Dissertation Resubmission and Future College Choices

[whydoiloveLatin]

Hey guys,

I've submitted my M.A. dissertation (coincidently my first dissertation ever) and thought it was ok, but it turns out that I failed it by one point!!! I have the option of resubmitting it next summer and obtaining an overall 'pass' or receiving a post-graduate diploma with an overall 'pass with merit' (which would be my second p.g. dip.). If I resubmit it my grades will be capped and my g.p.a. will be approximately a 3.0. Consequently I'm debating on whether or not I am capable of continuing on to the Ph.D. or if I'll be able to get into a decent Ph.D. program. I was never aiming for the top schools but the schools that I'm sifting through are: University of Chicago, UCLA and UC-Irvine, Ann Arbor, University of Southern California, University of Colorado at Boulder, NYU, and University at Buffalo. What other universities should I consider? Also, does the M.A. g.p.a. matter when applying for Ph.D. programs?

Many thanks.

[Sparky]

I'm not in classics, but master's GPA is *really* important for PhD programs. Not in the sense that it can *make* your application, but it can absolutely break your chances. A 3.0 would be a *huge* warning sign for PhD programs, a sign that you might not be cut out for grad work. Generally in humanities you are expected to have a 4.0 or something near to it--getting mostly A's is the expectation.

If you didn't pass your thesis, how will your letters of recommendation be? Surely the profs would have to mention your struggles, which would seem to be problematic if you are going to be expected to write a doctoral dissertation. As far as assessing your own chances at being successful in a PhD program, I guess it depends on *why* you failed, why you thought it was "okay," and where the gaps are. (Perhaps also on how high the bar for passing is.)

[whydoiloveLatin]

I'm not in classics, but master's GPA is *really* important for PhD programs. Not in the sense that it can *make* your application, but it can absolutely break your chances. A 3.0 would be a *huge* warning sign for PhD programs, a sign that you might not be cut out for grad work. Generally in humanities you are expected to have a 4.0 or something near to it--getting mostly A's is the expectation.

If you didn't pass your thesis, how will your letters of recommendation be? Surely the profs would have to mention your struggles, which would seem to be problematic if you are going to be expected to write a doctoral dissertation. As far as assessing your own chances at being successful in a PhD program, I guess it depends on *why* you failed, why you thought it was "okay," and where the gaps are. (Perhaps also on how high the bar for passing is.)

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure. I'm completely new to all of this and I was studying in the UK so I was completely unfamiliar with their education system which is nothing like the American system. I have not received the comments on my dissertation so I have no idea where I went wrong. I missed a pass by one point.

I was told that we'd meet with the supervisor one more time during the summer. But I still had one more essay to turn in mid-June and then I spent the following two weeks reading books on how to write a dissertation since I had never written a dissertation before. Then the next two weeks were spent sifting through inscriptions for my dissertation and ended with an email to my supervisor inquiring when she would be away for the summer holiday, etc. which I never received a response to. (I did not choose my supervisor she was appointed to me and I later find out that she wasn't doing many supervisions that year and that she was away all summer. She didn't even know when the dissertations were due!!)

A couple of friends asked if I had a good supervisor, but I don't know what a 'good' supervisor is.

I sent her one email in July and when she didn't reply back two weeks later I sent another one and cc'd my post-graduate tutor. She did give me feedback on my draft but there was no discussion. She left my draft at home on the day I was supposed to meet with her to pick up her comments and she never dropped it off the following day, so she sent me everything via email. I'm not used to the British education system so I have/had no idea if that was normal or not but some people have said that it was normal. If so, that's understandable for the Ph.D. dissertation which they write in three years but for an M.A. dissertation written over the summer...

Until I get the comments back I won't know where the gaps are. My main struggle was the lack of modern sources that were written in English. I even asked my supervisor for a recommended source but got no response. If there is much more feedback given during the writing of a Ph.D. dissertation than for the writing of the MA dissertation I'll be ok, because I'll need the guidance. (btw, my BS is in electrical engineering. Ergo no dissertation was required to complete the program.)

Sorry for the long post.

[Conscia Fati]

I have the option of resubmitting it next summer and obtaining an overall 'pass' or receiving a post-graduate diploma with an overall 'pass with merit' (which would be my second p.g. dip.). If I resubmit it my grades will be capped and my g.p.a. will be approximately a 3.0.

Could you explain this in a little more detail?