ecritdansleau

That's funny; the application fee for Chicago, at $65, was actually the lowest fee of all my applications (which seemed interesting to me because it was the only private university I applied to with a fee below $80-100). Private or public though, they all received my donations . Oh well.

If it's any consolation, nearly half the departments I applied to specifically stated "you cannot change application materials such as the SOP and WS after submitting." From what I know, English departments typically receive more applications than would German/Comp Lit programs, so it might be more difficult for some departments to accommodate these requests (the more applicants, the more of a challenge--and nuisance?--this could become). Kudos to vertige for doing it successfully!

For what it's worth, I did have an undergraduate peer in another humanities discipline who made quite a jump according to prestige. His particular discipline (philosophy) has its own unofficial (non-USWNR) ranking carried out by faculty member evaluators. The philosophy program at my undergrad is technically unranked on this unofficial report (they don't report rankings over the top 50 for some reason). The student was accepted into Harvard (a #5 program in phil) during his second attempt at graduate applications. So, yes, it's not impossible. But from what I've gauged, most Ph.D. students at, say, top ten programs are students from top schools and small, well-regarded liberal arts colleges. (I have a hunch that undergrads in smaller programs--on the whole--are more likely to have cultivated strong relations with professors, and thus have strong letters, because a small undergrad department often requires students to take multiple classes with the same professor. At some public universities with giant departments and tons of TA instructors, an undergraduate student has to more proactive about actively choosing courses with actual professors and develop that professional/advising relationship over time or they will easily get lost in the mix.) Maybe the important question that emerges though, is, how can a student not attending a "top undergrad program" develop strong records and competitive application materials for graduate programs in a much more highly specialized discipline? There is also the problem of the fish-barrel shock. Most serious applicants to graduate programs have high numbers, high GPAs. Many here have long identified themselves, conceived of themselves as very strong students with really high grades. But these qualifications will not really make you stand out. It's what is different about you (your research strengths, writing sample) that will get the attention of the adcom. Realistically, professors at top schools "get it" in ways that professors from other schools don't "get it", and can relay this advice to their undergraduate students applying to graduate school. Whatever it means to "get it" I am still very actively trying to understand.

Like others above, I don't really have any conclusive answers to the OP's primary question because this is my first year applying, and it seems like the forum is much more highly populated by current applicants than applicants already attending. (You might want to try asking this on livejournal's applyingtograd community?) Another thing to consider is not merely the "prestige" of your undergraduate institution but perhaps the caliber and research output of English faculty there. Some top 25 English programs have English departments that are number-wise much more highly ranked than the university as a whole (if those rankings even mean anything).

House Hunters International.

There aren't as many grant opportunities for undergraduates in the humanities because, fortunately for us, our research doesn't involve the exorbitant costs of laboratory research. Perhaps we could address this question better if you could shed light on why exactly you think a grant would assist you in developing your ideas. Are there only limited opportunities for research at your undergrad institution? (Are you looking for outside mentorship? travel costs for access to archival collections?) Off the top of my head, you might want to look into study abroad scholarships as a way to carry out undergraduate research/work with another professor, but it all depends upon a number of specific factors.

One of my professors discussed reading over applications for the program even though she was not on campus that semester (she looked them over online, which is probably becoming more common with each passing year). So, in line with what Sparky suggests, it's definitely a practice for English PhD admissions. Non-adcom profs might not have the final say/decision, but their comments can be highly influential, especially when an applicant's interests are more in line with an on-leave professor than the professors on the adcom.

This is a great point, considering the fact that the percentile itself is set by other test takers. I definitely second poeteers's attitude, especially anyone who is taking it/retaking it in the future. The day of my test I started to freak out before the exam because I thought, "if the writing section is as formulaic as I assume it is, why didn't I spend so much as a few hours practicing for it, after spending MONTHS of work on prep for the verbal." It would have been much wiser of me to balance out my studying a bit more, especially when I think you can really boost the analytic score with even a small amount of practice.

I wouldn't think about it too much. Like some above posters, I too boast a relatively extraordinary catalogue of achievements based on the merit of my writing skills. My score was a 5.0 (87%). I didn't concern myself at all with the analytic writing section in my test preparation. Personally, I was turned off by the mechanical-formulaic nature of the grading. Admittedly, if my score had dipped under 5.0 I probably would have regretted this attitude. But really-I do not believe an admissions committee would make a judgment about our writing based on that score. If anything, they might read your sample more closely for writing problems that they probably won't find.

