I am ABD at UCLA in English. Ask me anything.

[NowMoreSerious]

I know grad cafe was a huge help to me as I was applying. And I've done my best to help others when they messages me about the application process. But I haven't been involved for about 4 years now.  I also found that there aren't that many participants on here from the latter stages of the Ph.D.  So I'm happy to answer any questions that I can. I'm no expert, but I've been doing this a while now (6+ years), and I've been around the block, hah.  Ask away.  

 

[mozartjamesjoycesodomy]

Thank you for volunteering! I've just wrapped up my MA in English at a top 50 program (somewhere between 40 and 50) and am deep into app season here. I'll be taking the GRE in a month (whether or not that still matters is another question), have done well on practice exams and two of my three recommenders are particularly well known in their fields. One thing I've caught flak for from other graduate students is not applying to schools below #20. While I understand that admissions are a crapshoot, I'm even more aware of the fact that the job market is anything but. I would really appreciate any advice regarding my school list and its possible augmentations, especially from someone whose gone through the admissions ringer, found their way into a top 10 and is now ABD. Thank you again!

[NowMoreSerious]

I think there are several factors that  go into the decision of which ranking tiers to target. What are your goals for the type of career you want? Most people say TT job, but even then, what types of schools? State colleges, R1, community college? 

Another factor is whether you are ok with adjuncting as a career. 

Another factor is whether your parents have money. 

Another factor is whether you simply must study literature at a Ph.D. level as a sort of life choice and it does not matter to you what happens afterwards. 

Another factor is how you operate on a psychological level. Yes, I said it. Because you must investigate the type of environment you're getting into.  The top 20 doesn't necessarily mean top 20 for your mental health. 

Top 20 doesn't also mean top 20 in having best professors or best mentorship. 

That being said, ranking does factor pretty heavily in the job market as everyone knows.  But at this point in our field, I'm not quite sure how many additional percentage points it provides. Because regardless of tier, the job market isn't great. 

For most situations, however, applying to top 20-30 is probably the correction decision. 

Edited October 31, 2019 by NowMoreSerious

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

I would love to know what the make-up of the current grad student body at UCLA is in terms of where they earned their BAs or MAs. I am earning my Bachelor's at a relatively unknown regional campus of a fairly respectable state university (my campus was ranked in the 220s by US News and World Report in their National Universities ranking, though the state school with which we're affiliated and that actually grants my degree is in the top 100.) I worry that my institution's lack of prestige will be a strike against me in the admissions process (though I've tried to offset it by doing a year of my undergrad as a visiting student at the University of Oxford.) I'd love to know if you're aware of any PhD candidates at UCLA or elsewhere who have been successful in getting through this process despite coming from unknown schools.

[NowMoreSerious]

I'm happy to say UCLA has a mixed bag.  I came from a school in the CSU (state college) system, as did many others.  We get a good mix of people from Ivies, liberal arts colleges, and state schools.  But I know some other top ranked schools (especially the ivies) that aren't quite diverse. 

For instance, I was shut out of all the ivies.  But accepted to almost all the public schools.  Weird right? I couldn't help but think at the time that my background from a lower tier public state college played a role in this.  Who knows, but frankly, I'm now glad everything played out like it did. 

[Warelin]

19 hours ago, NowMoreSerious said:

That being said, ranking does factor pretty heavily in the job market as everyone knows.  But at this point in our field, I'm not quite sure how many additional percentage points it provides. Because regardless of tier, the job market isn't great. 

I think @NowMoreSeriousdoes a great job of explaining this. No school can guarantee you a job. There are some schools (at all levels) which might also disqualify you from being considered at other schools because they fear that you'll leave them as soon as a "better" opportunity is available elsewhere. Also, just because a school is in the "top 20" (which changes every few years), doesn't mean a school is strong in ALL fields. There are schools in the top 30-40 which are stronger in certain fields than schools in the top 20. I know of several recent graduates from my own program that received fellowship offers from Cornell and a Assistant Professorship offer from Columbia over people that graduated in the top 20. The university offered them plenty of resources. They put in the extra work to earn an additional graduate certificate.They published in multiple journals and presented in multiple conferences. They worked incredibly hard to demonstrate that they were an expert in their field. I think it's important to realize that the connections that only certain schools may have had are disappearing because their graduates can often be found at nearly every school. It also isn't uncommon for professors to leave a top 20 school for graduate studies for a school that is ranked in the top 20 for undergraduates. Often, what these professors bring with them is their placement rate which the current rankings don't use as part of their calculations. I think it's important to realize that even the top 20 has a very different range of strengths so it's extremely rare that any one person would find a fit into all of them.

 

On 10/30/2019 at 3:02 PM, mozartjamesjoycesodomy said:

While I understand that admissions are a crapshoot, I'm even more aware of the fact that the job market is anything but.

There have been several people I know who have graduated from a top 10 school and have received no job offers. Some of these people have been published and still have no job offer.

 

@NowMoreSerious: I do have a few questions for you though that others might shy away from but I think are important considerations to any schools one is applying to. What's the living situation like at UCLA? Do most students live alone? Are they able to afford 1 or 2 bedroom apartments on their stipend? Is a car necessary to live there or could you get by on public transportation? Are students allowed to teach or perform research outside the department?  Do stipends raise each year to keep up with inflation?

