lyonessrampant

Things DO change. One of my profs at UChicao went from Romanticism to medieval lit. I think it has less to do about your passion in lit (time period) than your methodology, so if you get an admit from an awesome school, they might HOPE you stay in the time period/discipline you indicate, but I think most know you might change. Good luck!

Kfed, besides your riciculous name (I've seen your post in response to the reference to Britney's former husband as not being your inspiration I think your advice is really useful not only because it is salient but also because you got into some AWESOME programs this year. Here's my question: your interests and research focus, it seems, are less traditional. As a person applying for early modern and, to a lesser extent, medieval lit, do you think things like test scores might matter more? I got a 680 (above 92%) on the subject, and Northwestern (only top 20) told me 700+ was good but UChicago told me I was close (though they don't require subject tests) and just couldn't be offered admit or waitlist because of the slashed cohort size this year but that WS and SoP were more important. I guess I would say that if you are interested in a more "traditional" field, check with the school you're applying to. Some will consider a super high subject test score as important. On my practice tests, I was getting 780 and had a panic attack when I took the actual test so I think I will study to refresh and retake. However, if your field is less traditional, I don't think the subject test matters at all. I am well versed in the "canon," memorize very easily (nearly eidetic), and still had troubles with the subject when starting to study a couple months out (though develped my own 600-pg review manual, which took more of my time, to study. . . but this time around, I expect to maintain practice test scores of 99% plus on my actual test and btw still don't think it will matter that much. I just hope (based on responses from schools) that a test score that high, plus an awesome SoP and writing sample, etc, might make the difference between me and the other guy(s)/girl(s) when cohorts cut their size in half because of the econ. This time around, I've felt pretty jacked because I have an MA from at top 10 school, strong WS and Sop, 3 relevant conferences, and high test scores, but so far, I have no admits. In the grand scheme of things, I think that's fine because my husband returns from a deployment in Afghanistan about the time I'd start school. So, taking a year, in retrospect, is good. . . for me, but I wish all of you the best this year.

I would second the part about contacting people at the schools you're interested in. I emailed UChicago asking about the weaknesses of my app. They said I was a very strong applicant and part of the final reviews, but they slashed the cohort. . . Of course, I'm disappointed about that, but what I did last time (and will do more of this time) is make professional contacts. One of the best ways to do that is by going to and presenting at conferences, especially ones themed for your area of concentration. I'd also recommend tailoring your writing sample and SoP to each school. Good luck! I've been told by one school (UC) that test scores don't matter much, but Northwestern said that scores above 700 are very helpful. I have 700 V, 650 Q, 6 AW, and a 680 (above 92%) Subject. I think I will retake the tests as well but that being said, I think that prioritizing the other parts of your application is a good choice. By the way, the subject test is horrible. Start studying as soon as you can. It covers pretty much ALL of western lit and a few token questions about Russian, African, and South American lit. Needless to say, that's a lot.

These are all awesome, in my opinion, but not only do I love the imagery in lotf's sonent but also Maker's Mark

Yellow NUMBER 5 I know I appreciate things a lot more because of it. . . Hell, if this whole Ph.D. thing doesn't work out, maybe I've got enough material for a memoir, well, 1/2 a memoir maybe

Riss, my man is like that. He is in law school (and is currently on a deployment to Afghanistan) and he wants a kid (some day) WAY more than me. When this application season hasn't gone in my favor, he offered to come home, quit law school, move to where I wanted to be so I could do my Ph.D. in "ideal" circumstances, and move if I needed to. I don't think that's fair, so we're working on a compromise right now that involves him finishing law school and me waiting to start my Ph.D. until he is done with law school or at least in his 3rd year and after we've been together for a year after his deployment. I mean, Afghanistan is no Vietnam and his duty is about training the police and military there to enable the creation of a sustainable, internal system of rule of law with enforcement that protects the people, but he is still super stressed and needs me when he comes home. That said, I'm willing to make trade offs for him because he is more than willing to make them for me. I know that if I'm still studying/not ready to have a baby at 35 and he wants one, he'll be more than happy to be a SAHD. On the other hand, I was raised in a super-fundamentalist church that almost disfellowshipped me (about the same as excommunication for Catholics) just for going to undergrad. I left the church before I graduated, partly because EVERYONE, including my mom and dad, whom I was REALLY close to, said I couldn't. When you face that kind of opposition (they haven't spoken to me except for family emergencies when my mom got breast cancer and my 36-year-old sister-in-law died leaving 3 kids under 13) faces you, I think you reevaluate family drama. I'm not saying that it isn't irksome when they don't understand, but fuck, they still talk to you and support you! Things could be a lot worse.

