ZeeMore21

I understand your decision ktel, but there are also people who don't want to go into a lucrative field, but rather go into a field that they are genuinely interested in and would thrive in as well.

If this is the only school you have right now and aren't bent toward just reapplying next year, then I guess it makes sense to go through with the unfunded MA. I didn't get a completely funded MA but the program had offered me 1/2 tuition readmission plus two RA positions. However, this was a lower ranked MA program, other prestigious programs I got accepted to offered no funding, so I had to turn them down. So if you still have choices, I'd say go with the funded MA.

Thanks! You as well! Yeah, I'm expecting my move from Philadelphia to Nashville to be huge for me, especially given the weather shift.

Aww, well glad I could help! I definitely am here for you since I do know what you're going through. I am very happy that you have a whole two years to do the best you can...I think it was very wise for you to start asking for advice now, I have no doubt that you will do well with the time you have left. As far as graduate school is concerned, I think the big difference is that you definitely have way more responsibilities. In undergrad, I think you live in a bubble for the most part, everything is taken care of you for the most part (food, living expenses, etc) and all you have to do is study. With graduate school, you are more or less an adult, and your professors and classmates treat you like one...there really isn't the "babying" you get while in undergrad. Plus, you have stuff like rent, cooking, and bills to deal with so you do have to work harder to balance your outside responsibilities with your academic work. I have realized that it is very important to take time out for yourself...you will go crazy if you don't! Eating right, exercising, and going out with friends are all very important. I do see, however, that my brain is always wrapped around everything English though...I think that comes in part because of the whole specialization process...your graduate education will be geared solely toward your field and nothing else. I do love graduate work because of this though, I get to devote all of my studying time to something I am interested in.

I'd also argue that perhaps liberal arts schools' encouragement of the humanities is meant to counteract what I think is the devaluing of the humanities field in society. These types of schools are built on the notion that there are multiple intelligences, and unfortunately, this notion is not held in public schools....children are geared more toward the STEM courses, and those who may not be gifted in this arena are often penalized. Not everyone attends a liberal arts school...I think those that do attend these schools expect fields such as the Humanities to be celebrated and acknowledged. Looking at the state of public universities right now--where STEM fields and Humanities fields ought to be balanced--many humanities programs are being cut down significantly and are not receiving the funding they need, while others have simply disappeared. These program cuts are a reflection of what society believes is important--namely STEM related fields-- and funding is geared toward this field than toward humanities. This is all to say that though I do understand where you are coming from Eigen, and maybe liberal arts schools do need to include a bit more STEM fields as core courses (just not sure about this), I do respect the fact that liberal arts schools serve the role as supporters of the humanities, in a country where this field is being ridiculed as non-productive and inferior.

I see what you are saying here, but I'm just wondering if a required minor in a STEM course or Humanities course is feasible or even desired. Obviously it is great to be a well-rounded individual, but I am not quite sure that making students minor in a field that they may not be gifted in is the way to go about it.

I agree with that...there definitely is no probably with getting assistance with your draft, but actually paying for services seems wrong.

I wouldn't necessarily think that liberal arts school are at fault. I attended a liberal arts school, and taking a science was required by all students. However, people do have a choice to go in depth in their study of sciences...that is what a major is for. I don't think humanities students should be blamed for not doing as much study in the STEM fields...not all humanities students need to be fluent in the sciences for their career, especially considering those who want to teach humanities courses. I'd also say that not all students who go into the sciences appreciate the value of the humanities or take that many courses in the field...tech-driven schools like Carnegie Mellon would be an example, and I did my masters degree in English here. So I think your argument cuts both ways. I think a better solution to this humanities crisis is for people to realize that the humanities is just as valuable as the sciences....once this field is valued in the market, humanities students should have an easier time finding a career...humanities students shouldn't be forced to have to take science courses if their talents don't lie in that field.

This is interesting....I didn't know that some schools banned this. I wonder how an admissions committee would figure out if someone used paid services though.

This post is wonderful, thanks grapefruit.

Also, I feel for you on the depression part...took me a while to get back on my feet. A solution for the feeling down part is just to immerse yourself in your work...when you see how well you are doing grade-wise and are supported by your professors, I am sure your self-esteem will grow. Again, good luck! You have a full 2 years to get back on your feet..more than enough time.

