FreakyFoucault

I know what I'm about to suggest sounds conspiracy-theory-ish, but anybody out there think @Warelin might actually be an adcom member?

YAAAAAAAAS!!!! So happy for you, @mk-8!

Noiiiiiiiiise! Congrats!!!

Welcome to the forum, @jadeisokay! I'm going to offer a slightly different perspective than @mads47, whose advice, nonetheless, ought to be taken seriously. First, to answer your thread's question, yes, it's a little too early for anxiety about 2019. A lot of us here (and I say this with love) are micromanagers, long-term planners, perfectionists, late-bloomers (like me -- I almost went to law school after graduation), and the like. As a result, we tend to worry about things, especially so pertinent to our futures as this application process. Therefore, my primary piece of advice for you, at this point, is not to stress too much about grad school. Yes, yes, I understand that there are the awful GREs to tackle, and Flaubertifying your statement of purpose and writing sample, and picking schools, and money, and everything else, but (and I agree with mads47 here) you should try to focus on undergrad now and do your best to avoid anxiety about the future. Like I mentioned before, I originally intended to go to law school; however, I had a major epiphany while I was sending in my law-school applications. I realized, in what I can only describe, with a touch of irony, as a Major Life Moment that all the best memories of my academic career were centered on participating in English classroom discussions, researching and writing English papers, and shooting the shit with my English professors. Instead of being responsible, however, and immediately preparing for grad school after this change of heart, I boarded the hot-mess express and freaked the fuck out for like three weeks because my entire Life Plan had changed in the course of ten minutes (although, looking back, the red flags against law school were probably hoisted at the start of my sophomore year). Those three weeks were not pleasant. So don't be like me. Don't freak out. It's okay to not know what to do, or to change your mind, or even be a little anxious, so long as you're not crippled by anxiety or dread. Also -- this is important -- please don't forget to pencil in a little fun during these last 1.5 semesters. You're only an undergrad once! That said, this is where I'm going to diverge from mads47. I think there are some steps you can take now to help along your preparation. For example, I would start studying for the GRE (both general and subject test) as early as you can. If you have any free time (of course, after you've finished your undergrad work and spent some time on yourself), then buy a few self-study books (Manhattan Prep's 5-lb Book is good IMO -- but avoid Kaplan) and get crackin'. As much as we hate to admit it, the GRE is unfortunately important, and you wouldn't want your score to close any doors. Further, don't neglect the quant section. Yeah, I know, we all hate it over here, but, who knows, you may impress an old-timer on the admissions committee who still thinks that the math section is relevant to a PhD in English. Scoring well on the math part, moreover, suggests that you're well-rounded (at least, in standardized-test terms), and well-roundedness seems to be a desirable element of the holistic decision-making process. Then, there's the Literature in English subject test. I've already written on this here: You'd do well, especially, to consider @unræd's answer. He scored in the 99th percentile, and since you can't score any higher than that, he's undoubtedly on to something. It's also not too early to begin discussing your plans with trusted professors. First, you're going to need letter writers. Second, your mentors should be able to help you sharpen your research questions and outline your interests more fully. Mine definitely helped me flesh out my way-too-abstract ideas. But collaborating with your professors is much easier when you're a student. It's not impossible after graduation (essentially what I did), but it's more difficult to navigate around a full-time job and office hours that are primarily reserved for current students. So don't waste your current resources! On your specific interests, I was in a similar situation. My undergrad English department was small (but good!), so I didn't have the opportunity to take many (any, in fact) theory-based classes. Instead, during my sophomore year, I bought Deconstruction in Context (https://www.amazon.com/Deconstruction-Context-Literature-Mark-Taylor/dp/0226791408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517500818&sr=8-1&keywords=deconstruction+in+context) and then used that fantastic short collection as a springboard to consume everything theory-related that I could. I ultimately planned an independent-study project, during my senior year, in which I wrote about E.D. Hirsch's theory of "common sense" and its relation to other twentieth-century approaches in the vein of the New Critics and deconstruction. Of course, it would've been nice to study theory in a classroom setting, but teaching yourself is an important skill to develop and good practice for grad school. Now, as far as your grades go, I probably wouldn't bring them up in the statement of purpose unless you think they really merit an explanation. Many of the schools to which I applied asked specifically for my upperclassman GPA, in addition to the cumulative score. I'd venture to guess that universities understand that most students don't really figure out what they want to do until their sophomore or junior year. Therefore, some freshman forgiveness is in order. Also, don't forget that schools tend to assign fairly strict word limits on the SoP (sometimes even 500-words max), so each word you use must make a positive contribution in the limited space you're allotted. If you have a compelling reason for your low grades (if they really are that low), then you should feel justified in including it. But I tend to follow the prescription: When in doubt, leave it out. In the mean time, I'd recommend browsing around Grad Café. There's soooo much good advice here from people who went through the same struggle. You wouldn't believe how much wisdom is available for free! At any rate, good luck, and I'm sure we'd all be happy to answer your questions!

@unicornsarereal yayyyyy!!! Congrats!!

