Dr. Old Bill

Welcome, Hunterjumper! I must admit that I'm a bit curious about who cautioned you about the field of African American lit, and why. In my experience, the opposite is often true...and that is borne out by going through the list of graduate students at various institutions. From what I can tell, a fairly large number of non-African-American students have a research interest in African American literature. Academically speaking, that makes perfect sense, even though I suspect there are some slightly outmoded views about it not being PC. I don't claim to know any more or less about the process than anyone else in the 2015 application boat, but from what I've read across countless sources (including but not limited to Grad Cafe) AdComms are more interested in your scholarship than anything else. If you make the case that you have a strong interest in African American literature and can demonstrate that case with a strong writing sample, I suspect that in most instances your race won't get in your way. For what it's worth, "The White House" by Claude McKay is among my favorite sonnets. Were it not for a more compelling interest in two other areas of literature, I could easily see myself going down the same path you are on...and I'm a white Canadian male! Edited to add: Come to think of it, this would be the perfect time to reach out to current grad students, like I mentioned in a recent thread topic. Race is a very sensitive issue in this country, but a well-framed email to a grad student or two in a program you are interested should help you to figure out if it's uncommon to have a non-African-American in an African-American lit course. I strongly suspect that it's not, but again, the best authorities on that are folks currently in those programs.

I suppose that's as good a guess as any...

I completely agree with the above two posters...but I understand your trepidation as well. For what it's worth, I have the same issue. One of my writing samples cites (two or three times, no less) a major professor at one of the places I'm applying to. The citation was in there before I even started seriously looking at grad schools, and I really wouldn't want to remove the citation in any circumstance. I don't think it's going to hurt or help my application, really. The professor is a leading scholar in her field, has several books about a topic I'm interested in, and is frankly an academic who should be frequently cited. I'm guessing the same will be true of your writing sample. In other words, you're probably overthinking it, as ComeBackZinc suggests. But hey, 'tis the season for overthinking things...and it's probably better to overthink it and ask the question than underthink it and make a damaging error...

What a great post, Unræd! That really resonates with me, in fact. When I first started seriously looking at grad schools (as opposed to the general overview I did several months ago), I was very worried that I wouldn't hone in on a specialization. I love a wide swathe of literature and poetry, spanning from the English Renaissance to the mid-20th century, with only a few blips I don't care for in that range (like Joycian modernism). It was actually my wife who pointed out my poetry background and reminded me that my favorite course has been a research seminar on Shakespeare's Sonnets... So that allowed me to focus on grad schools that have specialists in traditional poetics and historical prosody etc. It is a fairly narrow field these days, but there are some high-level profs with similar interests at at least half a dozen great programs. So there's half of my application cycle right there. It's really just a case of doing like Unræd suggests and looking at all your papers and past coursework to see what tickled you the most. It's easy to overthink things. Once you start drafting your SOP you'll realize quite quickly whether or not your specific interest is right for you. After a first draft (which I sent out to a couple wonderful Grad Cafe members for a look-see), I was reminded that AdComms are looking for indications of your scholarship, as well as your general interests. And that's very good advice. If you can't talk at length about why a subject has interested you, then it might be worth reconsidering your potential specialization! As for the other comment about feeling like an imposter here... don't! Because you're not! I get little shivers sometimes (good ones!) when I think about the possibility of being essentially paid to go to grad school to learn the material I love. But I don't think I'm not worthy, per se. It's still early in the process, but recognizing that you are a solid candidate is one of those lovely moments that will shape your application season. Of course, it might also raise your hopes a little too high, but I figure that's a decent enough trade-off.

Welcome, PizzaFox...and good luck to you over the next eight months of preparation-application-rejection-acceptance-jubilation! It sounds like you have some interesting and diverse interests there. That's probably a good thing though! I'll be making two, if not three different kinds of applications. One of them will be focused primarily on transhistoric formalist poetry and poetics, another will be on late 19th - mid 20th century transatlantic literature, and I may put out one or two in the English Renaissance / Shakespeare direction. But honestly, I've been on GradCafe for a mere month and have already altered my potential focus a few times (but I'm certain about the poetics path now!) My only "advice" in this regard is to simply do as much research as you can to find the best fitting schools of each discipline. I've narrowed down poetics programs to five or so institutions where I believe I'd be a great fit (and vice versa). I'm still figuring out the best fit for the other two areas, but will get there eventually. I'll be writing distinct SOPs (statements of purpose in Grad Cafe lingo) and will have two distinct WS (writing samples) to use. It's a bit more work, of course, but considering that grad school is most likely the last educational step before a long career in the industry, it's almost certainly worth a few more days / weeks of toil at this stage. Either way, best of fortunes to you as you start your prep! I found going through the last thirty pages or so of Grad Cafe was time well spent...lots of great advice here. Welcome again! Shaun / Wyatt's Torch

