Fall 2014 applicants??

[ComeBackZinc]

Generally speaking, you'll find that people believe that however they did it/are doing it is the correct way, and that the other way is wrong. But the reality is that every case is unique, and that there are different strategies and decisions that work for different people. And there's a huge heaping amount of luck involved, no matter what.

[repentwalpurgis]

I've heard from an adviser that they like when they're contacted; "it's flattering" and it's nice to communicate with someone who is interested in their work.  However, this person also mentioned to me that it's important to do it in a tactful way that doesn't sound desperate, portrays you've actually done your research, and know what this person is up to.  Surely it depends on the personality of the contact, too - this whole process is a toss-up anyway, right? "/

[PageAndStage]

Thanks so much for your tips!

I don't know how I can my extend my gratitudes except saying these meager words.

 

I'm still not sure what to do with Emory...

I guess I will just have to look up researches done by Emory's faculty more thoroughly and decide if I wanna give it a go or not.

 

Ah, these are stressful times... I just hope there will be an adequate reward for all of us at the end of this journey.

I'm off to take the subject test for the first time tomorrow. A little bit nervous but here I go!

Is there anyone else taking the test this Saturday? Good luck to all of us!

[mightyheidi]

Apologies if this has been answered, but what are folks' opinions on submitting a CV versus a resume? I tried searching in the forums, but "CV" is apparently too short for a search term. 

 

PageAndStage, I took the subject test today! It was...hah, to be expected. Definitely walked out feeling like I'd guessed on many, of not most of the questions. At least it's over with and now I can concentrate on refining my written work! 

Edited October 20, 2013 by mightyheidi

[PageAndStage]

Apologies if this has been answered, but what are folks' opinions on submitting a CV versus a resume? I tried searching in the forums, but "CV" is apparently too short for a search term. 

 

PageAndStage, I took the subject test today! It was...hah, to be expected. Definitely walked out feeling like I'd guessed on many, of not most of the questions. At least it's over with and now I can concentrate on refining my written work! 

 

I feel exactly the same! 

I don't think I've done that well. Honestly, my impression was that the question types were quite different from the model test provided by the ETS.

But I'm just so glad that it's over.

 

 

 

I actually applied for an M.A. in England last year (unfortunately, I wasn't accepted) and I had the same question regarding the difference between a resume and CV. It seemed like there wasn't a huge difference. At that time, I knew how to write a resume for consulting firms but I had no clue how to write a resume for academia. I had to ask one of my professors to look over my resume. 

 

In my resume for consulting firms, I had a bunch of stuff related to leadership and work experiences as well as interests (hobbies). But when I was applying for the M.A., I deleted all of them and focussed only on what is relevant to projecting my image as a potential scholar.

 

I hope this helps.

[Katia_chan]

So, went to take my accommodated GRE this morning, and ETS sent me... a broken talking calculator.

 

It's always something with them. >_<  The lady running the test was wonderful and acted as my eyeballs, operating what I needed on her pocket calculator.

 

Goes without saying that it did nothing good for my overall score.  Did pretty well in the verbal, but well and truly tanked the math.  So my combined score isn't beautiful.  Really hoping that won't get me skimmed off the top of a pile somewhere.

 

Sleep now. Extended time sounds like a great thing for GRE, but after listening to a talking computer for more than five hours, I'm ready to fall over.

 

/whining

[Datatape]

Oh, Katia, I'm sorry.  That has to be so incredibly frustrating.  Just try to put your best foot forward, as much as you can, and remember that your math score is about the least important aspect of your application.  Even if schools calculate your combined score, they'll still have to see that you did well in the verbal.  But yes, for now, just take care of yourself.  After the GRE subject test last year, I celebrated by eating a Fluffernutter sandwich and taking a nap, and I fully endorse that course of action for anybody feeling a little burnt out during the application season.

[BattyBoy]

It is happiness to have vomited all the dead white males yesterday irrespective of the darn questions.

ETS sure knows how to screw you over...most of the subject test didn't even look like it was in English. 

Probably wasn't...after all the misery of the application process, rejection will feel sweeter than success.

 

 

 

I thank whatever gods may be

  For my unconquerable soul.

  

In the fell clutch of circumstance         5

  I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

  My head is bloody, but unbowed.

[Romanista]

Other than the fact that the test should never have been made, I have only one complaint. There was a question that asked one to compare the style of a passage with a cinematic technique...I thought the test was about literature? Which by the way, is such an enormous subject that ETS could compose a subject test on the works of Trollope alone. It wasn't that I thought the question was very hard, it was just unfair for the test writers to think "well people that are taking this test have studied literature in college so they must know what a fade out shot is, right?" I mean what next, a GRE subject test in film for those interested in film studies programs? 

