2019 Applicants

[placeinspace]

1 hour ago, pdh12 said:

How’s everyone feeling about the dread/hope of interviews?! So many of the schools do it, but then others don’t. I interviewed with CUNY Grad Center when i first applied and their first question was (paraphrase): “aside from everything you said in your SOP, what would you research?” totally threw me off.

I would have literally NO idea how to answer that. I’ve spent 5+ years wanting to conduct the same research project in my SOP, how would I be expected to on the spot come up with something else? ? Another thing to stress over for the coming weeks, I suppose!

[dilby]

I've got a very good friend from undergrad who just started his PhD in English at Chicago, and FWIW he said he was expecting to be grilled but mostly they just talked to him about his writing sample. The people who he talked to were POIs and they really just wanted to get a sense of his personality and were engaging very deeply with what he had written. It was a big relief to him (and to me).

[WildeThing]

No idea on interviews. I feel like if one is offered it will take place very soon after the notice and I don't feel prepared for it at all. I mostly worry about being asked about the field and not having an answer that shows sufficient knowledge (which is silly considering you do 2 years of MA before you even get to the thesis). I'm fairly confident about doing well if the interview is a chat or about my own application.

[Musmatatus]

A bit late, but speaking of the GRE/GPA impact, Ohio State apparently does have GPA/GRE cutoffs imposed by the graduate school. Not sure if anyone else applied there, but a friend of mine in Political Science told me about this thread where faculty have been weighing in over there and explained how it worked. They have a limited number of waivers from the graduate school to admit people under a certain GPA/GRE score: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/40727-faculty-perspectives

I skimmed through the thread, and at some point the OSU PoliSci DGS confirms that history works the same way (with the waivers), so I imagine English does too. 

 

[havemybloodchild]

@sugilite The 75th percentile quant ?? I will literally own a dragon before I can pull that off ?

 

Also, do we have a faculty thread for English?  Or even any English faculty here?  What an amazing resource!

[sad_diamond]

Hello all...I've been lurking too long and too obsessively not to post here despite knowing that it would probably be better for my mental health to block this website ? I finished my BA in English in 2017 and now applying to a mix of English, Comp Lit, Media Studies, and (one) WGSS programs. I'm drawn to a lot of different theoretical approaches so the common denominator for the places I applied is interdisciplinarity within the humanities/social sciences but lately I'm feeling worried that by applying to a few different kinds of programs I failed to commit to a specific enough way of packaging myself...anyone else who applied to multiple kinds of programs feeling this? Also RE the psychoanalysis convo, I got a book for Christmas called Self and Emotional Life cowritten by Catherine Malabou and Adrian Johnston about how recent developments in neuroscience force us to change the way we think about psychoanalysis and continental philosophy...I'm very excited to read it! Anyone on here read it/heard about it?

[dilby]

@sad_diamond welcome, and yes! I did feel some anxiety about splitting the apps across multiple disciplines. but I think in many ways it was an asset because it sort of freed me to start fresh with my profile for each individual program. By necessity, my Duke Literature application has very little crossover with my Chicago Cinema Studies application. Applying to these different kinds of programs forced me to take nothing for granted when asking "What will the adcomm at this department want to see?"

[Sav]

Hey everyone! I thought I’d add myself to the mix while anxiously waiting for results. My focus is the environmental humanities. I’m also currently getting my MA at the University of Mississippi if anyone has any questions about their program. 

[havemybloodchild]

I'm interested in who all is applying from undergrad and who has their MA or will have their MA by fall?  

I'm applying from undergrad, personally, because I'm old and I want to get my PhD as quickly as possible so my parents can stop worrying that they'll have to fund my retirement themselves.  Wondering why other folks decided to apply straight from undergrad or to pursue an MA first?  

Sorry if this is already being discussed elsewhere, I haven't seen it relevant to this specific applicant group yet.

[jadeisokay]

i'm straight from undergrad. funding was the big issue for me, as was moving somewhere for such a small amount of time and most likely moving after that (and the combination of money + time). age too, honestly. i know i'm not that old, but i've felt it for quite some time in class. 

[Bopie5]

I'm also straight from undergrad, partially because with the way my loans are structured, I don't have to start paying my loans if I'm still in school (so effectively I put this off for another five years, haha). And, I feel like MA/PhD sequential programs are a better fit for me than just getting my MA first. Like @jadeisokay, funding was a big thing for me, and the idea of moving somewhere for just a year or two seemed not ideal.

[jadeisokay]

oh god i try so hard to repress thoughts of loans that i totally didn't think about them. that, too. 

[WildeThing]

57 minutes ago, kendalldinniene said:

I'm interested in who all is applying from undergrad and who has their MA or will have their MA by fall?  

I'm applying from undergrad, personally, because I'm old and I want to get my PhD as quickly as possible so my parents can stop worrying that they'll have to fund my retirement themselves.  Wondering why other folks decided to apply straight from undergrad or to pursue an MA first?  

Sorry if this is already being discussed elsewhere, I haven't seen it relevant to this specific applicant group yet.

I’m from the MA camp, though instead of having one in English I will have 3 in adjoining fields by the time I start the PhD. At this stage it is probably counting against me, but that’s how it’s played out.

