NowMoreSerious

It's difficult to give an answer without more information. What are your goals when it comes to a Ph.D. in English? Are you trying to get a job with the degree? a TT job? Are there any factors pulling you into the less-known university, such as location, family, partner, etc? When you say better vibe, do you mean from the dept as a whole, or the specific people you wish to work with? When you say "less known" for Option 2, how many tiers/rank lower are we talking? ***Oh, and people might argue with me about this, but if your goal is to get a job, especially a TT job with the degree, and Option 1 is a top 10 and option 2 is outside of the top 20, then forget all the rest of the questions and choose Option 1.

I should also mention the Collegiality/Funding paradox that is present in some schools. Some schools try to make up for their lack of funding by promoting and formalizing all kinds of "team building" type practices. But believe me, nothing kills collegiality like bad and uneven funding. In other words, choose adequate funding 100% all day, not cookies or sandwiches in the front office every week, or a retreat once a semester. You want everybody to be close to each other because they believe in mutual and communal support, not because an entire cohort was forced to live in a two bedroom apartment due to lack of funding. Not trying to be snarky, but sorry I've seen it.

In asking this question, I would make sure you hear out not just people in their first stages of the program, but people at the end of the program. Usually the first several years of the program are the smoothest, since funding is often guaranteed and committee drama hasn't developed yet. Many programs will roll out the red carpet for you, but it is the programs that will help you finish and professionalize that really show their worth. And yes, this includes the collegiality of your fellow graduate students as well since they are often a crucial part of this by reading/workshop your drafts, attending your practice talks, etc. Let's say you are a bit behind to due life reasons, is the program going to support you through this, or turn the screws on you? This is crucial information and you need to ask latter stage ABD students how their program handles them. I'm ABD at UCLA, and I still feel I am being supported and the program has gone to bat for me when it comes to things like funding. My committee reaches out to me and tells me about fellowship opportunities, etc. I would say this extends to questions about programs in general. Don't just ask 1st, 2nd and 3rd years how they are doing. Ask 1) People who have been there a while and are behind 2) People who finished really quickly. You'll get a some different perspectives, believe me.

If any of your writers have already submitted their letters I'd be shocked. As somebody who has written many rec letters (though not for grad schools, but for scholarships, fellowships, etc) I usually don't start seriously writing until the week before no matter when they asked me. I always ask my students, though, to send me a reminder email about 2-3 days before.

I think if you have two letters from professors who have a lot of cache already, your best bet is choosing the professor who will write you the more personal letter and/or the letter that will speak most specifically about yo and your work.

Were they TT?

That's an incredible rate. I mean that's gotta be as good as it gets, right?

I somewhat disagree here. The quality of education, if we are just talking about in seminar and through mentorships with faculty, may actually be better with many lower ranked programs.

I can't really speak for everywhere, but I know here at UCLA there are people from all over. This year's cohort had people from Bard, Boston U, North Carolina. I think the CUNY system is pretty well known. I wouldn't sell yourself short.

Is this at Harvard? If so, I see their reputation continues to be well earned. At Harvard, (like many ivies) you just have to get through the program in ANY WAY possible, and hope the name carries you.

@Warelin I really don't have enough knowledge about that issue to respond to it. For all I know, some countries may not even care whether you publish at all, much less which journal. I do know that anecdotally, everybody I know who has found a job outside the US (for teaching, at least) has been from a top 10 school.

All I can say about publishing articles is that it's probably more important where you publish than just checking off a list. For conferences, I try to attend one per year, and to make it count. So I've done one conference presentation per year. They are probably more about networking than the actual presentation for most people. Choosing a dissertation committee is a complicated and crucial decision. So much is about learning what type of mentorship is most effective for you to be productive. Note, this is different from what kind of mentorship you want or think you need. Part of the early years of graduate school is figuring out how you best work and getting a sense of your POI's mentorship styles. But one thing is clear, and this is from my own experience as well as everyone I've known: The single most important factor for choosing an advisor is whether that professor has an affective investiture in You, Your Project, and Your Career. The other committee members probably should be a bit less hands on. You don't want your committee fighting amongst themselves, leaving you to waste energy and labor managing THEM. Choose a committee member who is good with structure and feedback as well, if possible. Two hypothetical scenarios: 1. Big name professor who matches your research interests, but a bad advisor. 2. Smaller name professor who doesn't quite match your research interests, but shows interest in advising your dissertation if you slightly switch fields. Honestly, I'd say switch fields. I've seen this play out. I know we think our research interests are sacred, but if you can't formulate a committee to move your project and career forward with your current interests, it might be worth switching them up. I've known many with star studded committees that never finished.