 

In Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace is hesitant to tell Vincent Vega her Fox Force Five joke because

 

A. She is cognizant of a superior being

B. As a woman she is faithful to her husband Marcellus

C. To do so would go against gender norms as the joke is not funny

D. To do so would be an example of zeugma

E. She is ambivalent about the afterlife

Edited October 21, 2013 by Romanista

[repentwalpurgis]

Apologies if this has been answered, but what are folks' opinions on submitting a CV versus a resume? I tried searching in the forums, but "CV" is apparently too short for a search term. 

 

PageAndStage, I took the subject test today! It was...hah, to be expected. Definitely walked out feeling like I'd guessed on many, of not most of the questions. At least it's over with and now I can concentrate on refining my written work! 

I'm trying to figure this out right now.  My assumption is that a resume might include too much information and expounding on all of your experience is too much for the adcoms - a more succinct listing in categories of different *types* of experience gives them the type of organization they need? 

 

It just worries me because the curriculum vitae seems so much shorter...

 

Can somebody chime in here?

[skybythelight]

If they specifically ask for a CV, send a CV.

[id quid]

I have mentioned this in the past, but it's come up again. One of the reasons I took such a long break from academia was because of a standing grade issue. In the semester a year before I graduated, I needed to take 2 classes as Incompletes due to some real-life complications. I successfully cleared both of them with the professors -- but only one of them actually submitted the paperwork.

 

So since summer 2009 -- the year I graduated -- I have been attempting to resolve this Incomplete-Lapsed-to-F in my major in my final year of coursework. Obviously I cannot complete an application without this grade being resolved; it seriously tanks my GPA, understandably, as well as being an F in my field! What's worse, this professor was really supportive of my decision to go to graduate school and would provide a solid recommendation...

 

If I could get ahold of her.

 

She's notoriously difficult to track down (individually schedules office hours, never answers her email, doesn't always check her mail, doesn't have a phone, etc.), and I don't live very near campus anymore. It looks like I'm going to have to invest the day to go up on campus on her class day to ambush her after her class. 

 

I hate to do that, but this single issue has caused me more grief over a longer period of time than nearly any other of my #firstworldproblems. I want to move on, dammit, but I can't until this gets resolved and I do my next degree!

 

Argh.

[champagne]

You're taking the correct course of action. The professor has to know that her unavailability will lead to students tracking her down at inopportune times. And it would be a huge red flag to have that on your academic record without having it explained at least in your SOP. Of course, it could be seen as a great fortune to have that misstep explained in a recommendation by the professor that lead the class. You have to track this professor down.  

[guinevere29]

If I could get ahold of her.

 

I know how you feel - it doesn't end after the application process either, I've had more than a few important emails not receive a timely reply. Is there a secretary for the department or anyone else you can contact? Although under normal circumstances I wouldn't go to someone else because it is akin to calling that professor out on not being communicative, sometimes when it is imperative that you recieve a response an extra push from a staff member can help resolve the issues.

[id quid]

The department chair is one of my letter writers, and even she doesn't know of a better way to get in contact with the professor.

 

I swear this woman is a wizard; she has a tenure-track position, is VERY talented, all her students love her, but she is incredibly hard to track down outside of class (which she also very occasionally doesn't teach, for various reasons, without warning) and it's hard to find her publications. 

 

When I last managed to be in contact with her, she was extremely supportive and said she'd be more than happy to write about it in her letter. I'm grateful for that, but if I try to submit applications with a 3.2 GPA, I'm going to get laughed out before they even read letters!

 

Now I just need to find a convenient time to call in sick to work...

 

I'll laugh about this, I know I will. I'm almost laughing now because of how absurd it is. But its impact on my applications is not something I'm laughing about.

 

Silly professors with their lives outside of school.

[andromache]

I'm applying to grad school for the first time--applying to 16 programs, a mix of MA and PhD programs. I can't help but think I'm so out of my depth though. My B.A. is from a public university in Pennsylvania, and definitely not a top-tier one, although I feel like I got as much out of my undergrad education as I could, and learned a ton from the faculty there. I have a high GPA, strong GRE scores, and a few other excellent qualities, but part of me thinks I might be automatically disqualified from universities that I'd really like to go to, like University of Chicago and NYU. It's just very stressful wondering if I'm aiming too high and that all this effort I'm putting in is for nothing.

[Datatape]

I'm applying to grad school for the first time--applying to 16 programs, a mix of MA and PhD programs. I can't help but think I'm so out of my depth though. My B.A. is from a public university in Pennsylvania, and definitely not a top-tier one, although I feel like I got as much out of my undergrad education as I could, and learned a ton from the faculty there. I have a high GPA, strong GRE scores, and a few other excellent qualities, but part of me thinks I might be automatically disqualified from universities that I'd really like to go to, like University of Chicago and NYU. It's just very stressful wondering if I'm aiming too high and that all this effort I'm putting in is for nothing.

