stillthisappeal

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'm going to go for it because the professor's research is genuinely interesting to me and, based on the terms we discussed, it seems like it will create a more consistent (and therefore more easily managed) workload. Moreover, I'll get to teach one section of comp in the fall and spring, so I don't have to worry about losing my teaching chops.

Has anyone ever worked as a research assistant for an English professor (or, more broadly, a professor in the humanities)? What did your work entail? Was it a worthwhile experience? Would you suggest it over teaching for someone who already has a fair amount of teaching experience?

This website helped a lot: http://www.duke.edu/~tmw15/ Reading the Norton Anthology cover to cover is probably a waste of time. You should focus on making note cards and familiarizing yourself with canonical poetry (as well as the test question format). I recommend this YouTube channel for learning important poems: http://www.youtube.com/user/SpokenVerse You might also find that it's helpful to watch adaptations of important Shakespearean plays you haven't seen before. For biblical questions, it's helpful to watch the Ten Commandments. In my experience, the theory questions you encounter won't extend beyond "What kind of theoretical approach is this?" If you have a working knowledge of Marxist theory, Deconstruction, New Criticism, etc. you should be fine. Finally, as a point of reference, it's a good idea to keep in mind that the highest scores on the subject test often come from test takers who have earned an MA. My own score went up 200 points (!) in the five years between earning a BA and applying for a PhD.

You should be able to use the results board on the Grad Cafe to get a sense for where you would have the best shot with those scores. The verbal section is tough, but it is possible to crack it with enough studying. I recommend studying for the newer test and taking it in a few months. Think about how you are studying and try to pinpoint where you have the most problems. One strategy that worked for me was using vocab words in written sentences. By the time I took the GRE, I had mountains of scrap paper, note cards, and a lengthy word file full of vocab words. I also feel like I benefited a lot from practice tests. Ultimately, you want to get to the point where test-taking is automatic. I found this forum incredibly helpful: http://www.urch.com/forums/gre/

Based on what you've said so far, I think it might make sense to apply to MA programs in the U.S. this year. As a point of comparison, I know that the University of Chicago offers an unfunded Masters of Liberal Arts program that some candidates enroll in based upon the school's reputation at the undergraduate and doctoral level. Some students go on to competitive PhD programs. Others don't. But with tuition in the tens of thousands of dollars per year, that's an expensive risk to take. In my opinion, you are much better off in a funded MA/PhD program. I think you will find that there are a number of MA programs that offer funding (and often look favorably upon international students). I would search previous threads on MA programs in this forum for a list of schools. A lot of the funded programs are at second-tier U.S. schools, but those schools can be a good stepping stone for an academic career. In addition, you might want to consider applying to programs in less ethnically diverse areas, such as the Midwest, on the assumption that your international candidacy would be more appealing there.

Congratulations on your acceptance. Was your offer from University College London an unfunded offer? Was it for a terminal MA or a PhD? Generally speaking, the standard advice for U.S. graduate students in the humanities is that you should only accept an offer with funding. I would be curious to learn more about how their system would work for an international student. You may also want to keep in mind that London is a very expensive city. But as far as reputation is concerned, unless I've misread, the Guardian ranks University College as the best program in the UK (see http://www.guardian....y-guide-english). My impression is that the school's graduates would be held in high esteem by most U.S. PhD programs, although you should keep in mind that American admission committees do tend to distinguish between whether an applicant went through a funded or unfunded degree programs. That's not to say that an unfunded degree program is worthless, but it may carry a negative stigma at some schools. Good luck.

Runonsentence is right that you should have time to inform a number of programs that you've received the fellowship, which could help boost you above the rest of the pack where you have borderline admissions status. But really, unless you are confident that you have a shot at programs ranked in the top twenty, you would probably be better off focusing on securing admission with a teaching fellowship.

Wreckofthehope is right. The Subject Test scores can include your score from the General Test (as well as any previous test scores, if applicable). The real challenge is committing to schools so early in the process. I had to send a few extra reports because my list changed after I took the test.

When I was at Miami University of Ohio a few years ago, it seemed like every other faculty member was working on something connected to trauma studies. I would check out the faculty profiles of Madelyn Detloff, Tim Melley, Stefanie Dunning, and Yu-Fang Cho. You might also want to take a look at graduate course offerings from the past five years.

I think your professor was correct in the spirit of her comments, but not in the specifics. She's right that you don't want to rattle off the names of every professor in the department that holds a distinguished chair, or claim that you are only interested in taking courses with Professor X. After all, it's possible that the admissions committee could be critical or jealous of those professors' reputations. At the same time, a central focus of your SOP is to articulate why you need to study at this particular university and not somewhere else. One way to explain how you see yourself fitting into the department is to express an interest in a specific professor's work. No one is going to penalize you for admiring research. Anyone who suggests otherwise has unrealistic (or misguided) expectations. Still, you should keep in mind that these references should be concise. A sentence or two is more than enough space to show that you understand what certain faculty members are working on. The SOP should ultimately be about your interests, not the department's. My background: I mentioned faculty members in every SOP and was accepted at over 50% of the schools I applied to. I don't think it makes a difference one way or another.

Have you thought about Notre Dame? I've heard that they have a strong medieval program and their funding is very competitive. I know less about Washington University in St. Louis, but their program might be worth a look as well.

A few passing thoughts: I got into the University of Illinois at Chicago and was unimpressed with the $14.5K TA stipend that they offered me. I would advise taking it off the list. It's a hard school to get into despite a mid-range U.S. News ranking (faculty members seem somewhat leery of the NRC ranking which placed it near the top). There are better schools you could put in its place. I would be wary of Kent State. I've heard bad things about their placement statistics. Look for solid numbers. I did my undergrad at Pitt from 2002-2006. I had a great experience in the English Department. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about specific faculty members.

