a_sort_of_fractious_angel

Hey, all - I hope anyone needing to cross that 12/15 deadline is feeling a bit more relaxed today.

Oh, I'm not done, haha. I mean to say I sent all the transcripts a while back so they could arrive in time (my undergrad only does snail-mail). But by Friday, I'll be mostly done! I hope your apps went/are going well!

It's quite possible I misread that one - I did them all in one fell swoop a few weeks ago in a bit of a panic and recall being kind of confused by their page. *Having reread the page now, it seems like you can upload directly or send them "officially"* Apologies for any unintended panic!

I agree - for the transcript to be official, it has to be sealed electronically or literally within an envelope and sent directly from the institution to the other institution. FWIW, some of my schools didn't accept any kind of screenshot or advising transcript. For them, the "unofficial" transcript had to be an official one that was a PDF scan that I uploaded myself to the application. So, I had to give them the same exact documents, one sent unofficially from me and one sent officially from my institutions. If the application check list is showing two boxes, one for unofficial (that you're uploading) and one for official, it may be worth it to send a quick email to the department so you can double check what they want and get an electronic or mailing address if they want official ones. A few of my schools (Michigan, Temple, Carnegie Mellon, Lehigh) require both official and unofficial for applicants. Most of these schools gave a a mailing/email address on the application page but one did not - I had to email them directly to get it.

I'm sure it'll be fine - could you send the "new" transcript as soon as it comes out? I know the admin can upload things post-deadline - they've also probably seen this before, so maybe you could send it to them later? Yes, I feel this - I've had to become very careful about the fine line between "I'm editing this section" and "HECK I'LL JUST REWRITE IT" At least we're trying, lol

I need to channel your energy and just get the first one in, too. Ugrhg.

Thanks, @Bumblebea - I've heard that elsewhere previously and am happy to hear it again - I've poured over the first 10 pages of the essay to make sure the intro & first section are exciting, well-written and accessible (my greatest fear is losing them after two pages) - onto the conclusion, now! Interesting about the middle section - not that I'll slack on polishing it but it makes sense that the middle is the (relatively) least important part.

I think that is a wise choice and the paper you sent me was fine in terms of literary analysis. I can only imagine how stressful that is, but I am pulling for you and am happy to look at either paper if that would help you. YOU GOT THIS!

Omg I didn't recognize your username - my bad. I would say 3 things should guide you: (1) your gut, (2) the website and what they do/don't indicate and (3) your profs. That being said, I think it's OK to submit the longer paper to rhet/comp MAs because that is your concentration (provided it is on the level of the two papers you're submitting). However, so far as MAs in which you will do literary analysis - it may be better to do both. Even if you end up going rhet/comp, those programs - I would guess - expect you to do some literary analysis, so showing them that now may help you in terms of admissions.

That's awesome! I do contemporary Caribbean in relation to 20th & 21st century American. As an undergrad, I worked (as much as a BA can, haha) with the modernists. Awesome area and NY has a ton of great programs for that area. And thank you! It's not as bad as it feels and, better, will be over soon, haha. Are you applying to both literature and rhet/comp MA programs? When I applied to literature MA programs, I used one sample of literary analysis in my proposed field. I'm doing the same this year, although it is now in my sub-field. Or, alternatively, are you submitting two shorter papers instead of one longer one?

Welcome, @hibiscus! It's definitely a stressful process - I'm farther behind than I would like to be, but that's the way it goes, I guess. If I may ask, what authors/areas of modernism are you especially interested in?

That's a good way to think about it, @renea that I hadn't considered - I don't adore every section of my WS or every sentence of my SOP but if a kiss-of-death moment is a superficial issue like that, it is probably not a department I'd flourish in. Plus, if any section is going to be a bit meh, I'd imagine it's far better to have it be the last section instead of the intro or first big section - strong first impressions and whatnot.

Thank you! Intellectually, I totally get it but needed (personally) to hear it from another source. I appreciate it!

Thanks again - @fuzzylogician ... if I may ask: how did you, as an applicant, balance between knowing the SOP/WS was strong while knowing your writing and research skills would grow as you progressed in your program (I'm sure you could write a far "better" SOP/WS now than you did as an applicant.) I ask because, in my case, I know that I will grow as a scholar and writer. Heck, I know some programs really want to see that interest in growth - which makes a ton of sense. But because I have an MA, I keep fixating on polishing so that it looks like it is at the PhD level (which I can't do since, you know, I'm not actually a PhD student).

