Dr. Old Bill

Definitely the first I've heard of it...

And you thought 1Q84's response was rude?

I agree with this. Wholeheartedly. The one caveat I would add, however, is that it requires a level of openness about one's own strengths and limitations, and an acknowledgment that it is an even tougher battle than it is for those who have no diagnosed mental disabilities. The academic gates are not closed, but the measures required to get through them are invariably going to be more difficult -- not insurmountably so, but it does have to be acknowledged. As it pertains to this situation, it's hard to say. I don't know Youngcharlie at all, or her situation beyond what she has expressed via several threads here. I'm more concerned over her "hatred" for NYU and how she "despises" professors there and "hates" her roommates and the "pretentious" city. They may just be words on an Internet forum, with no serious weight, but if they are reflective of true opinions, then it is hard to wholeheartedly endorse her pursuit of another M.A. and eventually a Ph.D. I suppose that is the danger of an Internet forum though. Posting styles etc. can vary quite a bit, and it's possible that Youngcharlie is just letting off steam. I'm not sure her rampant downvoting over seemingly well-intended advice is doing her any favors though...

Speaking frankly here, and I know I'm just some guy commenting on the Internet, but... -I'm completely at a loss as to why you would want to get another M.A. in English. One should be enough, unless there is a VERY compelling reason otherwise. -Hating a program and despising professors is not a good sign. While I can't say whether or not NYU's English department is "typical," it is nevertheless academia...and if you had a really bad experience, then it might be a reflection on you and whether academia is the best fit for you in general. You say you hated your pretentious roommates and hated the city as well? That's...a lot of hate. -The GRE can be stressful, to be sure, but if it is bringing on dangerous fits of anxiety, including hospitalization, it's hard for me to imagine what the stress of a high school (or college) classroom could do. Again, I don't know you at all, but these are signs you need to take seriously. -Your posts are tinged with talk of "trauma," "stress," "hatred" for various aspects of the process. At some point does this add up to something other than "try again"? Again, just some frank thoughts. In a high school classroom, you'll be encountering up to thirty or so teenagers...most of whom are only there because they have to be. It will be stressful. A Ph.D. program will be five years of academic rigor, including stress-inducing comps and dissertation deadlines etc. It's a lot of anxiety. Much more, comparatively, than the GRE.

She knows and she knows and she knows... Bah. I'm feeling all nostalgic now. Actually Siamese Dream introduced me to the mellotron (used most prominently on "Spaceboy"), which became one of my favorite instruments. I eventually got heavy into progressive rock in the late '90s, which is largely saturated with mellotron passages. I was doing a recording session back in 2003, and it turned out that the studio actually had a mellotron in storage. I downright insisted that they bring it out so that I could use it on a track or two (frankly I just wanted a chance to play the damn thing), but they categorically refused, saying it was impossible to keep in tune, and was basically junk. I reluctantly let it go. Eventually I found a quality VST instrument version of a mellotron (basically samples) a few years ago that I was able to use on a couple of tracks, but it's really not the same. Appppppp: I didn't know Iha wrote "Soma." In fact, I was under the impression that Billy wrote and played pretty much everything on the album other than drums...but those alt-rock accounts were often quite exaggerated. ETA: I should mention, in case you don't know, that the mellotron was an instrument created in the '60s that basically featured keyboard keys attached to tape loops of strings, flutes, chorales etc. It was intended to be an early "sampler" but turned out to have a unique sound all its own. The company has actually started making them again in recent years (much higher quality, from what I gather), but the vintage ones went out of production some time in the 70s. You can't hear an early song by say, Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Moody Blues, Gentle Giant etc. without hearing a mellotron in full drone...

I think I might have called "Soma" my "favorite song of all time" in 1995 or 1996. Saw SP in concert in 1997...it was delayed because of the whole situation with Jimmy and the death of Jonathan Melvoin. Still, Matt Walker was a pretty excellent replacement drummer for that tour... I remember Billy used a mic stand to smash one of the stage lights, which immediately burst into flame. Sophomoric? Sure...but it was entertaining and hilarious. Yeah, I'm not ashamed to admit that I still put on '90s SP from time to time. Some tracks from Gish hold up well too -- "I Am One," "Rhinoceros," "Crush" etc. It's really too bad they've (well, he's) become a bit of a mockery of themselves these days. Machina was a travesty, and their subsequent work has just been self-serving, with occasional glimmers of "good."

Oh, seriously, Pisces Iscariot was fabulous. I think "Obscured" is the best track on the album too, though "Pissant," "Hello Kitty Kat," "Girl Named Sandoz," and "Starla" are all pretty fabulous too. Some of the b-sides from Mellon Collie were great as well -- "Ugly," "Marquis in Spades," "The Aeroplane Flies High" (with Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt!)... Yeah. I miss the mid-90s sometimes.

According to Dante, the gates of Hell are capped by the maxim: "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." In that same vein, I suppose the gates to a Ph.D. program are topped by a giant sign that says "Who the eff knows!?" I guess all of you are right. It's just important not to devalue the significance of the GRE scores too much. Ultimately all aspects should be at their strongest, which seems obvious on the surface, but is worth repeating over and over regardless.

