mikers86

I honestly can't recall when applying to MA programs what I did. I'm thinking that since application deadlines were into the second semester, it wasn't an issue. For the PhD round, I'm fairly certain I only submitted the first year and summer courses of my MA. Then again, all I had was a 6 credit pedagogy course that Fall. My guess is it's dependent upon deadlines and what will ultimately show up on your transcripts. They all ask for copies of your final transcript upon completing your degree, but unless they specifically request you submit grades from this semester, their decision is based on the first 3 years. When in doubt, email department assistants.

They are hard and fast when it comes to limits. Or they'll stop reading at page 15. It hurts to rip apart your own work, but following their guidelines is extremely important.

A good friend who is attending a program in the Northeast didn't get into a prominent program in NY, even receiving a letter from Extremely Distinguished Professor apologizing for the rejection because said professor really wanted to work with Good Friend. Sometimes a POI is just overruled, or recently got new doctoral students, or the dept was just looking for different areas for that particular year. You never know (unless someone within the committee actually tells you). There's no one way to interpret compliments from POIs and what role that will play in the application process. But that doesn't take away from the compliment paid to you.

Never ever ever. Just pretend the exam never happened and move forward with your applications.

I'd suggest contacting faculty or the DGS in those departments to discuss your interests and which department would better serve you. For instance, Duke's English and Lit programs specify that you can only apply to one, not both, and they can't guarantee they'll contact you to redirect your application. It could also potentially raise flags for the grad school. It's better to ask now than have both applications rejected due to logistics.

I've been told by some faculty at various institutions that they just plain stop reading after the page limit. Every word needs to count - edit carefully and be respectful of their guidelines.

But don't start this process by thinking what other jobs can I get with a PhD in English. If you think you're going to go down that route from the start, perhaps consider maximizing your earning potential instead of five years on a degree. Not to say this applies to queennight, just in general.

Book hiding being the practice of purposely taking out books you know others in your cohort need. It's less of a problem with ILL, but still a pain in the butt. And it does happen.

A professor of mine repeatedly said "The only guarantees in this profession are negative ones." Be realistic with yourself about what kind of jobs you're willing to take in regard to tier and geography and topic. Know your own limits to these questions, what your financial limitations are, and how long you are willing to roll the dice. Network so your odds of landing a postdoc increase if that route is necessary. You're already ahead of the game by thinking about this. Opinions on this board will vary to extremes, but figuring out what works for *you* is what counts, not our thoughts.

You can only study so much for that damn exam. Study. Review. Try to sleep well the night before you take it. Overload on caffeine before walking in. Then forget it ever happened. In general, with some exceptions, the lit subject results aren't likely to make or break your application. Certain programs/graduate schools have minimum numbers for funding purposes (I believe this is more standard GRE than Subject, but don't quote me). But in general, if you have a stellar SOP and WS and letters that aren't poisonous or reveal you're crazy, you can overcome a mediocre subject score. My score was bordering abysmal, but it did not prevent me from being accepted to a few institutions. Keep studying, but don't obsess

Many programs limit that question to 5 or so schools. I always thought it was more for the graduate school to see which other institutions applicants are considering than for use in the actual department. If they even get to your SOP and see your interests, adcomms will likely have a sense of which other programs would fit for you.

All my grad school friends with significant others in the sciences (a goodly amount, surprisingly) always report their s/o did better on the writing section than they did. Perhaps thinking like a scientist is the key to increasing your writing score?

Pedagogy is rarely mentioned in lit classes at the grad level. I've found it beneficial to actually talk with professors outside the class about their own approaches to teaching. Not surprising, the best course I've had that addressed this was my 6 credit composition and pedagogy class that assigned readings on pedagogy, allowing for larger discussions about why that program approached teaching the way it did. It would be helpful to have these meta discussions in lit courses, even a single class devoted to it.

A lot of this is dictated by program. If you attend a doctoral program where research is prioritized over teaching, and a program's attitude is generally known by hitting committee faculty at institution x, y, and z, where x and y are SLACs and z is prestigious R1, then it will likely require more on your part to convince x and y of your dedication to teaching. If you have Big Uni Degree, sure, that looks great for the department, but there's also the risk of you leaving said SLAC to go to R1 a few years down the road, and another hiring process repeat will ensue. (This is all hypothetical in a universe where you're even likely to land a TT) Things like certificates in college teaching can help offset that risk if opportunities to teach are limited at said degree program. All that said, I view teaching and research as relatively equal. What you teach (you know, that one seminar or upper level course you actually want to teach that isn't a survey of British lit 1800-present every few years) should be to a degree an extension of your research, and your research should be influenced by what and how you teach (in an ideal world). I'm sure it's wonderful to land grant and fellowship after grant and fellowship that allows you to pursue your research and not have to teach. But if you're lucky to get a job, some blend of research and teaching is the norm. There are obviously exceptions.

I'm going to be a voice of slight dissent on this. Yes, do the reading, but learn HOW to read effectively. This does not mean you read every single line of every single article or novel. Get a god enough sense of the material to discuss it. Time management helps in this regard, but so does reading introductions, conclusions, and topic sentences to get a general gist before delving deeper into an article. Faculty honestly do not assume you've read every single thing they assign every week, particularly those who assign hundreds upon hundreds each week. It's an admirable goal to shoot for, but it's not always possible. Go. To. Office. Hours. Faculty much prefer talking with you than undergrads who almost never come. Be kind. I'm sorry if you end up in a program that practices book hiding. Courtesy to faculty, admin staff, and your fellow students will go a long way, both during and after your program. Understand how your department operates, including its politics, but DO NOT get sucked into it. You're there for 2-5/6/7 years. It's not your job to fix things, no matter how tempting. But do know that Professor X and Professor Y will never sit on your committee together and cooperate; this will save you a lot of grief. If you need something, ask for it. You're a pre-1800 scholar and nothing is being offered in the next year? Ask your DGS. Find some way to get what you need in order for your program to work for you.

