mads47

I'd like to elaborate on what @Dogfish Head said. I am starting the MA at PSU in the Fall, and I asked specifically about this, since it has come up on these forums before. They told me that they almost always accept at least 1 student directly into the Ph.D. program. But it depends on how many MA students continue into the Ph.D. program. If an MA student decides to transfer or not continue for their Ph.D., then their spot will be given to an outside candidate. While I realize this might be not be what you wanted to hear, I don't think it should discourage you from applying, especially since PSU is part of the Big Ten free app alliance, so you don't need to spend a dime on the application.

I was also admitted to the MA program at NYU with 50% funding. It was my dream school, so I'm kinda sad that it isn't a financially feasible offer. However, they said in the email that most of their successful Ph.D. applicants already have MA degrees, so perhaps a few years from now, I'll have a better shot

Haha you're welcome. And you really shouldn't feel dumb at all. It's strange, because these eras mostly don't quite line up with historical eras or artistic eras, so it gets quite confusing, even to those of us who have spent years taking lit survey courses.

Ok I am going to geek out here and attempt to do this question justice. I want to give a few caveats first: many time periods have different names depending on the region (ie. Victorian vs. 19th century American); larger eras of study include a multiplicity of subdivisions; these eras are largely based on canonical interpretation of literature, so many more recent scholars push against these dates of separation between eras and the idea that these eras are typically defined by British and American literature. Also, I am going to define these eras in the way that English scholars typically do, but I think Comp Lit people define the eras slightly differently, because many important literary trends and eras did not start in English. So please, please, please correct me if I am spreading any misinformation. Midieval Lit: This follows historically what is considered Midieval, so largely the fall of the Roman Empire until the Renaissance. In English, this includes Anglo Saxon literature (from about 500-1066) and Middle English (1066-circa 1500) Early Modern Lit: This is literature from the Renaissance, Reformation, and Neoclassical eras (circa 1500-circa 1800). Romanticism: Depending on who you consider the first Romanticists to be, this overlaps with the later Early Modern and Early Victorian Eras. (late 1700s to mid 1800s), this era includes the beginning of Gothic Lit Victorian Literature: This is literature written during Queen Victoria's rule (1837-1901). This era contains realism, a significant amount of social satire and writing for social reforem, scientific writing, early nature writing and later Romanticism, etc. Modernism: This is an era that is tightly defined by 1901-1945, but more loosely encapsulates certain styles from the 1890s to 1950s. Maybe I am biased, because this is my era of study, but it seems an era more defined by certain literary and artistic movements than the time, though it most certainly contains the interwar time. Postmodernism: This is a term used in so many different ways, it is largely believed to be unhelpful. Some theorists defined it as 1945 to the fall of the Soviet Union. Other people call everything since 1945 postmodern. There is a significant trend to discuss more recent literature in thematic categories instead of by time (ie. Post-colonialism) Contemporary Lit: This is literature written now-ish. I hope this helped a little bit. There are undoubtedly gaps in this timeline, and I hope others will help fill them in (:

While I would mostly classify myself as a Modernist, a significant part of my SOP outlined research on African American women novelists and poets in the early 20th century (mainly in New York). With this as the crux of my research, I seem to be doing pretty well this cycle. I got into one school with better funding than I dreamed, and I'm still waiting for responses from about half of the places I applied. I feel incredibly lucky about this, because I don't have an MA and I did not go to a top-tier school for undergrad.

I totally understand this fear. I went from barely driving for 4 years while I was in school to moving to LA, where driving is necessary and terrifying. For the first month or so, every time I drove was terrifying. But then you get used to it. So I guess my advice is just to jump in head first, because the longer you drag it out trying to avoid driving, the longer it'll take to feel comfortable with it. It sounds like you are going somewhere more rural though? So I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how relaxed and peaceful it is to drive down country roads. As for car maintenance, I found that just having someone teach me the basics of how to check my oil, change a tire, etc. made me a lot less nervous. Besides that, make sure you know where the car manual is and what number to call if you need roadside assistance.

