Emelye

I know a lot of people suggest applying to lots of different programs to increase chances of getting in _somewhere_, but I did the opposite with much success. I'm not saying it works for everyone, but it's something to consider. I applied to only two very good schools and was accepted to both with attractive funding packages. I carefully chose which schools to apply to based on the following criteria: 1. My own connection to the school. For one, I had communicated with a current prof related to my undergrad research projects. I basically didn't consider schools where I didn't have an inside connection. 2. My research interests and those of current faculty. I made sure to find schools with professors whose research interests complemented my own. 3. My interest in the schools. To be honest, it's hard to sound enthusiastic in your SOP if you barely know anything about the school and don't know specific reasons that you'd want to attend. For me, I visited one of the schools, and for the other I talked to past and current students before deciding to apply. You can and should be selective about the schools you apply to, because most people wouldn't be happy just anywhere, and it doesn't necessarily increase your chances if you're applying to places you don't actually want to go to. It'll show. The other reason I think it's good to apply only to a few places is that you have time to concentrate on crafting the SOP and your writing sample and other app materials to fit the bill for each school. This really helped me. I had initially wanted to apply to 7+ programs, but I got overwhelmed and didn't have the energy to generate quality application materials. The other thing I think played a role in my acceptances was that I didn't stress about it. It kept me level-headed because I knew my worth wasn't going to be crushed if I didn't get in. Also, don't freak out about your GRE score. As long as it's respectable, retaking it probably isn't where your energies should be focused. Your SOP and writing sample are probably the most important things you can work on. Let your personality show through your SOP and take trite, generalized advice with a grain of salt. For example, so many people say not to use a childhood story. Well.... I started both SOPs with a childhood anecdote, and it worked just fine. Just don't start with, "I've loved reading since I was kid..." That is lame. I think anything that shows who you are and what you are passionate about is fair game for the SOP as long as you craft it in a way that shows you're serious about academic research and are prepared for a rigorous step up. Also, play up your strengths. If you don't know what they are, ask someone. If you are confident in yourself and your application materials back up that confidence, I believe you will stand out. The last thing I can say is use this time (when you are not in grad school) wisely. And by this I don't mean reading up on everything in your field and writing up drafts of your future dissertation. You'll end up driving yourself insane and you'll have time for the dissertation when you actually get to that point. Instead, get a good job (e.g. don't settle for Starbucks, you have a degree), maintain plenty of non-academic hobbies, develop healthy eating habits, stay fit, try new things, and get to know yourself in lots of different settings. Adcoms may not care about this at all, but it will keep your outlook positive, and you won't feel devastated if you have to wait a little longer to go to grad school. As context, I don't have qualifications that would blow anyone out of the water. I did well in undergrad, I have solid stats, and I work hard. But I don't have a million publications, presentations, or an Ivy League undergrad degree. I just figured out which programs I would fit in with, and I did the best to show them _how_ I knew that.

I don't what's gotten into me, but this whole process is really starting to stress me out. I have so many questions, and it's just beyond overwelming. When should I give the rec forms to my rec writers? How do I muster the motivation to revise that writing sample I haven't looked at in three months and dread having to edit yet again? Do I contact POIs or not? How much detail do I need in my statement of purpose? At least the GRE is behind me! That's one great comfort for sure! Is anyone else feeling the same way, or does anyone have any answers to my above questions? Thanks for letting me vent... Em

Hi everyone, I have some CV questions, complicated by the fact that I have a very unique situation. The main issue I have is that I’m applying to graduate programs that require a background in 1-3 second languages. The problem: I have never taken a language course, and now it’s kind of too late to do so. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a strong language background! I grew up bilingual (Spanish) and have studied Latin independently since 3rd grade (I was homeschooled). However, that’s not “proven” anywhere on my college record. I DID take four National Latin Exams and was recognized for achievement on all of them, but those are (obviously) from high school. Can I include them on my CV under awards? The unique situation is that I overlapped high school and college so much that it’s hard to distinguish between the two. And now I’m just confusing myself all over again. Also, I’ve seen people list scholarships they were offered but declined on their CV, and I was wondering if this is legitimate or just weird. I could list a full-tuition scholarship I declined (because I didn’t want to go to the school), but part of me wonders if that just looks like padding. Oh, and one more thing. In one CV example I read, the person listed each time they were on the Dean’s List individually. So next to each entry they put something like Fall 2009. I was thinking of just clumping them all together and putting this: Dean’s List, year-year (x semesters). Which way is better? As you can see, I’m kind of freaking out about this. Thanks! Em EDIT: Ok, I guess I have one more question. Is it weird to list the professor's names next to the courses in the relevant courses section. (They are writing my recs, so I wanted to reinforce the connection).

