
poeteer
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Everything posted by poeteer
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0% Confidence of Acceptance
poeteer replied to TripWillis's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
yeah today (this past week, really) has not been a good day for me confidence-wise. It feels as if my brain is running on a hamster wheel. Or the Sizzler at the carnival. Someone accept me somewhere! I need to get off this ride! I do actually think going on a really loopy crazy backwards free falling roller coaster would be good fun right now. I think the adrenaline rush would kill some of this soul-crushing career-related stress I've been carrying lately. -
while we're waiting in anxious boredom, help me find a hat!
poeteer posted a topic in Waiting it Out
I've wanted a newsboy cap that looks exactly like Shoshanna's in Inglourious Basterds since I saw the movie in 2009 or whenever it was released. This style, not too poofy, brown tweed (or maybe herringbone would be better for me personally). I've looked at Brixton... I don't really know any other places that specialize in making "nice" hats. Can anyone else recommend good places to look? -
Well, my plan was to buy a pair of Frye riding-style boots, but then my mom bought me a pair of (non-Frye but very nice) boots, so I need a new plan. I think I want to dress up and drink a generous, practically ancient bourbon and/or scotch that night, at this really awesome whiskey bar in town, and then go horseback riding the following weekend. I'll likely end up going out to eat but I'm not sure where yet. Hope I get good news from at least one school. Very scared.
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Do you really need to ask them to write another letter? I'm sure they wouldn't mind just submitting the letter they already wrote for you. It's weird that they ask you for letters when you already have the letters on file with your app -- what more could they actually say?
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If it were me, I'd keep a level head, but do a little secret dance. Meaning: I don't think it means you're definitely accepted, because the committee hasn't likely met to discuss, and you just don't know what's going to happen in that discussion (sometimes the line between waitlist and acceptance seems thin and/or dependent on several unpredictable factors), but of course it does look good for you. It sounds like a big deal fellowship that they'd only award to the top female applicant in the bunch, and that someone thought your application looked super promising. I don't really understand why else they'd so blatantly get your hopes up, unless it's something they send to women with high test scores and grades (if the Olin is decided by those factors, which it might not be). I suppose other women (with or without high scores) here applied to WashU, and can confirm if they, too, got one. Good luck!
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How are you coping with waiting?
poeteer replied to bdon19's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
I feel similarly about Degrassi! Different breed of teen, for the most part, but still melodramatic to the extreme. I'll have to check out Skins (UK). -
Interviews....
poeteer replied to and...and...and...'s topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
my stomach did that weird flip-flop thing, too. Interviews absolutely terrify me! Very relieved none of my schools request them. Congrats to everyone invited to Emory -- and good luck. -
Oh God..Texas A&M Chemical Engineering application Deadline
poeteer replied to TexasGuy's topic in Applications
I'm going to disagree with the above and say it's more likely the FAQ that's correct. The online application portal for any graduate school is used by applicants to all programs. Texas A&M uses ApplyTexas, which means that it's not just school-wide -- all participating Texas schools use the same online application! Seems a more likely place to find an error/misinformation than the program website. They don't say they have rolling admissions, so it doesn't really make sense that they'd have a deadline of July 1st for the Fall semester -- they'd hardly get any of their choice students, since everyone needs to respond to other schools by April 15th. A quick look at their "prospective students" page (click on "application deadlines") says: "The application deadlines for the graduate program are: January 1 for admission for the Fall semester August 1 for admission for the Spring semester These deadlines are strictly enforced. This is due to several reasons, among them that all of our PhD students are fully supported and we need to plan our financial aid as well as to allow time for international students to obtain visas. Also, keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of the students enters the program in the Fall semester." So the July 1st thing is weird -- it seems the deadline for Spring admission is August 1st. I suspect they might tell you to apply for that term, but who knows, they might let you through this round if you can get them the materials ASAP. Good luck. -
Oh LOL, I forgot about the change in scoring. I wonder if they have new minimums yet.
