mostlygoo

This is obviously wonderful. And to me it's very Lit-oriented, too -- I'm thinking Gravity's Rainbow. Some individual programs do have GPA/GRE scores, too, if you want to weight the probabilities a bit. I know Georgetown's M.A. program does, listed by year for the past 7 or 8 years. A little more work to investigate each program you're applying to... and maybe badger the admissions office for data if it's not online, and explain it's for a statistical analysis... and do that anonymously so they don't link your weird behavior to your application... but I don't think that's unreasonable.

Dog days

Just something I've noticed about myself. One reason I like coming here and checking the Results page -- even though history tells me my schools won't start sending out decisions for another three or four weeks at least -- is that, because of the way results posts are time-stamped (Greenwich?) , you get the impression that you're getting a tiny glimpse into the future. For example, right now, on Groundhog Day at 8:25pm EST, there are almost two pages of results that are dated tomorrow. And obviously there's a part of my brain that is thinking, "Let's just see if anyone has heard from my school tomorrow." Because, you know, maybe that means I'll hear tomorrow too.

I actually like "'Illustrative quote from sources': Boring overly-lengthy description of what paper actually is about" as a title. Although I think that's the paper you submit when you've decided to drop out of grad school.

Just adding my own experience to what some others here have already posted. I had a high verbal score and a 4.0 AW. Just killed me, because (like you) I thought I'd nailed the essays. And I'm going for an M.A. in English as well. So then I was stupid enough (at least in retrospect) to request a review of the score, mainly because I just couldn't believe it was right. I honestly thought that maybe they'd made a mistake, or maybe half of my essay got chopped off when it was submitted... So I paid the fee ($55, I think), and a few weeks later I got a letter back from ETS, which read something like this: "After reviewing your essays for the AW portion of the GRE, we have concluded that the scores are correct. Thank you." (It wasn't exactly like that, but it was close. And here I thought I'd get some kind of explanation for the score... Again, I was stupid, or naive, or both.) I considered re-taking the whole thing, just as you mention. I didn't do it because I realized that 1) it was insane, 2) they'd see both scores anyway, and just assume I'd figured out how to write the GRE-approved version of each essay if I did well, and 3) admissions folks had to care a lot more about the writing sample than a single, necessarily subjective score from ETS. (Right?) Anyway, I didn't re-take the test, and I got into the one program I applied to last year. Not all that statistically significant a sample, I know, but it beats the alternative. I think you'll be fine. If you can write, they'll see it in your writing sample. And re-taking the test is too risky if that's the only black mark. (And requesting an official review... I'm horrified that I spent money on that. Just don't do it.) Good luck!

Re: Inherent Vice... Yes, a groovy read. Two thumbs up. (My alternate title.)

So one thing I noticed, when I was trying to come up with a title for my writing sample (for English/Lit programs) was that every title I came up with followed some kind of pattern. Usually I incorporated some kind of catchy phrase or quote, and then I followed (generally in the subtitle) with at least two conceptual ideas, ending with "in the [bLANK] of [sOME WORK or AUTHOR]." Eventually it got to be a kind of game, where I felt like I could just plug any words in there and it would sound just as academic or just as meaningless. (Dyslexia and Grief in the Ballads of Bob Dylan. Inversion and Ambiguity in the Footnotes of David Foster Wallace. etc.) Not that it was total BS... but I think I'd been spending a little too much time with JIRA. Anyway, my final title was "Parenthesis of Light: Intermediacy and Potentiality in Pynchon's Stoner Noir." Which I actually liked quite a bit, even though it sounds ridiculous considering that the source novel is about a pot-smoking detective who calls everything "groovy." Curious about whether other people (especially English/Lit candidates) struggled to find a title that 1) didn't sound obnoxiously abstruse and yet 2) sounded appropriately academic, while 3) would be original enough to keep the adcomms' eyes from glazing over. I like to think that my title fit in there somewhere, but every now and then it still makes me laugh.

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. I'm not actually uncertain about the decision to go back, and I usually don't think about my age. Was just wondering about it, because it's something else to wonder about. I'm sure the choice of school matters more than the age of the students, too. The schools I'm applying to are all very urban and international, so age should be just one more variation among the students.

