Stately Plump

In high school I stole a hotplate from the science lab and used the hotplate as, well, "illegal paraphernalia." I was suspended and banned formally from the lab. That's about the extent of my lab career.

Actually, I'm less certain about MA programs. I was thinking mostly about PhD programs. I would look closely at the schools to which you apply; how competitive is the funding? If they accept 50 students and fund 3 per year, perhaps they won't be great fits, especially if you can't go without funding (which would be most recommended). Also look into non-departmental funding. Perhaps the department has some fellowships and TAships available, but there may be other grad assistantships available elsewhere in the university. My undergrad advisor worked in the university daycare during the first year of her masters. It wasn't the best job, but it paid just the same as the students who were TAing. Her second year she worked for the registrar, and by that point she had impressed the faculty so much that she was accepted into the PhD program (and many of the students initially accepted on fellowships or TAships had since dropped out). One other piece of advice: don't sell yourself short. Yes, acceptance/funding is insanely competitive, but that doesn't mean you can't get it. Bizarre things happen on admissions committees; they aren't always taking the student with the best "numbers," which can play to your advantage. You never know what might happen, so send forth your best application.

To answer your question about funding, many PhD programs will fund the students they accept. You do not need to "qualify" or apply for this funding; you will receive it upon being accepted to the program. The trick is getting accepted to a program.

I've moved in already, though I'm not really relocating. I'll be attending Boston University, and I grew up right outside Boston. I did move into a new apartment, so I've just had to move all my stuff. It's been a lot of work, just to get it a town over; I pity all of you moving to completely new cities. My orientation is on Labor Day, September 3. Classes start September 4.

Actually, I think that's his (her?) location, not his school. Unless I'm mistaken, Two Espressos is applying during the 2012-2013 application season. Correct me if I'm wrong. I wouldn't worry about it. You have too many other things to worry about, focus on those things Some programs' funding comes from the GSAS, and they may want to see GRE scores. But chances are, if you're accepted, you won't have an issue getting funding. To the OP, your scores are fine. I don't think there are cut-offs for quant scores, and if there are, your's should certainly make that cut. I think I scored in the 60th percentile the first time and the 70th the second, and I was accepted to several programs.

Literally lol'd. This is one of my top reasons as well. My other reason, and perhaps my main reason, is because I can't imagine being 50 or 60 and regretting not getting my PhD. Ideally, I would like to land a TT professor job, but even if I don't, I can't imagine not trying. I know a woman who has her PhD in Italian Literature and now makes a fine living as a professional gardener, mostly working on upscale homes planning and designing their yards. She loves what she does, she loves that she got her PhD, she wouldn't change a thing about her life. If I don't get my PhD, or don't at least try, I know for sure that I will wonder for the rest of my life, "what would life have been like if I had gotten it?" I'm not trying to live with that forever. So I'm going to give it a shot, and if it works, that's (probably) great, and if not, then it doesn't. <--- sunglasses to hide fear that, as opposed to regretting not getting PhD, will actually regret getting PhD

I think you have a fine chance. You actually have a unique (and consequently somewhat advantageous) opportunity to write an interesting statement of purpose. My advisor was a poli sci undergrad. She graduated and worked some sort of government job for a few years before returning for her PhD. In her SoP, she talked about the transition from poli sci to literature, and especially how her interest in political science had come to shape her potential interests in literary studies. Programs will want to know why you have chosen literature after majoring in poli sci, so if you can come up with an interesting reason, your application might actually stand out. If you are very concerned, you could try taking some not-for-credit courses, though I don't know how much time you have for that. Perhaps you could enroll for some in the fall and mention in your SoP that you are currently taking courses to make up for your lack of lit courses during your undergrad (though I don't think that is a necessary step; you would probably be fine without it). Incidentally, I believe Villanova has a funded MA program as well; it might be worth taking a look. I've been saying this a lot lately, but it never hurts to apply! Put together your best application and send it out; you never know what might happen

I would say you have a fine chance. I just posted this in another thread, but my advice is to put together your best application, apply, and see what happens. Every application season is so different and many programs are so competitive that it's too tough to gauge your chances. Good luck!

It's really tough to say. You never really know how the applications are going to work out. Most applicants will probably have higher verbal scores than that, but it never hurts to apply. Your unique background experience might outweigh other applicants higher scores. The only real advice you should listen to is to put together your best application and apply! Best of luck!

Good to see (?) you too, Trip. And thanks for the shout-out.

Focus, fit, and future. What is the focus of your research, why do you fit at X school, where do you see yourself down the road. It was posted a few years ago. Good thread to browse while drafting SOPs.

Ha! But seriously, "wrestle" might best describe the experience. Pro tip: it will be more enjoyable if you don't expect to win the wrestling match.

Hah! I feel the exact same. I'm going to clean my new apartment today. I've been fake preoccupied with stuff like apartment finding/cleaning so I've not yet worried too much about school. When I do think about school it makes me and and and and and and so instead I just act .

