Branwen daughter of Llyr

I'm hanging in there - learning as much as I can from these boards and other ppl's experiences and planning for next year's app round. Despite being positive I would get rejected this year, it still stings a little when the rejection letter arrives. I guess no matter how well we prepare ourselves emotionally, there is always an underlying little ray of hope... So I'm trying to concentrate on next year's round. That, and dealing with other life-altering-issues that are cropping up daily. Like a massive job dilemma coming my way. Oh boy.

Welcome to the zany world of English grad studies... move your seat to the upright position, fasten your seatbelt, and make sure no electronic devices are turned on! We are expecting turbulent weather during this flight, so if suffering from a weak stomach, please keep your barf bag handy! Those suffering from a weak heart should not even board! Of course, as a proper medievalist, I SHOULD say "welcome, initiate, to the mysteries of English Graduate Academia. As you pass through the Castle of Despair, Vanity Fair, and get attacked by the Apollyon Monster and Gian Despair, make sure to maintain your armor of Righteousness. You will pass many trials and temptations before you reach the Celestial City (tenure-track), so make sure to remain faithful to your God! (be he Shakespeare, Pound, or Whitman)."

It sounds like you have a game plan . And yes, it's much better to take classes that can then count towards an MA. I've decided to throw in a couple-three funded terminal MA programs into next years application bag, just in case I don't get into a straight-to-PhD again. Let me just throw in this : not all PhD programs require the MA. since they don't, often only about 12 credits of your MA can transfer in, meaning you are likely to still have to push 5 years of PhD work (maybe 4 if you work really hard). Of course, this depends on the program. However, starting to work towards your goal this upcoming fall is fantastic, and I personally think it's a risk worth taking. I've been out of school for so long that an extra year or two will not be a disaster (despite being OLD hahahah). Obviously, I'm hoping that I'll get in to a direct-to-PhD next year! But at least I've started thinking about ways to get around the issue if I don't. In the worst possible case, with an MA, I can get teaching certification very quickly, at teach English at a snotty private school with high academic standards hahahahah. Anyhow - I think you're on the right track. The intro to literature and the graduate survey classes will help you towards the subject GRE, as well as count towards your MA. And you're right - two MA's give you two options of applications for 2012 - either International Relations or English (that is, if the world doesn't end LOL). Good luck, and ENJOY YOUR CLASSES!!! I'm beyond jealous . Hey, you never know, I may see you in Boulder yet!

Oh, I agree - I don't think the applications should be only to top-tiers. I know that as I narrow the list down (which I'm NOT rushing about!!), there will probably end up being about half top-tier, and half top-50. And it's hard to narrow them down, I know - I'm also interested in a LOT of different programs for different reasons. But I'm firm with myself - there have to be certain criteria for the selection, so here are some of mine - must have a large, thriving medieval program with interdisciplinary options with a medieval studies center. Must have at least ONE medieval prof I've read and enjoyed the research of (i'm planning to do a LOT of critical reading over the next few months), and hopefully an Arthurian scholar at that. I read through all available course descriptions. The school must have classes I would be passionate about taking (medieval or otherwise). Distribution requirements? (I like having choices - I may be a medievalist, but I also love early modern and 18th century stuff). If there is one faculty that researches fantasy/sci-fi, the school goes up in the list (i.e. Tolkien researches are highly appreciated). Faculty-student ratio. Funding. Location. Don't worry about narrowing down the list now. Take the time to contact programs you're not sure about, or you have questions about, or to contact specific profs on your maybe list - that can narrow things down pro-actively. I'm keeping THE LONG list and narrowing things down slowly. I've selected about 24 on the long list just from the websites, and am currently in the process of ranking them (for my purposes, of course). Some schools I'll contact and ask questions about, some I know in advance I want to go to. There's no real rush at this point - you just want to have some solid ideas by the end of summer. Right now, I'm mainly concentrating on getting a kick-ass score in the subject test, revising my paper, and jotting down general SOP notes (also, for each school, jotting down why I'd love to go there). Put in the hours and research schools well - it will pay off both in your SOP and in your peace of mind that you REALLY want to go to the places you end up choosing!