I don't know about that. I think it is just hard to find the right one (or ones. . .I'm not naive enough to believe there is *only* one). However, my boy (now husband) and I priortize each other over everything else. I think that comes rarely. I am the most competitive person I know. . . I did speech and debate in high schoool and college and I've broken my knuck more than once punching shit after losing a round However, my SO balances me; he makes me see that there are things more important in my life than just becoming the best scholar I could be (or whatver). That might not be everyone's goal, but I decided to go the English route to avoid the law route (a field where I excel and can score in the top 1% of LSAT takers) because I pretty much become an evil bitch in that environment. I'm not saying to give up your career, but I am saying that some times a little sacrifice and negotiation can make things work out for the best, even if you have to wait a little longer for your dream school or job. I guess, in my opinion, it is worth the compromise as long as both parties (I'm not talking heteronormative relationships here) are willing to put things in perspective.

Hi all, I don't know about you, but combined with some really horrible family and personal circumstances involving a family death and ankle surgery after a moose-fleeing incident (I am from Montana. . .) and a pretty dismal academic season, I find myself displaying some potentially alcoholic tendencies. Just like in Organic Chemistry when I wrote sonnets to benzaldhyde (smells like almonds), I decided to turn my hand to a sonnet expressing my current lamentation. Of course, I prefer to study sonnets rather than write them, but in the absence of that opportunity, I figure that we can all take the genre we love the most and find some creative outlets combining it with our favorite drink! (Note: I never claimed to be GOOD at sonnet writing Here's my attempt: When I find myself all alone and sad I turn to what I know and find helpful Even though all I love say it might be bad Bah! I scoff, they are all damn full of bull. In these desp

Spartaca, Do you have other offers you'd prefer right now? If so, I'd tell Rhode Island to take their severely truncated deadline and shove it. If they belong to that national organization of schools (don't remember what it is called right now), they legally CANNOT force you to answer until the 15th. If this is your best offer at the moment, I'd draft an email asking lots of questions including a detailed funding package, maybe suggesting you have another offer (even if you don't. . . I don't mean outright lie but a feat of linguistic legerdemain might suffice) and that you understood from them you have until April 15 and why the March 11 deadline. I'd also ask what happens if you can't reply by March 11. Maybe they're just trying to bully you into answering and nothing bad will happen if you don't answer by then. Either way, they've accepted you, so you're in the position of getting to make a choice. I think you've got room to be a bit assertive since you have so little time and, after all, they want you

Thanks greekdaph. . . two are pretty young but still I think things changed dramatically even between last year and this year. For example, the school they teach at where I did my MA slashed their offers from 25 to 11 this year (and correspondingly, of course, their cohort). They couldn't have known that when advising me, so I think a lot of it just might be the timing. One of them told me that when I emailed him. . . I just have to stop feeling sorry for myself and work to be better next year.

Thanks books!

Would that be the person in charge of admissions for the humanities for example? Or the dean/director of graduate studies for English? It is sort of confusing since most schools have both those positions. Thanks for the help!

I think jaspar has some good points. I presented at my first large conference last month and it was AWESOME! I absolutely loved the experience, met a lot of profs and Ph.D. students, and not only made "contacts" but got a lot of useful info about what studying at a certain school is like. Besides, you're hanging out with a bunch of dorks like you I've found this forum comforting because we all share a lot in common. Conferences are sort of like that but without the edge of neurotic obsession that can also understandably tinge this forum.

So, I emailed Northwestern and the department sec. said he couldn't give me any info because it was against dept policy but that the two general problems they have are low test scores (he recommended 700+) and a writing sample that isn't as edited as it could be. I emailed Princeton. . . no word. UMichigan English department said "we do not give that information. Please feel free to apply again next year." Awesome. Anyway, those of you who have gotten specific feedback from a department, how did you go about doing it? I feel like SOME feedback is critical to addressing the weaknesses of my app for next year, so any advice would be awesome. Thanks!

