Poiple

I'm also applying for Fall 2022 so replying to follow. I also notice a few posters above are US based applying to the UK, and I am vice versa - UK applying to US. I have previously studied abroad at UCSB as part of my undergrad, but most recently I obtained my MSt in Women's Studies at Oxford and am happy to answer any questions people may have. One key take away for funding in the UK, especially if you are applying to Oxford or Cambridge, is to look at college funding. There's a YouTube historian PhD student who has made a video on this - redheadacademic I'm looking forward to chatting with you all more!

You can study the words in whatever order you wish. I'm currently learning vocal through several sources (Manhattan flashcards, Magoosh iPad apps, reading, and making my own flashcards). You just need to do whatever is best for you.

I'm currently using Magoosh and Empower and I'm finding them both useful. They both have video explanations and lots of practice questions. I'm finding using both useful as they explain concepts differently and I find having more skills in my arsenal a bonus. My only gripe is with Empower's website - it's a little buggy - there are sometimes quiz questions in which you can't actually click an answer and the script the page uses sometimes crashes (this could be a browser problem - I'm using Safari on a MacBook). I think Magoosh is cheaper than Empower (I can't remember how much I paid for Magoosh but Empower was $99/Month). Empower gives you a free 24 hour test so I would do that and compare it to Magoosh to see which suits you best. I've also been using lots of books to maximise my learning.

Everyday I find my self facing the same decision - whether to study for the General or the Subject test that day! I'm keen to hear what other people are devoting their time to and which test people think is more important to ace!

I've just taken half of a practise test (I don't want to use up all my practise materials too quickly) and I found a lot of questions asking what "x word" means in passage x. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on preparing for these questions? I'm English, and have what I think is a good vocabulary but the odd ones are still throwing me off, particularly if there's a word with multiple meanings.

There are posts on this board in which people state they got 10th and 18th percentile and still got in to top tier programs. Just looking at the practise test next to me it seems 490 is 29th %ile. If it was me, I'd still apply. It is only one component of your packet and the general impression I get is that a great score may enhance your application but a poor score won't necessarily hurt it. Good luck!

I thought I'd add my experience with the A/W. I've taken the GRE 3 times (twice over 5+ years ago though). The first 2 times I got 5.5 and the second I got an astounding 4.5. I say astounding as for the first question I was feeling a bit ill so only managed to write 3 sentences total and then the time ran out. I tried my hardest on the second question but I've always wondered how I managed to score a 4.5 when the first was most certainly a 0 or 1. I'm still confused now. If it makes anyone feel better though, a good friend of mine took the test around the same time and scored a 4.0 - she was devastated...until February when she got her admittance letter to Berkeley (Rhetoric).

WT - Another excellent response, thank you! (I've green-arrowed you ). I was just having a particularly difficult day with studying yesterday, saw a few difficult poetry questions I couldn't answer, and started freaking out. What you've said makes perfect sense though, I'll probably gear my study more towards style now. I find long poems the worst, they're all somewhat morphing together in my brain. Gosh, what did we get ourselves into?

Hello...I, like most of us, am currently studying for the GRE Literature subject exam and was wondering if anyone has any tips for memorising the poetry, or any knowledge of how poetry is used on the exam. I'm fine with prose and longer works where you can really get your teeth into it, but I'm getting stuck trying to recognise shorter works from similar periods (for example, the romantics). Does anyone have any tips? Also, I wondered if anyone had a good, reliable Greek Mythology site to look at? I'm just getting down to the Greek stuff and it's scaring the pants off me. Thank you

WT - Thank youu I think I've decided not to get them, primarily because Amazon UK don't stock them so it means waiting for an Amazon Marketplace version, which could take ages. I'm speedily making my own flashcards

Wyatt's Torch - I'm interested in the flashcards you mention but can't find them, could you provide a link perhaps? Thanks

Never a truer word was spoken

I think the best thing to do is not overthink "how much" you should be studying. The test is huge, you could study for it for two years if you wanted too, but it's just not feasible. You know how much time you have to dedicate to it, you just need to make your time count and squeeze the most out of those hours studying as possible! I've started studying quite early, but between now and my test date (Oct 25th) I am going on vacation and having major surgery on my stomach (I'll be on a liquid only diet for the 6 weeks up to my test - ugh, fatigue here I come!) so I'm trying to squeeze as many hours in pre-surgery as possible.

I'd like to echo what everyone else has said and say that I've been told by people at Berkeley that the LoRs are not so important. Everyone gets a good letter of recommendation because if the tutor didn't have nice things to say they wouldn't bother writing one in the first place. And because everyone gets good letters they don't really matter and aren't very helpful. This is only what I've been told, and it could be different for other schools, so take it with a pinch of salt!

unræd thank you for your response, it's a great help knowing I'm not the only one with these dilemmas I'll probably end up making just minor changes to my WS and focus my energy on getting a decent statement of purpose, as I definitely think this is the area that needs the most work from me. If only the dreaded GRE wasn't hanging over my head as well!

I'm also applying for interdisciplinary programs, some of which American Studies. I'm very interested in American and Ethnic Studies at USC, primarily because it is the home of Judith 'Jack' Halberstam, whom I adore! Other inter programs I'm considering are Rhetoric at Berkeley and Modern Thought at Stanford. Puyong, I wouldn't worry. I don't believe many people applying to American Studies have done an undergraduate in A.S. - myself included! (I was Theatre Studies and English Literature BA and my Masters is in Women's Studies).

Thank you for the advice guys This process gets so daunting, doesn't it? I'm so grateful to have found the grad cafe, so much good information here! I'd like to pay it back by uploading all the literature tests I have (5 in total, 3 of which I have as .pdfs) but I can't find the link to upload, anyone any ideas?

To echo smellybug, funding at any UC other than Berkeley is not guaranteed. Even if it looks like they've offered you a full package make sure it will be guaranteed for the full five years. A friend of mine was straight up told by a professor at Irvine not to apply because the funding package would be diabolical.

My writing sample is loosely related to my theoretical area of interest but it seems as if it's less English focussed than a lot of those discussed above. My WS is a close textual and queer analysis of British Women's Weekly magazines. I actually won an international award for this paper, and it's been published, so my advisor said it really should be the piece to use, but I'm concerned about syncing it coherently with my SoP. I'll be doing a lot of tweaks to make it more relevant, I think!

I thought i'd introduce myself. I'm Mel and also applying for the 2015 cycle. It's all very daunting, isn't it? My principal concern is finding a specialisation. My Masters work was almost exclusively queer, and I'd definitely like to continue on the queer path in grad school but I'm not sure if queer is a good enough specialisation. How did everyone else go about honing in on theirs for their SoP? I attended Oxford for my M.St and definitely think you should apply. I know several people doing their PhD there currently and they love it. I know it seems like a reach, but I thought that and got in so it is do-able. You're correct that the funding situation sucks, but this can be alleviated by choosing the right college (different colleges have differing amounts of money).

Hello...I thought I'd introduce myself as I too am taking the dreaded subject test. Unfortunately the only date available even remotely close to me was the October date, and I have to fly to Dublin (from England) to take it! jhefflol: I can sympathise with being so anxious about the test it stops you studying, I have had quite a lot of that. With regards to other practice tests I've managed to find 5 in total - I think 3 were posted on another thread on grad cafe (and then I have the Princeton Review test and the ETS one). I've just been trying to upload the others I have for you but can't figure it out. I'll keep trying, but until then look in previous Subject test threads.