HaruNoKaze

Two, I agree with your use of the word "deceptive" when describing the students who came before you... i just found out I'm actually going to be the second person to GRADUATE from our English MA program... and yes, my professors have said things like ,"don't waste your money applying, i didn't even apply to Ivy schools" and "you have to spread yourself out, you need to apply to less competitive programs" besides these comments being really discouraging, I wish they had been upfront when i stepped into their office saying, "hi, is this school a good fit? i want to get my MA and apply to doctorate programs, specifically top tier and fully funded programs." My problem is that my university doesn't have a reputation to be a hindrance. the lack of established rigor, placement history, and the fact my current professors are nobodys is what's killing me. Wellspring, It has been suggested to me by several faculty members outside my program that I either transfer and quit this MA cold (i start my thesis in Jan) or finish this program and get out, worthless MA in hand, and go get a second MA from a better school to use to try and get into a top 20 doctorate program. It is hard to acknowledge the wasted time, and money, at this small and lackluster program, but I learned a lot: if they can't show you statistics on paper, don't believe a word they say. placement with out proof is lies!

I think the hardest part about the new GRE is that we won't be able to find out our scores until Nov. that is like a knife in my side. I always walk away from a test thinking I did one thing, and finding out I did differently. I've been doing verbal practice questions during the day and vocab flash cards, and then math questions at night. in one of my classes, i haven't even been reading the books or essays for class, i've just been faking it b/c i spend the day cramming all the GRE stuff in my head. This will be my third time taking it as well, and I'm praying to God that I don't blow it; my future may be riding on this stupid test, as well as my conferences and writing sample to get into doctorate programs... because my MA won't be worth the paper it's written on... tear... as for the ear infection, i say go to the doc, tell him to pump you full of something that doesn't make you sleepy or hallucinate, and keep studying! hopefully in march/april, we'll all be able to look back on this and remember how hard we worked to make it happen.

I've talked to one of my potential LORs and she gave me the devastating statement: I can write you a LOR but you're school is really small, has no doctorate placement history, and your profs are nobodys. I'm going to a start-up university and only have two grad faculty to ask for LOR and went back to my undergrad prof to ask for a LOR and guidance, and she pretty much told me I'm screwed! I've been studying like mad for the gen GRE I'm taking next week, but I feel sooo hopeless. And apathetic. I can kiss my dreams of top tier programs goodbye...

I totally feel you on revising my lists at the last second b/c of programs that don't want MA applicants. I've been calling each school or emailing them to ask specifically if they want only students coming in with BA's. I've talked to Princeton, Berkeley, UT Austin and WUSTL, and all SAY they consider MA in hand applicants just like BA only applicants. Dunno how much of that is the truth b/c I've heard Princeton likes to get them early and shape them, but that's what they said over the phone/email.

I applied to MA programs in Phil, got rejected from my top choice, so I stayed in TX and did my MA in my other major. If you wanna stay in Texas, SMU and UofHouston are your best bet for low/mid phil grad programs. UofH is a MA only last I checked a couple of years ago, so the MAs are funded most of the time. SMU has quite a bit of funding as well, and their phil dept is pretty active. I would say UT, but it seems like you don't want to stay there. They have one of the best programs in TX besides Rice IMO but can be hard to get into. The upshot it that you know profs in the phil program, the downside is you've never seen anything besides Austin. If you're looking to leave state, I would check out ASU and University of AZ, i went to their normative ethics conference a couple of years ago and thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The two universities do a lot together such as joint conference and the faculty know each other. both are very good programs. I met several of the faculty when I was out there for the conference, and there are some really great people working there. I know someone who went to U Nebraska-Lincoln and is doing well job placement wise and also knows his stuff wise. It's in the middle of nowhere which is a huge downgrade from Austin, but those are the breaks. Use the phil gourmet report as a point of reference like the above poster mentioned. it's gold.

two pieces of advice I'll share: Rice is a wonderful school, and a beautiful campus, but the students are competitive and the programs are hard work. Not to say anyone is lazy (I applied there in the past) but many of my friends who have been accepted and go there comment on how they have no life accept for school. A few years ago Rice was ranked for its high suicide rate, and that made me a little relieved I didn't get in. Brown is very laid back, also very beautiful, and I considered their program for a while. If I were selecting from that list, I would apply to Brown, Washington University in St. Louis, New York University and UCLA. Second, I considered the straight PhD option myself (Rice only does straight PhD last I checked, doesn't do MA->PhD) but decided against it. It isn't for everyone. If you choose straight PhD, and something happens and you have to drop out of the program, you leave with nothing unless you take the MA exam after the fact. Even if you put in your first two years as if you were doing an MA, it doesn't read like that on paper. So fair warning. I was considering that option, but it seemed like too big of a risk to get half way through and have nothing. The program can also deny you an MA if you don't complete your program but petition to take the MA test. Know what you're getting into, and know the risks associated with it. I love Rice and wanted to go so much, but after talking with the dept a couple of years ago I changed my mind.

