Medievalmaniac

Hey - not a PS Major, but wanted to weigh in on this...I did that, when someone got an emailed acceptance from Catholic, and then a week later received an admit via mail instead of email. I don't know why that is, but it is. Just wanted to share my (positive) experience in this, for what it is worth.

Looks like seadouche should go back and review his GRE vocab flashcards.

You really need to lay off. Your personal attacks are unfounded and uncalled for. I'm not diagnosing or insinuating anything about anyone. I was merely acknowledging that there could potentially be underlying conditions that you absolutely refuse to acknowledge could even be a possibility for anyone to have. Your attitude sucks, and your responses are a pathetic attempt to make everyone else look bad, foolish, or not credible. Furthermore, even if I were insinuating something about another person (I never did) you outright call people unfounded and horrific names. You lash out with absolutely no regard for anyone but yourself and what you think and how you feel. You are not the only person in the world with the answers, or even with an answer, to all of the problems associated with the GRE. You really just need to get over yourself, little troll.

Also, can you please tell all of us what schools you have applied to or what schools you have been accepted to, so we can be sure not to go there for fear of ever meeting someone as narrow minded and trivial as you in real life?

And before you lash back at me telling me I'm the one insinuating things and saying offensive things about you without thinking first - don't bother. I have veeeeery carefully considered what I have to say in this post prior to posting - but frankly, I'm fed up with your Holier-Than-Thou tone, your condescending and borderline manic responses to all and sundry, and your overall attitude about the GRE and everything related to this board.

I'm sorry, but really - I think you suck. At least in cyberland. Maybe in real life I'd think you were a great person, but I sure don't feel like finding out.

I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope you don't give up! Apply again next year!

Fiiiirst...tell me you love me. No, really, Branwen, I'm serious...tell me you love me.....now, click:


http://www.extension.harvard.edu/distanceed/


If you look about midway down the actual course offerings in English, you'll see some names you should be very familiar with as a future medievalist. No biggie...you know, just Daniel Donaghue(editor of Seamus Heaney's version of Beowulf) teaching Beowulf and Old English lit...LARRY BENSON teaching Chaucer....YES, that would be THE Larry Benson, the editor of the Riverside Chaucer..... Of course there is no way at present to know what classes will be offered next term or the term after, but I imagine you could expect at least one in our field to be available.

My understanding is that you meet WITH the class by being online at the same time as the class meeting, and you participate in lectures by sending questions through a dialogue box that are then read aloud by a mediator during Q&A session. You write the papers also - the whole shebang. It's a liiiittle pricy...but, you can TOTALLY have a Harvard course on your transcript, and you do not have to take it for credit, which is cheaper.

Yes...I know...you love me. It's OK. Have a good time!!

I am going to say no, it is a good thing to have the good, the bad, and the ugly in your LOR, but what I object to (as someone who writes LORs regularly myself for my own students) is that she is supposed to be writing about YOU, not about how fabulous she is as a mentor. I don't like the point at which she says "well, he really sucked, until he came to talk to me; then he magically turned around" That's not even about you, it's a plug for her own skills as a mentor/mediator. It should have read something like "he took the initiative to meet with me about his ongoing problems in the class, and demonstrated maturity and a willingness to accept critical feedback through his implementation of suggestions concerning x,y, z" - you see the difference? It should focus on your growth and qualities as a student, not on her ability to poof! cause you through a single meeting to make great strides as a student.

Aside from that, I think it's fine, it certainly appears that she has a lot of regard for you (maybe not as much as she does for herself, though. )

It all depends on what you are willing to do to achieve your dreams.

I am currently working a job that pays me just short of 50K a year. I can guarantee you no graduate school is going to pony up enough to meet that salary. And we barely make ends meet as it is because of student loans and credit card debt and a mortgage...seems like it's always two steps forward, one step back.

If you don't have a mortgage or kids, then I think if you really want this degree, you'd be brain-dead to say "well, we can't buy the clothes we want or the organic produce we prefer, so I'm turning down your (excellent, by the way) offer of admission with full funding in favor of continuing to live the life to which we have become accustomed."

From my point of view, and mine alone, I would love to be only engaged, without kids, with that offer on the table. I wouldn't blink twice, in fact. In the end, you have to decide what's more important - the work and eventually the degree you want so badly - or the surf 'n' turf at Outback once a week. No one else can make that choice for you. But I will tell you - when you do have a family, the stakes are higher and the choice is much harder.