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I would aim for at least a 500 if I were you (but preferably a 550-600). I have a score in the low 500s, and even though it really hurt my overall score, it still kept gave me one (when added to the Verbal score, I mean) that will break grad school minimums. I also think some schools might need to petition to accept candidates with sub-500 math scores.
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I had a dream I got into a Lit program to which I did not apply. The lady announced it to me in person, saying that she loved my critical sample. But then all these internet commenters posted to say that my paper was a disaster and that I shouldn't have been accepted. (whoops, meant to post this under the "coping" thread. Oh well.)
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Cumulative Percentile Required for USC Application
poeteer replied to slaNYC's topic in GRE/GMAT/etc
Leave it blank. -
I didn't mean to imply that people with kids don't have fun or are bland. Just that, in my observation, the few twenty-somethings I know with a child tend to go out less often and come home earlier (and drink a lot less alcohol) than their peers who have yet to make such a conscious decision to enter adulthood, because they have a responsibility. Many 25-30 year olds still act (and party) as if they're in college.
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I'm around your age, and for the most part people still treat me as if I am "youngish." I think this is a transitional age -- you've crossed the 25 line but you haven't reached 30. Some of your friends will feel that desire (or pressure) to "grow up," and will begin (for example) having children and buying houses, but that doesn't mean you have to do so. Some of my friends my age (or even younger) act "older" than I do, while some of my friends in their mid-thirties act "younger" than I do. But certainly at 27 you should be able to find someone willing to stay out on NYE with you, for god's sake. You're still allowed to go to a Brooklyn jail party, if you want to. Most 25-35 year olds I know still go out and have fun (bars, concerts, bowling, whatever) at least once a week, but usually more often than that. At least the ones who are still childless. Find your crowd.
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How are you coping with waiting?
poeteer replied to bdon19's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
my drug(s) of choice: Skyrim, Game of Thrones, working on poems until I want to throw up at the sight of them. I don't have cable or I'd probably be watching Teen Mom, too (I always watched that show on airplanes, and it is so addictive when you have nothing else to do! Sometimes I feel bad for Janelle -- she seems so lost and her mom isn't helping.). I just finished Battlestar Galactica and am at a loss -- what drama series should I watch next? I do think about rewatching Buffy for the third time...but I want a new show to keep me hooked until mid-February. I'm not doing especially well with the waiting, in that I am worried all the time, but I am enjoying my freedom all the same. Around the same time I finished applying, work cut my hours. This is bad because I make significantly less money, but not totally bad in that I'm not working 40 hour weeks + working on applications in my off hours. My hours are "mine" and it feels good. I still feel guilty when I am not using those hours to do something grand and/or productive, but the pressure to do so is less, since I have more of them. -
GRE/analytical writing score--thoughts?
poeteer replied to andsoitgoes161's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
I prepared by writing one practice essay for the Issue section, but not for the Argument section, and received a 5.5. I am almost positive, knowing what I know now, that I received a 5 on the Argument and a 6 on the Issue. Even just one or two sessions of practice can help (doesn't help us, but for the future applicants reading the board), just because thirty minutes is such a short time to plan and implement, and thorough development of ideas definitely seems to count. It counts because lots of competitive overachievers aren't blowing it off, and are indeed preparing (and pandering), and their essays will set the standard to which they'll hold your essay. It's easy to blow it off, because we all know we can write damn good essays, but you're likely to receive a 4 or 4.5 if you just phone it in -- you need to write like your life depends on it, write like you care, write like the wind! And so, if you do care about getting a high score (or think you might after receiving a score lower than you'd like), you should probably try to spend at least as much time on AWA prep as you do, say, on one session of studying flashcards for the (imo more worthless) Verbal section. -
GRE/analytical writing score--thoughts?
poeteer replied to andsoitgoes161's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
A 5.0 is good. -
DONE. Ugh. Anyone else done?
poeteer replied to darjeelingtea16's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
I am now finished! I only applied to 5 schools, though. Now to wait and see if anyone is missing anything I definitely sent. Those GRE score reports were damn expensive to send (I took the test last year) so they'd better be there. -
Read Any Good Books Recently?
