<p>Hey everyone - I need some help. I took two years at community college and graduated with an associates and 3.6 GPA. I transferred to UNC - Chapel Hill (major: English) and I had a difficult time adjusting and my grades suffered. I just graduated with a sad, and pathetic 2.8. Combined I have a 3.2. Basically, I screwed up academically and I did not participate in many extra activities. For the longest time I was under the impression that I did not want to back to school, that is, until I realized I wanted to an English professor. </p>
<p>I know my chances of getting into a grad program are pretty slim, and to top it off - I can't afford it. The best schools (i.e U of Chicago/U Penn) in the country offer 5 year fellowships to each student accepted. </p>
<p>Here's my question: any ideas or ways that I can raise my chances of being accepted while living in the post grad world? I'm looking into volunteering, learning a language...</p>
<p>I know my best shot may be enrolling into a masters programs to raise my grades, but that'll mean I'll probably have to take out more loans...</p>
<p>thank you!</p>
<p>Well, with a 2.8 cumulative GPA in your last 60 hours you will pretty much have to do an MA in English. Even very competitive applicants often have to do an MA in English before a PhD, especially if they are aiming for the top schools.</p>
<p>What is your English GPA? Will your writing sample be phenomenal? Do you have any experience doing the kind of scholarship that English graduate students do?</p>
<p>And what kind of English professor do you want to be? If you want to go English literature - especially American or British literature - then your chances are very, very small. If you are specializing in a less-common field (like Asian American or African American literature) your chances go up, but not by much. Comparative literature and rhetoric and composition are less competitive PhD programs, but you still likely won’t get in with a 2.8. Rhetoric and composition is actually one of the best fields to get an English PhD in now, because you can teach the necessary service courses (freshman comp) as well as other writing classes for the major - but you could also work non-professor jobs like in the writing center, as a technical writer, etc. It gives you some flexibility.</p>
<p>Last note - be aware that the job market for English professors is horrible and very competitive. Most people who complete a PhD in English will not get a tenure-track job teaching English at any college or university. Your chances go up dramatically if you attend a top 10 program, though, so it’s imperative that you go to one of those.</p>
<p>Which brings us back to our original point: You need an MA. Humanities fields are not quite like the sciences, where 5+ years working as a research associate can mitigate the impact of a lowish undergrad GPA. So you should either invest in the MA in English, or try to do something else.</p>
<p>[A</a> Poor Job Market for English Professors](<a href=“http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2013/01/a_poor_job_market_for_english_.html]A”>http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2013/01/a_poor_job_market_for_english_.html)
[Don?t</a> Go To Graduate School (An Inadvertent Guest Post) | The Professor Is In](<a href=“http://theprofessorisin.com/2012/03/22/dont-go-to-graduate-school-an-inadvertant-guest-post/]Don?t”>Don't Go To Graduate School (An Inadvertent Guest Post) - The Professor Is In)
[A</a> Tough Job Outlook | Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/05/flat_jobs_outlook_for_english_and_foreign_language_positions]A”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/05/flat_jobs_outlook_for_english_and_foreign_language_positions)
<a href=“http://www.phd-survey.org/advice/english.htm[/url]”>http://www.phd-survey.org/advice/english.htm</a></p>
<p>I want to specialize in Renaissance literature - women studies/role in the Renaissance. Yeah, I KNOW. </p>
<p>My GPA is the only thing that is really holding back. My writing sample is solid (I’m hoping), my letter of recs should be great too and I’m going to study nonstop for the GRE. </p>
<p>My original goal was to get an MA first to raise my grads, research, and improve my chances of getting into a school like U of Chicago but the funding is nonexistent for the master programs and I’m already in debt. This has become a tortuous and vicious cycle - I really, really, want to become a professor but I know that the job market is complete and utter ****.</p>