We can only hope there are fewer and fewer applicants as years go on. Unfortunately, my guess is things are just really quiet.

NRC rankings are a good source as well, though they're a little tricky to follow and need to be updated (2010). Look at what scholars you're reading and where they're teaching currently. You essentially have to go program by program, looking at faculty, their listed interests - which, might I add, aren't reliable as websites aren't updated typically by faculty and as a result can be outdated - their CV if you can find it to see what they've recently published. Take notes! It's a giant time suck, but necessary. As for the language requirement, it's just a necessary evil. We cannot assume all scholarship being done in our field is written in English, or that it's even being translated into English shortly after its production. And would you rely on Google Translate for a three sentences, let alone an entire article? This is where carefully selecting languages is important - don't pick Polish or Russian if more people are discussing relevant topics in French or German. The amount of time departments expect you to invest in this is not huge. See if you're allowed to audit an upper-level undergraduate course to satisfy the requirement, or if there is money for classes during the summer. The req. isn't intended as an obstacle to the degree and shouldn't be anxiety-inducing. Finally - PRACTICE. Get a *good* dictionary and start translating passages of scholarship. You'll pick up far more relevant vocabulary that way.

I'd be careful throwing around the term safety school. Admissions are so competitive at all levels of programs that there really isn't such a thing anymore.

Yes and no. Some programs prefer fresh BA's while others require the MA. Some view students without the MA to be easier to "mold" into what a program desires in its final product - less solidified in their approaches, easier to guide because they're less opinionated, etc. This is hardly always the case. My incoming cohort has several MA's (myself included) while historically they've admitted just a few. Harvard tends to be the same. Other programs (BU) use their MA program as a feeder for the PhD. As proflorax said, check the threads. Some programs will let you apply MA credits towards the PhD; others won't and you ultimately start over, though you have more experience and a better sense of self (academically and personally) having done an MA.

I'm curious as to why you decided to go the MALS/MALA route instead of MA if you're considering applying to English/Rhet programs next year (I'm assuming PhD programs). In terms of which would better serve you, it's hard to say. Prestige matters a great deal, though it's not impossible to overcome during the admission's process. Just glancing over what each program requires, St. John's looks more "interesting" in that you cover a wide range of subject matter, but it's essentially just an expansion of their undergraduate curriculum (which in nature appears very medieval - the Evaluations for undergrads sound terrifying). I haven't heard much about them aside from some quick Googling. This program would probably give you more breadth than depth in any particular area - helpful for say the GRE English Subject Test. Dartmouth likely carries more weight because of it's name, but I haven't heard much in terms of their MALS. The course offerings seem more conventional which might better prepare you for a later degree in English/Rhet. Which concentration at Dartmouth were you considering? If I was making this decision, I'd probably go for Dartmouth. But you have to consider which program, in your opinion, will be more rigorous, help you determine what you specifically want to study beyond the MALA/MALS, and produce a strong writing sample for submitting to adcomms. Best of luck, and hopefully others will have more insight!

The subject test is generally viewed as the devil in that it's impossible to fully prepare for it and your results have minimal influence on your admission to a program. It's more a matter of getting a baseline score that is acceptable for administrative purposes, as is the case for the GRE general exam. And as always, other aspects of your application will balance out scores. My subject test and general scores were fair, but not stellar. Anecdotal evidence, but certainly not the only instance of it happening.

Don't be afraid to ask professors to contact faculty they know at institutions on your list and possibly look out for your application. Just because they don't write for you doesn't mean they can't be of service. Most of my professors did this for me without asking. They have connections in the field and any advantage is useful in this process.

This. There are so many variables working for and against you in this process that everything in your application needs to be as strong as you can make it. The feedback I received from programs was that it came down to the SOP and WS. LORs are important, but the material you generate is what matters most (at least for the particular programs where I was accepted). So yes, get your scores up to where you're satisfied, but really work on those documents. I'd also suggest setting aside time for yourself. The process is a marathon and then some, so keeping yourself grounded, sane, and as relaxed (as possible given the circumstances) is important. Don't get burned out before application season even begins!

I started at one institution for my BA, took several years off, enrolled at another institution, and completed my BA and MA there. It didn't hinder my applications. One benefit is developing stronger relationships with faculty over the course of 4-6 years, potentially leading to stronger LoR. I did notice that OSU really wants you to commit to a specialization for your MA - if you want to change areas you have to submit a separate application. That seems odd to me since the MA typically is about exposing you to areas and approaches you haven't considered, at least in my experience. This isn't to say you shouldn't do it since you seem attached to Early American, but just something to be cautious of when applying. And finally, I see that you hope to teach at a small state school or cc after you finish your MA, which is a wonderful goal. Just be aware that more and more PhDs are applying to small state schools and cc's, so if you're planning on stopping post-MA, it could be a challenge (not that getting a job anywhere these days is easy!)

Francophile, what exactly is drawing you to puruse a PhD in the UK versus the US? And what are your end goals in terms of teaching? US/UK? (I'm assuming you're in the US, but if not, I apologize).