CanadianEnglish

hi! i'm applying for this cycle too now as I finish up my last year of undergrad. I'm primarily studying for the GRE subject test (brutal) and in the process of narrowing down my list of schools. I took the GRE last month and had a pretty awful writing score but a great verbal that i'm hoping matters more? I'm mostly interested in Southeast Asian anglophone literature, transnationalism and postcolonialism, and modernist aesthetics.
I can't help but feel quite imposter syndrome-y about this whole process and I wish my professors had more wisdom to offer (other than, dont worry your gpa is fine! or, maybe take a gap year!) - thankfully everyone on gradcafe has been more than willing to offer up their experiences haha
No one really goes to get humanities PhD's at the school I'm attending so it's so nice to have a thread specifically for this application cycle! thanks y'all!

Hi, everyone! First I want to say that I'm really excited that I found this community! 
A little about me: I'm earning my MA in English currently, at the same university where I earned my BA. I wasn't sure if grad school was what I wanted to do as an undergrad, and I really didn't have the stats or experience to apply straight to PhD programs after I graduated. I'm currently working on my thesis now, and overall I feel a lot more confident in applying to larger universities. 
That said, I'm mainly looking at applying to Literature PhD programs, but I've picked up interest in creative writing after taking a few workshops... so I might be throwing in a few MFA programs or dual literature & creative writing PhDs into the mix. I'll be applying to 10+ programs total, probably closer to 15. 
My research interests mostly center around queer theory and affect theory, and I'd like to focus on 20th and 21st century LGBT literature and film. I've read most people tend to label themselves as strictly interested in British or American literature for simplicity's sake, and I guess I'm wondering if there's a better way for me to identify myself in my statements of purpose, as I'm really interested in a transatlantic approach to queer literature. 
Anyways, I look forward to hearing how everyone else handles this complicated mess! I'm hoping being on here will help me lose my imposter syndrome feelings haha. 

Yay, finally one of these threads I can be a part of after lurking for years!
I'll be applying to 8-10 schools for Fall 2020. I'm not as far in my preparations as I'd like to be (thanks to working full time during my gap year), but what can you do? I've definitely done a lot of brainstorming and have at least read some for the GRE...
In terms of subject area, I'm into British 19th century literature, especially the movements of the late 1800's (aestheticism, decadence, arts & crafts, etc). I've also dipped my toes in the Late Romantics and some of the turn of the century Irish writers. In terms of methodology/questions/etc, I haven't quite figured out exactly how to describe what I do but a couple things I dig are: medical humanities, esp. addiction & drugs, queer writers and their experiences with catholicism, how texts converse with each other, and how texts engage with other art forms.
Some schools on my list are: Ohio State, Indiana Bloomington, Columbia, Cornell, NYU, and Rutgers. If any of y'all have particular thoughts on those schools/my interests I would love to have a chat!

Hello! I am so happy to see this thread! I am a Victorianist with specific interests in queer and narrative theory. Canadian, so taking the GREs feels like the BIGGEST drag. I have studied a bit, and am a little nervous, but feel good about the verbal portion (quant? not so much). I love Dickens, Bronte, James, Sedgwick, and thinking about shit (literally). Can't wait to have this little support group to guide me through this fall!

hey y'all. just want to pop by and offer myself up for anyone with questions about 1) applying during the last year of your MA, 2) applying after your MA, 3) applying again after being rejected the first time, 4) applying to MAs after being out of school for 5+ years/being older and applying, or 4) UCSD! if your research interests overlap with mine at all, i may have time to take a look at your SOP  just DM. otherwise, i'll be lurking in case there's any question i can help answer.

I'm using Kaplan GRE prep books and they seem to be doing the trick. I took the GRE before without really studying for it and my scores were HORRENDOUS. I've taken 2 practice tests so far and my scores are already higher than my previous test. I also like notecards for the vocab, and testing myself when I'm just riding the bus or watching TV. I know that people say you shouldn't take it again and it's not a major factor in our application etc. etc. etc., but my scores are much too low for the schools that I'm applying for. Just want to be as confident as can be when submitting all my materials. 

Hello! I'm so excited to start applying for PhD programs this fall! I am currently working on my WS which is a chapter for my MA thesis. Taking the GRE (again) at the end of August, and working on my SOP towards the end of summer. My plan is to have all my application materials ready to go by September. I did everything last minute for my MA applications and it was horrendous. Never doing that again. Applying to about 8-10 schools. 5 of those schools are set, but I go back and forth between 10 other ones, so we will see what the final line-up is. 
Little about me: I'm a postcolonialist, specifically Caribbean and Latin American. Currently writing my thesis on female narratives under Latin American dictatorships in the late 20th century. Also love Canadian and American settlement literature, 20th century American, and YA (when I'm not reading for school). 
To answer the question about speaking to professors: I've emailed 2 of my POI, but to ask questions about their work that I'm using for my thesis. I do not have anyone in my program that could answer some specific questions for me, so I found it useful to reach out to the authors I'm reading. I didn't mention anything about applying to their schools (unless prompted), but they might remember me when my application comes rolling in. 
Excited for the process to start! 

