piccgeek

No one I know has ever heard of science writing. Ever. Me: I'm applying to a program in science writing. Them: Oh, so you write lab reports? Me: No, I read lots of lab reports and other things, then write about them for a wider audience. Them:...you have to go to school to learn to read then write? Aren't you already an English major. Me: *facepalm* And you would THINK people would get what the English major entails, but seriously, trying to explain academic journals to my family is an exercise in circular logic: Grandma: So, if you're an English professor, you teach! That's cool. Me: Yes, but the big thing about be an English prof is doing the research. Grandma: What do you research? Me: You know...books, culture, theory. Grandma: How is that research??? There are no labs! No graphs! Me: Yeah...it's different. Grandma: Okay, so what do you do with the research? I mean, it's not like you send it to pharm companies to make medicine or something useful like that. Me: Well, you publish your papers. Grandma: Where? Me: In a journal. Grandma: Oh, a journal! I get those. Me: These are different. They don't have recipes or news reports or anything like that. They're JUST scholarly papers. Grandma: So who reads these boring journals? Me: Other scholars. Grandma: So...you read books, write about them, then publish your writing so other people who write about reading can read about your reading? Me: Something like that, yeah. Grandma: WHY? Me: *facepalm*

If I don't get in, I will tell myself I was meant to be in lit anyway, write some smashing seminar papers and try to enjoy myself in the process.

I dunno, I don't think the self-funded master's programs are NECESSARILY any easier to get into than the funded master's programs...if it is easier, I would chalk that up to less applicants, or more acceptances, or something like that, rather than the adcoms giving us a break. After all, if 35 people apply to a funded master's that accepts only 5-6 (or 400 people apply and they only accept 55, or whatever), they're still going to pick the "best" applicants. I am terrified of applying to a non-funded master's program, but I'm doing it anyway. I would be leaving my current, funded program to do it, but...that's how it goes, I suppose.

I know there are other people applying to science writing programs, maybe even people browsing through these forums! Come out come out wherever you are!!!

Man, I cannot WAIT until the day when I can read what I want to. I'm currently reading a whole bunch of stuff for class...the Morte Darthur, Wise Blood, and Howard's End. It's all GOOD stuff, and I'm enjoying it, but when you're reading for class it's different. You can't just sit back and enjoy the ride. I'm trying desperately to finish Name of the Wind before school really picks up and I have to abandon even the facade of personal reading.

I think it sounds incredible too! I had never heard of it until I was already in grad school for the lit stuff, which means I think my app is seriously lacking in hard science because I didn't think I would ever actually, you know, USE hard science. I've always been an amateur enthusiast in biology, and I've done stuff on philosophy/history of science, but now I'm kicking myself in the ass about only taking one bio class. My SOP actually talked a lot about how important it is for the life sciences to be communicated and understood properly, and one of my writing samples was about the popular mythologization of science...basically the layperson perspective that lab coat + graphs = science = facts = truth. There's actually a whole scholarly journal called "Popular Opinions of Science" (I think...) which is a scholarly look (mostly sociological, but it's definitely interdisciplinary) at how non-scientists/non-scholars think about and use science in their lives. Very insteresting stuff!!

Oh my goodness...can I come out hiding now? Awesome. I'm applying to a science writing program, which basically means I will be doing the reading/textual research in areas of science, rather than being in a lab and producing any exciting new research myself, and then making that information accessible and palatable to an audience of non-scientists. The program encourages biographical research of key scientists and innovators, and also (my favorite) looking at the cultural importance and impact of science and technology. I'm hoping to look at hearing loss in young adults, with all the biological, technological, and sociological goodies you can think of to go with that (8 years of marching band means I know LOTS of twenty-two-year-olds with the hearing of people four times their age. It's sad). So, my program is like a hard science-soft science-MFA burrito. (You know, unless I don't get in. Then I guess I'm back to being a boring old literature student.)

That's funny, because I am way more than usually buoyant. I can cross my ankles and fold my arms around my chest, be vertical in the water, and not have to even wiggle my toes to keep my head above the water. I feel like my true calling might have been something like water polo.

I'm not gonna lie, I would hate to have to smell the Middle Ages. My nose is glad I live in the twenty-first century.

