Boston College English MA

[stormydown]

Hi guys.

I applied to Boston College's MA program, specifically for the Irish Studies program. A prof at my undergrad who is well-versed in Irish studies said it's the best program out there, so it became my top choice.

Last Monday I logged onto my Agora portal and there was a new required document: "Final Bachelors Transcript." I think there were new Financial Award Notification and ResLife links too, but maybe they were there before and I was making it up.

I called the GSAS asking about the Final Bachelors Transcript, and the girl gave me some roundabout answer and said that she couldn't tell me the decision but that the letter was mailed March 9th. The letter still isn't here. I'm in Pennsylvania, for God's sake, where is my letter??

I was excited initially about the Final Bachelors Transcript request, but I poked around on GradCafe and saw a Poli Sci applicant had that on his Agora page too and that he got a rejection letter anyway, so it's back to square one, looks like.

So my question: has anyone gotten a letter yet? Why is this taking so long? I'm beginning to think that they never actually mailed one or that it got lost, at which case they'd have to mail ANOTHER one because "that's their policy, admissions decisions by letter." Ugh.

[rainy_day]

I got a letter on Saturday, and I live an hour south of Boston, so maybe your letter will be arriving Tuesday or Wednesday? (Not for Irish Studies specifically, but for the English program in general. I had applied for the PhD but was accepted to the MA instead.)

Good luck!

Edited March 16, 2010 by rainy_day

[stormydown]

I got a letter on Saturday, and I live an hour south of Boston, so maybe your letter will be arriving Tuesday or Wednesday? (Not for Irish Studies specifically, but for the English program in general. I had applied for the PhD but was accepted to the MA instead.)

Good luck!

Congratulations! Do you know anything about MA rejections? Have rejections already happened or will they be happening later? I looked at the Results page, and given the acceptances all happening at the same time, I'm hoping the fact that my letter was mailed on the 9th is a good sign (not that I want to unnecessarily get my hopes up... again).

Also, has your Agora status changed in any significant way? Mine requested the Final Bachelors Transcript and I think I got that new link about Financial Aid and ResLife or whatever.

Sorry to bug you, but this is my top choice and I'm itching to find out.

[BrandNewName]

Isn't there any other program that's also well-ranked that you could see yourself at?

I guess I just want to encourage you to not base your decision on an undergraduate professor telling you that it's the best program. Is there such a ranking of Irish Studies programs out there? Have you checked with other people in the field to verify that? And is that as essential as you think? I mean, I know fit isn't as important when doing an MA (vs. a PhD), but what is the difference between #1 and #5? And what's happening with your application in Ireland? Graduate level experience in a foreign environment, especially if that environment is your actual field of study, would be seen as a positive expansion of your worldview and insight into the field by any PhD adcom, IMO.

I know I don't know you, so this is completely unsolicited advice, take it for what you will, but you couldn't pay me enough to ever agree to be a student at Boston College again. A doctoral candidate, maybe, because you are there in a different capacity (luckily my aversion to academic incest negates such a possibility even being brought under consideration). But, as an MA student, I can't imagine there will be much separation between you and the undergraduate population. Possibly in coursework, but BC is a bubble that is hard to escape. And as someone who just finished their MA, I found location and overall feel of my university quite important. I spent four years at BC, had some really great professors and some really terrible ones. I also made some great friends who I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. But aside from about a dozen people who make that place redeemable in my eyes, I found it to be filled primarily with vapid, trust fund babies--they call it J Crew U for a reason--and governed by an absent and anti-intellectual administration. Fun fact: BC has the highest percentage of students in the US who pay full tuition, up front, without requiring any financial aid or loans...I can't find the exact statistic right now, but it's some where in the 60 to 70 percent range, I will keep looking. The point being, I think that that sort of wealth and entitlement among the undergraduate community, not to mention the sway it holds over the administration, make BC a place where I would not want to do graduate level work, regardless of how well it's ranked.

Stepping of my soapbox, handing you a grain of salt.

[stormydown]

Isn't there any other program that's also well-ranked that you could see yourself at?

Do you know anything specific about the Irish Studies program? I'm not really sure what to say in response to this.

Of course I could see myself at other programs, and I applied to a variety of programs that I'd love to be a part of, but the information out there regarding what I want to study is spotty. There are no "rankings," but after hours and hours of research, I concluded that there are schools that have a great grounding in Irish studies, and they tend to be MA programs that lead into PhD's in different fields (literature, history, language, etc.).

I didn't go 100% by what my undergrad prof said, but the top programs she named (BC, Notre Dame, NYU) were the programs I found on my own as well. She has a PhD in Irish women's poetry, and my own research corroborated what she said, so I saw no reason to argue. She named BC and Notre Dame as the best programs out there. I'd love Notre Dame, but obviously getting in with a BA is tough, and I can't afford to wait around if I can go to a good funded MA program.

I applied to other schools with good faculty where I could do my research but have been disappointed so far. And while Queens U would be a fantastic place to study, it's all about the money in the end. I won't even pick BC if they give no funding, as you pointed out, no matter how desperate I am to roll out with those trust-fund babies.

Edited March 16, 2010 by stormydown

[BrandNewName]

Do you know anything specific about the Irish Studies program? I'm not really sure what to say in response to this.

Of course I could see myself at other programs, and I applied to a variety of programs that I'd love to be a part of, but the information out there regarding what I want to study is spotty. There are no "rankings," but after hours and hours of research, I concluded that there are schools that have a great grounding in Irish studies, and they tend to be MA programs that lead into PhD's in different fields (literature, history, language, etc.).