[NowMoreSerious]

@Warelin 

Since Los Angeles is an extremely large city, our living situations vary.  Obviously, the closer you want to live on campus, the most expensive it is.  People generally need a roommate if they want to live near campus.  

One could get by with public transportation, but it's true what they say that Los Angeles is a car city.  Many do use bikes, too, though. 

Students are allowed to teach and research outside the department, yes, especially post exams (ABD).  It's also the case that several of the courses are cross-listed with departments such as African-American Studies, American Indian Studies, and Chicana/Chicano studies.  UCLA has strong departments in many of these adjacent fields, meaning there is a lot of opportunity for interdisciplinary research. 

As for the stipends, they do raise a bit from time to time. I'm not sure if each year.  I think some of that depends on our UAW Union contract. 

 

[punctilious]

What has the timeline looked like for you for conference presentations? And publishing articles? Also, when and how did you choose your dissertation committee? These are the questions are are coming up against now that husband is in his second year and looking to publish an article and present at a conference.

[NowMoreSerious]

All I can say about publishing articles is that it's probably more important where you publish than just checking off a list. 

For conferences, I try to attend one per year, and to make it count. So I've done one conference presentation per year. They are probably more about networking than the actual presentation for most people. 

Choosing a dissertation committee is a complicated and crucial decision. So much is about learning what type of mentorship is most effective for you to be productive.  Note, this is different from what kind of mentorship you want or think you need.  Part of the early years of graduate school is figuring out how you best work and getting a sense of your POI's mentorship styles. But one thing is clear, and this is from my own experience as well as everyone I've known:  The single most important factor for choosing an advisor is whether that professor has an affective investiture in You, Your Project, and Your Career.  The other committee members probably should be a bit less hands on.  You don't want your committee fighting amongst themselves, leaving you to waste energy and labor managing THEM.  Choose a committee member who is good with structure and feedback as well, if possible.  

Two hypothetical scenarios: 

1. Big name professor who matches your research interests, but a bad advisor.    

2.  Smaller name professor who doesn't quite match your research interests, but shows interest in advising your dissertation if you slightly switch fields. 

Honestly, I'd say switch fields. I've seen this play out.  I know we think our research interests are sacred, but if you can't formulate a committee to move your project and career forward with your current interests, it might be worth switching them up. I've known many with star studded committees that never finished. 

 

 

[punctilious]

On 11/5/2019 at 2:51 AM, NowMoreSerious said:

1. Big name professor who matches your research interests, but a bad advisor.    

2.  Smaller name professor who doesn't quite match your research interests, but shows interest in advising your dissertation if you slightly switch fields. 

Thank you so much for your advice. Unfortunately, we are hitting a bit of a spot where the professors most invested have been denied tenure or are still tenure-track, which is not ideal. And the others are inaccessible/flighty despite their similar research interests but tenured, or big names and somewhat helpful/accessible with similar interests but less invested. It's not easy!

[Warelin]

@NowMoreSerious, would your advice regarding conferences/journals stay the same for someone hoping to use their academic degree outside of the United States? If the end goal was Ireland or Germany, would you recommend that they target journals or conferences in those countries? Or do you feel that a journal's prestige goes beyond any borders?  I ask because individuals I've talked to from outside of the US have a different ranking system they use and follow which has its own set of values they follow.

[NowMoreSerious]

@Warelin I really don't have enough knowledge about that issue to respond to it. For all I know, some countries may not even care whether you publish at all, much less which journal. 

 

I do know that anecdotally, everybody I know who has found a job outside the US (for teaching, at least)  has been from a top 10 school.  

[NowMoreSerious]

9 hours ago, punctilious said:

Thank you so much for your advice. Unfortunately, we are hitting a bit of a spot where the professors most invested have been denied tenure or are still tenure-track, which is not ideal. And the others are inaccessible/flighty despite their similar research interests but tenured, or big names and somewhat helpful/accessible with similar interests but less invested. It's not easy!

Is this at Harvard?  If so, I see their reputation continues to be well earned.  At Harvard, (like many ivies) you just have to get through the program in ANY WAY possible, and hope the name carries you. 

[Karatani]

Do you see mostly west-cost students in the cohorts at California schools?

I went to a CUNY campus that is well-known regionally but not nationally, so I sometimes feel like it could be a waste of time and money applying to places like Berkeley, UCLA, and Stanford - even though the fit is excellent and I have the grades, resume, etc - because they won't recognize my school of the bat.

[punctilious]

40 minutes ago, NowMoreSerious said:

Is this at Harvard?  If so, I see their reputation continues to be well earned.  At Harvard, (like many ivies) you just have to get through the program in ANY WAY possible, and hope the name carries you. 

Yup. And we are hoping to end up with Europe, so thank you @Warelin for that follow up question. So yes, we are hoping the name carries us!

[NowMoreSerious]

1 hour ago, Plurabelle said:

Do you see mostly west-cost students in the cohorts at California schools?

I went to a CUNY campus that is well-known regionally but not nationally, so I sometimes feel like it could be a waste of time and money applying to places like Berkeley, UCLA, and Stanford - even though the fit is excellent and I have the grades, resume, etc - because they won't recognize my school of the bat.

I can't really speak for everywhere, but I know here at UCLA there are people from all over. This year's cohort had people from Bard, Boston U, North Carolina. I think the CUNY system is pretty well known.  I  wouldn't sell yourself short.