[havemybloodchild]

My advisor was really torn about whether it was best for me to do an MA first or not.  On one hand, she said if anything happened (illness, loss of interest, etc.), I'd have a quick(er) degree to find work with, on the other hand there's no guarantee I'd get into a PhD program after finishing my MA, and it would be a lot harder to afford applying after incurring that MA debt.  I'm hoping whatever program I get into (see that positive thinking, haha) will allow me to get my MA on the way to my PhD.  I think most of the programs I applied to make this possible.

[havemybloodchild]

@WildeThing why do you think it's counting against you?  I'm just curious, as I would think it would be the opposite.  This whole process is bizarre, though.

[WildeThing]

1 minute ago, kendalldinniene said:

@WildeThing why do you think it's counting against you?  I'm just curious, as I would think it would be the opposite.  This whole process is bizarre, though.

Because adcomms might think I don’t know what I want to do, or that I’m not entirel committed. Maybe it’s just my paranoia but I can’t imagine it is actually benefitting me.

[havemybloodchild]

@WildeThing I wish we weren't so dependent on adcomms' "feelings".  Not that I want them to judge me solely on my GPA or GRE scores but the rest of it is so, or at least seems so, frustratingly arbitrary.  I mean, you're obviously a committed graduate student from what you've already accomplished, you know well what you would be in for, and you've a proven history of following through.  

Well, I've got my fingers crossed for you thing round! 

[illcounsel]

@kendalldinniene I am applying straight from undergrad, but am applying to a mixture of MA and PhD programs. I reckon that if I get into one of these selective PhD programs, great. If not, I have the opportunity to earn an MA and strength myself as an applicant and scholar. I will be hearing from my first program in less than  a week and my boots are shakin!!!!!!!

[illcounsel]

@Sav I am going to pm you soon about Mississippi!!!!!

[dilby]

Applying straight out of undergrad because, like, miss me paying for my advanced degree

That said, I was also very lucky to end up at an undergrad institution with a highly structured English honors program including a senior thesis and tons of research opportunities. The idea was to produce BAs who would be prepared to enter competitive PhDs without needing a Master's

[Bopie5]

19 minutes ago, dilby said:

That said, I was also very lucky to end up at an undergrad institution with a highly structured English honors program including a senior thesis and tons of research opportunities. The idea was to produce BAs who would be prepared to enter competitive PhDs without needing a Master's

Dang, I wish I had that! I do have a pretty good English department, and because I'm from a smaller school I've gotten a lot of personalized advice and help. One prof (not even one of my recommenders!) went over my WS with a fine toothed comb, and another prof (a recommender) proofread it for me without me asking. Another prof looked at my CV for me, and my advisor allowed me to essentially write a junior research thesis (which became my WS) and set up a senior research thesis pathway as well. So I have gotten a lot of help and care in my process.

However, my department doesn't offer any TA opportunities, doesn't really help students get to conferences, and doesn't have many resources holistically for help applying to grad school. Because my school is an undergrad-only liberal arts college, there aren't many connected research opportunities either. Although being from a small school means that I got a lot of help and that my LORs are very specific from profs who know me very well both personally and academically, I'm also worried that being from a small school might call my high GPA into question for the adcomms, and that my lack of conference and TA experience will be a big hit against my application.

[Sav]

I came from a very small university that didn’t have anyone working within my theoretical area. As such, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get into a good program so I opted to apply to a small pool of PhDs and mostly funded MA programs the first round. Ultimately, I got into all of the MA programs I applied to. Despite being anxious to live in Mississippi, I couldn’t be happier with my decision. My program is fully funded, my department and peers are amazing, and I’ve had a ton of teaching opportunities. I’ve also developed and grown as a scholar in ways I would have never imagined. As a result, I’m now both knowledgeable about my chosen field and confident that’s where I want to continue my research. So, I can’t say enough positive things about my experience in Mississippi’s MA program. 

I’lll also add that one person in my cohort actually decided she didn’t want to pursue a PhD later. With that in mind, the MA allowed her the chance to see that a doctoral program wasn’t a good fit before committing to one. 

Finally, I wouldn’t advise getting an unfunded MA in the humanities. I’m sure it has been beneficial for some, however, that’s a lot of debt to take on without the assurance you’ll be able to make it back. 

[havemybloodchild]

@Sav I had such a hard time finding funded MA programs, I considered applying to some unfunded, by my professor basically said "hell no."  I'm happy to hear you have had such a positive (and funded!) experience.  If this year is another shut out for me, I'll look into Mississippi.  

@dilby I wish I would have had more of a clue what I was doing in selecting undergrad institutions, it sounds like your experience was ideal.  

[sad_diamond]

I'm applying with just a BA but it's my second year working since graduating. Like u all said paying for an unfunded masters sounds impossible and my recommenders said they thought I could probably get into a PhD so i'm going 4 it...one of them did try very hard to convince me to rethink because of job market though

[jadeisokay]

1 hour ago, dilby said:

 

That said, I was also very lucky to end up at an undergrad institution with a highly structured English honors program including a senior thesis and tons of research opportunities. The idea was to produce BAs who would be prepared to enter competitive PhDs without needing a Master's

 

i feel really torn about my school because our department has really great instructors and thesis or independent study options, but it's very clear after spending any time on campus that sports and stem are the #1 priorities. our english program is super unstructured and feels like sort of an afterthought. my profs were extremely helpful throughout the application process, luckily, but overall it's been rather frustrating.