Hey, I have a similar story to you....had originally wanted to go into the Humanities, but parents thought the sciences would be a better idea, so I went in as a Pre-med major. Needless to say, I didn't do too well in the first 2 years of college...hated my major, wasn't good at it, but also was just not as concentrated on schoolwork as I should have been. I ended up switching to English with the encouragement of my dean, and never looked back. I graduated with a 2.99, which was unfortunate, but I really had no one to blame but myself. But anyway, I wanted to do a doctorate in English, so I did a 1 year Masters in English at Carnegie Mellon, did a 1 year fellowship program (awarded $18, 300 just to take courses and prepare for a doctorate program) at the University of Pittsburgh, and will be starting a PhD at Vanderbilt in the fall for English. If you look at my signature below, you will see that I had a pretty successful admission season...got into 7 doctoral programs and even got wait-listed at Princeton. For Vanderbilt, I was awarded a topping-up scholarship on top of my stipend as a reward for academic achievement. I tell you all this to say that no matter where you are starting from, you can get to where you are going with enough determination. Feeling sorry for yourself will get you no where. Of course, it would be nice to finish off with a 4.00 GPA, but you also have to keep in mind that you can still do what you have to do to get to where you want to go. I would say that you should work extremely hard in your history courses...I would shoot for all As and nothing lower than a B. Your History GPA has to be very high because graduate admissions committee will be focusing more on your major GPA than the overall. Also, I would make sure you create strong relationships with your History professors so that you can depend on them come recommendation time. If you don't succeed in your History courses or are not able to get approval from any History professors, you will have a hard time getting into a graduate program. I would recommend that you look into getting a Masters first.....I did so and got a 4.00 overall GPA. When I did the fellowship program, I ended with a 4.00 overall GPA as well. This definitely helped show admissions committees that I was able to handle graduate level work and was serious about my studies. I also built very strong relationships with many professors at my masters program and the fellowship program, so I was confident that there were many professors who would able to argue on my behalf as far as recommendations were concerned. But to end my rambling, I would say please don't let ANYONE tell you that you can't achieve your goals. I would seek the support of someone else besides your dean if he or she is giving you a hard time. Obviously, yes, you will have to put in a lot more work as opposed to someone who has a higher GPA. Yet, you are where you are, so just do your very best to end your undergrad on a high note, especially when it comes to your major. You can do it! If I did, anyone can

I haven't used a SOP review service. I think just having professors in your field review your SOP is more than fine...that is the route I took. First of all, this method is free (a simple thank you card or something along those lines is more than enough to show your appreciation). More importantly, professors in your field have experience when it comes to writing an effective SOP...they have written one themselves and also have reviewed many of these documents if they sat on an admissions committee. I am unfamiliar with the SOP review service, so I don't know who is hired to review the SOP...but again, I would put my trust in several professors in the appropriate field.

Sounds great! I will be in Nashville at Vandy...very excited to be moving to TN, although I heard that it is extremely hot down there right now!

I'm sure your program has some kind of timeline on their website that would give you some kind of guideline in regards to what has to be done by a certain time.

Yay, I made the list!!!

I sincerely doubt that one would come off childish addressing someone as Dr. or Professor...I mean, that is at title after all. Your department may be different of course, but I wouldn't assume that if someone is okay in one department, it would be okay in another, especially speaking in an international context.

What school are you attending genotype?

I personally don't ever feel comfortable calling a professor by his or her first name....I either refer to them as Professor so and so or Dr. so and so. I figure that they worked hard for their title, so I should respect them by using it. Even if a professor doesn't mind people calling them by their first name, I just really can't do it. This might stem from how I was raised...brought up in a strict house by immigrant parents where respect for one's elders is always enforced.

Just Me...I do agree with you, perhaps it is better you quit this thread...and maybe quit posting all together. Again, I see no effort by you to make your situation better...again, you are just complaining. You get no sympathy for me now. Unless your mother held a gun up to your head and forced you to go to school, you have no right to be demanding sympathy from people. I am even kind of wondering if your mother is as terrible as you make her out to be...people who love playing the victim always have to create villains that they can blame their shortcomings on. I'm coming to this conclusion because of the unfair characterizations you are making of the employees at your institution, solely because you feel the need to blame someone else for your problems instead of yourself.

Someone this idiotic and evil isn't getting into any doctoral program.

