English Lit PhD Fall 2009

[lotf629]

Hello, city of ladies...from your list and your login, I am going to guess that you are a medievalist interested in Christine de Pizan, yes? I am a medievalist too, though with an earlier set of interests. I know what you mean about the worrying.

[city of ladies]

Hi, lotf629

[rinneron]

Post-application-submission time is the worst! This is my second time around, this time with an MA (thank god I had something to keep me busy and sane after a frightening number of rejections two years ago), but I feel just as nervous as I did the first time around! Hopefully by the time I have to start working on my MA thesis (weird school means we do it in one semester!) I'll have forgotten the anxiety (yeah right...). I tried to vary the types of programs I applied to this time, and not make the mistake of going brand crazy again. I think one of my undergrad profs summed it up best when he said: "If Columbia's going to accept you, chances are UPenn and Cornell and Brown will too, so why apply to all of them?"

UCLA (This is my top, top, top choice -- I love their program and their theoretical slant/profs seem like they would be a really good fit! Keepin' my fingers crossed...)

UC Berkeley

Brown

WUSTL

UMich

Northwestern

BC

UDel

CUNY

Rutgers

Hang in there everyone...

[lauras]

rinneron,

It's like childbirth. If you didn't forget the pain, you could never do it a second time.

...not that I've had a baby, but I almost wish I had just given birth instead. It would be over in a few hours or a few days tops.

I'm a BC hopeful too! Good luck. Maybe I'll see you in Beantown.

[lotf629]

Hey city of ladies,

Nice! I have two main interests: medieval women's writing (Hildegard von Bingen, Margery Kempe, Julian of Norwich, various mystics, etc.) and Anglo-Saxon poetry...currently the lyrics, at least for my dissertation, but eventually Beowulf as well. I'm applying as an Anglo-Saxonist. (Usually when I say that I intend to specialize in Old English, people make polite noises and change the subject. Here I should insert a rueful emoticon, but it would probably only make me feel more rueful. ) Best of luck to you, and everybody else!

[Boz]

Hi everyone!

I just finished my last application, and WHEW, am I glad it's over! But now--the waiting game, ahhh! However, considering the fact that the earliest notifications are rejections, I think I'll be able to wait until February/March:) I applied to a lot of schools--probably too many, considering that I just discovered a GLARING mistake on one of my SOPs (resulting in a frantic email to the English department at Johns Hopkins)--but I'm confident that I should get accepted to a few...I hope (*fingers crossed*).

I would like to focus on 19th c. British/Victorian literature, as well as feminist/gender studies. The novel and nonfiction writing (essays, journals, auto/biography, etc.) appeal to me, as do new historicism and Marxism.

By the way, I noticed that a few of you are applying to UVA--I did my undergraduate work there, and I absolutely LOVE the English department! All of the professors are fantastic! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message.

GOOD LUCK to all!

[Minnesotan]

Yeah. A lot of great programs are in crap places to live, like California and Texas. I can't understand how someone would choose to spend their entire stipend on half of a tiny apartment that is statistically likely to be robbed twice in the four years between MA and PhD. I had to cut my list down to college towns, or big cities whose cost of living wasn't outrageous. Where I ended up, I only spend 15-20% of my pay on rent, and I'm very happy about that. (I do live with my partner, though, so I still have a roommate of sorts.)

[rinneron]

(lauras -- my mum, who has both given birth and gone through a lit phd, said that giving birth was definitely easier. i think you're onto something!)

I totally understand about tailoring your applications as city-specific -- I chose only schools that were in cities where not only I would be happy, but where my boyfriend could a)find a job and b)possibly attend an MA program in sociology, though very, VERY far down the road.

I'm in the stage right now where everything is submitted and I'm uselessly panicking about things I have absolutely no control over (things like A} my grades were slightly less than impressive one semester -- a drop, B+, A, A- -- because of a collasped lung and spending the entire semester in the hospital, and I failed to mention this unless the school asked for a statement other than the statement of purpose and B} what if not mentioning Baudrillard in my writing sample suggests that I'm not a serious poststructuralist? Oh lord what have I done???) -- anyone else there yet?? I'm attempting to have spontaneous individual dance parties whenever I get nervous to ward off the anxiety. And I would very happily take any other suggestions...