I'm an older grad school candidate (just turned 41 this past December) looking to start an English/Lit M.A. program in the fall, assuming I get accepted and get funding (big assumptions). I don't know anyone else who has gone back to grad school at this age for a humanities degree, so I'm just curious if there are any other older, "non-traditional" students out there who could share their experience once they got into a program. I didn't finish up my undergrad degree until recently, so going back won't be the shock it might have if there had been a 20-year lapse. But I do wonder how well I'll fit into a program, whether I'll feel out of place. The nice thing about literature is that it's timeless, so I don't think I'll feel like a dinosaur, exactly. But what's the typical mix in a small (< 100 students) English M.A. program? I assume that the majority of English grad students enter a program soon after college, but maybe there's more variety than I would expect. Not that I mind being in a classroom with a group of younger students... I just know that my own goals and background will likely be very different from theirs. Which could (should) be a very good thing. Variety is good. So this is just an open question in case anyone out there has something to offer. No matter what I'm looking forward to going back...

Good point here, and I agree completely that you have to be careful about explaining anything negative in your application. A tough thing to do without appearing defensive. My idea was to be very, very brief, and keep it light. I just noted that I left school early, that I wasn't committed when I was 18. I didn't specifically mention the grades, because I knew they'd make the connection with the transcript. So my statement was really just a way of filling in the "story" so they'd have a clearer picture of me as a candidate. (For the same reason, I think it helps to explain long gaps in your educational background. If you don't explain it, they'll fill in the story on their own.) I'd also limit the personal details as much as possible. I think "I left school for a year for personal reasons" is better than describing health, relationship or family issues, no matter how legitimate (and serious) they might be. Especially if it's presented in the context of a progression toward being academically successful. Don't give the appearance of looking for pity or even understanding -- as others have pointed out, there are too many people competing for spots who don't need that pity or understanding. But if you appear honest and self-aware, that can help.

Agree with medieval... A few other thoughts, too. I had a similar situation, although it was much farther in my past. I failed the second semester of my sophomore year of undergrad (by waiting too long to withdraw after deciding I wasn't going to stay in school), and ended up with something like a 2.5 GPA for my first two years of school because of that semester. (The other semesters weren't great either.) I went back and finished my degree somewhere else, much (> 15 years) later. My GPA for my "official" school was 4.0, which looked pretty good, but all those F's were still on my transcript. Our situations aren't quite the same because I'm probably much more "non-traditional" for a Lit program at 41 years old, and I don't have any inside information about the admissions process, but this has been my approach: 1. I explained things (the best that I could) in my statement of purpose. I didn't dwell on the negatives, just made note of the fact that I didn't know what I was doing when I started out. 2. I spent a great deal of time on my writing sample, because I knew it would be more important for my application than for someone who was bringing a stellar (and problem-free) transcript history. To avoid submitting something that would seem too much like an assignment, I picked something in my field, something I loved, then researched and wrote something far more original (and risky) than anything I'd done in school. I knew I wasn't going to stand out with my grades, so I had to try something else. (And it was a good way of implicitly evaluating the programs for which I was applying -- if they responded to the writing sample, then they felt the program was also a good match for me. If not, maybe it really wasn't the best match anyway.) 3. I'm applying to a range of programs to increase my odds of getting funding. That one seems obvious, but last application season I only applied to one school, and got in but without funding because I'd missed the funding deadline. Or maybe because of that less-than-stellar undergrad history -- there was just no way to tell. And instead of accepting that I wasn't going to be able to compete because of my background, I decided to be patient and re-apply to multiple schools this year (including the program that accepted me this past fall). You might also consider one other option -- taking a grad school course or two as a non-degree student this spring, summer or fall, before your application deadlines for 2012. It would give you another possible source for recommendation letters and writing samples, and help to further offset the impact of that undergrad GPA. Best of luck...

Funny... Good luck with Georgetown! Yes, let's hope for funding for both of us...