Actually, I had a brainwave earlier and realized I could probably change the testing location. Turns out there's a testing center in Ithaca, about 25 miles from where the wedding will be taking place. So other than having to spend $50 on a change fee, I'll be able to do both the GRE Subject Test AND go to the wedding.

Haha...don't do it!!! I'm guessing the overall number of test-takers is probably going to be fairly low, but I was delighted to discover that ETS has a subject testing location a mere two miles away from where I live. The place I go to for the general test is over 50 miles away. So it's good to sign up early for that reason as well...to get the nearest location!

You're most welcome. I just realized that I'll have to miss a close friend's wedding for this. Already had the hotel room booked and everything (it's several hours away). I just don't want to risk taking the October 25th date, given some of the horror stories I've read about misplaced scores. There's just no way I can do both, so the GRE it is. Sigh.

Hi folks, Just FYI, registration for the GRE Literature Subject test has just opened (I checked a couple of hours ago and it was still closed, but just checked a few minutes ago...and it's now open). September 27th and October 25th are the two dates available for this application period. Obviously I recommend you sign up a.s.a.p. to ensure you get a slot... The deadline to register is August 15th. The fee is $150. Good luck! Shaun / Wyatt's Torch

Ugh. Well, at least they have the US testing dates posted. September 27th and October 25th. And as frustrating as ETS is in general, I'm very glad they put the test dates on Saturdays.

Just curious -- does anyone know when subject test registraion will become available? The ETS site says "July," but obviously that's a little vague. I want to sign up as soon as humanly possible...

Since I created this topic a few weeks ago, my concerns have mostly been allayed. I've contacted other professors and several current grad students at top tier institutions, not to mention some other recently accepted folks from GradCafe, and every single one has said that they don't see age as being an issue. Obviously there's no way of knowing whether or not it will subconsciously affect an adcomm's decision, but since that's truly out of one's hands, there's no sense in worrying about it.

Welcome aboard the boat, Unræd! I'm calling it "Ship of Theseus." Yes, I have decided to avoid mentioning it on my SOPs. It will be easy enough to read between the lines, but I'm not going to go on about how I'm 12 years older than many of my co-applicants. Like you, my prior work experience throughout my 20s had little to do with the English track, so it's just not worth mentioning anything in that regard. Good luck to you throughout the process, and feel free to bounce any "older student" thoughts at me along the way if you'd like.

You're welcome! Personally, I'm gravitating toward Poetry and Poetics. There aren't a lot of grad schools with strong programs in that area, however, and most of the ones that do are in the top tier...so I'll apply to a few others with a stated focus on late 19th - mid 20 century transatlantic literature. Part of me thinks I'm fortunate in that I have a few different literary interests, though it does make talking about specialization in the SOP a bit of a minefield.

I've had some great results from reaching out to current graduate students in programs that I'm interested in. Generally speaking, I have gone through the grad student lists of various institutions to find students with similar research interests as my own. I then went ahead and sent those students a brief email, asking whether or not they would be willing to answer questions about their program. Without fail, all have gotten back to me quickly and enthusiastically, and all have gone into great detail about the academic environment at a given instutition, its strengths and weaknesses, the interplay between students and both their peers and faculty, and also general opinions on "fit" based on a bit of personal information. It's just another way of whittling down one's list of programs, and also a good way of having a ready-made contact for if one is ultimately accepted. This suggestion is certainly old hat to some of the more tenured members here, but it may be helpful for some of the new folks who, like me, will be applying for 2015 entry. By the way, I won't name names or locations, but one grad student was quite insistent that a certain top-tier institution doesn't put a lot of stock in "fit." This was quite surprising to me, given most of what I've read to the contrary...but it's worth thinking about nonetheless.

Woo hoo! Congrats, Medieval Madness! You and I haven't interacted on these boards yet, but I've gone through a ton of old threads, so I've followed your plight to some degree. Way to go!

