Infinite Monkeys

Lamb is my favorite, too; I ended up doing my master's thesis on it. Three chapters on how the use of humor, the personal connections, and the theological constructions all create a more complete retelling of the life of Jesus than pop culture (or even some church sources) do. For being fiction, it was a beautifully researched novel like that. And the crucifixion was so heart-wrenching. You know what's coming the entire novel, but that knowing still doesn't make it any easier. I sadly have not had the chance to read Fool. I'm chin-deep in high literature at the moment and craving some "fun" reads like you wouldn't believe. I'm telling myself that I can't buy anything new until I have to travel at the end of the month, which is when I'm going to need some brain escapism. (Ten high-strung, perfectionist, driven-to-win, Type A grad and undergrad students corralled in a very small space--yay?)

Leisurely reading? I know I don't get to do too much: I'm currently in an MA English program, and most of the reading I do is of the "You will read these fifteen novels for the semester" variety. That said, when I get down-time, it's usually murder mysteries. My current favorite is Donna Andrews' mystery series. They're engaging without being overly "thinky," which sounds pretty counter-intuitive, but I spend the bulk of my semester reading Faulkner, Hemingway, and the like, so an easy read is nice once every so often. It's the same reason I read Christopher Moore's stuff--I get to laugh and really enjoy reading for fun. Depending on your program, you might be able to squeeze in a book or two every month or so. Maybe more, maybe less. It just depends on your workload and things like that. It tends to get better once you've got your footing once sessions start.

Any word yet? I've got my fingers crossed for you. Glad to see a solid group building here. Congrats to all, and, regardless of program, I'm sure the coming years will be... interesting, if nothing else.

I'm declining the offer from Claremont Graduate (Interfield English & Religion) and the offer from Iliff. Still haven't heard from UC Riverside's English program or UC Santa Barbara (Religious Studies), but I'll decline both of those offers, if I get them. And if I don't, well, no worries.

Normally, I just use a messenger bag. (I love my Bag of Holding; it's like it has a pocket for everything.) But I've had to switch to a backpack the last few weeks because I'm on crutches, and the messenger bag tends to slip and knock my crutches out from under me. I think the messenger bag has cleaner lines, but if you're carrying a lot, have physical reasons (hello stress fracture), or it's just not your thing, there's no shame in a backpack. It's personal taste and functionality. Whatever makes life easier. For conferences, though, it's a toss-up between the messenger bag and a shoulder bag. The last conference I went to gave me a free one, so why not use it?

Greetings, all! I started this thread to reach out to any future UCR grad students. I'm going to accept the offer they gave me, so, starting this fall, I'll be in the PhD Religious Studies program there. Not a huge change for me in climate or location (it's all still Southern California), but the people will be new, so it'd be nice to network now rather than later. So, any new Highlanders hereabouts?

I'd like to thank... Both of my mentors, one in the English department and one in the Comparative Religion department: these two men have been a source of encouragement and prodding for years now. They never gave up on me, even when most people would have (and often did). The Department of Comparative Religion, for giving me a job when no one else would have... I needed the experience grading, tutoring, and doing the hands-on, "backstage" aspects of the educational world. The English Department, for not landing hard on me when I finished a master's project (thesis) that was 80% religion and 20% literature, and even encouraging me (there are specific faculty who did). Thanks for humoring me. My loyal friends, both at my current university and outside, who knew, deep down, that I'd get there eventually, come hell or high water. They were right. And the department that accepted me--thank you for a great visit, for great advice, and, most importantly, for giving me a shot.

"I want to emphasize one point to you very clearly, so that you embark on your Ph.D program with your eyes wide open. Your application outlined a study largely in the field of religion and literature. You should know that there are almost no jobs in academic departments in this specific subfield. Further, while we have faculty who have personal interests in this field, none here specializes in this." It does get more upbeat, encouraging me to frame my project in different ways and take advantage of media studies faculty (which I fully intend to do), but still. Not quite what I imagined an acceptance letter to be. It's nice that they were honest, though. It's not a wildly popular subfield, although it seems intuitive to me; American literature IS American religious history. And I do already have an eye toward eventual marketability, since I chose to do the MA in English to ensure that, in California at least, I can teach at least part-time in a college or university setting. ...not that there's a heck of a lot to choose from there right now, either.

I don't know any, either, but I'd love to know the answers to those inquiries as well, seeing as how Iliff's TPCT PhD is now an option for me, too. I just got the word on Monday. If the funding is good and my other apps don't pan out, that's where I'll be in the fall. Their letter was a bit... dismal, though, warning me that there won't be any jobs in my area of interest (American religion & literature) and that their faculty aren't actively researching in it, either. I'm wondering why I got accepted if the outlook is so poor, but I'm afraid to ask and screw things up. I mean, I'm not just about books, but about other areas of culture often "read" as literature: movies, television, music, and comics (webcomics in particular). Religion and pop culture has a solid presence, and I'm already meeting and greeting with faculty in that area, so... what's up with this? ...sorry. Bit off-topic there for a minute. I'm not used to acceptances, so it's hard to curb the inherent "I'm not good enough!" paranoia when it actually does happen.