@la_mod @mk-8 Ok this might sound incredibly bitter of me, and I know that moving away from the people you love is incredibly difficult. But in these forums, there are numerous wives, fiancees, and girlfriends helping their male partners through the application process and planning to adjust their life plans to fit their partners' life dreams. Yet, though you are clearly strong, intelligent women, you are scared that if you live the life you want, it will inconvenience your partner. And to be completely honest, meeting someone you click with is statistically a lot easier than getting into grad school. If you break-up, you will find someone else. If you turn down a school, it is unlikely that you'll ever be able to change your mind and get re-accepted. I hope this is not too harsh. I am just sick of watching amazing women give up their dreams for men who wouldn't do the same.

@la_mod @Wooshkuh @Wabbajack @mk-8 @CulturalCriminal Thank you all very much! That was some extremely reassuring advice. Thank you! I have a bit of experience teaching high school students; though, I know this is a horse of a different color. Definitely not looking forward to this part of things. I had a hard enough time as an undergrad having male peers explain to me the research I was working on (or giving really unrelated but sophisticated-sounding reading suggestions); I'm not going to have much patience for students telling me how to literature XP

@Mellowyellow and everyone else applying to UCLA--they finally have the application materials in the online portal up to date, so that is hopefully a good sign!

nonono I'm not ready for this O.O

I've started just telling people that I am studying to write books about books.

I know there is some talk of age on this thread, so I want to pose a concern I've been thinking about this past week. I am 22 and rather young-looking for that. If I teach a course next year, which at this point, seems likely, I'll be teaching students only a year a two younger than me. Does anyone have experience being in a similar situation or advice on how to assert authority over people who would be my peers outside of academia?

Hi Katie, I know others have already responded and hopefully you are getting lots of useful advice, but feel free to PM me if you wish about this. I am extremely close with my parents, though I currently live 400 miles away from them. It's okay to be afraid and be homesick, but its also important to learn healthy ways of dealing with these feelings. Like sometimes it's okay to break down and cry and call your mom, but its important to set boundaries for yourself so those days are the exception not the rule. It can be a hard process, but it's an exciting one, and you will become a stronger, more self-reliant person for it.

Oooof! I knew they were coming, but the rejection emails from Chicago and UT were minutes apart. That was kinda rough.

UCLA started notifying on the 5th last year, so it seems that even if they're a few days behind, it would still be sometime this week. Yea but the application issues have been for all the grad programs and were not English department specific, and a lot of other UCLA departments have notified this past week. The extended deadline might make a difference, but I doubt that they ever start looking through apps before winter break anyway.

What schools are you all expecting to hear from this week? I think UCLA might release their decisions, and I'm expecting to get the official rejection from Chicago and Austin.

So my dad just texted me that an important-looking envelope came for me. It turned out to be from the bank but there was enough time between texts that I got really excited XP

Firstly, congrats dude!! Secondly, word of advice, when you're in Northern California, it's "California", never "Cali" (additionally, San Francisco is "the city" or "SF" NEVER "San Fran"). Once you have that down, you'll fit right in

The fact that you will have to regulate your behavior, because schools don't tell you when they call is a beautiful example of panopticism. (: Living up to your namesake, I see.

You're welcome!

@Litboi Yes, this is true of all the apps, I think. I sent the department an email about this a couple weeks ago and the email auto-reply was "Due to the considerable amount of applications we receive, it may take some time for us to process all GRE scores and update the online application system. If you did not receive a "Missing Materials" email, then be assured that we have your official GRE scores." Hope this helps!

Thanks @Warelin I was trying to do some research yesterday about whether the funding I was offered was typical, but I couldn't find much of anything. Once again, you are a true help!

Congrats Austin acceptances!! Do you know if they sent out all the acceptances in one wave?

You're welcome! If there are theory classes offered that you are unable to get in officially, ask the professors if you can sit in on these classes unofficially. It won't show up on your transcript, but it will help bolster your theory background (and you can always mention these things in your SOP). This is not a replacement for independent study if you have that option but something you can do instead. Additionally, I agree with what @FreakyFoucault has told you in terms of GRE prep and SOPs. I do want to comment on one thing though. This is going to completely depend on the programs to which you are applying. Only 1/8 of the programs I applied to asked for my upperclassman GPA, the other 7/8 wanted my cumulative. Thus, you are going to have to wait until you know what each of the applications asks of you before you tailor your SOPs accordingly.

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.