bfat

Hi all, I'm trying to develop a plan of attack for the Literature GRE--I'd prefer to take it this April so I don't have to worry about it during my application season next year (the last thing I want to do is take that monster while finishing up my thesis and putting together apps next fall). I have the Princeton Review book, and the Nortons of course, but my background is more in cultural studies and film than literature, so I feel really behind, and I'm kind of terrified. So my question is... Has anyone found any other effective study guides besides the PR book? Has anyone considered looking through the SAT Literature study guides? The AP Lit study guides? Would these be helpful? I'm not very good at test-taking, but I find the study guide books incredibly helpful. I'm kind of bummed that there's really only 1 for this test, and very few practice exams. I've printed out all of the Vade Mecum, so I guess maybe there's nothing more I can do... just looking for as many shortcuts and tips as possible. Thanks fer yer input.

Um... yeah, I never intended to walk into the English department and ask to speak with someone, other than whatever administrator is at the front desk--sometimes they have pamphlets or info packets, and just walking around the building where the offices and classrooms are can tell you a lot. I visited Cornell this summer (though I have a friend in the English dept. there), and people were very friendly and willing to talk about the school. I really was posting here to see if anyone was attending Penn and might want to meet up for coffee or something. I had no intention of ambushing any professors. Sheesh.

It's possible that at one time film studies was considered a "fluff major" but certainly not any more. From an academic perspective, there is a lot of value in studying cultural products like film and television, which have a massive impact on the way people think about and see the world (especially in an age when it seems fewer and fewer people are reading--or writing--literature). On the flip side, there is also a lot of really great and valuable technical knowledge that can come from studying film and tv. In the era of Youtube, being able to produce and cut a video is almost as important as basic writing skills. So don't worry about your major, especially if it is what you love (can you tell I have a BA in film?) And Penn State is a perfectly respectable school. Don't believe all that elitist mumbo jumbo about the "prestige" of your undergraduate education--there are some amazing programs at schools most people have never heard of (and Penn State is certainly well-known). The Ivy League isn't everything.

Good points made here. All grad students are held to a much higher academic standard than undergrads, so as long as you are qualifying to move on each semester, it doesn't seem like there's a lot to worry about. The only time it might be worrisome is if you are scraping by each semester and wavering near that 3.0/academic warning line. Otherwise, in terms of job searches, your other credentials should stand out more than your GPA. On a related note, I find the subject of GPAs kind of interesting--"C" used to stand for "average" or "satisfactory" and this was the baseline where grades started. These days, and especially in grad school, it seems more like everyone starts with an A and you have to kind of mess up to receive a lower grade. While I think the bell-curve system is incredibly unfair and creates damaging and unnecessary competition and stress, I also feel like some grad programs may be a little too easy. For example, I work at a decent, relatively well-ranked state university and I process graduation for graduate students, so I see all the GPAs as I confer their degrees. Some programs (especially in education) will have 75-85% of students with a 4.0 GPA, and looking at their undergrad records, many had lower than 3.0. This just doesn't seem right to me. But I guess it varies from program to program and university to university (in math and science programs here, most final GPAs hover closer to 3.5). Of course, most of these are master's degrees--it's much more rigorous for PhD students, and makes sense that most of them would be doing "A" level work most of the time.

This is totally the weirdest trolling post I've ever seen... I mean, it's not even funny! It would be like going onto a pet adoption site and being like "Kittens are stupid! I sure do hate kittens! I mean who do they think they are with those cute little faces! I used to love kittens, but now I realize that they're pointless and dumb!" If you want to start a flame war, you have to at least say something controversial. This is just... weird. O_o

I have a pretty light schedule this semester (MA, Humanities) History of Historical Thought (a seminar in historiography/literature) Directed Studies--background in literary theory, plus bonus thesis prep! I'm also taking an online GRE prep course. Fun!

Howdy folks, I'm headed to Philadelphia the first weekend in October for a film festival, and I thought I'd check out UPenn while I'm there. I debated about posting this in the "Visits" thread, but since I'm really only interested in the English dept., I thought I'd post it here... Has anyone visited Penn's English dept? Are they pleasant about walk-ins, or should I make an appointment with someone first? I'm trying to get a feel for the department, but I can't tell much from their website (it's kind a terrible website). My interests are in theory, media/cinema studies, and American culture, and from what I can tell from their course offerings, they seem like a good fit, but I just want some inside info. Anyone a student there who might want to show me around for an hour or so on Sat., Sun., or Mon.? I'll buy the coffee. Anyway, any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

It seems to me that the students in the Humanities forum (esp. English/Lit/Rhet) are very type-A and hard-working, but English majors are also generally (duh) more prolific in writing and responding. There are definitely some "oh sh*t, I'll never get in anywhere, please validate my existence!" posts in some of the general forum pages, but I don't really see those as much in here. People are applying to grad school all willy-nilly these days, though. I think that of the whole applicant pool, the maybe 500 students that apply to a top program, probably 75% are just glance-and-toss applications. But I'd say, based on the stats and communicative abilities of the people on these boards, most of them probably fall within that "I'll give it a closer look" 25%, even if they get rejections. ... but I could be wrong. That's just my impression, having worked in a grad admissions office and seen some of the truly awful applications that come in.

Yes. And I'm freaking out a year in advance. My fall semester starts tomorrow, and I just realized that I now have 1 year to: Cram in 21 credits of graduate study while working full time Prepare for and take the general GRE Prepare for and take the Lit GRE Research, propose, outline and actually *write* a master's thesis Do all that other application crap which I've thought an awful lot about but haven't actually done... GAH!

