djsalinger

I'm currently in my third year of undergrad and looking into grad school for English/Literature. My GPA isn't very impressive (3.5 cumulative, but got a 3.2 last quarter that I'm hoping to bring up this quarter), but I have some publication credits (creative writing) and delivered a paper at an academic conference last year. I've taken a few practice GREs and got a 160 in the verbal section, and a 4 in the written (which I'm also hoping to bring up, as I've only taken that section once). I currently go to one of the top two UCs. I'm trying to find PhD programs, and the ones appealing to me right now are UC Santa Cruz and NYU, given their funding levels. My primary interest in literature is in American literature since 1920, particularly poetics, and particularly in doing research on mental illness in literature. However, I haven't been able to find out very much about NYU's English PhD program online. Does anyone here have any information about what kinds of candidates they select, or if there's anything I can do to better myself for application season? I'm particularly worried about my GPA given my slump last quarter. Also, does anyone have any suggestions for other programs I should look into with my stats/research interests? Thank you! I apologize if this is in the wrong section.