I'm not in your discipline, but I did want to offer you my experiences as a heads-up: I have my MA in hand, in my area of study...not from Harvard by any means, but from a decent up and coming nationally recognized for improvement and growth (#1 in the US News & World Report rankings for its size and programs), second-tier public university. My grades are perfect - a 4.0 with no less than an A on any paper. My GREs are fine - 90% verbal, perfect 6 on the writing section. My LORs were superlative, I have teaching experience already, and I have an extensive list of conference presentations and publications, including presentations at the International Medieval Congress, Southeastern Medieval Association, and Medieval Academy of America - which are the three "big" conferences in my field and my corner of the world. Even with all of that - MA in hand, mind - I was rejected outright by every program but one this season, and that one did not offer me funding.

So...if you have gotten into a strong PhD program fully funded - in my opinion - you take that offer and run with it. You may not teach at Princeton "when you grow up" - but you WILL most likely get a job teaching somewhere at some point - do keep in mind the job market is tight and tightening yearly. Just remember - there are no guarantees at this point - except that you have been offered the chance to pursue the PhD fully funded.

The other decision is academic snobbery and pretty shortsighted, honestly - it's fine if you have your heart set on the Harvard degree, but you can't know it will get you into any PhD program more securely than you already have this season.

I am going to say no, it is a good thing to have the good, the bad, and the ugly in your LOR, but what I object to (as someone who writes LORs regularly myself for my own students) is that she is supposed to be writing about YOU, not about how fabulous she is as a mentor. I don't like the point at which she says "well, he really sucked, until he came to talk to me; then he magically turned around" That's not even about you, it's a plug for her own skills as a mentor/mediator. It should have read something like "he took the initiative to meet with me about his ongoing problems in the class, and demonstrated maturity and a willingness to accept critical feedback through his implementation of suggestions concerning x,y, z" - you see the difference? It should focus on your growth and qualities as a student, not on her ability to poof! cause you through a single meeting to make great strides as a student.

Aside from that, I think it's fine, it certainly appears that she has a lot of regard for you (maybe not as much as she does for herself, though. )

You know, I'm going to sound really crass here but: SCREW the people who say it can't be done. It most certainly can.

If you want to do it badly enough, then you will get it done. There are plenty of women out there who do actually manage to have a demanding career AND raise a family. They just don't have their faces plastered all over national publications and they aren't getting interviewed in the Chronicle of Higher Ed.

Hey - you got your MA, right? And you got accepted to a PhD program, yes? So, you know you are capable of doing the work required for academic success. There are plenty of extremely single men and women out there who will never achieve what you have already achieved academically.

YES, a decade or more ago, a woman with a child and/or children pre-tenure was in danger of not obtaining it. But the guard is slowly changing. You just have to find a good fit for you and for your family. Having a supportive SO helps. Family in the area to help out with childcare helps. A good, solid daycare program helps - especially if it is on campus. Seeking out supportive professors helps.

My first go around with graduate school, I was married with no children. I had a 3.56 GPA when I had to leave the program because of a very ugly separation and divorce. I didn't finish, despite wanting to, not because of children but because of an adult in my life.

Six years later, I applied for graduate school for a second go-around. I was re-married with a 2 year old. They made me start over from scratch - none of my 21 credit hours transferred. I also had no funding because they went by my undergraduate GPA rather than my graduate GPA, which was significantly higher and from a better school.

Midway through the program, I learned that #2 was on her way. I reluctantly told my professor that I was not going to be able to take the EXTREMELY AWESOME course she was teaching in the fall, due to the excellent excuse of having a baby mid-semester. She looked at me as though I were nuts and said "Why on earth not? You can just come until you have the baby and then either come back when you are up to it, finish by electronic means, or take an incomplete and finish the following term." (My other professor - male - just nodded solemnly and understood why I was going to be missing a term). Guess whose classes I took from that point out....

I loooooved the comment from the (obviously single) fellow lounging outside of the English building one day, when he noticed my very - pregnant bulk: "you know, some people just aren't that serious about graduate school. You'd think they'd wait to have kids." Smug, arrogant know-it-all....he ended up transferring elsewhere, and good riddance.

Long story short, I gave birth mid term, came back the following week (fortunately not a repeat C-section) and finished out the course and the degree with a 4.0. I did not cut corners and did not receive preferential treatment - I busted my butt for those scores. I never took an incomplete for a course, or turned in a late paper. My thesis is also under development as a monograph in cooperation with a publishing house, and I'm already published academically in terms of articles. My children are 5 and 2 now. I find that I am a better scholar with them than I was prior, because I don't waste time. I'm more efficient and more organized because I have to be.

