What Are The Admission Requirements for Miskatonic University?

[ralph124c]

I always wanted to attend this school-after all, they have such great stuff on campus (including an original copy of “The Necronomicon”-by Abdul Al-Hazrad (kept under lock and key of course).
Their physics dept. must be pretty neat also.
Anyway, what’s the deal on appications?
And, where can I get a t-shirt, and decals for my car rear window?
Is drinking on campus allowed?

[CalMeacham]

T-shirts and bumper stickers are easy. I’ve had them. Just google it and you’ll find lots of sources

http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/miskatonic

http://www.cthulhulives.org/store/store.lasso?1=product&2=9

http://www.flippinsweetgear.com/shirt/ourfriends.strk3.2837131+miskatonic-university.html

Dagon Bumper Stickers - CafePress

curiously, they differ very significantly. Different campuses, no doubt.

[CalMeacham]

And, in answer to your other questions:

http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=747

- | Call of Cthulhu Classic | DriveThruRPG.com

[silenus]

I have one of these on my desk at school.
None of the students get it.

[RealityChuck]

@ralph124c

Is drinking on campus allowed?

Blood only.

[Marley23]

I don’t think everything at Miskatonic is focused around the eldritch and sinister, otherwise too many people would know what they are doing. Lovecraft was a big believer in not meddling with things you don’t understand. But if you want to get into the right department I think you would need a strong background in ancient history, preferably non-Western history. Skill with Latin and dead languages would be a huge plus. So would a biology background, or archeology. And a connection to a venerable but tragic and sercetive New England family helps a lot. (Must have own farmhouse or mansion with secret underground catacombs.)

Also you must own at least one “Hogwarts Sucks” t-shirt.

[jayjay]

It should be noted that the “legacy” families for Miskatonic U are of a completely different type than those for, say, Yale or Harvard…

[Ogre]

Their Molecular Biology department must have a pretty high turnover (or disappearance) rate.

[Mr.Excellent]

@Marley23

I don’t think everything at Miskatonic is focused around the eldritch and sinister, otherwise too many people would know what they are doing. Lovecraft was a big believer in not meddling with things you don’t understand. But if you want to get into the right department I think you would need a strong background in ancient history, preferably non-Western history. Skill with Latin and dead languages would be a huge plus. So would a biology background, or archeology. And a connection to a venerable but tragic and sercetive New England family helps a lot. (Must have own farmhouse or mansion with secret underground catacombs.)

I’m sure these would be helpful, but I doubt they’re serious requirements for the undergraduate program. Not many high schools require Latin these days, let alone more obscure or alien tongues.

Probably the only real hurdle would be the personal statement. I’ve got an old application lying around … hang on, and I’ll grab the text …

Huh. That’s odd - I hadn’t realized just how … strange … the admissions pamphlet feels. The material doesn’t seem to be ordinary paper - there’s a peculiar slickness to it, a dampness that seems not to fade regardless of the passage of time. And the shape is odd, too … eh, it’s a public school. Budget must be not all that great.

Anyway, here’s the personal statement - it’s a bit worse than I remember, actually:

“I. Personal Statement - 500 Words. Please explain, in your own words, how you would benefit from studying at Miskatonic University, and what unique contribution you would make to the school. Alternatively, describe the strange and troubling dreams that have brought you to the brink of Madness. Explain any family history of same.”

[Mr.Excellent]

@jayjay

It should be noted that the “legacy” families for Miskatonic U are of a completely different type than those for, say, Yale or Harvard…

Though I believe they regularly trounce both schools at water-based sports (crew, swimming, etc.)

Is the financial aid process the same as for most other schools? I know we’ve had a few “how can I finance my education” threads lately - what’s the scholarship situation at Miskatonic?

Also - do they have a law school, and does the law school have any LLM programs?

[jayjay]

@Mr.Excellent

Is the financial aid process the same as for most other schools? I know we’ve had a few “how can I finance my education” threads lately - what’s the scholarship situation at Miskatonic?

There’s a constant need for university library student assistants, especially in the archives. They keep disappearing or going mad.

[Mr.Excellent]

@jayjay

There’s a constant need for university library student assistants, especially in the archives. They keep disappearing or going mad.

Good to know. I’d need some sort of paying gig if I’m to afford Marmite, after all. The Marmite Horror - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board

[Chronos]

Skill with Latin and dead languages would be a huge plus.

That is not dead which can eternal lie.

A friend of mine has a doctorate in medieval metaphysics that he got through the Miskatonic U correspondence-school program. I’ll have to ask him for the details.

