goodbyesickan

Ok, I'm a 30 year old who already has a M.A. in English from Old Dominion University. I spent a couple of years teaching middle school (big mistake) and I'm now looking to eventually get a Ph.D. in Women's Studies or a related field. Naively, I only applied to a few highly prestigious schools this year and was rejected by all of them. My GRE's are wonderful and I know my rec's were great. I'm just not sure how to proceed at this moment and would appreciate any suggestions. Here's an option I'm considering. I am thinking of beginning an M.A. this fall in a Humanities program with an emphasis in Women's Studies at Old Dominion University (which is a local school for me). Their admission deadline is very late (June 1st for the fall), I believe I have a good chance of acceptance, and my wife's work obligations make it too late to move out of the area this summer. However, because ODU only offers a limited number of graduate level Women's Studies courses, this program would not be my first choice. I would want to leave open the ability to apply to other schools for admission next fall (at either the M.A. or Ph.D. level). I am wondering if you had an opinion on whether I would hurt or help my chances by beginning the ODU program. There a few factors as I see it: 1. While I've heard that its understandable to transfer from a M.A. program to a Ph.D. program, I don't know if beginning one M.A. program and then seeking to tranfer to another one would be acceptable. 2. If I did complete the ODU program and then applied for a Ph.D., I don't know if two M.A.'s from the same university would be seen as a strength or a weakness. 3. Since I would want to pursue a Ph.D. program in women's studies or gender studies, I don't know if enrolling in a M.A. that has a interdisciplinary "emphasis" would be seen as somehow less real than waiting to be accepted into a program called "Women's Studies." Beginning an M.A. seems at first glance to be the best way to increase my desirability, but I don't know if I would be shooting myself in the foot by enrolling in a program that, while I think I would enjoy it, would not have been on my list except for the eleventh hour situation I've placed myself in. On the other hand, the ODU program allows me to continue to develop academically in my chosen field. Otherwise, I would have to wait until 2010 before beginning a progam. If you have any thoughts or insights on this, I'd very much appreciate hearing them. Thanks.