Program Specific Questions - Fall 2013

[DontHate]

...locks that fit every key are whores.

[asleepawake]

...locks that fit every key are whores.

Sweet casual misogyny, bro.

[DontHate]

lawl, don't call me bro.

[rawera]

Hey s_s_s, why are you applying to 16 schools? Are you sure they all "fit" you? Seems like a lot of "fitting" must be going on. You know what they say about locks that fit every key...

That that lock is a bit of a tramp?

edit: hadn't read the rest of the posts (dare I say it, nicely done c_c_c, but I did anticipate feminist backlash. Proud of myself for having my finger on the pulse of this forum.

Edited December 9, 2012 by rawera

[DontHate]

The irony is that I'm just a ballsy lady myself. I don't think of whores as being solely female.

[rawera]

The irony is that I'm just a ballsy lady myself. I don't think of whores as being solely female.

Whole-heartedly agree, though I'm a man (boy). I get that whore, slut, tramp, trollop, and the like ARE gendered, but they needn't be. I tend to use them without gender and almost never as a pejorative.

[asleepawake]

Anybody else having trouble with Colorado at Boulder's website? Last week it was down completely and this week I'm just getting error messages and slow loading times...

Edited December 9, 2012 by asleepawake

[mostlytoasty]

Question about Rutgers app--we don't have to send anything via mail, right? It's all online?

I've gotten to the point where I no longer trust my awesome excel spreadsheet and am convinced that the information on these program websites changes on a daily basis...

Thanks!

So.. back to Rutgers. Their "SOP" is a "Personal Statement," which I understand is a SOP and not something like Berkeley or Michigan's Personal History Statement. Correct? Or did anyone include diversity-ish/familial background kind of stuff in their statement for Rutgers? I wrote about influences stemming from my non-academic, professional experiences, but don't know if I should bring in more of the personal stuff I sent to Berk and Mich.

[rems]

Anybody else having trouble with Colorado at Boulder's website? Last week it was down completely and this week I'm just getting error messages and slow loading times...

YES. The site finally started loading on Friday for me, but it was driving me crazy for about a week. I submitted their app yesterday morning so the app software is up and running, but I don't know what's wrong with their website.

Actually I do: it's all flash and it wasn't loading properly. But it hasn't given me any problems for the past two days. Good luck with it!

[asleepawake]

YES. The site finally started loading on Friday for me, but it was driving me crazy for about a week. I submitted their app yesterday morning so the app software is up and running, but I don't know what's wrong with their website.

Actually I do: it's all flash and it wasn't loading properly. But it hasn't given me any problems for the past two days. Good luck with it!

I finally got it to work, too, but that was one awkward application and slow website.

[rems]

I finally got it to work, too, but that was one awkward application and slow website.

Yah, I did not understand their app website. Those little boxes?? I ended up leaving most of them blank, and uploading a cv. Now I'm nervous that they won't understand the cv, and will think I've just never had a job. Sheesh.

[rems]

So.. back to Rutgers. Their "SOP" is a "Personal Statement," which I understand is a SOP and not something like Berkeley or Michigan's Personal History Statement. Correct? Or did anyone include diversity-ish/familial background kind of stuff in their statement for Rutgers? I wrote about influences stemming from my non-academic, professional experiences, but don't know if I should bring in more of the personal stuff I sent to Berk and Mich.

Buffalo's is also called a "Personal Statement" but they pretty specifically outline what they want you to say in it, so it was a SOP. I would assume that if they only ask for one document, it's a SOP.

[asleepawake]

I think it said that was okay, at least in the job section. Adding information to those lists was super weird, and I hate not being able to view my documents after I upload. I want to actually SEE that I'm not uploading why I'd love to go to Vanderbilt to Boulder.

[rems]

I think it said that was okay, at least in the job section. Adding information to those lists was super weird, and I hate not being able to view my documents after I upload. I want to actually SEE that I'm not uploading why I'd love to go to Vanderbilt to Boulder.