poeteer replied to lolopixie's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
I'm reading the first book of A Game of Thrones! It's fun, if you're looking for some light reading. I bought it for my Kindle at the airport and spent the entire five hour flight reading it -- my eyes were hurting but I couldn't stop. It's a good supplement to Skyrim, if you're playing that, which I am, because I am a double loser. -
GRE/analytical writing score--thoughts?
poeteer replied to andsoitgoes161's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
According to guidelines on the ETS website, a 4.5: "Provides generally thoughtful analysis of complex ideas; develops and supports main points with logically sound reasons and/or well-chosen examples; is generally focused and well organized; uses sentence variety and vocabulary to convey meaning clearly; demonstrates good control of sentence structure and language usage, but may have minor errors that do not interfere with meaning." Thus, according to ETS, your essays were pretty good. I wouldn't say you bombed it and it is very unlikely anyone on the adcom will object to your admittance for this reason. Because, as others mention, your file includes both the SOP and writing sample, the AWA seems more like a red flag system than anything else. Some submit polished writing in the application, or manage a decent-to-great score in Verbal due to diligent preparation, but cannot actually write and argue in fluent English (at least not in a half hour). This kind of discrepancy is likely more common in the sciences. A strong writing sample or statement and a very weak AWA score (like, 2.5 or below) raises a red flag. In your case, a strong writing sample and a fine-but-not-excellent score of 4.5 will raise none. -
Here is the pool of topics: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool I'm pretty sure they give you all of them. They're mainly about politics and education, sometimes about a link between the two.
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Yeah, the topics are really very general. Every single Issue question can be answered with the barest amount of outside knowledge and independent thought (like, for example, "is a nation's greatness determined by the welfare of its people or the achievements of its rulers, scientists, and artists? or both?"--everyone currently lives in a country and has studied some of its history and thus should be able to develop a coherent argument in response). On top of that, they give you two options for the Issue essay, just in case one of them is a bust. All you need is an opinion and the ability to defend it in writing in a half hour. Practicing is really the only way to prepare. Maybe go through the list of topics on the ETS website and do practice essays for the few topics that really stump you, since some topics will rouse you more than others, and some are just plain lousy.
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Also, I will add that someone in this forum got into Yale's English Ph.D last year with a Verbal score in themid-600s. She also got into several other top programs. You can bet she took the spot of a finalist who had a higher score. You're okay with what you have, and due to sheer luck (or lack thereof), it's possible you could actually do worse -- all it takes is one difficult question (or, worse, a mid-difficulty question you blunder) and you could end up with a lower score. Why risk it for a mere pittance of points, just one percentile rank? Just to hit an "average," which completely neglects that several admits scored lower than the average?
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Sorry if this is harsh, because I understand your anxiety, but you need to chill out about the GRE. Start freaking out about your writing sample, if you're going to freak out about anything -- at least then you can channel that anxiety into another revision if necessary. A 720 or 730 is absolutely fine for the tip-top English programs. If you don't get in, it will be your sample or your lack of program "fit"--plain and simple. At least, from what I've heard. And if you honestly want to work with literature scholars living in the 21st century who would literally and honestly reject you because you received a 730 and not a 770 (or, say, a score one percentile rank below another score) on a standardized test, of all things, more power to you. I'd be running away from those professors, myself. Any English professor who thinks 37/40 on the verbal section is "not good enough" for their precious program is woefully simple-minded and/or under-informed about the nature of the test, and needs some serious perspective. Look. You can know every definition of every word in the world and still receive sub-800 for a couple simple mistakes made as a result of nervousness or, simply, a silly blip in your brain that failed to do the logical somersaults they expected of you. The reading comprehension is the hardest part, for me, because they expect you to think "like them"--to conform to their exact reading of a text--and typically 2 out of the 5 answers are perfectly viable readings. ETS has somehow decided that one is "best." In other words, your answers were not necessarily incorrect readings of what you read (this is likely why you thought it was straightforward and easy). If you don't know this as a literature scholar, I worry for you. This brings me back to my first point: literature scholars should know better than to reject you for a 730. I understand your paranoia, but your score is acceptable at any top program, and you need to move on.