Warelin

The two programs you mentioned are incredibly different in the purposes they serve. Where does your interest lie? Are you interesting in publishing? Are you interesting in teaching? Are you interested in research? How do you plan on connecting your Master's program interests to your PHD program? I think it's important to consider the following: Reputable MFA programs are extremely competitive; more so than PHD programs. UA received 500 applications for their MFA Program; they accepted 15. I have no idea how many applications programs such as the Iowa Writer's Workshop or the University of Michigan receives. I'd imagine the number is somewhere between 600-1000. There are programs that receive fewer applications but they tend to be unfunded. People in MFA programs tend to have a desire to publish their creative work and would do nothing but that if possible. For most, the MFA is a terminal degree and as such they don't pursue further studies. There are still a great number of MA applications that are still accepting applications. I don't have any information on the MAT.

This may not be what you want to here but multiple schools have stated that the Writing Sample and Statement of Purpose are the two most important parts of your application materials. Grades and GRE scores can keep people out of certain schools, but they won't be what gets someone into a school. It's also important to realize that there isn't a "good" or "bad" writing sample. It's more of a "how good" is this and whether or not you fit in with their program. The latter means different things to different people all of which or none of which the program may use in determing whether they see fit or not.

Small note on BA-to-phd Applicants: Some programs *may* prefer to train candidates to their way of doing things. They might think it's easier to get them to learn how to do things under their style. Small note on MA-to-phd Applicants: Some programs consider MA applicants to be more ready for the PHD since they have previous graduate work. They may consider them less likely to drop out. Some programs are generous in the amount of coursework they allow you to "transfer" in for credit. Others accept little-to-no previous graduate coursework. Most programs do accept a mixture of MA and BA applicants into their phd program.

I wouldn't count yourself out yet. There are way too many factors that go into making a decision. + While your foreign experience abroad would likely be neutral for English, I'd imagine it would give you a decent amount of "points" in comparative literature. It should at least get you past the "slush" round.

I think it's important to remember (not saying you aren't but might be helpful for other applicants) that what appears to be a high stipend may not get as far as one thinks. For example, CUNY (while a great school) pays 25k. Alabama pays 13.5k. And you mentioned SC offers 8.5k per semester which equals 17k per year. In this example, I'll be using myapartmentmap to compare cost of living for rent only within a 10 mile radius. According to this, the cost of rent near CUNY runs around $2,757 monthly. $2,757*12= $33,084 According to this, the cost of rent near Alabama runs around $697 monthly. $697*12=$8,364 According to this, the cost of rent near South Carolina runs around $744 monthly. $744*12=8,928 Stipend-Rent costs CUNY: 25,000-33,084= -8,084 Alabama: 13,500-8,364= 5,136 South Carolina: 17,000-8,928= 8,072 While I would never advise choosing any school based on income after rent, I think it's an important factor to consider. These are unfortunately just generalizations in the average rent cost and assumes you'd be living alone in a 1 bedroom apartment with no roommates. CUNY could work out greatly for someone who splits housing costs with another individual. (and it's much easier to find a roommate in NYC than it is in most other places.) I'd also like to point out that Alabama does have an additional amount provided to those who are accepted into their Strode program, but it is a lot harder to gain admission into since it's sort of separately funded from everything else. From the scholars I've spoken to in the strode program, their previous coursework has been focused on the early modern period. On a side note, I'm not sure on their reputation in southern literature, but Vanderbilt offers a free application to apply.

As someone who has read most of your posts over the past two years, I think the right program will accept you for you. If a school is so hyperfocused on grades that they can't see your potential as a scholar just because you're 10 points under their preferred score, chances are you wouldn't be happy there. I can't speak for any universities. But if your writing style is anything similiar to what you portray here, I think a lot of universities will be interested. Your writing style is very similiar to a few of the English PHD students I had class with and I know that this school is on your application list. Regardless of outcome, I think everyone deserves a well-earned break. Rejections don't even mean you weren't good enough; it could also mean that they may be transitioning away from your focal area due to it being overrepresented in the previous cohorts. Worst come to worst, there are so many other ways you can showcase your degree for employers who do genuinely care.

A couple of notes here: Alabama is mostly renowned for its Strode Program within the English Department + the Creative Writing MFA. I think the Strode Program boasts a 100 percent placement rate at the Ph.D. level. If you're really interested in southern lit: Southern Carolina is a good place to check out Mississipi is a good place for it LSU is another place I'd consider Western Carolina has a decent number of faculty interested in Southern Lit and they also offer a funded MA.

Do you know if your non-tenure professors have a PHD? Oftentimes, writers without a PHD don't have their letters weighted as much.

Thanks for the advice, Poliscar. I've managed to cut it down by a few pages. I have my CV divided between education, teaching experience, relevant employment, publications, awards/honors, and public readings. I've noticed that I do include a few awards/honors from my undergraduate years. Do you think this information is important or do you think this can be cut? Shall I also get rid of readings? (It's a section added that was encouraged to be added by my professors) I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the manner. (Or anyone else's if they'd like to chime in.)

Thanks for the link. I've got some work to do between now and when I apply next season. I've heard different things by different professors. I was told to include all teaching and research experience.

