2022 Applicants

[WomanOfLetters]

6 hours ago, labradoodle said:

By the way, does anyone know if you have to submit your language certificate (TOEFL or IELTS, I mean) simultaneously with the rest of your application? For my master application, I only had to hand that one in after, and if I got admitted, but I'm assuming I need to hand it in beforehand here. (I can't figure out if I need to take it as I'm in a fully-in-English type of programme right now, and literally studied English before, and have heard I don't need to, but will need to contact them.)

I believe you have to submit your English language proficiency test results by the time you submit your application. Even for my masters I sent in my result with my application too. I know that some of the British universities allow you to submit them after you're given a conditional offer (i.e. Oxbridge), but I think mostly it doesn't work like that in the U.S.

Some universities in the U.S. (e.g. Stanford) waive this requirement if you have studied in universities where English was the only medium of instruction, but most universities still require international students from non-Anglophone countries to submit their English proficiency test scores. If you want to save some money, take a good and careful look at the requirements from each school!

Edited August 20, 2021 by Alyson

[labradoodle]

31 minutes ago, Alyson said:

I believe you have to submit your English language proficiency test results by the time you submit your application. Even for my masters I sent in my result with my application too. I know that some of the British universities allow you to submit them after you're given a conditional offer (i.e. Oxbridge), but I think mostly it doesn't work like that in the U.S.

Some universities in the U.S. (e.g. Stanford) waive this requirement if you have studied in universities where English was the only medium of instruction, but most universities still require international students from non-Anglophone countries to submit their English proficiency test scores. If you want to save some money, take a good and careful look at the requirements from each school!

Thank you! Especially the first half is really good to know, as I couldn't find that info anywhere. I feel like I should be able to get away with not needing proficiency tests for some places, but am still in doubt. Like... as we need quite a high level of English to pass high school, any English requirements are completely wavered here for students who finished high school, and I've even seen Goldsmiths say that if you graduated from this school system with an 8/10 at least, they'd waver it. (But I graduated with a 7, even though I studied both English and an MA fully in English since, lol. An email should probably solve that one at least, haha.)

[WomanOfLetters]

6 hours ago, labradoodle said:

Thank you! Especially the first half is really good to know, as I couldn't find that info anywhere. I feel like I should be able to get away with not needing proficiency tests for some places, but am still in doubt. Like... as we need quite a high level of English to pass high school, any English requirements are completely wavered here for students who finished high school, and I've even seen Goldsmiths say that if you graduated from this school system with an 8/10 at least, they'd waver it. (But I graduated with a 7, even though I studied both English and an MA fully in English since, lol. An email should probably solve that one at least, haha.)

Which programs are you looking at? ? (I'm just trying to help ?) I think most list their English requirement for international students on their program websites; some on the graduate school website. If you were talking about not being able to find the info on Oxbridge's requirement, here it is:

https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international/competence-english
 

When to take the language test

...

For the majority of courses, if a language test is required, you do not have to provide the results of your language test at the point of application, and you can submit your application for admission without them. However, the Master of Law (LLM), and Master of Corporate Law (MCL) do require you to submit your language test results with your application for admission.

In all cases, if a language test is required, you will be asked to provide the test results if you are made an offer of admission, and you cannot be admitted without a valid accepted language test certificate.

 

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/applying-to-oxford/application-guide/qualifications-languages-funding#content-tab--3

Do I need to have test scores when I apply?

If you already have English language test scores at the required level, please include them in your application. However, you are not required to provide test scores when you submit your application.

If you apply without submitting test scores, or you submit test scores below the required level, the academic department will assess your application as normal. If you receive an offer of a place, the department may require you to submit language test scores by a specific deadline as a condition of your offer. 

 

So if you don't need to have your test scores by the time you submit your application, if you're applying to these schools. And again, if you're applying to the U.S., there's a very high chance you will need them. It's only August now and you've still got months to take your TOEFL or IELTS! Book a test now if you haven't already. FWIW, I think the English test scores aren't that important in the admission process. Your proposal/writing sample and statement of purpose should speak to your ability to succeed in the program, so don't stress too much over this! 