Also, this would’ve gotten an extra “like” if Grad Café were forward-thinking enough to add such a feature.

Fuck ya, Yanaks! Get it, girl! “Conferences,” in my experience, were when my parents and teachers yelled at me for using “inappropriate” language at school. So I guess you can’t swear at them? Idk.

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO WORK IN A DEAD-END CAREER YOU DESPISE!!!!!!!!! Sorry I had to scream that at Billy Mays volume, but it’s too important not to yell at the top of one’s lungs. With all due respect to your dad, he’s flat-out wrong. That’s the attitude of people who despise their jobs and careers. If YOU don’t think law is right for you, then it ISN’T!! I applaud you for taking the absolutely terrifying but necessary-for-your-soul approach of hitting the reset button. Listen, I’m not saying that practical realities shouldn’t be considered. After graduation, I needed to pay the bills, so I got a job that, while boring and utterly irrelevant to what I want to do, is nevertheless convenient in the short term (good hours for me and decent pay). Am I happy about it? Well, let me put it this way— I’m not jumping for joy when I get to work every day. But am I anhedonic at this point? No. Though my job sucks, it keeps me out of debtor’s prison, puts food on the table, exposes me to the business world (however I’m not impressed), and gave me sufficient time to prepare for grad school (both as an applicant and a person). Thankfully, I won’t be doing it much longer. But it played an important role in my life these last few years. I can’t promise that hitting the reset button will work out for you on the first try. I sincerely hope that you aren’t shut out, and I’ll be crossing all crossable appendages for your success. But if this cycle doesn’t go the way you wanted, then hit the reset button again and hustle your way to happiness. You might have to take a stopgap measure (like I did) that doesn’t provide much in the way of short-term happiness. But if you keep looking toward the long game, and work your ass off, I’d venture to bet that you’d have a good probability for success. The most important lesson, however, is that you’re the one who defines your own happiness and success. I don’t care how trite this sounds, but DON’T GIVE UP and DON’T allow yourself to become content with misery or bitterness. I’ve seen both destroy many people, but you don't have to allow yourself to be destroyed! There’s no limit to how many times you can hit reset. Life’s too short not to.

Ohhhhh yes! Congrats!

Niiiiiiiiice

Super congrats!!!

I get you, and your point is well taken, but I wouldn’t give up hope just yet. I’ve seen people on the Results board get accepted to top-10 and top-5 programs after having been shut out multiple years. That said, venting is necessary and nobody needs to apologize for it. Hence this thread

I have to disagree with this. There are WAY too many variables of which students are necessarily unaware when applying to grad school. For example: 1) Fit isn’t right / subspecialty room: You could be the brightest aspiring Americanist of your generation, but if University X’s English department doesn’t have room or funding for another Americanist, then you’ll likely be rejected to no fault of your own. Departments aren’t always clear (not necessarily their fault either) about how much space they have for each subspeciality. 2) Hidden GRE/GPA requirements: perhaps all the departments you’ve applied to want near perfect scores and GPAs. Again, you could be proposing groundbreaking research or have even published a remarkably promising article or book, and still be rejected because you got mono junior year or the flu when you took your GRE. Or maybe standardized tests aren’t your forte. The point is, these scores probably don’t correlate with academic English research potential. 3) Departmental politics / inarticulable negatives: it could be possible, for whatever reason, that the adcom merely didn’t like the cut of your jib. There may or may not be a reason here, but in all likelihood you’ll never know for sure either way. The point of all these variables is that all are outside your control and have no bearing on your academic abilities. It’s this futility that makes applications frustrating and agita-laden, but there’s unfortunately nothing that can be done. That said, I’m pulling for you all here! Hopefully none of these variables end up mattering!

Yayyy!!! Of course, I, too, will be hoping that the accepted individual takes a hike somwhere else. But still, congrats!

CONGRATS!!!!

Hey, that's not an insignificant amount of money. I'd take them up on that, if I were you! Of course, as long as you're not expected to transfer it to any Nigerian princes...

Well in that case, you merely have to reawaken your inner Southerner! You should be listening only to country music, and if you ever hear the name "Sherman," you must scowl somethin' fierce! I CAN ALMOST HEAR IT NOW

I'd buy 750 applicants only if Penn was offering 10,000 bitcoins and 50 pounds of gold to each accepted student.

Maybe because you're applying for a French PhD, Yanaka, I just pictured a French person trying to pronounce "y'all" with a Southern twang.* It went about as well as my trying to pronounce mille-feuille correctly in Paris. Which is to say, not very well. *no idea whether you have a French accent -- my brain just made the random association

Man, I wish I had the Southern cred to use “y’all” liberally in everyday speech and writing. The only “Ohio” thing one can do is abuse one’s vaaawels. But that’s not cute.

Anti-Shellacked! And congrats!!!!!

Ah, see, I wouldn't have been clever enough to use the æsc. I think you've cornered the medieval market, @unræd.

You got this, girl!!! I have faith!!!

Yanaka you are deeeeevious. Love it!

@Yanaka, we should totally co-write/edit a new style guide titled “I Don’t Fucking Know.” We’d be rich. You in?