<p>Okay, this may be a lot to throw out there, but I'll just start from the beginning:</p>
<p>I was clueless about college in high school. I didn't know what I was doing through the application process and had no idea where I wanted to go. I'm at UF now, a sophomore, and hating it. It's not a bad school, it just doesn't interest me nor as it as strong in the areas I want to pursue: writing, film, theatre, and the like. I tried transferring already and though I got into the schools I wanted, I couldn't afford them.</p>
<p>Everyone has since been telling me, "Don't worry, grad school is what really counts" and "just focus on getting into a great grad school." I know the sticky thread mentions that "if you can't specify your field and the degree you want, you really have no business thinking about going to graduate school," but I do find myself thinking about it. I very much want a second chance to go to a place I REALLY want. One place I'm considering is Columbia for English, and possibly other NYC schools.</p>
<p>Now, my real questions are: what should I do as a sophomore now to prepare? What would Columbia or any grad school be looking for? What would I be -DOING- there if I were to go? Basically, I hope someone can fill me in completely on grad school. Like, 100%.</p>
<p>And yes, I do freely admit I know NOTHING about the subject and that my perspective is possibly all wrong.</p>
<p>As a sophomore, you should be making the most of your interests (theater, English, etc) in your major and ECs (if theater) and doing well in your courses. At a large unviersity like UF, you should attempt to get to know professors in order for them to get to know you. Letters are important.</p>
<p>You want to go to the best programs you can find, not solely for the name. NYC schools are financial traps because it’s NEW YORK and, yes, the opportunities are endless and that’s why those schools can afford to charge higher. Look into other places as well. Keep an open mind.</p>
<p>Your university’s library is probably chock full of books about graduate school. If not the library, you can bet that the university advising services has bookcases full of these. Now would be a terrific time to make use of the advisors and their resources. The university supports them for people like you. [University</a> of Florida Advising](<a href=“http://www.ufadvising.ufl.edu/]University”>http://www.ufadvising.ufl.edu/) You might feel like you shouldn’t go until you have specific questions for them, this is incorrect. Go, introduce yourself, explain what you hope to get out of graduate school, ask about their experiences.</p>
<p>You need to decide what you want to study in graduate school. Graduate school is very focused, it is not unusual to take only classes in your program of study and it isn’t as easy as it is as an undergraduate to explore other areas of interest. For instance if you go to graduate school in English it would not be unusual for you to be taking and teaching only English classes.</p>
<p>Graduate school is about preparing oneself for a career. A graduate degree in English would prepare one to to be a professor of English Literature. If that is what you want to be then that is fine but if you are more interested in film and theatre then you would be better served in a different program.</p>
<p>if you want to pursue writing in grad school, that’s an MFA program. Its probably the hardest/ most competitive field of graduate study, especially if you apply to a top tier program. Admissions for creative writing are based entirely on your writing sample. That’s it. GPA means nothing, GRE means nothing.</p>
<p>Theater grad programs I imagine are the same, its an MFA degree and your accepted based on your portfolio if your pursuing costume/stage/sound design, or by audition if your an actor.</p>
<p>Neither degree’s gurantee success in your field</p>
<p>Definitely hit your college advising center. Also keep in mind that if/when it is time to think of grad schools remember that you are applying to a specific program at a school, not the whole school. This means a great program in the specific field you want is the priority, not the school’s overall rank/reputation. By the time you are a senior you will know professors to talk to for advice (you need to get to know some for your recommendations)- they can steer you to schools for which they are willing to write you good recommendations.</p>
<p>Usually, one would feel a lack due to a program being “not strong” when one is a senior who has already taken everything there is to take in an area and still wants more–not as a freshman (which you must have been when you tried to transfer) or first semester sophomore. I’d suspect that if you really think about it, your problem with your current school is really not the “strength” particular programs. And grad school is a different beast, not a do-over for undergrad. But the good new is that doing your best to take advantage of what UF does offer --and it’s a very large university that offers a lot–will also be the things that will help you get into grad school if you do decide to go that route, not to mention finding a job, and being happier while you are there. Dwelling on how you’d rather be somewhere else isn’t productive at all.</p>
<p>Picking a grad school is often not as much a question of what you want to study, but which professor you want to study with. This is especially true in the sciences – while many aspiring grad students pick a grad school based on the reputation of the department, others know which professor they would like to work with. So I recommend you look at the faculty interests at various grad schools and see whose work is of particular interest to you. And Pea is right about focus – grad school is not a continuation of college. College in the U.S. is a more broad-based education, while grad school is much more narrowly focused.</p>
<p>As a fellow English major, I’m just going to go out and say it: getting a PhD is a bad idea. I’ve been researching the topic for a long time, and while for the past 2 years I’ve kinda been planning for it, I’ve finally come to my senses.</p>
<p>One thing not mentioned in the link above, is that English PhD’s ALWAYS require a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language, most commonly french, spanish, italian or german. ALOT of programs require reading knowledge of TWO foreign languages.</p>
<p>I may pursue an MA and go into teaching high-school or community college level… or do something completely unrelated to my major, time will tell… and big surprise, i’m an aspiring writer (yes,so clich</p>
<p>Don’t think about graduate school as a chance to go to a place you really want. Think about graduate school as a chance to gain more knowledge - deeper knowledge - in a particular field and/or as a way to earn a credential for a job you have to do. Graduate school isn’t at all like college; it’s not about taking classes and hanging out in the student center discussing Durkheim or whatever. Columbia was my dream school in high school; I couldn’t afford it, and ended up here as a graduate student. Although I love it and I chose it for graduate school for good reasons (top program in my field, great research support, etc.), going here as a graduate student is nothing like going here as an undergrad. You don’t really get a second chance to do the college experience, so disabuse yourself of that notion now.</p>
<p>If you want to live in New York, just move to New York after college. Try to find a job in the area. You don’t have to go to graduate school here to move here.</p>
<p>OrganicGreenTea is also 100% correct…even without a recession getting a PhD in the humanities is a risky endeavor. It’s a REALLY risky endeavor if you’re only doing it to do college over again, so to speak.</p>
<p>I personally think that maybe a lot of your problem is that you need to switch your major. Your undergrad is the perfect time to take classes in film, theater, english, and other stuff that will in no way ever land you a job. </p>
<p>Grad school is divided into basically two paths: 1. people that go because they want to teach the subject or do research. 2. people that go because the school is a professional school needed for their career/ advancement (med school, law school, mba)</p>
<p>The only reason that a person goes to grad school who is not following one of these two paths is if they are like my wife who majored in film as an undergrad, but knowing that it is so hard to ever land a job she minored in chemistry so that she could sit for the patent bar after getting her masters in science. This allowed her to fulfill her dream of trying to be a successful actor/ film maker/ screenwriter… but there are thousands of people with just as good of education and skills, most with much better connections because they have friends and family in the business and have lived in So California their whole life. So when she did not make it, she had something to fall back on.</p>
<p>my 2 cents - and I went to grad school - think about what you want to do with the degree… Talk to people getting OUT of programs that you’re considering and see what they are thinking about it.</p>
<p>Many do more than fine with the College - 2-3 years job - MBA route…</p>