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Did you study for the math portion? I am also terrible at math and haven't taken a course in years, so I feel your pain. However, I did find it helpful to study. The PR book had some useful tricks and I also found math tutorials and practice online. I spend several months studying and still scored pretty badly on math (148), but well enough, I believe, to slip by if I'm applying to English programs. Could you take a year off and study, or even find a tutor (maybe a student who will do it for not much money)? As for verbal, if it's just the anxiety, taking practice tests under test conditions may help (and if you actually have an anxiety disorder, maybe get it treated). If it's the material though, Manhatten Prep has a 5 ib book of practice problems where you can do targeted practice of your weaknesses (sentence completions, logic based reading, sentence equivalence, etc). Also, you probably know this, but vocab flashcards--they help.

I know SUNY Buffalo's cut-off for funding is 313, according to their website. Not sure how strict they are about this.

It's crunch time for the October test day! How's everyone's studying going? I'm still scoring in the high 500s after months of regular study. Ugh.

ComeBackZinc is right--believing any school can be a "safety" will not serve you well in this process. That said, MAs are often easier to get into than PhDs (except the funded ones). I would not recommend an unfunded MA, but if you are set on grad school in English and have some money saved up, you may want to apply to one or two. I think the best idea is to apply to a wide range of schools (I am aiming for 12-15), put effort into every application by starting early, and hope for the best.

I'm working on my writing sample, and just curious about what people are submitting. I am revising a chapter from my undergrad thesis on conceptions of authorship in African American novels. The chapter is on Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist read as a response to Barthes' "The Death of the Author." What are you all working on? Anyone writing a whole new paper?

I'd be willing to read it.

All the different requirements are quite frustrating...but I guess it's motivation to narrow down my list of schools. Which may or may not happen.

Hi All, I am currently studying for the Subject Test and, because of the scarcity of practice exams out there, I am wondering if anyone would be interested in writing practice questions for each other. For example, I could write 20 (or whatever we decide) ETS like questions and send them to you and you would do the same for me/other people participating. It wouldn't exactly mimic the exam of course, but I personally study best by practicing, so the lack of exams is proving troublesome. Please PM me or respond here if you're interested!

jazzy - why did you pick Chicago, if I may ask?

I'd be willing to read it. I am also applying to English PhD programs this fall.

The University of Chicago has a number of people working in this area such as Deborah Nelson, Sonali thakker, and Nicole Wright. Also check out NYU if you haven't already.

Hey All, I was hoping for some feedback about my tentative list of schools. If anyone has any personal experience with these programs (or any suggestions for other places to apply), I would love your advice. My interests are in contemporary (late 20th century and 21st century) American multiethnic literatures, questions of authorial agency and reader responsibility, and continental philosophy. My current list is as follows: Stanford Brown Columbia Emory Cornell SUNY Buffalo University of Minnesota University of Chicago UC Berkeley University of Pennsylvania University of Virginia UC Riverside Stony Brook UC Irvine

I am just worried about contacting professors about information that might possibly be found elsewhere, which is why I wanted to check.

Is there any source that can tell me the tenure track placement rates of various programs in some consistent way (for example, what percent of graduates have found tenure track jobs within 5 years of graduating). Some programs provide such information on their website, others simply list places their grads have found jobs. I'm finding it very hard to compare schools based on placement rates. What do you all think?

OP, you sound like you certainly have strong credentials, probably stronger than the "average" applicant, but realize that it all comes down to the SOP and writing sample. It's not a "numbers" game, although scores and grades could get someone cut early in the process(yours certainly will not, assuming you get above 160 or so on the GRE V). Above all, work hard on your writing sample and make it great. Easier said than done, I know, as I will also be applying this fall. You can search gradcafe for previous discussions of what a good writing sample entails.

I am a senior in college, planning to apply to PhD programs in the fall. I have wanted to pursue an academic career throughout all of college and last year I even applied for and received an external scholarship for grad school in literature. This semester, however, I have been struggling. I can't concentrate, I waste hours of time instead of working, and I am not happy with how my honors thesis is turning out. I often just feel stuck and look for excuses to not do schoolwork. I feel frustrated when I get feedback on thesis drafts or papers. My gpa will be lower this semester than any other semester. Part of this is due to personal circumstances and the stress of being a senior. But I also can't help but wonder if I am making the right choice. I know many people on this message board will say academia is always the wrong choice, or that if I am questioning then it is not for me, but I don't think it's that simple. I have felt for years that this is the right path and that I'm pretty good at what I do. Now I feel like nothing I do is good enough, and I am really floundering. However, I don't just want to give up on this idea and I am also worried about disappointing everyone who has helped me. It's hard to separate how much of these feelings is just momentary stress/depression and burnout and how much is real questioning of my future career path. I have not had a break from academic work that lasted more than a few days since the beginning of last summer, and that might be part of it (I spent all my breaks catching up on assignments, working as a research assistant, studying for written/oral exams, etc.) I am also a bit worried about sharing too much of this with my professors because I don't want it to affect their LORs, even on a subconscious level. Any advice? Has anyone been in a similar situation? Edit: Sorry for the typo in the thread title.

