[2019 Applicants]

Hello,

I've posted a few times here before, but I was wondering if anyone has had radio silence from University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign? I've seen acceptances roll through, and some rejections, but I have just heard nothing from them. I know someone said they weren't updating the online application, but I also sent an email to the address they provided (and have had zero response. I'm assuming a rejection, but I'm kind of frustrated to have not had that confirmed. Any advice?

Congrats to everyone's acceptances! This was my first application cycle and I was never more anxious in my life. Glad to see I was in good company!

[Fall 2019 PhD Applications]

Hi All,

I would like some feedback on the biggest hurdles I think I'll face in the upcoming application cycle (December 2018 for admission Fall 2019) and ask for some much needed advice about how to prepare myself for the inevitable weaknesses present in my career.

Here are my biggest concerns:

1. I was unfortunately unable to write an Honor's Thesis for my school. The course was offered by application, and it still deeply pains me that I was not accepted into the program for my senior year. However, I chose to do multiple research seminars offered to make up for this lack. Each research seminar culminated in a 20ish page paper that presented my thesis from the course. Not as grand as the 60-80 pages I could've written on a single topic, but that's what I have. I am seriously concerned about the quality of my writing sample because I fear those papers that I wrote will simply not hold the same weight as a thesis.
2. I have no extracurricular research experience to offer. The most I have is tutoring in writing that I did for my school's writing center (as well as co-teaching a summer course). I am seriously concerned that with only paltry research seminar papers to offer, most schools for the PhD program will not take my application seriously.
3. I scored a 162 on my Verbal GRE score. The first two concerns take up some serious mental space, and I'm not sure if my time would be better spent on some solution to the anxieties presented by #1 and #2 than trying to up my verbal score and retaking the GRE.
4. Without an honor's thesis, I'm nervous that potential LOR writers won't have as much to say about my research capacities. I want to reach out to professors I worked with during those seminars, but I fear that I might just be not the most qualified candidate.
5. Also, my overall GPA is slightly lower than what most schools look for (3.74). I attribute that to being a double major in Economics and English. My English GPA is fairly strong (3.9), but I'm not sure if it's enough
6. Finally, because of #1, 2, 4, I'm nervous that what I want to do research in has no merit in the academic field. I love modernist literature, and I particularly enjoy studying temporality within these works. I am fascinated by how each author posits a holistic sense of time that is entirely predicated on what they bring to the table. I also am deeply interested in studying James Joyce, William Faulkner, and Virginia Woolf for the rest of my life, because they represent divergent countries, politics, and of course, writing, yet they all take so much from each other that I think they act as an incredible modernist trifecta. And it's no secret that each author's contemplation of time is paramount to their written work. So I want to follow this thread to refining my studies further in a PhD program, but all my previous concerns make me seriously question the import or weight of my own academic interests. 

Those are my main concerns. I've gone back and forth on whether or not I should fully commit to the PhD undertaking, but I think my deep respect, interest, and passion for academia, my love of teaching and working with students, and the wealth of passion I have for English literature convinces me that this is a path completely worth pursuing.

It would really help me a lot if I could hear on whether my concerns are valid, what I should put the most focus into for the 2019 cycle, and whether my reasoning/interests make sense for this program, or if I should instead consider a master's program (that would be a totally separate discussion).

Thanks for taking the time!

 

[Scored a 162 on the verbal gre, is that below the cutoff for most top English phd programs/should i try again?]

Hey @KappaRoss! I just heard back on my writing score, and just figured if you were interested I'd update you. I got a 6! So now I have a 162V/164Q/6AW. Thanks for all the suggestions!

[Scored a 162 on the verbal gre, is that below the cutoff for most top English phd programs/should i try again?]

Haha thanks for the advice. It's crazy how fast the test flew by for me! Those breaks in between sections are really insignificant (or nugatory, as magoosh and other practice outlets have taught me) compared to the overall time. 

Thanks for the advice though! I definitely think I'm building strong relationships with my professors, I'm just hoping I can apply for an honors thesis program in my school that would be helpful for awards and getting to know a couple professors a little better.

On my practice tests I varied. I would sometimes score that, below 162, or above 162. I probably scored at or below more often than above, though. Yeah I definitely was feeling a lot of anxiety from this first test, especially by the end of it when they just tell you your scores! So frightening.

I'll definitely try to work on the section over the summer I think, so then I'm not attempting to study for it during school (big mistake, at least for me). Hopefully I'll be able to maintain the rest of the criteria for these apps, though. Thanks so much for all your help!

37 minutes ago, KappaRoss said:

That's an amazing quantitative score for an English program. It's too bad they normally just look at the verbal. A combined 326 is pretty darn good. Maybe a take a breather during the math section, to conserve for the verbal? Kidding, kidding. Try your hardest on each section.

If the schools normally accept applicants with 166-170s, then I guess you should shoot for that. You don't want to get rejected just because you were a few points below par on a dumb test, and it would give you peace of mind knowing if you could do better or not. Just make sure it doesn't detract from other parts of your application. If you're still in school, you should be making meaningful connections with professors to procure good letters.

What did you score on the practice tests? Did you score higher or lower than 162?

Also, people generally do better the second time they take the test. So, if that was your first time, you might see some improvement just from less test anxiety and more familiarity with the test center and the procedure of the test. And of course, knowing a few choice vocab words can make a difference on your score.

I guess I would take the test again. It feels to me like you're a good test taker (especially from your quantitative score) and it sounds like you think you could score higher if you drill vocab and practice questions more.

But again, it's not an essential part of the application. What's way more important is the writing sample, research interests, awards, letters of recommendation, and GPA.

 

[Scored a 162 on the verbal gre, is that below the cutoff for most top English phd programs/should i try again?]

2 hours ago, KappaRoss said:

That's the 90th percentile, which is usually around the "cutoff." It depends on the program and your application. If you have a high GPA, great LORs, SOP, and experience, then it won't hurt you. A 162 will not help you get into a top English PhD program, but it won't hurt you very much either if your entire app is otherwise stellar.

I would advise that you look at the results board and see what the scores were for people that were accepted into the programs that you want to apply to.

How did you score on the writing and the quantitative? The quantitative is not looked at really at all, but if it's really low like it is for some English majors, your overall GRE score could be too low for university-wide scholarships. This is usually a low cutoff though, like 300.

If you think you can score higher on the verbal, then you should probably take it again. If you think 162 is your peak, then I'd focus on more important components of your application. If you don't know, then also consider how you did on your practice tests.

Hey thank you so much for your comments! I'm curious, if I do believe that I might be able to do better on the verbal (like spending more time studying verbal, as opposed to what I did which is study verbal and quantitative equally), is there a score that would help me? For example, most of the schools I'm looking at post verbals of 166-170, which makes me nervous about whether or not I'll break into that specific category. I personally think I need to do more focused work on vocab and practice RC questions, but i'm also unsure if I hit that range. If I hit like a 164/165, would that help, or is it necessary to break into the range that they advertise? 

I haven't gotten my writing back, but I'll update in a few weeks when I do, but the Quantitative I got a 164, which is a bummer because I wanted to score something like that or higher for the verbal, not the quantitative haha. 

I haven't put together my application yet, but I'm attempting to start early with this exam and see how I can improve my app and tweak to the best ability. Once again, thanks for the speedy reply!

[Scored a 162 on the verbal gre, is that below the cutoff for most top English phd programs/should i try again?]

Title says it all. I did just get done with it so I'm a little shaken up