Personally, I'm doing everything I can to make myself as competitive an applicant as possible. I'm shooting for the stars. This means - I already re-took the general GRE, and dramatically improved scores, I'm taking the subject test in April, and aiming for a very high score, I'm revising a paper I wrote in my senior year and adding a great deal of research to it, not just close reading, to make for a publishing quality writing sample, and I'm already making notes on my SOP. In the meantime, I will beef up my languages by taking Latin, and who knows, I may find an online grad class at a good university where I can develop a cyber-relationship with a prof that will help me with the writing sample + a recent LOR. I have a 3.66 GPA total (3.78 in English), so I think that with all of the above, it's worth my while to apply to Harvard, Yale, etc. It's not just about the prestige, mind you (although, that can't hurt). It just so happens that both Harvard and UCLA have the best programs for someone with my interests (UCLA teaches WELSH!!!!!), Cornell has an amazing prof that researches children's literature AND a great medieval program, Connecticut's medieval program is AMAZING, and so on. I'm also applying to other schools - Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis, Notre Dame, U Illinois, Ohio State and a bunch of others are still on the list - but I'm making sure their programs are near perfect fits as well, and that I'd be tickled pink to go to any of them. But I won't limit myself in advance for something that's just a matter of sitting on my ass and studying and preparing for. Especially since I have a while to prepare (it's not like I have to send out those 2011 apps tomorrow, right?). So, yes, I think it's worth making the effort to be able to apply to ANY school that you would love to go to. This is our dream people. and sometimes, we just have to buckle down, and work our asses off to achieve it!! (even if it means being rejected!!)

Thanks Ok - here goes. I'm not completely sure about rent prices and such (I haven't lived there as an adult) - but here's some info about Providence: It's actually a nice little city. Brown is located in a neighborhood called "The East Side" - which is the most "prestigious" area of providence. Lots of old houses, two private schools (Moses Brown and Wheeler - and may Wheeler be burnt down to the ground, amen. sorry. personal grudge). Brown sits right near Thayer St. - a cute little street with interesting funky shops, a starbucks (required for any school area), a good greek restaurant, a hippie head shop (for those who partake hahah), a CVS, two bookstores (The Brown Bookstore, where you can get both your textbooks and regular reading books, and College Hill Bookstore - my favorite haunt as a child. I used to spend HOURS at the College Hill bookstore when my dad was in the office). Thayer is also home to a great little movie theatre, with awesome foreign films and art-house movies (the cinaplexes are out in Seekonk, MA - a 15 minute drive). The entire East Side is walkable - and some of the old houses have been "cut up" to smaller apartment units. There are also condo complexes in the area (north of campus). I do know that Brown is EXTREMELY HELPFUL with housing - when my dad moved there from Boston to his tenure-track, they gave him a HUGE list of places to look at for housing. Buses from Thayer st. go pretty much everywhere (downtown, train station, etc), I think, but Providence is NOT FAMED for it's public transport. If you end up renting in the East Providence area, you may have to go by car. However, the area around Brown itself is easily walkable, and overall, Providence is QUITE small. The campus itself is lovely, and a bit spread out. The basic quad looks like Harvard / Columbia / Yale (i.e. classic Ivy), only a bit smaller. There are additional buildings spread out all over the area. From what I've seen, Brown students are a funky bunch - lots of birkenstocks and vintage clothing walking around Thayer, or sitting in Starbucks glued to their laptops . Brown sits pretty much on top of the "hill" - its a 10-15 minute walk away from RISD (which is at the bottom of the hill - and it's a STEEP hill - but being from San Francisco, you're used to steep hills ), there is an excellent chinese restaurant as you walk towards RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), as well, highly recommended, and its about a 20 minute walk from the river (and the Downtown area) and the mall across the river (Providence Place. Has a good sized Borders. Yes, I'm all about the bookstores when I go visit). Twice a year, there are "Fire-Water" shows on the river - I think for New Years eve and fourth of July - quite lovely. Anyhow, the Brown area is pretty amazing! You actually don't feel like you're in a city, with all the old houses and trees... Congrats on getting in!

