her last anthology, Ariel. There's a whole beast to explore with mother-poets, it makes my head spin in an awesome sort of way!

Hi everyone! After lurking around all last year and deciding not to apply last round, I've finally decided to apply to a couple middle-of-the-road Master's programs all across the country. I'm from the Mid-Atlantic East Coast and will be applying to SFSU, UWashington-Seattle, CU Boulder, and UVM. I initially planned on applying to much more competitive PhD programs, but I'm really excited about what these schools have to offer and feel confident about getting through MA program before committing to a PhD program. I went to a fairly prestigious public state school, ranked high in general and for English Lit. Graduated with a 3.72 general GPA, around 3.8 major GPA and I wrote an honor's thesis my senior year. My GRE's were horrendous, but I'm retaking them end of October. My interests are 20th & 21st century poetry, particularly by female writers. I'd really like to delve further into feminist theory should I be accepted into one of these wonderful Master's programs and apply it to post-modern poetry/poetics. I have a greater thesis in mind, but I'd rather not bore you with the details Thanks for sharing all of your info, look forward to putting it to good use this cycle!

Thanks for the advice everyone! I just signed up to retake the test Nov. 1, so hopefully that gives me enough time to study my butt off. I've already kind of set my expectations low for this round of admissions since I have a full time to fall back on. But I don't want any regrets and I definitely don't want to have bad GRE scores hanging over my head as I apply and wait for decisions, so here we go again ETS! Wyatt's Torch, I just moved from Arlington to a different part of VA, but I'm applying to schools mostly out West, and one in the Northeast. Ready for a change of scenery!

Hi everyone! So I've recently decided to apply to about 4 MA programs this round rather than going straight to the PhD. I've chosen some schools that I think I would really enjoy but that I think are fairly middle of the road -- state schools, small liberal arts colleges, no Ivy's. I feel really confident with all of my application components EXCEPT my GRE scores. I'm embarrassed to say I got 71% verbal, 40-something% quant, and 3.5 on writing. I have a full time job so I didn't prepare as well as I could have, and I've just always been awful at standardized tests. I have a good GPA, wrote an honor's thesis, have some fairly prestigious professors writing me recs, but I can't help but get anxiety over those GRE scores, which really don't reflect what kind of student I was as an undergrad or could be as a grad. So what I'm wondering is: is it worth it to bust my ass and retake the test again in time to include possibly improved scores on my apps this year, or should I just let the rest of my application speak for myself? I would eventually like to pursue a PhD and will retake the test by that time, but I don't know if I have it in me to write my SOP, edit my writing sample, AND study for the GREs. Any advice would be appreciated!!

I will be attending RMMLA also! I'm actually from the East Coast, but it's an excuse to head out west. I'm actually not in grad school (yet) and I graduated undergrad a year ago, so I'm attending as an independent scholar. Will this be weird for me? I'm applying to PhD and MA programs this coming year, so I thought it would be a good experience and a way to refine my writing sample.

I came across this article when researching about getting a PhD, which I thought gave a pretty interesting perspective: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/09/in-defense-of-the-humanities-phd-its-no-crazier-than-becoming-a-journalist/279863/

Anyone else read poetry for fun? Currently reading Anne Sexton's Love Poems and Eavan Boland's In a Time of Violence.