Ganymede18

I wouldn't talk about desire to teach at all in an SOP. It should be straight research interests. something also to keep in mind is that you may be able to adjunct with an m.a., but it might be more difficult to find tenured positions, even at a community college. i would still think it's pretty important to find faculty in your areas of interest, especially if the m.a. has a thesis component, but just my 2 cents.

German annieca, kotov, Kelkel, Ganymede18 Spanish annieca, crazedandinfused, Ganymede18 French theregalrenegade, Ganymede18 Hebrew uhohlemonster, crazedandinfused (ktzat) Italian Latin Kelkel, Ganymede18 Greek Ganymede18 (New Testament) Russian Polish runaway Romanian kotov Japanese kyjin I think the plan is to pick up italian also during ph.d. medievalists need lots of languages!

that's fine. if you have a title of some sort, include it in the signature.

are you referring to me? nothing wrong with the question, just didn't have an easy answer so didn't give one. i also didn't vote anyone's post up or down! Truth be told, I find it more rewarding to read part of a text carefully and understand it well rather than skimming for the argument and missing the subtleties. But then, I'm in law (and legal scholars write articles, not books), not a doctoral student in the humanities! but for skimming, for a typical book, I would make sure I understood the thesis very well, and generally understood why the chapters were what they were in the order they were in. And then try to understand the point of each chapter. I'd also probably focus on the chapters that were more interesting. i think it's important not to think you have to take in everything equally, and in so doing sacrificing learning more in depth about topics you're more interested in. and honestly, no one is really going to "read" evenly everything they're assigned. figuring out what you need to read and what you like to read is just as important as figuring out how to take apart texts quickly and effectively, imo. this method wouldn't necessarily work for everything though. i guess that's what I meant by holistic, you've got to go by what the author gives you, get a sense of how they write. i'm just going off the top of my head here, so may not be of any value at all, but I generally find that generalized formulas in any endeavor rarely work, but particularly when it comes synthesizing webs of ideas such as books.

I'll repeat my response to RiotBeard, also in the wrong thread: I've heard this before, but it really just doesn't work. people don't always write middle school-style 5-paragraph essays. sometimes you need to dig into the actual paragraphs for the most important information. shocking! I'm not against skimming of course, but I'd recommend a more holistic approach. Not much point otherwise. Also just generally, it's good to get tips on reading, but ultimately how you read is going to happen organically, and will improve, as noted above. I wouldn't go in with a fixed idea of a right or wrong method, or it may take you longer than necessary to find one that works for you. As for me, I'm not in a program, but do have a couple of advanced degrees, and I've been involved and surrounded by academic scholarship of various kinds for the past 10 years or so.

I've heard this before, but it really just doesn't work. people don't always write middle school-style 5-paragraph essays. sometimes you need to dig into the actual paragraphs for the most important information. shocking! I'm not against skimming of course, but I'd recommend a more holistic approach. Not much point otherwise.

the elite name does give you a leg up on the job market, but ultimately it comes down to the quality of your dissertation. if you feel like you have the support to turn out a great one, I would go for the Ph.D. now. However, since you mentioned the possibility of you're research interests changing, a funded M.A. might make sense. Are you just out of undergrad? If you feel unsettled in your interests I'd consider that, provided you think it's a good enough program to make you competitive for top Ph.D. programs (I have no idea). The difference between M.A. and Ph.D. may not mean much in terms of time to degree, since with M.A. under your belt you could well lop off a year or two of Ph.D. (not in terms of class requirements, but in terms of preparation for dissertation).

just turned down UToronto Medieval Studies, in case anyone's on the waitlist there.

skimmed, but don't think anyone has mentioned this yet: if you want to take language courses outside of or in preparation for a post-bacc, you don't need to take them at community college. you can register as a non-degree student at lots of world class universities (although you may have to apply for this status) and pay for classes by credit. it will cost more than community college, but you will learn more and it will look more respectable. for example, someone above mentioned Harvard Extension School, but you're probably better off in terms of preparation for graduate school applying as a special student and then taking classes through Harvard college of arts and sciences proper. this will be about 4k per class, so cost of course is an issue, but can get prepared for masters programs this way. also, if your able to go to europe and take some classes that is a GREAT idea, since in addition to getting excellent training european universities are so cheap as to basically be free. good luck!

of course, ideally you would do all of these things (and more), but any combination can be successful. you can't really be successful without good relationships with profs (I assume you mean at your MA institution--interacting with POIs at Ph.D. programs is overrated, imo). In Latin American and Caribbean studies, i imagine your languages are already strong. if not, of course you will need that. my partner is published and has pieces in the works, and i think this helped her apps, but it's not required or expected at the doctoral application level in the humanities. conferences are good CV fodder and also a good opportunity to talk to people in your field. depends on the program, but i also think SOP is more important than writing sample, provided writing sample is competent.

my guess is people will say this is too much, but i think it's totally doable (not much more than you've done before). As long as you don't have any kids!!

@monster, it could also means that she really wants you, and doesn't want to lose you if you don't make it off the waitlist. did you ask about chances getting into Ph.D. after masters? she could also be a strong advocate for you in your post-masters apps. i would look glass half full and see it as a vote of confidence!

Also got chicago rejection. I do find it funny that people get so worked up about form/wording of rejections. If I am ever in the position to word rejection letters they will read something like: "I regret to inform you that you suck and your application was awful."

controversial maybe, but ridiculously talented.

I like Jay Z well enough, but regardless of his merits as an artist, we have him to thank for the absolutely brilliant Kanye West. That's more than enough in my book.