Just got the nod from U Denver/Iliff's PhD program (TPCT focus) on Monday, so that makes two acceptances so far. That one came out of left field, really; I applied thinking it was a certain rejection (what's a good school going to want with a religion/literature mongrel like me, etc). So it came as a major surprise. The other is the Interfield program (English & Religion) at Claremont Graduate University, which came through a couple of weeks ago. The rejections were mostly predictable: Princeton, Yale, OSU. The OSU rejection hurt, since that was probably my top pick. But I kind of saw the Ivy rejections coming. Still waiting on UC Riverside (PhD) and UC Santa Barbara (MA/PhD). UCR was such a spectacular fit; I had a blast when I visited, and everyone was so encouraging. It's a great environment for the grad students (even if I did spend half my day getting exceedingly lost on that campus). I've been told that waiting this long is a good sign. I've also been told that it's a bad sign. Either way, I'd like to know sometime soon. Please? Because at this point, my mailman has got to think I'm stalking him.

Definitely be worried about applying to a CSU. We're getting gutted like fish out here. They've savaged the enrollment numbers (all manner of restrictions and such), and the tuition has skyrocketed. This is the system meant to give access to a wide swath of the population, but I don't know if it'll be that way for long. The colleges have been cut way back, with the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at my particular CSU taking about 1/3 of the cuts dished out on campus. (We have seven colleges, BTW.) There are supposed to be protests across both systems in early March, and with good cause; the cuts and hikes have been bad so far, and I don't know that they're done with them yet. I applied to 3 UC programs, and I have yet to hear from any of them. I have no idea how the budget cuts are going to work out for any of those programs.

Yeah. My birthday is the 2nd. I've officially forbidden anyone to check the mail that day. I don't want bad news on my birthday. It was bad enough to get the "Sorry, but no..." email from Princeton while I was at work this week. And only an hour after my day started, so I had to be not only functional but cheerful for the next seven hours. The office's project director knows I'm waiting, and she told me she's going to stock up on chocolate just in case. I'm hoping March is good news for me this year.

Hi all! I'm definitely more on the interdisciplinary end of things. I'm happiest working with the intersection of American lit, religion, and pop culture; however, I'm fine with just calling it religion and American lit. All eight programs I applied to allow for or require a significant amount of working outside the specific department, with one program (Comparative Studies) depending on the ability to work comfortably with multiple fields. I study the way religion and literature feed off of one another: religious trends inform our literature (not just novels and such, but other media often "read" as lit), and, in return, the literature reflects or critiques the religious trends. It's this crazy push-pull that has, since the Puritans, worked itself into one big fascinating knot. We can't completely escape it, and the reasons and the patterns and the depictions are just so much fun to consider. ...or maybe it's just me. Hopefully, me and whatever programs let me in.

The most annoying? Hmm. The worst was the way that everyone wanted similar elements prepared in very different ways. Hey, if you're going to ask me to spend my waking existence preparing my SoP fifteen different ways, then you could at least all share basic forms. Personal info, academic info, that sort of thing. Re-typing all of that got tiresome. (Two schools did use the same app system, so it filled in all the blanks the second time around.) Seconding the idea that the conflicting information was exceedingly annoying as well. The sites even conflicted within themselves. As an example: When I started the process, many of the schools wanted hard copies of everything--letters, writing samples, CV, SoP, transcripts. Suddenly, I'm working on the online app and no, they only want files done electronically. It threw me and my letter-writers for a loop; they had to submit everything a second time, and when I called to see what was going on, the schools would invariably tell me that, oh, sorry, we're transitioning our apps to online-only, and you're just in the middle of the change. ...seriously? You're changing things in the middle of the process? Why not wait until, oh, I don't know, after everyone's done and before next year's particular purgatory begins? Ahem. Sorry. Bit frustrated there for a minute.

I just got a new job in the middle of application season; it's just a grad position, but I'm doing a specialized job in the department. I made it clear to my new boss that I'm applying to PhD programs. What we agreed on was that I'd help her find and train a replacement before I left. I still have to give minimum two weeks, but once I'm admitted somewhere (I hope-I hope-I hope), it'll be like an unofficial notice. It'd be rough on the office just because they just had to hire and train replacements for their project manager/data analyst. They really don't want drastic change right now (or anytime soon).

