Dr. Old Bill

Hey all. I won't have to cross this bridge until the fall, but thinking ahead... If you have an A.A., a B.A., and an M.A., all from different institutions, are you expected to send all three sets of transcripts to every potential program? I know this was the case when I just had the A.A. and the B.A., but I'm wondering if the inclusion of an M.A. transcript can remove the need to send my A.A. grades. Thoughts? Has anyone successfully eschewed the A.A. transcript and lived to tell the tale? It might be a little risky, but given the cost of transcripts, it's worth asking the question to save $150 or so.

It's hard to believe it's that time already, but I'm guessing I'm not alone in planning for the 2017 application cycle this fall. Barring any unforeseen bumps in the road, I'll be finishing my M.A. at UMD next spring, meaning I will only be applying to Ph.D. programs. I'm hoping the M.A. will give me a better outcome than last time (even though I will always contend that this M.A. path has helped FAR more than hindered). I'm an early modernist, and plan to apply to about a dozen programs. UMD will be one. Johns Hopkins will probably be another. George Washington will be a third. Princeton and Yale are almost certainties for me too. I'm dithering on whether I want to keep a relatively tight geographic tether on where I apply (within eight hours of where I currently live, for instance). I'll figure that out over the summer. Anyhow, good luck to those of you applying for fall 2017 -- especially those of you who will be taking another kick at the can!

MeNotMe is right on all fronts -- waiting sucks, but beers and hugs don't. I'll remain mum on workouts, if only because my weight has ballooned since starting grad school. (Where's a "fat" emoji when you need one?) But I also completely agree that you've been a great presence on this board! It's really too bad you forgot (!) to apply to UMD, as it would have been great to meet you in person (and have you in Jerry Passannante's class in the fall).

I know a little about George Washington University's graduate program in general...namely that it is quite highly regarded in the industry, even though it doesn't have a high ranking on USNews rankings. I have been encouraged by no fewer than THREE professors (on separate occasions) to apply there, as their early modern program is quite strong. Indeed, when I reached out to one of the professors there a few days ago (I met her at a conference last weekend), she invited me to get together with her next month to chat about the program. I was recently told by another professor that a few years ago there was some scandal with GWU trying to up their USNews ranking in a less-than-honest manner. She didn't give me specifics, but she suggested that the low ranking shouldn't be seen as an accurate reflection of the department. Judging by the quality of GWU's faculty, that seems to make sense. Congrats on the acceptances, by the way!

Yeah. This. I'm really sorry, BooksCoffeeBeards. In the "consolation" department, I applied to 17 Ph.D. programs last year and got shut out of all of them. I did get an M.A. offer, which I am gratefully pursuing, but it's hard to not interpret a major shut out as a reflection on YOU. It's hard...but that's truly not the case. Something about the combination of your materials just didn't compel various adcoms as much as other applications did...but the kicker is that you will probably never know precisely what it was that you could improve. There's a very good chance that the adcoms themselves don't know. So like HumanCylinder says, it's an opaque crapshoot, and other than contacting DGS's and any known adcom members about specifics, you'll just have to do it again next year -- maybe broaden your net a bit, and make sure your SOP and WS are as tight as possible.

Fit, placement rate, and program reputation (which is often quite different from ranking) matter a lot to me. Congeniality is also pretty high as well. There's one top tier program I previously applied to that I won't be applying to next time around, based on a friend's detailed account of the lack of congeniality during her accepted student campus visit. I do good work, write well, contribute regularly etc., and a lot of that is because I don't feel like my peers are constantly trying to undermine me. A couple of weeks ago, I missed a couple of key points in a text, and put my foot in my mouth about a misinterpretation...and I certainly wasn't mocked or derided for it. One student made a point of saying "Oh, I see how it could have been read that way..." The work required in grad school is difficult enough without having to feel like you're under constant scrutiny and can't make a mistake once in awhile... Location matters quite a bit to me based on my life circumstances. My wife is very much established in her career in this city, so she wouldn't be accompanying me to wherever I get into. As such, I want to remain within a day's drive (let's call that eight hours) of where I am right now. Fortunately that doesn't limit my options too much, but it knocks out two or three places I would have applied to otherwise (and adds in a couple I might not have previously considered). So my list would be... 1. Research fit 2. Program reputation 3. Job placement rate 4. Congeniality of program 5. Location 6. Departmental support 7. Funding offer 8. Cost of living 9. Ranking 10. Weather

Yeah, what you see is what you get. They basically find the flight that needs the most passengers and they throw you on it...which means that you are essentially getting the least desirable flight option. It's cheaper, sure, but you could be on a flight that is often riddled with delays, has tight (or overly long) layovers, or any number of other inconvenient factors. It's basically an option for people on a tight budget, or people who truly don't care how and when they will get to their destination.