Yes, yes, and yes. In no way am I blaming Grad Cafe at all for my lack of overall success in this Ph.D. application season, but I think I let the "GRE doesn't matter much" sentiment affect me too much...perhaps even subconsciously. Sure, a 162 verbal isn't a bad score. Some might call it a good score. But in a highly competitive situation, where anywhere from 1% to 5% (and rarely more) of all applicants get accepted, anything less than stellar can hurt you...and a 162 verbal is definitely less than stellar. Like it or not, having a quantitative figure or three for comparison purposes has got to be appealing to even the most egalitarian of adcomms. It says something definitive...something that can't easily be explained away. In other words, in the span of about two and a half months, I've definitely come to believe that getting a damn good GRE score is important. No, not the most important, but certainly important! This is a bit of a soapbox issue, I know, but I often try to think about future GC members in coming application cycles when I post...and they should know that trying to hit 165 or so on the verbal is very much worthwhile, even if it takes another attempt and another $200 to do so. Edited to add: cross-posted with CarolineKS.

Me too! They were my favorite of the 90s bands, really. I just listened to Siamese Dream a few weeks ago, and routinely play their first four albums (yep, even Pisces Iscariot). They kind of lost me with Adore and beyond, however, though some of the post-Mellon Collie and pre-Adore soundtrack work was pretty great too ("Eye" from the Lost Highway soundtrack in particular).

I think that's a delightful idea!

On this date every year, I make a point of listening to this song. Still a cool video, too. Can't believe it came out 21 years ago.

I actually am, though my wife might boycott it over the lack of Dave Grohl interview footage. I was never a big Nirvana fan -- I was maybe one or two years too young to be heavily into them -- but I've always had a healthy appreciation for their contributions to rock music. And "Smells Like Teen Spirit" has been around for nearly 24 years, and it still never gets old...

I'll probably take the GRE lit test again next April, so that if I wind up having a mediocre score once again, I can retake it in October 2016. The prospect of taking it two more times is aggravating, to say the least, but one thing I've learned from this application cycle is that it does matter. Not as much as other components, I'm sure, but more than I had previously believed. As for the regular GRE, I might take it again in a couple of months, and keep doing so until I have a verbal of at least 165. No more excuses.

"Programme."

Frankly the UW-Madison offer scares me, Katla. I'm sure you've already read up on Scott Walker's shenanigans in Wisconsin, but in bygone years, UW-Madison has guaranteed five years. The fact that they can't guarantee any more than that now speaks to the legitimate financial concerns there. Having said all of that, it's a fabulous program, so the risk:reward ratio is going to be your biggest concern here. Obviously, as Mikers says, you take the Rutgers offer if you get off the waitlist, given that they're an equally great program for English. But if not, then it will be a tough call between the three birds in hand at Madison vs. the four birds in hand at UW. Sorry that this decision is going to come down to money.

This has been a major groove of mine lately. It's on the punk / screamo side of things, but reminds me a bit of early Nirvana.

Just chiming in with a slightly different perspective... I'm older and married, and will be starting a M.A. program in the fall, after completing my B.A. in May. I recognize that I am uncommonly old to just be finishing an undergraduate degree, but so it goes. In any event, my wife is a fairly successful professional in the non-profit arts sector, and we have a great relationship etc., but she doesn't talk much about her work, nor does she ask me about my studies. I'll often start to talk about a paper I've been writing, or a particularly enjoyable course etc., but the specifics don't really interest her too much beyond the fact that she knows that I am enjoying what I am doing. More importantly, however, she is 100% supportive of my future goals, just as I have been of hers...and that's really the key. It doesn't bother me much that she doesn't take an active interest in my studies, because I definitively know that she encourages me, supports me, and "has my back," so to speak. In other words, in all the ways that truly matter, she's there for me. My advice is to examine whether or not your partner can fulfill that same role. Before I went down the path I'm on, I had a few menial (but decent-paying) jobs that I had ZERO desire to talk about with anyone, let alone my wife. Likewise, some people just see work as a necessary part of life, and no more worthy of comment than the eight hours spent sleeping. (I, for one, could care less about hearing about a dream someone had...) Ultimately, even though a large part of your life may be tied up in your academic work, remember that your partner is likely with you for broader reasons, and so long as he reciprocates in the "support and encouragement" aspect of things, you might be just fine.

My wife and I have been binging this today. Delightful.

It will be a long while before I'll ever be considered a fitness enthusiast, but I did spontaneously buy a (reasonably cheap) treadmill last week. I hurt my knee last summer, and it still gives me issues when I try to use our stationary bike, so I'm hoping that a treadmill will help in that regard.

Two weeks from today!

No word from them, but in light of their past malfeasance in that regard, I'm just assuming rejection.

One of them is indeed! Very glad to hear she's fantastic! Honestly, since I made my last post, I've been talking with a good friend who is a recent grad student, and I'm coming to realize that it might be best if I go down the early modern road regardless. There are some good reasons for it -- too complex to get into here -- but I'm getting the distinct feeling that everything is working out for the best.

I just received the itinerary for the UMD open house, and they have scheduled me for meetings with three faculty members. Much to my surprise (but not disappointment), all three are firmly Renaissance scholars, as opposed to poetry / poetics faculty. I'm trying not to read into this too much, but I'm guessing this reflects their interest in me as an early modernist (generally), as opposed to a prosodist specifically. I don't think I'm going to go against any particular "flow" to reorient myself firmly as a prosodist in the program, though I wonder how much leeway one has in this regard. I'm certain I would be happy doing work that is less focused on transhistorical poetics and more focused on Renaissance literature, yet it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Does anyone have any thoughts on this matter?

Oh, that's definitely the thrust of the show as well. Don't get me wrong -- zombies eating people is part of the show's appeal -- but it is definitely more about the inevitable societal shifts that come in the face of an apocalypse. I'm not saying it's high art (it's not), but it does have some intellectual value amidst the admittedly enjoyable gore-fest.