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Brown_Bear

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  1. Hey people,

    How should one treat courses offered in an English MA? Is it ever enough to accept program A because program B's classes are not as engaging or in line with one's interests? I am worried that the courses offered at one school are not as good of a fit for me. Is it possible to do independent study for subjects not taught, or take upper-level undergrad classes? How big of an issue is this when it comes to writing a Master's thesis? There are areas I want to continue learning more about that are just not offered at one program which is otherwise more highly regarded and in much better location (less crime / poverty / more job opportunities for my partner).

  2. I have more or less a full ride offer from Toledo. It is my only fully funded offer at the moment.

    I am so nervous about moving to the city, though--everything I've read indicates it is high in crime, violence, and poverty. Anyone here familiar with this area of Ohio? What would you say if I was considering rejecting the offer because the city is really rough? Please help. I wish it didn't look so negative at first glance but everything I've read suggests this to be the case.

  3. 3 hours ago, tinymica said:

    I can't sleep thinking about my choices! I'd like to be on the same coast as my family, but I have to sacrifice some things I want to do that. If I went the other way, I'd get those things but I'd have to give up being closer to family and also my relationship. Shit's tough

    I'm in a similar situation. I need to make a decision on, in my case, an MA program amongst a few offers I have--I've corresponded with all of them and they're all friendly. The funding varies, but a few are distinctly amongst my top choices. I'm really wishing there was an easy metric to consult to decide--I suppose this weekend will be spent compiling information and pro/con charts.

  4. Thanks everyone for the replies, to this point. There are definitely different perspectives. I should add that I have a significant other who has no undergraduate debt, and can move with me to work full-time. Perhaps it is possible this will aid in offsetting costs, especially during my second year. I'm starting to think that so long as a program is going half-way, as in giving me a paid assistantship, and they are academically suitable, I may weather another chunk of debt for the MA. I can only imagine it to be a trade-off--if I can become better for the future, and get into a funded PhD, perhaps it will not have been a "bad" decision. I neither have guarantees for next application cycle, should I decline now. At 22, I want to keep it moving.

    I invite more perspectives, if anyone else has an opinion to give. I remain thankful to this forum.

  5. Hello all,

    I have asked this question in a variety of forms on other posts, but now I really need to be direct and get as many opinions as possible.

    I've been shutout from PhDs, applied to MA's at the last minute, and now have some acceptances. Of these, 2 are offering me full-time graduate assistantships, which pay monthly, but I would still need to pay around $15k (over 2 years) in graduate tuition.

    I am graduating from undergrad very soon. I already have $40k of student loan debt. I am highly reluctant to go much further into debt. However, the programs are decent and the coordinators extremely nice. In the long term, I want to get into a PhD program and try to be a college professor. This would support my career goal. But, it could be ruinous financially.

    So, what is the best play? I know there are totally-funded MA's, but I was too late to apply to them for this cycle. In my situation, is it advisable to decline my offers and attempt to reapply next year, to those fully-funded? Would I just work in the meantime? Or, do I just take the financial "L" and continue forth, trying to finish graduate school as streamlined as possible? Am I unreasonably getting myself further into debt? What if I don't get into a fully-funded MA next year, and then regret declining the partially-funded ones?

    Please give me some help. If you have any experience with this at all, I would be grateful to hear. I'm in a really tricky situation, and have only a few weeks left to decide.

    Thank you all.

  6. Help, for those who have MA experience.

    I have 2 standing MA offers, both with partial funding:

    A.) Bigger city, slightly better funding, higher cost of living

    B.) Smaller city, funding is worse, cost of living significantly less

    Is the cost of living enough to make a difference in my case? In A, rent is going to probably be above $1k for a 1 bedroom. In B, I think I can score a 2 bedroom apartment for like under $800. I worry that A will have also a longer commute time to get to school.

    Anyone have advice? It seems like funding is an illusion if the place is more expensive. 

  7. If you're an ambitious BA-only applicant, like I am, and you want to jump straight into a PhD program, please also consider applying to MA programs too.

