Timshel

Hey Lyoness, How can you check out those stats on the Chronicle?

I am REALLY struggling with having time to devote to my applications since I teach full time at a university and I work part time at the university's writing center. Between my two jobs and all the grading I have, I am incredibly behind.

I think as long as it's relevant to your work, it should be fine.

I have an old GRE book and 640 was 92%; 590 is 84%.

I, too, am struggling with a personal statement. I mean, what kinds of things are they looking for? Would it be good to link it to why we are studying what we are?.....I'm at a loss.

I'm not sure if I have any advice, per se, but I am not submitting a chapter from my thesis. The reason is because my interests have shifted a bit since then. Instead, I plan to discuss in my SOP how my thesis pushed me into the direction of what I am interested in now, and then my writing sample is going to be a conference paper that I presented last year. The conference paper is only 7 1/2 pages long, so I am currently working on adding references to theory, the current conversation about the text, and specific quotes from the text, the kinds of things you cut out for a conference paper. So, I guess my two cents about whether or not to submit your thesis chapters relates to whether or not it demonstrates the area you are proposing you want to focus on. Pick which one best fits that and put your work into that.

I am still waiting for my scores, but I am just wondering, if your scores are below 600, should you even both spending the money to send them to schools that don't require it? I could see the advantage of sending it to schools that don't require it if you did exceptionally well, but if they don't require it, it seems stupid to spend money to send the scores to them, right?

Even though I labeled this Minnesota, I was more or less looking for guidance on the fourth letter. If I were you, I would contact Brown and ask if they allow more than 3 because the application goes for all departments and some may let you and some may not. A couple of my schools let you add up to 5, but when I emailed the departments specifically, they told me they would only read three. Minnesota is the only one that specifically said they would allow a fourth, which is why I am submitting it. I think you should double check with the English department specifically to make sure they will read all four and not just the first three they receive.

I was hoping the subject would be up today, a week early, like the general were. Boo.

Okay, so I went ahead and had a heart-to-heart with my fourth LOR, and he told me that he would write me an awesome letter, so I feel much better about the whole thing. I guess I will submit all four.

This is for anyone who is planning on applying to Minnesota or has applied there in the past: How many letters of recommendation are you submitting? Their site says you can submit a minimum of three but no more than 4. I originally planned on submitting 4, 3 that will speak to my ability as a student/scholar/researcher in my focus area, and the fourth our composition coordinator who can speak to my abilities as a composition instructor. (I took a composition pedagogy class when I was working on my Master's and I now teach introductory level English at the same university). However, I'm just curious if this is really going to be an asset or not. Plus, he's been very busy lately, and the deadline is December 1st, and I'm not sure how much time he is going to be able to commit to it, so I'm not sure if it would be better to just have the 3 strong letters or 3 strong letters and another one that will still be good, but perhaps not as strong as the others. Thoughts? Any advice, even if you haven't/aren't applying to Minnesota...I'm just not sure which way to go.

I, too, am not even close. I am still working on my SOP and writing sample. In fact, I just started the first two applications today. I'm jealous....

I know someone who got several offers to good schools with a 590 verbal. Also, almost everyone I know that has gotten their PhD in English, most of my former professors included, bombed the subject.

Oh, I know, I just haven't had the time. I've been trying to catch up with my grading so I can, so I plan on starting them in the next few days.

Okay, that is making me feel better. Although I haven't started them, I did look at them a while ago and I thought I had remembered that only one school said you had to wait until you submitted the application, but when he said that, I had a mini freak out. He made it seem like ALL the schools were like that, and he made me second guess myself.

So, I was talking to someone today about the application process, and he told me that they do not send the emails to your LORs until you submit the application. That isn't true, right? I planned on opening the applications this weekend, so I haven't really looked at them, but I was under the impression that you can send the emails even if your application isn't submitted. Am I wrong?

Has anyone checked to see if they are up?

Thanks for the advice, everyone. It is definitely not MY trauma that I planned to discuss. It wasn't like I was going to divulge some issue I had, but rather why this area piqued my interest. It was more or less what in my life made me want to study this area of literature. One of the schools I am applying to asks "why are you interested in this area of study," so I was just wondering if I should be truthful..... I think I will try with or without and see which is stronger....

Right. Yeah, I've read some SOP that actually got someone accepted, and they used that anecdote as a "thread" to explain how and why they became interested in what they did, and on occasion it would reference back to that. As I have stated before, I am interested in trauma studies, and there is a particular reason why I think it resonates so much for me, so I thought about referencing that.....I'm just so nervous about getting too personal.

So, I am conflicted as to whether or not I should really include a personal anecdote or connection in my statement of purpose. I have seen SOPs from people who are now in programs, some had them and some didn't, so there doesn't seem to be a yes or no answer. Some of the schools I am applying to ask you to explain why you are interested in whatever your interest is, and I'm just wondering if I should connect it to my life or if I should keep it surface. Now, don't get me wrong, I totally understand that you aren't supposed to put "I've loved to read since I was 3 years old," but if there is a particular thing in my life that makes me interested in what I am, should I make that connection? One of my LOR said to have a "hook" or something interesting, so I'm wondering if that could be it.......Thoughts?

I haven't started my Kansas SOP yet because it is due much later than my other apps, but I suspect I will have a similar problem when I get to it.

Now I'm DEFINITELY not calling because I am pretty sure I didn't even break 500. LOL. Congrats to the rest of you, though.