profhopes

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/20/suit-alleges-ohio-u-sat-complaints-professors-sexual-misconduct-decade?utm_content=bufferba9dc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=IHEbuffer (This is a link to more info from Inside Higher Ed about the charges being brought against the alleged harasser- Prof. Andrew Escobedo.) https://www.ohio.edu/cas/about/directories/profiles.cfm?profile=escobedo (This is a link to his profile on the OU site.) I would encourage grad students, particularly female grad students, to be wary of OU's English department in light of these allegations. It looks like he is in the process of being fired, as the Inside Higher Ed article states: "Ohio has already moved to fire the tenured full professor and says its processes ensure that all complaints are 'investigated thoroughly and handled appropriately.'" Nonetheless, a department that would allow this type of alleged conduct to go on for a decade is one to be leery of. (I highly doubt they would be in the process of firing him had the allegations been found to be untrue in the subsequent investigation.)

Unconditional admit simply means you have been accepted to a program; it's not indicative of whether or not you're funded. I was unconditionally admitted to a program, but waitlisted for funding today. The term is really quite misleading as paying tuition would be considered a condition in the minds of most people... I am replying to your question (although I doubt you need a response this many years laters) to help anyone else confused by the term "unconditional admit."

I am also interested in teaching abroad in Europe, in particular. In my case, I have a Romanian background, but found out that I must be able to teach university level classes in both English and Romanian. (While my speaking skills are solid, I have no formal written training.) Given how few schools even offer Romanian language courses, this is particularly difficult. It's unfortunate, as conversationally I would get along quite well and have family there. I wonder if other European countries are the same way- requiring you to teach English and the native language at the university level...? However, I do speak Spanish with an advanced degree of fluency, and am licensed to teach Spanish in my home state. I would venture a guess that I have a better shot at passing a written and oral Spanish exam with opportunities in Latin and Central America a possibility. (I do recall reading somewhere, possibly on GradCafe, about someone using a U.S. PHD to teach in Latin and/or Central America...)

Thank you, everyone!

So, here's the deal. I asked for letters of recommendation Friday morning, December 23rd. I am strictly applying to 2 schools with later application deadlines in my home state for the MA only. (I decided to wait on adding details until I received a response from each potential recommender.) I then realized the application deadline I thought was February 15th is actually January 15th. I misread it; I know no excuses, just trying to decide what to do at this point. (The other deadline isn't until February 28th, so I'm okay as far as that one.) My options are as follows: 1. Ask profs. if they can put together a letter in 3 weeks, 2. Apply to the 3rd school I was considering (which I'm not keen on), but whose deadline is February 1st. (1/3 profs. has written me a grad school letter in the past. She's the 1 I haven't heard back from yet.) 2/3 professors e-mailed asking for more details on the 23rd, and I now have to decide what course of action to pursue. What would you do?

You said it yourself: cold and prestigious versus warm and vibrant... It sounds to me like your heart has already decided. Personally, I am from an area near CWRU, and am not a fan of the environment. (I have also visited the campus). It is definitely an urban setting. I had a good friend who went there for undergrad and law school. Though my friend loves the school, she said it is not the safest of environments. I remember her mentioning that campus safety alerts (e.g. reported violence and/or rape) occur with some frequency. It sounds like Alabama is "courting you" (flying out for a visit, personal phone calls, an advisor who keeps in touch) versus CWRU doing standard things. The fact that Alabama has a strong placement record of industry and TT positions may count for more than CWRU's prestige. You may want to see if you can find data for CWRU and compare. I echo what the previous responder said about waiting to hear about funding. Best of luck with your decision!

Dear Emma, I have a friend that attended CU Boulder for philosophy. I'm hearing a lot of positives about the academic environment there. I may take you up on your private chat offer. Thanks @EmmaJava and @xolo for your helpful feedback!

Thank you all for your feedback! Just curious where (at what schools) you've gotten and/or are pursuing your MAs and/or PHDs...? Please respond if you get a chance.

Thanks for your reply. Hope to discuss more in the future!

Any thoughts/recommendations/advice about applying to graduate school 5 years post-undergraduate degree(s)? I would be applying to MA programs in literature; part of me wishes I were more interested in Rhetoric and Composition, but I don't think I should "force it." I suspect time spent away from my chosen field will hurt my chances, but if it helps, my desire to go to grad school hasn't diminished in 5 years. I am not sure if they will see my experience as relevant or just see me as a wildcard/potentially "rusty" candidate. A run-down of the past 5 years: (1) 2 years spent teaching high school and middle school Spanish. (2) 7 months in a post-baccalaureate program to get my English licensure (K-12), certificate of completion and license obtained. (3) a summer working for Pearson-Vue as a testing administrator. (4) 9 months working for a social services non-profit. (5) 1.5 years working for Tutor.com, an online tutoring company as an independent contractor (overlaps with #3 and #4). Current Certifications: I hold 2 teaching licenses in my state, a. Spanish (PreK-12) and b. English (K-12). I applied 2 years ago to a 5 MA and/or MA/PHD programs, no acceptances that time around... I wish I had e-mailed some of the DGSs that first time around to find out more, but suffice to say, I "chickened out." I plan on applying to MA programs, since I have had nearly 5 years away from my chosen field, and do not think combined MA/PHDs programs are a good idea at this time. I want to make sure I am making the right choice of chosen field, continuing on to the PHD, etc. (I also fear since it's been 5 years my undergraduate professors (LOR writers) may not remember me as well; I have kept in touch with some of them, but still, it's not like I graduated last year or the year before)).

Thank you, Mocha. If I apply again, I will definitely apply at more schools.

Rejected from: 1. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 2. Indiana University-Bloomington, 3. The Ohio State University, 4. Case Western Reserve, 5. (wait listed). I was rejected from the first 4 schools. Is there a polite way to ask for feedback from those schools? Who should I e-mail to ask for feedback...the DGS? To be quite frank, I'm not sure they would be willing to tell me anything, but I could potentially stand to benefit from the information. The 5th school had incorrect deadlines posted online. Where you ask? On their assistantship application...and other documents. I suppose I didn't expect such a thing to happen. Next time I will check and double-check everything. Makes me rather sick... I submitted it 2 weeks before the supposed deadline, which was actually 2 weeks after the actual deadline. They say they still considered everything, but it sounded like they were trying to appease me. I'll provide some information about my stats. I had a 3.7 undergrad GPA, from a relatively unknown school (A- average). I graduated with 2 degrees in 4 years. I taught for 2 years (high school and middle school), then applied. I believe my letters of recommendation were very strong. My quantitative GRE was abysmal, but I majored in 2 languages and did the best I could. My research interests can be categorized as Victorian (I did provide a specific author, title, and topic I would like to write about). What are your thoughts on areas of improvement? Any recommendations for schools to apply to next year? I'm looking primarily in the Midwest.