justkeepswimming

I thought I remembered someone posting about this recently! Fr some reason, the forum search function wasn't being too cooperative with me last night. Thanks everyone.

This is really last minute, I know, but the English dept's webpage indicates 500 words while the grad school homepage says no more than a 1000. Mine hovers around 900. Common sense tells me to go with the English dept's directions, but ... not going to lie it would be fantastic if I could just submit my SOP as is. Oh yes, so the question is, are people going for 500 or 1000? Thanks.

Hahaha. Okay, in an effort to get this thread back on topic, "program specific questions," caw_caw_caw, are you applying to Cornell comp lit by any chance? I've mostly looked at English programs and Cornell's comp lit program caught my eye for whatever reason. If you are, what is the program's reputation? I'm interested in Cornell's comp lit because they have a lot of overlaps with the English dept in terms of faculty that I'd be interested in working with.

Much appreciated. Best of luck to you for this upcoming cycle. May the odds be ever in your favor! (I hope I got that quote right).

Not that I'm defending caw_caw_caw's elitism, but the "This is what undergrad applicants do" comment is uncalled for. Caw_caw_caw is right in suggesting that there is absolutely no way that we as applicants truly know what "fit" constitutes for each program that specific year. If they like your work, they'll find a way to make you fit in. Fit is not tetris people. Departments are always changing and who knows if x department suddenly wanted someone who does y this year? Also, I'm an undergraduate applicant and yes, I'm applying mostly to top ten schools. I don't think I should be disparaged for "ripping the list of Top 10 schools and applying to those." I have my reasons. I'm not a naive undergraduate applicant. Lastly, I really wish you would stop your elitist act, caw_caw_caw, because I honestly don't see why you need to have such a smug attitude towards everyone else on this board. People have answered your "what are my chances?" thread graciously and you received the ego boost you needed to calm yourself down.

So what are the "elite" programs in your opinion? Just curious.

Same. I just assumed they wanted 15-20 pages of critical work.

I am also still dealing with my WS and SOP. There have been moments where I just don't even know where to begin to edit again. So, I've given myself periodic breaks where I just block out any thoughts about my applications, watch a 20 min Modern Family episode, take a hot shower, do some push ups, anything. I used to try to fight through stress, but I've learned to step back and take a deep breath. YMMV.

Hey HHEoS, thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I think I'll wait a day or two for the dust to settle and give them a call if they don't respond to my email by then. I am not as worried about it as I was a few nights ago when the incident happened.

According to this webpage (http://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/state_purpose.shtml), it should be 500-600 words. Mine is about 900 right now and it's due in 2 days ...

I don't know about a collection of short stories, but one short story worth checking out would be Raymond Carver's "The Cathedral."

I am having a bit of a freak out with one of the applications I just submitted. I accidentally clicked the "request fee waiver" button and didn't find out until after I submitted my application. I emailed the department immediately about this problem and of course, offered to pay my fee ASAP. They'll still review my application ... right? Btw, this was my UCLA application. Edit: Congrats to everyone who submitted!

Ah, brilliant. Thanks for the advice!

Hi, One of my schools requires that I upload "Unofficial copies of GRE scores, both the general and English Literature subject test." Does this mean the unofficial score report I received in the mail? That document also shows a list of schools where I sent my scores to, and I'm reluctant to share this info. Would it be terrible if I just photoshopped that section and upload the document or will the school think this to be too paranoid/devious?

Yes, especially if you can upload it as a PDF .

Nope. I thought about including one to briefly explain my thesis when I was just going to send in a chapter of it. I ended up significantly revising the sample, so I'm hoping the first few pages do the job that a cover letter would, and "preview" of the rest of the paper.

Is there a place in the application to upload a resume? If so, I would probably round down just to play it safe, and be assured that the admissions folk will see my real GPA in the resume. Although, I agree that x.x9 should probably be rounded up ....

I've heard that anything above a 600 is considered good. Harvard's website also says, "High scores in the Verbal (700) and Subject tests (650, i.e., English and American literature) are positive additions to the application but are by no means the most important aspect of one’s candidacy. (The Quantitative and Analytical scores carry less weight than the Verbal and Subject scores.)"

Scores are online for October test takers! I legitimately thought I bombed the exam (almost cancelled, actually), but ended up doing more than just fine. Hope that's of comfort for those who took the test this past weekend ....

Hello all, So glad to have discovered this forum! I just graduated and I'm working odd jobs while preparing my application. Anyone else torn between taking the October and November subject tests ... ? I want to get it out of the way, but I'm also unsure if I'll be ready by October 13th. I should take it October and focus more on my writing sample/SOP right? I'm using a 15 page chapter from my undergraduate thesis.