Oh, but where to begin?

[KyCountry]

WARNING - May contain extremely irrelevant and long-winded material.

 

Greetings from Hilltopper country.

 

I've been reading a lot on the forum and figured I'd pose a few questions for the more knowledgeable.

 

History - I'm currently an English student at WKU with an emphasis in creative writing. I will be graduating in May and want to fully pursue a career in academia. My college career thus far has been- well, pretty interesting. My GPA blows. I think, as it sits, I'm at a 2.65 or so and will likely have above a 2.7 during the application process. My career began in agriculture and engineering which definitely didn't help anything and since then, I've really been all over the place. I did a semester at Oklahoma State, was hospitalized with wicked mono during finals (not exactly a GPA booster), moved back to Kentucky and was unable to get my application processed in time at UK and had to do a semester at a community college, then two years at UK and will finish up with two years at WKU. My motivation didn't really kick in until last semester when I decided to go to graduate school but my last few years haven't been all that bad. I had what I like to rationalize as a 'transition semester' when I first arrived in Bowling Green and did poorly but other than that, my last 2.5 years have been above a 3.0.

 

Goal - Teaching at the college level.

 

Situation - I haven't taken the GRE yet (I am scheduled for Novemember) but I realize my application is not going to be competitive. I am getting married in the summer and due to the wife student-teaching in Kentucky the following fall, don't want to move more than 300 or so miles from Lexington. I'm also still undecided on the whole MA/MFA thing. My writing skills are much better than my GPA and I believe I would have a much better shot at an MFA program but am also interested in the comp. field. To be honest, I love creative writing and I love comp. as well (from the few classes I've taken). That being said, there's a chance I would attempt to pursue a PhD in comp. one day but not even sure if an MFA would suffice for a PhD program acceptance (since I guess it's considered a terminal degree). Also, I obviously want to attend the best school possible but money is certainly an issue. So if I was to get accepted into a not-so-prestigious-outside-the-small-alumni-community school with some funding, I would certainly be thrilled. To make things even worse, the wife and I are small town folks. Talking her into moving to a big city is out of the question, so rural schools are much perferred. (Of course you can be picky with a 2.6, right?)

 

Questions - Okay, guys. What should I be shooting for here? Disregard the fact that I haven't completely made up my mind about the English MA or Creative Writing MFA and assume I would be willing to apply to either. Actually, I'm way ahead of myself. Would it even be realistic for me to get an MFA and then apply for a PhD in the comp. field? I'm sure I would have some explaining to do anyway. But what schools do I have a realistic shot at that won't bury me financially? I've talked with WVU, Marshall, SIU, Murray State and of course, WKU is still on option. The only reason I am contemplating going elsewhere is due to 1) the possibility of pursuing an MFA, which WKU doesn't offer and 2) the assumption (from what I've been told by current professors) that going somewhere else will look better on my PhD application. Are there any solid but rural programs I should be looking at? I know Winston-Salem isn't a small town by any means but I've looked into Wake anyhow, for example. Side note - Neither of us are too keen about living in Lexington (we are both from the area) and attending UK again but will certainly shoot an application their way anyhow, due to the funding possibilities.

 

Even Bigger Question - Is there a real difference between applying to a PhD program with an MA vs. an MFA? I'm aware that it would depend on the field, I was just wondering if there are people in MFA programs who are planning to get a PhD. I feel I would thoroughly enjoy an MFA but would never expect a decent job with JUST the MFA.

 

 

I apologize for the crazy length and complete randomness of this post but I'm trying to obtain as much information as possible. Most of the people I've talked to attended graduate school a decade ago and I thought it would help to be advised by students who have undergone the application process recently.

 

Thanks for any help I can get.

Edited October 2, 2013 by KyCountry

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

Why?

Why do you want to commit to academics? 

HW for the weekend: do some soul-searching and come back with "why".

How do you expect us to figure out "what" and "how" without why?

But seriously, you're in bad shape but that doesn't mean the ship is sinking! Write an SOP that is both passionate and compelling. Answer the "why".

I can't offer advice on MFA vs MA- but if you get into an MA and work your tail off you can get that PhD.