I applied to ASU's MA program in Phil for fall 2010, and I was rejected. I had strong letters of recommendation, writing samples my phil professors has read and approved, as well as a letter of rec from a math professor (analytical phil is very mathematical, and MA programs often look for high GRE Qual scores). I also traveled and attended a normative ethics conference held by ASU where I got to meet some wonderful professors, many of whom my phil professors knew professionally. Meeting me and having conversations with me, they thought I was brilliant and wanted me in the program. My GPA and GRE scores weren't high enough, and I was rejected. Basically, because their program is competitive and nationally ranked, they had to reject me, because of how low my numbers looked. If you're looking at places like Columbia, NYU, UofMichigan, you might get in b/c you look great on paper, but everyone who's worked hard looks great on paper. However, it's hard to get anyone on the phone or talk with them in person. Nationally ranked programs that are not at the very top, I'd say like 10 and down, are often down to earth and communicative with applicants. It is a really difficult situation, and you may have an easy time getting in to programs b/c of how great you look on paper. If I was you, and I knew one or two particular school you wanted to get accepted to, see if they have any conferences coming up and if you can attend them. Some professors at conferences are great people, some are complete jerks! Conferences like APA get all sorts of phil profs flying in from all over the country, and it's a good opportunity for you to see who you would like to work with, as well as them to see if they would like to work with you.

Theory of Literature and Other Critical Writings by Natsume Soseki. It's intense and very complicated, but very well grounded. It's pretty mathematical/scientific too, which can be a little hard for me sometimes. Release the first English translation in 2009, paperback in 2010. He wrote it before he wrote any of his other novels or even started his work on I Am a Cat, he says in the book that literature is formulaic, and if he adherers to his formulas his work will be considered great literature. And well, that's kinda what happened. Very dense, but very good theories.

I'm doing my MA in English Lit, but there is a specific faculty member at Princeton in the East Asian Studies department who just worked with couple other ppl to publish a translation of an important (IMO) work of literary theory. For the fan of literary theory/criticism and Japanese novelists, it's like a gift from God. I would love to be able to work on future projects involving using the theory of literature with that particular professor and other Japanese literary works. However, to do that, I would also probably need to work closely with the English dept, because the majority of the theory is rooted in examples of western canonical works. So yea, I'd love to know anyone's opinion on East Asian program, but I think that might be asking too much. Just any info on the English Dept would be good, because I'm not exactly sure how I should apply. Should I apply to the English program, specifically focusing on the translated Japanese theory as it applies to western canonical works, or to the East Asian program, because I'd like to work with the untranslated texts as well as other works of Japanese lit? It could go either way I suppose, lol.

If you live in Texas already, or close to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and Commerce is offering you a full ride or a large portion of tuition costs covered, I would do it. Otherwise, consider your other options if they want you to move from out of state with no financial support. It's out in the middle of northeast Texas and closest real city is Dallas. I don't know where you're at, but to me it doesn't sound worth it.

I have compiled a list of doctorate programs I'm applying to this fall, but I've noticed not many people on the forums mention Princeton in posts/comments. So I'm wondering if there is something about this program that is less desirable that I don't know about, besides the fact I've been told most of the undergrad students there are very pretentious (says a student from Brown lol). I'm interested in their East Asian and theory studies, but just wondering if there is something worth avoiding, or why very few people mention Princeton. Does anyone on here go to Princeton?

Timshel, To get into the MA program I'm in now, I needed a 100 point combined increase in my original GRE score (to equal 1000 total or higher) and I had two weeks to make that 100 points happen. I read The Princeton Review Crash Course for the GRE 3rd edition, which my College of Arts and Humanities counselor recommended, I used the Kaplan vocab flashcards that you can buy off ebay or amazon. I also compared those word lists with the PR GRE 2010 study book, and a Barron's GRE study book. The first time I took the GRE I got a 475v, but didn't get accepted anywhere lol. After one school told me to get a combined 1000, I made the appointment, studied for two weeks using those prep books/cards, and make a 510v. A score like that is still really low, but I only had two weeks to study before all my MA options were out the window. Moral of the story: I increased my score by 35 points in two weeks, and maybe I could have done better, I dunno. But that's what I used in a pinch to get me accepted. I'm already studying for the new GRE, months in advance, with hopes to really do well this time. If I took it now (like this morning) and made less than a 600 like on my practice tests, I'd post on the forums, get trashed, then tomorrow morning register for the general GRE again, even if it means I'd have taken it four times. lol. That makes me sound so lame. Edit: dude, my bad. I looked at my GRE report of scores... I got a 460v the first time. Even worse! lol

