biyutefulphlower

Location is a def. an important factor, especially when you bring family into the mix. (Starting one, or bringing family members along.) I was actually looking to apply in California as well, but my school of interest was in Southern Cali, which I'm (personally) not the biggest fan of. Plus, the whole drought situation is not very appealing... I can understand the cost of living in NYC not being appealing. (It's expensive out here!) One of my top choices is in the heart of the city though, so I'm hoping I'd just stay in Jersey and take the good ole' NJ Transit train across the water if I get in. Though the rent in NJ isn't great, still better than NYC.

Five PhD. What I want to study is a wee bit...niche? Up and coming, perhaps? So, there isn't an over abundance of schools with more than 1 scholar and that's in a place where I actually want to live for the next 4-5 years.

Awe, thanks @Yanaka! My name actually means 'beautiful flower', so it's a play on that (and my quirkiness, hehe).

I can relate - I listed an upcoming comic publication on my CV, which I'm also hoping reviewers will see as relevant to my over all application (SoP and WS related to comics). I was worried that my CV was a little lean since I didn't include the majority of my work experience over the last decade. The bulk of my jobs have been 'non-industry' and I'm assuming they aren't 'relevant'. (Though they've built character and, you know, fed me, haha.)

@Wyatt's Terps - You don't have to stress too much. I called the OSU English Grad office last week and they said they don't really expect all the letters to come through until the 15th or so. You still have time

Hi @kaiphi and @Yanaka - so, long story short, I was a commuter student at BC, while working part time back at home in New Jersey. Here are a couple quick points that I thought may be of interest, but let me know if you want anything more specific: When I applied to BC, I actually applied for an MFA. But, in viewing my application, they thought I would be better suited for an MA program and offered me a spot in said program. It has always impressed me that they looked so carefully at my materials and, in a way, saw something in me that I didn't see in myself at the time. I chose to finish the program in 2 years (which I found very doable), but I know there are some others who decided to take a bit longer. Of the dome, I think you have a max of 3 years to finish, but you should double check me on that. I was pleased by the caliber of the faculty. I did my undergraduate work at Cornell and I didn't feel that the professors were lacking compared to what I had already experienced. (For example, I think my thesis advisor was just great. He works in animal studies, post-humanism, and medieval studies, if that's of any interest to you.) There are also a wide range of expertise in the program, so if the MA is acting as a bit of a stepping stone, it's a good place to stretch your wings and try out new realms of study. It's where I discovered comic studies, after all, and now that's just taken over my life, haha. I paid for the program (no funding on my end), but in the grand scheme of things, it was not the most expensive, especially if you plan on becoming a New York resident. All in all, I had a very good experience, minus my 2 hour commute one way. (I got a lot of reading done, haha). It's right off the 2-train, so it's accessible, and the campus is nice to be on if you need to kill time. I hope this helps, but do let me know if you have any other questions

Absolutely! Since the two of you are interested, I'll type out some things in the discussion, but feel free to send me any other question you may have. I'm still at work and have some errands to run once I leave, but I'll post my thoughts later in the evening.

@Yanaka - I actually wrote about a French comic, lol - "Sky Doll" (by Alessandro Barbucci and Barara Canepa). The 4th chapter just came out internationally, so I'm chomping at the bit to get my hands on it. (Maybe translated into English? I can only hope, haha.) I'll have to see if I can find "The Lightness"... @engphiledu - I've been out of school for a few years, so I'm in that boat with you. (I've been working with a Tech Company for a bit now, so my day-to-day isn't even very English-y, haha.) Best of luck to you!

@kaiphi - I actually graduated from BC with my MA in English a few years ago! Personally, I really liked the program. (Though, I suppose we'll see how competitive I am after this round of PhD applications, haha.) Feel free to PM me with any questions. I might not have all the answers, but I'll be happy to help in whatever way I can.

@Yanaka Oh really? That's awesome! Can I ask which one? (Are you a comic studies person, too?) @BlackRosePhD - Do let us know how everything goes. I've been struggling with nailing down my last letter writer for the last 3 weeks (and I'm not on campus, which makes things all the more difficult), so I hope it all works out in your favor.

@BlackRosePhD - Bouncing off the above, when I e-mailed the schools I'm applying to, I got different answers about how they'd like my images included. That said, my writing sample is about a graphic novel, so admittedly, it's probably more image heavy than the usual. If you're going to have a bunch of pictures, you may want to just quickly check with the department before submitting. (Also, 2 thumbs up for .hack.)

Funnily enough, Prof. 3 actually responded yesterday to say he's been very busy this semester (lots of classes, theses he's advising, with other letters, etc). He said he could potentially write me a short, but positive, letter that focuses on my time in his class since it took him so long to get back to me, but wouldn't be able to read any 'up-to-date' materials. I'm still reaching out to another professor, but since my time is short and I don't know exactly if/when I'll hear back, I asked him when he would need to hear from me in order to ensure the short letter. Hopefully he responds to that message in the next 2 weeks... Keep your fingers crossed for me...

