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Hey there! So, I'm starting to prepare for the emotional turmoil that is applying to PhD programs and would love some general advice or tips from application veterans. A little about my academic background: I received my BA from the American University in Cairo in English and Comparative Literature and in Sociology. I then immediately entered an MFA program at Columbia in Creative Writing and graduated this past spring. I can speak, read, and write fluently in three languages--Arabic, English, and Italian--and have some basic educational background in French. I hope to be able to focus my research on North African literature (specifically modern or contemporary North African). Things that freak me out about applying to PhD programs: 1) GRE scores: I'm notoriously bad at standardized tests and the scores tend not to reflect my abilities. I took the GRE when applying to MA/MFA and got a pretty weak score and ended up only applying to programs that did not require GRE so as not to hurt my chances. I've gotten some responses from another post that I should aim to be in the 90th percentile for funding purposes. Is this people's experience typically? 2) Should I be contacting professor's from the departments that I hope to apply to? If so, what is the etiquette of going about that? Is it something that would actually be beneficial or is it a waste of both our time? 3) Statement of purpose: Do you include theory in your statement? Or should I leave all my mad theory skills for my writing sample? How hard should I sell my multilingual abilities? 4) Does it hurt that I haven't had essays or papers published? Should I be aiming to get stuff out there before submitting applications? 5) I have no teaching experience. Again, is that something that will hurt my application? Sorry for all the seemingly obvious and neurotic questions but this seems like the right place to unload.

Ok so, I'm starting to very seriously consider applying to PhD programs in comparative literature. However, I'm terrified of the whole application process. I just finished an MFA in Creative Writing at Columbia and remember how intense and nerve-wracking that whole application process was. One of my most irrational fears is of the GRE. I took the GRE a few years ago and my scores were not all that. So, what score should I be aiming to get? Also, what--in your opinion--are the most important things that I should focus on in the app. Should I email professors at the schools I'll be applying to? If so, what's the etiquette of those emails? Basically, I just need to know what I'm doing because I'm very confused and irrationally nervous to even start the process.

Yo, Two things: 1. I'm having trouble finding people doing what I want to do. My goal is to apply to Comp Lit programs (F 2018), but I'm not sure I'm competitive or whatever. I have a reading knowledge of Russian, German, Biblical Greek, and Biblical Hebrew (I feel like most programs want more than a reading knowledge, but I'm finding it hard to get further w/o spending much $$$). I went to a whatever Christian liberal arts college, got a B.A. in English, minor in Theology, 3.75 GPA, some good papers, good recommenders, albeit unknown. I want to look mostly at biblical, theological, and philosophical influences on 19thC Anglophone and Russian lit, mostly novels. Do any schools, scholars, or programs come to mind where that would even make sense? 2. Who's doing anything similar? Anything comparative between ancient and modern(ish) influences? Anyone doing bible stuff in a lit dept?

Long time lurker, first time poster. I kinda thought that it would be nice if maybe Comp Lit people could rally together and wait in solidarity since a lot of English programs are sending out acceptances and rejections. I keep checking the survey section of gradcafe to see when Comp Lit might start coming out (I've seen a couple about Irvine, but didn't apply their...). Maybe I'll be a lonely island of Comp Lit in a see of English. Congrats to everyone who has been accepted to English programs, btw!

So I'm a little torn on applications this year, as I really would like to stay in my current area (So Cal) and am extremely interested in two different programs at two institutions, USC (Creative Writing PhD and Comp. Media and Culture, Track I) and Irvine (Poetry MFA, where I was waitlisted in a previous cycle, but their Culture and Theory program is also so excellent and very suited to my research interests.) I realize these programs are different and I enjoy different kinds of writing. My own poetic work is deeply informed by my research interests. My poetic practice thrived most while I was immersed in high-level theory-saturated courses as an undergrad — and I honestly enjoy writing papers as well as poems, reported essays, and other things. If I did an MFA, I would certainly seek out the chance to take classes outside the creative writing dept suited to those interests. To boot, these programs are all quite competitive, and while I intend to apply to a few programs elsewhere that I'm particularly excited about, I'd frankly prefer not to move unless it's for my *dream school*. Is it taboo to apply to two programs from the same school? If not or not necessarily, should I acknowledge that I am doing so in statements? Does it just come off too thirsty? Do I have to choose?

Hi!! I've applied to USC's PhD in comparative studies of literature and culture (the general track since my interests are in multiple languages). I see that one person got an interview notice last week. Has anyone else heard anything?? The person who got the interview, congrats! Would you mind sharing which track you selected? Thanks ❤️ Shira