[Assistantship]

If you have teaching experience, four classes a year might be fine. If you don't have much teaching experience, it's a lot. Especially if you want to do it well.

[Decision Help from Current Students?]

I went to TC for my masters in English Education and loved it. I felt very supported and am still in touch with professors and friends in my cohort. It was the only school I applied to because I assumed their focus was on urban ed - and that aspect was a bit of a disappointment - but the program opened many doors for me.

[Reapplying]

Congratulations to everyone who received acceptances. I'm sorry if this post dampens the mood a bit, but I want to be as prepared as possible...

I struck out this round and, along with trying to pamper my bruised ego, I am already planning on how I can improve my chances for next year. This was my first attempt straight out of undergrad, so I think I'll have a much better understanding next time of what adcoms are looking for. So to those who were accepted-- Would any of you feel comfortable (privately) sharing your SOP with me? My grades, letters of rec, and writing sample were all strong, so I believe it was my GRE score and SOP that hurt my application. Looking over others' statements would greatly help me to refine my own.

Thanks in advance, and congrats again to everyone who received good news!

I'll share, too.

[GRE Scores good enough?]

Thank you very much for all of your input. I really appreciate it . . . however, I have a few follow-up questions. As I said, I am an actress who has been out of academia for almost a decade, and I had (and will continue to have this problem if I re-apply) a problem with my recommenders and with receiving advice about how to improve my package. I went to a small liberal arts college where I only took classes from three English professors. The department, of course, was larger, but nevertheless, I only took classes from three professors. Unfortunately, two of them are dead, and the one who is left living is quite elderlly (he retired my last year of college). The living professor was one of my recommenders, but yet I only had one English professor as a LOR writer. Additionally, I did ask him to read my SOP and my writing sample, and he said they were excellent, but he also said the academic atmosphere has greatly changed since he was in graduate school and since he last helped anyone gain admittance to graduate school. If I did re-apply, does anyone have any advice about how to receive better letters of recommendation and how to improve my SOP and writing sample? Thank you so much for your help . . . if only I had discovered this site before I applied this year!

Hi again! I graduated from college ten years ago, and completed my masters a few years ago. I wrote my academic writing sample on my own, last fall. In addition to two academic references, I asked my current supervisor for a reference. If you want to apply again next fall, why not enroll in a class this summer for a reference, or ask a professor outside of English, or ask someone in your field. You could also write to the programs that rejected you to ask why (I did). You could asks friends to read your essays; you could write to English depts. in your area to ask if a graduate student would be willing to tutor you for support with your essays. You could build your resume with a teaching or tutoring job.

[GRE Scores good enough?]

Hello. I am new to thegradcafe, and I am a returning student to academia after pursuing a different career for nearly a decade (one that, unfortunately, may looked down upon by an admissions committe...I have been a professional actress). I have received an acceptance to a fairly good school, but I have been waitlisted for funding. I am still debating about whether to go or not, but if choose to re-apply next year, I am wondering if I should re-take the GRE. I received a 670 V, 750 Q, and a 5.0 AW. Are these scores good enough for most schools? I am particularly asking because I have received a fair amount of rejections this year, but most of my schools were quite competitive (Boston University, UNC, Brandeis, etc.) and I foolishly applied to their PhD programs instead of their MA programs. What do you think? Should I re-take the GRE? And if not, at what schools would my scores render me most competitive?

Hi! I performed poorly on the GRE. my combined scores were around 1,000. I got a 4 in AW. On the ETS practice test, my scores were much higher, but on the day of the exam, I panicked. Everyone told me i should take it again. I hated (& was afraid of) the test and refused. But I was offered admission to three wonderful programs, and for one was offered a fellowship award. your scores seem great to me. focus on your writing sample and statement of purpose and you'll be fine.

[Purdue]

They are still reviewing applications; I called today.

[It seems unfair to ask applicants to wait this long for a decision]

hello everyone!

It seems unfair to ask applicants to wait this long for a decision. i've been accepted to three schools and am waiting to hear from 5 or 6. It's hard to organize visits without knowing the dates of the recruitment events!