Good lord April you (and your pile of rejection and possibly, hopefully, some acceptance letters) can't come soon enough.

[dowjonesindustrial]

rinneron, I wouldn't worry about the lack of Big Names in your SOP. In fact, I think the tendency to name drop can be a problem for a lot of undergrads -not saying that's what you are, just speaking from experience- who are just so excited about Baudrillard, Husserl, Bhabha, etc. that they want to make sure everyone knows how much they've read.

...but yeah, I worry about the infinite possible non-ideal readings of my SOP and daydream about the graphic mannerisms which accompany my application being trashed by the adcompanopticon (courtesy of a poster at LJ).

[lauras]

rinneron,

Huge props to your mom, first off.

Secondly, I have all the same fears as you. My grades as an undergraduate were harmed by the fact that I had an economics double major, which I absolutely hated it, yet thought it would be good for me to know, and I worked full time in college, and I had an extra bad two quarters when my grandparents passed away at the end of winter quarter 1994, and, and, and....

I really went back and forth about writing an explaination, but why call attention to how bad my grades were? It's some of that closing argument strategy beat into my brain during law school; mention facts harmful to your case as little as possible. Why make your (perceived) bad grades the center piece of your application? Better to brag about the things you did do well. I'm certain we both did the right thing. The only time I'd use that section is if there was something really, really drastic that needed an explaination, like a felony conviction or an expulsion.

[Minnesotan]

rinneron,

Huge props to your mom, first off.

Secondly, I have all the same fears as you. My grades as an undergraduate were harmed by the fact that I had an economics double major, which I absolutely hated it, yet thought it would be good for me to know, and I worked full time in college, and I had an extra bad two quarters when my grandparents passed away at the end of winter quarter 1994, and, and, and....

I really went back and forth about writing an explaination, but why call attention to how bad my grades were? It's some of that closing argument strategy beat into my brain during law school; mention facts harmful to your case as little as possible. Why make your (perceived) bad grades the center piece of your application? Better to brag about the things you did do well. I'm certain we both did the right thing. The only time I'd use that section is if there was something really, really drastic that needed an explaination, like a felony conviction or an expulsion.

Agreed. It doesn't make sense to call attention to areas you don't want to highlight.

[pkong]

Hi have you got any messages from the schools you applied?

[wantaphd]

Hello Everyone,

I've only applied to one English Ph.D. program: WashU, but I've applied to two American Studies programs: Washington State and Purdue.

I realize this is a pretty short list, but I wasn't sure that I was going to apply at all this year until about a month ago. I'm excited, though, especially after reading through the forum. But the wait is excruciating!

[Minnesotan]

You're going to pay for an American Studies PhD?

I'd stick with English, where they still fund you.

[wantaphd]

Oh my goodness, no! If I am not offered an assistantship or other funding, (I have an M.A. in English and have also worked as an adjunct so I have experienece teaching), then I will not attend. My understanding is that both WSU and Purdue offer assistantships to Ph.D. applicants. WashU funds their acceptees for six years.

I know it's crazy to pursue a Ph.D. in English/American Studies given the market, but it's what I want. However, I am not silly enough to pay for it myself.

[Minnesotan]

I would contact those American Studies programs about funding. I know for a fact WSU cut funding for first-year PhDs in American Studies for next year, and the rumor mill has it that Purdue might do the same. The problem is that English programs are normally better established, so they have endowments that cover their butts when budget crises occur. Newer, interdisciplinary programs are struggling with the financial woes of most unis.

You'll never see WSU English or Purdue English without cash -- they just have too many alum donors. That said, private schools probably don't have to consider cutting funding like that.

[wantaphd]

Minnesotan,

Thanks for the heads up. As a matter of fact, I also applied to Purdue's English program, as they allow you to apply to two programs at once, and I figured it wouldn't hurt. I had actually forgotten I had done so until I checked my application today! I'll make some calls to figure out the rest. Do you mind if I pm you?