I'm not writing this to brag - although some will certainly say it sounds that way - but to point out that a woman with a child is still an individual with the agency of such. You are still a person with goals, hopes and ambitions, and clearly with the ability to achieve them. The only thing that can hold you back is allowing others to make you doubt that you can do it....you have already proven that you can. You've got the acceptance, remember?

No one can tell me what I am and am not capable of doing. My limits are defined by me. There ARE professors out there who will not hold it against you that you are a mother, and there are professors who will even be sympathetic. Then there are professors who will resent you for it and professors who will dismiss you for it - it's the same in the regular population. You are going to have to just figure out who is in what corner and plan accordingly.

You won't get to hang out and party with the other grad students. You won't have a lot of free time. You'll always be busy and have too much to do. But - you most certainly CAN get your PhD. Courage, Woman!!!

Feel free to pm me if you want to talk.

It all depends on what you are willing to do to achieve your dreams.

I am currently working a job that pays me just short of 50K a year. I can guarantee you no graduate school is going to pony up enough to meet that salary. And we barely make ends meet as it is because of student loans and credit card debt and a mortgage...seems like it's always two steps forward, one step back.

If you don't have a mortgage or kids, then I think if you really want this degree, you'd be brain-dead to say "well, we can't buy the clothes we want or the organic produce we prefer, so I'm turning down your (excellent, by the way) offer of admission with full funding in favor of continuing to live the life to which we have become accustomed."

From my point of view, and mine alone, I would love to be only engaged, without kids, with that offer on the table. I wouldn't blink twice, in fact. In the end, you have to decide what's more important - the work and eventually the degree you want so badly - or the surf 'n' turf at Outback once a week. No one else can make that choice for you. But I will tell you - when you do have a family, the stakes are higher and the choice is much harder.

It all depends on what you are willing to do to achieve your dreams.

I am currently working a job that pays me just short of 50K a year. I can guarantee you no graduate school is going to pony up enough to meet that salary. And we barely make ends meet as it is because of student loans and credit card debt and a mortgage...seems like it's always two steps forward, one step back.

If you don't have a mortgage or kids, then I think if you really want this degree, you'd be brain-dead to say "well, we can't buy the clothes we want or the organic produce we prefer, so I'm turning down your (excellent, by the way) offer of admission with full funding in favor of continuing to live the life to which we have become accustomed."

From my point of view, and mine alone, I would love to be only engaged, without kids, with that offer on the table. I wouldn't blink twice, in fact. In the end, you have to decide what's more important - the work and eventually the degree you want so badly - or the surf 'n' turf at Outback once a week. No one else can make that choice for you. But I will tell you - when you do have a family, the stakes are higher and the choice is much harder.

You know what? I'll probably get banned for this - but frankly, right now I don't care, because you are not helping anyone on this forum and we've all had it. So I'm just going to say this once and very clearly:

F-CK OFF, Mate.

You know what? I'll probably get banned for this - but frankly, right now I don't care, because you are not helping anyone on this forum and we've all had it. So I'm just going to say this once and very clearly:

F-CK OFF, Mate.

You said this, not me.



When I had a tutor, I got A's. As I said in my post before. However, you CANNOT expect a 16 year old, unless they LOVE mathematics (a rare thing indeed) to search out a tutor if they are NOT failing, by merely getting C's. And yes. It is THE SCHOOL'S responsibility to teach - not the student's responsibility to find a tutor. If a teacher CANNOT teach math properly so that at least 80% of his class understands what they're studying, it is a FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM.


Most people who are NOT IN THE SCIENCES / HIGHER MATHEMATICS do NOT NEED TO USE ALGEBRA / GEOMETRY / TRIG. They need ARITHMETIC. Big difference.


Yes, I do understand, since I AM a technorat. I was a network admin and am currently a technical writer. I never needed to use advanced mathematics for either. And I never said that math wasn't important. I DID say, that most people DON'T THINK THEY NEED ADVANCED MATHEMATICS. They may be proved wrong later in life, but as long as the educational system doesn't emphasize it, they definitely won't know it when they're in high school. Even most colleges require one math class for gen ed requirements, and usually you can substitute logic instead. I'm not saying that's the way it SHOULD be, I'm saying that's the way it IS.