You all sound so FOCUSED. I'm envious. Right now in my literature studies I'm primarily interested in looking at the cultural scripts that underlie late eighteenth century and early Victorian novels, and I'm particularly interested in two things: the genderization of the scripts, and how the everchanging technology and evolving philosophies of science (Pasteur up to Darwin...ish. Like I said, not that focused) shaped and effected cultural ideas about humanity, humanity's place in the world, and particularly the many manifold ways science was used to explain/define gender and gender relationships. At least, that's what I'm doing today. Tomorrow, it might be something different. That's the beauty of a master's program...no need to commit quite yet. If I get into the science writing program (and that's a big if) I will be completely switching gears. My proposed research project has to do with hearing loss young adults, how it happens and what's being done to fix it. There's been some fascinating breakthrough research in the biology and audiology departments at my current school on the particular molecular reasons for hearing loss, and potential treatments or even cures for several previously uncurable hearing-loss conditions, including tinnitus. I'd actually be able to use some of my UG studies in linguistics and audiology for this project, so even though it's a total change of pace, I would not be completely lost. Theoretically.

The SOP is the place to deal with the concerns you're voicing here. I actually had to deal with this in my current application to MIT--I'm already in a master's of English program, and I would be leaving that program to pursue the science writing MS. My entire statement of purpose was centered around explaining why I think transferring is the right move for me, why I want it, what I love about the program I am in but why I am not completely satisfied when I know the possibility of dream program X is available. So, I think you can make the transfer situation a strong argument for your commitment and all that, rather than just trying to make an excuse. Of course, I guess I won't actually know that until I hear back from MIT...but you know. The point is that, in my opinion, if you own up to your situation and really ground your SOP in your academic/career goals and the reasons your research interests draw you to Desirable University, you can explain and support your decision to transfer.

Ugh dealing with ETS is pretty much a nightmare, I had many of the same problems in my English apps last year. Once in a while, though, if you call and you get an actual human being and that human being is a NICE person, then things get cleared up and straightened out, no problem. Last year I had to call and wrangle with those people twice, and once it was really difficult and once it was amazingly easy. To me, this says that the system CAN work smoothly if operated by people who understand the bumps and actually want to help...but generally those people are hard to find. *sigh* Ah, bureaucracy...

When I applied last year (English phd and ma programs) I didn't hear ANYTHING, positive or negative, until March, so I say don't freak out yet. As far as I can tell, the very top picks and the very bottom picks are notified first, so a lot of people chill in the "maybe" pile until it's crunch time. It IS discouraging to see other people hearing back positively so soon, especially people in your programs (in my experience with lots of friends applying to lots of different kinds of programs, the sciences and social sciences people hear back earlier on average, but that is serious overgeneralization), keep in mind that you haven't been rejected yet either, and bad news being dished out already. (of course, like coyabean said, thegradcafe is NOT a balanced sample of grad applicants, so there's more good news than bad around here, thankfully!)

There should totally be a fairy tale that ends "And she went to Dream University, got her PhD, and lived happily ever after." (p.s. grad school is to happily ever after as marriage is to happily ever after.)

I think the reason we're starting to see SOME bitterness etc. is that now that the apps are pretty much all in and we're all waiting nervously, a lot of posts are taken WAY more personally than the posters ever intended. We're all being judged (or at least our applications are) by some Powerful Council in the Sky, so to speak, and so when I think we're all on edge. It's easy to see people judging you when you know someone out there actually IS (and it's easy to take that judgment more personally than intended, both from posters on forums and from university adcomms.) That being said, I agree with a lot of the previous posters that this forum is GENERALLY polite and helpful, and I found that last year in the face of my many rejections there was a lot of support to be found here. Let's try to keep the place positive, yeah?

I keep opening this thread and reading it and wondering if I have anything to say. I guess I'll try. 1) My GRE. It's not super-amazing, but I just realized that the GRE scores that utterly depressed me when I was applying to lit programs are actually pretty good for science writing--I scored higher in quantitative than in verbal, even though I haven't taken math since high school and I was an English major. So...hopefully that will show that I actually can deal with math and science, even though I'm not particularly well educated in the area. Plus the 5.5 AW. 2) Outstanding Senior in English (one award in the department, a really big deal at my school). 3) 3.98 gpa, phi beta kappa, and all that jazz 4) A whole helluva lot of my research has been focused on philosophy/history of science and technology in culture and literature, so I can pretty solidly back up my claim that I am vastly interested in science as such. I had enough of that, in fact, that I was able to submit three papers as writing samples and none of them were just lit crit. 5) My LOR writers adore me. 6) Lots and lots of writing awards (all only university-wide, though, nothing super prestigious) 7) Presented at 3 undergrad colloquia, including my work on philosophy of science. I actually feel better now. Wow.

