DavidFosterWallaby

Hi everyone! Thus far I have received one fully funded offer for the terminal MA program at the University of Cincinnati (where I went for undergrad). I am waitlisted at UConn and Indiana-Bloomington for their integrated MA/PhD programs. Two rejections from UW-Madison and OSU as well. I'm waiting to hear back from several other programs though, so keeping my fingers crossed!

Congrats on the admit! Would you mind sharing which degree program? I applied to UConn's MA, which I know tends to send out decisions later than the PhD.

I also received my OSU rejection today- just in case it makes you feel any better. Wishing you luck on the rest of them!

Hi all- I'll be applying to masters programs for next fall (with the intention of eventually pursuing a PhD as well) in English lit and digital humanities. Wishing everyone best of luck!

I am not an admissions officer, so I can't say for sure, but I am currently looking at program requirements myself and can share what I've seen. A lot of places will report on the average GPA of admitted students, so I would look at the website for schools you're interested in specifically and, if it's not available there, maybe send them an email. I have come across a few that require a certain overall GPA just to apply, but it is like a B-average (3.0), so you should be good in that sense. It also may be worth reaching out to the admissions office and explaining to them your situation. I would imagine it'd be possible for you to include an extra document in your application to explain a bit more why your undergrad GPA is perhaps lower than you'd like it be and how you've addressed the underlying causes. I like to think they would be willing to take that into consideration, especially because the writing sample, personal statement, and recommendation letters will ultimately hold a lot more weight in determining whether or not you're a good candidate. Just my two cents. I also agree with what @Starbuck420 has said about thinking about a fully-funded terminal MA. I am in a similar boat in that I have every intention of pursuing my PhD but may need to get a terminal MA to help make me more competitive applicant. Hope that helps. Best of luck!

This is really helpful- thanks so much! Particularly what you've said about digging deeper into the works cited/references on what I'm reading, that feels like the best place to start.

Yeah, thankfully I was able to narrow my interests down a bit during my senior year. Appreciate the input!

Hi everyone, First of all, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the active users on this forum. I discovered GradCafe a few months ago and it has been an immensely helpful resource as I figure out the next steps in my academic career. I finished my BA in English Literature last May and am now starting the process of applying to grad programs for fall 2022. It has, quite frankly, been really overwhelming for me. I’ve been in touch with a few professors/faculty members from my alma mater, but I got a lot of conflicting information from them, so I really appreciate all the insight I’ve gotten from various threads on here. I wasn’t able to find any prior discussion on this topic, however, so I wanted to bring it up and hopefully maybe get some advice on my specific situation as well. I am under the impression that it would be best for me to pursue a (fully-funded) MA before applying to PhD programs, although a few of the schools that I’m looking at don’t require a masters degree. My dream is to be a professor, but I know the job prospects for a tenure-track position are bleak, so I figure an extra year or two to develop my interests, improve my writing, make connections, etc could only help improve my chances at actually making it as an academic. I attended the University of Cincinnati for undergrad and, while I really love the English department there, I have lived in the area my entire life and am really ready to move on to somewhere else. Ideally wherever I get my MA I will stay to pursue my PhD, but I would be open to moving again after another few years. All that being said, I was wondering if you guys had any advice on how to figure out what I want to research and the best way to get in touch with professors out there who align with my interests. I know that I generally want to study contemporary American literature with an emphasis on new media. I have always had an interest in digital tech so I think it would be very cool to look at how digital media forms, the internet, algorithms, big data, and things of that nature are shaping the way we experience, interpret, and discuss stories, as well as expanding the scope of what we consider literature. I have been told I might be a good fit for a program with a Digital Humanities focus (Kind of a long story, but I work in IT right now), but I am having a little trouble deciphering what that field really entails. But that’s basically all I got.. where can I go from here? Is there maybe some sort of database where I could search through literary research being done right now? And, if I do find a professor studying something that I want to study, how could I go about reaching out to them? What’s the likelihood they would even care to hear from/get back to me? I am quite anxious about putting together my applications and navigating all the rejected/waitlisted/accepted but without funding situations that I’ve seen others on here dealing with, so I just really want to make sure I’m applying to places where I’m a good fit and I am writing the best possible personal statements. So any other advice, recommendations, or thoughts would be much appreciated! Thank you in advance!