Not a brown acceptee (I haven't heard from them at all) But I know the Brown area very very well (my dad is a prof there) so if anyone wants to pick my brain about Providence and the Brown neighborhood, feel free to PM!

Indeed! I'm also likely looking at rejections across the board - and it's probably a good thing. I've learned so much in the past two months that my applications next year will be a bird of a completely different feather! Good luck!

Add option D: Don't do an additional master's, but do register for a couple of grad classes in your field and nurture a relationship with the profs. This way you'll A: at least have a good, solid writing sample, and B: recent LORs. Try to aim for grad classes that involve research rather than practical!! Also, acing the GMAT is always a good idea . it definitely can't hurt.

There are actually a few of us here - I'm a GMU alumnus (surprisingly excellent English department, as I found out while attending - also their theater program is very very good for a tier-3 school - I started as a theater major)

I'll definitely get around to Tolkien. I'm a fantasy nut (the good kind. Ursula Le Guin and such. Well, and also the humorous kind, as can be seen from my weekly updated signatures - I ADORE Terry Pratchett - he's actually a really good subject for research - Discworld is a nicely skewed mirror to our world... and the parallels between Ankh-Morpork and medieval London are staggering... ) I also hope that it's about having a knack for spotting quality work from whatever era. That, or recognizing like-minds in some spectacular authors...

Bummer Venetia! still keeping my fingers crossed for those who haven't heard.

I raised my score by 120 points in the verbal, and 110 in the quant. - studied intensively with the following (I was mostly concerned with the verbal - the fact that I raised my quant by 120 points was an unexpected added bonus): Cracking the GRE - Used as a general guide and practice, and familiarized myself with the exam. Also used their online support materials (4 practice tests, and a lot of practice questions). Barron's essential 800 words for the GRE - went through 10 groups of words a day. Then went through 6 root groups a day. Kaplan's Advanced Verbal - Used it only AFTER was done with all the verbal in Cracking the GRE. Vocaboly - went through many groups of words a day with this software. It was very helpful. ETS's practice tests. I raised my verbal from 600 to 720, and my quant from 560 to 670. AWA went up from 3.5 (I really blew it off the first time) to 5.0 (acceptable. I should have gotten a 6.0, I think, but then again, they may have not liked my 17th century examples hahahah). I think the basic idea is understanding how the questions are asked and the BEST answering strategies for you. For me, in Verbal, the best answer strategy was - to know the answer. I.e. - learn a LOT of words. Practice on analogies (I wasn't that great at "getting" the relationships between the words even if I knew what they were, initially). Practice the harder reading comps (those with the tricky, misleading questions). For the quantitative section - I reviewed basic geometry rules (i.e. how to figure an area of a circle) - I'm already decent at algebra. Otherwise, I closed my eyes, did the best I could, and prayed .

Thanks for this - you've given me some GREAT ideas regarding the structure of my next SOP. And yes - it is all about wowing the adcom, isn't it? Well, that's what I intend to do!! (oh GOD I hope I can revise my writing sample to publishable on my own...)

Indeed - us Medievalists may be small, but we are FIERCE. @woolfie - do yourself a favor and don't choose a concentration / focus based on competitiveness. Choose one based on your deepest passion. That's what will shine through your application and be your greatest selling point - your passion and dedication for your particular period / genre / author. I actually love the 18th century (on the British side of the pond) - some of the greatest writers that I admire the most wrote during that time (Swift, being one super example), and I'm hoping to take a few classes in renaissance / early modern anyhow to augment my medieval concentration, but what I'm selling on my SOP and writing sample is my deep, unending fascination and love of medieval literature, especially that with Celtic influences. Do a LOT of reading over the next few months and find what makes your belly go flip-flop the most. What makes you want to grab the text and delve deep into it. What fascinates you, what moves you, what you are most interested in. THAT's what you should concentrate in!!

