asleepawake

Yes, of course. I just replied because Buffalo was the particular school mentioned and it wasn't completely accurate here. Even the schools that have these cut-offs may have some room for exceptions. I remember some posts by a history professor at OSU who discussed the specifics there, which allowed a few exceptions for each department, I believe. That said, I do think your best bet is to apply mostly to schools where you don't have to be the exception, but if you think you are a good fit in every other way, I don't think you should automatically ax a school for this reason.

You've misread the rules at Buffalo. A certain score is needed to qualify for fellowships, which are offered separately from a TA stipend.

Yeah, the page says:

All top 20 schools (of which there are 21 according to US News) are long-shots. It isn't meaningful to draw any kind of line there, when there are such a large number of factors playing into whether or not you are accepted. Even if you want to go with raw numbers, there is no magic cutoff between top 10 programs and 11-20 programs in terms of acceptance rate. The only place your question even means anything is at those schools explicitly ranked #10 and # 20. They have the exact same score as each other, and they are arranged alphabetically. Northwestern is 21st on the list only because New York University bests it alphabetically. You should take ratings into account only very generally. If they matter to you, find the lowest you are willing to go in the rankings, and the schools you apply to should fall all over the place in between there are the highest ranked schools that are a good fit for you.

This is not a thing that matters.

Interfolio is a great way to reduce the workload for the people who've been kind enough to spend their time supporting your application process. DanieleWrites doesn't seem to understand how Interfolio works. Interfolio is aware of the different application procedures that different schools have, and it is pretty easy to use Interfolio to send the letter digitally or via snail mail. They will generate an e-mail address for you to enter and they will send your letters online. However, there are some websites that are tricky, and because they require the answers to some questions without a N/A option, the website will deny the Interfolio submissions. Some of these schools will allow you to send paper copies of your letters instead. Others will require that you get your letter writers to submit directly. I applied to more than 15 schools, and I'd say over 2/3 of them accepted Interfolio in some way. I only had to ask my letter writers to submit about 4 or 5 times, rather than 15+. I think it's pretty important to reduce their stress level/workload if you can do so.

Some might disagree with me, but I'm absolutely in camp don't-dance-around-your-point, especially in regards to your writing sample. In some programs, adcoms are reading hundreds of writing samples, and they may be looking right away for your "point." They may not even read the entire thing. If you have something really great to say, don't let them miss it. I say get right to it and then prove it. I'd suggest re-organizing a bit so that you get to the point by the bottom of page one. You may never again need to do that, but when your application is one of hundreds, I think it's worth it.

Bah! I'm so excited that we are all starting soon. My orientation is next week. Good luck to Fall '14ers - seriously, you will survive.

If you're looking at MA programs, FAU has a track in Science fiction/fantasy and several faculty members in those areas.

Your GRE essay will be graded by a computer. Most people on this board don't score GRE essays for a living. Just go in and do your best. You're not going to bomb the section, at least.

This is only for the MA, right, not the PhD? I don't know anything about the program, but I'm of the opinion that name recognition isn't super important for the MA. I would ask about the things you're curious about, though, like placement rates. Are some of the graduates going on to do PhDs? At what kinds of schools? I say follow the money money. Congrats!

And amusement parks, tourist traps, national parks, etc. always hire sumer positions that are short-term and easy to leave. I wouldn't look at taking on a non-teaching job during the summer as a bad thing, but you can also adjunct nearby or online, or teach in summer programs or kids.

When you send out your novel's manuscript for publication, nobody will give a single hoot if you have an MFA or not.

Congrats. Which faculty is stronger in your field or closer to your interests? Which has better job placement? They're pretty similarly ranked, though Iowa edges out Pittsburgh by a bit. If everything else is equal, follow the better stipend.

You can't look at the numbers backwards, though. You're finding a job, and then seeing who got that job, and that's a problematic methodology. Instead, you have to look more broadly at who is and who isn't getting jobs. It's hard to judge from these raw numbers, because some people search nationwide and others search more narrowly, but if you look at enough information across many programs, you'll see plenty of people getting jobs from a variety of schools. I don't dispute that you will find, generally, better results from higher-ranks schools. I do dispute that it's not worthwhile to pursue a PhD at a lower-ranked program, as long as you're aware of your position.