I don't want to sound negative in the least, but I'm afraid that none of us here will be able to figure things out for you. It's clear that you are completely unsure of your future path right now, and that is indeed a rough place to be...but you probably need to have a firm ballpark idea before you can move forward (and before anyone can help you hone in on a direction and/or plan of attack). Even though journalism and English have some ostensible similarities, they are really nothing alike from a course-of-study perspective, and there's not even a lot of overlap when it comes to employment options. Some of the other factors you mention (such as a fairly low GPA) can be overcome, but without at least a rough focus, it's hard to give you some guidance. My one constructive suggestion is to talk at length with your advisor(s), mentor(s), and faculty members with whom you have a good rapport. They can help size up your strengths and weaknesses, and can give you some more personalized guidance. They would also be your letter-writers, if you do pursue graduate study. Either way, best of fortunes to you!

My initial reaction when I was accepted into the M.A. program at UMD last year was literally an eyeroll. I initially thought something akin to "gee thanks, toss me a crumb when I want the whole loaf..." I hadn't applied to any M.A. programs -- only Ph.D. programs -- so when I saw the M.A. acceptance, I just figured it was a consolation prize, and also suspected it was offered to every rejected Ph.D. applicant. It turned out, of course, that I love UMD -- love its intellectual environment and culture, love its collegiality, and most importantly, love its fit for me. Even the location was perfect, given that my wife and I were also already on the distant outskirts of D.C. It also turned out that, while I still feel confident that I could have excelled in a Ph.D. program, I can't deny that going through the M.A. first is doing some great things for me, and will surely make for less of a learning curve when (when!) I get into a Ph.D. program next year. So my blooper was thinking a major boon was a major blow-off. Glad I figured out the truth of the situation before I rejected the offer out of pure ennui...

Hi Jeremy. There are a few answers to this question, really. Many community colleges will hire writing professors who only have an M.A. That said, the tide seems to be turning on that practice, so while you might be able to find a high-volume freshman comp gig at a community college now, it's hard to say whether that will still be the case in five or ten years. I can't deny that it is rather refreshing to hear someone whose interest is in teaching freshman comp, however -- some people see teaching 101 as something punitive or purely developmental (an unfortunate perspective, in my view). Other people can speak more thoroughly about the benefits of a Ph.D. in rhet-comp (it's not my field, but I'm a rhet-comp supporter / proponent etc.), but I should point out that rhet-comp seems to be where most of the jobs are these days. Again, there's the "what will the landscape look like in five years" question, but it is currently a minor growth sector within the industry. Your points about the funded nature of a Ph.D. are valid, as are your concerns of "adjunct purgatory" without a Ph.D. (though that can be the outcome for someone with a Ph.D. as well). The one caution I would have about pursuing a Ph.D. in rhet-comp is that a lot of scholarship is still required. In fact, of the three graduate courses I took last semester (which included a course on graduate research / textual scholarship, and a course on Renaissance literature and philosophy), the course with the most reading was Intro to Teaching Freshman Composition. Even though it is not tied to literature, rhet-comp still requires a great deal of research and scholarship, so I'm afraid you won't be off the hook in that regard. All academics committed to a career in academia are expected to be reading, researching, learning, and growing from the start of their careers until the last shovel of dirt is heaped upon their graves. Others will surely come along and give you more practical (and applicable) advice, but those are some initial considerations for you to...well...consider.

Just FYI -- those of you who plan to accept the offer to UMD might be interested to know that a group of current UMD grad students (mostly in the English department) are looking to find replacement residents in their house in D.C. This would be a shared living situation, which would obviously knock rent down considerably. The information is below. If you're interested, just drop me a PM or corner me at the day for admitted students on Friday and I can pass on your information. I'm not affiliated with the property -- just friends with some who currently live there.

For what it's worth, I tend to be fairly proactive when it comes to asking professors for syllabi well in advance. It's a mixed bag, to be sure -- some have a firm idea months in advance, and some won't know the probable readings until the first week of course. I think it can't hurt to ask, however, and it can help to get ahead of some of the readings (which is particularly helpful when it's literature, in my opinion...sometimes the more highfalutin academic articles and theory fall from my brain completely after only a few days...). ProfLorax has attested (in this thread and elsewhere) to the benefits of just relaxing when you can. I completely agree. Spring break is coming up in a week, and while I plan on starting (and maybe finishing) a couple of papers that are due at the end of the month, I know I'll also be catching up on some movies and maybe hanging out with friends a lot more than I've been able to do during the semester.

