Thank you so much, everyone, for your thoughtful responses.
Phedre, thanks for the book recommendations, I'll try to have a look at them. The writing sample/statement of purpose are aspects of the application that I feel pretty confident about - though I expect anyone contemplating a lit PhD will feel this way so I'll work extra hard to make them really, really, obscenely good ...
Minnesotan, yes, I thought the waitlist was something like that ... admissions must be a nightmare for the people on the other end, as well ... so complicated!!
indigo_black - wow, so nice to hear from someone who was in my position and took the path I am considering (BA/MA in the UK, PhD in the US ...) I will almost certainly have more questions for you in due course!!
So does extra-curricular make an impact on graduate applications, then? I'm doing several things - lots of music stuff, I have scholarships and direct things ... I also write for and edit a student-run academic journal ... and a few other things. I'm applying for a research internship right now and obviously will write a dissertation as part of my degree, so by the end of the summer, all going well, I'll hopefully have some good research experience.
So you'd recommend a research MA, then? I need to think more about MAs now, and AHRC funding (which seems like an utter minefield!) How about funding in the US? Are there any problems I should be aware of? Did you apply for a lot of scholarships?
I'm fairly confident of getting a high first ... I was top in my year last year and on track to do similarly well now. I'm worried about recommendations because I don't feel like my professors know me very well, so I should definitely try to engage with them a little more.
I've read a bit about the GRE, it's a little scary - how far in advance would you recommend beginning studying?
thanks again for the responses, everyone