CatBowl

@Matthew3957 just DM'ed you! ☺️

@Matthew3957 Glad to hear that about Oregon! Yes, that's been my most recent project. I reached out to coordinators at each school on my list and asked if there were current grad students willing to discuss their experiences with me. It has been immensely helpful so far, though a bit overwhelming. I learned a lot more about teaching which helps narrow down my list a lot too. It's amazing what the program websites don't share!

Hi hi! I'm applying for 2019 as well. My research interests include contemporary American lit and ecocriticism/environmental lit. I focused on Southern lit in my MA, so I'd love to continue work on Southern lit if I can make it work, but ecocrit is far more important to me at this point. I'm applying to 15ish schools – still narrowing down. I'm retaking the GRE this weekend (thankful for any good vibes sent my way) because my scores from several years ago are pretty terrible. I've chosen not to take the Subject test because f that. ☺️ I've been revising my writing sample and drafting my statements of purpose since about May but still have a lot more work to do. I feel great about my rec letters and my CV. I too am constantly worried that I'm not doing enough, @Scarlet A+. Best of luck to everyone with this anxiety-ridden process!

Gotcha. Yeah you definitely have time! I'm hoping to get my apps in by the end of October as well. I thought the same thing about Oregon's placement page. That's something on my list to ask the grad coordinator about sometime in the next couple months. I think their focus on eco definitely outweighs rank for me, but I know what you mean. I just recently went to Boulder on a quick trip and fell in love, so that had some influence on my excitement about Boulder's program too. They have a lot of faculty working on ecocrit. I know what you mean about rankings too, which is why I'm applying to so many schools. I am excited about several programs that aren't ranked super high, just as I'm not so excited about a few programs that are top tier schools. I figure a balance like that is a good way to approach it. Who really knows? Only time will tell, I guess!

Hi @Matthew3957! I am glad to hear there's some crossover between our lists. My list has changed a bit since originally posting since I've had some time to vet. I'm probably applying to UTA still (I also love Heather Houser's work!) because of the location, to be honest. I agree with you about UCLA 100% and I'm no longer applying because of the damn subject test. Princeton was on my list because of Rob Nixon, though I probably won't apply there because of – you guessed it – the subject test requirement. I still have time to decide if I want to sign up to take the test. Since I've done some thinking about where I'll apply, I've also decided to apply to Rice and possibly UMich as well. I'm also applying to U of Iowa; they offer environmental humanities courses periodically, but from what I've gathered, a lot of profs there include ecocrit in their seminars and are willing for their students to take ecocritical approaches in their classes. Oregon has very quickly become one of my top choices. Yes – my SOP has gone through several massive revisions already since I posted originally. It's been a tough one for me but I keep telling myself I have plenty of time (I'm applying this year). Are you applying this year or next? Excited to hear your thoughts!

@indecisivepoet I've communicated with the Director of Graduate Studies at Oregon and she said that Oregon offers full funding packages to all PhD students assuming they maintain normal progress toward degree. I want to say that their funding packages are more than most bigger universities too. Hope this helps!

Wow! My head is swimming in all this excellent advice. Thanks, all, for commenting. Several of my professors also suggested applying to all the programs I can afford and can make time for tailoring apps. Luckily, I'm in the position finance-wise and time-wise to apply to all 18-ish schools on my list (after several more rounds of vetting, of course). @FreakyFoucault Thanks for the welcome and for all the suggestions! You have put my mind at ease regarding the GRE (at least, for now). And as for the money talk, I see now that the return on investment of applying to more schools greatly outweighs the initial cost of apps. Thanks for putting that in terms that I can easily understand! I will look again at Stanford and message you if I have any questions – thanks a bunch. I'll be mindful of application fatigue, too, @Kilos. I'm hoping that I've started this application process soon enough to avoid the fatigue showing up in apps, but we shall see. @Warelin, those numbers really put this whole thing into perspective. It seems like my expectations should be thrown out the window when it comes to acceptances/rejections. @M(allthevowels)H I would love to hear about Ole Miss's program if you don't mind! I've just looked into Rice and I was impressed with the faculty working on environmental lit. Plus, living in Houston would be great, I imagine. They have already been added to my list – thanks for the suggestion. Congrats on your acceptances and good luck in the fall! @klader I will be sure to only apply to schools where I see a strong fit. The problem so far is that I fall in love with so many programs that I look into! But yes, I look forward to the day when campus visits are around the corner. I'm not currently a student, so I'll have to work something out with my job, but it sounds like campus visits are necessary on the decision-making side of this process. Thanks for your suggestions! I'm sure I'm not doing replying correctly, but I wanted to make sure to thank everyone for their sound advice. You guys rock!

