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TeaOverCoffee

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  1. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from SydCaesar in Dealing with Uncertainty   
    I would ask your professors about which schools they recommend, especially professors in your desired research field. They'll know best. 
    I didn't know that in undergrad, so what I actually did was look through the top 100 English graduate programs in the U.S. from usnews.com. Then I looked through every single one of the programs' faculty to see which ones had faculty in my field. I then tried to see how many instructors were in my field at that university. You'll want at least two to three in your field at the university, and be careful because sometimes they could be retiring soon. Once I had the programs on my list, I extensively researched the professors I was interested in working with by looking at their scholarship. From there, I was able to narrow down my list even further. 
  2. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from Regimentations in Fall 2019 PhD Applications   
    @parksandrec Everyone here has offered wonderful advice. A master's program first would be a good idea if you're unsure about your research skills/abilities. I did a master's first, and it was one of the best choices I made for graduate school because I didn't have much experience writing longer papers other than my thesis. It also taught me what I need to be prepared for when starting a Ph.D. program--workload, mentorship, how to research, etc.
    1. I wasn't in the honor's college, so I asked a professor to be my advisor for an independent thesis. That gave me a glimpse into self-paced research. However, as I've previously stated, I think the M.A. will also do that. 
    2. Programs want well-rounded students to show that you can handle everything that's thrown at you. However, the writing center is in itself a great way to show them how you're doing things beyond coursework; it and co-teaching look really good. You have literally nothing to stress about. To echo the previous posts, don't concern yourself with only have written 20 pages. I mean, most programs only want to see 15-20 pages of your writing sample--and *spoiler* even then, they often don't read all of it, especially if they can't find the argument up front, because each committee will sometimes have hundreds of apps to read.
    3. DON'T RETAKE THE GRE. Put your energy and money elsewhere. Let's just say that I didn't score well at all on the GRE, and I was still accepted into several programs. 
    4. LORs are very important. I'm not sure why you don't think you'd be a qualified candidate, but remind them of the papers you wrote for their classes, and then in the fall offer them what you have for your writing sample so they have an idea how you have improved and where you're going from there. They may even help you edit the writing sample. Ask your LOR soon so that they have the heads up. Provide them with the deadlines (I often told mine a day or two before the actual deadline in case they were late). Don't give them gifts until they have already written all of your recs. 
    5. Also, again, my GPA was a 3.54 (because I was at first a biochemistry major) and my major GPA was a 3.76. Your GPA doesn't really matter, but even if it did,  yours is good. 
    6. You don't have to know what you want to do right now for the rest of your life. I'd focus on composing/editing a paper and add/refine some theory in it. Also, the SOP is really important, too. 
    Basically, my advice for you is to take a deep breath and not panic, especially over things that you cannot change. You have this summer to work on your application.
  3. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from ©har1ie in Dealing with Uncertainty   
    I would ask your professors about which schools they recommend, especially professors in your desired research field. They'll know best. 
    I didn't know that in undergrad, so what I actually did was look through the top 100 English graduate programs in the U.S. from usnews.com. Then I looked through every single one of the programs' faculty to see which ones had faculty in my field. I then tried to see how many instructors were in my field at that university. You'll want at least two to three in your field at the university, and be careful because sometimes they could be retiring soon. Once I had the programs on my list, I extensively researched the professors I was interested in working with by looking at their scholarship. From there, I was able to narrow down my list even further. 
  4. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from ©har1ie in Dealing with Uncertainty   
    So the entire process is overwhelming and it will continue to feel that way until you're accepted into a program. This is especially difficult when you're still getting your B.A. If your grades don't reflect your abilities, mention that in your statement of purpose and have stellar recommendations to support that. Most programs aren't going to cut you for mediocre GPAs; they typically look at applicants holistically. I don't think any of us can tell you what programs to consider because it all depends on your research interests, your geographical preferences, and your finances. I'm, of course, not asking you to share any of this--especially finances--because it takes a while to figure out. I would look through the other forums in Literature, Rhetoric, and Composition to see what others are saying, too. 
