Fall 2014 applicants??

[literary_tourist]

I'm an international, and I plan to apply for TAships like a lot of people. When it comes to giving out TAships, do universities prefer to fund non-internationals first before internationals?

[toasterazzi]

Currently in this free Kaplan GRE Challenge webinar thing. So far, the examples make me feel a little bit less ridiculous in terms of the math...but only a little bit...lol

[champagne]

Currently in this free Kaplan GRE Challenge webinar thing. So far, the examples make me feel a little bit less ridiculous in terms of the math...but only a little bit...lol

 

Speaking of which, best of luck to those of us taking the subject test this Saturday!

 

I think it's important to remember that it's not a test of your intelligence or an estimation of what you'll contribute to literary study. It's simply a measure of how much information you can regurgitate about dead white guys that were deemed worthy of your study by other dead white guys.

[hopefulscribbler2014]

Literary_tourist, so long as you have great English language credentials (if applicable) and you apply to schools that routinely provide equal fundng to international students, I don't think you'll have a problem. That said, it is worth checking what the funding app situation is in each of your programs. Funding at some schools is automatic and guaranteed if you are accepted, some require a separate application and in those cases there may be special criteria.

 

Oh, and the California state schools are notoriously difficult for internationals seeking funding. Sadly, many of them can't offer foreigners a cent.

[isabelarcher]

Oh, and the California state schools are notoriously difficult for internationals seeking funding. Sadly, many of them can't offer foreigners a cent.

 

Just to clarify for OP, the California State University is different from the University of California (think Berkeley, UCLA). CSUs don't focus on graduate education (some offer MAs but not PhDs) so I just wanted to clarify.

[literary_tourist]

Thanks for the advice.

 

I wouldn't worry about English language skills. I have been speaking it all my life. I grew up in the Philippines, but I studied in Britain. I came back to teach in the Philippines after my MA (as an adjunct), and whenever "the accent" comes out, my students give me a knowing look. Grrr. I realize that teaching here is difficult--composition classes feel like ESL classes too.

 

I guess California is out then. I have been drawing up a list of programs (mostly mid-tier) to apply to but I find that they are extremely competitive. I'm not applying to ivy leagues or anything because I don't think my MA grades are good enough (I graduated with honors, but that was undergrad. My MA grades were only tolerable since the British grading system can be quite harsh. Anything below 70 is a B+, I think, in American standards). Looking at all the previous posts, it seems that getting funding from mid-tier universities can also be a pain.

 

Has anyone applied to Canada? I looked at Alberta's program, and I think there is a strong 19th century lit group there. Not sure what funding is like there though.

Edited April 19, 2013 by literary_tourist

[wooshkah]

I utilized this forum last year when I was applying to MA programs, but I figured it was about time to start thinking about PhD applications (for Fall 2015).

[literary_tourist]

I utilized this forum last year when I was applying to MA programs, but I figured it was about time to start thinking about PhD applications (for Fall 2015).

 

Wow. Talk about starting early

[Taco Superior]

Thanks for the advice.

 

I wouldn't worry about English language skills. I have been speaking it all my life. I grew up in the Philippines, but I studied in Britain. I came back to teach in the Philippines after my MA (as an adjunct), and whenever "the accent" comes out, my students give me a knowing look. Grrr. I realize that teaching here is difficult--composition classes feel like ESL classes too.

 

I guess California is out then. I have been drawing up a list of programs (mostly mid-tier) to apply to but I find that they are extremely competitive. I'm not applying to ivy leagues or anything because I don't think my MA grades are good enough (I graduated with honors, but that was undergrad. My MA grades were only tolerable since the British grading system can be quite harsh. Anything below 70 is a B+, I think, in American standards). Looking at all the previous posts, it seems that getting funding from mid-tier universities can also be a pain.

 

Has anyone applied to Canada? I looked at Alberta's program, and I think there is a strong 19th century lit group there. Not sure what funding is like there though.

 

Look at the Funding thread--a lot of info there.

