1Q84

This made me giggle. This. I'm kind of paranoid because I'm only applying to about 5-6 but if at least two of the schools have told me I'm a shoe-in, then that shouldn't be so bad? Right? Definitely sucks being poor. And I'm an international student so I can't even qualify for the fee waiver. Sigh.

Sorry I don't have much advice to offer as I'm sort of in the same boat (but have even less than you!). I graduate in 2007 and am trying to get back into post-grad work. From what I know about how profs value teaching experience, etc. I definitely think your experience will at least help you flesh out your background experience and knowledge in your SOPs. At least you weren't just loafing around and waitressing or something. Good luck!

Okay this was what I was hoping to hear! Phew! I'm a he by the way but she is fine too haha Really? Less prestige than University of Toronto? I mean it's oft cited as the best university in Canada (even then Queens and McGill sometimes take the cake) but I have a feeling outside of Canada there's a lot of head-scratching. Oh. This is really good information... again I plead ignorance. Thank you so much for pointing that out to me! Is this contingent on attaining the PhD in the calstate system, though? ETA: Oh boo it's for US residents only I think it's pretty out of the question. My best writing samples are two 7 page critical papers I wrote on Faerie Queene. I think those two schools require 10-15 page samples from what I recall. I have been told by some professors to edit, correct and expand them, however, so I guess that's fixable. Yes, my converted GPA (although not much to convert, UT is also on the 4.0 GPA scale) is about 3.3 in my English major. It's a bit higher in my Latin major. I believe the minimum for those upper tier schools are 3.7 - 3.8. Worst part of all is my references aren't that great. I'm one of those unfortunate many that didn't network or schmooze very well with their undergrad professors so while I did well in their courses, I don't know them all that well. Thank you for that vote of confidence though! I really wish I could just apply to UCLA and Berkeley now... might save me some time!

Well, I've spent the last 5-6 weeks sifting through university websites! I've gotten a fair amount of information but I found grad secretaries definitely the most helpful. The sites are just so incomprehensible but that might just be because I'm unfamiliar with the American system. Not to mention some schools (ahem CSU Fullerton) have completely broken sites with nary a link that doesn't say "content missing". Wah! Anyway, thank you for the responses. It'll definitely help me when writing my SOPs

Very interesting. So much I don't know! I've already been in contact with a lot of professors so I guess it's too late to turn back now... but most have been pretty open to answering my questions with the exception of a few who just didn't reply. I'll take what you said to heart, Two Espressos, and leave them be! One of the main differences, I suppose, is that I've been emailing graduate advisors... it's kind of their jobs to put up with my annoying questions right? The kindest professor I spoke to also offered to Skype in August. I was very touched! In all honesty, many of the inquiries I've made have been "what the heck does this part of the website mean?" I read in other threads about people complaining about how department websites are incredibly vague and poorly laid out. I couldn't agree more! I would've saved so much more time if they just had a simple checklist with a list of definitions. As a Canuck with no idea of how the American system works, I hope they took pity on me and weren't annoyed by my constant questions. I plead internationality!

Oh absolutely... working super hard is on my agenda no matter where I go, especially after my slippage in undergrad. UC Berkeley and UCLA do apparently have the best graduate program in Renaissance Lit so, yes it's a departmental fit thing, not a status thing... hope it didn't come off that way! It's kinda different for me, I guess, as I'll be paying nonresident tuition no matter what. I'm really banking on some scholarships/awards! Here's hoping.

Amazing to hear! I was going to apply to SFSU too but it's too far for me... So what I'm taking from that is that if I go to a state university I just have to work twice as hard as the private university folk? I guess that's good and bad news! I was hoping I could still claw my way up to a UC Berkeley after the MA but I figure that's probably a little out of range eh? It's so strange though... CSULA is so terribly rated (in fact, in most ranking sites it's not rated at all). I hate to rely solely on numbers but I feel like if it's that bad, attending might be something of a stigma. I don't mind repeating courses. As long as they'll take me! I'm thinking the highest tier schools (like UC Berkeley and UCLA) won't accept MA students from state universities?

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