havemybloodchild

@Sigaba was looking for more general information. Tried digging through the websites of the 20 schools I applied to and didn’t find much detail, unfortunately. May have to try again!

So good

To be honest my undergrad institution is a run of the mill budget state school. But my professors were top notch graduates of top tier programs, and they feel (as I do) that I'm ready. We'll see. I'm hopeful due to getting into a couple of MA programs and being waitlisted at Ohio for their straight PhD program last year, despite applying for the MA/PhD program. No idea if that actually means anything, but hoping it does.

Has anyone seen this thread: Favorite Rejection Quotes from the Results Page It has made my night. Treat yourself.

"Well, THERE'S a big surprise. I think I'm gonna have a heart attack and DIE of not-surprise." -Iago, EAladdin

"Oh Honey" person gets admission in my book: "Harvard? Oh honey, I got that once on a cruise and, honey, a quick dab of Bengay clears it right up!" "Columbia? Oh honey, I met her once on 116th and Amsterdam and, honey, she done looked better! "Rutgers? Oh honey, I was in a rut too, but then Ben & Jerry’s came out with those non-dairy ice creams, and honey, I am in a better place now!" "Yale? Oh honey, I’m already in New Heaven and honey, it’s called a handful of kettle corn!" "Princeton? Oh yes, honey! Prince ME! Honey, I’m ready to be the next Meghan Markle, honey!" "Johns Hopkins? Oh honey, that’s my Friday night. Honey, first it’s John, and then it’s Hopkins!" "UChicago? Oh honey, Hyde Park, honey? No thanks, honey. Goodness knows what’s hidin’ in THAT park!"

OMG this is the thread I needed "A nice, old-fashioned letter telling me I'm a moron."

Someone on a waitlist on April 10th: report spam jfc just decide already it’s actually not difficult

@placeinspace I didn’t read it because I didn’t want to hear what I already know and fear. I’m just looking at grad school as yet another in a long line of underpaid jobs but one that I actually love and want. I’m purposefully ignoring reality after grad school. Assuming I get in in the first place. And with that it’s officially wine time.

Hey y’all Can anyone tell me if university health insurance typically covers dental or vision? Trying to plan ahead. Thanks!

What sugilite said. This has nothing to do with you, I'm sure, and everything to do with the fact that the job market is pure shite and probably won't get better anytime soon. All of my professors told me I should be open to a lot of different career paths once out, and to make sure not to incur any additional debt after undergrad because absolutely nothing is guaranteed.

I was in student government my last two years and every budget cycle we would joke about cutting the athletics budget entirely (the portion paid by student fees) and giving it to humanities instead. ...personally I was not joking...

@Sav I had such a hard time finding funded MA programs, I considered applying to some unfunded, by my professor basically said "hell no." I'm happy to hear you have had such a positive (and funded!) experience. If this year is another shut out for me, I'll look into Mississippi. @dilby I wish I would have had more of a clue what I was doing in selecting undergrad institutions, it sounds like your experience was ideal.

Thank you for your insight @Warelin

Firstly, I'm so sorry for your loss and glad your pup has made a positive impact. Not sure what you should do going forward, but thought I'd commiserate a bit. I started college at 15 and really didn't know what I was getting into. I was in and out of community colleges for 6 years before I finally got my AA. My GPA was pretty abysmal. I think because I was so young I a) really didn't understand the process or what I wanted to do upon graduation and b) felt that being so young I was already ahead of the game and could dilly dally a bit without negative effect. Needless to say, that was not correct. I finally went back to school four years ago, and in my first English lit class realized I knew what I wanted to do. I spent two full years there just taking lit classes. It raised my GPA considerably and gave me the skills I needed when I transferred to a four year and spent another two years finishing my BA at age 30. I ended up graduating with honors but I had to put the full four years in to get my GPA to that point. I was able at that point to get into an MFA program in the UK, an MA in the US, and was waitlisted at my top choice PhD program, which isn't an acceptance, I know, but it was encouraging. Like I said, I'm not sure what the best path for you is, but a lot of people have strange and checkered academic pasts and do get in to grad school. If you have a professor or advisor you trust, I would recommend reaching out to them with some game plans and getting their advice. Best of luck to you!

@Glasperlenspieler Danke!

@WildeThing I wish we weren't so dependent on adcomms' "feelings". Not that I want them to judge me solely on my GPA or GRE scores but the rest of it is so, or at least seems so, frustratingly arbitrary. I mean, you're obviously a committed graduate student from what you've already accomplished, you know well what you would be in for, and you've a proven history of following through. Well, I've got my fingers crossed for you thing round!

@WildeThing why do you think it's counting against you? I'm just curious, as I would think it would be the opposite. This whole process is bizarre, though.

My advisor was really torn about whether it was best for me to do an MA first or not. On one hand, she said if anything happened (illness, loss of interest, etc.), I'd have a quick(er) degree to find work with, on the other hand there's no guarantee I'd get into a PhD program after finishing my MA, and it would be a lot harder to afford applying after incurring that MA debt. I'm hoping whatever program I get into (see that positive thinking, haha) will allow me to get my MA on the way to my PhD. I think most of the programs I applied to make this possible.

I've officially lost my will to read. I'm just watching old episodes of Forensic Files and trolling threads from 2011. SOS, ya'll.

I'm interested in who all is applying from undergrad and who has their MA or will have their MA by fall? I'm applying from undergrad, personally, because I'm old and I want to get my PhD as quickly as possible so my parents can stop worrying that they'll have to fund my retirement themselves. Wondering why other folks decided to apply straight from undergrad or to pursue an MA first? Sorry if this is already being discussed elsewhere, I haven't seen it relevant to this specific applicant group yet.

@sad_diamond Haha, I definitely had moments looking at that SoP when I was thinking how the hell do I use this? I found it more helpful to look at after my SoP was mostly done, as sort of an editing tool. It was also nice to see that a successful SoP at Berkeley was a piece of writing the quality of which I was totally capable of. At least that's what I kept telling myself...

Last year I had a professor who was late in submitting his LoR- I let the program know and they told me the true end of the line due date for LoRs, which was a relief. I would definitely contact Purdue as well as your professor. Good luck!

@sugilite The 75th percentile quant ?? I will literally own a dragon before I can pull that off ? Also, do we have a faculty thread for English? Or even any English faculty here? What an amazing resource!