Where should I go for graduate school?

[Squeezer]

Okay Trenchwars since you always fail at advice but make me giggle nonetheless, I'm going to ask for some help. After this spring, my fifth year in college (yeah it took me an extra year, big deal), I will be graduating with a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences with focuses in Creative Writing and Lit. My grades in these two majors are pretty good (3.65 & 3.8 respectively) and many of my teachers have urged me to go on with my education. I've also been published in some places and held a few nice jobs including one where I managed a $14,000 budget on behalf of the school. I also minored in Journalism, got good grades there, and managed to get a job writing for my school's arts and entertainment paper. What I'm trying to say without bragging is: I think I have the credentials.

The problem is, I'm farther along in learning myself up than anyone else in my family has ever reached. This is completely new territory and I don't exactly know how to go about choosing a school, much less applying. Naturally I've met with my adviser a few times and she suggested I look into good grad programs but she can't hold my hand throughout the process. I've started to look at my options and so I figured I'd come ask some of you for advice since I know many are in the same straits.

I wouldn't mind getting out of the Northwest and I'm not picky. I'd study either Lit or Creative Writing, or both, so long as the school has accredited programs. Right now I'm looking into continuing at my school for a Masters and then finding somewhere else to earn a PhD. I've also looked into MIT and tOSU (holla!), but I'm still very vague. Anyone have advice or suggestions? I don't really know what I'm doing and whether it's a good idea to earn a Masters in the same location you plan to try and get a doctorate or whether I should earn it in the same place I get my BA (since my school only offers as high as an MA).

All help appreciated. Now tell me where to go to school.

[Jerome Scuggs]

my priority one for grad school is price. especially at this point in time, it would be mighty wise to avoid debt altogether or, if it's necessary, minimize it.

that being said, i'm looking to go to the U of Colorado in boulder, as much as for their program as for the geographic location. it puts me near california, new mexico, and oregon. three places i'd never live but gladly visit.

congratulations, by the way. i'm pretty sure you're younger than me, and i still have a year left of undergrad. that's some good hustle right there.

[Crescent Seal]

gonna be joining you in the search for Grad schools , gotta take my GRE soon as well

[the_paul]

my priority one for grad school is price. especially at this point in time, it would be mighty wise to avoid debt altogether or, if it's necessary, minimize it.

that being said, i'm looking to go to the U of Colorado in boulder, as much as for their program as for the geographic location. it puts me near california, new mexico, and oregon. three places i'd never live but gladly visit.

congratulations, by the way. i'm pretty sure you're younger than me, and i still have a year left of undergrad. that's some good hustle right there.

Boulder is a pretty nice location geographically, being out of the city but only 15-20 minutes from downtown Denver. That being said, I don't like it because it's not my scene. but from what I know of you, you'll love it there.

[phata$$]

ITT: Squeezer makes me feel like shit.

[Jason]

amen to that.

i have wasted vast, immeasurable amounts of potential, and i must say that saddens me.

[paradise!]

OSU is really great, I'm glad I go here.

Giant university, tremendous opportunities, very little academic competition (exception: Biology Dept).

And for areas of study that aren't packed (everything but biology), the opportunities are just sitting there for you in all ways you can think of. For example, OSU is rich enough to afford 3 different types of free math tutoring programs, 3 fucking programs that do the same thing with different names.

1 student can make a huge difference here.


the negative: fuckin' columbus. you have the campus area, and then you have this little artsy district about 5 minutes north, that's it.
On one of the Ads to visit OSU i remember it saying 'we're only 2 hours from Cleveland!!!!' LOL, gooood god

EDIT p.s.: good luck with the trek, I will be making it next time this year.

[curse]

Is ok Jason

[Jason]

yeah, definitely is

all good in the neighborhood

[Bioture]

Haha yeah price is one thing. It's probably the most important if you're worried about it. Times are kinda tough right now, and in my program there's a lot of people fighting for TA or RA positions.

I like state schools because people there aren't snobs. I swear when I visited UPenn I wanted to vomit. But that's just me though. I like being with regular dudes. OSU is good, been there for a couple of Penn State games - the people are nice, even though they hate penn staters

Edit: Also do a little research on the program you want to do at the schools you're interested in. Graduate programs vary greatly from school to school, depending on the program - quality and cost wise.

[Squeezer]

For Jerome and Bio:

Price doesn't matter all that much since I'm already $30,000 in debt and the government (read: your taxes) will continue paying for me to get high and attend school until I want to stop.

And they're dumber than I thought if they believe they can get $100,000 from Dr. English major.

[Ilya]

the university of hardknocks, broseph

[Pandagirl!]

Go to OSU! Let's get drunk together! :turned:

Also don't listen to Paradise, the little "artsy district" he's talking about is south of campus, not north. And saying that there isn't academic competition at OSU is bullshit.

[the_paul]

just drop out right ilyaz?

[genocidal]

You should probably figure out what you want to do for a career before you make any big (read: expensive) moves. Personally, I will have a 2.5 year gap in between undergrad and graduate school. It has been a good, if frustrating, time to figure things out. Getting away from a college scene allows you to truly engage in some introspection, which is key for figuring out what you want out of life. They don't teach that in college.

It may be your dream to be an English professor and you already know that - if so that's awesome. I didn't (though I did consider a Literature PhD for a while as well), so I waited. If you do want to be an English professor, figure out what type of Literature you want to study. Then, do some research on programs that fit your interest. The life of a doctoral student is nothing like that of an undergrad - as many of my friends are quickly discovering. One of my friends attending a good literature graduate program wanted to be a professor but dislikes her situation as a grad student so much that she is probably going to stop at getting a Masters and attempt to become a community college professor.

If you have nothing tying you down, you might as well go somewhere you may enjoy (as well as a good school, but that should go without saying). If you entertain the prospect of being a professor you should know that you'll have to perform better than most in your class (which is small) and you'll have to do something impressive (publish more stuff). If you have a true passion for all of this then do it. If not, save yourself the time and money and explore elsewhere.

If you want to pursue an MFA in creative writing then you should definitely give it some hard thought. You should also give your written works (fiction or non-fiction) to a number of lay people to read and give feedback. You need to know if you're talented enough to make money as a writer, and oftentimes those close to you can't help you with that. Being a writer is extremely difficult - and being handcuffed by a lot of debt for school limits your options elsewhere. If you're talented enough, which you may well be since you've been published, I would say pursue it. Being a writer is a small personal dream of mine (right after big league starter) but I have all but abandoned pursuing any formal training. If you can man up and have the talent, more power to you - most days I wish I could.

Keep in mind the overriding factor in all of this though: debt. It may seem like a joke at the moment but in 10 years when you want to quit the job you hate but can't because it pays better than anything else you're likely to get and you have to pay rent (or mortgage) on top of student loan payments, you will start to despise 22 year old you. Add in that you'll likely have a family by that time and other expenses, to say nothing of hobbies that you won't have unless they take 3 hours or less on the weekend, and you will be pretty miserable for a long while. Keep future you's quality of life in mind.

Alternative thought: why not get a job somewhere in journalism (I know these are hard to come by these days but I'm sure with your credentials you could get something in print or TV some where)? It'll pay your bills and you can develop some working relationships. The people I know who are most successful at the moment got that way because they lucked into internship deals where they networked well. If you do good work then word will spread. If it doesn't, or if you hate it, school will always be there. You'll just be a few years wiser and that's always a good thing.