[labradoodle]

Thank you so much! I'm thinking of applying to Duke and Columbia now as far as US goes (not because I'm some sort of genius lol, I'm just not moving to a country without health care for a programme that's not worth that to me :P). I applied to Cambridge for my master's, so knowing that their leniency isn't universal does help, as I initially assumed their way of handling things must be the standard one (my home university didn't require anything of me). But I think I'm starting to understand, so you've already helped me out tons! Thanks! (I'm not too stressed by the requirement itself, by the way - I just need to figure out whether I need to schedule the test.)

Edited August 21, 2021 by labradoodle

[ChessPiece99]

The University of Washington has Tom Foster, who's developed many classes that cover "critical comic studies"! I'm gonna be applying to their PhD program after receiving my MA from any of the schools I'm applying to right now because I really wanna work with him.

[WomanOfLetters]

I have a question - probably not the first time someone raised this question but I did a quick search and nothing came up. So...

Online applications often ask you to provide the other graduate schools to which you are applying. Why does the adcomm/the school need to know about this, and should we provide them with such information? (When I applied for my MA I didn't give them my program choices, but now I wonder if I should do it this time)

 

[Warelin]

6 hours ago, Alyson said:

I have a question - probably not the first time someone raised this question but I did a quick search and nothing came up. So...

Online applications often ask you to provide the other graduate schools to which you are applying. Why does the adcomm/the school need to know about this, and should we provide them with such information? (When I applied for my MA I didn't give them my program choices, but now I wonder if I should do it this time)

 

Schools are curious to see what their peers are and see if they can get a better understanding of why applicants are rejecting their offers to improve their acceptance rate. Are they losing applicants to schools that offer better funding based on the cost of living? Is the applicant only applying to top 10 programs? Is the applicant only applying to schools that have the most name recognition? Is the applicant applying to schools only within a certain demographic region? Are they losing people due to certain placement rates/lack of placement results?

It's likely that a lot of reasons might not be something schools can do something about but consistently losing people due to funding might help them build a case to build their base offer in the future.

However, most schools are just curious and it's unlikely to have any impact on your application.

[WomanOfLetters]

15 hours ago, Warelin said:

Schools are curious to see what their peers are and see if they can get a better understanding of why applicants are rejecting their offers to improve their acceptance rate. Are they losing applicants to schools that offer better funding based on the cost of living? Is the applicant only applying to top 10 programs? Is the applicant only applying to schools that have the most name recognition? Is the applicant applying to schools only within a certain demographic region? Are they losing people due to certain placement rates/lack of placement results?

It's likely that a lot of reasons might not be something schools can do something about but consistently losing people due to funding might help them build a case to build their base offer in the future.

However, most schools are just curious and it's unlikely to have any impact on your application.

Thank you for your reply! If I ever get to choose which program to attend, I'll surely let them know why I'm rejecting them, haha!

[linsChaho]

Good luck to everyone applying!

[sonnybunny]

Hi all, hope you are well. I have been considering applying for the MA in either Literature or in History, but don't know which program is more appropriate. I am hoping to study British genre fiction of the 1960s, primarily espionage fiction and how this relates to national identity and the Cold War. My first thought was to expand on "literature" and instead study popular culture on a broader scope to research for a History MA. However, post-1945 British historians are hard to come by in America, and I thought that I could possibly pursue a similar project, but through a Literature MA.

Thoughts? My undergrad major was English Lit and I have an established history of literature and/or writing-based extracurricular activity.

[Izzie Gonzalez]

Hi folks.

Lately, I have been contemplating starting over at a community college and transferring to a different University. I feel like in my department (English) there is not much support. My goal is to later pursue a PhD in English and specialize in Queer and Multicultural Young Adult Literature. What advice do you all have for me in terms of starting over, or maybe if I should continue finishing my undergrad at my University?

[UndergradDad]

Hi Izzie,

It would help if you could give more information:

-did you mean start over at a community college OR transfer to another university, not AND?

-what year are you, a sophomore, junior, senior?