    I'm not an expert in the least, but if you have any questions, I could try to help if you dm me. 
  5. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee reacted to jrockford27 in Dealing with Uncertainty   
    A few things.
    1.  Your in major GPA isn't bad.  People have gotten accepted to good programs with worse, I'm sure.  In any case, GPA doesn't even really rate in the top three most important aspects of an application. While you correctly cite that this board is filled with people who have 3.9 or even 4.0 GPAs, some of those folks get shut out (for example, I had a 4.0 and I was totally shut out my first time around).
    2. You should consider all schools that genuinely interest you after thoroughly researching the subject (this number should be between 8 and 13).  There are people doing absolutely fascinating work at schools who aren't household names.  Off the top of my head, none of the major citations in my dissertation work at "Ivy/Ivy Equivalent" schools.  If you are casting a truly wide net, and really being diligent about picking schools that are a good fit, your list will likely contain a healthy mix of schools whose names will impress your aunts and uncles, and schools whose names contain "State" or at least are named after states. As you are likely to learn, the academic job market is largely a crap shoot, and a scholar's level of brilliance does not necessarily correlate with the prestige of their workplace.
    3. Relatedly to #2, If your goal is to be a university literature professor, that should be the uncertainty that really terrifies you! However, specific prestige of school - I think - matters less in getting a job, than who your advisor is and whether you can make the case that your dissertation is compelling through your cover letter and a strong publication. People in the field are aware for example, that some schools lack a general prestige but have excellent reputations in sub-disciplines. This is not always apparent to outsiders or undergrads, but is (naturally) common knowledge within sub-disciplines. I attend an English program that is top 40 on USNews but well regarded in a pair of subdisciplines that don't get ranked, we've recently placed people at Stanford, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Cornell, among others.
    4. Nothing is likely to cut down on uncertainty. I can honestly say that applying to graduate school was one of the top three most anxiety inducing and miserable experiences of my life. I spent most of that time attempting to struggle against uncertainty, the best thing is to find some way to embrace it.
    5. One way to embrace the uncertainty is to realize that you have almost no control over the most important aspects of the application process (the makeup of the committee, their current needs/desires, the composition of graduate students already attending, and the pool of other applicants) and that your admissions results have nothing to do with your level of brilliance or worth as a human being (I say this because I wish somebody had been there to tell me this when my shiny 4.0 failed to secure me any admissions my first time around).
    6.  Contained in all of this, is that the most important thing is to think really hard about the schools you apply to, cast aside all biases and preconceptions about the names of schools and the rankings of their department. If your list only contains "Ivy or Ivy equivalent," go back to the drawing board and look harder. 
  6. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from GoneWilde in How 'fitted' does 'fit' have to be?   
    You don't have to find professors who research just what you want to do. The professors I've spoken to are against creating replicas of themselves. If I were you, I'd broaden your scopes a bit and look for scholars in Victorianism/Modernism and gender studies. (Also, I agree with you about Romanticism; I'd argue that it belongs to the long c18, though many, I'm sure, would disagree.)
  7. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from AnUglyBoringNerd in How 'fitted' does 'fit' have to be?   
    You don't have to find professors who research just what you want to do. The professors I've spoken to are against creating replicas of themselves. If I were you, I'd broaden your scopes a bit and look for scholars in Victorianism/Modernism and gender studies. (Also, I agree with you about Romanticism; I'd argue that it belongs to the long c18, though many, I'm sure, would disagree.)
  8. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from M(allthevowels)H in 2019 PhD Cycle - Narrowing Down List of Programs   
    MHW is leaving after this spring, I believe. Not really applicable to the conversation, but thought it might be good info for those interested.
  9. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from Hermenewtics in 2019 PhD Cycle - Narrowing Down List of Programs   
    MHW is leaving after this spring, I believe. Not really applicable to the conversation, but thought it might be good info for those interested.