Have you taken a GRE prep course? If you think scores are the issue, then prep courses can help with that. Also, see the thread about who is the perfect applicant. Maybe some more school-specific tailoting in your SoP and/or writing sample may help. I have a lot of the same accolades on my CV with pretty high test scores (700 V, 650 Q, 6 AW, and 680 Subject), but as you can see in my sig line. . . no luck. I think that the elusive fit factor is my problem, and maybe it is yours too. Good luck!

That's awesome that you got some feedback! I've emailed all the schools I've been rejected from asking for something like that. . . Northwestern said it was against their policy to supply individualized feedback but the secretary said he would recommend test scores above 700 and lots of writing sample editing. Otherwise, I haven't heard back, but that's me whining So, my undergrad department chair went to the University of Arizona and recommended that school as really into close reading as opposed to theory. That may have changed in recent years, but I think both UA and ASU both emphasize that. Another one of my undergrad profs came from Penn State and he also really emphasized close reading. I don't know a lot about Penn State's program, but you might want to check into it. Good luck!

Sorry to hear that Orin! Good luck on other places you're waiting to hear from.

One of my recommenders did read my SoP and said it was exactly what adcoms would want to see. . . or not. I'm guessing by process of elimination that maybe my writing sample is the issue? Well, the sample is from my MA thesis, which my advisor said was one of the few theses he'd worked with that made an actual contribution to the field, but he didn't read the cutting I used as a sample. Maybe in the process of cutting it, something was lost? I think I'm going to use a shorter seminar paper and another class paper I wrote to make writing samples from next year. Both relate to my research interests but showcase different parts in action (one uses a lot more critical theory than the other for example). I'm thinking that I should pick depending upon the specific interests of the school I'm applying to and maybe get more feedback on it before I submit my app. You're right, I think, that they wouldn't say they wrote strong letters and then sabotage my apps. I had good personal relationships with all of them and have been in contact with two of them through this process, so I think I'm just paranoid and desperate right now Spritely, you make some good points. I'm glad to hear that you've got 2 guaranteed options this year and maybe more! I'll be sure to apply to a much broader range of programs next year. My ego has had such a beating this year (a good thing I'm sure once I get a little further out) that I'm much more open to a variety of possibilities. Good luck!

Hey lotf and LOLhedgefunds, THank you both so much for sharing! I posted my grand plan for a final try at reaplication to make myself a better candidate above, and I'm glad to see that a lot of your advice about the writing sample and SoP both match suspicions I have regarding the reason for this year's rejections and my plans for making them better next year. It still isn't easy to take a (probable) rejection from a school where I have 20% points higher on the Subjectand 10% higher on verbal and higher GPA. . . but I think that really shows how important a tailored SoP and writing sample are. A question on LoRs: Mine this year were from 3 of my MA profs who are also all well known in their fields. They didn't send me the letters and said they all wrote very strong letters. However, given that these profs also said I'd be able to get into the type of programs I applied to easily, I feel like there's definitely something very wrong with my application. It may be the SoP/writing sample thing mentioned above, but I'm freaking out it may be a letter too. . . Would you recommend asking them all again? One of my BA letter writers has stayed in close contact with me, even going to and also presenting at one of the conferences I presented at this year. He also read the paper that I'm presenting a version of at another conference. I know he'd tailor a letter to each school for me, and he would spend the most time on the letter and be (I'm guessing) the most flattering recommender. My undergrad is a tiny liberal arts school pretty well known in the Northwest but not at all known outside it (except for our football team). So, do you all think I should definitely use one letter from him and 2-3 of my MA prof letters? Thanks for the advice!