Well, I'm glad I didn't give into panic. I took the new version and got my projected scores: V - 710-800 (previous test - 670) Q - 660-760 (previous test - 500ish - bleh) So, the revised format really worked in my favor! Take heart retakers - the test experience as a whole was better overall as well!

I take the revised version of the GRE tomorrow, and I'm kind of starting to panic. I did well enough on my first try that now I'm afraid I'm just going to do worse. So, I was wondering, if I do for some reason bomb the revised version, can I send my old scores before the new ones are reported so that grad schools will never see the new ones. What I mean is, could I theoretically come back from the test and order score reports for my old test date and have them sent immediately (i.e. before my new scores are released in November?). Or will I just be stuck sending both scores? Thanks, Em

I know a lot of people have questions about how a low AW looks with good scores, but I have kind of the opposite question. While my verbal score (670) isn't abysmal, it's not a knock-your-socks-off score for most Lit programs. In fact, it's pretty low average for admited students at most schools I'm looking at. However, I did get a 6 on the AW (the only section I felt great about), so I was wondering if that counts for anything or if I should try for a higher verbal. I know niether score is ultimately going to make a huge difference in admissions, but I'm still curious how adcomms look at a meh verbal and a good AW.

Make sure you take at least one course in literary theory (you'll need it) and most likely a research-oriented course or two as well. Also, if there's an option at your school to write a thesis or honors thesis, make sure you get on board with that. If you do write a thesis, it's probably a good idea to use it as a sort of "test parachute" for whatever general area of study you are thinking of pursuing in graduate school. That will help you get familiar with scholars in the field, you can start networking with professors who have interests in that area, and you'll be much better prepared to write a statement of purpose when that comes around. Also, it's important to start articulating why you want to go to grad school. Getting an undergraduate TA position can also be a huge leg up in the application process because it gives you the benefits of teaching experience and great recs (hopefully!). Extracurriculuars are rather less important than the rest of your application unless they are super related to your field of interest, so focus instead on building research experience and a strong knowledge foundation in your field of interest. Good luck, and props to you for starting early! Em

Also, University of Iowa and Duke University's English Department (not sure about their "Literature" department - they are two different things for some reason).

One of my professors taught me the practice of creating annotations for every academic article I read. Basically, he taught me to skim the article looking for the main argument or central idea and rewrite a concise (one-sentence) summary of that idea. Then, I reread the article looking for how the author supports the main idea or argument, picking out the salient points and writing those down. Then, the last part involves evaluating the strength of the argument and commenting on how it's applicable. This works best for shorter, denser articles, and, tedious as it sounds, it really helps me focus and then I have a record of what that article was about for future reference (so I don't have to reread everything). I also use sticky notes (I hate marginal notes because they ruin the book!).

That does seem to be a rather awkward situation, but I think faculty members, of all people, should know how uncertain graduate applications can be. So, I think they would be understanding. I personally would NOT tell them upfront that you're planning on leaving in a year. Just subtly hint that you're looking into graduate school as a future possibility without saying specifically when that would be. If you like working there, it couldn't hurt you all that much to work an extra year and wait on applications. On the other hand, you could apply and get in or not get in. If you do get in, you could always explore the idea (with your boss and school) of working part time and starting your program part time. If you don't get in, well you still have a great job! So, to answer you're question, be honest about wanting to pursue grad school but still a little vague because you really can't know if you're going to get in or not (so saying you don't know when is 100% true). Btw, I was in a very similar situation --epic job opportunity but not wanting to put off grad school. And I'll just say, I'm very glad I didn't let a shot at an epic job go because I MIGHT possibly get into a graduate program next year.