Truckbasket, I totally feel you! I've taken the GRE general test twice, and both times I had similar testing experiences with the people who ran the testing center, as well as the test takers themselves. My testing room had people taking all sorts of different test, from teacher certification exams, GRE, MCAT, LSAT, it was nuts. It doesn't help that behind the big glass window was the testing center staff, a bunch of giggling twenty-something girls, who I had to put up with on both occasions. The second time I almost got myself kicked out of the exam because I left the testing room to chew them out b/c I could hear them laughing through the glass wall that separates us. After threatening to waste my $160 bucks just to make sure I got complaints filed against all of them (which I did anyway after I left and called ETS) they offered me EARPLUGS. I'm dead serious. Plastic wrapped, individual little packets of ear plugs they keep on standby. Oh, and one time my computer froze for like ten minutes. The test proctors couldn't explain it, but yea. I don't think I've been that scared to possibly see a blue screen in my entire life. After about ten minutes, it started working again. The Lit subject test is only being offered here at one university campus testing cite, I'm expecting it to be packed. But after giggling proctors and fellow test takers with little respect for the quite atmosphere of a testing facility, I think it's safe to say the worst is over. What does suck is that the Lit subject test is only offered on Saturdays here, and in the morning. And I'm not a morning person.

I've talked to UT and the secretary in the office and she is soooo nice. She emailed me a list of what they look for in their writing sample, stipend info, and told me over the phone their target GRE scores. However, not any of the other schools have been as nice or as helpful. As for the GRE, the scoring is changing, when I read about the changes I thought I was going to die b/c i had already prepared for the GRE before (taken it twice already) and improved my score by 100 points.. new point system means idk wtf is going to happen. I do have an undergrad professor I'm close to, but i double majored as an undergrad and he was for my second major (philosophy) I suppose I could ask him, but since it's outside of English, and not at the same university, and not for a MA class, I wasn't sure if he is really a viable option. I just worry it would be like asking someone in the math department to write me a letter of rec. And I am applying to three other schools, all in Texas though, but none of them nearly as competitive as Berkeley, Princeton, or UT. My professors always manage to give me good grades at the beginning of the semester, and then look for any excuse to give me a B, then by then end of the semester they give me a B for the class. Or, one of the two in particular, gives me As for all my assignments and then a C on my final project with some BS reasoning, leaves for a different state and I'm just supposed to play cool. But yea, I don't really know if I want her writing me a letter of rec anyway :/

Two Espressos, Thanks for your response. I am now too concerned with the differences between candidates who are applying straight from undergrad to MA/PhD combined programs, and those who have an MA and are applying to the same doctorate programs. Perhaps I should offer one point of clarification for everyone else who's giving advice: my comment about going to conference was that I presented papers, not just attended. I realize I didn't make that point clear. I know that because of the nature of conferences (doing proposals, getting accepted/rejected, traveling) they look good on a CV. I'm just wondering how good.

I'm going to be applying starting in November and December for doctorate programs in English Literature for the 2012 academic year. I have a number of questions and concerns, because I've come to find that I am in a particularly odd situation... The MA program I am in right now is a small program at a start up university in Texas. We have about seven students actively in the program, only one of whom is working on his master's thesis right now. The program is taught by two professors, and only two. There has been one person from a couple of years ago who went on to a doctorate program, but that's it. And, to make it more complex, no one from our program besides myself is actively planning on pursuing their PhD. So, I'm the odd man out (or something like that). My top three schools I want to apply to are Berkeley, Princeton, and UT Austin. I think I might have a chance at getting into UT, but am beginning to doubt my chances with Princeton and Berkeley. So here are the problems/concerns: I only have two faculty members that I work with in my MA program. Most programs want three letters or recommendation, right? So where am I supposed to get my third letter from? Do letters of recommendation really matter? I mean, anyone who is apply to doctorate programs has wonderful, positive letters of rec, so I don't really feel reassured when my two professors tell me they're going to write me great letters. The GRE exam is changing starting Aug 1st, and I was planning on retaking it to get higher scores. The scoring system is part of what's changing, as well what competencies the test focuses on and you can use a calculator too. I have the scores that each school wants for the old test, but not target scores for the new test. If the new test is a different test, but the programs can't tell me what scores they'll want. How should I deal with this? Should I study like mad and take the old (current) test before Aug 1st so I know whether my scores are in the desired ranges? My professors keep telling me doctorate programs don't focus on grades, they focus on the writing sample, statement of purpose, and letters of rec, but I find that really hard to believe. I don't believe I can get a bunch of B's in grad school and then get into Berkeley or Princeton because of my writing sample. Also, I've gone to one conference already (this past April) and am going to the SA MLA in Nov, is this really going to look good on my CV if I don't have the grades to back it up? Thanks in advance, Haru