My favorite city-site ever is www.bestplaces.net which compiles census data on EVERYTHING about a city, from cost of living to average drive-time to air and water quality. It's awesome and extremely comprehensive.

It's certainly possible to get into a grad program with a 2.6 (especially if your degree is several years old), but probably not into a top 20 school. I worked in the admissions office of the grad school of a decent (and rather large) state school, and I know they admitted students with below 3.0 GPAs to certain programs (depending on how competetive they were) based on a GPA calculation for the last 60 credits. It definitely depends on the program you want to enter and how strict the school/program is about its admission policies. Before spending a lot of $$ on applications, you may want to contact the program directors for the programs you're interested in. And yes, taking non-degree upper-level undergrad, or grad courses will help raise your GPA and will show ad-com people that you're willing to work hard and do better. Hope this helps.

Thanks, Hobbes. I actually took a course in longform nonfiction narrative with a pretty well-known writer. He liked my work and put me in contact with a magazine editor--after some pitches and drafts, they accepted my article for publication. It comes out this week.

Dress codes are so freaking lame. I mean, not that I think we should all go around wearing pajamas all the time (though now that I think about it...), but what is the big deal? Jeans are functional, practical, and comfortable, so who gives a flaming fart if someone wants to wear them all the time? Hygeine and taking care of your appearance is undoubtably very important, but the concept of "professional attire" makes me want to pull my hair out. Does the style of pants we wear really affect our ability to do a job well? Or learn or communicate effectively? I think one of my primary goals in life is to have the type of job where I can wear whatever I want. The worst part about having a "real job" is having to worry constantly about whether this outfit is "appropriate" or "professional enough"--as if I would somehow become incompetent the minute I put on some Levis. Anyway, </rant> now. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

It's hard to say. It seems to me that the population on Grad Cafe is sort of the upper echelon of applicants. I mean, if you're here regularly, you must be pretty serious about your application. So that could potentially skew the proportions if, say, a majority of the people who are kind of "meh" about their applications are people who "really like Shakespeare" or something. I've been talking to professors and PhD grad students about the whole "sub-field" thing, because I find it kind of frustrating. Most people have told me that it's really about marketability for jobs, and not so much necessarily what your actual work will look like as a grad student. I tend to take more of a thematic approach to literature and culture, rather than a historical period approach. Yet when my application season comes around (next year), I will nevertheless have to declare a time period. So there may also be people who are trying to squeeze themselves into a certain box for their applications, who may have a broader (and yet in some ways more specific) area of study in mind. So yeah. I don't know if that answers your question, but that's my input.

Most of my favorite shows are cancelled, or just off the air but I rewatch them over and over. The X-Files Buffy (almost finished my 3rd time through the series) Firefly MacGyver (damn straight!) Veronica Mars Gilmore Girls Dollhouse Six Feet Under I also watch "current" shows, though I don't actually watch them on TV because of no cable and hating commercials so much. But I try to keep up with Supernatural Breaking Bad Dexter True Blood Fox cartoons (Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, etc.) Jeez, I guess I watch a lot of TV... But I can always claim "film major" and "media studies concentration" as my excuse.

Right now I'm in a very small Humanities program at a state university. I plan on starting my PhD applications next fall (2012) for programs in film, literature, and American culture, and I understand that journal publications are a great thing to have under your belt. But what about popular magazine publications? I have an article coming out next month that doesn't really have anything to do with my academic study (other than that it's about an aspect of American culture), and I'm wondering if this is a good thing to list on a CV? To discuss in an SoP? Or would it be better to stick to academic publications (which I don't have yet) and research interests? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

lol, good point. The prospects are pretty crappy right now, no matter what degree you hold. One of the main reasons people are going back to grad school is so they can defer their undergraduate loans until the job market opens up again. Theoretically these people won't clog up the academic job market in any way... but who knows. I have a BA in film, and I worked in the corporate world for a while, editing promos for a big broadcasting company. It sucked. A lot. I got a job at a local university (which pays about the same) and they're paying for my MA while I try to figure out if a PhD pursuit is worth it. The real world can suck big time too.

If it ends in "o'clock," it's a good time to start drinking.

Frog and Toad are Friends?

If only this had existed before I had a house with a mortgage and 2 dogs and a cat and a full-time job... *sigh* C'est la vie, je crois...

Jeez, I'm not even applying this year, and even I'm freaking out! I sympathize and empathize with you all. Good luck! (and maybe switch to decaf for a couple of weeks)

Of course, then you'll have to be sure to include both your married name AND your maiden name on everything because of the old files with your previous name. We have this problem all the time in our grad admissions office.

Definitely a set of twins. Maybe triplets.

I work in the Graduate School of a mid-level state university that has about 4,500 grad students, and I can tell you that this month has been absolute hell. We're receiving several hundred pieces of mail every day with all the parts of students' applications, and I know at least at our school, the website that lists what materials are missing draws its information from the very last step of the application process (the "checklist" page in our system). So we get hundreds of calls every day from people sure they sent their stuff, but whose checklists haven't been updated. So don't panic. We tell everyone that their stuff is probably here, but is somehwere in one of the steps of being processed. Ironically, the stuff would get processed a lot faster if students would stop calling to check the status of their applications bfat

Hrm... me too. That's really what I'm afraid of--either I get into a groove when taking a test and do awesome, or I have a complete panic attack and bomb it. And I don't read very fast, so I feel like this test will put me on the fast track to chokesville. Too bad anti-anxiety meds make me sleepy.