- what specifically do you mean about not getting support? Do you not have a good relationship with your professors? Are your grades low? Are you worried about not getting good letters of recommendation?

If you could fill in the picture more, it will be easier to offer assistance or advice.

 

 

[Izzie Gonzalez]

@UndergradDad

It is a combination of things. My English department has been home for the past couple of years; I am a senior- with one more year left to graduate- but I feel disconnected from the department. I have had difficulties with my mental health and have barely gotten the right meds to help with my disorder- and throughout the course of these past 7 years, I have taken several medical withdrawals, so my academic transcript is torn. I have a 2.5 overall, a 2.8 in the major, and am currently trying to finish a minor in Chicano Studies. I was about to graduate last year, and applied for my school's MA program, but got rejected because of low gpa. My program requires a 3.0 in the last 60 units, and I have a 2.4. Due to complications in my mental health last year, I failed to graduate. My professors all know I have had difficulties with mental health, and recommended I take some time off school and stabilize, which I did. But after returning to online zoom school, I feel like my performance is not that great. 

So yes, a variety of things have contributed to me wanting to "start over".

 

[UndergradDad]

It sounds like you believe you may not be able to finish the year off and graduate with your English major. If you thought you could finish, I would suggest you do that and then if finances permit, to see if there is a state school nearby with reasonable graduate tuition that you could take a course a semester and see how you do with that. If you did well in those courses you could then get recommendations to get into a masters program as a route into applying for a Phd program after the masters.

I am not familiar with how difficult it would be to transfer in senior year to another university or college to finish the English major so maybe someone else can speak to that.

Since you already have taken your first and second year courses I don't think a community college would be the best route, unless I'm missing something there.

I certainly wish the best for you with your mental health issues, which are the most important areas to focus on.

Best of luck!

[DavidFosterWallaby]

Hi all- I'll be applying to masters programs for next fall (with the intention of eventually pursuing a PhD as well) in English lit and digital humanities.

Wishing everyone best of luck!

[M(allthevowels)H]

Hey guys,

When I was applying on GradCafe current students messaged me about the programs I was considering, and it was an incredibly valuable experience. I usually come in and write to people who say they are applying to Vanderbilt individually, but I am a 4th year now and I don't think I'm going to have my head on straight later in the application cycle, so I'm just going to post relevant information here.

1.       Funding: This year Vanderbilt raised their stipend to $30,000 (paid year round). The optional “top-offs” (not sure what the criteria is, but they seem to go to people who come in with their masters degrees) are 5k. As I’ve said elsewhere, the summer funding for programs is A LOT. Basically if you find a program over the summer that connects to your work, you’ll get it paid for. My friends and I have gotten funds to go to the School of Criticism and Theory, Dickenscamp, The Institute of World Literature, the Folger Institute, and various six-week foreign language programs. Funds include tuition for the programs, rent/housing, travel, and a per diem for food.

2.       Teaching: In the past I’ve said that there is a concerningly low amount of teaching. When I came in, you did not teach until your 4^th year, and you taught one class per semester and that was it. We told the department we were unhappy with it, and they listened (another thing that does happen here thank god). So now you’ll teach the last semester of your 3^rd year, then both semesters of your 4^th year, with an option to teach the first semester of your 5^th year if you want for a total of four classes before you enter the job market. All classes are capped at 12 students and you are instructor of record, so you get to decide topics, course titles, and reading material.

3.       Location: I don’t want to sugarcoat this for anyone, so I’ll be super clear: Don’t move to Nashville for the city. I have very few issues with Vanderbilt, and a bible’s worth of issues with Nashville. You kind of have to have a car. There are people in the department who don’t drive, but it is not easy. Public transportation here is underfunded. They voted down a train and the buses can be very unreliable. The rent is comparable to any major coastal city, but with much more depressing politics. This next bit doesn’t really matter much in the pandemic, but there is a limit of things to do. There is a great live music scene – your favorite band will probably stop here on their tour – but that is basically it. So, concert venues and bars? Absolutely. Large art museums or theaters? Less so (there is one of each and the performing art center’s next big engagements are MasterChef Live and Price is Right Live). The hiking is good! But you do have to have a car to get to the parks/trails. The workspaces/cafes around town are also really great. Honestly, grad school eats up so much of your life this probably doesn’t matter so much, but I just want to be super upfront for people who are more outgoing than I am.