[BrainGlutton]

@ralph124c

Is drinking on campus allowed?

Yes.

In fact, it is compulsory.

But the students are the drinks.

[BrainGlutton]

@ralph124c

Inyway, what’s the deal on appications?

Don’t bother.

They know where to find you.

@ralph124c

And, where can I get a t-shirt, and decals for my car rear window?

I did once have a Miskatonic University t-shirt I picked up at an SF con. The motto was, “EX IGNORANTIA AD SAPENTIAM * EX LUCE AD TENEBRAS.”

[BrainGlutton]

And, of course, these days, you just can’t get away from politics on campus.

TURNIP: “Throughout the 20th century, the term progressive' has been the silken mask of the High Priest Not to be Described. It's people like the readers of The Burrower’ who became pacifists when the Ribbentrop-Nyarlathotep Pact was signed, but suddenly changed their minds when Hitler invaded Leng.”

WARD: “This is McCarthyism of the most eldritch kind. In the 1930s, no one but the Starry Wisdom Party was doing anything in this country about racial equality and the condition of working people. That’s what the Cthuluist tradition is really about.”

TURNIP: “If you read the Party platform from those years, you will see that what `equality’ meant to Cthuluists was that all non-initiates were equally tasty. As for the condition of workers, you know perfectly well that the old CIO demanded that the membership surrender their souls on election day.”

LERNER: “Gentlemen, please. To change the subject slightly, it is often said today that the only place that Cthuluism still finds adherents is on college campuses. Mr. Ward, would you agree with that?”

WARD: “That is a squamous calumny on multiculturalism. There are indeed a few campuses today where gender equity and anthropophagy are actively promoted by the administration, but the reality is that most institutions of higher education in this country are highly reactionary. To this day, in fact, a few colleges refuse to hire faculty who cannot tolerate direct sunlight. But doubtless this situation pleases Dr. Turnip and his neoconservative friends at Miskatonic University.”

TURNIP: “The real fact of the matter is that our universities have been taken over by Black Diaper Babies.”

WARD: “You know, it’s people like you who see a zoog under every bed.”

TURNIP: “There usually are zoogs under my bed; it’s people like you who send them.”

LERNER: “Dr. Turnip, isn’t what you say a little extreme? Aren’t you free at Miskatonic University to write and teach whatever you want about the influence of the Starry Wisdom Party?”

TURNIP: “Let me begin by saying that Dean Golder at Miskatonic has done a very good job of keeping the more obviously non-human applicants out of the tenure track, at least in the liberal arts. And it is also true that, nationally, the number of undergraduates who are inexplicably dismembered on Lammas Night has fallen to its lowest level since the late 60s. Nevertheless, the situation only grows worse and worse. Spontaneous deliquescence is now a protected condition under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Literature survey courses used to start with Moby Dick.’ Now they start with `The Pnakotic Manuscripts.’ There’s postmodernism for you. Most of these ideas are simply imported from France, where Cthulu always had a large following.”

LERNER: “That brings us to an important point. Is it really fair to identify French postmodernism completely with Cthuluism?”

TURNIP: “Well, Michel Foucault did die by being torn in pieces by a nightgaunt over the Boulevard Saint Germain.”

WARD: “Excuse me, but I think it is simply bigotry to invoke the tragic circumstances of Foucault’s death as a way to discredit his ideas. It expresses contempt for the thousands of people who suffer similar afflictions everywhere in the world today.”

[BrainGlutton]

See also:

Miskatonic University Homepage

Miskatonic University Homepage (another)

Miskatonic University Homepage (yet another)

Where you can buy Miskatonic Unvirsity t-shirts & gifts

Miskatonic University diploma

Another t-shirt

Miskatonic University (paperback collection of stories set at MU)

[Zebra]

I would say successful candidates have few friends and tend not to play sports.
If they play a musical instrument it would be the bassoon, oboe, or some ancient instrument like a lyre.

Chess Club member.

No Members Only jacket.

Probably middle or only child.

[Marley23]

@Mr.Excellent

I’m sure these would be helpful, but I doubt they’re serious requirements for the undergraduate program. Not many high schools require Latin these days, let alone more obscure or alien tongues.

Few high schools require Latin, but some do offer it. Particularly the ivy-covered prep schools that must have long relationships with Miskatonic. And I meant to add that some background in comparative religion, especially pre-Judeochristian religion, would probably look great on your application. Also a history of institutionalization for mental health problems counts as an extracurricular activity.

[DocCathode]

I was offered a position in their psychology department. It was tempting, but I prefer to remain at the secret academy underneath the Franklin Institute.