Hi @jadeisokay! First, I want to say that the advice I am about to give is mostly anecdotal, and I am by no means an authority on this whole process. That said, some of the best advice I got was to take a gap year between undergrad and grad school. I knew halfway through my Sophomore year that this was what I wanted to pursue with my life, and I planned to apply during my senior year, but several grad students and professors strongly advised me against this. After going through this application process, I understand why. Applying to grad school has been a much more intensive, emotionally draining, and intellectually taxing process than I anticipated. Thankfully, I have had the flexibility to only work part time this year; I can't imagine how stressful it would have been to study for the GRE (and subject test), draft my SOP, and complete these applications while taking a full load of classes. I certainly wouldn't have been able to write the same quality of undergraduate thesis, perform my best in my classes, etc. Anecdotally, the people I know who have tried to apply to grad school during their final year of undergrad have not gotten into the programs they wanted and have often been shut out completely.
I am slightly perplexed that your school does not offer many classes in Comp Lit and Critical Theory. Maybe I was spoiled by the quality of my undergraduate English department, but you say you're at a large school, so I'm wondering if there are more opportunities than you realize. Even if your school doesn't have a Comp Lit department, often foreign language departments will have a couple options of literature classes that don't require the language prerequisite (are taught in English). Though, if you are seriously considering Comp Lit programs, it is a good idea to take as many classes in a non-English language as you can. I debated applying to Comp Lit programs but soon realized I did not have the breadth of language experience expected for such.
I am sorry this has gotten quite long-winded. But I think it is incredibly important for you to concentrate on the present. Make sure you are taking classes that challenge you, whether they are in your major or not, and talk with Professors and grad students. If you can, write a thesis and/or sit in on graduate seminars. I had the opportunity to take a grad seminar through the history department at my school. It did not correlate with the research I hope to pursue in grad school, but it is something that I can use to show grad programs that I have proven myself capable of graduate-level academia. Your school might not have these specific options available, but you should ask your professors/advisers/peers to make sure there aren't less publicized opportunities.
Again, this is just based on my own personal experience and what I've seen of my peers' experiences. The fact that you've already found forums like these shows that you are on top of your research. Keep it up and you have good things ahead of you.
On the car topic, I just put $1000 into my poor Cobalt to fix some front-end issues, and now I hear a very disturbing scraping/grinding sound when I cut left.
Can’t the STEM people figure out teleportation already?
It's mainly an obsession with Renaissance drama, specifically focusing on the revenge drama as a genre/paradigm. And Marlowe. Always Marlowe.
By the way, on the last day of term, my favourite Prof. read us Donne's "The Relic." It's beautiful.
It's mainly an obsession with Renaissance drama, specifically focusing on the revenge drama as a genre/paradigm. And Marlowe. Always Marlowe.
By the way, on the last day of term, my favourite Prof. read us Donne's "The Relic." It's beautiful.
I haven't applied to any American MAs so I'm not sure if this is relevant (Canadian universities only), but I'm interested in late 16th cen. and early 17th cen. drama, focusing especially on Revenge Drama (The Spanish Tragedy up till 'Tis Pity), rhetoric and law.
I've been lurking here for a long time but haven't seen many Early Modernists, good luck!
BlessMeWithSnow got a reaction from LeeLeeCzechIrish in Early Modern Roll Call
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BlessMeWithSnow got a reaction from JustPoesieAlong in Early Modern Roll Call