I love this thread! And yes, as someone standing at the intersection of English and Religious Studies, I have also had to listen to my share of Dan Brown mania. No, I don't read his stuff, yes, I've seen the movie, no, I don't want to listen to you analyze it in depth and then ask me if I think you're right. For background: Undergrad degree in both English and Religious Studies. Finishing MA in English, focusing on religion in America/American Lit, hoping to get into PhD in English, Religious Studies, or Comparative Studies. Parent (reacting to undergrad degree): So, you're getting a degree in two useless subjects? One of my family members: Are you ever going to have a real job? (Note: Never say this to a person who's just spent the last eight hours straight grading freshman essays. The reaction's just not pretty.) Person: You're studying religion? Me: Yes... Option 1: You realize that Muslims/Catholics/Mormons/atheists/other random religious groups are evil and going to hell, right? Me: *whimpers, because this usually devolves into me getting shouted at--they don't want an answer, they just want a setup to a screaming fit* (I had a period of about 8-10 months where I was told on at least a weekly basis that I was going to hell. Fun times.) Option 2: They're trying to convert you! Me: No, see, we're studying about a lot of religions; no one wants to convert me. (I got recruited for a Jewish sorority, but they only wanted to convert me into someone with an actual social life.) Aaaaand because it's a repeating theme.... Option 3: So you're going to be a priest? You should really be a priest. You know so much about religion! Me: Yes, and the semesters on Judaism, Hinduism, and Catholicism are going to do me so much good in the Episcopal Church, don't you think? Or, for English: Person: So, what're you studying in your MA program? Me: The intersection of American religion and literature, specifically how the trends in religion affect our literature and the way literature reflects or critiques those trends. Person (blank stare): So... you read books? *headdesk* Yes. Yes I do.

I'm terrified. Last year, I applied and got rejected by all of the programs. This year, I applied again (to more than twice as many programs), and I'm still panicking. I mean, I think I've done everything right. I mean, I could give a laundry list of positives, including research, grad assistant experience, service to campus and community, GRE scores in verbal and writing, and GPA. But all I can think of are all the negatives. Most of my conferences have been rather small scale, I haven't published yet, my math GRE was terrible, and I come from a state school rather than something more prestigious. And I think of the fact that the odds are against me at every school I applied to, and maybe I was too ambitious (two are Ivies--what the hell was I thinking?), and do I really have the chops for any of this? It doesn't help that my advisor, the one who's been behind me the whole way, who's been able to balance a realistic perspective with encouragement and wrote eight separate letters of recommendation for me, is now talking like I'm not going to get in at all. That when I don't get in, I shouldn't try again right away. Not "if," "when." I spent last week either very angry or very depressed. I know the odds are slim, but don't count me out before the results are even in. And I don't even know when they're going to come in. I wish, I hope, I pray, but inside, I'm petrified. I think about what I'll have to do if I'm rejected, but then I don't want to tempt fate by planning the backups too thoroughly. Stupid, I know, but rational thought left the building as soon as the postal clerk took my last app.

I'm not in your field, so I can't say for sure, but to go by what I've heard from friends who are in your prospective fields, you might have a tough time of it. It's possible, but you might have to take a more roundabout way in, and it'll take a lot of dedication on your part. Just an anecdote, so take it for what it is: A friend was in a similar situation, got a little lax about undergrad grades, and when it came time for apps into med schools, he was pretty much shut down entirely. Smart guy, great background otherwise, but the GPA, similar to yours, cost him. He did an extra year of undergrad, including summers working in any labs he could possibly get into. Then he went to a master's program in a science field to make himself more marketable. Only after all this extra work could he get programs to consider him. Similar extra time, if you can manage it, might help you not only refine your GPA, but your interests as well, which couldn't hurt in the long run. Spottedtoad and Smile of Fury also suggested excellent ideas that could certainly benefit you. Take time to consider all of the possible options. My MA program does give some GPA wiggle room for otherwise strong applicants, but if you're below that minimum you have to "remediate" a little bit with extra coursework to prove you have the chops. I don't know if the sciences would be quite that forgiving, but if you're really set on this and willing to work (and work and work and work), you might be able to do it.

This. This so much. I had spent almost two solid semesters tutoring a group of Vietnamese nuns on composition and helping to get them through their Examination in Writing Proficiency test (our university's semi-exit exam). Bless those nuns and their need for intensive, frequent tutoring. I followed the five-point general style. Not five-paragraph, mind, five-point. It helps keep everything a little more focused for formulaic essays (at least it does for me). I answered exactly what they wanted answered. I didn't throw in anything funky, creative, or unexpected. The best advice I can get is the advice I got when gearing up for the EWP myself. "Don't be creative. Don't be clever. Give them exactly what they want, how they want it, in a clear and direct manner." The essay was boring as hell, but it was exactly what they wanted. Hey, it got me the 6.0, and I'm crossing my fingers that it and my verbal will offset my abysmal math scores.