Suspended from (but now completed) master's degree: how to explain?

[lecturesonnothing]

I'm in the midst of writing my statement(s) of purpose for PhD applications, and I'm currently struggling with how to frame a particular bit of my recent academic history (and where or whether to bring this up at all in my applications). I'm from the UK, so I'm still not completely au fait with exactly what tone a US-style SOP should strike or what it should and shouldn't include, but I'm seeking more general advice on that elsewhere.

Anyway, I've just completed my master's degree (over here, it's the norm for people intending to go into graduate research in the humanities to do a master's degree before embarking on the PhD), but I took two years over it rather than the expected one year due to personal problems.

There are no really poor marks on my transcript or anything (there's one slightly average one, for a paper I turned in straight after returning to study that was a rehash of stuff I'd been working on the year before), but it's patently obvious that I took time out, and I'm not sure exactly how or where to explain things so that it doesn't look like I was just lazy, incompetent, or uncommitted, or that I was suspended for disciplinary reasons. I also don't want to come across as needy and attention-seeking, or as someone who's going to require a lot of extra support to get through the PhD: I'm confident that I've got through that episode and come out much stronger, more resilient and more focused, so don't feel that I'll need any special consideration or accommodations if I'm accepted.

Anyone been in a similar position, or got any thoughts on how to strike the balance between openness and oversharing? One of my letter writers is my master's supervisor, who completely understands the situation (and was in fact the person who pushed for me to be able to repeat part of the course), so I'm sure he'll vouch for me if need be, but I'm wondering whether I ought also to work it into my statement of purpose somewhere.

[svent]

Above average? Are lower numbers better grades in the UK?

[ashiepoo72]

I would be vague about it, but frame it in a positive way. I didn't take time off from my MA but I did during undergrad, so I basically said I took time off but came back stronger and more dedicated to my field. It was one sentence in my entire SOP. Show them taking time off doesn't mean you'll falter in the PhD. Show them the you that came back after hard times and finished the MA, the you that didn't let struggles end your grad career. 

Statements for US schools generally focus on research experience and interests, fit with the program and only briefly (if at all) on hardships or peccadilloes. It's important that you take ownership of whatever happened and put it in a positive light, showing you learned/benefited/became stronger from the experience, if you're going to mention it at all. Emphasize your training, research experience and anything you've done that make you a strong candidate academically, because that's what'll impress.

For programs with an additional personal statement it's another story, although I'd still be fairly vague since it's basically meant to show how your personal experiences make you an interesting/diverse candidate, inform your research interests and improve your skills, not meant to bare your heart to the admissions committee (they might get weirded out if you overshare, keeping it professional is always a good idea).

I should say I was certainly far from a "perfect" applicant. You don't need a spotless record to get into a great program...you need a strong writing sample and statement and solid fit with the programs to which you apply. Your record matters, don't get me wrong, but you can overcome blemishes, be they grades or longer time-to-degree or whatever, by shoring up other parts of the application and knocking it out the park with the writing sample and statement.

[TakeruK]

ashiepoo72 gave great advice. I'll just touch on one additional point.

In your post title, you say "suspended from ... masters degree". I would choose my words carefully here. I know that technically, the word "suspended" could just mean that you delayed your studies by a year. However, in North America, in the context of school, "suspension" has the connotation of a disciplinary action and that your school required you to take time away because you did something bad. This was what I was expecting to read when I clicked on your post, but your writing states that you chose to take an extra year for personal reasons. 

So because of this connotation, when you do briefly mention this (as ashiepoo72 suggested), be sure to not use the word "suspended" or "suspension" or anything like that. Make it clear that you chose to take the time off for personal reasons and that is completely fine. 

[lecturesonnothing]

Sorry for the really late response to this: only just signed up to the forum and hadn't realised I needed to opt in to get notified of replies...

Anyway, just to say thanks very much for some really solid advice. I'm reassured that I don't have to be gushingly personal and "tell my story" or whatever in my SOP: I think I'd been trying to hard before to make my application conform to what I thought of (probably stereotyping wildly) as US cultural expectations, when in fact that "focus on research experience and interests, fit with the program and only briefly (if at all) on hardships or peccadilloes" is pretty much the same standard I'm used to over here. So I'm definitely going down the 'vague but positive' route that ashiepoo72 suggested.

And TakeruK: thanks for the tip about the word 'suspended'. I can see now that my choice of thread title was pretty ambiguous: but at my university, the process by which you take time out due to health or other personal problems is called 'suspension of studies', and it's widely understood here that if you say "I suspended for six months/a year/etc.", that's what you mean (as opposed to "I was suspended", which does carry the connotation of having been forced out temporarily because you did something wrong or were underperforming academically).  If the word "suspended" or "suspension" only ever carries the second connotation in the US, though, I'll be sure to avoid it.

svent: I said "slightly average", which is Britspeak for "respectable but not outstanding"; lower numbers are definitely not better than higher ones in the UK.¹ Seems like that's yet another expression I'll need to learn to avoid using!

[TakeruK]

10 hours ago, lecturesonnothing said:

And TakeruK: thanks for the tip about the word 'suspended'. I can see now that my choice of thread title was pretty ambiguous: but at my university, the process by which you take time out due to health or other personal problems is called 'suspension of studies', and it's widely understood here that if you say "I suspended for six months/a year/etc.", that's what you mean (as opposed to "I was suspended", which does carry the connotation of having been forced out temporarily because you did something wrong or were underperforming academically).  If the word "suspended" or "suspension" only ever carries the second connotation in the US, though, I'll be sure to avoid it.

I agree that your use was correct and that is the correct meaning even in American English dictionaries. And if you gave an American the two sentences and asked them to match up the meaning, I'm sure they would get it. It's just that with academics/school as context, "suspension" carries so much negative connotation! And it's likely your SOPs will be skimmed so a reader may miss the distinction between "I suspended" and "I was suspended". So, I'd still recommend avoiding it.

Also, if you write things like "Degree suspension", it's ambiguous as to which meaning you mean!

And finally, sorry to keep harping on this, but taking a break from your studies is rarely (if ever) referred to as "suspension" in North America. We would say that "we took a leave of absence" (or just "we took a leave") or that "we took a break for 1 year" etc.

[rising_star]

I'm with TakeruK on this. Please, please don't use the word suspension in any of your application documents. Instead, use "leave of absence". It is the term used for this by North American universities.

[lecturesonnothing]

OK, I take your point! I was just explaining why I'd phrased it the way I had, not arguing with what you'd said the first time around. It's really useful to know about these differences; thanks again!