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[ememe]

I'm looking at getting a Master's in Liberal Arts.  Does anyone know about the selectivity of these programs?  Am I too late in applying to have a good shot?  I am particularly interested in Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and Dartmouth.

I am also looking at the Breadloaf School of English at Middlebury as an alternative, though I think admission may be too competitive.

I wonder how many programs I need to apply to in order to have a good chance of admission.  I graduated in 2007 from a top lib arts college (B+ average, English major) and have been teaching at a private school since then.

[ememe]

I would appreciate any replies...

[crazybatlady]

Hmmmm....

What kind of replies are you looking for?

I think most of the information you want is online at each school's website. For example, what are the deadlines for admission at these schools? That would answer your second question. What are your GRE scores in comparison to those of people admitted?

I would be concerned about having a B+ average and I hope you have stellar GREs and letters of recommendation.

cbl

[ememe]

Thanks for your reply.

"I think most of the information you want is online at each school's website. For example, what are the deadlines for admission at these schools?"

-Deadlines may not tell the whole story.  For example, law school applications are often submitted well in advance of the actual deadlines.  I'm wondering if this is standard practice for MLA programs as well.

"What are your GRE scores in comparison to those of people admitted?"

-This would indeed help answer my question about selectivity, but application stats and GRE scores aren't posted on the school websites.  Hence my (likely annoying) appeals on the Chronicle board.

[crazybatlady]

Okay. No, MLA fields are not like law fields. The application deadline is the application deadline.

There is likely a minimum GRE score listed on the graduate school site if not the page for the specific grad program, but regardless: you need to be in the 95th + percentile to get into a decent grad program.

Good luck,

cbl

[newbie]

There is likely a minimum GRE score listed on the graduate school site if not the page for the specific grad program, but regardless: you need to be in the 95th + percentile to get into a decent grad program.

The higher, the better on the GRE, but I'm going to disagree with the above. 95th percentile on verbal is typically around 660, and math around 800. I don't know how common a score of 1460 is for masters programs. I'd also wager the verbal score is more important for your program.

Is there a director of graduate studies that you could speak to in order to find out more about the programs you are interested in?

[hypnotoad]

I've never applied to any of these programs and I don't know details about them, but here is what I would recommend doing.  Start a spreadsheet by going to each of these programs websites.  List details like the application process, when is it due, how many letters are needed, do they have average GRE and GPA scores for admission? 

If your process is like mine, you will draw up a very large list of programs (I had maybe up to 20 before applying for my PhD) then I ultimately narrowed it down to 7 (admitted to 4, rejected at 3).  On the other hand, I've known people in other fields who applied for 15 graduate schools and were rejected at all of them (even after being flown around the country for numerous interviews).  People apply for 20-25 medical schools all the time.  The point here is that it is hard to say how many you should apply for - how much money/time do you have to fill out applications?  Certainly get your hopes up a little, be excited about the process, but have a backup plan in case it doesn't work out.  In my experience, it is rarely like undergrad applications where people apply to 7 schools and get into all 7 - there is no such thing as a safety school!  Anyone who tells you "Oh, you'll get in to Harvard, for sure!" is just trying to make you feel good.   

Trust hypnotoad.   

As far as how many programs you should apply for?  Here is the bad news; nobody can give you a good answer on this.  I was told, "cast your net far and wide".  Apply for a lot of programs, but also consider applying for a variety of programs.

I'll leave you with some good news.  Teaching for a couple of years in between undergrad and grad school can make you appear to be a more serious candidate, rather than someone who just didn't know what to do with their life, so they went to grad school.  Best of luck.

[helpful]

Breadloaf school? What is the origin of this name?

[ememe]

RE: GRE scores

The programs require a 3.0 minimum GPA, but do not list minimum GRE scores (GRE scores aren't even required, so I'm not submitting them).

As for the origins of the Bread Loaf name, I believe it has to do with Bread Loaf Mountain in Vermont.

[ememe]

Hypnotoad,

Thanks for the helpful post.  The spreadsheet tip is a good one, but admissions information has been sparse, and the nature of some of these programs (small, not well known, full of adults and continuing ed applicants, etc.) make it even harder to determine how attractive an applicant I am.

I am scrambling to get my apps in ASAP, but will certainly take your advice about having a backup plan (or two!).