Grad School?

[pugmaster]

haha maybe I will apply to some random schools just for fun and write my statement using only five letter words or less, in a sentence of a maximum of 4 words.  it might fly.

"I like your skool.  Skool is good. I feel happy, yes. I know good stuff."

But yeah you're right I will tone it down so its not a novel and so I don't end up sounding like mike tyson.


haha you better believe I am listing my SLAP rep under the "achievement" category on the application.

[Mouth]

I guess my point was it's best not to use words like 'antidisestablishmentarianism' unless you have good reason to. I'd imagine the people reviewing these things see hundreds of superfluous applications that sound intelligent on the surface, but lack any real substance. To make an impact, it's best to focus on having a genuine idea or purpose and express it in simple terms.

[Doctor Handsome]

I observed and heard it said by professors, that 4.0 students are often not the sharpest, just well adept at kissing dick, taking themselves too seriously and jumping through hoops. Bravo.

I agree. I don't believe a person's GPA is correlated to their intelligence.

[daniel]

I guess my point was it's best not to use words like 'antidisestablishmentarianism' unless you have good reason to. I'd imagine the people reviewing these things see hundreds of superfluous applications that sound intelligent on the surface, but lack any real substance. To make an impact, it's best to focus on having a genuine idea or purpose and express it in simple terms.

^  !


Post your draft & we'll give it a look over.

[pugmaster]

Definitely.  I have a meeting with one of my professors tomorrow and finals on monday and tuesday.  After that I will for sure.

[oyolar]

When I did my statement of purpose, I wrote about what I want to research. That way, it proves to the people in my department that I am capable of creating new problems and questions and that I will be able to contribute something to their body of research and the department itself.

[macgruber]

i kind of screwed the pooch in my last year of school, but i've been working in my field for a couple years. i want to get a MFA in creative writing so i can maybe teach one day, and also have a body of work that I'm committed to finish by a certain date, I just don't know how realistic it would be to think I could even be accepted in an MFA program with less than a 3.5 GPA

[steve]

i kind of screwed the pooch in my last year of school, but i've been working in my field for a couple years. i want to get a MFA in creative writing so i can maybe teach one day, and also have a body of work that I'm committed to finish by a certain date, I just don't know how realistic it would be to think I could even be accepted in an MFA program with less than a 3.5 GPA

jack kerouac school of disembodied poetics at Naropa, in Boulder.... maybe

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

Gave my thesis presentation last night. I'm done. Fuck yeah.

[Prison Wallet]

Congrats, what was your thesis on?

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

Thanks man. In just a month I'll be done teaching for the year and its going to be FUCKING AMAZING. My thesis was "Creating an activist community of learners to empower students." I did a research based unit where I had students design and carry out a community service project as a class. The kids decided to renovate a local park, raised the money, figured out how much paint and plants they needed and went and painted over a wall that was covered in graffiti and neither the city nor the business that owned the wall would cover, and planted a bunch of plants in an unused garden. The goal was that supporting them in carrying out something like that would help them understand what they could likely do without me. It was based on a model inspired by the freedom schools.

[Prison Wallet]

^^^Cool stuff. I think project based learning like your park rehab is really valuable for kids.

I just wrote/received a grant to start doing vegetable garden and fruit tree installations in the backyards of low-income families. I'll work with student teams who will do the site design installation work, and we'll provide training for the family, tools, and plants. Then we'll commit to a year of maintenance and consultation.

I think the program has legs because it's a Mexican barrio and it's a step back culturally to what was happening there 40 or 50 years ago. A lot of grandparents still live with their kids, and were of a generation that grew a lot of it's own food.

[pugmaster]

Well, I got accepted to University of Kansas so far.   They have a program where I can get a stipend if I decide to work out there for 2 years after graduation. 

Do stipends fuck up eligibility for financial aide?

I am concerned about being a slave for 2 years just to have guaranteed cash.... anyone have experience with this stuff or apprenticeships or whatever?

[steve]

Well, I got accepted to University of Kansas so far.   They have a program where I can get a stipend if I decide to work out there for 2 years after graduation. 

Do stipends fuck up eligibility for financial aide?

I am concerned about being a slave for 2 years just to have guaranteed cash.... anyone have experience with this stuff or apprenticeships or whatever?

what's this, a TA gig? take it and run with it.

i'm working hard on some research that will lead me into such a situation. the best thing about finishing undergrad a little later that i've been able to become friends with some professors who back me up and endlessly encourage me to take advantage of even the smallest opportunities. It's been been empowering. I enjoy grant money.. hahah

[Random Matt]

Well, I got accepted to University of Kansas so far.   They have a program where I can get a stipend if I decide to work out there for 2 years after graduation. 

Do stipends fuck up eligibility for financial aide?

I am concerned about being a slave for 2 years just to have guaranteed cash.... anyone have experience with this stuff or apprenticeships or whatever?

Congrats on the acceptance.

Stipends will lessen the amount of financial aid you are able to take out, they figure it is money they don't have to help you out on.  Tough decision on staying in Kansas 2 extra years, or you think of it as having a job guaranteed for 2 years after graduation.

[pugmaster]

thats the thing, speech pathology jobs are in high demand all over the nation.  The allure to me, is having a job before I even move out there.  I plan on going for the PhD after the master's so I am thinking that I can use up those two years before i'm even really "done" yadadamean?

