sfh09
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Posts posted by sfh09
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So, all of the programs I applied to are campus-based, but have varying numbers of online classes. In one of the programs (which happens to be the one that would be the cheapest for me to attend), approximately half the classes I would take would be online. As I'm trying to decide which program to attend, I've found that I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the prospect of online classes, so I figured I'd see what other people thought about this/if there's anyone around Grad Cafe that has experience with programs that are at least partially online. Is anything lost when classes don't physically meet? What experiences have you had with MLIS programs that are partially or fully online?
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Congrats, everyone!
I know it's still early, but has anyone made a final decision yet? Funding is going to be a final consideration, but I'm 90% certain I am attending Indiana in the fall regardless.
I'm at least 90% certain I'll be attending Michigan. I'd love to get funding either there or Pittsburgh, but my hopes aren't incredibly high, especially for Pitt. I'm just hesitating a little bit due to financial factors.
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I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect admissions departments to be respectful and courteous of applicants. Admissions are a prospective student's first introduction to a program and should be a chance for programs to represent themselves well. While it's entirely possible that admissions is run poorly but the rest of a program doesn't have the same issues, you have no reason to expect that to be so after having that type of experience. I would've declined, too.
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Hey everyone. New here.
Accepted to Pitt -- my top (and only) school.
Anyone else heading to accepted students day in March?
Congratulations!
I wish I could go, but I have obligations at school that day and Michigan accepted student days start the next day (and I'm already in town for those...). I wish it was the next weekend--I'm going to be in Pittsburgh for completely unrelated reasons.
On that note, is anyone else going to the Michigan visiting days?
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I was accepted at the University of Pittsburgh!! This is one of my top choices so I am super excited!
Congratulations!
I was accepted too!
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Thanks! That was my sense too, that it was not exactly exclusive. I also got a postcard (I'm an employee). I think it's because it's pretty much the newest program/school here (even though the Library school is obv. much older). They're trying to grow it.
That said, it sounds fun and exactly the kind of thing I am looking for, curriculum-wise.
*shrug* If I can afford it, I'm definitely going here. Funding decisions in March, I heard.
Agreed on all counts
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Congrats to you both! I was also accepted yesterday. I applied for the Preservation of Information spec. I was wondering, ho hard do you think it is to get into the program? Because they gave no admissions stats and they aren't to be found anywhere on their site. If it weren't Umich, that would be a giant red flag for me.
Congrats to both of you too!
I don't know. I'm a current undergrad at Michigan and I know that they really encourage undergrads to apply to it (there were emails and postcards, but that's pretty typical for professional programs here--social work, urban planning, and the master of arts in education program all contacted me about the same amount as information), but I'm not sure what to make of that. I would say it's definitely not the most selective program, though.
By the way, I really love Ann Arbor and the university (at least enough to consider staying for two more years). I'm not trying to sway anyone's decision, but that is really how I feel
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I got into Michigan today! So excited!
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Bluebros when did you hear from Pittsburgh?
I'm curious too. I'm still waiting on Michigan and Pittsburgh as well...I'm not overly concerned at the moment because I submitted on the January 15 deadline but waiting drives me crazy.
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I'm applying to the University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh, and Wayne State University (I'm from the SE Michigan area). I'm interested in either school library media or children's public library services.
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Hello all,
So glad to have discovered this forum! I just graduated and I'm working odd jobs while preparing my application. Anyone else torn between taking the October and November subject tests ... ? I want to get it out of the way, but I'm also unsure if I'll be ready by October 13th. I should take it October and focus more on my writing sample/SOP right? I'm using a 15 page chapter from my undergraduate thesis.
I'm trying to figure out which to do as well. October 13th is the same weekend as a conference for a student group I'm part of that I really should go to considering that my school's chapter of that group is hosting the same type of conference in the spring...and I'm one of the chairs of the planning committee for our conference, so I sort of have to go to the one in October
. Only four of the schools on my list require the subject test and they happen to be the four that I would drop if I decide to shorten my list. They also happen to all have fairly early deadlines and I feel like if I take it in November, the scores wouldn't make it in time. Basically, I'm trying to decide if I should a) just stay on campus that weekend and take the test; b ) not take the subject test at all and just not apply to those schools; or c) take the test on the campus where the conference is and miss part of the conference.Anyway, I'd pay attention to when your deadlines are--some of the programs I'm applying to have indicated that if the subject test is taken in November, the scores won't make it in time. Also, I'd personally just get it out of the way and focus on the writing stuff.
