College Freshman -- I have a goal but no idea how to get there, please help!

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi all! My name is Alyssa and I am a freshman at a private Florida university.</p>

<p>I have set some lofty goals for myself, and while I know that I am dedicated enough to achieve them, I have no idea how to get there and what my overall plan should be. I was hoping you all at CC would be so kind as to explain more about the graduate school application process, what I should be doing with my undergraduate studies, what I should be doing with my spare time, how to be a competitive applicant for graduate studies, etc.</p>

<p>First off: here is a brief description of what I'd like to achieve...</p>

<p>I am currently a dual-major in English (Creative Writing Concentration) and Secondary Education. By the completion of my bachelor's (which will probably not take the full four years due to AP credits), I will be ESOL endorsed as well, if that is of any significance.</p>

<p>Ultimately, my life goal is to be a college professor of English at a school in the U.S.</p>

<p>However, before that, I would like to teach English abroad as an ex-pat in China (I am currently enrolled in Mandarin classes) and, hopefully, later on in Europe (France or Spain preferred. I speak Spanish but not French). </p>

<p>My current "timeline" for myself is completion of a Master's program (immediately after undergrad), teaching abroad for a decent amount of time, and then returning to the states to teach high school English. After saving enough, I would hopefully enable myself to apply to a quality university for a PhD in English Literature.</p>

<p>Now, I have absolutely no idea how any of this works. From the information I've gathered, GPA seems extremely important to get into a good doctorate program. Because of this, I am considering switching from Mandarin to French for multiple reasons (most PhD programs I've seen require fluency in two Romance languages, additionally, speaking Mandarin is not crucial to teaching in China -- so is risking a good GPA because the class is difficult ultimately worth it?). This is the first point I would like advice on. I had thought it would make me a more competitive applicant for teaching abroad in China if I spoke Mandarin, but the difficulty level is astounding and I don't want it to jeopardize my entry into a decent graduate program.</p>

<p>Additionally, how does one save enough to be able to go to graduate school, especially on a teacher's salary? How can I get as much financial aid as possible, and what other steps would you recommend to ensure I can afford the education I desire?</p>

<p>One more question... as far as my plan and "timeline" goes, is all of this even plausible? Would you recommend I start teaching with a bachelor's instead of going through with the master's? How can I ensure I eventually make it to a PhD without losing steam or getting "burnt out" from teaching? How does the completion of a six-year doctorate program affect my career, social life, and ability to teach on the side? What type of things should I start focusing my attention on as an undergraduate?</p>

<p>Absolutely any and every piece of advice is appreciated. I honestly know jack on the subject and that's why I am coming to CC for help. I'd like to plan my next four - and potentially eight to ten - years as effectively as possible, while still being able to enjoy life. If anyone has any experience they'd like to share or suggestions, I am all ears!</p>

<p>Thanks so much for the help.</p>

<p>Best,</p>

<p>Alyssa</p>

2

<p>

If you do grad studies in English, any decent program will give you free tuition and pay you to be a T.A., so don’t worry about the cost. You do not need to save up for grad work in the humanities. (Professional schools are another story) I do think that you are ahead of yourself and you should let the college years be a time for exploration, chances, growth. You can’t now know what you want to do in 5 years. Relax, pick interesting classes, enjoy life, and the career plans will clarify. Best wishes!</p>

3

<p>First, I feel obligated to tell you that the academic job market (that would be professors) in the humanities, including English literature, is terrible. It has been terrible for a long time - at least since the 1990s - and it is still terrible, and there’s no indication that it’s getting better. Tenure-track faculty positions are being phased out as professors retire, and they are being replaced with part-time adjuncts who teach on a class-by-class basis, no benefits. Or…ironically, by English PhD students, who often teach their own classes and are far cheaper than an assistant professor. It’s not that there are ZERO jobs in English, but there are few and there are many, many people competing for them. It is not uncommon for a position at a mid-ranked school in a semi-desirable location to get 200-300 applications for a single opening. Therefore, if you choose to do a PhD in English, you need to do it knowing that</p>

<p>1) it takes students on average 9 years to finish;
2) if you want to be a professor, you might spend several years “on the job market” attempting to get hired;
3) when you do finish, chances are that you will not get a tenure-track faculty job (only 20% of people who begin a PhD in English will ever hold one).</p>

<p>I’m not saying don’t get the PhD. I’m saying go in with eyes wide open, and go in thinking about it as a journey. If you love scholarship in English literature and the idea of spending 5-10 years working on some slightly obscure problem in English lit sounds exciting to you, and you don’t mind that you might not get a professor job at the back end, go ahead! Also, I think it’s worth a shot - SOMEBODY has to get those jobs. I have a PhD myself and I’m throwing my hat in the ring (my social science field is competitive, too). I’m telling you not so that you don’t go, but so that you can prepare yourself with a Plan B and Plan C for if you don’t get one.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>The most reputable PhD programs do offer full funding - including tuition remission, fees, health insurance, and a stipend probably somewhere between $20K and $30K a year (humanities are on the smaller end of that scale). However, MA programs generally don’t; most people pay for MA programs. So if you want an MA in English before the PhD, you would have to pay for that unless you happened to get a TAship (not common for MA students). Most MA students finance the majority of their education out of personal funds and loans. Generally you’d pay the bulk in loans, and your personal savings might supplement your living expenses. There’s generally not a whole lot of financial aid for MA programs in academic non-STEM fields.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t switch your language because you are worried about your grades. Study the language that you want! Let your interests guide your life choices, not the other way around. You will need two languages for English literature programs; most students do take two European languages, but I’ve known some humanities students to take non-European languages depending on what their interests were (an example is an art history student using Hindi or Sanskrit, can’t remember which, because she was interested in ancient Indian art).</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Is it plausible? Yes. These days many, if not most, PhD students have some work experience or other kind of experience between college and grad school, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. It is the in-between experience that keeps you from burning out, IMO. I think that if you want to teach abroad your BA will be plenty, and I recommend not paying for the MA if you don’t have to. I know several people who have taught abroad (mostly in Japan) with simply a bachelor’s, and usually not even in English. There’s a couple of different programs you can go through if you’re more broadly interested in Asia - the JET programme, EPIK (in Korea), and the Fulbright (several countries in East and Southeast Asia, I think China might be included). If you speak Spanish, that also opens you up to a lot of potential teaching jobs in Latin America. Fulbright does have sites in France and Spain, but they are much more competitive than Latin America and Asia. Basically, the EU doesn’t have a huge need for Americans to come over and teach their kids English - there are plenty of European English-speaking countries already, and a large number of European adults learn to speak English fluently in school. By contrast, there is a much smaller pool of people to take those kinds of jobs in Asia and Latin America.</p>

<p>I started to answer the last questions, but realized that my answer would be very long and mostly unnecessary at this point in life. Like @snarlatron, I encourage you to focus on school now. Follow your interests and do what you like, not only what you think might get you into grad school. My recommendation is that you concentrate on school now, and then when you are in your senior year try to apply for some international teaching jobs through a variety of venues. You really can’t plan the next 8-10 years of your life out now, nor should you, as your ideas and decisions might change. My first semester of college I wanted to be a lawyer. By second semester I had decided to be a high school guidance counselor instead, and I held onto that until I did a research internship in sophomore year and fell in love with research, deciding on a research career. You may discover something else you love.</p>