I’m happy to answer questions if anyone has anything specific, but I just wanted to info dump for people who are still narrowing down their lists.

Hope this is helpful and not too confusing.

 

 

 

[illcounsel]

@M(allthevowels)H Though Vanderbilt is not on my list, this is really wonderful information. I would love to see other people's similar summaries of their departments! 

[Hard times!]

Would anyone (among the ones who are already in gradschool) be willing to share their writing sample? It has left me terribly jittery and I don't have a sample to fall back on. What kind of writing gets/may get you into gradschool is what I am trying to figure out. I am an international applicant and am already struggling with this whole application rigmarole but I guess it's the writing sample that can most definitely make or mar you. Any help, in the way of samples, (be it dissertation chapter or a published paper or an initial draft) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much! 

[WomanOfLetters]

50 minutes ago, Hard times! said:

Would anyone (among the ones who are already in gradschool) be willing to share their writing sample? It has left me terribly jittery and I don't have a sample to fall back on. What kind of writing gets/may get you into gradschool is what I am trying to figure out. I am an international applicant and am already struggling with this whole application rigmarole but I guess it's the writing sample that can most definitely make or mar you. Any help, in the way of samples, (be it dissertation chapter or a published paper or an initial draft) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much! 

THIS. Would anyone be so kind as to share their writing samples and personal statements? (Don't worry, I'm not applying for programs in English, so I won't be in competition with you in any way in the future ?) Thank you!!!

[dr. t]

My personal statement is already kicking around the forum. This was my writing sample: https://www.academia.edu/12320500/A_Cistercian_Copy_of_Eadmers_Life_of_Anselm_BHL_0526_from_Northern_England_and_the_Canonization_of_Anselm_of_Canterbury_by_Thomas_Becket

(Whoops, this is lit, the above is history - personal statement should still be fine)

[WomanOfLetters]

One question: is it just me that it seems weird some of grad programs are not posting graduate students' email addresses on their websites? I thought it'd be a good idea to reach out to some of them and see what they think about their programs. Without an email address the programs directly cut them off from outside communications. Is this some sort of red flag?

[Glasperlenspieler]

13 hours ago, Alyson said:

One question: is it just me that it seems weird some of grad programs are not posting graduate students' email addresses on their websites? I thought it'd be a good idea to reach out to some of them and see what they think about their programs. Without an email address the programs directly cut them off from outside communications. Is this some sort of red flag?

I agree that this is odd. On the one hand, I tend to think any tendency for a program to keep prospective students away from current grad students should be treated with suspicion. On the other hand, this could very easily be an oversight by the website design team or a university policy intended to protect student privacy. You might try emailing the Director of admissions and asking if they can put you in touch with some current graduate students with similar interests so you can ask them some questions.

[WomanOfLetters]

5 hours ago, Glasperlenspieler said:

I agree that this is odd. On the one hand, I tend to think any tendency for a program to keep prospective students away from current grad students should be treated with suspicion. On the other hand, this could very easily be an oversight by the website design team or a university policy intended to protect student privacy. You might try emailing the Director of admissions and asking if they can put you in touch with some current graduate students with similar interests so you can ask them some questions.

This is a great idea! Thank you!! ? 

[clara salmon]

On 10/16/2021 at 6:44 AM, Alyson said:

THIS. Would anyone be so kind as to share their writing samples and personal statements? (Don't worry, I'm not applying for programs in English, so I won't be in competition with you in any way in the future ?) Thank you!!!

I'd be happy to share with you and/or @Hard times! some stuff I have if you find it helpful! I'm a first-year in an English Lit program. I've got my writing samples, personal statements, and a draft of a publication that is *very* long in the works ? Just DM me !

[merry night wanderer]

I benefited a lot from reading the statements of people on the forum willing to send theirs to me, so I'm happy to pay it forward and send mine to anyone here - just send along a DM. Good luck everyone!