cjmullis

Thank you all for the advice! I think I will spend this summer trying to find and apply for conferences, rather than worrying about presenting right away.

Hi everyone, I'm planning to transition from undergrad to serious grad student in just a couple weeks, and I would love to get a head start on beefing up my CV for my 2017 PhD applications. Does anyone know of conferences being held this summer which allow independent researchers (since I would be between universities)? Cost isn't really an object, although conferences in the southeast would be super convenient.

Hi all! I'm going to be pursuing a mostly funded (fully funded if they decide to give me an assistanship or fellowship...) MA program beginning this Fall. I had 3 unfunded MA acceptances and only rejections from PhDs, so my choice to attend my program was relatively easy. My background is at a small, public "party school" in the southeast, so I wasn't even prepared for the PhD applications when I applied. Perhaps this should have been a hint that I needed not apply, but I didn't pick up on it. I feel like the PhD programs encourage applicants straight out of undergrad to apply, probably just to get the hefty application fees and in order to be able to say that they rejected 500 people. I do not see any possible way that I as an undergrad could compete with someone who has an MA. That being said, I know there are people who go straight to top MA/ PhD programs, but I feel like I was given poor advice when told to apply to those programs. I'm unbelievably excited to finish undergrad and start my MA, and I think it will be the best thing for me. The next two years of my life are going to be dedicated to getting into a top PhD program for fall 2017!

Congrats! My best friend is finishing her first year in the program and she has had only great things to say about it.

Thank you! I've been lucky enough to meet all of the current first-year MAs and I've been emailing a couple recently. I think I'll take your advice and ask them about emailing/approaching professors for TA positions. When I visited campus, the students seemed to be suggesting that I wait until my second year to TA, but I really want to start right now and get as much experience as possible.

Hi all! Congrats on your MA acceptances and funding offers! I will be attending Wake Forest's 2-year MA program this fall. So far, I have been awarded a partial (near-full) scholarship, but current grad students say there's a chance I'll get either a fellowship or a Writing Center assistantship in the next few weeks. TA positions are informal, so I have to approach a professor and ask to work for them for free (any advice on how to do that?!) I haven't gotten much info about registering for classes or anything yet, but I've checked out the course offerings and decided to take Modern American Lit, Contemporary American Lit, and 18th C. British. I am looking ahead towards becoming an Americanist with an emphasis in postmodernism and critical theory, and I'm taking the Brit Lit just because professor is phenomenal and I know I'll need a little more British for the GRE subject test.

I just accepted my offer at Wake Forest's English MA program! I'm so relieved to have finally made a decision.

Apparently I'm 7th on the waitlist as of now :/

Hi pannpann! Congrats on your offer. I'm accepted, but waitlisted for funding. If I get funding I will be attending, but if not I'm going to Wake Forest (funded). Also, I believe the accepted students day is April 11th.

Hi Caroline! I'm originally from NC, but I'm at CCU for undergrad. I'm so jealous that you're from Charleston- it's my favorite place in the south.

I don't see how ONE spot in the rankings, which may very well change before you finish your program, could possibly make that much of a difference. Go with the better offer for sure

I really don't think that acknowledging privilege before each time one speaks, writes, or acts is really accomplishing anything. People should recognize that they are privileged and approach situations with that knowledge, but I don't think we are morally required to apologetically announce our privilege before expressing any sort of opinion.

MA applications take longer for a variety of reasons. It could be that they had later application due dates than PhDs (I'm not sure about the programs to which you've applied), they decide how many MAs to accept based on how many PhDs they accept, or a number of other reasons. If you're really worrying, it may help to look back at previous years in the results search and see when MAs received acceptances in the past. Good luck!

^me, in a nutshell

I don't know your personal fit with the programs, but I think the programs themselves are pretty comparable. BU has more nationally recognized prestige, to be sure, but U of SC has a great program. I know I would be struggling to decide if I was in your position, but as a third-party I would suggest taking SC's offer. Money amounts to more than we'd all like for it to.