Bopie5

@The Wordsworthian that's EXACTLY it! I was like "Once I get them in, I'll feel so relieved" but that really wasn't the case...glad we all have this mutual space to work out our panic/anxiety over the next few months ahah!

@The Wordsworthian that's EXACTLY it! I was like "Once I get them in, I'll feel so relieved" but that really wasn't the case...glad we all have this mutual space to work out our panic/anxiety over the next few months ahah!

I mentioned two faculty in each SoP. In fact, part of my criteria for whether I would apply to a school was whether I could find two faculty that I could write one honest and coherent sentence about wanting to work with. I think that is a pretty good "fit" litmus test. The connections don't have to be direct, after all, if you were working on the same things they were your work would be redundant. But do they work around a similar set of concerns but at different loci, the same time period but different objects, or do their methods share something in common with your own?  
Far from diluting your SoP, these things show that you've actually bothered to look at the program and gotten to know it a little bit, rather than simply making decisions based on factors like perceived prestige, or geography. That means something to programs.
The grand irony is of course that I don't work with either of the people I listed in the SoP for my current program. Not because they aren't delightful people, of course, but because you never know where life's contingencies will take you.

@The Wordsworthian that's EXACTLY it! I was like "Once I get them in, I'll feel so relieved" but that really wasn't the case...glad we all have this mutual space to work out our panic/anxiety over the next few months ahah!

@Bopie5: Exactly. The first round is always the hardest. Statistically speaking, I'm guessing most people don't get in their first time. I received a wait-list during my first round; which ultimately resulted in a rejection. During my second round, I applied to a few more colleges and received admission into 6 colleges. I ended up turning down a "better" ranked college for this one because I felt I could grow more here and I felt the opportunities offered here would be better and the location felt to me that it would also be a better fit. (During my first cycle, this school rejected me. During my last cycle, this school originally waitlisted me which then turned into an acceptance. I turned down a graduate fellowship that I was nominated for and won from the graduate school from the better-ranked university to attend here. Acceptances have an odd-way of working out because I thought I'd go elsewhere prior to making my final decision. The more I learned about different schools though, the easier the decision became and the more I realized what a hidden gem this school is. (As a side note, 3 of the schools I was accepted into were also the last 3 schools I added to my list after realizing they'd be a good fit.)

@Warelin So true! I've had a few Skype convos with current PhD students and recent grads and they've all stressed how many factors there are that I can't control, and how there really is a luck of the draw element (who's on the admissions committee, how many people also in my field who apply, if everyone wants the same faculty mentors, people from the same backgrounds, etc, etc). Just gotta be at peace knowing that it's my first round and I've done the best I can. There's a high likelihood it won't work out this time, but I can learn from my experiences and try again!

@Bopie5: I think the important thing to realize is that rejections can happen regardless. Fit matters a lot. Our understanding of fit often differs a lot from what the department's considers fit to be. (And the bigger the department, the harder it is to determine fit because more students will believe they're a great fit for that school.) It's just as important to remember that this is often like a lottery and nobody is guaranteed admission. The best way anyone can increase their chances is to show that they have a current awareness of the literary conversations that are happening today and how their research can contribute to that conversation and why that institution is the one that best serves their needs. Often, the "best ranked" universities are not the best at filling those holes. While you may not have publications (not even expected at the grad level-- very few do -- and some schools warn about publishing too early), there are other ways that you can showcase that you'll be actively involved in the profession. 

For what it's worth (and depending on how the school sorts application), it's likely that you'll be put into a pool of BA-only applicants. It's not expected that you have as much experience as a student with an MA. The Ba-only pool is often larger as they search for applicants that show the "greatest potential to acclimate". Students with an MA are ranked on a different scale because they've had more years to learn the field and obtain more experiences.

I have officially submitted all my apps. Waiting on professors to submit their letters, first deadline up on Saturday. Fingers crossed. Good luck to everyone.

Depends on what you want to know. Ask students if you want to learn more about the advisor's mentoring style, what they think about the program, etc. If the faculty is taking students and their current interests etc are better directed at the faculty itself. 

