Give it to me straight -- do I have any chances?

[SCD]

Hello

 

I am currently an MA (Comparative Literature) student in India. I want to apply to Comp. Lit. and South Asian Studies PhD programs (Fall 2016). While I attended one of the best colleges in India for my English literature, my undergraduate results weren't all that good (55% -- not too bad for literature students in my university but definitely not great) for a combination of personal reasons (think clinical depression, family problems etc.) and about 5% of my final percentage was taken off due to my low attendance. I took two years off and worked as a journalist with one of the national televisions. I decided to change disciplines for my Master's and settled on Comparative Literature and have done rather well in my MA (67% average for 3 out of 4 semesters) and have also published one paper and presented at several national/international conferences. (My postgraduate university is different but equally well known and the best for comp lit in my country). My TOEFL score is 111. 

 

Currently, I have an offer of admission from SOAS for another MA in South Asian Area Studies (I wanted to concentrate and specialize in the area) which I might take up. I have also applied to U of T for a collaborative MA program in Comp Lit and South Asian Studies but haven't heard back from them (I think it's unlikely I will be made an offer due to my low undergraduate score). I am fluent in three languages (Hindi, English, Bangla), proficient in one (Urdu) and have elementary knowledge of Sanskrit. 

 

I still haven't taken the GRE (which I plan to take in 2015). I just wanted to know if I stand any chances of getting into any PhD programs in either Comparative Literature or South Asian Studies. If yes, which universities should I aim for? 

 

Many thanks. 

[bsharpe269]

It is hard to judge the scores for your grades because in our system both of those percents would be failing and would result in no chance of admission. SInce you say that they are decent grades though, I assume the scaling is way different.

 

Assuming that your MA grades are good then I think you should be in good shape regardless of your undergraduate. I cant help you with which schools to apply because that will entirely be decided by you looking at the strength of every school you are interested for what exactly you want to do research in. I think that you should go ahead and apply to programs rather than doing another MA though.

[SCD]

It is hard to judge the scores for your grades because in our system both of those percents would be failing and would result in no chance of admission. SInce you say that they are decent grades though, I assume the scaling is way different.

 

Assuming that your MA grades are good then I think you should be in good shape regardless of your undergraduate. I cant help you with which schools to apply because that will entirely be decided by you looking at the strength of every school you are interested for what exactly you want to do research in. I think that you should go ahead and apply to programs rather than doing another MA though.

 

Yes, the scaling is very different. 60 and above is first class. 55 is second class. Anything above 60 is considered to be very good especially in literature. My CGPA is 9.0 and rough conversion is 4.0 GPA. 

 

Do you think another MA would be something negative on my application? 

Edited January 29, 2014 by SCD

[bsharpe269]

Your stats look great to me then!

 

It definitely wouldnt be negative to get another MA but I think that you are qualified to get into a PhD program now, without the additional MA. In general, masters degrees are expensive while PhDs are funded.

[hj2012]

Hard to say what your chances are without knowing more about your writing sample, personal statement and letters of recommendation. Those will be the far more important parts of your application. However, from the information you've given us, you seem well-qualified. School recommendations would depend on your fields of interest (e.g. Colonial period, women writers, comparative poetry, etc). Regardless of ranking, I would apply to the programs with which you can see the best fit with the department.