YES exactly. I had the same issue, and I was super irritated by it!

[rems]

What's the benefit of uploading "unofficial GRE" scores if it's listed as optional? I've already filled in the info, and my scores have already been sent there. Is it bad not to take advantage of this?

[DontHate]

I think it's just cuz the GRE scores often go straight to the general graduate school rather than the department. The unofficial scores would be more readily accessible to the department, so it makes your file easier to review all together.

[sebastiansteddy]

Anyone applying to UC Riverside? Their English website says nothing about SOP length, so I thought it could be any length. On their online application though, it limits the size of the SOP to 3,000 characters - that's not even 1 page! It does say though that an option instead of uploading it is e-mailing it to the department. Do you think it can really only be 3,000 characters if we e-mail it?

[Dark Matter]

A "personal statement" is just a "statement of purpose" with another name. Go about it the same way: why do you want to go to graduate school, what do you want to study, how do you see yourself defining a relation to the existing state of play in the discipline, in your future field, etc. Don't talk about falling in love with novels at summer camp or learning to sky dive in europe during your junior year abroad.

[Imogene]

Purdue's SOP length is 300-500 words? The graduate school info says 300-500, the department page says nothing about word length. Has anyone already asked the English Dept about this?

Thanks, and sorry for these "help, I'm clearly freaking out about things I should already know" posts!

[ProfLorax]

Purdue's SOP length is 300-500 words? The graduate school info says 300-500, the department page says nothing about word length. Has anyone already asked the English Dept about this?

Thanks, and sorry for these "help, I'm clearly freaking out about things I should already know" posts!

I contacted the director of the graduate program in rhetoric and composition at Purdue, and she told me there is no definite word length for the rhet/comp program. I'd imagine the same would apply to all of the English graduate programs at Purdue. To double-check, you can email Jill Quirk; she's super helpful and quick in responding!

[jtu2tj]

hello,

I'm a canadian applying to canadian universities, one american university and some uk universities. I"m applying to Masters international development programs. I'm almost done my applications. the one thing that i'm really confused about is the funding/financial aspect. So if someone can please explain this to me it would be really helpful! when am I suppose to apply for all this stuff, and where? and how? I'm the first to do a graduate school here in my family, so this all is confusing to me. any help would be appreciated!

[Datatape]

Most of the American programs will automatically consider you for funding or, if you need to do a specific part of the application to apply for funding, their website will inform you what to do (for example, one program that I applied to required me to enter very specific language and check specific boxes to indicate to them that I wanted funding). Each program is different, so you should look specifically on the "Admissions" page of each program's website to determine if anything special needs be done. I can't speak as to the Canadian or UK universities, but I hope that helps.

[Gauche]

Anyone applying to UC Riverside? Their English website says nothing about SOP length, so I thought it could be any length. On their online application though, it limits the size of the SOP to 3,000 characters - that's not even 1 page! It does say though that an option instead of uploading it is e-mailing it to the department. Do you think it can really only be 3,000 characters if we e-mail it?

I'm applying to UCR, and I found that confusing too. In the end, I typed about 2950 characters in a word document and uploaded it. I checked to see if they would actually limit the amount of characters you can enter in the box if you choose to type it rather than upload a document, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It might be okay if you go a few characters over, but I'm sticking to what the online app says. If you contact the department though, let me know what they say.

[sebastiansteddy]

I was able to upload a full-length SOP. My writing sample will not upload though, will yours? I am waiting to submit my app until I hear back from the department - I have a much-condensed SOP ready to go if need be. I will call them tomorrow early afternoon if they don't reply to my e-mail in the morning, and will let you know.

[lisajay]

hey sebastian, i haven't yet gotten to that portion of my UCR app (it's on the agenda for tonight), but if you're still having trouble uploading maybe email Tina Feldman and ask if you can send the writing sample directly to her?