I certainly do agree with you here starmaker...parents can give you a hard time if you don't play by their rules. When I decided to switch my major from the sciences to the humanities, my immigrant parents were very upset, and it took time for them to realize that I loved what I was doing and was good at it. They never threatened to cut me off financially, but of course, them just being disappointed intitially with my decision was hard for me to deal with, I felt like a failure. But the thing is, I knew that I was making the right decision for me...once I was confident in myself, I was able to face the fact that my parents wouldn't be alright with my decision. However, at this point, both of my parents are very happy about all of my accomplishments and have said that they are proud of me...one of the happiest points in my life. I share this story because it points to the fact that there are times where you have to find the confidence in yourself to do what is the best thing for you. If you don't do the best thing for yourself and things don't go well, there is a certain point when it is your fault and no one elses. I don't think posters have been flip with the OP....I disagree with you here. The OP created an earlier thread discussing her situation, and most of the same posters on this thread were very sympathetic when it came to her situation...I think one poster even offered to pick up the OP and take her to a housing shelter. There was a lot of advice given in the gentlest way possible. However, the OP refused to even digest the advice given to her. I think what is bothering posters is that instead of the OP focusing on getting out of her situation, she has turned to tearing down the school she is attending, even going to the point of attacking professors for being greedy, money-seeking individuals who don't care about their students. I think that is a very unfair characterization of professors...no one seriously goes into the teaching profession to make money. But to end my rambling, I think that if you look at the prior thread, you will see that no one is being flip about the OP's situation...it seems like a pretty serious situation, and I can kind of understand what is going on. However, how long do you think the OP can vent about this situation without ever finding the courage to deal with it? For how long can you go on in life blaming your mother? I think posters have been overly generous giving advice to this OP...out in the real world, especially in the job market, no one cares about your family issues...you are solely in charge of what is on your resume or CV. I seriously hope the OP isn't banking on blaming her mother in any future interviews if she does poorly in her MFA program...with the attitude she has right now, creating this her vs. the academic institution situation, I doubt she will succeed.

I don't know your situation but if you went into this PhD program with the intent on using it to get a Masters for free and leave afterwards, I find this move very selfish. You have wasted funding and a spot for someone who wanted to complete a doctoral program in its entirety. If I am wrong, I apologize, but it seems like more people are thinking about taking advantage of PhD programs to get an MA and leave.

To be honest, I wasn't that consistent when it came to studying for the GREs...I was in school at that time so I didn't get that much time to study. However, I did devote the summer to studying as much as possible. I'm sure I could have studied more though! I spent a lot of time studying vocab words...whether using Kaplan's GRE flashcard on my Ipod, or writing out flaschards using Barron's huge gre word list. I did make sure to practice analogies and sentence completions. I think what really boosted my score was the combination of learning the process of elimination (POE) in addition to studying as much words as I possibly could. No matter how much you practice analogies and sentence completions, if you come across a word you are completely unfamiliar with come test time, you have a problem. Also, POE is more useful when you have some familiarity with the vocabulary....can't really rule out words you don't know. It really does come to the vocab....I would study flashcards, read extensively (i.e. read sites like The Nation and the New York Times Book Review, interesting novels, essays, etc...), and sign up for the :"Word of the Day" at a dictionary website. Be as creative as possible when it comes to studying vocabulary and use multiple techniques so learning words becomes fun and interesting. Lastly, I would not put ANY work into studying the math section of the GRE. I'm sure others might disagree with me, but I would put 100% of your effort into studying for the verbal section, as this section is the most important for graduate committees. In this way, you are not taking away time from studying for the verbal by filling your brain with unnecessary math formulas : )

I do remember your prior post JustMe, and think that people really did try to help you figure out how to deal with your situation. Unfortunately for you, you refused the advice given, and now have the nerve to take up unnecessary space venting about a program's structure. Thing is, it isn't the school that is at fault, it is you. I'm sure there are many MFAs in your program that are happy and thriving...because they want to be there. Since you don't want to be in school for a MFA it makes sense that you would hate everything about the school. My advice for you given your situation is to change your attitude so that you can at least finish this program with great work. I have a feeling that you will go through your program with terrible work (stemming from a terrible attitude), then go back and blame your mother for "forcing" you to go to school in the first place. I doubt any employer you go to for an interview will take that as an excuse. Take responsibility for your actions....as someone who is at grad school age, you should know this by now.