glasses

This means nothing. I know someone currently at a top PhD program in English, TAing for a top professor in the field (and by "top professor," I mean Rock Star Tippity-Top Professor). His BA is in biology. This doesn't mean anything, either. U Chicago and Columbia also don't require the Eng. lit. subject GRE, and both are excellent programs. (Although, you wrote "GRE Lit Analytical" -- not sure what you mean? Do you mean the Analytical Writing section of the regular GRE, or the Lit subject GRE, or both?)

Yeah -- for listing pubs, I've been told to give the full citation: journal name, issue number, date, page numbers, etc. So, for something forthcoming, I've been told to include journal name, issue number, and instead of the date and page numbers, write "forthcoming."

Yes, it's too late. I think you can still get on standby, though, which means that if someone flakes out, you'll be on the list to get their seat.

Thirding (or fourthing? Can't keep track . . .) this. All of my applications have the same "what's your native language" question followed by something along the lines of "if the answer isn't English, check one of the below for proof of English proficiency: TOEFL or a degree from an institution where English is the primary language spoken."

Wrong (unless you haven't been accepted to the conference yet, but it sounds like you have been since you said "I am presenting . . . "): Right: Source: my advisors, who say that forthcoming achievements (publications, conferences) should be mentioned, so long as you're positive they'll be forthcoming (letters of acceptance, etc.).

Don't worry about this. My schools all ask for similar forms. I had six, and I walked in to my recommenders' offices last week expecting to hear "yeah, that's enough." Instead, I was told that "10 is a nice round number!" by 3 our of 4 of 'em, and when I told the fourth that I might add a few more schools to the list, he said, "Bring it on." And these are ridiculously busy people that work in a top-notch department! I think they're genuinely up for giving us a hand, regardless of the amount of work it might mean for them.

If you really think you're going to study and up your score, then I think October should be fine. I'm taking a November subject test, and I think that score will get everywhere it needs to by the right times. (The first program I'm applying to has a Dec. 15th deadline, but it doesn't require the subject test; the programs that require subject tests don't have applications due till Dec. 31st/early Jan.) But, like keylimekai said, it depends on what you're going to do with your time and what you can realistically do with your time, and I honestly think that you're going to have to figure that out. I think you'll be fine timing-wise, but it all depends on whether you think you should spend the next four weeks on GRE prep (and how helpful that prep will be) or whether all that time would be better spent elsewhere.

Depends on the program--some take best overall, some take an average, some take best of each section, etc. I'd ask each admissions department if you're curious.

This. But, if you're super curious (and I was), you can usually google something like "GRE percentiles" and get a ballpark idea.

I scour faculty bios.

Worked for me. I took several drafts to just work on the body; then, I had a random brain wave and came up with an intro; after a few more drafts, I had a conclusion, with the exception of a last sentence, which I'm hoping materializes over the next few weeks. I'd say start by writing whatever you can write and go from there.

I've said pretty much the exact same thing to professors, and it has never been considered rude. Unless you practically said, "Yo! You haven't replied," I think you're fine.

Yeah . . . my professors and friends who've done this tell me that the "funny anecdote" thing is not the way to go. That being said: yup, these conclusions are hard. I'm on the 8th draft, and my last sentence is still, "[[Need one more sentence here.]]" Tempted to send it in that way.

This. As snazzy as we may be, I can't help but firmly believe that we are way too damn new at this to be so stubbornly close-minded. I also believe that it is worthwhile to learn from people who you disagree with--even if you never end up changing your mind. What better way to learn how to argue against what you don't agree with? Or--at the risk of sounding a little too holistic--what better way to, you know, just flat-out learn?

Thanks! And, as for that theoretical envy for rhet. comp. folks . . . well, I think that just might be mythological, too.

I totally feel like I've said this five gazillion times in the last month, so please allow me one more moment of soapbox-filled glory: FORMALISM IS THEORY! That chasm is mythological.

Great! PM me with your e-mail address, O.K.? We have 5 folks so far--the more the merrier!

Hey y'all-- Because misery loves company: I'm taking the Lit GRE on Nov. 7th, which is horrifyingly close to RIGHT NOW, and also horrifyingly close to admissions deadlines, especially considering all the horror stories I hear about ETS eating peoples' score reports and so on and so forth. And I'd really love to form an e-mail discussion group where we can bitch/moan about what we're reading and how scared we are. (Anyone who's taken it recently is more than welcome to join to help us gain some sense of perspective, which I have to say I'm currently sorely lacking.) Anyone interested? Please PM me!

I haven't been through this, but as for what you would say to your grad school, my gut instinct is to be apologetic and tell them that a personal emergency/situation has forced you to reconsider (after all, it'd be kind of true). Try to keep in contact with them the best you can, and apologize, apologize, apologize.

I know folks say you can only take part of the test and leave the rest blank if you want, but personally, that'd make me uncomfortable. I think that if you re-take, you're in for a redo of the entire shebang. And fuzzylogician's right--schools deal with this kind of thing entirely differently, so you'd want to check. I guess what I'm wondering is: how much of a boost do you want, and do you think you can get it? If your score isn't going to be dramatically improved, I'm not entirely sure it's worth it--and if you don't need dramatic improvement, I'm not entirely sure it's worth it then, either. Maybe mull it over a bit before you plunge in and ask schools how they deal with it?

Don't do this: Do this: Think about it this way . . . you don't want to sound like you're making excuses (even though your reason is, of course, valid). You also don't want to tread on any territory that makes you say "not to get too personal," which is how you felt like you had to preface your story to us. Finally, I don't know if you have an adequate forum in your part of the application to bring it up. A special note/addendum seems kind of overwrought. Your statement of purpose is to discuss your goals for future research. There just doesn't seem to be a place for the kind of thing you want to say. If you feel comfortable talking to a professor about it, he/she will know how to bring it up appropriately, and it can be worked into a letter of recommendation far more neatly than it could be inserted into anything you could write for the application.

Seconding the statements of the folks who said "it's not gonna matter." I wouldn't mention it. As a result, you won't run the risk of sounding as though you're going to grad school because you're unemployed. That, I think, would be a problem. Just the fact that you're unemployed, as a solitary thing in your life, is irrelevant, and probably won't need to be explained or even discussed.

This. I studied my ass off, vocab and math, and still I ended up with a 700 verbal; a contributing factor likely was the miserable nicotine withdrawal that kicked in somewhere after the first hour had elapsed. Because I am a perfectionist who agonizes over any lapsed detail, I freaked out. It took a team of five professors, two friends, and my boyfriend to stop me from attempting a retake, but in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't. I have it on decent authority that my aggregate score and my verbal alone are sufficient to pass the threshold for the schools I'm applying to, including the top-10ers, and I don't think a higher score would have totally impressed anyone. Not to mention, I have yet to take the subject test, which is way more important (and, still, not quite as important as the rest of the application). And I did learn a crazy important lesson: any study regimen I undertake from now till the end of time (read: when I quit smoking) has to involve regular practice tests taken while using nicotine patches. Cold turkey is not fun, folks.

Truly, it's your call. Personally, my vote is for "not being smelly," but there is--as I've learned through experience with my own former smelly office mate--no rule to that effect.