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You have lots of support here! No worries
Some of my closest friends have anxiety disorders and have, with some struggle, done very well in grad school and beyond! You'll be fine.
I think one point to really take home, though, is that you should never, EVER hesitate to contact the school's student services centre with issues such as yours when you get in (see when, not if!). Most, if not all, schools are pretty good and have established staff and policies for counselling or accommodations. It's unfortunate that your undergrad school had such a poor system of accommodation...
In any case, something as easy as even speaking to your prof at the time, perhaps explaining your situation and proposing to orally present something during office hours instead of in front of the class could help.
Good luck!
Thank you! For the when in particular...I have at least a few moments of absolute panic every day
. Sometimes I just need someone to throw a when in there when talking about my plans to counteract all of my "if a miracle happens and I manage to get in." (And yes, I am aware that it is only July). -
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 tryI agree. I've never had to do it for an academic piece, but I've had to cut short stories I've written and the finished product is usually stronger because only the necessary parts stay in. Having to cut multiple pages to fit a requirement forces you to read your work with a more critical eye and allows you to read a sentence and recognize it's not absolutely necessary to what you're trying to achieve with the piece.
I think it's worth at least attempting to cut them down. Just copy the full text of the piece into a new document and keep the old one so that if you hate it, you can easily access the old one. I have several versions of those short stories saved on my computer
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Definitely: Northwestern, WUSTL, Michigan, Duke, Vanderbilt, Kentucky
Maybe: Northeastern, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Florida, Indiana, Carnegie Mellon, Pitt
I'm interested in portrayals of mental illness/emotional abnormalities, particularly from a feminist perspective. I'd mostly like to focus on mid-to-late-twentieth and twenty-first century American fiction and memoirs but I also want a solid background in the history of how such conditions are portrayed. I already have somewhat of a background in early American women's captivity narratives--I might want to do some work with them as part of a comparison between emotional conditions resulting from specific trauma versus mood and anxiety disorders that just kind of...happen. (I feel like I need to refine my interests a bit...and possibly my lists...).
I don't exactly have high hopes for this year.
And I have no expectation of getting into Michigan. A) It's amazing and B ) it's my undergrad but if I could...that would be amazing. On that note, if anyone wants to know anything about the English department/the university/Ann Arbor/the weather/whatever, feel free to PM me
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Are you hoping to become a professor? I would be worried that your anxiety disorder would make teaching hellish for you.
This is nonsense. Anxiety makes everything harder - there's no reason why it would be worse for teaching. It might depend on your own personal experience with your anxiety, but I find teaching fairly calming. Professors are notoriously neurotic. It's okay. You're in good company.
Believe me, I've considered this. I've agonized over it. I've come to the conclusion that I should be okay, though. As I stated in my original post, at the time of the issues with Italian, I wasn't doing any therapy. I've since started seeing a psychologist and taking medication and I'm doing a lot better. I have it under control right now and I know how to deal with it if it gets out of control again.
Italian was especially bad for me because it's a foreign language. I had almost no confidence in my ability to speak it well which made my anxiety worse than it usually is. I don't think that teaching will be the same because I hope that i'll be more confident with the subject matter than I was when attempting to speak Italian. I also have a much easier time when I'm passionate about what I'm talking about, as if feeling like I have something important and meaningful to say outweighs being too afraid to say it. That's why I've always had a much easier time in English classes.
Finally, any career would be hard for me. I work in a dining hall on campus right now and that makes me anxious. As asleepawake said, anxiety makes everything harder. I have to do something with my life, though, and I really believe that going to grad school and eventually getting a PhD in English and becoming a professor is one of the better options for me because at least it's something I really care about. It will make me feel anxious. That's unavoidable. At least I'll be excited about what I'm doing and want to push through the anxiety in order to do it. I'm terrified of applying to grad school and anxious about putting my application together, but I also love doing the research I'm doing for a revamped writing sample as well as trying to figure out where I want to apply and why. As long as I can still find a reason to care about what I'm doing, I'll be fine.