I don't live in the unique academia bubble. I've been out of school and working in the real world for 9 years. And you need algebra for your finances?? You need ARITHMETIC for your finances. Not algebra, or trig, or calculus. No hidden "x" in your budget, no square equations, and gee, you don't even need to know the geometric formula for the area of a circle.


I didn't blow it off. I said I wasn't great at math in high school, got a tutor, and got better at math. However, I have never needed to use it since, despite being in Hi-Tech. I am not an engineer, nor a programmer, and I never particularly wanted to be. Even when I thought about pursuing an MBA, it was on the marketing side, and I know how to build a budget (NO, I wasn't taught that in high school. I was taught that by my mother).

You asked about the system? That's what I answered. The basic fact is, most kids DON'T get "into" math and sciences due to BAD TEACHING. When I had good teachers, I learned. When I didn't, I didn't learn. simple as that - and considering I'm not the only person who didn't do well in math in their school years, and didn't particularly care - that says something about the system, doesn't it?

ooh! Ooh! Grain of hope! Grain of hope! On the UVA GSAS website:

"Academic credits, undergraduate or graduate, earned more than 10 calendar years before the date of application for admission will ordinarily be considered no longer valid, and therefore will not form a basis for admission to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. At the discretion of the department in which you propose to work, such credits may be revalidated by examination. "

So - they don't have to count my undergraduate work at UVA after all. Doesn't mean much, but it's something!! Especially when everything since was pretty good!

You sound as qualified as about 80% of the other extraordinarily qualified people applying to graduate school.

I will say that it all depends in your case on what you do with your narratives. If you can turn your lengthy and spotty undergrad record into a good, strong explanation for how it makes you a better applicant, that's great. Your statement of purpose has to be stellar in philosophy, period - it is incredibly difficult to get an admit in that subject, as others have told you already.

For American Universities, not following through with a Phi Beta Kappa induction is going to loo a little bizarre...most undergrads planning on continuing with their studies would do little short of murder for a bid from PBK.

If you are going to apply, then apply. Asking a bunch of overly-stressed out and amazingly over-caffeinated applicants what they think of your credentials is not conducive to good results. Filling out the forms, taking the required exams, and writing the narratives is a much better use of your energy.

Good luck.

You know what? I'll probably get banned for this - but frankly, right now I don't care, because you are not helping anyone on this forum and we've all had it. So I'm just going to say this once and very clearly:

F-CK OFF, Mate.

MAKE CONTACT.

Send preliminary questions. Explain that you are delighted to have been accepted and want to know more, specifically, about the kind of work you will be able to do with the professor(s) in question, because you have multiple offers. Ask what s/he is currently working on. Is s/he presenting at any conferences in the near future where you might be able to hear his/her work and meet up? Tell him / her the kinds of things you are interested in and ask how that might fit in with the department and/or his or her work. Don't ramble on, be professional, polite and engaging in your writing. You'll get an answer, although it might be a few days or even a week or so later. This is a good idea for three major reasons:

First of all, you'll be more informed to make a decision about which program is your best fit dependent upon their answers.

Secondly, if you end up going to that school, you have established the beginnings of a relationship with the professor, and starting will be less awkward because (ideally) you'll be on the same wavelength and already have a nascent plan in place for what you are going to be doing.

Thirdly - and key - if you DON'T go to that program, you have an outside professor who has heard of you, and you can establish a relationship with him/her that will serve you well when you go knocking on doors for outside readers of your dissertation, prospective jobs, etc. etc.

People tend to forget that at the doctoral level, you aren't just applying to your schools of choice - you have to cultivate a relationship with your field. That means meeting as many people who work in it as possible and being familiar with their work. The professors of the schools you don't choose are not going to take that personally. They have MORE than enough on their plate. But they do appreciate the opportunity to talk about their work and to exchange ideas, whether you are working with them or not. And they DO remember good emails and proactive behavior.

Good luck!

You know what? I'll probably get banned for this - but frankly, right now I don't care, because you are not helping anyone on this forum and we've all had it. So I'm just going to say this once and very clearly:

F-CK OFF, Mate.

You really need to lay off. Your personal attacks are unfounded and uncalled for. I'm not diagnosing or insinuating anything about anyone. I was merely acknowledging that there could potentially be underlying conditions that you absolutely refuse to acknowledge could even be a possibility for anyone to have. Your attitude sucks, and your responses are a pathetic attempt to make everyone else look bad, foolish, or not credible. Furthermore, even if I were insinuating something about another person (I never did) you outright call people unfounded and horrific names. You lash out with absolutely no regard for anyone but yourself and what you think and how you feel. You are not the only person in the world with the answers, or even with an answer, to all of the problems associated with the GRE. You really just need to get over yourself, little troll.