Having a focused subdivision is really important, especially since you're applying to PhDs instead of MAs, because the adcomms are looking for a well rounded incoming cohort--who wants 20 new students with 18 of them being Victorian novel people?? I actually talked to one of my profs about this, and he said he was not on the general adcomm, but he was on a committee of three extra profs who just looked at the Early and 19th century Americanist applicants to give their opinions on the writing samples. In essence, if you're applying to for Renaissance studies, you're basically only competing against other Renaissance applicants. Considering that you said you only applied to schools with strong Early Modern studies, that might still be a wide-ish pool, but certainly less wide than an application with no clear focus that's jostling against EVERYONE else. Personally, in my applications to English lit programs last year, I think not having a clear focus for a subdivision was my biggest mistake, and it kept me out of the running for PhD programs, even though I was a good candidate for the MA level studies (and that's all for the best, really, because I'm a generalist at heart). So yes, your prof is right--your focus will (probably) help. Good luck, I hope you hear good things soon!

Does anyone else have someone in their life who they love very very much, but the next time they sweetly inquire "how's the application coming? Heard anything back yet?" you think you might hit them over the head with a frying pan? In my case, this is my grandmother. I love the woman more than anyone on Earth. But she's just so damned confident in me, and while that seems like it should be reassuring, it's actually frustrating. She refuses to admit that the fact that I got rejected from 6 schools last year justifies my anxiety about my current application in process. She asks about a bazillion questions about the program that I can't answer, and she the proceeds to explain what the logical answers would be (like anything about this process or academia in general is actually logical...re: everything in the thread about things in the app process that really bother you.) The thing is, the application is dominating my mind, and I want to talk about it, but I feel like my grandmother just doesn't get it, and so talking about it with her just makes me nuts. Is anybody else having this issue with overconfident and enthusiastic parents/friends/relatives/SOs?

Lauren the Librarian, you made my day! It actually is pretty cool when I step back from my life and realize what unique opportunities I'm living. A toast to everyone being a unique little snowflake (each of which actually has tons in common with every other unique little snowflake...re: badminton, which personally I don't think I've played since high school gym.)

With pretty much every school I applied to last year I had to send at least one email making sure they actually had all my materials, and I'm dancing that dance again right now with MIT over an LOR in limbo >.< I actually went and pestered the administration in person for my application to my UG school, and it's a good thing I did, seeing as my GRE never managed to quite make it there. They finally just took my copy, it was easier for everyone. *sigh* Seriously, as if this process wasn't painful enough, they have to make it a logistical nightmare as well??

I had a dream that I checked my mail and it was stuffed full of papers. It was all my application materials, including the 40 pages of writing samples, all individually and randomly in my mailbox, and every single page had a giant red F on it. My subconscious has all the tact of an angry rhinoceros.

Wow. Reading this thread makes me feel young and inexperienced. I've lived in the middle of Indiana for pretty much my whole life, so...yeah. Not so much with the fun, unique life history. I'm totally floored reading about some of the places everyone's been and things you've done--you guys are incredible!! The only thing that comes to mind: I've spent the last year living in different professors' houses and babysitting their cats while they're away on sabbaticals or study abroad trips...and I'm allergic to cats. None of the professors know that, though. By this May, I'll have managed 11 months living in big beautiful houses rent free in exchange for feeding little fluffy balls of allergens. Oh, and also, I was a member of the only marching band ever to march on the Great Wall of China. Now THAT was a great moment. (but still, not so much unique, as there were like 250 of us.)

I feel that way about most of the discussions on this forum. I'm actually rather sad THIS was the post that I was like "Oh, I totally have something to say!" Also, luar, I love the firefly reference in your signature. Totally awesome.

tyranny

I'm getting married while my fiance is in the middle of his phd program, and either after my MA or between my current work and starting an MS, depending on whether or not I get in to the program to which I'm currently applying. I think more than half of the people I've met in grad school are either married or in committed relationships, many (like me) in very-long-distance situations. But I know a lot of happy singles too. I remember being really surprised at the beginning of grad school at how many of my colleagues were married, but I guess it makes sense.