Last summer I got accepted into Georgetown's M.A. program. I'd missed the deadline for funding, and didn't get my notification from the program until late June, taking me by surprise a little (I'd given up on the program by that point). I asked the DGA about deferring so I could have more time to make financial arrangements, and was told that Georgetown doesn't allow deferrals for financial reasons, so I would have to reapply the following year. (He also noted that I'd have no guarantee of being re-admitted, since I would be evaluated against a new pool of candidates.) So my suggestion, if you're looking for a deferral, is to just inquire about the deferral policy in a very general way. I do think that deferrals are probably less common with small, competitive M.A. programs, but it's always a possibility. (I decided to re-apply to Georgetown, by the way, and go for funding this time. I figured it was worth a year's wait -- and the risk of not being re-admitted -- to at least have a shot at funding. And if I don't get in at all, then I'll take it as a Sign and be happy. Ish.)

opposite number

nothing left

I'm still waiting to hear from the one program I applied to this year, so this is premature. Hopefully. But I've started to think about my application and I have regrets, especially since I've kind of bet the house on this one program. Is it possible to do a pre-postmortem? Yes. Yes, it is. 1. I should have applied to more than one program. Obvious in retrospect. I won't be completely demoralized if I don't get in, but I think I may have underestimated how selective the program was. Which leads me to... 2. I should have learned more about the program, its faculty, and the current M.A. candidate group. Not that I would reshape the application, but I'd have a better understanding of whether the program itself is really the best fit. As it stands, a rejection could mean several things: I just wasn't a good fit for the program, which means that it really is a good thing I'm not going there (even if I don't realize it yet); I just didn't measure up to the other candidates in terms of scores, undergrad program pedigree, etc.; I didn't put together a strong enough writing sample and/or statement of purpose; and/or my letters of recommendation weren't good enough or didn't come from the right people. Which is why I'm thinking that... 3. I should have spent more time on the writing sample and the statement of purpose. Everything else in the application -- even the letters of recommendation, to some extent -- was a done deal. But the writing sample and statement of purpose were completely in my control. And going for an English M.A., they needed to shine. And I felt good about them when I submitted the app, but later on I started to think I'd been over-confident with the writing sample, which was an undergrad paper that I tweaked only a little. That was dumb. I should have approached it like an open-ended assignment, and written the strongest piece I could about something for which I cared passionately. I should have done original research, used fewer but more interesting sources rather than just incorporating an undergraddish quota of quoted material, and written something I loved. Instead it was just the strongest piece I'd written as an undergrad, and it was good enough to stand out as an undergrad... but not something that really showcased an original style or a publication-worthy original point of view. 4. I should have started the whole process much earlier. I underestimated how much work was involved in getting the application materials together, contacting LOR providers (and following up with them incessantly), writing and revising the statement of purpose, and so on. Next time -- if there needs to be a next time -- I'm giving it the time and space it deserves. Okay, pre-postmortem done.

I'm guessing I'm an atypical grad applicant because I only applied to one school. I've seen people posting on the results board who have applied to up to 15 programs. So my (dumb and probably obvious) question is this: who is providing all of those LORs for you? The same set of professors/colleagues for every program, or a mix? I assume there would have to be at least some overlap even if you had specific people in mind for particular programs. I'm asking for two reasons. 1) I'm rethinking my one-school idea now that it's early April and I realize I might not get in. And 2) I know that my LOR providers spent a good deal of time on the letters (according to them, and I believe them), and I'm just wondering how to approach them if I want to use them again. Do most professors expect to get a request for multiple letters from any student? Do most applicants assume that the letters will be identical across all programs -- so you're not asking someone to draft completely new letters for each? (Seems unlikely, but I really don't know.) Just wondering what the norm is, since to me it's a significant request for a letter of recommendation, and it implies a consideration for the person's time.

I studied intensively for about 4 weeks, mostly on the quantitative side. (I was planning to apply to English M.A. programs but hadn't taken any math courses in like a hundred years.) The prep book -- I think it was Barrons, but I loaned it to a friend and now I'm not sure -- had good review coverage of all the material, and more importantly focused on the "type" of questions: not just subject matter, but how the questions would be worded, traps to avoid, and so on. Since I always have done well with tests, I tend to rush in and get over-confident. Instead I decided to slow down and pay attention. I still crammed a lot into 4 weeks of studying, but I was impatient to take the test... I did pretty well, though when I finished with the quantitative section I was convinced I'd done horribly because the questions just got impossibly tough at the end and I lost confidence. But overall I think it worked out well. Except for the AW section. I got a 4... and I don't think I've ever been as surprised by a test score. It never even occurred to me that I should prepare for the AW section, not after years of writing and analysis. But somehow I did awful, even though I left the test center thinking I'd nailed it. (Never think "I nailed that" after you take a test. Even if you think it, don't think it.)