Hi @klader! Thanks for sharing your experience. That makes me feel much better. Congrats, of course, on all your acceptances and fellowship offers! I am still trying to find a balance between studying (a re-take is necessary for me) and working on my app materials. Luckily, I'm able to spend most of every day at my job on this stuff, so while time is always of the essence, I planned ahead enough to do all the above. Let's hope all the studying is worth it. Good luck this fall!

@Kilos That's a great suggestion too! I've been studying/practicing for about a month now, and I have a month until I re-take the GRE. I will try to find the study guides you mentioned! I am trying to go in with the mindset that I will surprise myself, but I can also fall back on the fact that I have plenty of time to take it again if necessary. Thanks for your advice on referring to scholars in an SOP. Since I asked that question, I've met with one of my former professors, and she thinks that I don't need to rely on that as much since I incorporated the same scholars and their respective works in my writing sample. That seems like common sense now. Hindsight is 20/20, I guess. I am so excited about ecofeminism, so I will gear my SOP toward that focus. Hooray for these decisions! Yes – you should be so excited! I am looking forward to hearing updates from you as well. @Warelin Thank you for your response! Admissions is so daunting, but it makes me rest easier knowing that I'm not the only one struggling with these big questions. I have learned lots from this forum, but I think the thing that's really changed the way I think about this process is just how important fit really is. And yes, I agree – location really is so important! I would be foolish if I didn't consider location, especially since I hope to research place studies. Place matters!

Kilos, Thank you so much for your helpful response! I felt a huge sense of relief after reading. I hope the GRE won't be a huge deterrent – I was actually provisionally accepted to my MA program because of my low scores, but I'm aiming to increase those scores a good bit. We shall see. I'm one of those *bad at standardized testing* folks. The first draft of my SOP was garbage, but I know that too takes time. Luckily, as I said, it will pass through the hands of several professors that I trust. Another question for you: is it wise or unwise to refer to specific scholars and their work in a SOP? I have a paragraph drafted that focuses on several texts that catalyzed my interest in ecocriticism (and ecofeminism in particular) but I wasn't sure about that. I will certainly work on narrowing my list based on fit. At first I settled on applying to 5 schools, and my advisor looked at me like I was crazy. (He went through the application process around 200 years ago, so he wasn't even aware that apps cost money...) I'll aim for 6-10 schools based on fit so that I can focus all my attention on those programs. I am so glad to get this advice from a fellow environmental lit person! Congrats on your program – it really does sound like the perfect space for you. I will look into the additional programs you listed! Part of my list is influenced by the fact that I'm from the South (but willing to move anywhere), so I think it's safe to say there's some bias there. Your suggestions open up a whole new and exciting direction for me to look into. Thanks for the tip about specialization within ecocriticism too. I wasn't sure how specific is too specific. I have set my sights on ecofeminism, and hopefully I can work with both ecofeminism and Southern lit. I definitely focus on ecofeminism in my SOP, but now I know that I'm headed in the right direction (at least in regards to that specialty). I am determined to find my niche like you've found yours! Thanks, thanks, thanks for your guidance. Good luck to you in the fall (which is when I assume you're starting) in Connecticut.

Hi all! I am a newbie to Grad Cafe, but I've been reading every word on this forum for the last few months since I decided to apply for a PhD in English. This space is so helpful and yet so overwhelming! A little about me: I graduated with an MA in English Lit from a small public liberal arts university in 2016. I have since been teaching full-time at a technical college (comp & American lit classes). I am interested in ecocriticism/environmental lit, Southern lit, and/or more broadly, American lit (post-war). GPA in my MA was a 4.0, major GPA in undergrad was a 3.8, but my GRE scores are laughable. I'm retaking the GRE this summer (twice if need be) and still considering taking the Subject test in September/October (depending on where I apply). I foresee having very strong rec letters, a solid writing sample, and (hopefully) a strong SOP – this seems to be the hardest part for me. I am fortunate to have the help of several of my former professors, but I still have loads of questions/concerns. Here are my biggest worries at the moment: 1) I have 14 schools on my list right now, and I think I'll be able to apply to 10. (Or should I bite the bullet and apply to all 14!?) I am worried that I'm not competitive enough for the schools to which I'm thinking about applying: UT-Austin, UCLA, UC-SB, Vanderbilt, U of Oregon, UC-Davis, Duke, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Chapel Hill, U of Virginia, Princeton, U of Iowa, Emory, and Ole Miss (in no particular order). Does anyone have any insider info on these schools/programs? Am I shooting way too high here? I know a lot of this process has to do with fit, and I'm still figuring out that part. (Yes, I have been looking into profs of interest and their research and trying to narrow down my list based on that...) 2) Any ecocriticism/environmental lit people out there? I'd love to get feedback on the schools listed above. Have I forgotten some? I'm sure I have; please don't hold it against me. ☺️ Thanks, all, for your insight. This process is already 10x more anxiety-inducing than I ever thought it would be. At least I know I'm not alone!