  10. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from jusrain in 2019 PhD Cycle - Narrowing Down List of Programs   
    I agree with all of the above statements. I will also say that a majority of schools accept a small number of students, so to reiterate, there is no safety school. I applied to about 10-12 programs, and I was only accepted to the schools that best fit my interests. So I recommend only applying to places that you think will be a really good fit, especially in terms of faculty (at least two to three tenured/tenure-track faculty members in your identified field).
    Placement is a big deal in the humanities if you want an academic job after the Ph.D. So that's definitely something worth asking the DGS about, and I recommend talking to them about how accepting they are of Ph.D. students pursuing jobs outside of the academy, as it's becoming more and more necessary to consider.
  11. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from marisawhy in Mentoring English MAs   
    My MA mentor was incredible. We also weren't assigned mentors, but I took a class with this instructor. I asked them if they needed a TA that same semester, and they didn't but took me on anyway. Because of that, I was able to work with them often and they helped me every step of the way. 
    Mentoring is very individualistic. Sometimes you'll have a standoff-ish mentor (as I did in my undergrad) and other times you'll have a mentor you speak to two to three times a week. It's all about the personality of the mentor. Mentors often develop over time because you're interested in the same field, but if not, just try to make yourself known by attending departmental meetings and events. At some point, they have to get to know you because you're attending everything they go to.
    Thankfully, in my Ph.D. program, we are actually assigned three mentors that we meet with every semester, and they just make sure you're doing ok and help you with whatever you may need in order to excel in the program. 
     
  12. Like
    TeaOverCoffee reacted to punctilious in Oh, The Places You'll Go! (Decisions 2018)   
    Husband officially accepted Harvard's offer! I'm so excited!!!
  13. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee reacted to punctilious in 2018 Acceptances   
    HUSBAND GOT INTO HARVARD
     
    I CAN'T EVEN CONTAIN MYSELF HOLY OMGGGGGGGGGGG IS THIS REAL LIFE?????!!!!!!!!!!!
  14. Like
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from punctilious in 2018 Acceptances   
    Best of luck! I met several people last year who were waitlisted, and most were accepted later. So don't give up hope! When I applied for my master's, I was waitlisted at three universities and then accepted to one in April. So it's definitely stressful, but getting off the waitlist happens!
    He could probably gauge whether he'll get off the waitlist if he speaks to the person who was accepted in his field at the open house, as most schools' waitlists are categorized by fields like Renaissance, Victorian, African-American studies, etc. So if the person who was accepted in his field declines, then the person next on the waitlist will very likely be accepted. And I assume the waitlist isn't very long since everyone I met at the prospective students day last year had been interviewed. Sorry if I just mansplained how a waitlist works, but my cohort is relatively diverse based on our literary interests, so I'm fairly confident they didn't choose more than one person for each sub-field of literature. 
    Let me know if there are any questions that I could answer from my end. 
  15. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from punctilious in 2018 Acceptances   
    Feel free to message me if you are going to the prospective students day at UMD. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have!
  16. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee reacted to punctilious in 2018 Acceptances   
    Husband was waitlisted at Maryland! Not exactly the result we were hoping for, but still promising as it says he is at "the very top of the wait list for admission that [they] anticipate being able to make in [his] field." Here's hoping that the accepted individual has better offers!
  17. Like
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from LouisdePointeduLac in Applying to MA programs without an English BA or many English classes.   
    In all honesty, it depends on the school. The likelihood of getting into a PhD program straight from the BA (or law school in your case) without any literature classes is slim. So taking a few literature courses would prove useful if the PhD is your goal. Furthermore, maybe speak to a DGS or two at schools you're interested in to see the qualifications for an MA. 
    I will echo @renea to say that once you take a few literature courses, you will see if your interests develop beyond passion and into a career. 
    Best of luck!
  18. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from dazedandbemused in What now?   