You know what's funny? I had the same feeling about some of my SOPs, but not others. And in retrospective I realize, it's the schools I *REALLY* want to get in to that I have this particularly endless unease/dissatisfaction/regret about my statement of purpose, despite the fact that all my submitted statements are fairly similar. Which suggests that it's more my perception of the statement (and its functional importance to that school) than the statement itself. I keep thinking about the potential faculty members who will be reading it and imagining what they will think of different parts of it. Really, I think way too much about these things. Oh well. I guess the really strange thing about this process is that unlike anything other kind of evaluation I've gone through, there is no base indicator of how this will turn out, and no way of estimating if/how/where I might actually end up. Unlike the other academic hurdles I've juggled, there is no practice test to give me a sense of my percentile ranking. In submitting all these applications, I put everything out there, and out there, and out there. And I get nothing back. It's so strange and faceless. And now it will be a full TWO MONTHS before I know what is happening with my life. I don't expect that the adcoms could do it any faster. But I wish this process was a bit more transparent. I'm questioning my choice of schools because of the circular logic that (to me) the departments I applied to seem to be the GREATEST; in turn, everyone else probably wants to go there; thus, it will be too competitive for me to make it in! But maybe it's better to have remained in this perpetual uncertainty as I submitted applications than to have been too aware of how awful the odds are. The doom and gloom reality of this process is so bleak that I have to feign uncertainty to even attempt these odds.

It only came up in about 40% of my apps, but how did other people respond to the application questions to list faculty members who research interests you?? I mean, if you left it blank, it suggests you don't really know why you're applying there. At the same time, the faculty members might not be taking on new students/leaving/etc. This process is so opaque. I know one department (that I didn't apply to because it didn't fit) that actually posts the members of the admissions committee up on their website. Knowing who, in my projected field, would be looking at my application, would make me feel a lot more comfortable about the whole process.

This is really interesting. I still feel really uneasy about the naming-names question (to name or not to name!), and who knows how it will turn out. But if you genuinely fit with that particular faculty member's interests, remember too, that many departments have their own culture, especially in the faculty members of overlapping fields, because those are the professors who hired the other professors, in many cases. When looking at departments, I've attempted to get a sense of what links their conversations together, and where I fit in in that conversation as well. But it's really all so arbitrary, especially when some departments end up admitting 0-1 person in a particular major field! The funny thing is, as your example corroborates, is that the professors who have a reputation for research are precisely the professors who are thus given sabbaticals/time away from the department, which translates, often, into distance from the admissions committee. It makes me wonder if, perhaps, I should have made a proactive effort to figure who is where/involved in the departments to which I'm applying. If a professor is on leave for the year, they probably won't be on the adcom....then again, because so much is online now, I know that some professors off campus are still asked to look over graduate applications.

I know professors that earned PhDs in comparative literature and obtained positions as English professors, but not many that have PhDs in English and have a comparative literature position. I'm not an expert on it, but almost everyone I know who goes for the comparative literature PhD is the polyglot/lived in three different countries after undergrad type. If you don't have strong language skills already under your belt then it could be difficult to get into a Comp Lit program. Whereas English programs often expect you to pass translation exams in the first few years of the PhD, Comp Lit programs look for people who can jump right in to literature-level courses in other languages. But if you plan to do a lot of work with literature/film not in English, a comparative literature program might offer better faculty resources for your project.

I'm probably stating the obvious, but remember too, that you can really up your score by figuring out where your gaps are. The challenge is, it's not simply "where are your gaps in knowledge of English literature" so much as where do you keep losing points on the test. As much as the subject test has changed, I had collected former literature subject tests spanning over two decades--and as arbitrary as the test is and seems--I did continually get questions wrong in two areas (for me it was medieval and twentieth-century American poetry). First identifying--and then working on problem areas can really help to increase your score.

It's really not funny at all. But for whatever reason, seeing the topic "0% Confidence of Acceptance" as the "HOT" thread made me laugh (I always laugh at inappropriate things, especially myself). It's so absurd though. A testament to how the process ravages our self-esteem.

For what it's worth, I planned my double-major and all the coursework the summer before my freshman year in college. Everything went according to plan, and I loved my double-majors. BUT, I did find myself a bit jealous of some of my non-double majoring (one major+easy minor) friends who were loading up on additional upper-level courses in our major (beyond the required hours and courses) who were indeed applying to graduate programs in the discipline. Remember that major *requirements* are the bare minimum of the work you can do to get the major. If you want to do advanced graduate study, then gaining as much maturity you can in that particular field will help you, and personally, when I imagine cutting off the last year of my studies, I think there would have been a world of difference for me (as in, I'm much wiser about advanced studies in my field after senior year than I was my junior year)-- More undergraduate courses--particularly those that assist you in the development of your own unique academic angle/speciality/graduate application--will not hurt you. Graduating early *could* detract from this larger goal: if taking fewer courses means not developing deeper relationships with professors, not doing an independent study, not taking as many upper-level courses in your discipline, then doing so might not be the best path if graduate school is your ultimate goal. But nothing is black and white, and perhaps it won't detract from your application, since you're planning early and highly conscious of your future plans. You might want to keep in mind though, that when you apply to PhD programs, you'll be competing against BA students who have done all the extra coursework and extra majors, etcetera, and possibly masters students too.

