BeatrizBear

Well, an extra week is a long time. And there weren't any problems with the online application or anything. They also didn't give an explanation for it either. I would think if it was related to the application or weather or something they would just say it. So maybe they just didn't get enough applicants or didn't like the ones that they got?

One of the schools that I applied to pushed the deadline by a week after the deadline had passed. I turned in my application the day that it was due and went back to check on it three days later and suddenly the deadline has been pushed a week. I think this is a bad sign.

My GRE scores are definitely not great, but I'm hoping it won't mean that much since I'm going into the Spanish department. Also, the fact that I didn't major in Spanish might be bad. My Classics background means I took Latin so that might count for something, but definitely I have less literature training than a Spanish major.

It was for Boston U. Maybe a weather issue? They've been having some bad weather up north. Maybe they extended it to give people more time to submit materials. That or they didn't get enough applicants or enough applicants that they liked. But anyway, they didn't give a reason. I just found that to be strange, though.

Is it a bad sign when a program extends their deadline? I turned in an application on time and as I checked the application today, they said that they had extended their deadline by about a week....

Do they start sending interview requests around the end of January?

Gotcha. Well, thanks for all the info. I joined the Academic Decathlon back in high school because I thought it would help me get better at being interviewed but I always have the fakest look on my face and ramble. Haha. One time I got so nervous that I fiddled with my earring and I hit the interviewer in the eye with it because it came flying off.

I assume all the departments host interviews. I thought that might be the case because it seems like you don't get accepted without an interview, but I wasn't sure. It's still too early for me since the deadlines have barely passed for my applications, but I thought I might prepare for it.

Thanks! That actually helps a lot. I'm a native speaker of Spanish but was born in the USA and my English ended up surpassing my Spanish, so sometimes my vocabulary is better in English and it makes me self conscious. Joan, what are your research interests?

I turned in my application to NYU, Indiana, and UT Austin. I'm about to turn in one to Boston University, Washington University, and the University of Pittsburgh. Mostly my research interests run toward women writers during and after the Boom. I have a thing for magical realism, but also really like reading women. Also, US Latina lit (especially Latina writers), Border Studies, and immigration in the United States. I don't want to be a lawyer, but I am interested in the political side to immigration in the USA. I'm nervous about being offered an interview because I will 100% mess that up. I get so nervous. My biggest fear is that they'll say a word that I don't know and then I'll be like, "Uuuumm...."

It takes 10-15 days for your score to be sent out, doesn't it? Then you add the time it takes for the scores to be sent. They're sent via mail, right?

I got a 156 on the verbal so I'm taking it again (I did get a 5.5 writing score, though). I'm praying for a 160. Although I don't think it matters much since I'm going into Spanish, I'm also freaking out about scores. If you want to re-take them and have the time to study, go for it. If you don't have sufficient time to re-take them then you'll have no choice but to move on.

If it's literature then yeah, they'll look at the verbal more than the math.

You can still make up the grade. However, if you're worried, I'd talk to the teacher. If they gave you that point then I would think that they would be willing to work something out with you. Maybe you can ask for some tutoring? Or maybe there's a way to make up the bad grade.

Some professors are very busy or just are bad at answering their emails. It's the time of midterms right now so everyone is busy, but also a lot of professors just dislike talking via email and ignore their emails. You could try talking to some graduate students in the department instead or talking to the department's secretary or the director of the program you're interested in.

This is pretty important. Just because a school is a top ten school, that doesn't mean that it's the best school for your specific research interest. If you're interested it in a particular subject and everyone in the department is doing something unrelated to your interest then it's not worth it to go there. Also, when getting hired, depending on the department they'll want someone with a specific background. For instance, I specialize in Latin American literature. If the department was looking to hire someone that specialized in Golden Age Spanish Literature, I'm probably not going to get the job regardless of how highly ranked of a school I went to. Keep this in mind. Also keep in mind that many things change in a short frame of time within that department. They could hire someone new or someone could retire or leave. They could get budget cuts and such things. For instance, Boston College is still listed on the rankings for Spanish programs even though they cut their PhD program in Spanish. So just take rankings with a grain of salt.

It's definitely a huge plus, but how much it helps depends on what department you're looking at. From what I gather, some schools look at GRE scores more closely than others. For instance, a program for English Lit might look at the verbal score a lot harder than say, a Chinese language program. How long did you study, by the way? A month or more?

They're not going to ask you some secret question. You can google this kind of thing and figure out the most common questions that students get. I've never had an interview for anything where they asked me not to tell anyone what they asked. That would be strange. Also, they probably won't ask everyone the same thing. It all depends on what you say. If you say X thing and an interviewer finds that interesting, the conversation would go in a completely different direction than someone else's interview.

I feel like maybe six or seven schools are doable for professors but 20 is asking for too many. My friend was applying for Economics and applied to 15 schools. She rotated the people she asked for rec letters. I believe she asked 4 people and needed 3 for each application. Remember, you're probably not the only one asking for rec letters. Also, these people have other duties like, you know, teaching.

Homeric Greek is different from all other types of Greek, so you might take a lot at it first to see how comfortable you are with it. Some of the stuff you'll find in Homer are unique to Homer and you won't see in other texts. I wouldn't call it difficult, but you'll definitely need to familiarize yourself with a new style.

Don't some people put down their thesis on their CV?

You get a choice in comps vs thesis? So lucky. I had to do both. I don't know if this helps, but I wrote my thesis on something related to my research interest because I hadn't majored in what I wanted to go into for my PhD so I felt that it would accurately show the admissions people my research goals.

I think this is the best advice. Speak about specific things about the program that you think fit you so that the statement of purpose is tailored to the program, but don't go far enough to name names.

I have a super unique name so I'm paranoid that they're going to remember me because of that and not in a good way.

I got a B in one course and a B- in another but As in all other courses at my MA program. The low grades were in Latin and Ancient Greek. They're particularly difficult classes at my university because so many people have been taking Latin and/or Greek since middle school. Many of them win scholarships for their language skills. So it's not particularly a big deal for me.