JessicaLange

You might want to consider Indiana University Bloomington. I went there for my undergrad and I took courses that covered all of the playwrights you mentioned as well as courses on psychoanalysis. The best way to do it would probably be through a joint or dual program between the Theatre program and Gender Studies program. I'm not sure if you can do that, but it's worth looking into.

Can we talk about the GRE please? ETS makes so much money off of us. They know that most of us are applying to more than four schools (sometimes 10, 14, 17...). $27 to send scores electronically is absolute garbage. 

DO AWAY WITH THE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH GRE!!! 

I'm kind of repeating what has already been said, but working in a Writing Center really helps you with your own writing. It's like a crash course in grammar, sentence structure, citations, and paragraph flow. I have a much stronger grasp on concepts, because I have to explain them to students every day. I can finally point out active/passive voice (which always confused me) and having the burden of explaining rules to students means that you actually must understand the rules. Sometimes you have to say "uhh this part needs a comma, because....that's just uhh how English works." Generally speaking, though, there is a logic behind the construction of the English language and it's so helpful to examine those principles. Obviously, you aren't just a copyeditor; you're more like a 5th grade grammar or logic instructor. "How does this fit into your main argument?" "Here you say this, but you contradict it in the paragraph before." "Okay, I explained this rule in the previous sentence; what do you need to change here?" Sometimes students need you to explain APA citations and you've never done them either, but you figure it out. Sometimes I'll turn to a colleague and ask how they would explain the difference between gerunds and present participles. You just re-learn so much through the sessions. It can be frustrating that you can't just grab it from them and fix it, but I think writing center work is invaluable.

It completely depends on the program. I'm sure you know that each school takes different factors into consideration, but I think that having a higher score definitely gives you a leg up. Also, having a higher score means that you don't have to wonder what could have been if you'd just had a higher score. I will say, that when I took the GRE the first time I also got a 157 and then I went to visit a bunch of PhD programs and got the general sense that they wanted you to be at least in the 90th percentile (these were all top 20 schools though). One of them actually read me the scores of everyone that got in to their program for that semester and the person with the lowest score had a 157. Those were PhD programs, so take it with a grain of salt. But, I would say it won't completely take you out of the running. You'll just want to make sure the rest of your application is great, because other applicants will almost definitely have a higher GRE score.

Just to clarify, I just heard someone say this and I thought it was an interesting topic in a general sense. I have thoughts about Chelsea Manning, but would not personally make any decision about a school based on their positive or negative treatment of her. She was not my point. But I think you need to look at a school and assess its values and see if any of them really contradict your own. It's not about safe spaces as JKL said. I've never experienced safe spaces the way TV hosts and columnists discuss them. But, I understand that I am not always welcome and I don't want to waste my time, money, and effort applying to or attending a school that does not support me. I'm lucky to be applying in 2017/18 when most of the big/top schools are LGBT friendly, but if any of them were systematically mistreating queer individuals, I would cross them off of my list.
 
Anyway, I thought it was an interesting topic. Sorry to see how sarcastic and rude the comments got.

Just to clarify, I just heard someone say this and I thought it was an interesting topic in a general sense. I have thoughts about Chelsea Manning, but would not personally make any decision about a school based on their positive or negative treatment of her. She was not my point. But I think you need to look at a school and assess its values and see if any of them really contradict your own. It's not about safe spaces as JKL said. I've never experienced safe spaces the way TV hosts and columnists discuss them. But, I understand that I am not always welcome and I don't want to waste my time, money, and effort applying to or attending a school that does not support me. I'm lucky to be applying in 2017/18 when most of the big/top schools are LGBT friendly, but if any of them were systematically mistreating queer individuals, I would cross them off of my list.
 
Anyway, I thought it was an interesting topic. Sorry to see how sarcastic and rude the comments got.

Just to clarify, I just heard someone say this and I thought it was an interesting topic in a general sense. I have thoughts about Chelsea Manning, but would not personally make any decision about a school based on their positive or negative treatment of her. She was not my point. But I think you need to look at a school and assess its values and see if any of them really contradict your own. It's not about safe spaces as JKL said. I've never experienced safe spaces the way TV hosts and columnists discuss them. But, I understand that I am not always welcome and I don't want to waste my time, money, and effort applying to or attending a school that does not support me. I'm lucky to be applying in 2017/18 when most of the big/top schools are LGBT friendly, but if any of them were systematically mistreating queer individuals, I would cross them off of my list.
 
Anyway, I thought it was an interesting topic. Sorry to see how sarcastic and rude the comments got.

I apologize for being rude. It's just that so few people make it into Harvard's grad programs that boycotting it rings a bit hollow to me. Perhaps it isn't. I think the ballsy move would be to apply to it, get in, and then turn down the offer because of your beliefs.
That said, I'd probably apply to Harvard on principle because they took back the fellowship offer for Manning.
But I'm sorry for the tone of my original comment.