Thanks for the responses! blakeblake - I have taken Early American lit, but I have not taken the 20C survey course or any other contemporary courses. This is because of schedule conflicts/study abroad. I go to a small liberal arts college, and we have few class options (there are two American classes, early and 20C, and occasionally an elective). The Contemporary American survey course is only offered one semester a year, and there is only 1 section. As for the writing sample, I will be using a chapter from my thesis, which is on contemporary African American literature, so that should be covered. Alums also have library access while in town here and I will be around during the summer. That considered, does anyone think it would be worth it to try to take an American lit course elsewhere this summer? It would be expensive.

I am an English major at a SLAC, about to graduate in about a month. I will be applying in the fall to English PhD programs, but lately I have been worried that I do not have enough English coursework despite the major. My department only requires 9 classes for the major, one of which can be from the world lit or a foreign lang. department. I have only taken the minimum (8 English courses, one world lit course counted as English, plus an honors thesis). I do have about 4-5 additional lit classes in French and World Lit. I have also worked as a research assistant for lit professors, but not English lit. Maybe I am worried over nothing, but I know other undergrad departments often require at least 10 courses for their major, and "strong" majors at my school tend to take more than the minimum requirements. My main issues: 1) I think my literary analysis skills are strong, but I have numerous holes in my knowledge of "the canon." 2) Most importantly I have never officially taken an contemporary American lit class, and I think I want to specialize in this area in graduate school ( my thesis is in this area, and I have done my own reading, but no coursework). Should this be a concern for me? If so, how do I overcome this at this point in the game?

I am a little confused...if your goal is graduate school in literature, wouldn't it make more sense to drop the social science major instead, even if you are good at it? Or do you want it for back-up in case an academic career in lit doesn't work out? Or are you not sure yet if humanities grad school is for you? If you are set on grad school in literature, I would drop the other major and focus on literature coursework. Having the actual major won't matter that much, but the stronger your background the better. The exception is if you can tie your other major to your literature interests. Just my opinion. I am an English major, but even I wish I had taken more English classes throughout undergrad because I feel under prepared in several areas.

I have thought about an MA but could only afford a fully funded program and I would prefer not to take the extra few years before the PhD. However, I will apply to some MA programs as well as PhDs. My overall GPA is not bad (will end being a little under 3.8 I think), but I am worried about this chem class.

Thanks everyone! I am going to stay in the class and do my best, but (try) not to worry about it too much. Lons - Pass/Fail is not possible for courses required for Distribution (general ed core requirements), which is the reason I am taking the course in the first place. Quantum - I do not remember any algebra from high school and I was bad at it even then. Thanks for the links though!

Thanks for the responses. Quantum - the problem is my lacking math background, not the memorization. I have not taken a math class since high school and was always terrible at it. Is there anyone who has been in a similar situation?

Hi all, I am in my last semester of undergrad and need a few more science credits to graduate (distribution requirements). I am in a non-major chemistry class right now and it is much harder than I expected. I am currently getting a D+ in the class. I think I can bring it up to a C, but getting anything higher than that will require a huge amount of effort for me because I just don't have the math foundations for the class. It will also take time that I should be spending on my honors thesis. My options are: stay in the class, work really hard, and probably get a C or withdraw and complete the last few credits over the summer at another school (no summer classes at mine). This would cost money and would mean I will not officially graduate in May, although I can walk with my class. What I would like to get a sense of is how much a low grade in a science class would effect my admissions to English PhD programs. I realize the most important factors are writing sample, SOP, and LORs and admissions are impossible to predict, but has anyone had any experience with a situation like mine. My current GPA is about a 3.8. Thanks so much for any input. Sorry if I seem uninformed.

You could apply to PhD programs and see if you could get into a fully funded one before quitting your job. Also, as someone mentioned, a PhD is not really a teaching focused degree. Is it possible you could do the part-time MA and get a teaching job with just that? I know sometimes instructors at community colleges do not have doctorates.

Hi Everyone, I am a junior and am planning to apply to PhD programs in Comp Lit either this coming fall or fall 2013. I am interested in anglophone and francophone lit (though really, my primary interest is theory, especially post-structuralism and trauma theory), and I know French, so that is not a problem. The problem is other languages. I speak Russian but can only read it at a very basic level, and I am not sure if/how it will be relevant to my studies anyway. Most Comp Lit programs seem to require 2 languages at time of admission and I know most candidates speak more languages than that. I am very worried about this aspect of my application. So, my question is: What additional language would be better to learn - German or Spanish? German would be good for theory, but Spanish could be more relevant for post-colonial studies and/or trauma studies which are my main interests right now AND I think it will be easier to learn since I speak French. I only have a year at the most to become proficient in another language, which I realize is in itself a bit unrealistic. Alternatively, should I just change my plans and apply to English programs? It is not exactly what I want but I would be able to fulfill the language requirements more easily.