I had previously applied to PhD programs in philosophy back in '10, '12, and '13.  I really didn't go about the process well, but since finishing my MA in philosophy, I have been adjuncting and will complete a second MA in English/literature this fall.  I'm interested in medieval and early modern conceptions of political power in the Arthuriana and Spenser's Faerie Queene.

Hi all! 
This thread has been a bit dead for a few weeks, but figured I'd put my info in here! 
I'm graduating in May with a BA double major in English Literature and Theatre. GPA 3.99, GRE 168V/159Q/6W. I'm hoping to get accepted into a PhD program, and I'm planning on applying to 5-8 schools. Can't do any more because of finances ? The list is currently UChicago, Michigan, Northwestern, Stanford, UC Davis, and UCSB, but I have a few more I'm looking at/thinking of. 
In my graduate study, I'm looking to pursue Feminism and/or Gender and Sexuality, focusing around ideas of embodiment, intersectionality, and identity. My writing sample is a Kristevan reading of Chaim Potok's My Name Is Asher Lev, focusing on the maternal body as a site of suffering that resists sign/signifier/signified relationships, and my current research surrounds the ways in which the 'evil' or villainous body is visually coded as "other" in Western animation. Also currently pursuing a full length theatrical project utilizing the poetry of T. S. Eliot and Anne Sexton as the basis for a devised piece of poetic theatre exploring the human movement towards the divine. 
Very excited for all of us, and want to wish you all the best of luck! Also if anyone has any advice/suggestions/help, I could really use it. No one in my family has gone to grad school before, so a lot of what I'm doing is based on my own research. If anyone has applied before and has wisdom to pass along regarding writing good SOPs, contacting current grad students, determining program fit, etc, etc, etc...basically I need all the help I can get! Hope the application process goes well for everyone

Seems to be quiet around here as of late, so I thought I'd throw in an updated post. After having discussions with various professors about my initial SOP drafts, I basically went back to the whiteboard, so to speak. My final list of schools is set, as my SOP has finally come together in terms of my research focus/potential project(s). I'm taking my GRE on Friday. I'm still tinkering with my WS, even though it's "technically" done, as I want to make some minor theoretical and structural adjustments to my argument.
Blah. I came into putting together my PhD application expecting difficulty, but I still underestimated how insane this whole process is! With that said, it has been, and I imagine will continue to be, equally nerve wracking and exciting! Good luck! 

Yay! Welcome to the club.  

Hi Resilient! I'm in the exact same boat--in my senior year, looking to hopefully move right into an English PhD program out of undergrad. I'm totally with you on feeling intimidated by everyone's publications and such! I've won a few small awards at my university, but I'm not published at all, and I'm getting nervous for sure...

Hi all! 
This thread has been a bit dead for a few weeks, but figured I'd put my info in here! 
I'm graduating in May with a BA double major in English Literature and Theatre. GPA 3.99, GRE 168V/159Q/6W. I'm hoping to get accepted into a PhD program, and I'm planning on applying to 5-8 schools. Can't do any more because of finances ? The list is currently UChicago, Michigan, Northwestern, Stanford, UC Davis, and UCSB, but I have a few more I'm looking at/thinking of. 
In my graduate study, I'm looking to pursue Feminism and/or Gender and Sexuality, focusing around ideas of embodiment, intersectionality, and identity. My writing sample is a Kristevan reading of Chaim Potok's My Name Is Asher Lev, focusing on the maternal body as a site of suffering that resists sign/signifier/signified relationships, and my current research surrounds the ways in which the 'evil' or villainous body is visually coded as "other" in Western animation. Also currently pursuing a full length theatrical project utilizing the poetry of T. S. Eliot and Anne Sexton as the basis for a devised piece of poetic theatre exploring the human movement towards the divine. 
Very excited for all of us, and want to wish you all the best of luck! Also if anyone has any advice/suggestions/help, I could really use it. No one in my family has gone to grad school before, so a lot of what I'm doing is based on my own research. If anyone has applied before and has wisdom to pass along regarding writing good SOPs, contacting current grad students, determining program fit, etc, etc, etc...basically I need all the help I can get! Hope the application process goes well for everyone