Don't do that. If you've taken the time to look up the grievances against Manning, then you've seen that she uses feminine pronouns.
 
But, I understand your point and I tend to think in the same way. It makes a difference if it's an institutional issue or if it's a smaller division of the university.

Don't do that. If you've taken the time to look up the grievances against Manning, then you've seen that she uses feminine pronouns.
 
But, I understand your point and I tend to think in the same way. It makes a difference if it's an institutional issue or if it's a smaller division of the university.

Don't do that. If you've taken the time to look up the grievances against Manning, then you've seen that she uses feminine pronouns.
 
But, I understand your point and I tend to think in the same way. It makes a difference if it's an institutional issue or if it's a smaller division of the university.

Don't do that. If you've taken the time to look up the grievances against Manning, then you've seen that she uses feminine pronouns.
 
But, I understand your point and I tend to think in the same way. It makes a difference if it's an institutional issue or if it's a smaller division of the university.

Don't do that. If you've taken the time to look up the grievances against Manning, then you've seen that she uses feminine pronouns.
 
But, I understand your point and I tend to think in the same way. It makes a difference if it's an institutional issue or if it's a smaller division of the university.

Don't do that. If you've taken the time to look up the grievances against Manning, then you've seen that she uses feminine pronouns.
 
But, I understand your point and I tend to think in the same way. It makes a difference if it's an institutional issue or if it's a smaller division of the university.

So, I'm sure you guys saw that Harvard took back their fellowship offer to Chelsea Manning. One commentator I was listening to said that we should all stop supporting Harvard, stop applying. They said that Harvard was effectively controlled by the government, because they listened to the criticism of the CIA. It got me thinking. Are there any schools you won't apply to because of something controversial they've done? Is it right to blame an entire institution? For example, with Charlottesville, are any of you not considering the University of Virginia because of the Neo-Nazi demonstrations? Or, have any of you decided not to apply to Penn State because of the years that the school spent covering up for Jerry Sandusky?

Don't do that. If you've taken the time to look up the grievances against Manning, then you've seen that she uses feminine pronouns.
 
But, I understand your point and I tend to think in the same way. It makes a difference if it's an institutional issue or if it's a smaller division of the university.

I finished my MA program in May and begin my PhD program Aug 14 when I report for teaching orientation. Hopefully, you have a GA position and get to work with some cool professors. I think that what I learned from the professors I worked for over the course of two years was amazing. I learned things about my own writing, as I talked to undergrads about their papers and how to think in expansive ways. If you plan on writing a master's thesis, it's not too soon to begin exploring ideas and topics. During my first semester, I took the grad level research class my school required. As a result, I began with this humongous broad topic that would, if researched properly be enough to write three-dissertations (maybe more). During the spring I took a class and read Cormac McCarthy for the first time, and became enthralled with his writing. Then I read another of his books in a different class and became more engrossed, until three of McCarthy's texts became the basis for my master's thesis. I plan on expanding and writing my dissertation on McCarthy, as well. I knew all along that I was a 20th C Americanist, but not to the extent that was true. Sometimes you know and sometimes you don't. That first paper on McCarthy became a chapter in my thesis and my WS. It went through a number of rounds of editing. When I had done as much as I felt I could, I sent it early last fall to professors who had agreed to write LORs for me. They also had comments. You will find your path. Don't push it, it will come. Just always keep your eyes and heart open.

So I'm heading into my MA program next month and I was wondering if anybody has advice about preparing my PhD application for next year. This past year I only applied to PhD programs and I was only accepted into MA programs. So what should I be doing/participating in/working on to improve my applications for next year. Thank you! And good luck to all of you getting your materials together.

Alright, I got a 4.5 on the writing portion of the GRE, which isn't amazing, but it's still alright. I noticed a lot of grammatical errors in both samples. The first sample had errors in the all three sentences of the first paragraph. What you're saying is fine, but make sure you go back and edit once you've completed your writing. Also, it always helps to draw on very specific historical events, especially for the more vague questions.

I will be attending Fordham's MA program in the fall! I kind of made the decision a month ago, but had to wait to hear from a couple of places.

I will be attending Fordham's MA program in the fall! I kind of made the decision a month ago, but had to wait to hear from a couple of places.

I will be attending Fordham's MA program in the fall! I kind of made the decision a month ago, but had to wait to hear from a couple of places.

I will be attending Fordham's MA program in the fall! I kind of made the decision a month ago, but had to wait to hear from a couple of places.

I will be attending Fordham's MA program in the fall! I kind of made the decision a month ago, but had to wait to hear from a couple of places.