BooksCoffeeBeards

Bless you.

Thanks! In relation to your post, I've had both program directors for schools that ask for the test score (WUSTL and Denver) say that while they expect students to perform well on the test, the whole application matters - a strong writing sample and SOP can help a lot more than a high test score and mediocre or uninspired writing elements. So, while they do expect good results, it is still only one piece of a bigger picture, per se.

I took it yesterday; they weren't kidding about all the Middle English and Medieval stuff. oof.

Well. That was...something.

Interesting aside: I had a student ask me random questions about who-wrote-what after class yesterday, and it was a nice little refresher. If anything, all this studying has allowed me to answer some random literature trivia in my every day life...!

I'm applying to 7, and went through a LOT of winnowing down over this year before most of the apps opened last month. I am down to 7, based on fit, location, and what I can afford (NTT salary, WOOOOOOOOOOO).

I'll be attending the 2016 Lilly Conference on College Teaching, which is a pretty awesome conference re: college teaching issues, methods, and other criticism related to what we do in the classroom. http://www.units.miamioh.edu/lillycon/ It's in Oxford, OH at Miami University, Nov. 19-22. I was also looking at presenting at the NeMLA conference in 2016, but I think I'll be too swamped with PhD apps to get anything together.

Oh thank god.

6 weeks? If I'm taking it October 24, does that mean I won't know my score until around Mid-December? -_-

Good luck to everyone!! Share your post-test freak-outs, frustrations, etc. They will not fall on deaf ears.

If ANYTHING, it might just be the end of academia as it is now, but not the end of academia/academics/graduate study altogether. Which, for me, is where my annoyance comes from regarding the apocalyptic tone and rhetoric. If things change but graduate study in English is kept around, albeit in a different manner, I don't really see the need for this rhetoric, especially if graduate studies start to prepare students for academic and non-academic career tracks. From the friends I do know who have non-academic jobs (and finished their PhD's between 2010-now), their advisors were more than willing to discuss and assist with non-academic career tracks. So, there isn't a lot of gloom-and-doom from what others have shared personally outside of this forum. So, yeah, I definitely get the message, but man, it is pretty worn out now.

I do feel that the intended audience for this is not the lurkers, though. I mean, I can see the value in threads like this (that aren't bumped 500 times because who doesn't like revisiting a dead horse just one more time?), but the value of this particular one seems... worn out.

I've been digging up older texts re: poetry and poetic form, solely because the test has a very New Criticism approach to questions on poetry and poetic form. So, thanks for this recommendation! While I did cover those things several times in undergrad and graduate school, they were not the focus. I have to keep reminding myself as I prepare for this test to think about how the test is structured, and less about my own experiences and perspectives regarding each significant area of study/author/work/yadda yadda.

I ended up taking one of the older practice tests posted on here. It wasn't representative of what would come our way now (it was from 1994-95), but it is still good practice of knowing how the test is generally structured + how loooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnng and arduous it truly is. I feel that even though I performed as well on that test as I did the last time I took the Lit GRE (back in Sept. 2010), it was good practice just for the sake of mental preparation. So, if you tackle the older test, you can just use it as a way to wrap your mind around the actual test. I'm planning to take the current ETS practice test about a week or two before I take the real test (my test date is Oct. 24th). I'm hoping that will give me an idea of what the contemporary content will be like, without completely freaking myself out over the length/monstrous nature of the test.

I have been browsing my Norton Anthology of Theory/Criticism lately, mostly taking in the author's notes on certain figures and movements. it has been very helpful as a refresher, seeing as it has been 6 years since I last took a rigorous literary theory course at all.

I'd like to echo biyute's sentiment as well. I was never given or advised on good strategies for taking the test before, this has been very helpful. I still have a little under three months to study, but I think I can take a couple weeks to gather general info, and then go through studying and committing as much to memory as possible. If anything, this test will certainly give me more cocktail party tricks in the future. Ya know?

Thought I might revive this thread to say the new director respond to my inquiry about the program with thorough details, as well as additional faculty to contact, and even which certificate programs might fit in with my idea. The director did not really *say* anything about the Lit GRE scores, other than a good writing sample and SOP being strong persuasive elements, in spite of less than stellar scores/in conjunction with strong scores. EDIT: Talk about two long sentences. Wow.

Roquentin - you beat me to it. And so did ComeBackZinc. As a NTT faculty member (MA in '09, adjuncted for a year to full-time NTT in Fall 2010), I've heard this same discussion ad nauseum. Monthly. For about....6, almost 7 years now. It was a huge topic of discussion when my graduate institution faculty members voted to unionize. I've yet to hear anything new, unless they address new statistics or new anecdotes from others about the same. damn. thing.

I think I'll echo Wyatt's Torch here on this - it seems so admission committee specific sometimes, it does make one wonder IF the scores matter that much. For me, I'm still focusing on a writing sample (I've had a short article published recently, but feel there is something else more indicative of what I'd LIKE to do overall) and my Statement of Purpose. Ultimately, I do feel strong test scores help, but I want my Writing Sample and SOP to show the actual work I can and want to do. I don't think a certain score on the GRE or Lit GRE will reflect that as much, and I think the point you're sharing here affirms that. It is greatly appreciated.

This is really my biggest concern - I only took the Lit GRE once, and that was back in 2010 (I ended up in the 55th percentile). I'm concerned about my score for this test since WashU is one of my top schools. Bleh. Either way, it IS good to know what they care about!

THAT IS GOOD NEWS!! I am also applying to WashU (PhD - Lit), and I was planning on contacting them (once ETS gets their act together and posts my Writing scores...)

*throws beard into the ring* 2016 for a PhD in Literature! Washington University in St. Louis Oregon Colorado-Boulder Arizona State Vanderbilt Denver University Saint Louis University Temple Looking at adaptations, mostly of pre-film Canon works (notably Jane Austen - I lover her work and studying it just came easily to me for some reason). I am also concerned about the subject test; I only took it once, but that was WAY back in 2010 during an unsuccessful season...is it radically different? Is it mostly identification of works? Reading comprehension? Any literary criticism thrown in?

I feel like so much more matters with the application that unless the program really stresses getting a certain score (or higher) on the GRE, you don't need to worry about getting 160+ on both. Hell, I know that a 150 in Quantitative isn't super awesome, but many PhD Lit programs aren't looking for high quantitative scores, ya know?

I'd have to agree with the Kaplan math here - it gleans over a wide breadth of possible problems, but does not offer any help with memorizing some of the more complex logic the problems often present during the test. I mostly studied to make sure I did not waste too much time during those sections without completely bombing every question. I ended up with a 160 Verbal / 150 Quantitative using Kaplan prep (and, with applying to Lit PhD programs, I'm not excited about my score, but definitely not upset - just glad it's over to be honest).

Thanks!! ANyone else taking it this summer?