Hi WT. Is the 2-page CV a hard rule? (I fear that my CV was too long last cycle now. Fearing it more next cycle because I'll have taught a total of 24 courses. )

Though asking all programs on whether they prefer applicants to list POI or not might make for a wonderful project later on and I'd assume save staff a lot of time later on.

Different schools have different dates on when they get back to applicants. However, to gain a better idea of when others have heard back: Check out http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=biology+phd Unless a program is rolling admissions (most aren't), your apply date has no impact on when you hear back from programs. Being done with applying is good though. Go treat yourself to ice-cream or a well-deserved trip somewhere or a movie.

Different schools handle scores in a different way. However, with scoreselect, schools will see ALL scores that you've submitted. (You can choose to submit all tests or one particular test but you can't choose to submit certain sections from different tests.) Some schools do consider how well you've improved your scores from a previous test.

Curious: Would you feel comfortable saying which schools notified by Dec. 15 last year? I don't think I've read about any school that notifies any applicants prior to January in the humanities. I thought that the sciences were the only ones who notified earlier.

Hi Legob! The UC System addresses this here: http://graduate.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/applying/personal-statement/ Basically this statement is about you. What challenges and triumphs have you faced? How have your experiences helped to shape you? What has your engagement been with programs that increase diversity?

As of last application cycle, Duke Literature has continued doing interviews.

Just because I'm curious: http://english.yale.edu/faculty-staff?field_people_type_value=All&field_fields_of_interest_value=Gender+%26+Sexuality Nobody from that list grabbed any interest? On a side note, I really wish some programs would stop lumping queer studies with gender. I like both fields but they are both distinct. I also wish that there would be more uniformity when comparing areas of strengths between schools.

I'm trying to remain as objective as possible: 1) Do any of your writers have secretaries that work for them? If so, would it be possible to have the secretary e-mail the professor? I know that professors may be afforded a secretary if they head a different department. 2) How much of a notice did you give your professors? Did they seem thrill to write you a letter or did they hold reservations? (Last year, I had a professor refuse to write a letter because she didn't think she *knew* me well enough despite being in her class. The structure of the program was such that you'd be taking each professor once before graduation.) 3) Between the first time you asked them, have you asked them again? I got really nervous about some of my deadlines because one professor hadn't submitted. He ended up submitting hours after I resent him an e-mail. Turns out I had nothing to fret; sometimes professors are procrastinators too.

Some institutions do care though for fellowship purposes. Buffalo requires: "For applicants to the PhD Program only: Please note that in order to be eligible for nomination for additional fellowship support from the College of Arts and Sciences (that may accompany admission), you need to achieve an Analytic score of 4.5 or higher AND a combined score on the Verbal & Quantitative sections of the GRE of 1270, or 313 under the new GRE scoring system."

The GRE is bias but it also helps to compare institutions a bit. Harvard may or may not be harder than another college's honor program. The GRE may help someone who attended a school which may not be as known for sending students into graduate school. Overall though, it's a horrible predictor of how well a student will do during their first year of graduate school. Studies have shown that it tends to underpredict the abilities of women over the age of 25 and minority students. At this point, I'm confused on why people in the humanities have to deal with the math section and viceversa.

I don't think any of your listed scores will filter you out during the first round. However, this is more than about scores. This isn't like applying to undergrad schools. The only common thing that all these schools have is that they're all considered great schools. The schools listed all make people think of a different thing. What in Comp. Lit interests you? Political Psychology? Oral traditions? Folklore? Religion and Literature? Popular Culture Studies? Critical Race Theory? Medieval Literature? Museum Studies? Gender and Sexuality? Excluding English, how many languages do you know? Some require 2 additional languages; others require 3. Some may require you know all 3 prior to entering; others have more leeway.

Congrats @Wyatt's Terps! I'm both looking forward and terrified of that moment next year. (Did you add a school last minute?) I just got my results back on the GRE lit. I got a score in the 74th percentile. I'm confused and amazed. I'm still petrified I'll get rejected into every school I apply to despite how good a fit I think it is. My school list is still a mess.

Penn State has admitted this before: " In terms of admission, you have heard correctly. We usually admit 1, no more than 2 people per year directly into the PhD program." Illinois also admits to it: "Because we have many strong applicants, we admit only one out of seven or so to our graduate programs. We offer admission to approximately 40 students per year applying to the M.A. in Literature program and to approximately 5-10 students in three other programs: the Ph.D. in Literature, and the M.A. and Ph.D. in Writing Studies. We admit 6 M.F.A. candidates a year (3 in fiction, 3 in poetry). Our non-literature tracks typically have smaller applicant pools. Half or more of all admitted students accept our offers, with 20-30 new students usually entering each year. Most of our Ph.D. students have received their M.A.s at Illinois." And some programs do require a Master's to be admitted: Kentucky requires a Master's as does Michigan State, Purdue, and UNM. If I recall correctly, Georgia can only give you a funded TA position during your first year of the PHD program if you have a Master's degree because of how their state laws work.

I think @Wyatt's Terps did a great job at mentioning the benefits. Originally, I thought I was interested in Early Modern. While I still retain my interest, I realize that I much prefer the later period of the early modern period. However, I feel there are certain periods I overlooked that I would rather have a much better understanding of. I'm also thinking that Modern Drama, Poetics, Gender Studies, Rhetoric and Composition, African-American Literature and LGBT Studies are things I'd be interested in studying more intensely.