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Provisional Student Information
M.A. in Writing Program, The Johns Hopkins University Below is a Q&A that explains Provisional Student Status and what provisional students should do to seek full degree status. Provisional students should consider their status positively. Many applicants do not reach this point, and the Writing Program hopes provisional students grow enough as a writer to meet full degree status. What do I do now? You can reject this offer. If so, please notify us. Or you can decide to enroll in the provisional course listed in your acceptance letter or suggested by the program. Registration is available online. If you enroll, we hope you have fun, work hard, and consult your instructor for advice. As the course nears an end or after the course ends, you should decide whether you want to seek full degree status in the writing program. How do I seek degree status? You should submit 12 to 20 double-spaced pages of new writing samples directly to the program associate chair (address below) along with a brief letter requesting degree status. You do not have to pay any new fees or submit a new program application. The new samples can be one long piece or any number of separate pieces that add up to that total number of pages. Please submit paper copies of your letter and new samples, either by mail, hand delivery, or fax. Do not send electronic copies without permission. One special note -- Your submission of new samples triggers the re-application process. In most cases, the program won’t contact you to seek your decision. You need to take the initiative. What do I submit? At least some of the new writing submitted by provisional students should be work they started in the provisional course. You do not have to submit the same drafts submitted in the course, though. You can revise your material as many times as you wish, based on instructor comments and your own development as a writer. We also strongly encourage you to submit new writing that was not created for or assigned in the provisional course. This allows the program to assess how you have absorbed the material from the provisional course into new writing. Remember to submit only your best writing. If you need more time to revise, take it. Some provisional students take a full term after their provisional course to prepare new samples. (You have one year from your acceptance letter date to submit news samples and request degree status.)The goal is to earn degree status. What happens then? The admissions committee compares your new writing with your previous samples. Before making its decision, the committee also receives an evaluation of your work from the provisional course instructor. However, the committee makes the final decision -- not the instructor. A satisfactory grade in the provisional course does not guarantee degree candidacy. While we hope most provisional students gain degree status, rejection is possible. When should I submit the new samples? That depends on when you want to take more courses if you are accepted as a degree student. If you want to take a course in the next term after your provisional course, you need to work fast. Most provisional students wait until after the end of the provisional course to submit new writing -- in part so they can get the instructor’s final comments on their work. If you wait, you should submit your new samples as quickly as you can after the end of the course. Remember, though, the goal is not speed – it’s to show us your best writing after the provisional course. Can I hold a spot in a course while I'm awaiting the committee's decision? Yes. The course schedule for the next term is released months before the current term ends, so you can register for a course and ask the staff to hold a spot in an upcoming course pending your completion of the provisional course and the admission review. However, you still need to submit a tuition payment to register and hold a spot. Your payment will be held pending the admission committee’s decision. If you are rejected, all payments will be returned to you. (To hold a spot, go to the Registration dropdown at our website at http://writing.jhu.edu or call 202-452-1952.) If I earn degree status, will the provisional course count toward a degree? Yes. Any course you pass in the Writing Program will be made part of your permanent graduate transcript at Hopkins. For more information, call 202-452-1952 for administrative or registration help or call your Writing Program advisor for specific program advice. You also can contact Writing Program assistant Kyuanna Napper at knapper1@jhu.edu or 202-452-1927. Provisional students should fax, send, or deliver new samples to the Writing Program at writingprogram@jhu.edu or fax 202-452-8713 or M.A. in Writing (Updated Fall 2009)
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