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Stella_***

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  • Location
    Los Angeles, CA
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  • Program
    Comparative Literature

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  1. Hello! So I just found out my paper got accepted at the ACLA Conference next year and I'm super excited. But I just started my PhD this year and I've never presented at any conferences before (not even a grad conference since I didn't do an MA), so I'm really really nervous. I'm also just a bit confused about the conference format at ACLA - do we have discussions three days in a roll after presenting? My seminar organizer seems really nice, but I'm just worried that I'll sound stupid in front of so many expert in the field. Oh and another thing is, I actually applied for a different seminar but it got combined with the current one. I'm not as familiar with the topic and to be honest, I was a bit surprised that they accepted my paper. Any advice? Thanks so much in advance!
  2. Thank you for the advice! It's so cool you're doing Chinese history! My research focus is on comparative modernisms in Germany and China I was planning on meeting with a few professors over at UCLA so I'd love to hang out!
  3. Hello, I just moved to LA for grad school at USC. It's been a little hard to make friends, since people seem really focused on their research. I'm having trouble finding school orgs for grad students and am just generally a bit nervous about my social life for the next 6 years. Any advice? Thanks a lot!
  4. Hello! So I just started my Ph.D. program in comp lit, and I've been extremely overwhelmed... I relocated to my new city only three weeks ago, found an apartment and bought furniture, and before I realized, first week of school has already passed. It seems like I'm one of the very few people in my program who didn't come in already with an MA, and I feel very behind in my classes. I'm also kind of worried about settling in the new city. My cohort is very friendly, but they seem somewhat distant and tend to just do their own things, so it's been hard to make friends. Another thing is that nobody in my department does what I do, so I feel awkward talking about my research in class. People just seem confused about why I'm here. So now I'm really struggling with how to balance between finishing all my readings and catching up, and reaching out and making new friends. It seems like grad school just doesn't allow both. I guess I didn't come super prepared for this, so any advice would be really helpful! Thanks & come hang out if you're also in LA :)
  5. Thanks for your advice! And you're right a lot can change! Last year this time I was busy looking for jobs in global development haha
  6. Good luck! It's good to know there's someone like me out there. It's tough cuz a lot of people don't understand why I might decline 5 years of funding + 3 years of fellowship
  7. Hmm several of my professors (secretly) suggested the same. I guess my question is about the ethics of doing so, especially at a school that offers me fellowship (meaning I don't have to teach). My field is so small and I feel like if I don't have a great reason such as changing fields, I shouldn't get out and reapply :s
  8. Thank you and congrats on your acceptances! Yeah my GRE scores are similar, and my advisor also said that it shouldn't matter too much. Thanks for your advice! May I ask what kind of research experiences did you get? I am currently taking a gap year working as a research assistant to a Chinese modernist in my field, but it seems like in the humanities it's generally hard to get that kind of experience
  9. Thanks! I don't think we do poster presentations in literature but yeah I agree presentations would help! Also my GRE score wasn't the best
  10. I asked a professor at UCLA who I was interested in working with. He said nowadays a lot of their applicants have masters from top schools, and that publications and conference presentations would help, too. Hope this helps!
  11. I don't think 7 months is enough, which is why I'm thinking about getting an MA in East Asian Studies. A little background info: I grew up in China, Germany, and Australia and went to college in the US studying English and German lit. I want to study Chinese and German modern lit and thought my high school classes on Chinese as well as being ethnically Chinese would be enough, but multiple school has referred my app to their German Dept. This is why I want to have some upper-level coursework in EAS
  12. Thanks for asking! Yes, UC Santa Barbara grants an MA along the way, but it just doesn't seem ethical and I want to avoid that. Especially since their program doesn't seem like the right fit after I visited (a professor I was interested in working with thinks she's not the best advisor for me), so right now I'm deciding between Univ. of Southern California, U Oregon, and an MA in East Asian Studies at Duke (which would hopefully make me more competitive in two years)
  13. I was just wondering if anyone ever declined a fully-funded Ph.D. offer and chose to re-apply? I have a BA in Comparative Literature and decided to apply only to Ph.D. programs. In retrospect, I probably over-estimated myself and only got in a few programs that are on the lower end of my list. I know this sounds really bad and that a lot of people would be really happy to go to the programs I got accepted into, but a little part of me wonders if I should work on my apps and re-apply next year/get an MA first. Most of my professors are against it - no need to go into debt and do a masters that's not too hard to get in. I'm just not sure. I'm afraid I won't like the program, and am worried about placement...any suggestion/comment would be helpful!
  14. This is really helpful! I got in a program where the director sent me their entire placement record since 1986, and I feel like it is just like you said - some people got good positions at liberal arts colleges/universities, but others end up in administrative positions/private high schools.
  15. @youngim Do you mind sharing which school you got in? I got in Oregon and am waitlisted at Rutgers. I'm also an international student. My interests include Marxist feminism and modern Chinese lit, so if I go back to China I might not be able to publish my work. I think I'd apply to jobs everywhere. I really don't mind working in a different country than China and the US. I'm traveling right now, but when I go back I'll talk with my professor about this. It is a big decision and I don't want to make the wrong choice
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