@Warelin Since Los Angeles is an extremely large city, our living situations vary. Obviously, the closer you want to live on campus, the most expensive it is. People generally need a roommate if they want to live near campus. One could get by with public transportation, but it's true what they say that Los Angeles is a car city. Many do use bikes, too, though. Students are allowed to teach and research outside the department, yes, especially post exams (ABD). It's also the case that several of the courses are cross-listed with departments such as African-American Studies, American Indian Studies, and Chicana/Chicano studies. UCLA has strong departments in many of these adjacent fields, meaning there is a lot of opportunity for interdisciplinary research. As for the stipends, they do raise a bit from time to time. I'm not sure if each year. I think some of that depends on our UAW Union contract.

I'm happy to say UCLA has a mixed bag. I came from a school in the CSU (state college) system, as did many others. We get a good mix of people from Ivies, liberal arts colleges, and state schools. But I know some other top ranked schools (especially the ivies) that aren't quite diverse. For instance, I was shut out of all the ivies. But accepted to almost all the public schools. Weird right? I couldn't help but think at the time that my background from a lower tier public state college played a role in this. Who knows, but frankly, I'm now glad everything played out like it did.

I think there are several factors that go into the decision of which ranking tiers to target. What are your goals for the type of career you want? Most people say TT job, but even then, what types of schools? State colleges, R1, community college? Another factor is whether you are ok with adjuncting as a career. Another factor is whether your parents have money. Another factor is whether you simply must study literature at a Ph.D. level as a sort of life choice and it does not matter to you what happens afterwards. Another factor is how you operate on a psychological level. Yes, I said it. Because you must investigate the type of environment you're getting into. The top 20 doesn't necessarily mean top 20 for your mental health. Top 20 doesn't also mean top 20 in having best professors or best mentorship. That being said, ranking does factor pretty heavily in the job market as everyone knows. But at this point in our field, I'm not quite sure how many additional percentage points it provides. Because regardless of tier, the job market isn't great. For most situations, however, applying to top 20-30 is probably the correction decision.

I know grad cafe was a huge help to me as I was applying. And I've done my best to help others when they messages me about the application process. But I haven't been involved for about 4 years now. I also found that there aren't that many participants on here from the latter stages of the Ph.D. So I'm happy to answer any questions that I can. I'm no expert, but I've been doing this a while now (6+ years), and I've been around the block, hah. Ask away.

I would have to know which specific schools you are talking about, but I'd say stick to your Alma mater. I got my BA and MA from the same lower ranked state school, and I did ok.

Good points, but you as well as I know that WHERE you get published is a very important factor.

I'm sorry to hear this season did not go how you planned. I will say though, that it is rarely a case of research interests being too specific, and I would caution you against that approach if you try next year. I know you might not be in the mood to answer this question, but what were your interests? If you don't want to announce it publicly pm me.

I would dress however you feel comfortable. However, know that some people will dress up quite formally, especially if there is any type of reception or dinner.

Is it possible that your MA in Religion has given your work a certain tenor that has made it less attractive to programs that are specifically English? I say this because my road, and my CV, were extremely non-linear and rocky, and it didn't seem to make a difference. Either way, good luck to you.

Good luck to you

I haven't seen anybody claim a UCLA acceptance, but if you are one, feel free to message me with any questions about the program. I'll be 100% candid and answer any questions that might help you make the best decision possible. I'm in the second stage of the program, specializing in American Literature. As a 4th year, I know the program inside and out.

Are you already accepted? Waitlisted? Because if you are already accepted, just go to see who else got accepted and consider whether it might affect your choice. As for "sit in on a class" the whole point is to get a sense of how seminars/classes are run, which you already know. If you are waitlisted, then I would participate in everything with the passion of one who just got into their dream school.