 

Background can matter, though probably not as much as you think.  I earned my B.A. at a humongous state school and earned just south of a 3.0 GPA, then earned an unfunded M.A. with no teaching responsibilities at a private college with little to no name recognition outside of the state.  I got into three programs last year, including the #1 school in my field, where I'm now attending.  I can tell you that my incoming cohort had a wide range of educational backgrounds, including seminary school, large public unis, private colleges, low-ranked state schools, and public Ivys.  You can't change where you got your education from, so don't worry about it.  

[Katia_chan]

Real quick interruption for a follow-up GRE question.

 

Are there any advantages/disadvantages to sending previous GRE scores along with the most current ones?  I did better in English this time, and worse on math, partially due to the no-calculator issue.  Don't know if I should send both, or just let the current test speak for itself and send quietly apologetic Emails dealing with the state of my overall score.

 

Just curious.

[Datatape]

I believe if you send multiple scores, schools are beholden to only consider whatever the top score you send is in each category.

[ComeBackZinc]

They're not required to, as far as I know, but they almost universally do. They want to see what you're capable of.

 

That being said, I'm surprised you care about your math score. 

[jazzyd]

I'm applying to grad school for the first time--applying to 16 programs, a mix of MA and PhD programs. I can't help but think I'm so out of my depth though. My B.A. is from a public university in Pennsylvania, and definitely not a top-tier one, although I feel like I got as much out of my undergrad education as I could, and learned a ton from the faculty there. I have a high GPA, strong GRE scores, and a few other excellent qualities, but part of me thinks I might be automatically disqualified from universities that I'd really like to go to, like University of Chicago and NYU. It's just very stressful wondering if I'm aiming too high and that all this effort I'm putting in is for nothing.

 

I got my BA from a large state school as well yet was accepted to several schools, including Chicago where I currently attend. Like Datatape, my cohort has a range of educational backgrounds. If you made the most out of your undergrad education then I wouldn't worry about a name. There's people who graduate Harvard and don't make the cut and people from community colleges that end up in great PhD programs (my friend in philosophy for one!)

[Katia_chan]

 

That being said, I'm surprised you care about your math score. 

 

I don't necessarily care about it.  But one of the schools I was looking at wanted above a 310 for their cut-off.  With the horrific math score, I am sitting below that.  So I care less about the math, and more about how it looks over all.

 

I just don't want to get knocked off a big pile at a bigger school because my total score isn't what they want.

 

...There is a possibility I'm putting way more weight on this than it needs.  I'm willing to accept that I could be and probably am neurotic.  It is app season, after all...

[BattyBoy]

Never thought I'd have to revisit the nightmare from school...

probability, permutations & combinations

and the horror of horrors...standard deviation for my GRE. 

 

As if the subject test wasn't bad enough...

now more more more...

with the amount of masochism

we inflict upon ourselves to get

into grad school, we should all be BDSM stars

 

Anyone for a BDSM club for English PhDs? 

Edited October 25, 2013 by BattyBoy

[champagne]

That being said, I'm surprised you care about your math score. 

 

A professor I talked to said that he, although he did admit that he was an anomaly, liked to look at the math scores in tie-breaking situations just because they might give another mirror into how you react in controlled environments. If there are two outstanding candidates, they will most likely have great verbal scores, an excellent WS, a well-thought-out SOP, and tremendous recs. The professors have to come back to the fact that these students will be in three hour seminars with them for multiple years. He wanted the person that would react well to adversity and uncomfortable material (i.e. the quantitative section of the GRE). I'm sure this very much an exception rather than the rule, but I just thought it was really interesting.

 

 

Anyone for a BDSM club for English PhDs? 

 

As interesting as that might be for the study of the inversion of socially-constructed gender roles during coitus, I doubt anybody wants to see me in a corset and high-heel boots.

[repentwalpurgis]

A professor I talked to said that he, although he did admit that he was an anomaly, liked to look at the math scores in tie-breaking situations just because they might give another mirror into how you react in controlled environments. If there are two outstanding candidates, they will most likely have great verbal scores, an excellent WS, a well-thought-out SOP, and tremendous recs. The professors have to come back to the fact that these students will be in three hour seminars with them for multiple years. He wanted the person that would react well to adversity and uncomfortable material (i.e. the quantitative section of the GRE). I'm sure this very much an exception rather than the rule, but I just thought it was really interesting.

 

 

 

As interesting as that might be for the study of the inversion of socially-constructed gender roles during coitus, I doubt anybody wants to see me in a corset and high-heel boots.

Yikes.

 

Even if this isn't often the case, this prospect freaks me out.  Personally, I think that's unfair since I haven't seen much quantitative material at all in the past four years of school.  I feel that to have to relearn it and apply it to a test *where I've continually been told those scores don't matter* is just a deviation from the parts of the application that matter more.  I don't think it would even matter whether it's a controlled environment or not - I truly could not ever be as proficient in the quantitative section as someone who's actually been using that part of their brain throughout all of undergrad.