Yup...I just bought this book the other day, as a matter of fact! The "points per page" idea is sort of what I was thinking about when listing the page counts for all the books in that list above. There's simply no way I'm going to be able to make it through Don Quixote in under ten days, while I was able to knock off eight other works on the list in a mere week. Glad to hear that Gray's work is a staple. I don't have the whole poem memorized, but have certainly had a few lines memorized since high school. That said, I'm sure I'll need to poke my nose into it again before exam time. Thanks for the tips!

Yes, I personally plan on entering into academia. I enjoy research and writing, and would be content with those as the bulk of my duties for the next quarter century or more...but I can't deny that I'm looking very forward to teaching as well. I've been a tutor in a college writing lab, and have given enough interactive class presentations to know that it's something I'll be good at. And even though it might sound very odd, I simply enjoy adjudicating, evaluating, and most of all, helping others develop their innate talents. I've always been someone who tries to encourage others to succeed. Again, research is still something I value very highly and enjoy, but I think in the balance between research and teaching, the latter holds slightly more interest for me in the long run (which only means that I won't care much about finding tenure only at R1 institutions). My specialization is probably going to be on poetry and poetics. I'm a little sad that that means I'll have to largely avoid the realm of fiction, much of which I love, but my strengths tend toward the poetry side, and I've also heard some encouraging news about trends in that field. Having said that, there are a few programs I'll apply to for which I'll focus my specialization on late 19th - mid 20th century transatlantic literature. These are all "June" plans though. By the time applications start going out in the fall, I might be singing a whole different tune!

Ah, your path seems to make perfect sense then! From what I've read about SoP, you might want to seriously consider mentioning both your interest in environmental / animal advocacy as well as your current teaching plans abroad. Those are "standout" sort of items. Just remember to tailor your writing sample in that direction. As for the GRE issue, you don't need to worry much at all about your math score. I got a 148 / 33rd percentile, but everything I've read has indicated that it's not a big deal to do fairly poorly. The verbal, however, should be quite high. I think a "good" score would be 160-165, with a "great" score being 166-170. That's subjective, of course, and a 155 or even lower might not be the death of an application. But personally, I'm opting to give the GRE another shot, despite having a "good" verbal score. Harvard lists the general average for their successful applicants as being a 166 verbal. So if I retake the GRE and get a 164 or higher, I'll feel a lot more confident, even though a 162 might not be too low to bother applying. Part of me wishes I could go the MFA route -- and I think it's ideal for what you're planning to do -- but for me personally, it's just not as practical. Then again, according to a great many experts (and a great many more not-quite-experts), getting a Ph.D. in English is the antithesis of practicality as well. But hey, someone's got to carry the torch, right?

Welcome, Poola! On another member's advice, I've been giving some thought to Cornell's joint MFA/Ph.D. program. It looks like a great option, though is obviously even more exclusive than the standard Ph.D. program, accepting only one or two candidates per year. But that is an option for you -- they want two LORs from creative writing professors, and two from lit professors. Out of curiosity, what are you planning on doing with your MFA once you've finished the program? It looks like you're already comfortable with teaching (in another country no less -- kudos!), and you clearly feel comfortable with creative writing already. There are a great many reasons to get an MFA...I'm just wondering about yours. Personally, I've had a ton of formal poetry published over the last eight years or so, with some in some fairly high-end journals...but I've been encouraged to avoid the MFA path, due to its limitation to a very narrow niche. Fortunately I enjoy research and literary study as well as academic and creative writing, so it's not a heart-wrenching decision to focus on a Ph.D. instead of an MFA. But if you know something I don't... As to where I am in the process, I have my letter writers selected (none of the letters are written though), I have one of the two writing samples I'll be using partially written (I'm assembling it from two prior essays plus fleshing it out with more substance), and the other will be written as part of an independent study I'm undertaking this fall. At this point, my program choices aren't firmly solidified, but as you can see from the signature line I assembled this morning, I've whittled it down to sixteen or so, with a few "definites" and a few "probables" mixed in. I'm still doing research and reaching out to various professors and grad students at different grad schools, but I feel I'm making good progress with narrowing it down to a dozen (or baker's dozen) potential places to apply. I've taken the GRE general once and scored "well," but will be retaking it next month in the hopes of getting an even better score. And as soon as ETS opens up the GRE subject test for registration, I'll be doing that too...hopefully in September. As mentioned in a couple of other threads, I'm doing some of the reading in preparation for that now. Good to virtually meet you, and I look forward to interacting with you more over the next crazy nine months or so. I suspect they'll go by a lot faster than most of us expect... Shaun

Apropos of nothing, but...I just rescheduled a retake of the GRE general for mid-July. All things aside, ETS's "best scores" option is a good enough reason to give it another shot. Worst case scenario is that I'll still have "good" scores available. But I suspect I can do a bit better...and I figure that "a bit" might be worth "a lot" in the long run...possibly worth more than the $195 of short term pain.