Maybe it is a bit early to start a thread for the 2020 applicants, but I've been lurking for the better part of six months and couldn't wait any longer. I'm curious about who is here for the 2019-2020 application cycle. 
A little about me: I am a 20th/21st century Americanist with concentrations in Genre Studies (speculative fiction and postwar fiction primarily), Media Studies (video games and the like), and contemporary socio-political discourse. I am currently writing my thesis on the evolution of the apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic genre during the cold war and post-9/11 eras. I am also drafting SOPs and working on my WS with little to no success. How is everyone else doing so far? Is it too soon to begin stressing out over this process?

I literally scored in the twentieth percentile for quant. It’s probably the least important part of your application. I wouldn’t even consider it part of your application, but you do have to submit it as part of your test scores. 

First, congratulations on your decision to pursue a PhD! I know that identifying programs and faculty of interest can be a daunting task, and I hope that my brief advice can be of some use to you. Of course, just as a disclaimer, I do not mean to suggest this is the only way to go about this task; it just happens to be what I was advised to do, how I proceeded, and what ultimately worked quite well for me. 
I identified scholars in whom I was interested in a bit of an inverse manner. I was advised early on to not give too much weight to the category of individual scholars I would want to work with, because individual scholars often move institutions—especially true of “bigger name” scholars—or sometimes turn out to be a complete asshole you can’t stand to work with, both of which are possibilities that cannot be adequately judged from a distance or during the application cycle. For example, several of my professors went through multiple dissertation directors and committees due to faculty turnover at their institutions, while one of my MA thesis committee members transferred PhD programs because the person they went to work with turned out to be the absolute worst.
Instead, I was advised to proceed by first identifying institutions I was interested in by evaluating their programs holistically against criteria such as fields and research interests represented by the faculty as a whole, presence of research centers or institutes relevant to the work I wanted to do, publishing history, course catalog, job placement record (specifically for my field), and so on, and only then parse and prioritize programs based on individual professors in whom I was interested. I know this is backwards from what many people might prefer or claim is the best way to select a program, but I think it’s important to remember that you matriculate into a program at an institution, not into an apprenticeship with a single scholar. I hope this helps, and if you have any additional questions, I will be happy to answer them if I can. Good luck!

Headed to Rutgers! 

Accepted my offer to Penn English! AHHHHHHHH

Just accepted Penn's offer!

To the surprise of probably no one who's ever heard me say anything about anything, I officially accepted Rice's offer of admission. 

I finally had the call with UCSC and am so happy to say I've been accepted!! 
I should have known with the email saying they wanted to talk, but with how the season has gone I had so much doubt. I am ecstatic! 

In at Yale. My one admit of the season. I'm speechless.

I got into UConn PhD (not on the board yet). I received the email about 6-7 hours ago. I don’t even know what I’m feeling. I’d completely accepted another shut-out and was talking myself into alternative plans that now it doesn’t seem real and I don’t think it has even hit me yet. 
For future reference, it is a 5 year offer to TA from Y1. Specific duties will be sent in the future. I’m an African-Americanist. If anyone wants info PM me. Also if anyone has info on UConn (like CoL, campus, etc.), please PM me, too.
Thank you to everyone who was supportive through this process. Other than my wife you’re the first people I’ve told.

HUSBAND GOT INTO HARVARD
 
I CAN'T EVEN CONTAIN MYSELF HOLY OMGGGGGGGGGGG IS THIS REAL LIFE?????!!!!!!!!!!!

Accepted into the MA at British Columbia  

I got an acceptance at the University of Mississippi! This is super early, even given the last timeline I was told, but my acceptance was attached to a different fellowship so that may be why. Did we ever get that "How important are rankings anyway?" thread up and running? Because I love Ole Miss so much and everything about their program just gels with me...but I feel like I should probably defer to more experienced voices in regards to how much weight I should give that.

In at UBC for MA!

Accepted to University of British Columbia! I’m so excited I have offers to choose from but they all have their plus and minuses and I am so gosh darn stressed out about choosing which one! 

In at UBC for MA!

Accepted to University of British Columbia! I’m so excited I have offers to choose from but they all have their plus and minuses and I am so gosh darn stressed out about choosing which one! 

In at UBC for MA!