Romanista

I'm still trying to understand the intricacies of fit...My understanding of it is that admissions committees at the PhD level only admit certain people each cycle that work within a single field, be it a time period or a school of theory. One of the programs I am very interested in has a strength in my field, modern British, but the program and faculty is kinda small and centered on Joyce (not my bag). However, in 2007 one of their grads completed a dissertation that is very similar to some of my research interests, specifically the Catholic novel in England and English national identity in the modernist period. How should I approach that in my SOP? Or should I not mention it? I guess what I am asking is how does a school look at an applicant who wants to study some subject that another graduate student in their program recently wrote their dissertation on? Is this generally a plus or a minus with regards to my fit with the program? Or does it not matter?

My apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, but must the writing sample be a piece written for an undergrad class? Or can it be something done solely for admissions purposes post graduation?

Well I stayed, did worse and will likely be academically dismissed. How do English PhD adcoms look at things like this? I should mention that I was not on academic probation, I did mediocre in my first term and bad in my second term. I'm confident that I can explain how I want to study literature instead. This is no spur of the moment thing, I originally wanted to go to grad school but the job market scared me off. I'm just scared that grades in another discipline will end up speaking for me more than my aptitude in what I am really devoted to. I did email the director of a PhD program in English last term, but I told her I was a graduate student and not a law student. "In answer to your questions, our admissions committee--which consists entirely of graduate faculty from the English Department--is likely to pay more attention to your grades in English literature, regardless of whether those grades are at the undergraduate or graduate level. Different faculty members sometimes have slightly different priorities in terms of how they evaluate graduate applications, but I can assure you that we will give your entire application package a very thorough, careful reading. In general, most members of our committee probably put the greatest emphasis upon the writing sample, the statement of purpose, and the letters of recommendation." Sounds reassuring, but I just hope that the door is not shut.

I know that this topic has been covered a little before, but I was wondering if anyone had any insight into my particular issue. I originally planned to go to grad school to pursue a PhD in English not long after I declared English as my second major in my sophomore year of undergrad. I chickened out of it after reading the horror stories regarding the lack of TT positions. I worked my first year out of college and then decided to try law school, for reasons that I can't even remember. I'm in my first semester now and I don't like it very much. There's an insane amount of competition that makes my stomach turn as I'm not a competitive type A personality. I know people are going to say that academia is not immune to office politics, student work exploitation and, yes, competition. But law school is the perfect example of the "rat race." I just don't feel like I have any colleagues since we are all competing for a higher score on an exam and that is all that determines our grades. There does not seem to be any English major type of people in law school either. I also find the law somewhat boring, and legal research and writing is designed for you to be extremely concise and apply almost no creativity (not easy for an English major). The second year is supposed to be better but staying would mean taking on additional debt for a career that I'm not to thrilled about. I just don't see myself being unhappy with teaching and I have a deep enough obsession with my research interests to justify living in poverty for years. I admit that I know very little about the law but I think that traversing these forums enough and speaking to professors about grad school gives me enough justification to leave law school. It is a rash decision given the TT situation in the humanities but I have done my homework. Besides, the legal job market is not too kind either, and I go to a lower ranked law school. Anyway, sorry about the rant but my question is how do admissions committees view law school grades, particularly if they are lower than one's UG grades? I'm assuming that they take into account the harsh curve. If I do leave law school with less than stellar grades I plan on writing something similar to this rant into my SoP, but I am worried that if my law school grades are bad then that would speak for me as an applicant more than my UG grades...or am I worrying about this too much?

I apologize if this has been addressed elsewhere but I could not find such a thread. I am considering pursuing a Phd in English, with a specialization in Modern British literature (though I am also considering Rhet Comp). I went to Temple University and double majored in English and Italian, graduating in 2011. My GPA was something like 3.3 overall and at least 3.5 within my majors. What I would like to know is how a Phd admissions committee weighs the fact that I went to their UG school. I recall that a couple of my instructors at Temple went there for UG before applying to their Phd program. Temple is really the only school that I could consider without funding, as I could live with my family since I'm from the Philadelphia area. Thank you for your time.

I'm an undergraduate student who is interested in pursuing a PhD in English Literature and hopefully then attaining a tenure track position to teach that discipline. My question is, generally speaking, whether it is worthwhile to choose a school that is not in the very highest regard in my specialty (20th century British or Medieval, I haven't yet decided which) solely based on where the school is located? In my case, I would like to live in Florida so I am considering the University of Florida and the University of Miami. Their respective English departments do not appear on the rankings of the top twenty programs in my specialties. I have a feeling that I would stand a better chance at getting a job in Florida (with my prospective PhD from UF or UM) as compared to a similarly well-rounded applicant from another state school. Obviously, I will not be applying only to those aforementioned schools but also to some of the very best in my fields, but I would quite appreciate whether anyone can share their experience with making such a choice as I am considering: choosing a school because it is in the state in which I would like to eventually get a tenure track position. Thank you for your time.