That’s a fair point. Jbarks, if pedagogy is your thing, you might want to look at Missouri’s program. In addition to offering PhDs in literature and creative writing, their graduate school boasts a minor in college teaching: http://gradschool.missouri.edu/programs/minor-college-teaching/

I would advise you to keep "benchmarks" in mind. Generally speaking, anything above a 650 on the verbal section will put you in good standing at schools that are outside of US News and World Report's top twenty programs. Anything above a 550 on the quantitative section will place you in a similar position. You might even find that those scores are good enough for stronger programs. If they have a cut off, most schools set it at 1000 or 1200. And that's really all you need to know. As this forum reveals, there are plenty of instances where a program like Duke's rejects someone with a 1600 on the GRE and accepts another person with a 1200. The GRE is just one part (albeit a fairly important part) of the application. As far as studying, I would recommend that you use a variety of test prep materials (remember: every book not produced by ETS is flawed in some way) and take as many practice tests as possible. You should also join or lurk on urch.com's forums (http://www.urch.com/forums/forum.php). They have a very handy section on the GRE. Good luck.

As a general rule, private universities tend to require less teaching from graduate students than public universities. You'll likely find that many top-ranked public universities also require less teaching. That said, the standard aid package for most doctoral students in English includes some form of teaching. With a strong application and an MA from NYU, you might look at schools like Michigan, UNC, Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois. A lot of schools in the University of California system might be a good fit too.

Sorry. That wasn't entirely clear. He got into Stanford and Oregon. Despite his qualifications, the only financial aid he received from Oregon was the 10K (in other words, there aren't many fellowships). Stanford's funding is good.

That sounds like a good list for someone with your background and qualifications. From here, you might think about other factors such as funding and school culture. For example, I knew a Phi Beta Kappa triple-major who got into Stanford and he received an offer of the same $10K TA stipend from Oregon that someone else mentioned. So unless you are independently wealthy, I would advise against wasting time on their application. It just isn't worth it. In contrast, I recently visited WashU and had a chance to meet with the head of their comparative lit program and I was impressed with the quality of their program despite its small size. Good luck.

I dated someone in a different program in my department as an MA student and it was not a particularly healthy relationship. Generally speaking, you'll be much happier if you date someone outside of your department (and better yet, outside of the university). The most common problem that students experience in graduate school is a lack of support from other people. This can be especially hard to deal with when your significant other is just as stressed out as you and unable to look at your situation with any critical distance. If you decide to date someone who isn't in school, you will probably find that you are most compatible with people who are working full time, as opposed to the underemployed twenty-somethings that dot many university communities. In my opinion, a lot of relationship problems occur when the other person has too much free time on their hands. That said, dating in grad school can be a blast. When else will you be surrounded by so many intelligent, motivated, and (in some cases) beautiful people? Enjoy it.

Thanks for the feedback. After giving it some thought, I've decided to put off buying a home for the first year. I want to make sure that I can coast through my coursework without any distractions. Moreover, I think that I need another year to realign my finances and assess exactly what kind of home I'm looking for.

If you are responsible for supplying a textbook for your course, you might look at Robert K. Miller's The Informed Argument if you are planning to stress argumentative research writing. The Norton Reader is a good reader for a composition course that stresses narrative and descriptive writing. Both books have supplementary teacher's guides.

I agree with They Say/ I Say as a choice. In my experience, it's hard to get freshmen to read and apply Graff and Birkenstein's concepts; however, I've had a lot of success adapting their ideas into lesson plans of my own. The Bedford St. Martin's Guide to Teaching Writing is a handy reference, but my version was rather slight on lesson plans. Still, as a new instructor, there is a lot of valuable information on setting up your syllabus, preparing for the first day, introducing basic rhetorical strategies, etc. I believe my version also had a short anthology of readings. Two additional books to consider: William Zinsser's On Writing Well and Anne Lammot's Bird by Bird.

It's hard to remember, but $100-400 seems like the right range for two lit seminars. Keep in mind that you may have to add more for .PDFs if your school doesn't provide you with free printing services. On the other hand, most research libraries should allow you to check out the same editions that you'll be using for class from the stacks or interlibrary loan. You don't have to purchase every book.

I tried to call, but the DGS wasn't in his office, so I sent an email instead. After that, I was prompted to "accept" on the online application system.

I don't know your financial situation, but I would strongly recommend that you think twice about going into debt for a graduate degree in English. It's not a sound investment. Besides, your multiple acceptances/waitlists prove that you're a strong candidate; it's possible you just applied to the wrong schools. I would hold out for full funding and apply again next year if needed. If you do apply next year, I would advise that you look at mid-range programs with lots of funding. Texas A&M, Notre Dame, UConn, and Miami University stand out as promising leads; however, a school like Purdue would also be a good choice because I believe that they fund all of their incoming MA/PhD students with a full TA spot. Good luck.

Programs tend to look fondly towards applicants who are mature enough to take placement data seriously. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Reputation aside, I think your primary concern should be access to opportunities on the mainland (or for that matter, a Pacific rim country). Flights are expensive, and my gut tells me that Hawaii English, with its dated website, doesn't have a lot of cash to shell out for research travel. Also: how willing will search committees be to drop hundreds more on your plane ticket when they can fly another candidate in for cheap? Would you be satisfied teaching at a smaller school in Hawaii, or at a university in Australia or New Zealand? It's possible that Hawaii places a lot of their graduates in positions there.