fall-11

Oh yes, I know that, but I just meant the *idea* that we might just be days away from hearing...

Jesus, do you have to give us ideas?? Good luck, though. We'll all make it!

According to the Grad Cafe results forum, last year Wisconsin sent out their first acceptances on Jan 29, and Northwestern on Feb 1. If they follow a similar schedule this year, that means we might hear back in about 10 days' time. That's really really soon -- I don't know whether to be excited or scared. Honestly, how do they get through hundreds of applications in such a short time?

I think it probably gets sent out automatically by the grad school. As far as I remember, it had information about housing and a viewbook with pictures of the campus. I'm guessing that everyone who applies there automatically receives this packet in January.

I got the same large envelope with info about the town and housing, etc. when I applied there a couple of years ago. I agree, it's really inconsiderate...

Sorry to hear things are rough... but don't give up! Regarding recommenders -- it's not a big deal if their letters don't get in by the deadline. The deadlines are more for the applicants. So as long as you get everything submitted online or postmarked by the deadline, it should be fine. And then keep hunting down your recommenders until you get them to send their letters, even if it's past the deadline. Maybe you can get their phone numbers or something from the department secretary? Basically, don't fret if the recommendations go in late; just make sure that your own stuff is on time. Good luck! It's hard to juggle all of this while also doing term papers and stuff at the end of the semester.

By the way, how did you find out the average score at Harvard? I looked at the English dept website and FAQs, but couldn't find any information of this sort.

It's ridiculous that they do this to us: $140 to register for the test, plus however many additional score reports you need for $23 each (!!), and then as a final insult, $12 to hear the score which they're not going to post online for another ten agonizing days. It just makes me mad.

I second what people have said about quality rather than quantity ... but if that one page is really bothering you, you might try playing with the line spacing. E.g. you can change the line spacing to 2.1 (i.e. slightly over regular double-spacing). It might help you spill over onto that last page, and the difference between 2.0 and 2.1 is small enough that no one will notice it. Same thing if you need to make it a page or so shorter -- try 1.9 instead of 2.0. But yeah, what really matters is the content, and I don't think a page over or under will get you disqualified.

Okay, thanks y'all.

I was wondering how the online recommendation system works. When a faculty member submits an online rec letter, does the system email the applicant to let them know that a letter has been submitted? Or is checking the online status the only way to see if letters have been submitted? Checking the online status everyday for 11 schools is kind of a chore -- that's why I'm wondering if the system will actually let me know when and if something's been sent. Does anyone know if it does that? Thanks.

A few years back, I applied to a creative writing MFA program, and I wrote "Crative Writing" in the very first sentence of the SOP. I'm sure the adcom didn't bother to read beyond that first sentence! I mean, what could be worse than an aspiring writer who can't spell "creative"?

Yup, seconding this. I'm in an MA program right now and it *really* helps to take grad level courses and write grad level papers. It makes me feel more confident about what I'm doing, which I think I probably wouldn't have felt if I was a fresh BA. That's not to say that fresh BA's don't get accepted -- they certainly do, and I know people both at my current university and at my undergrad college who have gone straight into the PhD right after the BA, so it certainly happens. But going the MA route is not a bad thing by any means.

Yeah, I was really bummed out that it was so different from the practice tests. But honestly, I think we'll be okay. If you look at the score conversion tables from the practice tests, a raw score of 150 converts to a scaled score of 600. So, for instance, if you get 160 right and 40 wrong and didn't attempt 30, you can still end up with 600. Also, since I'm sure most people got thrown by the test, just like we did, that also means that the percentile rankings will be in our favor. So ultimately it'll turn out okay, maybe not super-great, but not terrible either. So don't despair! I treated myself to lunch at a Thai restaurant after the test, just to console myself for having to go through the ordeal that is the Subject Test ... I'm afraid I might gain a few pounds by the time this application season is over The whole process is like a triathlon or something, a sheer test of endurance, so we should pat ourselves on the back for even braving the process!

Hi all, how'd it go today? I thought it was harder than the practice tests I had taken. Also, I kept hearing that ETS loves the 16th and 17th centuries, so I learned as much as I could about stuff like Jacobean and Restoration drama -- and there was practically nothing from there. There was more of comprehension type stuff, and less of straight identifications (again unlike the practice tests). All in all, it wasn't terribly bad -- it was all right, I guess. How did other people feel about ti?

I usually list a few schools (not all 10 of them), and I list only the ones that are of the same stature. E.g. for a top-20 school, I'll list the other top-20 schools I'm applying to, but for a middle-ranking school, I'll list other middle-ranking schools because I don't want them to think I'm not serious in applying there. That's my logic anyway but yeah, I do think it's unfair of them to ask.

I'm taking it on Saturday as well, and also freaking out. I've been studying whenever I can for the last couple of months, but really intensively cramming during this week, mostly using the Hapax Legomena site and the Princeton Review book. I'll also try to review as much as I can from the Vade Mecum site. God bless the folks who put up those sites!

Wisconsin and Northwestern also ask for 500 words max. I think I might go over a little, up to 600 words maybe, but not more than that. Basically, I'll keep it within one single-spaced page. I figure if they don't like someone's SOP, they'll probably stop reading half-way through, and if they like it, they won't mind reading a few extra words. A related question: is it absolutely necessary to discuss a proposed dissertation idea? I mean, I know what areas I'm interested in, but I don't have a specific topic narrowed down. And isn't it too premature to have a dissertation topic already? Or do adcomms expect us to have one?

For the folks who are "already attending" -- did you get accepted in your first round of applications, or did you have to try a second (or third) time before you got in? I realize this is partly a 'dumb' question because it depends on many things and will be different for each applicant, but I still thought it'd be useful to hear about. I'm currently finishing up an MA and this is my first time applying to PhD programs (5-6 schools in the top 40, 2 that are middle-ranking, and 2 safeties).

If it helps, my GRE is from 2007 as well, but I'm not retaking it. Good luck!

Yeah, given that there are almost no jobs in English, getting a PhD in English really isn't going to help in a recession! When I asked one of my profs for a recommendation, that's the first thing she said: "have you had *the talk* about how there are no jobs?" Though honestly, with these kinds of admissions stats, *the talk* should focus on how hard it is to get in in the first place. But of course, we already knew that going in. Sigh.

Hi all, I just looked up the admissions stats for Cornell on Petersons.com (http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/cornell-university-graduate-school-field-of-english-language-and-literature-admissions-000_10035701_10088.aspx) and the fact that they had 890 (!!) applicants last year is simply blowing my mind. Is this for real? I mean, even other top-notch Ivy League schools don't have such a huge number of applicants (e.g. Harvard had about 400). I mean, what's up with that?? And how on earth do they sort through 890 applications? Do they even read them? This is simply mind-boggling...

Is there any website where you can find "reviews" of grad programs by students who actually go there? I mean, there's all kinds of websites with reviews of products, restaurants, books, etc. etc. and even ratemyprofessors.com for reviews of individual professors/courses. Is there anything at all of this sort for English graduate programs?