jwa012

Ok, so I am currently working on my Master's Degree in Spanish at King's College, University of London. I completely understand how you feel. In my experiences, the graduate school application is completely different from the undergraduate application process. It doesn't matter how great of a person you are and how involved you are in everything, it just matters how much you know and how dedicated you are to your particular subject. You want to impress the admissions committee with how much you know and make them see that you're willing and able to make it through their program, especially if you're applying to Phd. I strongly recommend getting a Master's degree before a PhD because it helps you to focus your area of research for your PhD. As far as funding is concerned, I have applied for Graduate School loans from the US government. I don't know if that's an option for you, but that is how I am funding my time here in London. However, what you must look out for in American Universities are Teaching Assistantships. I got accepted to the MA in Romance Languages at University of Georgia and was offered a Teaching Assistantship. This included a reduced tuition fee as well as a monthly stipend. I think it was $2500 a month and I would have had to pay only 25 dollars for a whole year. So you can see how at the graduate level, tuition can be essentially free and with the minimal stipend and some creative financing on your part, you will be able to survive. Right now, I am having lots of questions about what my next step should be. I know I want to get my PhD in Spanish Literature. I am very interested in the the literature from the 19th and 20th centuries particularly that which relates to the Spanish Civil War. Anyway, I am about 1/4 of the way through my MA and I don't know what to do next. I would like to get my PhD from Cambridge, but I'm debating on whether or not to do it straight away after my MA, which is only one year. I am told that it looks better to future employers (for me American Universities) to take time off and do something related to your area of interest, but not necessarily academic. I want to finish my PhD ASAP, but it will actually be a disadvantage if I plow through it as fast as I can and then immediately apply for a job. I worry about going out and getting a job and then trying to get back in to Academics as a lot of my colleagues are doing this now. I am meeting with my advisors next week to discuss this very subject. I will let you know what happens. I'm also very interested to hear if anyone else out there can give me some advice!