    It really depends upon the school or the program, but if you haven’t heard back by the beginning of April, I just considered it a rejection. I actually didn’t even hear back from one school last year. You’ll mostly receive emails (so turn off those alerts on your phone or you’ll go crazy), and some will send a follow up snail-mail letter to reject/accept you, which is really lovely. With one school, I received a rejection via email, a letter in the mail from the department, and then another rejection letter from the graduate school. 
    I tell everybody this, but please stay off thegradcafe until you receive your first acceptance (or maybe even set a specific date like March 15 or something). You’ll drive yourself crazy if you hear that others got accepted to the same program you applied to but you haven’t heard anything yet. I received this same advice applying to master’s programs, but I didn’t listen. Needless to say, I had a few mental breakdowns in February and March 2015.
    Best of luck! 
  19. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from snickus in What now?   
    It really depends upon the school or the program, but if you haven’t heard back by the beginning of April, I just considered it a rejection. I actually didn’t even hear back from one school last year. You’ll mostly receive emails (so turn off those alerts on your phone or you’ll go crazy), and some will send a follow up snail-mail letter to reject/accept you, which is really lovely. With one school, I received a rejection via email, a letter in the mail from the department, and then another rejection letter from the graduate school. 
    I tell everybody this, but please stay off thegradcafe until you receive your first acceptance (or maybe even set a specific date like March 15 or something). You’ll drive yourself crazy if you hear that others got accepted to the same program you applied to but you haven’t heard anything yet. I received this same advice applying to master’s programs, but I didn’t listen. Needless to say, I had a few mental breakdowns in February and March 2015.
    Best of luck! 
  20. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from hibiscus in What now?   
    It really depends upon the school or the program, but if you haven’t heard back by the beginning of April, I just considered it a rejection. I actually didn’t even hear back from one school last year. You’ll mostly receive emails (so turn off those alerts on your phone or you’ll go crazy), and some will send a follow up snail-mail letter to reject/accept you, which is really lovely. With one school, I received a rejection via email, a letter in the mail from the department, and then another rejection letter from the graduate school. 
    I tell everybody this, but please stay off thegradcafe until you receive your first acceptance (or maybe even set a specific date like March 15 or something). You’ll drive yourself crazy if you hear that others got accepted to the same program you applied to but you haven’t heard anything yet. I received this same advice applying to master’s programs, but I didn’t listen. Needless to say, I had a few mental breakdowns in February and March 2015.
    Best of luck! 
  21. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee reacted to hats in Schools and Controversies   
    I would be a lot more inclined to avoid a department that had been embroiled in scandal than a university as a whole. If I studied public policy, the Chelsea Manning thing would quite possibly stay my application to Harvard's Kennedy School. If I studied chemistry, though? I don't see that leading me to avoid the Harvard chemistry department. Universities are too big to find one that's entirely "pure." On the other hand, departments are small enough that you should probably be able to avoid one nationally known for its toxic atmosphere! Purity is a tough ask, but avoiding the most scandal-ridden programs in your field should be feasible.
  22. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from hibiscus in 2018 Applicants   
    Don’t drive yourself over the edge by continuing to edit the writing sample until the day before it’s due. Submit submit submit and then don’t look at your writing sample or SOP again. You’ll feel like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. But then take up a new productive habit, and stay away from grad cafe until March (or a date of your preference). That’s how I kept my sanity. 
  23. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from snickus in 2018 Applicants   
    Don’t drive yourself over the edge by continuing to edit the writing sample until the day before it’s due. Submit submit submit and then don’t look at your writing sample or SOP again. You’ll feel like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. But then take up a new productive habit, and stay away from grad cafe until March (or a date of your preference). That’s how I kept my sanity. 
  24. Like
    TeaOverCoffee reacted to punctilious in 2018 Applicants   
    Ooh no he hasn’t, but actually UMD is his last SOP he needs to write so if you have particular scholars in mind in that field, it would be great to hear! I think right now he was planning to mention Lee Konstantinou and someone else I forget. 
  25. Upvote
    TeaOverCoffee got a reaction from Keri in 2018 Applicants   
    Wowowowowowow. That was incredibly soon. 
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