I haven't taken the subject test yet either, but I've heard that, in addition to what's in the Norton, you're going to want to brush up on some theory. Also, there are some questions on non-English works (works in translation such as the Bible, Homer, etc). I've also heard that you want some basic knowledge of Greek/Roman mythology. Also, Milton is a big name that shows up quite a bit, or so I've been told. I don't know it you've checked out the resources on the ETS website, but they have a lot of good suggestions for both test preparation and test-taking. One thing they stress heavily is that you are not expected to be able to answer every question. In fact, it is to your advantage to answer only questions that you know the answer to or for which you can eliminate at least two answer choices.

After a gruelling morning at the testing center, I finally have a GRE score...just not the one I was particularly hoping for. I ended up with Q-580 (horrid I know, but no one in my field cares) and V-670 (disappointing but still 95th percentile). So, I was wondering just how dismal these scores are. I'm think these fall into the won't-hurt-you-but -may-not-help category. Or in other words, they should make sure my app isn't thrown out right away, right? The rest of my application is totally solid (3.96 GPA, excellent recs, honors thesis as a writing sample, a publication, research experience, etc). So, should I be worried about these scores? I'm retaking in August just because I want to, but I just don't want to have to worry about it. (Oh, and I'm in Lit/Comp Lit/Medieval Studies) EDIT: I just checked the UMN GRE statistics for their English program, and it looks like my verbal is about average for incoming students, though my quanative is on the low end.... Oh well, looks like this may take a few years.

I wasn’t sure where to put this, but I was wondering if anyone has had experience with working a good job and going to grad school at the same time? I just interviewed for (and really think I might get) a very good, well-paying job that I could potentially work with for years to come. At the same time, however, I want to go to grad school in either 2012 or 2013 (preferably 2012). So, is it possible to work near fulltime and take night classes for the first year or two of grad school? I know once you get into the Ph.D., it becomes much more of a fulltime job in itself and opens up more TA opportunities. But before then, is there any rule against having a job on the side? I’m not holding my breath for a ton a financial aid, and this potential job would pay nearly twice the amount of a typical graduate stipend. It'll also give me "real world experience" that a lot of people claim academia (especially in the humanities) is not, so it would make a lot of sense careerwise. I do tend to overbook myself though, so would something like this be inane, suicidal, or just plain stupid? If anyone has done this, what was your experience? Was it worth it?

Thanks for the input! That's really helpful. However, I'm a little nervous about language for Comp Lit programs, now that you mention it. I grew up in a multi-lingual family, so I am near fluent in Spanish and have a reading knowledge (to varying degrees of proficiency, of course) a few other languages. However, one very glaring weakness of my application is that I have never ever taken an "official" language course. I finished my school's language requirement by simply testing out of Spanish. I did get 12 credits for it, but most of the comp lit programs I've looked into have recommended more than that. So, I how do I demonstrate this less-than-traditional language acquisition? Can I describe it in my CV or diversity statement or even SOP? I'm just not sure what to do with this obvious problem that somehow slipped my notice before. I guess this is evidence of me not thinking ahead very well in planning my undergrad courses. My writing sample does demonstrate my reading knowledge of one of my primary languages of interest, so I'm hoping that will count for something ...

Have any medievalists on these boards tried this? Comp Lit sounds MUCH more to my liking than the majority of the regular lit programs I've been looking at, but I'm still a little hesitant because it feels like launching into uncharted waters. I just recently discovered an interest in Old Castilian heroic/chivalric poetry, and the themes so far have overlapped very nicely with the previous work (mostly in Anglophone literature) that I've been doing as an undergrad. However, I'm finding that it's excruciatingly difficult to find any one department or program that is strong in BOTH areas of interest. Even though I think my primary fields of interest fit together very nicely, I'm starting to think it may be unrealistic to try to pursue them together like I want... So, do I scrap my new idea and just try to find programs that fit one of my interests or can I still hold out for both? Also, do Comp Lit programs work well for medievalists? I've heard quite a variety of opinions on this, so I'm not sure what to think. The main reason I'm looking into this is because really I want to have the flexibility to do a good deal of interdisciplinary work, but not so much that the degree ceases to be a clearly literature degree (one of the reasons I decided not to apply to Notre Dame's Medieval Studies Center). Meanwhile, a lot of regular literature programs don't seem to support interdisciplinary work as much or as well as Comp Lit programs seem to. Is this true? Thanks! Em