(Disclaimer: typing out this post might have been as much to reassure myself as to get my point across
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Can any of your recommenders speak to your proficiency in Italian? If you explain the circumstances to them, just as you have to us, would any of them be willing and able to mention that your grades in these courses do not reflect your ability?
Good luck!
It's possible that at least one would be willing to, as every professor I've had is familiar with my struggles with anxiety and wouldn't exactly be surprised that this was an issue. My only worry is that none of them intimately know what my skill level is in Italian and therefore might not be willing to speak to it. At least one, though, will probably address the fact that I do have these problems and that I try hard to overcome them--I haven't approached any profs yet, but since it's been a pervasive part of my undergrad career, I'm sure it'll come up. Maybe that would help when coupled with what I say about it in my SOP?
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I'm definitely not letting it prevent me from working hard on the rest of my application--I'm definitely focusing on what I can control at this point (SOP, WS) rather than my grades, since those are already determined. I mean, I'm terrified of the whole process but it just seems to make more sense to focus on what I can control.
Thanks guys!
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English. I guess I'm worried about it because I'm worried it'll make it seem like I struggle with languages and will have trouble fulfilling the requirements for a program I attend. I don't want them to think achieving that competency would be a chronic issue for me within the first few years.
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I know that having advanced reading skills in a foreign language (or two) is a requirement of many (most? all?) English programs. This concerns me because while I'm proficient at reading and writing Italian (which I took in high school and did my undergrad proficiency requirement in), my undergraduate grades barely reflect that. I got a C and a C+ in the two semesters I had to take in undergrad not because I can't read or write the language--I actually can do both quite well--but because I struggle with a bad case of generalized anxiety disorder that makes it difficult to speak in front of a class in English and therefore extremely difficult for me to do so in a second language. Participation, oral presentations, and oral exams were worth 30% in each of the semesters I took Italian in college. I considered applying for accommodations from the university but this was during the second semester of my freshman year and the first semester of my sophomore year and I really just wanted to get the requirement out of the way (applying for accommodations would have delayed it for a semester or two). I also didn't have a therapist at the time and was trying to work through my anxiety and depression without professional help, which was stupid and immature (and is a whole other issue).
What I'm wondering is how bad this is in terms of admissions to English MA or PhD programs. Obviously, having Cs on my transcript is not ideal--and it's worse because it's in an area that's part of the graduate programs I'm interested in, right? I realize how competitive admissions are. Is this the sort of thing that will make adcoms take one look at my transcript and just toss out my file?
I'm not really looking for only reassurance or conformation of my fears, despite how the first two paragraphs sounded. Is there anything I should do to make it not look as bad? What would help?
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I really think it depends on the field (but maybe that's just because I've spent the last few months reading the English board on here). I don't have any specifics myself, but there's a large contingency of people on that board that claim GREs can keep you out if they're too low but not get you in if your writing is poor or even average. I would think that your fields would require skills more similar to mine than molecular biology.
I just think that assuming any part of your application won't be considered or isn't important is a huge error. Everything you send them should aim to impress.
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The OP is in the social sciences, anyway.
OP--if they didn't care about the writing sample, they wouldn't be asking for it. I think everyone gets so caught up with the GRE and recommendations because both are pretty intimidating but that doesn't mean that the writing sample shouldn't be given quite a lot of focus. In my field (English lit), the writing sample and personal statements seem to be the deciding factors, and I would think that the fields you have indicated are closer to that. The writing sample is a chance to show that you can sustain and argument, which is important in your field. If you don't have a lot of time, just submit your best undergrad paper. I definitely wouldn't assume they're not going to read it, though.
Final Decisions 2013!
in Library Sciences Forum
Posted
So I don't know if we actually need this thread but I'm excited and wanted to make it.
I'm for sure going to (staying at) Michigan! I had actually decided about a week ago but then, just prior to visiting days, I had a bit of panic about whether I was making the right choice. Luckily, the last three days were extremely affirming and I'm fairly certain I'm going in the right direction for me
. So, they know I'm coming and Wayne and Pittsburgh know I'm not.
Has anyone else decided?