bgt28

BU suspends admissions to humanities, other Ph.D. programs

Needless to say, I'm already losing my absolute mind. It's atrocious how anxiety makes time slow down as opposed to speeding it up lol.

@Kiamia Ditto on Yale Combined WGSS, but I'm doing it with AfAm Studies. Best of luck to us both, as that is for sure a dream program!

Right there with you!

Thank you for the opportunity. Happy to help. Good luck to us all!

I would say the consensus mirrors the advice you've come upon thus far. I think it's ok to cite specific texts that are relevant to your research interests in the body of the SOP by name, but it's not customary to include a formal bibliography, nor is it a requirement to include in-text citations. The general assumption is that quotes are superfluous in the context of an SOP because you can safely assume that Admissions Committees are intimately familiar with whatever text you may be moved to pull from. Ultimately, the SOP requires you to be specific in terms of the broad strokes, like your academic and research interests, why you're applying to the program(s) you've chosen, faculty whose work resonates and who are able to support your journey to the end of your degree, and how you intend on actively participating in/contributing to any given university community. You can get away with leaving citations out because the SOP is your opportunity to use your own voice to be clear and specific, rather than quotations.

🦇Happy Halloween to All! 🦇

How's everyone feeling as we move into November?

I'm with you.

@John Watson Thank you for your kind words and for your detailed input. I sincerely appreciate it! Best of luck to us all.

Yessir. Moving on to other things and excited to have everything particularly recommendations done and out of mind.

@Wordy Tart Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies/African American Studies here. Wbu?

I'm in the thick of the waiting game

@John Watson thank you for your response! At this point stamina is perilously low, so I may just move forward with this cycle lol

My advice is to take it and submit scores only if you score high enough that it adds to your application, particularly when it comes to the verbal and writing sections of the GRE. If not, I'd say your time would be better spent focusing on statements of purpose, personal narratives, and writing samples.