For the schools that required shorter writing samples, I just trimmed down my longer papers. I found the process somewhat enjoyable, because I cut out any paragraphs (or sentences or words) that weren't absolutely essential to the paper. Though it was difficult at first, I found I was left with a finished product that felt much stronger and more pure than the longer version. <--- sunglasses to try to hide the fact that applications are never fun, no matter how hard you try

I know that UMass has some people doing some pretty interesting work on the history of the book. Just food for thought

They probably aren't really expecting you to publish anything; that would be pretty absurd having been out of academia for the past several years. I would try to get involved in some of the journals in your area of interest. What are people publishing about? What are the current "trends" for the discipline? What are academic departments like now, compared to in 2005? If you have the opportunity to take classes, do, but I wouldn't stress if you can't. Just try doing some work on your own.

Having an MA from a state school shouldn't cripple your chances at Berkeley or UCLA. They aren't going to think, "Oh, she went to a state school, she's obviously not good enough for us." If they think you will be a benefit to their program, you will be accepted. I went to a completely unknown liberal arts college with less prestige than a one-room schoolhouse and I was accepted to several programs.

I didn't email any profs at prospective schools. I emailed a few secretaries, but no profs directly. It was mainly because I didn't want to be a bother. But if it's working for you, keep at it. I did most of my research just through the department website. Look at the course listings; they will usually have past, current, and future courses listed. Be sure to note whether your prospective professors are teaching, and what they are teaching. You might think they are interested in one topic, but then come to find out that they "finished" their work on that subject years ago and are now focussing their attention elsewhere. Also, you should be able to get access to at least a shortened version of many profs CVs, which should list publications and potentially even works-in-progress. Read some of that stuff to see if you might want to work with them. If you've sent an email and they haven't responded, I definitely wouldn't contact them again. Additionally, and I would caution against this strongly, try not to send an email requesting information that is readily available on the website. If you send an email asking a prof which courses she will be teaching in the fall, and there is a section on the website for upcoming courses, you are almost certainly going to be ignored.

Most PhD programs will only accept a limited number of credits from an MA completed elsewhere. Plenty of students are accepted into PhD programs after completing MA degrees, but many will probably be repeating at least some of their courses. One exception, as an example, is the CUNY system. CUNY Grad Center will accept a good amount of (but still not all) credits earned at a CUNY school, such as Hunter or City College.

I would avoid name dropping for fear of it backfiring, like Two Espressos said. While Profs may read your statement and say, "Oh, yes, I like her work also!," they may just as well say, "Ugh, not another student who likes her work, it's terrible." Stick to trying to define your interests and methods. As an aside, I applied as someone interested in Early Modern lit and gender studies. Like Phil Sparrow said, there's plenty of work being done in that area, but it's worth mentioning that it is still in some ways under-studied. If you can find a department that has some faculty doing work in that area, they may be willing to take on a new potential advisee. Do some research on schools of interest and see what faculty there are working on. What have they published recently? What courses are they teaching? Do their CVs list any works in progress?

I agree with what others have said. I would just mention in a sentence or two why those grades are low--in fact, I would do that for any C-range grades on my transcript.

If you look on many department websites, they will say something like, "Proficiency in at least one language other than English is expected at the time of admission." Many schools expect that your coursework (4 years of Spanish, e.g.) will address this concern. If your coursework does not speak to your ability in another language, they will expect that you will mention it in your personal statement. Very likely, if, after reading your application, they are not convinced you have proficiency in at least one other language, you will not be admitted. Some schools may ask you to pass a translation exam before starting.

The first time I took the test I got a 4 on the writing. I wrote like an English major; my words were chosen carefully, I used some "vocab" words, my arguments followed in a logical order, etc. The writing was what I considered to be at a high undergraduate level. The second time I took the test I got a 5.5 on the writing. I wrote like a high school student; I wrote as much as I possibly could, had more paragraphs but less "vocab" words, and my argument had less order but covered more ground (compared to the first time, when I covered less ground more precisely). It was writing that my professors would have found unacceptable for a high-level undergraduate. Just some food for thought; remember that the majority of test takers are not English majors, so the scorers aren't impressed with English-major-style writing. We all know that if the test was written by English folk, they would never have included a section where you are required to write an entire essay in 30 minutes and not complete even one draft. <--- sunglasses for protection from non-English-major devised writing sections

I know UVa has some people who are really interested in DH. EDIT to add: DH will very likely play a huge role in all of our futures, in one way or another. If you end up at a school where there isn't that much DH activity going on, be responsible for starting it. Then put on your resumé that you started X DH project. <--- professionalization sunglasses

In many programs, you will be taking classes offered in a language other than English--at least, the readings will be in another language--starting your first semester. I'm not positive on this, but I'm pretty sure they are expecting at least one language other than English as a minimum requirement for admission; students who can offer three languages at a strong level are probably more likely to gain admission. Comp Lit departments do not want to gamble on trying to teach their students another language while also completing all their other graduate work. Quant scores are less important. I wouldn't ignore them entirely, but I also wouldn't fret poorer scores. EDIT to add: I looked into Comp Lit for myself when I first started looking at programs. I had four years of French, a year of Spanish, and a year of Italian, plus I studied abroad in Italy for six months. My French and Italian are definitely strong enough that I can have light conversation in those countries. But after looking at the requirements of some programs, I knew they would not be close to strong enough to perform in a Comp Lit program. Check some department website. They usually mention their requirements. I suspect many schools will make you pass some type of translation exam as a requirement for admission.