cicada123

Unfortunately, it really doesn't matter. At least, not having teaching experience doesn't hurt you in any way. While it might add a little something to your application, it isn't going to be what makes you stand out as an applicant. I would say, though, that my recommenders in all likelihood talked about my potential as a professor based upon my class participation, presentations, and general personality type. That helped me a great deal, I think. A couple years ago, before pursuing my Master's in English, I was also considering doing an MAT at Brown, and when it came time to decide between that funded program and my unfunded MA in English at a top school, I asked DGSs at schools I wanted to go for my PhD eventually. It was pretty much unanimous that only the name Brown, not the teaching, would be an advantage. Even doing a Master's in Teaching, I was told, wouldn't do a thing. So, if I were you, I wouldn't base your decision off of that unless you just want to teach, which is great. I really prize teaching. I wouldn't be doing this otherwise.

Hey! Just wanted to give y'all a heads-up that I contacted Sangeeta about courses for next semester. There are two classes that I know I want to take, and I wanted to tell her that to make sure I would have a spot reserved in them. It took a few days, but she did eventually get back to me. Basically, my sense is that she somehow made sure it was recorded that I wanted those two classes and my spot is reserved but that it's a little ways before they start official registration for us. Can't wait for next year! --though, no lie, I do want summer first : )

Just, well, wow. That's insane.

Me, too!!!! Just accepted today!

Yeah, it really doesn't seem like there is much of a difference.

Breakfast the next morning would be great! I'm going to PM you my number.

Hey--I'll be arriving on Tuesday and staying at the hotel for two nights. If anyone is getting there on Tuesday, let me know! I'd be happy to explore the area with anyone interested in doing that.

I did an unfunded MA at a top school and now have several well-funded offers from PhDs. Don't let the "second-class citizen" nonsense get to you. It was a wonderful experience and has prepared me extremely well for the next stage of my career. Congratulations on your acceptances! As far as loans go, I did get them through FAFSA. I should say that I didn't have any undergrad debt, so I felt a little more secure taking out loans. I don't regret it in the slightest, though, because now I have six years of great funding.

Columbia's director told me in an email that they were entirely done notifying except for rejections and then apologized for this taking so long.

I STILL have not heard from NYU, Harvard, or Toronto. Seriously, what is going on? I'm sure they are all rejections at this point, but jesus, I just want a formal "no." I have a decision to make and a thesis to write, and the considerate thing to do would be for them to get their rejections out soon.

I'll be there!

Yep, I think this is a good topic. Exactly half of the people invited to the Emory interview had (or were in the process of getting) MAs. People tend to slight MAs, but it seems like applying with MAs is far more common than people commonly think. (Granted, this probably varies widely by Ph.D. programs.) I certainly felt like having the degree from a good school benefited me and played a very large part in why I was accepted.

CUNY-- no matter how good an applicant you are for a Ph.D. program, this process certainly has a degree of arbitrariness. And while I didn't apply to CUNY, I have researched it because I thought about applying. It has a great reputation, and while its funding/teaching requirements aren't as ideal as they are for some other programs, you should be really proud of that acceptance and go for it.

In case anyone is anxiously awaiting a Rutgers decision, I just checked my status page, and what I already knew is now clearly stated.

The schools I've been accepted to/waitlisted at all offer fairly good funding (some, very good)--all are fully funded; teaching requirements are reasonable; and two of them have offered additional fellowships on top. One of the ones I've been accepted to offers four years of really good funding and one year that is so-so.... It seems a little random the way they calculated the package year by year, and I'm not sure why in that particular year the funding drops a couple thousand dollars. In any case, I'd like to negotiate with this school about that year specifically. My other two schools offer more funding overall because of the drop in funding for that year at the third school. Does anyone have any advice about how I should go about bringing this topic up? Should I mention the other offers to the third school?