catalyst

Hi Seahistory, Polumetis 23,Linden Thank you very much for all your replies. I didn't expect that people would reply to me so quickly. I really appreciate this. Well, finally I think I will apply for a couple of safety schools just to make sure. I have never applied to the US schools before, nor have I been to the country myself. It's a brand new experience for me. Seahistory, you know Thai greetings...have you been to Thailand before? About the condition of my scholarship, it depends... but the sooner I go, the better. Polumetis 23, I am aware that my verbal is ok but nothing spectacular compared to the native speaker. Most applicants for competitive Eng Lit programs often get 99%. I didn't apply to the top 5, mainly it's the top 20 and 30. Still, those programs are very competitive and people might hesitate to pick a foreigner for English program. I know that places like Harvard or Yales are far-fetched for me. I just hope that my being one of the minorities would give me an edge. Linden, I know that it is better to be on the safe side. Nothing hurts to apply for more schools but after doing 10 applications in a row, some time I just feel like not doing it anymore. Well, we will never know about the result and it would be a real regret to learn that I might have gotten in if I apply for safety choice. So will give it another try... Thank you once again for all your comments.

Thank you very much for your reply, Seahistory. I did make it very clear to the schools I applied for that the scholarship covers everything and does not entail any financial obligations on the part of the overseas institution.

Hi, I am new here but I have been reading the webboard for some time. I would appreciate it if you could give me some suggestion on my application. I am applying for PhD in English for 2009 and I have already applied to 10 (top 33) US universities. While waiting for the schools' decision, I am wondering whether I should apply for more schools because the schools I have applied for are very competitive plus I am non-native planning to do English Lit (I have only studied abroad for 1 year in the UK and my family is non-native). I fear that they might all reject me. However, one Director of Graduate Studies from my top-choice school whom I have talked to via email several times told me that the committee is "very enthusiastic" about my application and my GRE scores are "very acceptable" in their point of view. She also said that she would inform me about the decision herself via email to avoid the delay of snail mail service plus saying that she would be willing to answer my questions about the program, the town of the university and anything that is not available at the website. Another Director of my top-choice school told me that, as a non-native, my GRE is "very competitive." I think this is a good sign for me but I know that I cannot be certain at all about this and I don't want to count the chicken before they are hatched. Some time I just can't help feeling that they might accept me but I am not sure about my chance. Should I apply for more schools? Here's my profile. 1. Non-native from Thailand 2. BA in English from a university Thailand GPA 3.86 3. MA in English Literature from Warwick, UK( ranked around 7-9) GPA equivalent of 3.60 4. TOEFL 113/120 5. GRE verbal 670 (95%) Math 650 (60%) AWA (5.0) 77% 6. Already received full 6 year scholarship from the Thai Government (no need to apply for any funding) 7. Good letters of recommendation 8. not sure about writing sample (I sent one which I got distinction from the UK but I am not sure whether it is good enough for US application) 9. one publication in Thai university journal Some of my friends said that if I don't have to apply for any funding, I have a good chance of being accepted but I am not uncertain about whether to apply for few more choices. Comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.