Thanks to both of you for your responses. Undergrad may be a bit hard, since I haven't keep in contact with the professors. (It's been a little less than 10 years since I graduated.) But, I'll reach out to the school and my professors to see if I can track the other two down.

Hi Everyone, I'd like some opinions on letter of recommendation trouble I'm having. (Asking here so I can get a humanities/English Lit perspective.) I've done a little digging around the forums, but still thought starting a new thread could be helpful. For some quick context, I was originally planning to apply to PhD programs last year, but for a myriad of reasons decided to postpone to 2016. I reached out to 3 letter writers last year, all of which responded to me at least once. Two had agreed to write letters, but did encourage my decision to wait on applying. The third, let's call him Prof. 3, sent along a series of requirements needed before he could agree to write a letter, but then never responded to my follow up question about meeting on campus. Fast forward to now - I reached out to the same three professors again. Two have responded enthusiastically/agreed to write strong letters and Prof. 3 has, well, not responded. I reached out to him during the last week of October for applications due the 1st full week of December (similar to last year) and sent a follow up on Nov. 6th. With two unanswered e-mails, do I keep bumping Prof. 3 for a letter? I live in a different state from where I got my MA, so while I can get to the college for a face-to-face visit, it'd be a 30-1hr drive depending on traffic. His office hours are all during the morning/afternoon (I work full time) and, since I've been out of school for a few years, it may a bit strange for me to show up unannounced. Should I just call (which also feels a little strange)? How many follow-ups should I send before giving up? What do I even say at this point? :/ If I can't get a hold of Prof. 3, how much would my application be hurt by getting a non-academic recommendation? The other professors I would even think of contacting have both retired and I don't have their contact information. Plus, I'm pretty sure my old boss would be more than happy to write a letter for me. Any thoughts...?

This is also something I've been worrying over since last night...I'm very curious to see what people have to say.

I'm also looking into the University of Oregon. They have an undergrad minor dedicated to Comics, so there's quite a few faculty members with an interest.

Similar question on writing sample length: I wrote my MA thesis on a comic series, so the paper included a lot of images, some of which took up full pages. I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about including them with the writing sample, because they are important to understanding what I'm talking about, but up the total page count while decreasing the amount of actual written content. I've considered removing them all and including an appendix, though I'm wondering if that's more effort that it's worth for the folks reading it... Should I just e-mail the departments for their opinions...?

Well, it was the CUNY Graduate Center. However, I checked their website again just to be sure and they've edited the information once again. It now says, "We do require the GRE Subject Test in English but we do not put much weight on it." I hope they're being honest with the score I got, haha. I'm glad you made it out in one piece!

I wish I was as confident as everyone else who took the test! My experience was more like 1Q84s - I walked out of the exam a bit shocked. Sort of felt like I was assaulted by words, haha. I took a three hour nap afterwards and was sort of person-soup for the rest of the day. To be fair, my background in English is a little abnormal, for example, I've never taken a general course on 'American Literature', so a lot of the writers I studied were brand new to me. But, on the plus(?) side, the one school that required me to take the exam has now flipped the script and no longer requires it. I guess I can chalk this up to being a 'character building experience'. Sounds better than waste of study time, lol.

It's the eve of the test and I'm trying to keep my freaking out to a minimum, lol. Good luck to everyone fighting the beast on Saturday!!

Well, I know what I'll be listening to at work in the background for the next 20 days, lol. Thanks so much for the share Waco!

Ah, the joys of College libraries. I've been out of school for a couple years (and little far from where I studied) so I don't know if that's an option for me. Though, perhaps others in the thread will benefit~ And thanks much emperess-marmot! I feeling a lot better after this threat.

Also, throwing this out there, I saved a lot of money by not getting the most recent Norton Editions, but the version before. I think they're the 7th, but don't quote me on that. I managed to get a few for like $5, which is much preferable to $50.

Thank you so, so, so *soooo* much all of you! You guys have really helped me feel better about this, especially since you went so in depth with your explainations. I'm really going to take all of your advice to heart. (One thing that made me nervous was a site I read that said the guy studied for six months - yikes!) Hopefully I make it through in one piece, haha. Thanks again!!

Hey Waco-Waco! I just made a post about the GRE Lit exam to see if I could get some advice from past test-takers. Maybe that'll be of some help to you, too? I'm also signed up for September (eek!) but trying to weigh if I should really devote the time to it or if I should turn wholeheartedly towards my applications, since most of my schools don't require the test. So much to do and it will be December before we know it!