I'm not sure I have a lot of answers for you. Believe me, I wish I did. I was accepted to Notre Dame in 2007 applying directly from my BA--not a *great* school but certainly not a bad one. However, I wanted to be at a top-10 school and my SO didn't get into law school there, so I took an MA offer at UChicago and am applying this year. I don't know for certain that I'm 0-5. . . but I'm pretty sure (see my sig line to see where I applied). Anyway, I figured that I should be able to go from Notre Dame to a top 20 school after an MA from a prestigious university. I'm a strong writer, have been accepted to 3 conferences in my focus areas (Renaissance and medieval lit), and have high test scores (700 V, 650 Q, 6 AW and 680 Subject). Friends of mine with similar GPA/test stats have gotten into some really awesome places, but I didn't, so something isn't clicking. I went through devestation, desperation, despondency, etc. and now I'm trying to figure out what I can do next year. I'm going to give it one more shot. Based on some advice from UC profs, I figure that next year is going to be as competitive as this year. So, first step, apply to LOTS of school (I'm thinking maybe 10-15 next year) and apply to diverse programs. Next, I'm going to retake at least the GRE to boost those scores and maybe the subject test (though that was about the worst experience of my life and I want to be okay with being above 92 percent). My UC profs said these scores were fine, good even and that these scores are more used to determine the first wave of rejections, sort of a standard you have to be above and then they don't matter, but Northwestern said that scores above 700 matter a lot, and I figure that as things get more competitive, maybe these objective criteria will be given added weight? Third step, apply to and present at more conferences. The one I've gone to so far put me in contact with some great profs at lots of programs, and this contact might help with the app process but is also useful in trying to figure "fit." Not to mention that conference participation boosts your CV. Fourth step, I'm going to submit 3-4 papers for publication. Who knows if that will work, but I think a publication or two would really make a difference. Fifth step, spend way more time on my apps. My SoPs this year included a paragraph about the people at the school whom I thought I'd like to work with, but next time around, I plan on including this (maybe expanding this section) and also tailoring my writing sample to each school to include reference to/dialog with some of the writing from those professors. Sixth, I only have reading knowledge of French, so I plan on taking a class in Latin to add to my CV. I need to learn it eventually and I figure it can't hurt. So, that's my current plan. I hope/pray it works out. If it doesn't, I'm done and off to law school. Anyway, I hope some of this helps. Good luck!

Orin, I'll be the first to admit that UC's MA program is very expensive, but they do offer (or did when I was there) about 15 1/2 tuition scholarships, and there is also a scholarship from the Karla Scherer foundation awarded to promising applicants (limited to females). I know there are a few other need-based ones as well. Anyway, don't give up hope until you know for sure/are aware of the funding options. Good luck!

I think that's a really great idea. If would be really useful because people familar with programs could write about their experiences, profs, impression of the departments, etc. I know that I'm really baffled right now by the fact that I'm apparantly not fitting. . . not sure why not, and I'd love to hear from people in Ph.D. programs at lots of schools about what they think. I'm sure that other disciplines would benefit from this too. Maybe gradcafe would add FIT to the board index and then we could all start threads about different schools and disciplines. I feel like there is only so much you can learn about a program for its website, and I know I simply can't afford to visit all the schools I plan on applying to next year. Should we contact one of the site moderators (is that what the baristas are?) and suggest this? Anyone know how to do that?

I applied in 2007 to UChicago's Ph.D. and was referred to MAPH. I got an email from one of the co-directors March 9 and the mail packet a few days later. I don't know if that approximate timeline will also be used this year, but I thought it might provide some insight into how long you may have to wait. Good luck! Also, if you have any MAPH-specific, questions, I'd be more than happy to try and answer them.

So happy to know other people are in the same place as my husband, me, and our little dog. I DO NOT want a child, but trying to navigate him finishing law school after deployment to Afghanistan and me going to much higher ranked Ph.D. programs in English have been a strain. We got married one month before the deployment, so I feel like for the health and sustainabilty of the marriage, we HAVE to be together next year. I've posted my circumstances on anothe thread in detail, but I would really LOVE and advice. . . Sigh. this all sucks

So, my undergrad LOR writers all sent me their letters. After my MA, I applied to Ph.D. programs this year and none of my recommenders offered. I was a little surprised because of my undergrad experience, but talking to other people in my MA program, none of them got their letters either. . . so I guess that's standard at this institution. However, here's my dilemma, should I try to get copies of the letters, which I could do :twisted: or leave them be? I didn't get into the schools they said I should and while they all said they wrote strong letters, I'd like to know how strong. Should I replace an MA prof letter with a BA prof letter because I've stayed in close personal contact with my BA prof, even going to conferences and presenting with him? What do you think?