I am a recent English Lit grad and am applying to a variety of lit and comp lit programs with a medieval literatire emphasis for Fall 2012. I'm putting together my CV, and it keeps getting more and more difficult because I keep thinking of things to add but I'm not sure if they really belong on there or if the will be perceived as "fluff.' So, here are the categories I have: Education (including major, GPA, graduation honors, and the title of my honors thesis) Research Interests (<100 word description) Teaching Experience (including undergrad TA position, volunteer tutoring, and related self employment) Academic Awards and Honors (things like Dean's List, merit scholarships, national awards) Publications (I only have one...) Other Publishing Experience (I wrote and edited for the school newspaper for two years) and Languages (seperated by modern and ancient) Now, I'm thinking of adding another section (after Publishing Experience) so I can include some honors research projects that I worked on closely with professors. I completed three of them (each attached to a class on my transcript but involving extra work), but none of them resulted in publication. I did one on Lollardy and Chaucer (a point of continuing interest for me), one on Japanese haiku and travel writing, and a final one on Islamic literature. For the last one, I even led an entire 70-minute class period. So the reason I'd like to include them is because it highlights my interdiciplinary interests: medieval literature, religious traditions, cultural studies...that sort of thing. I also learned and accomplished a lot with the projects and worked closely with three different proffesors in order to complete the projects. So, is it worth it to include them...or would it seem like I was trying to pad my app with whatever I can pull out. These projects will not be listed anywhere else on my app (excpet indicated on my transcript by a single letter next to the course codes of each of the courses for which I completed these projects.) Also, how would I list them, if I did list them? Like, would I describe the project and then list the advisor and the class? Also, what do you think of my existing sections? Are the redundant at all? Thanks! Em

Sorry if this is a really stupid question, but I was just wondering if the writing sample has to be "graduate level" in terms of quality in order to make an applicant competetive. Or can it just be a really good undergraduate-level paper that shows potential for future development? Will adcomms be expecting graduate level work from applicants before they've even been accepted? I keep reading people on these boards who have published multiple times and brought original research to conferences, and I can't help feeling a little behind. I do have one really solid research project (which I plan to use as my writing sample), but I know it's not quite up to graduate level standards yet, though I am in the process of significantly revising it. Stressing out a little too much, I think...but I know for the humanities the writing sample is one of the most important parts of the application (along with the SOP, of course). Thanks! Em

All the applications I've filled out so far have required me to include a DOB... plus my transcript has some weird blips that are difficult to explain any other way. Sounds like it'd be better to ingore it, though. Thanks for the input!

OK, thanks! That's good to know! I had just read somewhere else that it might be a bad thing if unexplained, so I figured I'd get a second opinion. Em

Hi, so I've started to get a little concerned about how schools will perceive my age. I finished my B.A. in English right before I turned 19 this year. How will the adcomms look at that? Since I'm taking a gap year, I think they might see that I acknowledge my need for more "world experience" before locking into a graduate program, but I was wondering if that should get a cursory mention or even an explanation in the SOP. I can't figure out if it would help or hurt to mention it. Or if they would dismiss my application if I don't address it. Thanks a bunch! Em

I'm taking the old GRE for the first time in July and then the revised one in August (DON'T ask me why - I'm still kicking myself over it, wondering what I was thinking). I'm taking the computer-based test, and ETS is super unclear about instructions on what to do on the test day. Do I need an admission ticket, or is that only for the paper-based test? Because, if I do need one, I can't find it anywhere online. Also, do you get to see your scores right away (like with CLEP tests)? And what is a considered a "good" score for the old GRE? I had a CR-760 and M-650 (and W-800, but no one cares about that...) on the new SAT, and I'm hoping for a comparable score on the GRE. So, would a V-750/Q-650 be a decent score to aim for on the GRE? (FWIW, I'm applying to English Lit MA/Ph.D programs for Fall 2012.) Thanks! Em