[Donkey Lips]

Friend is a speech pathologist at a local school. She gets beat up by gigantic kids with developmental problems all the time, goes home, and still comes back to work the next morning. Everything from kids biting and scratching her for no reason, to kids that don't know their own strength, just going nuts on her. I have no fucking clue who she does it. One of the gnarlier jobs I've heard of. Must be one hell of a pay of when  you can connect with a kid and break new ground for them.

[pugmaster]

Thats what is so sick about it.  Being able to give someone a voice (as cliche as it sounds), is pretty heavy.  The behavioral problems are not exactly fun to deal with, but when you can help a person express themselves it can diminish the frequency and intensity of them.  I wanted to be a behavioral therapist but I knew that in order to be effective I would have to understand the communication disorder itself.  In addition to the rewarding nature of the profession and creativity it allows you to use, it does pay decently.  LAUSD starts off at 60k I know, and then you get increases with the more experience you have. 

One really gnarly professor that is an international authority on a certain topic at my school (specific language impairment) makes like 250k.  Plus benefits and all that no matter where you work.  If anyone is interested I highly recommend checking out speech pathology as a career. It is a "recession" proof type of thing and the most job growth is estimated to be working with older adults (aging baby boomers having strokes/ traumatic brain injuries, Etc) but they are ALWAYS looking for people in the schools.

For whatever reason, there are few men in the field.  95-98% of every class is female. 

If you do go down the speech path route, make sure you don't try to start dickin' em all down because once you hook up with 1 then word travels like wildfire and might screw you in the long run.  At least wait till AFTER graduation.

[pugmaster]

btw I DID end up taking the stipend program.  Thanks again SLAP PALS for all your insight throughout this process.

[HairyCunt]

You can make 300k a year in the oil fields with a high school education and have 4 months off a year to blow on whores, travel, and whatever else you like...good luck with your creative writing MFA.  

[brycickle]

Yeah dude. Good luck being happy doing what you enjoy doing for work. Fucking dweeb.

[Fairy Boy]

Yeah dude. Good luck being happy doing what you enjoy doing for work. Fucking dweeb.

Please don't feed the troll.

btw I DID end up taking the stipend program.  Thanks again SLAP PALS for all your insight throughout this process.

Pugmaster, congrats on the decision and on having such a strongly developed purpose, I envy that greatly. I hope Kansas doesn't suck too much!

Has anyone had the experience of not being able to choose a field of graduate study because virtually everything seems interesting in the right context, then somehow making a decision despite your indecisiveness?

[HairyCunt]

Yeah dude. Good luck being happy doing what you enjoy doing for work. Fucking dweeb.

That's more cliched than the idea of doing something "just for the money"

[brycickle]

[pugmaster]

You can make 300k a year in the oil fields with a high school education and have 4 months off a year to blow on whores, travel, and whatever else you like...good luck with your creative writing MFA.  

I was not trying to say I will be making anywhere near 250k, I included the pay range because I know people usually ask about that.  Its like assuming you are going to be a millionaire pro skateboarder simply because of P-rod's well endowed checks.  To be honest I am looking forward to making anything above 20k.  Goodbye spaghetti, top ramen, and oatmeal! On second thought, i'll keep the ramen.

[steve]

Pug- congrats on getting it done!

I'm in a situation similar to where you were when starting this thread. I finished my BA in English this July and am looking at grad programs for next year. I've got a solid GPA, a CV with grants, research, and presentations, and some professors who are going to write bang up rec letters. Part of me feels that getting into a program is on lock, as long as I do well with the statement of purpose, but at the same time I'm bugging out over assistant/fellowships.

I gave a paper at one school in April and it's where I really hope to get into, but otherwise, I'm not so sure of where I would like to go.
What do you guys think about applying to bigger v. smaller schools as far as acceptance, money, place, faculty, etc?

[5barsdeep]

i kind of screwed the pooch in my last year of school, but i've been working in my field for a couple years. i want to get a MFA in creative writing so i can maybe teach one day, and also have a body of work that I'm committed to finish by a certain date, I just don't know how realistic it would be to think I could even be accepted in an MFA program with less than a 3.5 GPA

You've got a chanve bro. I know folks who have gotten into top tier schools with under 3.5 in fields like econ and law. Do you have to take the GRE for MFA or is it completely different? Just don't give up if thats your thing man.

[pugmaster]

Pug- congrats on getting it done!

I'm in a situation similar to where you were when starting this thread. I finished my BA in English this July and am looking at grad programs for next year. I've got a solid GPA, a CV with grants, research, and presentations, and some professors who are going to write bang up rec letters. Part of me feels that getting into a program is on lock, as long as I do well with the statement of purpose, but at the same time I'm bugging out over assistant/fellowships.

I gave a paper at one school in April and it's where I really hope to get into, but otherwise, I'm not so sure of where I would like to go.
What do you guys think about applying to bigger v. smaller schools as far as acceptance, money, place, faculty, etc?

I would try to find information on how different programs rank within your discipline. Also, research research.  What I mean by that is, look at the research that faculty members of different departments have done (or more importantly) are currently doing.  This can be found under the "faculty" section of the departments website.  When you find some schools that look interesting, email the professors and ask them (if you didn't already find an answer) your questions.  I'd keep it concise as possible but they usually respond within a day or two.  

Thanks btw! 

[UgolinoTheSignificant]

bumping this thread cause i got accepted into a top program for optics and am psyched to change gears as far as careers go, starting in the fall

[steve]

anyone know much about the University of New Orleans? I've been in contact with the director of the English MA and he's encouraging me to head that way. It seems that I qualify for a grant that will give me instate rates around 5800/year.