Sounds like Penn State...

Ah, congratulations, and haere mai! Great to see another kiwi on the board. (I'm technically second generation -- my father is from Palmerston North -- but am a New Zealand citizen regardless, so I'm claiming "kiwi" status!)

I suppose it depends on what your ultimate goal is. It's hard to tell from your post. You say you want to go for your Ph.D., but you're talking about getting a second M.A....is that because your GPA with your current M.A. wasn't good? That's the sense I get, reading between the lines. Your decision to go for a second M.A. really does hinge on your future plans. For instance, there is a woman in my cohort who got her M.A. in Education, took a few years off to start a family, and is now getting a second M.A. in English specifically so that she can teach at a particular community college -- apparently some institutions treat a double-M.A. almost like a Ph.D., so in a situation like that, a second Master's seems very logical. As for getting a second Master's to bring your GPA up to snuff to springboard you into Ph.D. contention, there might be some merit to that too. Without knowing a bit more info about your long-term goals, however, it is truly hard to say.

I say with no reservation whatsoever that when I apply to Ph.D. programs again this fall, UMD will be one of my top choices. I'll be applying to Yale, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, and some other exceptional schools, but there is a very good chance that I would stay at UMD over any of them, and not just for logistical reasons.

Just adding on that a couple of other graduating MAs I know are going to UMich and UMass respectively for their Ph.Ds. Quite the successful cohort, I'd say...

One of the undergraduate tutors in the Writing Center I work at was accepted to the Ph.D. English program at Penn State a couple of weeks ago. Their day for admitted students is coming up next week. This doesn't necessarily mean that they've sent out all of their acceptances -- Penn State in particular is notorious for being very spotty in that regard. But it's worth mentioning regardless.

Last year's cohort (my cohort) was quite big. I think it was something like 25. Offers were made to 30 or so, and from what I have heard, way more students accepted than they had anticipated. I assume (and be assured that this is only baseless conjecture) that this year's cohort will be smaller because of the large number of students still around from last year (keeping in mind that it's a two-year program). There are only so many classes available, after all. I would be surprised if there were offers made to any more than 20 students, with the expectation of bringing in around 12-14. That has its good and bad aspects so far as an incoming student is concerned, but it's probably more good than bad.

Alright...I'll take a stab at some of these! I can't really speak to the ask/regret question, since I was already committed to UMD when I attended their day last year (it was in late March last time). Living in MD has been surprisingly affordable for me. I mentioned elsewhere recently that my wife and I are in a fairly cozy (~800 sq. ft.) one-bedroom condo about five miles from campus, and we pay $1200/m with all utilities included. We live in a nice, secluded, residential neighborhood within a mile or two of all the amenities you could want or need. Anywhere in the vicinity of UMD is going to be urban or suburban (except for some agricultural areas in Greenbelt etc.). In theory, you could live within walking distance of campus. I know that there are a couple of high-rises that are for grad students, though they're a bit pricier than $1200, as I recall. Still, if you're fine with renting a room, or living with a roommate, there are many affordable options if you know where to look. The mean of rental costs is fairly high, but it's not too hard to find affordable and convenient places if you look across a number of platforms (Craigslist, Zillow, Apartments.com, the UMD Housing finder etc.). The metro system in College Park and D.C. (they're connected) is pretty comprehensive, though many people have a love/hate relationship with it...but that's probably true of metro systems everywhere (I've never used it, personally). Last year the 1/2 TAship was granted to about 1/3 of MA candidates, I think. I honestly don't know how the determination was made by Ralph, but you can certainly ask him at the day for admitted students -- he's very approachable, and is both kind and a straight-shooter (which is a great combination in a DGS). But finding 1/2 GAships on campus is quite possible as well, and those generally carry the same tuition remission as 1/2 TAships. You can mix and match GAships, TAships, and RAships to cover your full tuition. I know a few people in the program who are successfully juggling two 1/2 GAships. I'll be talking about this at length on a panel at the DFAS. As for hotels...there are many right by campus. The Marriott is the closest, being a five-minute walk from Tawes, but I'm guessing it's pricey. If you haven't already, I would check with Ralph to see if anyone has offered up their couch / spare bedroom to potential students. I know he has put out a couple of calls for that. Hope this helps!