I have a decision to make. Next semester (Fall 2011), I can afford to take one class as a non-degree student, and I've already decided to make it a language class. My choice is between an undergrad Latin class at my alma mater OR a graduate level Old English (Anglo Saxon) class at the graduate school I'm most interested in. Now, both have their pros and cons. The main issue is that my primary field of interest is medieval Arthurian romance, which makes me think Latin and Old French are going to be more useful than Old English. Then again, it would be great to get a feel for the grad school I really want to go to right now, to make sure it would be a good fit and to get to know some of the faculty and other students. I think it might bolster my app a little bit too, because I will have that extra in-person knowledge of the program and have a grad level course under my belt. Still, I'm assuming I'll probably need a graduate-level Latin course somewhere down the line and up until this point I've been largely self-taught, so having a stronger foundation in Latin (even if a lot of it is review) will also help me out a lot. In theory, I COULD unofficially audit the Latin class (which would get me the experience sans the credit) and actually take the Old English class. But I'm also independently working on Modern French, so three languages at the same time seems like overkill. Plus, I do want this gap year to be some kind of a break. That said, I don't really know what to do. Which option sounds better, seasoned medievalists? Thanks! Em

This might sound like an odd question, but here goes... I'm using my undergrad honors thesis as my writing sample for M.A./Ph.D. apps because it represents my best work and provides a general idea of the kind of thing I'm interested in researching further in a graduate program. However, now my entire SOP seems taken up by discussing my process/background related to my thesis and using that to talk about my future research plans. I think it's working because it lets me showcase my strengths in a very cohesive way, BUT I'm worried that it's going to seem redundant since I'm giving them the actual paper as my writing sample. That writing sample is also the one and only publication on my vita. So... am I trying get too much mileage out of one paper, or could it actually demonstrate focus? I'd appreciate any input on this! Thanks, Em

I’m new here and very new to the grad application process, so I have a lot of questions! Currently, I’m a few weeks away from graduating with a combined English Literature and Writing BA (70~ English credits total) from a small liberal arts college. It isn’t terribly well known outside of the area, but it does have a good reputation. My goal is to get an M.A. and possibly a Ph.D. in medieval literature. (My desired focus is a lot more specific than that, but I prefer not to supply such details on the internet). I also have an interest in deconstructionist and psychoanalytic theory as well as cultural studies. Anyway, I decided to take a gap year before applying, but I want to start on the process now. So, my main questions are: 1) how do my chances for getting into Ph.D. programs look (based on the info below) and 2) what can I do with my gap year? I’d also love if you could share any personal experience w/ applying internationally. I live in the US, but I’m applying to half US schools and half UK schools (for MA only). Also, how can you tell the quality of an international school? It’s not like I can hop on a plane and visit… So, these are my stats GPA: 3.96 (English-only: 4.0) Coursework is heavily focused on pre-modern European literature, but I have also taken courses in everything from American to Japanese literature so I have a broad general knowledge as well. GRE: taking ASAP. In general I’m a pretty good test-taker and scored well on the PSAT/SAT/ACT. (Should I take the subject test?) I completed an honors thesis on a topic closely tied to the field I’m interested in pursuing. I spent a full year researching for and writing it and will be submitting it to conferences/publications. I will also be using this as my writing sample since it is the perfect length and represents my finest work both in terms of the research and the prose. LORS: Will be excellent. I know my professors very well, and they all are strongly encouraging me to go to grad school. Undergrad teaching assistant experience Proficient in Spanish, reading ability in Latin, very comfortable with Middle English, and currently working independently on French and Anglo Norman… I’ve never actually taken a language class, but I scored very high on the Spanish CLEP and have taken four National Latin Exams. Should I take an actual language class to bolster my app? SOP: I’ve already identified professors at several unis that I’m applying to that I’d like to work with and have set up meetings with a few. So, that will feed into my SOPs. I also have a fairly clear trajectory in terms of research ideas.