[toasterazzi]

Ahhhh!! Remember the other day when I said I submitted proposals to a conference for the first time? Well, I woke up this morning to an acceptance email from PAMLA. Huzzah!

[Gauche]

Ahhhh!! Remember the other day when I said I submitted proposals to a conference for the first time? Well, I woke up this morning to an acceptance email from PAMLA. Huzzah!

 

Congrats! I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple.

[Portia]

I have narrowed down the universities I will be applying to. I will be living in New Orleans, so I don' really have many options. I think applying to around 10 universities would be better, but it is what it is.

 

Therefore:

 

MA - English: University of New Orleans/Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge/Louisiana State University at Lafayette/Southeastern Louisiana University.

 

PhD -English: Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge/Louisiana State University at Lafayette

       - Comparative Literature: Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge (not sure about this one)

 

I would prefer to get admitted into a MA program, so I could apply later on to PhDs from more prestigious universities.

Edited April 20, 2013 by Portia

[OctaviaButlerfan]

I have also narrowed down my programs. I am applying much, much more widely than I have in the past, as I have decided that earning a PhD is definitely what I want to do. Therefore, I will relocate if necessary, and I am looking a bit more closely at fit.

I'm finishing my M.A. in the next year at my alma mater, so that's a done deal, but I am working to strengthen my application by submitting to conferences, working in research assistant positions, etc.

Louisiana State University

University of Kansas

University of British Columbia Vancouver

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Duke

University of California Riverside

Indiana University

California State University Northridge

University of California Santa Cruz

University of Michigan English & Education

Edited April 20, 2013 by OctaviaButlerfan

[champagne]

Welp, now that I'm done cleaning my brain off the wall of that classroom I was in this morning, I actually feel okay about the subject test. I don't think you can ever feel great about it, but I certainly don't feel miserable.

[thatjewishgirl]

I'm so excited to see other people applying to LSU since I'm starting my PhD there this fall!

[intextrovert]

Portia: just FYI, it's University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), not Louisiana State. The only Louisiana State (LSU) is Baton Rouge. I lived in Lafayette for a few years and loved it! 

 

Is there a reason you're just limiting yourself to Louisiana? If you're willing to expand even just a little bit, you could also apply to Ole Miss or Alabama.

[egwynn]

Has anyone applied to Canada? I looked at Alberta's program, and I think there is a strong 19th century lit group there. Not sure what funding is like there though.

 

I'm finishing an MA in Canada right now.  My understanding has been that funding is really hit or miss--and I've never witnessed it being hit--for international students.  Canadians have access to quite a lot (at least by the American standards that I'm used to) of federal funding and so many universities don't really bother offering funding that will actually cover costs.  This is based not only on my experience as an MA student, but on my offer from U of Toronto's PhD program when I was admitted this season.  Don't get me wrong: their offer was substantial, but by Toronto's standards, it was not livable.  Of course, that was true of one of my offers from an American university as well.  The difference for me, though, has been that I have not met any--and I mean any--international students in Canadian programs who are funded enough that they will not either go into debt or draw substantially from savings.  Every time I say this on gradcafe, someone comes back to say that they know their cousin's neighbor's husband went to some Canadian university and he got such good funding that he built his mom a mansion and regularly uses $50 bills to light fires, and all I have to say there is that is awesome for those mythical people who get that funding.  I have never met one in two years in a Canadian graduate program, I have never heard about one from someone I know, and I have actually only met international students who are going into debt or leaving the program for financial reasons.  

 

So... take that how you will.  I don't consider this a reason to not apply to and seriously think about these programs--as I mentioned, I faced the same potentially problematic funding from American institutions as well--but it certainly is something to factor into your considerations and decision-making at each stage of this lovely process.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Lons

[toasterazzi]

On 4/20/2013 at 1:25 PM, Gauche said:

Congrats! I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple.

 

Thanks!

 

My current tentative list looks like: University of Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Missouri, Washington University in St. Louis, Ohio State University, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, Carnegie Mellon, University of Maryland, U Penn, Brown, Louisiana State, Pitt, and UC San Diego. 