I agree 100% with PL on the first part, so I'll just address the second... I'll be "do[ing] all of this again" later this year, and I'm somewhat dreading it...but it simply has to be done. I'll retake GRE (general and subject) again to try to bump up my scores (the former wasn't bad, the latter was the definition of "mediocre"), and will try to do a bit more research on the Ph.D. programs I apply to. The ideal for me would be to stay on with UMD, quite honestly -- not just for the sake of convenience, but because I truly love the program, and have a great rapport with several professors in my field. Last week I had the best single class yet of my graduate career, when a professor delivered a fresh take on the racial component of Othello -- a play I have studied in various ways for literally twenty years. It was a literary epiphany, pretty much, and I want more... As for chances for acceptances to previously rejected programs...well, even though the acceptance rates will surely remain slim, I can't deny that I already feel a hell of a lot better about myself as an academic, and as a Ph.D. candidate. It's worth pointing out that this time last year, I felt like an extremely strong candidate as well...yet I feel far stronger now. Most of the programs I will be applying to are the same ones that rejected me last year. I'll add a few that I thought about applying to but simply didn't last time around (UVA, Johns Hopkins, GWU), but I think that for the repeat programs, I can add a line in the SOP about realizing the value of getting an M.A. / graduate experience before applying to their program. And it won't just be lip service. Long story short, the process is arduous, laborious, time-consuming, stressful, and annoying...and I really don't relish having to go through it again. But by that same token, I feel a lot better prepared, and a lot more knowledgeable about what to do (and what not to do) in my applications.

Yeah, like Solomonski, I really don't think that sounded awkward at all. Professors (and by extension, us grad students) often get a little off-kilter when it comes to social niceties. I can't begin to count the number of times I've said something to a professor that I retroactively thought was stupid. The saving grace is that I'm quite sure, at this point, that professors get those same thoughts...

It's not all UMD students, no. I just took a quick look at the presenters, and it looks like a little over half are from UMD, and the rest are from other schools, including Rutgers, GWU, WashU, UVA etc. Last year UMD admitted eight Ph.D. students, with one of those being a Comp Lit person. I think they wound up admitting a whopping 25 M.A. students, which by all accounts seemed to be an unexpected number -- I seem to recall that offers were made to 30 or 32 with the expectation that 16-20 would accept. Overall Ph.D. admissions seemed to be down last year, however, which probably speaks to the high number of admittances accepting. I suspect fewer offers will (or will have) been made this year, but I'm not really any more in the loop than anyone outside the program. I'm technically a staff member in the department, but the admissions process remains mostly a mystery! I've said it before, but it is worth saying again -- UMD's English program is composed of a very congenial group. I suspect that most programs have a lot of congeniality, but the "grapevine" talk last year was that UMD is among the friendliest, and given my experience over the past year, that feels true. There was a period in November where I got extremely stressed out and bogged down with coursework and work work, and I vented on a Facebook group set up for the first year cohort...and man did I ever get a lot of positive support. When you're dealing with highly academic pursuits, and are surrounded by people who are as smart or smarter than you are, it can be daunting to admit that you're going through a rough patch, but talking about it was like a release valve...and not just for me. So yes, the takeaway that it really is a supportive community at UMD.

Yeah, I'm an older student as well, and didn't even have so much as an Associate's when I was 30 (I'd had a couple of vocational degrees, which carry more weight in my native Canada, but still...). So even though my initial hopes at jumping from a B.A. to a Ph.D. program were dashed, this M.A. has proved to be a godsend. I really do love the program and the people. Incidentally, I know Ralph sent out a request a week or so ago for students / staff to put up incoming admits for a night. You might want to check with him to see if there are any open homes as yet. My wife and I live in a fairly cozy one-bedroom condo. If we had a spare room etc., I would have welcomed you here, but alas... If you DO happen to come, consider staying for the Graduate English Conference the next day. The theme is "Perversions," but I've seen most of the presentation abstracts (I'll be moderating one of the panels), and there seems to be a lot of leeway with that theme... Either way, I'm pretty sure attendance is free (as is food and drink).

That's great news! It's the same offer (or similar) as I received last year, and while my initial reaction was lukewarm, I soon realized what a boon it was...and that has certainly proven to be true for me. I was able to get a full GAship in the department for my first year, and Ralph was able to commute my 1/2 TAship offer to my second year. I won't say that 1/2 GAships / RAships are abundant, but they are certainly available, and they pair with the 1/2 TAship fairly seamlessly to give you tuition remission and a generous (nearly Ph.D.-level) stipend. Feel free to PM me for details. I'll likely also be on a panel at the day for admitted students for balancing coursework and TA/GAships. It's definitely doable, so congrats!