    I applied to 14 doctoral programs and was shut out. I did not apply to a single MA. But, at the last minute, I found some whose deadlines hadn't passed and now have standing offers.

    I thought that I was a good candidate. It turns out, however, that the PhD pool is insanely competitive. Consequently, where I struggled to "keep up" with PhD applicants, I shined bright in my MA ones.

    There are many wonderful MA programs, and these usually have deadlines in Dec/Jan (the same time that your PhDs are due). Please, please, please...heed my own warning. You can get into a doctoral program off the rip. People do it all the time--some have multiple/many acceptances. But, I think it still makes sense to add in a few funded MA programs into your list of "where I'm applying."

    So, to reiterate, don't automatically pass on a funded MA because it is not a PhD. Deciding to apply to some may drastically increase the chances that you have a graduate program to look forward to next Fall.

    As someone who is almost at the end of their first application cycle, I wish I had taken this notion more seriously. I am appreciative to have salvaged what almost became a relative disaster. I'm lucky to have MA offers, after a PhD shutout! If you really want to go all-in, it is, of course, up to you. Best of luck no matter how you decide to apply. It is still a (somewhat) uncertain-to-predict process.

  8. On 3/16/2020 at 2:57 PM, The Hoosier Oxonian said:

    I'm trying not to wallow in how sad I am right now, but I wanted to take this opportunity to offer a forum for those watching major milestones crumble before them thanks to the pandemic to offer mutual support. My own circumstance is that as a graduating senior, I've had the remainder of my face-to-face classes cancelled for the semester (we're going online), so I'll never have another proper class at my university. The university has also cancelled all non-class events, so several ceremonies at which I was to receive quite significant honors (including being recognized at the Chancellor's Scholar for the School of Liberal Arts, an award given to the most outstanding student from each of the university's academic units) will not be held. My commencement has not yet been officially cancelled, but we've been forewarned that this is likely. I was also supposed to present at two conferences (my first ever) this spring. One, a small, low stakes, but still exciting graduate conference, has been cancelled. The other, a once-in-a-career opportunity at a significant international conference in the UK that I'd been planning for for almost a year, hasn't yet been cancelled (though I'll be shocked if it isn't), but with the chaos currently reigning in airports and new travel restrictions being handed down almost daily, I can't possibly attend and present even if said conference is not cancelled.

    I know these are very much first-world problems and that others are far more injured than I by this global catastrophe, and I understand and support the need to take drastic measures to protect the most vulnerable in our society, but I still feel it's appropriate to express grief at having all the major events and opportunities I was looking forward to for the next several months taken away. I hope this doesn't come off as whining - my aim is to create a safe, supportive space for those of us experiencing pandemic-related heartbreak right now to let it out. Anyone else want to share?

    Similar boat and situation. My classes are also going online. Sorry to hear about the loss of ceremonies, travel conferences and other events. It is a truly unfortunate situation, on top of those affected globally.

  9. I have a number of MA offers and I don't know what to do.

    Half of my MA applications have got back with me. 2 of them offer some financial assistance. The others said they are waiting to award graduate assistantships.

    How do I proceed? What website or metric best ranks areas to live? Do I start messaging schools I've not heard back from yet and tell them deadlines for others are approaching? This is stressful.

  10. I've been accepted to 5 English MA programs so far--none are fully funded. One of them gives a stipend which nets me around +$3,000 per year.

    They are good programs, but I don't know about the finances. I'm already about 40k in debt from undergrad. Is it worth pursing a 2-year MA if I need to take out graduate loans? I want to go on for a PhD and become a college professor one day. Any advice? 

  11. Important question:

    On applications, I had to list if i was a military dependent. My dad was in the military long ago, and then got out, and since he is deceased.

    What would have been the best answer to put? I am worried I answered it incorrectly and it could affect my aid or assistantship funding. Please help with an answer, if others had a sense of if I'm a dependent or not.

