lolopixie

Very, very doubtful!

But carry a big a$$ stick!!!! To beat the adcoms down with!

Very cool area of interest.

Just a heads up, last 2 rounds CM has only accepted 2 students out of 500-600 applicants.

Mine has gone through 2 actual application seasons of embarassing!

I was given advice from a retired professor, which was get through the Ph.D. program, take the best job you can get, and if you're not happy there, publish your way out. Sounded solid.

Your SOP is one of the most critical parts of the application, if not THE most critical. It should be flawless. However, this is not a piece of creative writing. You do want to be straightforward and to the point, but it needs to be well written. Yes, it should be better than what a physics major could write.

I think most people go to "no-name" schools. Honestly, if you are outside of our region, we have no idea what program you are attending unless it is one of the ivies or other big name schools. And lets be honest, half the time people from the south know names of schools from the midwest is because of sports. This is just an example of regions. I'm in the south so it seemed appropriate?? Anywho. I would not be deterred by the name visibility of your program. I went to a "no-name" MA program and am so glad I did. I received travel grants for every conference I went to and had really great one-on-one relationships with my professors. The program I went to for my BA (while well-known in the South, or at least in the surrounding states, but if you're not from this region you've probably never heard of it because they don't have a football team - I know I missed out) was MUCH LARGER. And try as I might, the professors really seemed to not have time for me. Not like they did in the MA program. This could possibly be attributed to the degree level I was at. ANYWAYS! The point of all this blabber is - apply!

Don't worry about choosing a thesis advisor at this time. Most MA programs do not expect you to choose someone until the semester prior to starting your prospectus. Yes, you will want to familiarize yourself with those professors that are in an area of interest, but you may find, after taking seminars in the MA program, that your area of interest changes and you have a whole new outlook. Example: I went into my MA program thinking I would write a thesis in the realm of Romantics, but wound up taking a seminar that completely changed my research interests and I wound up writing mine on Postcolonial Caribbean Lit. I would also like to ditto rems advice of contact the department secretary prior to reaching out to another faculty member. The secretary can direct you to the appropriate person, field questions, and even set up interview times. They will also let professors know that there is someone interested so the professor may be more on the lookout for your information. I just emailed one of my programs asking who I should talk to about program questions and was forwarded to a graduate advisor that was not listed anywhere on the department information, but was able to thoroughly field all of my questions. Make sure to review if the program of interest requires you to fill out a seperate application for funding. Some automatically review, some only do so with application, and many MA programs do not fund as they do not have the means in their budgets. Outside scholarships are things you will need to research on your own, but if you find any goodies, please share!!! Have as many professors review your writing sample and SOP as possible. Don't forget to have them review the SOP!!!! When it comes to your SOP, you may want to have "younger" professors review as the process of applying and expectations of the SOP has drastically changed since when some of the more tenure professors have completed theirs. However, if your current program has a MA/PhD program, almost all professors should be up to speed on what ad coms are looking for. Just send them an email or stop by their office and let them know what your plans are and that you would value their opinion and critique on your work. Give them AMPLE time! You'll probably want to go ahead and get it in their hands now before they get busy with the fall semester and your stuff slips to the back burner.

Very good to know! I got it down to about 680. One page single spaced. I'm still working on editing it out, but I'm glad to know that you did that and got accepted. Makes me feel a little better.

<rant> I have a perfectly polished and absolutely fantastic 1200ish word SOP. It meets the criteria for all but 2 of the programs that I intend on applying for. Give or take a few words based upon the information that I am putting in as school specific information. The one program that I have the MOST to say about why their program is awesome and why I want to go there only allots for a 400-500 word SOP. Tragedy strikes. I want to tell you EVERYTHING that is in my SOP, but I just have to take it out. NO. I've been working on it tonight to shrink my SOP down to 500 words. I'm rewriting some sections and completely taking other sections out, but I feel like they are missing out on information!!! I'm not duplicating any information that is in any of the other parts of the application, but I am still over. Arghhhhh. I know it is extremely early to be posting about SOP anxietites, but I'm working on them now so I can enjoy my fall!!! Darn you programs and your excercises in writing concisely! </rant>

I also didn't reach out to DGS or POIs last year. I don't know if this was a mistake or not because I know people that got in without doing so, but I am definitely going to do it this year. I've already set up a few phone calls with DGS and will be contacting each program to ask more questions. I figure it can't hurt...unless I wind up sounding like a moron. I'm more of a shy person when I first meet people, so having a conversation with someone I don't know always seemed really intimidating. Guess I'll be getting over that starting next week.

I'm reapplying again this year too. This will be my third time applying. My first round I was completly unprepared - working FT and completing my thesis. I had no idea what I was in for or the time to really complete my applications. In addition, my GRE scores SUCKED. Last year I made it onto 3 waitlists out of 5 programs. I retook the GRE (increasing by 40 some percentile verbal and got a 6 on the writing as compared to 4.5) and revamped my SOP and writing sample. I think last year was a matter of number of schools applied to. I also think that it was my SOP -- I don't think I was as specific as needed. This year - my final year applying - I've rewritten my SOP and edited the writing sample further. At this point, I don't think there is very much else I can do. I'm applying to 12 programs this year. Crossing fingers. I really don't have much advice to give you because I haven't quite figured out the magic recipe; however, make sure your GRE's are above their cut (usually 75 percentile or higher dependent upon program), your writing sample is flawless, and your SOP pushes confidence.

I'll hold down the NC front for all of you!

I've been advised to put the essay I have published as well as any essays I have under review in my "publications" section of my CV. Does anyone know the correct format on how to put this? "Title of Essay," (under review)?? Should I put the journal I have sent it to? I'm having delays in a response from my professors because of summer break. Trying to get this thing updated and finished.