Also, can you please tell all of us what schools you have applied to or what schools you have been accepted to, so we can be sure not to go there for fear of ever meeting someone as narrow minded and trivial as you in real life?

And before you lash back at me telling me I'm the one insinuating things and saying offensive things about you without thinking first - don't bother. I have veeeeery carefully considered what I have to say in this post prior to posting - but frankly, I'm fed up with your Holier-Than-Thou tone, your condescending and borderline manic responses to all and sundry, and your overall attitude about the GRE and everything related to this board.

I'm sorry, but really - I think you suck. At least in cyberland. Maybe in real life I'd think you were a great person, but I sure don't feel like finding out.

It's altogether possible that the person in question does have an actual underlying psychological problem with test taking in high-anxiety situations. This is a documented medical condition - at present, it can either fall under a long-term ADD diagnosis OR a shorter-term test anxiety disorder. People with mild to moderate ADD often go undiagnosed because they have learned coping skills or don't outwardly manifest their disorder, but in high-stress situations or times of prolonged stress their condition is exacerbated and things that they think are not going to be problematic become much more difficult, especially concentrating or focusing on a single task. There is also (much rarer, but it DOES happen) adult-onset ADD, which can be triggered by sustained bouts of stress and anxiety. Finally, there is test anxiety, and many more people than you would think are awarded extra time on ETS exams because somehow, psychologically, that helps to ease their anxiety to a point at which they can focus and take the test.

My sister was a National Honor Society student in the top 10 of her class, as well as a scholar athlete and just an all-around respected scholar. She never got less than a B on anything in any of her classes. Her PSAT score (back in the good old days of 1600 as a perfect score) was a 560 - no joke. She took it again: 560. She came home shaking and in tears after both exams. My parents had her evaluated. The doctor got the testing folks to grant her extended time. Her PSAT score: 1200. Her subsequent SAT score, also with extended time: 1470. Obviously, she was then blowing everybody else away the way everyone knew she could...the difference was in the time allotted; with the pressure off she could do the work. She ended up early decision full scholarship to W&M and is now a highly respected Math teacher.

Of course, from the sound of things, it is harder to be granted this extended time without a full bout of psychological work ups - which is unfortunate. It truly was the deciding factor for my sister.

You know what? I'll probably get banned for this - but frankly, right now I don't care, because you are not helping anyone on this forum and we've all had it. So I'm just going to say this once and very clearly:

F-CK OFF, Mate.

You really need to lay off. Your personal attacks are unfounded and uncalled for. I'm not diagnosing or insinuating anything about anyone. I was merely acknowledging that there could potentially be underlying conditions that you absolutely refuse to acknowledge could even be a possibility for anyone to have. Your attitude sucks, and your responses are a pathetic attempt to make everyone else look bad, foolish, or not credible. Furthermore, even if I were insinuating something about another person (I never did) you outright call people unfounded and horrific names. You lash out with absolutely no regard for anyone but yourself and what you think and how you feel. You are not the only person in the world with the answers, or even with an answer, to all of the problems associated with the GRE. You really just need to get over yourself, little troll.

Also, can you please tell all of us what schools you have applied to or what schools you have been accepted to, so we can be sure not to go there for fear of ever meeting someone as narrow minded and trivial as you in real life?

And before you lash back at me telling me I'm the one insinuating things and saying offensive things about you without thinking first - don't bother. I have veeeeery carefully considered what I have to say in this post prior to posting - but frankly, I'm fed up with your Holier-Than-Thou tone, your condescending and borderline manic responses to all and sundry, and your overall attitude about the GRE and everything related to this board.

I'm sorry, but really - I think you suck. At least in cyberland. Maybe in real life I'd think you were a great person, but I sure don't feel like finding out.

The DSM-IV agrees with me. I assume you've heard of that? It's the diagnosis manual used by doctors, psychiatrists, psychologist and social workers for the diagnosis and treatment of psychological and behavioral issues. I have been working with this manual for ten years in my current position, and have been trained to use it appropriately.

I think you're ridiculous for absolutely refusing to acknowledge that there could possible be brains that are wired differently from your own. I never attributed a medical condition to the other person, I suggested it COULD BE THERE based on my EXPERIENCE for nearly a DECADE working with a wide variety of high schools students, many of whom have these diagnoses, fully documented and based on psychological evaluations and testing session after testing session.