Put a cat on it

I'm oddly thankful that I have my thesis still to focus on (for my MFA), which will distract me from obsessively checking my email from now until April. Also, whoever suggested creating an entirely separate email for applications? THANK YOU. So now once notification season comes around I'm just going to set an alert for my phone to ding when I receive an email for that particular account so I'm not checking the email over and over again all day long (well, I will try to do this, at any rate).

DONE WITH ALL OF MY APPS!!!!

Only one more application and I'm done, praise the Lord. I'm not even looking at how much I've spent because I'm really good at denial.

Just finished Alice Munro's latest short story collection and starting James's The Bostonians. Although let's be honest, I'll probably be reading a lot of fluff books over break, too.

Just FYI, this is on the OSU How to Apply page: NOTE: It can take up to 7 days for your uploaded materials to show up in the system. If your application center still says "incomplete" after you've uploaded your documents, this is NORMAL. After 7 days, if you are still concerned that your materials did not load, please feel free to contact us at graduateenglish@osu.edu.)

I realized yesterday that I forgot to delete a source in my WC after cutting a section from my paper. So I'm in the same boat and need some reassurance, siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

Because I'm better at reading than at math.

I have a really hard time imagining adcoms looking over your materials, thinking you'll be a great fit, your research sounds awesome, SOP is spot-on--oh wait. You have mediocre GRE Subject scores. Never mind. We're not admitting you.

Only one I've encountered so far that doesn't do this is OSU's application.

We'll be mediocre together.

I'm also finishing up my MFA and applying to PhD lit programs. I think including all of your publications on your CV is a good idea (I'm certainly going to), but probably making sure your SOP is tailored to why you want to study literature now. I did explain, though, how my MFA gives me edge in terms of studying literature in my SOP. I know there are others on this forum who have gone from an MFA to a Lit PhD who may also have some advice, though. Personally, I feel like an MFA makes you a more interesting candidate than someone straight out of undergrad, simply because you've shown that you are capable of graduate-level work already while also studying the other side of literature, so to speak. (This may make zero sense, as I'm not totally awake yet this morning.)

Man, I got a fairly mediocre score. Trying not to freak myself out (this is what I get for not studying poetry extensively, wah wah wah).

I know from applying to MFA programs that going over the page limit is generally a big no-no, although going under (unless we're talking, like, sending in 5 pages when 20 is the minimum) is fine. Going over the limit often signals to the committee that you can't read directions and that you think that they have loads of time to read your extra pages--even if those pages seem very important to you. So really, bottom line: don't go over the page limit, just to be safe.

Yep, English lit programs!

I am using a paper I wrote for one of my literature classes (I'm currently in an MFA program, applying to PhD programs) regarding the construction of a gentleman in England during the late 18th through early 19th centuries, specifically focusing on Henry Tilney in Austen's Northanger Abbey. Mostly because Henry Tilney is the best and I will convince everyone else he is, too.

I'm pretty sure I have an official copy of my scores in my files, but I will check because that's a good point. I don't think I realized that the scores aren't just expired but actually disappear off the face of the earth. I know I could just retake the test, but I'm cheap and if my old scores will work I'd rather just use them than not.

Just an FYI to others: the schools I've contacted so far say my scores will be okay since they will still be valid when the applications are due (they expire in February 2015, but the apps are due either in December or January). So I'm just barely squeezing by, but that's fine with me!

I think my project for today is emailing the schools to see what they say. I reallllllllllllllllly don't want to retake it, especially since I'm already taking the Lit Subject test, but if I have to, so be it.

That will definitely be my next step. Here's hoping they all say yes.

I'm applying to Lit PhD programs this fall, but my GRE scores will turn the big 5 in February 2015. Are they too old to use to apply? Is the five year rule when you apply or when you are accepted? I tried to see if any old posts would give me an answer, but I couldn't find anything. Thanks muchly for the help.

Thanks for the responses! The thought of applying to school for a third time kind of makes me want to die, but I'd love to attend a program. But I still have a little time to decide.

Well, two of my lit classes are 18th/19th century lit (one will be this summer), although I cheated and used an internship for one of my four classes. I have a great lit prof who is also one of my thesis advisors, so I'll talk to her, as well. It's good to know other MFAs have been successful, though. Also, if anyone has any recs for programs - specifically 19th century and Jane Austen - that would be splendid.

Hi all, I'm considering applying for PhD programs in literature (19th century Brit lit, to be specific), but I'm afraid I'm not at all competitive. I'm finishing up my MFA in Creative Writing this year and have a BA in English, but I don't have a ton of research under my belt or much graduate coursework in literature. We take 12 hours worth of lit courses for our MFA, however. I also have zero teaching experience because it was better, financially, to continue working full-time during my MFA than being a TA. Anyway, should I even consider PhD programs or should I start with an MA? Maybe MA/PhD track?