SimilarlyDifferent

You might appreciate The Oatmeal's take on this: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

Affect and effect bug me.

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Chuck Norris doesn't apply to grad school, he just shows up. On his GRE, Chuck Norris scored infinity ... to the infinite power. For safety reasons, the postal service will not deliver a rejection letter to Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris knows how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop.

Phyl, I see you are in the MLIS program at Rutgers. Mind if I PM you some questions?

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I also have a job dilemma. A library assistant job has just opened up in a convenient location nearby with hours that are good for me. I want to apply, I so want to apply. The problem? I am still waiting for an answer from a PhD program. If I get into that program with funding, I won't need the job. If I don't get into the program or don't get funding, then I'm doing my MLIS part time, and the job would make so much sense for me. Do I apply anyway? I'm leaning toward yes. Help. Please.

Both. You must both love and fear the adcoms. But seriously, I don't expect to hear anything else until mid March, so I'm not so on edge about this week. Good luck to those of you who are expecting something! Either way, at least the wait will be over.

In my SOP for a small liberal arts school, I spoke about having visited the school and enjoyed the conversations and the people that I had met as well as the beautiful campus. I said that after the visit, I knew that it was a community of scholars and an atmosphere that I would love to be a part of. I also mentioned academic research interests, and the fact that the library at the school houses archives that would be important to my research, but I figured most other people would be mentioning these things, and I think there is more to "fit" than merely academic fit. Every other applicant is going to tell them how they have similar research interests, but not everyone is going to tell them how they fit in with the community on a more personal level.

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Funny that you should ask, because like you, my interests wander a LOT. The programs I have applied to are American history, but I think that if I don't get in, I may work on my languages while in an MLIS program and then reapply later to different history programs. I like the American Gilded Age, European Medieval history, Japanese Waring States era, and the Three Kingdoms period in China. I don't know, I guess I want to be a Jack of all Trades.

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Based on my experience and the people I have spoken to, MLIS programs are not as competitive as other programs out there. As long as you have decent grades/letters of rec/SOP, then you should be able to get into one of the programs that you applied to. If you feel the need to apply to more programs then keep in mind that the degree is a professional degree, and the consensus among librarians in the field is that it doesn't matter if the degree comes from an elite school or not, so long as that school is accredited by the ALA. Work experience in a library is always more important than where you went to school. The only time that prestige might be an issue is if you think you might want to go into a PhD program later on, or if you want to work in a prestigious college or museum. I have solicited advice from librarians employed in many different types of libraries and the advice they have given has all been pretty much the same: Go somewhere you can afford because librarian work is low paying and jobs are competitive. You don't want to go into debt because you might have a difficult time paying it off.

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Apparently Rutgers New Brunswick is starting up a Masters program in World History for the fall 2011. Previously, Rutgers only had an American History MA that was hosted at the Newark campus. I just thought I'd post this in case anyone is interested.

He looks to be part Chow, if that helps. My family had them growing up, is his tongue purple/bluish? Or does it have purple/blue spots?

If I end up going for my MLIS degree, then it will be 100% DL. I can't exactly relocate and it would be nice to be able to work while getting the degree. I can't really speak of the Pros and Cons because I have not yet enrolled, but I imagine that they go something like this: Pros: Flexibility, Ability to hold down a job, no commute Cons: Limited interaction with peers (and professors), limited instruction (must be able to read and comprehend), time management As far as tuition goes, it varies from one school to the next. The online programs (ALA accredited) with the most affordable out of state tuition that I have seen are Wayne State University, Clarion University, University of Alabama, and San Jose State University. Some schools also offer a special rate for online students that is somewhat less than out of state tuition, but still not quite as low as in state.

I called Rutgers today. They are finalizing the decisions over the next day or two, so notices will go out "very soon".

Thanks for clearing this up. After looking at their website, I was under the impression that most of the H&C students got funding provided they TA, do the internship, and do administrative work. I see now that it might not be the case. Guess I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. Thanks a lot for the information.