1Q84

That's the impression I'm getting... finicky buggers aren't they?! Definitely have been trying that! Some are less than receptive... if they don't reply to an email, I suppose I shouldn't be bothering them by calling eh? Thank you both for being so supportive

I know I'm on a posting spree here. Apologies! I'm in that mode right now (learning so much about the American system) that everyday is like a rollercoaster... one day I find out good news and am overjoyed, the next second I'll think of something else that dashes my hopes. Sigh. Anyway, so I'm applying to a bunch of state universities (California) for my Masters, simply because my undergraduate work wasn't the best and there's no way I can make straight into PhD programs. I plan on working my butt off during the Masters, acing everything, developing amazing relationships with my supervising professors, and applying to better schools for the doctorate. Now I'm having this panic attack because while chances are looking pretty good that I'll be accepted to the CSU schools, I'm looking ahead and I've read that lots of UC schools won't even accept MA credits from state schools or they won't accept the students altogether. Is this right? I know that I should be doing my own individual research for this but I have no idea how to go about it other than emailing the graduate advisors for the schools to which I'm looking for the PhD (and I have emailed them, awaiting reply). In the meantime, does anyone have specific experience with this, going from a state school in their MA to a private university for their PhD? Thank you all for calming my anxiety in advance

Well, not for the sake of namedropping itself, but to show the committee that I'm familiar with that field. I read in another thread somewhere that dropping in certain academics' names can trigger a "oh, I like that academic's work too... this applicant is awesome" effect.

Amazing! Thank you asleepawake and Phil Sparrow. It's good to know that committees are open to people finding new interests. I'll definitely try not to come off as naive. That's one of my big fears! Do you think it'd be good to namedrop scholars from the RN/GS field and their major works to show that I know what I'm talking about? Or would profs probably find that annoying?

First post! I wanted to start by saying that this board is amazing and I felt so reassured when I found it. Misery loves company right? Just kidding... more like it's nice to know people are going through the same stress as me in preparing for applications! Anyway, I'm beginning to write my SOP and my main area of interest is Renaissance Lit but with a Gender Studies focus. Not only am I interested in that but I feel like it's a somewhat "fresh" perspective. Am I way off base there? I'm worried, however, as my BA was a double major in English and Latin. I don't have any formal training in Gender Studies. I only developed my love and interest in that field during my recent Bachelor of Education and the gender focus was all individual research and enjoyment on my part. Would committees and profs look down upon me trying to proposing a Renaissance Lit/Gender Studies project in my SOP even though I don't have any formal training in the latter? Thanks in advance for any advice