Thanks, @fuzzylogician - that is not only sensible but easy to apply to my own peer/professor edits. I appreciate it! Also, lols@ the future typo - I look forward to it stepping out from behind the curtain and giving me the ol' razzle dazzle after I've submitted everything.

Hi, all Since we've started the application process (I know some have already applied and many of us are likely preparing this week to begin), we are all (I assume) done with any and all WS/SOP major revisions and are focused now on polishing (that is, at least, where I am in this whole thing.) While I sometimes feel like my tweaking is good, I also have a sense that it is not really necessary - while my SOP and WS could, of course, be "better" and definitely different, they are what they are at this point and I'm largely proud of them, regardless of outcome. So, how do you all determine when "good enough is good enough"?

If it makes you both feel any better, I emailed a department today and asked if they'd received a letter - I was told that I would be notified after Jan 1 if anything was missing in my application, including letters. Moreover, one of my other departments will only allow letter writers to submit AFTER I've submitted and they give the letter writers a full week to get their stuff in to the dept. All to say, I don't think the portal will close for them in the way it does for us and I'd guess that MSU & NYU have likely seen a lot of letters come in technically (but soon) within the deadline.

Ugh, that seems to be the consensus. I asked one program what they wanted - I may use their answer as a guidepost. My undergrad GPA is a 3.65 so I think I'll be fine "cut-off" wise, but the MA is a 3.84 and to not have it somewhere on the form makes me feel a little anxious. Such are apps, I suppose! A few of my applications have explicitly stated they want transcripts from any previous institution, even if it was non-degree coursework. My guess would be to include it (hopefully most of your apps require the unofficial upload) just to be safe. And I know, right? I've been looking at coursework at a few schools I hadn't known too, too much about and I'm getting excited for them.

I had a quick question for those of you who have already submitted apps about reporting your GPAs. My undergraduate institution shows my GPA on my transcript (which I have to upload electronically) so it will match up with the number I put in the box. My MA transcripts, however, don't show a GPA (even on the official forms) but I have used the institution's calculator to figure it out. Now - one of my applications asks ONLY for a GPA if listed on the transcript - easy enough. Most, however, don't specify one way or another. Is it alright to self-report? I've double and triple checked the number is right and I don't want to leave it blank. But I feel kind of weird doing it myself.

Congrats, @bumbleblu - that's awesome!

Thanks! As soon as I hit "send" I realized I should list mine. Thanks for the format advice - I'll do that.

Thanks! I've currently put it under my BA information line as Summer Study Abroad Program (Course #: Title) to make it clear it was a summer course associated with my undergrad. I may end up axing it as my MA work/experiences may outweigh its significance, now that I'm looking at it. Although interesting, it's not relevant. May I ask, @TakeruK - I'm guessing you did an MA thesis or cumulative project? Did you include that on the CV? I have both a BA and MA thesis, but I don't currently have them on the CV because neither are particularly related to the work that I'm doing but perhaps listing the title and director would be wise?

You're right - I'll send the new ones. Thank you!

A few of the schools needing the score have a strict "get it to us by the deadline" rule and - if ETS takes the maximum amount of time to report and send (which is possible) - they won't "make it" in time. If I send them now as unreported, I (believe) the school will see I've sent them (even if the score doesn't exist yet). If I wait and see what score I received (should be up by Dec 2), I will miss the window for a few schools (their apps are due less than 10 days after Dec 2). *I''m overthinking this - absolutely - but as this is my last go-around for apps, I have indulged the worst parts of my application-nerves*

Hey, all - which would you send? I took the GRE subject test (literature) in 2013 and scored a 50% - a perfectly reasonable score for the programs (English) to which I'm applying. I retook the test in Oct 2017 (one school wants scores under 3 years old) - the scores are unreported as I took it on the 28th. I felt as though I had done better on this test but feelings rarely align with results and I could have tanked. Who knows. So, for the handful of schools which want the subject test (and that will accept my old scores), should I send the "old ones" - or, should I send the unreported scores because they're more fresh? FWIW, while all parts of the application do count (I really do believe that), these scores are near the bottom of the list, like near the Quant score. So, if I don't get in somewhere, it's not going to be because of the subject test score. Thanks!