 

That is, of course, subject to change and the list has already changed like 48950096060 times since I started seriously researching schools a couple months ago lol. Realistically, I probably won't be able to afford to apply to them all, but I'm aiming to hit at least ten.

[Portia]

On 4/20/2013 at 11:37 PM, intextrovert said:

Portia: just FYI, it's University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), not Louisiana State. The only Louisiana State (LSU) is Baton Rouge. I lived in Lafayette for a few years and loved it! 

 

Is there a reason you're just limiting yourself to Louisiana? If you're willing to expand even just a little bit, you could also apply to Ole Miss or Alabama.

 

 Ah, ok, my bad. So it is the University of Louisiana which has centers in Monroe/Lafayette. I hope I like Louisiana, I don't know how I will deal with the temperatures and the dangerous fauna. Although, it is still snowing in MN and we had a blizzard a couple of days ago, so how bad can it be?

I might expand a bit, thing is, my husband and I have been in a long distance relationship (read each of us on different continents), and we only managed to move in together last year. He is more or less stuck in NO, and I would like to live with him, or at least within in driving distance.

I have been thinking about GRE scores, what are you hoping for? Which numbers do you think will make us competitive?

[toasterazzi]

I have been thinking about GRE scores, what are you hoping for? Which numbers do you think will make us competitive?

 

I'm mostly just hoping to not entirely bomb lol. From the places I've seen that actually list numbers, above 160 seems to be what they push for and that's what I'd be aiming for any way. My math score is probably going to be terrible, but I'm working on some things that will hopefully prevent me from completely falling apart on that portion lol.

[champagne]

I have been thinking about GRE scores, what are you hoping for? Which numbers do you think will make us competitive?

 

Most of the expectations that I see for both the verbal section of the general and the subject (if the school even looks at that, fewer and fewer are now) are pretty consistently at 90th percentile, at least for the more competitive programs to which all of us aspire to be admitted.

[MissHavishslam]

Here is my tentative/pretty sure this may be final list of programs that I will probably be applying to:

 

1. Indiana University
2. University of Notre Dame
3. Johns Hopkins University
4. Washington University in St. Louis
5. University of Victoria
6. University of Toronto
7. Bath Spa University
8. University of Colorado
9.  University of Minnesota
10. University of Nebraska
11. University of Vermont
12. University of Nebraska--Lincoln
13. Purdue University
14. University of Kansas
15. University of Missouri
16. Duquesne University

[toasterazzi]

Seeing everybody else's lists makes me want to reevaluate my list lol.

[Strong Flat White]

I utilized this forum last year when I was applying to MA programs, but I figured it was about time to start thinking about PhD applications (for Fall 2015).

 

I'm glad someone wrote this, because I actually won't be applying until it's time for Fall 2016 applications, but I would have felt silly making the "Fall 2016 Applicants" thread...even though it is honest, and I wouldn't mind conversing with others whose projected application cycles are way out there like mine. How many others are gearing up for application cycles for '15 or '16 (or beyond)?

[isabelarcher]

Since everyone else is posting their lists, I will, too. I'm applying for Comp Lit.:

• Harvard
• Brown
• Berkeley
• CUNY
• Columbia (French/Comp Lit)
• WUSTL (French/Comp Lit)
• NYU
• USC (Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture)

I mostly made this list based on faculty I'd like to work with and location, and to a lesser degree, the setup of the program and the ability to study abroad. Are there other factors I should be considering, like placement rates or course listings? Decided to scrap all Canada/UK aspirations as funding seems iffy.

 

I also have a fairly large list of schools that I'm still considering. This is mostly based on financial constraints. My parents have generously offered to pay for 5 apps, so if I apply to the 8 above I'm still paying for 3 myself and I am broker than broke. This list of schools is the Maybes. Please feel free to sway me for or against applying them on any grounds:

• Emory
• UCSB
• Cornell
• UPenn
• Yale
• Johns Hopkins
• Vanderbilt
• UChicago
• Northwestern