I didn't go 100% by what my undergrad prof said, but the top programs she named (BC, Notre Dame, NYU) were the programs I found on my own as well. She has a PhD in Irish women's poetry, and my own research corroborated what she said, so I saw no reason to argue. She named BC and Notre Dame as the best programs out there. I'd love Notre Dame, but obviously getting in with a BA is tough, and I can't afford to wait around if I can go to a good funded MA program.

I applied to other schools with good faculty where I could do my research but have been disappointed so far. And while Queens U would be a fantastic place to study, it's all about the money in the end. I won't even pick BC if they give no funding, as you pointed out, no matter how desperate I am to roll out with those trust-fund babies.

Quite honestly, I don't know much about the Irish Studies program at BC. I took one course with James Smith during my time at BC and found him to be a pretty average professor. He also served as my academic advisor for three years and he was nice enough. I'm glad to hear that you weren't just basing your opinion on what one professor said. I gues my response was elicited because I was taken by what teachers and family members had said to me about BC and, as such, pretty much convinced myself that it was where I belonged for my undergraduate years before ever having visited. Then, only too late, I discovered how wrong I was. I thought that information regarding your field was probably spotty and I just wanted to play devil's advocate in case you were someone who hadn't really done their homework on the school. From what you say though, you have and the program seems to be strong; it makes sense because of the heavy Irish Catholic influence at BC. So, my rant wasn't so much meant to belittle the Irish Studies program at BC as it was to highlight the overall feel of BC's campus and, because of its isolation, the inability I felt as a student there to get away from it. I assumed going in that I was so close to Boston that I would always be in the city and campus would just be where I went to class and slept, unfortunately, the city feels really far away and I ended up spending almost all of my time on campus in the BC bubble. In short, I guess what I could have said much more precisely, is that you should really visit the campus, spend a night if you can even, and get a sense of what it feels like to be there everyday.

[growing19]

Hi stormy,

I hope that you've received your letter by now and that it contains good news. My letter from BC was dated March 2 and arrived in DC on March 10, so it does seem that the Pony Express loves to tease us anxious grad students!

You were right to seek the advice of your professors and to do your independent research on programs when applying; I hope that you will do the same in making your decision about what school to attend. While it's very important to consider the experiences that others have had, I agree with outofredink's suggetion that you make every effort to visit the school and see what your own feelings tell you about the culture. I'll be visiting BC next week to meet with the professors and current students. I've been treated very graciously by the department thus far. One thing that I hope to do, which you might consider, is attend one of the writing seminars taught by a grad student. It will give you a sense not only of how the teaching program works, but how it might be to work with the undergrads there. As an aside, while outofredink's experience is unfortunate, my anecdotal knowledge of BC comes from a good friend who went there for undergrad and is far from a trust fund baby (in fact, she was almost forced to drop out for financial reasons). She loved her time at BC and has never expressed, to me at least, a feeling of isolation or that the school lacked diversity. I'm just putting that out there as a different perspective. Best of luck with the rest of your admissions and your decision!

Is anyone else considering the MA program at Boston College? I'd love to be in touch.

[stormydown]

Hi stormy,

I hope that you've received your letter by now and that it contains good news. My letter from BC was dated March 2 and arrived in DC on March 10, so it does seem that the Pony Express loves to tease us anxious grad students!

You were right to seek the advice of your professors and to do your independent research on programs when applying; I hope that you will do the same in making your decision about what school to attend. While it's very important to consider the experiences that others have had, I agree with outofredink's suggetion that you make every effort to visit the school and see what your own feelings tell you about the culture. I'll be visiting BC next week to meet with the professors and current students. I've been treated very graciously by the department thus far. One thing that I hope to do, which you might consider, is attend one of the writing seminars taught by a grad student. It will give you a sense not only of how the teaching program works, but how it might be to work with the undergrads there. As an aside, while outofredink's experience is unfortunate, my anecdotal knowledge of BC comes from a good friend who went there for undergrad and is far from a trust fund baby (in fact, she was almost forced to drop out for financial reasons). She loved her time at BC and has never expressed, to me at least, a feeling of isolation or that the school lacked diversity. I'm just putting that out there as a different perspective. Best of luck with the rest of your admissions and your decision!

Is anyone else considering the MA program at Boston College? I'd love to be in touch.

Hi growing19,

I got my letter from BC yesterday (Philadelphia area) and it was indeed good news. I was also accepted by Queen's U Belfast yesterday! That means I'm stuck with a choice, although I'm waiting to hear back from some schools. I would love to visit BC soon (and I'm not too far, luckily). My undergrad prof who is on sabbatical in Ireland right now gave me some names of people to contact.

So BC is still on my list for sure. If you want to stay in touch, feel free. Congrats on the acceptance!

[growing19]

Hi growing19,

I got my letter from BC yesterday (Philadelphia area) and it was indeed good news. I was also accepted by Queen's U Belfast yesterday! That means I'm stuck with a choice, although I'm waiting to hear back from some schools. I would love to visit BC soon (and I'm not too far, luckily). My undergrad prof who is on sabbatical in Ireland right now gave me some names of people to contact.

So BC is still on my list for sure. If you want to stay in touch, feel free. Congrats on the acceptance!

Horray! That's going to be a tough - but exciting - decision, especially considering the attractions of studying abroad. Keep me posted on your visit to BC.