  12. 1 hour ago, meghan_sparkle said:

    Notified by email because, classic me, I do not have a working phone, but I'm "in" at Brown, and I say "in" because I've finally caught on to the fact that this is not real life but a very cleverly engineered simulation, y'all really had me fooled, please wake me up now. 

    Absolutely nuts. But congratulations. Let us all have a bit of your magic.

  13. 14 hours ago, karamazov said:

    UNC Wilmington's MA program offers funded teaching assistantships to select applicants, and their priority deadline isn't until March 15. Georgia State also offers funding in the form of writing studio work for first year MA students and teaching assistantships for second year MA students, and their deadline is on February 15. 

    Thank you!

    Does anyone else have an idea of English MA programs that have deadlines that have not passed, that also offer funding or the chance for a graduate assistantship? I am trying to find as many as possible to evaluate. I have Villanova, UNC Wilmington, and VCU so far. 

  14. I just realized there are funded MA programs with deadlines left (I'm looking at you, Villanova). I am now about to embark on a not-so-rushed process to apply for some. I'm using a previous thread to guide me, but if anyone has off the top of their heads, funded MA programs without past deadlines, let me know please! I am totally adapting my original plans some. It may not be too late to try.

  15. 13 minutes ago, caffeinated applicant said:

    I've run out of reactions for the day, but thanks for the details! I need to sit back and take some deep breaths, haha--it's not as if posting on GradCafe 14,000 times is going to make the decision come around any sooner, and everybody else here is in similar positions waiting for results, and there's nothing I can do about the decision at this stage...

    Curiously I've been able to remain calm about the decisions that I know won't come in until the end of the month... I can't tell if that feeling will last, or if as soon as I get the rest of my first wave of results (Chicago, Duke, Maryland, UT), I'll immediately go into Full Anxious Mode about the second wave. Fingers crossed for the former! 

    I feel similarly. I am no stranger to rejection, myself. I am searching for the glimmer of light throughout this, but am now making preparations in case I get shutout. But your stats look really strong and impressive, so I would think you have a great chance to get admitted.

  16. 16 minutes ago, onerepublic96 said:

    I'm starting to seriously second-guess myself, too. I didn't propose a project at all and mainly just focused on my research interests and the topics I'd like to work on...

    Yes. I should clarify that I don't know if it was a research proposal in my case, but instead small ramblings concerning interests in a field of pertinence to me. I spent a lot of time justifying the fit aspect, but perhaps, depending on how my app cycle pans out, I will need to rethink my strategy and develop a better research paragraph(s) if I apply again. But, we still have time to wait and see what happens.

  17. In the midst of all this, I wonder if my research proposal in my SOP was good enough. I'm really having second thoughts about it. I put my best foot forward and suggested something, but it could have been more concrete. I should add I am interested in A.A. Lit and 19th/20th C American Lit. I tried to find faculty that'd be relatively close to me in outlook. I just don't know for certain. I kept it rather general and broad.

  18. 35 minutes ago, caffeinated applicant said:

    I don't have much knowledge or advice to offer, but do keep in mind that as a general rule, you don't need a master's degree to teach at a public school, nor do you need an education degree. You do have to have pass some licensing exams and a teacher prep program (which includes student teaching), but the requirements vary a lot from state to state, and a lot of states have massive teacher shortages right now. I'm not an educator, so I know pretty little about all of this, but your BA university's career center probably can help you figure out a couple of options to obtain certification without taking on too much debt. 

    I agree that the rules vary. In the state I'm in (NY), I would need a teaching certificate granted most easily thru a Master's program. But I'll keep what you've said in mind. Perhaps there are other avenues.

  19. Anybody know if getting an MA in teaching, (English education), could be a viable path for me if I get shut out this cycle? I am a BA-only applicant. I would like to be a teacher of some kind, if not a college professor, eventually. I just don't know about the price and funding (most would be from graduate loans). Would I be better to cut my losses as I am set to graduate this semester, and go into the work force? Any suggestions or input?

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