Izzie Gonzalez

Greetings All, So I applied for a few MA programs in English Lit and have been accepted to Cal State Los Angeles, CSU Long Beach, CSU Dominguez Hills (my alma mater), and Cal Poly Pomona. Which University admissions offer should I accept? Overall, my research and scholarly work is geared toward Postcolonial Studies and Multicultural Literatures; Cal State LA has a Dr. Laouyene, a postcolonial scholar, who seems like a good fit for me as a Postcolonial Scholar; CSULB does not have a postcolonial studies professor; and Cal Poly has Dr. Smith, a world Lit scholar. I would like to base my decision on advisor fit, but there are other elements I should consider: tuition cost, housing, textbooks, a new laptop, financial aid for the two or three years I reside in the program, and the culminating activity (thesis/comps). I also would like to take into account what each school offers in terms of professional development, such as conference presentations, literary/art magazine publishing, etc. My goal is to use the MA degree and all of its professional aspects to help me apply for Ph.D. programs in English, where I hope to specialize in Postcolonial Literature and Criticism, Queer Theory, Disability Studies, and Multicultural Literature. Any advice will be helpful. I have a few months before accepting an offer (Mid-March), so please feel free to help me decide and contextualize each option. Thanks and Happy Holidays.

Hello all! I graduated with my bachelor's degree in English Literature and had plans to apply for graduate school; but, do to low GPA, I did not meet admissions criteria in all the MA programs I applied for. My goal is to get into a Master's program in English Literature, but in order to do that, I need 60 units of upper-division coursework and a 3.0 in those 60 units in order to qualify for admissions into several MA programs. That being said, I was thinking of applying to CSU Long Beach for a second BA in Spanish (I am also considering French or Japanese), as they allow second bachelor's degrees in foreign language. What language should I pick (I am a native speaker in Spanish, so that might be easier for me to perform well in; and I am highly interested in Japanese, though I have been doing my research on that language, and it is a very difficult language...)? Should I pursue this second BA if my goal is to gain admission into an MA program in English? Any suggestions, comments and advice appreciated!!!

@UndergradDad It is a combination of things. My English department has been home for the past couple of years; I am a senior- with one more year left to graduate- but I feel disconnected from the department. I have had difficulties with my mental health and have barely gotten the right meds to help with my disorder- and throughout the course of these past 7 years, I have taken several medical withdrawals, so my academic transcript is torn. I have a 2.5 overall, a 2.8 in the major, and am currently trying to finish a minor in Chicano Studies. I was about to graduate last year, and applied for my school's MA program, but got rejected because of low gpa. My program requires a 3.0 in the last 60 units, and I have a 2.4. Due to complications in my mental health last year, I failed to graduate. My professors all know I have had difficulties with mental health, and recommended I take some time off school and stabilize, which I did. But after returning to online zoom school, I feel like my performance is not that great. So yes, a variety of things have contributed to me wanting to "start over".

Hi folks. Lately, I have been contemplating starting over at a community college and transferring to a different University. I feel like in my department (English) there is not much support. My goal is to later pursue a PhD in English and specialize in Queer and Multicultural Young Adult Literature. What advice do you all have for me in terms of starting over, or maybe if I should continue finishing my undergrad at my University?