ratanegra19

Did anyone hear anything else from Berkeley today? I know a bunch of acceptances went out yesterday, and so I'm starting to get a bit nervous--prolly a rejection at this point, but it isn't official until they send me a message... Also, anyone know anything about Stanford MTL?

Omg, totally on board with that--I go in all the time for "ten minutes" and come out ten hours later... (that IS hyperbole, but not as much as you'd think :/ )

I'll drink to that! Drinking coffee though, because I am on the West Coast and it's 10:30 am... Crossing my fingers and trying not to obsessively check my mail every two seconds...

PM me if you end up going--it'll be good to know at least one person there

Lol, that would be hilarious. You'd be "that student" that all the faculty giggled about over coffee in the office...

Same here! It's my first acceptance of the season, and since I will have an MA by next fall I can go straight into teaching. Woohoo! I was mooning around, feeling sad about my Duke rejection, when the email arrived this morning Are you Lit concentration?

First of all, I'm in the Humanities (English Lit), so it's not going to be exactly the same for you as it was for me. However, my advice would definitely be to take that gap year, and maybe a couple others besides--it isn't a question of whether or not you CAN get into a program, but rather of your conviction for and ability to perform within the program itself. A person who has some adult experience outside of the academy often has a sense of priorities, conviction, and overall know-how that someone going straight through does--and in my program, at least, it is very obvious who is who. I'm not saying that the folks who went straight through are any less capable or intelligent--quite the contrary--but they do tend to have a bit more tunnel-vision which doesn't always serve them well. Speaking from personal experience, one of the best decisions I made was taking a few years off to work and travel between undergrad and grad school, even though eventually going to grad school was ALWAYS the plan. A PhD is a big commitment, and my guess (assuming you're a traditional student coming straight out of undergrad) is that you are still pretty young. You have plenty of time to knock around before signing up for 5-7 years of intensive academic labor. When you enter later a PhD program (which you will), you will have a much richer pool of personal knowledge to draw from. Again, I speak from my own experience, what I see in my program, and what seems to work well in the Humanities. Even more personally, I am also a first-gen college student. Thus, another thing (which I used those off-years to make sure of) was that the impetus behind my desire to continue in the academy consisted of more than just a giant middle finger pointing at my home town. I'm sure you can relate

That's great to know, Lyones--I'll definitely check it out!

That's really great to know for sure! I've been talking with someone else on this forum associated with BC, and he said pretty much the same thing, though he wasn't part of the English dept. I didn't realize Richardson was part of that department--he's like, THE guy, along with Elaine Scarry and Lisa Zunshine, for this work. It's settled, I'm for sure going to apply in the fall. Thanks

I've also been looking into interdisciplinary-friendly programs based in Literature. My interest is in Cognitive Literary Studies (Cognitive Science +Literature), but that field is still new enough to make folks suspicious. Basically, I've been combing the Internet for the last few weeks to find programs that will give me a safety net (i.e. staying within the English department) with the option to cross-pollinate with other disciplines. Stanford's MTL looks awesome, but it is super selective. Princeton also has an "interdisciplinary program in the humanities" option with the English PhD, but you need to wait until your third year to apply. Boston College actually seems really amenable to cross-discipline work, as well as Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and WUSTL. Caveat: I am not associated with any of these colleges--I just know what I read on the websites, and some of what I learned here. I'm still actively doing research, trying to find other departments that seem to be on the same wavelength. I plan to apply to 6-8 programs in the fall.

Thanks philosophia! That's actually really helpful--from what I've read, the English dept is similarly hands-off when it comes to letting you manage your own AOI. I'm glad to hear that the stipend is livable, too--I'm pretty low-maintenance, but I worry when I'm not sure. I'm glad you were not offended by the question! If I choose to apply (and I think I will), I will ask the DGS directly about stipend amounts in English. What you say about the undergrads is actually really cool--I'm working as a TA right now teaching English 101 (college composition), and many of my students are great, but a whole bunch clearly see the class as a simple hoop to jump through. I love teaching, and it's depressing when they clearly don't care about the material. As you pointed out, when you're already juggling so much it can be hard to reformulate lesson plans in an attempt to entice them to learn :/ I have one more question for you--the program officially funds five years, but it usually takes six years to get a PhD. I know that there is a lot of difference between departments, but in general have you noticed the sixth-year students getting what they need? For example, are they able to continue teaching, or to apply for fellowships? Thanks again for all your help, I really appreciate it

Does anyone know anything about the English program and/or combined PhD in Cognitive Science there? I am looking at the school particularly for the latter option, which as far as I know is unique to this school. However, I've found the website a bit weird, and a lot cagier about information than some other schools I've looked at. Yet they are one of the top-rated English programs in the country, so they must be pretty good--any info would help. Glad to hear that the city is so nice--I must admit, I was a bit leery of moving to the Midwest--no offense intended, but sea of red combined with months of subzero temperatures didn't seem worth it unless the school/city was amazing.

What online school do you go through? I've heard that you can make some decent money doing that, but I've also heard that some "schools" are pretty sketch. I'm a native English speaker, TESOL-certified, and have ~5 years EFL teaching experience

Hey there! Thanks for the AMA--I'm gearing up to apply for PhD programs in the fall (I will complete my first MA in June 2017), and Boston College is one of the schools that I'm seriously looking into. I'm an English major with a deep interest in cognitive science, and how the two intersect. One thing that attracted me to this school was that it seems to be really flexible with letting people take their studies in the various directions that interest them. More than just about any other program, BC seems genuinely interested in letting students build their own plans of study, and see where their research takes them. I don't know if that is also the case in the Philosophy dept, but I imagine their must be some overlap. I've also hear something about how students are able to take seminars at the Harvard Center for the Humanities if they want to--is this true? Or is it a giant pain in the butt to get into one of those? What about travel opportunities? Haha, sorry about the slew of questions. I was just very excited when I saw your post. In addition, I'm interested in the particulars of funding. They say on the website that they can guarantee five years, and the teaching schedule looks pretty realistic. I know that you aren't in the English dept, but I can't imagine that the Humanities would be too different from one another in terms of dollar amounts--forgive the impertinence of the question, but if you feel comfortable could you share the amount you receive in stipend? And is it realistic to live in Boston with? I'm a west-coaster, and have never been to that part of the country--the way people talk about it here, you'd think it was like affording Dubai or something. Thanks again!

!!! He sounds super cool! Maybe he'd be willing to answer a couple of questions about programs, etc. Berkeley was another one I was interested in because, let's face it, you really can't get much better than that. I'm glad to hear they have at least one faculty member whose interests align with mine! Thanks a bunch, poliscar

I've also been looking closely at that program--I have a strong interest in the intersections of cognitive science and literature, which as you might imagine has been difficult to find in PhD programs I've just finished my first year of my MA in English Literature, and am gearing up to apply in the fall MTL looks perfect, since I legitimately couldn't do this project (without lots of independent studies and a very indulgent faculty) at other institutions. Although MTL's info is a bit old, they have a current list of graduate students who are working on their doctorates now. I haven't contacted any of them yet, but I'm planning to around midsummer. I am applying to various schools, of course, but after hours of searching and cross-referencing, this one seems like the best for people with a strong background in Lit who have a legitimate, self-driven interest in another field or fields.