You're most welcome! Glad it's helpful.

Thanks for that, Lyonessrampant. Indeed, I assembled the list more as a way to have the majority of the reading recommendations in one place, with approximate page counts there as a "time management" guage. It's certainly not the be-all, end-all of test prep! Personally, my plan is to get as much of the reading done as possible by the end of July. I'll treat August as a combination of prep for my Senior semester, and prep for the subject test using the resources you've listed. Basically, since I've got time off this summer, I figure it can't hurt to get as much core reading done as I can, as it will undoubtedly help my chances at the subject test in some way, as well as help to broaden my knowledge of key works of literature in general. It doesn't preclude other application and test prep (after all, I've never been someone who can sit down with a book and read for six hours straight).

Hi folks, I've been working on this for my own use for the past few days, but I figure it might be of help to some of you as well: List of recommended reading for the GRE Literature Subject Test. What I've done is taken the UCSB list that was posted about a year ago, then separated out the works that are considered the most pertinent to the GRE lit test. I then went ahead and systematically went through all of the books (I own most of them at this point) and recorded the page count (or in the case of most plays and long poems, the line count). This should help to give you a good idea of what you can manage in terms of reading vs. finding SparkNotes editions or summaries. For instance, I've been going through most of the shorter works, as they're obviously more manageable. Fortunately I had already read about half of the works on here, so knocking off one or two of the short ones each day is making good progress. Works like Don Quixote and Middlemarch are clearly going to take a long time to read, and given that the subject test is more about breadth of knowledge than depth, I figure that it's more prudent to skip those until I've got most other stuff out of the way...then find decent summaries if I simply don't have the time to read them (which I almost certainly won't). Anyhow, the list probably isn't perfect (note the lack of Biblical passages) and there may be a typo or accidental omission or two in the list, but I'm hoping that some of you will find it beneficial. Oh, and a note on the page numbers: since most of these were done manually, there's naturally going to be some variance between different editions. Generally speaking, I have made every effort to calculate the page count based on the text alone, not including introductions, forewords, afterwords, appendices etc. There are a few books on the list I don't own, and in those cases I have just resorted to the page count listed on a typical edition on Amazon. If at least ONE of you finds this helpful, my efforts will have been worthwhile! Good luck! Shaun Edited to add: I see that the formatting is indeed a little bit wonky, but everything should still be completely legible.

That's some great advice from both of you -- thanks a lot! I have five potential LOR writers to choose from at this point. One is a full professor who got her Ph.D. from Harvard, knows my writing extremely well, and has already offered to essentially go the extra mile and personalize her LORs for any of the programs she is familiar with (and she has spoken at Yale, is extremely familiar with Harvard etc.). So I'll be leaning on her for LORs for all the places I apply -- probably about a dozen at this point. Two other professors, as mentioned, just retired this year, one of which was my advisor, whom I had two writing-heavy courses with over the past year (Shakespeare's Tragedies, and Milton). My only minor concern is that he's quite cynical and has a strong disdain for academia. He has assured me that his LOR will be excellent, however, and I'm going to take him at his word. The other retired professor has similar interests to my own, and is a delightful man all around...and also very familiar with my writing. The other two professors are a bit more questionable. One is quite young -- most likely younger than me, in fact -- and taught me in a course that was technically not in my major. Having said that, the course was "The Birth of the Novel in Antiquity," which clearly has a strong tie to my major. He also happens to have some personal connections with at least one place I will be applying. The final professor and I have become good friends, and she taught me in a couple of courses at a Community College. The problem is that she does not currently have her doctorate (though is working on an online Ph.D. program). She will have nothing but excellent things to say about my writing (I was top of the class in both courses I took with her), but I may reserve her LORs for programs that allow 4-5 letters, or for the one or two "safety" schools I plan on applying to. I guess it's more of an art than a science, tryig to decide which LORs to use for where. There's one other professor I could probably ask if need be, but I'm hoping that I'm effectively covered with the above.