LOL!! I doubt I'm in the running. I really do. In fact, if I get an acceptance now, I'll scream with frustration. It would be a bad idea to start this fall for a number of reasons, but I doubt I would have the mental and emotional strength to refuse UVA, Brown, or Cornell. I've already lined up the next year and a half with other stuff (two terrific and high paying jobs, private students, Latin classes starting October, revising writing sample over the summer, and finding schools with best fit for 2011), and am actually LOOKING FORWARD to going through the process properly, rather than haphazardly (as happened this year. One should never decide to apply to grad school at the last minute). Yes. I'm weird. *sigh*

popstitute - did I mention I want to be you next year's app round? Congrats on all the acceptances!

sorry to hear... I'm facing 4 rejections, so I kind of know how you feel. If you decide to apply again next year - GOOD LUCK! And if you're anything like me, you won't let one round of rejections stifle your dream

Maybe they never got my transcripts??? LOL Honey, if they rejected you, no way IN HELL am I getting in this year (I have great hopes for next year, though!)

95th percentile and above . (Hey, I don't want my subject score to feel out-of-its-league compared to the verbal 98th percentile, you know?? hahahahha). I'm also hoping they'll be impressed that I'm revising my writing sample without any profs, advisors, etc. I've actually gotten some really nice ideas for it from studying the critical theories - and ordered a bunch of books accordingly (Including Little, Brown - it's been a while since I've written anything MLA...) It's a great website - take everything with a grain of salt tho - as you can see, they only list the general GRE verbal (since that's what english departments care about), and there have been deviations from the listed scale. Make sure you find out cut-offs for quant (especially in state schools, for fellowship purposes) with every grad school you apply to .

Boulder has a great English PhD program (it's on my long list as well - also my sister will be applying to Naropa for fall 2011, so it would be nice to be in the same city) - and they are MUCH less numbers oriented than the top-ten (Harvard / Yale / Stanford fame). If U-Col Boulder is where you would want to remain, don't bother re-taking the general GRE (although ask the graduate chair EXACTLY about that) and focus on the subject test. No, English is not particularly quantitative. Or even at all. However, some grad schools have a cut-off point, even for the quant (because of fellowships, that ONLY look at your GRE). Before you make any decisions about retaking the general, find out, for each school you plan to apply to, what their Graduate School GRE cutoff is, and then you can decide with all the facts . Each school is VERY individual. I'm aiming pretty high, to lofty, prestigious schools (at least half the schools in the short list will likely be top-twenty, oh god, I'm a snob....), so I'm putting in a great deal of effort into every single aspect of my application, including the stupid tests. When I saw the 720 flashing on the screen when I finished the general GRE I started jumping up and down in my chair and throwing air-punches (the moderator was excited for me as well. Not many people score above 700V in Israel...). And I was SO pleased that I raised my quant score as well (mostly out of relief that I will NEVER EVER HAVE TO TAKE THE GENERAL GRE AGAIN). The overall sense is that the English departments don't care too much about your quant score. But I would find out as much as possible before deciding to retake or not to retake the exam. Check out this site for a LOT of data regarding GPA and GRE scores at various schools: http://web2.ade.org/ade/bulletin/N083/083053.htm . It's not the bible, but it can definitely give you an idea of what to aim for!!

I haven't heard a peep from them. At ALL. This is beyond weird.

Thanks!! That's what I'm hoping for - I want some choice - be accepted to a few programs, have a tad bit of luxury in the selection process. I guess the advantage of being 9 years post graduation is that ANY studying, even for the stupid GRE's is welcome. When I was cramming for the general GRE, I actually got excited about the vocab section. I even posted a GRE Word of the Day on facebook on a regular basis (I just had to share those words with everyone else hahahahah). I totally know that a high GRE score isn't a "get out of jail free" card. But it certainly can't hurt - and it may even help. I've always been crap at standardized tests - my SAT scores were average, and the first time I did the GRE's right out of college I didn't do too wonderfully either. I was actually quite surprised I did so well the second time I took the general GRE this round - but somehow, something just clicked. It gave me the courage to aim really high for the subject test. Even if it means studying poems I'll never look at again, and reading both the American and English norton's cover to cover (which I'm not doing, btw ). I guess it's all a matter of attitude - I have a real chance here for a personal "survey" of literature. And to add a few must reads to my list that I wasn't very interested in before! U Michigan is on my long list, btw - I loved their program, and their medieval concentration is very very strong!