Dartmouth College

[kristal]

I just got my first acceptance, and it's with funding to Dartmouth College Comp Lit. Have you heard about their program? It seems like a good fit because I've been out of school for a couple years and it's a one year masters to prep for a PhD... and it's an Ivy... but I haven't heard anything about the program. Thanks!

[Butitwaslaundryday]

I just got my first acceptance, and it's with funding to Dartmouth College Comp Lit. Have you heard about their program? It seems like a good fit because I've been out of school for a couple years and it's a one year masters to prep for a PhD... and it's an Ivy... but I haven't heard anything about the program. Thanks!

Hullo! I've also been accepted with funding to Dartmouth College, and don't know much myself about it. It seems like a good school, obviously, but I'm not sure I'll go because it's only one year--that means that if you want to apply to PhD programs, you'd have to start re-applying within 4 months, and I only just finished off a crazy application season! What's your subfield? Nice to virtually meet you. I didn't really answer your question in any real way, haha. Congrats, though!

Edited February 26, 2010 by Butitwaslaundryday

[kristal]

Hullo! I've also been accepted with funding to Dartmouth College, and don't know much myself about it. It seems like a good school, obviously, but I'm not sure I'll go because it's only one year--that means that if you want to apply to PhD programs, you'd have to start re-applying within 4 months, and I only just finished off a crazy application season! What's your subfield? Nice to virtually meet you.

Hi!

Congrats on getting in! I got in with funding, too. Pretty sweet. I wasn't sure if they would be offering it this year. The thought of starting the app process over again does sound daunting... plus we will only have known the profs for a couple months before asking for letters of rec... I'm still waiting on Columbia, NYU, UCI and UCSB, but I think I'd got to Dartmouth over the UCs because funding for the UCs seems like it can't be counted on year by year in this economic climate. It'll also depend on the living stipend. My subfields are latin American lit in SPanish and Portuguese (esp. from the dictatorship era in the Southern Cone; that's what I proposed focusing on there), U.S. / Mexico border studies, Chicano / U.S. immigrant narratives, and Lusophone Africa. What about you? Nice meeting you... hehe.

[Butitwaslaundryday]

Hi!

Congrats on getting in! I got in with funding, too. Pretty sweet. I wasn't sure if they would be offering it this year. The thought of starting the app process over again does sound daunting... plus we will only have known the profs for a couple months before asking for letters of rec... I'm still waiting on Columbia, NYU, UCI and UCSB, but I think I'd got to Dartmouth over the UCs because funding for the UCs seems like it can't be counted on year by year in this economic climate. It'll also depend on the living stipend. My subfields are latin American lit in SPanish and Portuguese (esp. from the dictatorship era in the Southern Cone; that's what I proposed focusing on there), U.S. / Mexico border studies, Chicano / U.S. immigrant narratives, and Lusophone Africa. What about you? Nice meeting you... hehe.

Ohh dear, that's something I didn't even think of--having only known the professors for a few months before asking for letters of rec! Good luck with the rest of your schools. I do hear that the UCs are having a bit of a fiscal crisis. Would you go if funding were provided? My subfields are music, French, and Russian literature (19th and 20th centuries), but I'm not as focused as you seem to be! Nice to meet you, too!

[strokeofmidnight]

Congrats, guys, for getting in! A few quick things to note...

Hullo! I've also been accepted with funding to Dartmouth College, and don't know much myself about it. It seems like a good school, obviously, but I'm not sure I'll go because it's only one year--that means that if you want to apply to PhD programs, you'd have to start re-applying within 4 months, and I only just finished off a crazy application season! What's your subfield? Nice to virtually meet you. I didn't really answer your question in any real way, haha. Congrats, though!

Errr...you simply don't reapply until the year after. You go through the entire program, graduate, then begin reapplying/revising/asking for recs during the summer of 2011--when you're done with the MA. It's simply insane to reapply while going through your first year of graduate school. I had assumed that this was the normative time frame (certainly, this was the case for everyone that I know of who did an MA). Besides, it takes a while--in my case, a full year--before the graduate training starts to "kick in" and really strengthen one's scholarship. You'll likely be a much more competitive--and successful--applicant when you apply with the MA in hand, rather than not-quite-halfway through a one-year program.

... I'm still waiting on Columbia, NYU, UCI and UCSB, but I think I'd got to Dartmouth over the UCs because funding for the UCs seems like it can't be counted on year by year in this economic climate. It'll also depend on the living stipend.

Are you discussing MA or PhD options at the other 4 programs? If the MA ignore this. However, if you're waiting on PhD programs...simply put, the "THE UC'S ARE DYING" panic is WAY, WAY overblown. If your offer guarantees X years of funding, you will get X years of funding, budget crisis be damned. It is true that for some campuses, it's harder to get funding beyond the guaranteed years...but there's absolutely no reason to worry that the school somehow won't honor its contract. For what it's worth, I'm currently in a UC program...and my top choice is another UC, which I will likely pick over at least 2 Ivy's. The UC budget crisis certainly received the most publicity (my parents still call me every month to make sure that I got my check--totally unnecessary), but I don't think that image is very accurate. Our undergrads were screwed over. The grad students are relatively sheltered from the budget pitfalls. Faculty...is a different matter, but that's something for you to investigate if/when you visit the campus.

Of course, this isn't to say that you shouldn't pick Dartmouth. There are advantages to a funded MA, even if that means going through application hell again...and it's entirely understandable if you go down this route. Just don't choose against the UC's simply because of funding--wait until the packages come in

Edited February 26, 2010 by strokeofmidnight

[Butitwaslaundryday]

Congrats, guys, for getting in! A few quick things to note...

Errr...you simply don't reapply until the year after. You go through the entire program, graduate, than begin reapplying/revising/asking for recs during the summer of 2011--when you're done. It's simply insane to reapply while going through your first year of graduate school. I had assumed that this was the normative time frame (certainly, this was the case for everyone that I know of who did an MA). Besides, it takes a while--in my case, a full year--before the graduate training starts to "kick in" and really strengthen one's scholarship. You'll likely be a much more competitive--and successful--applicant when you apply with the MA in hand, rather than not-quite-halfway through a one-year program.

strokeofmidnight--thanks for your bit of advice! I have duly noted it, and it definitely makes much more sense to me than applying while only halfway through the program. I hear ideas from other undergrad friends, but...it's like the blind leading the blind. Thanks.

[kristal]

yeah! thanks stroke! good luck!