For the record, I just received confirmation in the mail of the extra score reports I ordered the week of December 12th for the Nov 12th subject test--ETS has given me every reason to believe that my score reports are not showing up blank (the score report says my score even though it wasn't posted online yet). Although the ETS employee who told someone else that "the scores will show up blank on score reports until the test shows up online" makes me wonder. It's hard to figure what's worse: that ETS would convince me the score reports are just fine when they are showing up blank, or that the ETS employee unnecessarily convinced an applicant to buy a load of every score reports!? I'm just hoping everything turns out alright.

This. Both the holiday questions. And I feel you on the U of home state ambivalence. I opted not to apply there in my home state. Which is perhaps a mistake considering one of my letter writers is on the admissions committee for the program this year! I know it's not the right program for me though.

Yes. Because as hectic as the process of applying is, at least you feel a sense of active control. After everything is done, it all feels like dust in the wind.

Seriously? This makes no sense, because the official score reports (that I ordered with the test) says that they were sent out/reported on December 10th (for the Nov 12th test). After I saw that those were sent out, I ordered my additional score reports. In fact, it didn't allow me to select the scores from that date until then (online). Whoever is telling you that they are sending them out blank until tomorrow is either very wrong, or ETS is evil and on future re-applications I will only apply to schools that do not require the subject test. Because, really, all this extra trouble is ridiculous.

Hazelbites advice sounds right to me. But if you can actually rule out that you would seriously attend one of these programs, then maybe rethink it. Don't apply just because you feel like you have to; do it because you are open to considering the program. (That is, if there is something about the program, dept, or even location that you know is a dealbreaker for you, don't just apply there because you feel obligated to do so. On the other hand, if you feel as if you just don't know enough about the department yet--it may very well be a decent fit for you, worth a shot, and you'll figure this out as you go along.) If you make it into some other programs and not SUNY Buffalo, you can always consider those options, and decide whether you would like to apply again. (In this scenario, contacting Buffalo, and asking them if they have any comments on your application, could help you gauge whether this would be an appropriate way to go). It's probably best to think of now as a time when you are increasing your potential options, and remember later that you are not obligated to go to a program just because they accept you. (For instance, one of the programs I applied to offers differential funding/fellowships for incoming doctoral students. Unless I receive adequate/competitive funding there, I will not accept the offer--even if it's my only one--because I am convinced that the heavy teaching duties it requires will be incompatible with my own emphasis on research goals.) As to whether admissions committees pay attention to previous attempts, I am completely uncertain. They do *ask* on most applications, but this may very well be because certain documents like transcripts can be used from the previous application. There are some schools that do specifically say "if you have applied three times without being admitted, please do not apply again." It says this on the Yale Graduate School website, for instance. As cynical as it comes off, such a policy suggests that even at super competitive ivy programs, there is the possibility that an applicant can be seriously successful after not one but TWO unsuccessful attempts. Considering that this is your first attempt (?), you might as well give it a shot.

That being said, if you have any interest in trying UK programs, they tend to have much later deadlines than US programs. They also tend not to offer the same kind of funding to US/internationals...but if it's something that appeals to you, I would definitely look into it; you definitely have time. Many of their programs have deadlines in February-March (the most competitive ones, like Oxford, are earlier).

This is true--Especially if you end up entering a PhD program (and not just an MA): don't forget to ask yourself if you're really ready to commit for 6+ years. Philsparrow is right to point out, "because they had a late deadline" is probably not what you want to be the deciding factor in where you might end up for the next half-decade or so. I was really specific/picky when choosing the programs I'm applying to now because I would rather wait it out another year if that's what it takes to get into one of the departments I'm interested in. But, if that's your prerogative, then best of luck!

I took the gre in July also, and this happened with my quant score as well (the percentile went down...) It sucks, but, I try to remember it's probably not that big of a deal in the big scheme of things.

That's ridiculous on the part of whoever designed the application, and completely not your fault. I can't understand why they would set the system up to not take LORs after such a relatively early date--many places have a grace period for lors.