S.Y.

Honestly, that's me too. I have a full time job and honestly, a lot of times, I just feel like I don't have the ability to get into anywhere. Sigh. And, so much work with so little time.

Hi, I'm going to apply for English PhD program and will need to submit a writing sample. However, I'm having trouble deciding which paper to revise. I have a research paper which I don't like that much and a close reading paper that I like more. I'm inclined to revise my research paper for submission simply because the other paper isn't research based. However, I'm not sure if that's the best idea. Should I go with the one that I like more?

I think sometimes, if you do excellent work they will also give you special admission. If I were you, I'm just going to take that opportunity. Even if it's expensive, you'll always have that on your CV.

I'm interested in this too. My GPA isn't awful but it's just mid-ish due to medical reason....

I think it's a bad idea at this point. But, if you really want to do so.... contact Stanford FIRST. Do know that you might actually WANT to go to Berkeley later i.e. as a professor. And, I'll tell you one thing I heard from my Berkeley professor. She actually remembered that one of the students that they tried to recruit TEN YEARS ago turned down Berkeley's offer and went to Harvard. She even commented that they were surprised that this student turned down Berkeley's offer and went to Harvard. They were like, "what?!". Now, that student is currently a Berkeley Professor. These things do happen and people remember.

WOW! So many of you are applying with an MA. That makes me really worry.... I'd like to chat with anyone about the application process. I know SOP is important and I'm set on what I want to study but I'm like--GOODNESS, I'm competing with all these people for six spots!!! How can I EVER stand out Well.. That being said, I do want to retake my GRE... as an international student albeit with a BA from UC Berkeley, Verbal is still difficult (at least for me).