[Minnesotan]

Minnesotan... Do you mind if I pm you?

Go for it.

[stella]

Hi everyone! I'm coming to the table a little late--a friend just introduced me to the site. I really wished I'd known about this place earlier.

I just finished applying to 16 schools; a professor I really trust and admire told me to apply to as many as I can afford (both the time to dedicate to quality SOPs, as well as $$). I am now FLAT broke, and it was the most excruciating, stressful professional experience I've ever had, but this is my dream, and I'm feeling good about it

we'll see how good I feel after 16 rejections, though....

I was able to visit 4 schools, and after conducting some pretty extensive research, I am convinced that I will be happy at any of the institutions I applied to. For the record, if I had to pick a top choice it would be UVA. I would give an appendage to work with Jennifer Wicke. However, this wasn't one of the schools I visited because they "receive so much interest that attending to visitors during application season would be impossible." This response seemed a bit chilly, so I'm glad to hear that at least one of you have such positive things to say about the department.

Now that it's all out of my hands I'm driving myself crazy running every possible scenario through my head. Do any of you have advice about how to handle the next couple of months? Is there anything else I should be doing? I got receipt confirmations from 9 of the 16 (the other 7 refused to confirm or said they'd get back to me later).

Good luck to you all!

[rinneron]

Now that it's all out of my hands I'm driving myself crazy running every possible scenario through my head. Do any of you have advice about how to handle the next couple of months? Is there anything else I should be doing? I got receipt confirmations from 9 of the 16 (the other 7 refused to confirm or said they'd get back to me later).

I would call a few days after the deadline just to make sure -- that's what I'm doing, and most of the schools have been pretty understanding and sympathetic about letting me know what they have of mine and what they're waiting on.

Otherwise, lots of alcohol. LOTS.

[rising_star]

Don't harass them too much about missing materials. I'd wait more than a few days after the deadline, at least a week. Think about it. You and probably a hundred other people applied to that program, some quite close to the deadline. The person wading through applications and putting together the folders works an 8 hr day and, at the beginning and end of semesters, has a lot of work to do for current graduate students. Having watched my program's secretary go through this for two years, waiting at least a week or two is preferred. Our deadline was Jan 1 so when she came back to the office in January she had to finalize TA assignments and fix scheduling conflicts, handle anything that may have happened over break, and start compiling applicant's folders for the admissions committee. That's a lot to do. Not to mention that she doesn't come back to work on Jan 2 or work over the weekend. So if you call/email Jan 6, she probably won't have any kind of answer for you (simply because she's still opening envelopes and printing things off the electronic system) and might sound kind of frustrated.

Patience really is key. I recommend not stressing about applications at all. I had an awesome backup plan when I applied for MA programs and a nonexistent one when I applied for PhDs. I never let myself get stressed out about either, to be honest.

[Minnesotan]

I got pretty stressed out once mid-February hit. Many of my schools notified at the end of the month or in March.

[stella]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess it just comes down to keeping my mind off of it...

I received an unsolicited email from Indiana today telling me that they received my last LoR, and my application is now complete. I was certainly not expecting to hear from anyone this week (or next), so that was a pleasant surprise.

Otherwise, lots of alcohol. LOTS.

and as far as alcohol's concerned, THAT'S my backup plan

[yionin]

For the record, if I had to pick a top choice it would be UVA. I would give an appendage to work with Jennifer Wicke. However, this wasn't one of the schools I visited because they "receive so much interest that attending to visitors during application season would be impossible." This response seemed a bit chilly, so I'm glad to hear that at least one of you have such positive things to say about the department.

!

I did my master's there. Charlottesville is a great place, with great weather, great people.... And Jennifer Wicke is probably one of the few most approachable professor I've ever seen.

[stella]

That's so encouraging, yionin! Her work heavily influenced the trajectory of my master's research, particularly my thesis. Even just taking one of her classes would be AMAZING.

Sadly, my GRE scores are horrifying. I'm incredibly proud of my SoP and my writing sample, but if UVA has any type of initial numbers cutoff, I'm out in the first round. No delusions of grandeur here.