Gap year and international applications?

[Emelye]

I’m new here and very new to the grad application process, so I have a lot of questions!

Currently, I’m a few weeks away from graduating with a combined English Literature and Writing BA (70~ English credits total) from a small liberal arts college. It isn’t terribly well known outside of the area, but it does have a good reputation. My goal is to get an M.A. and possibly a Ph.D. in medieval literature. (My desired focus is a lot more specific than that, but I prefer not to supply such details on the internet). I also have an interest in deconstructionist and psychoanalytic theory as well as cultural studies.

Anyway, I decided to take a gap year before applying, but I want to start on the process now. So, my main questions are: 1) how do my chances for getting into Ph.D. programs look (based on the info below) and 2) what can I do with my gap year? I’d also love if you could share any personal experience w/ applying internationally. I live in the US, but I’m applying to half US schools and half UK schools (for MA only). Also, how can you tell the quality of an international school? It’s not like I can hop on a plane and visit…

So, these are my stats

GPA: 3.96 (English-only: 4.0)

Coursework is heavily focused on pre-modern European literature, but I have also taken courses in everything from American to Japanese literature so I have a broad general knowledge as well.

GRE: taking ASAP. In general I’m a pretty good test-taker and scored well on the PSAT/SAT/ACT. (Should I take the subject test?)

I completed an honors thesis on a topic closely tied to the field I’m interested in pursuing. I spent a full year researching for and writing it and will be submitting it to conferences/publications. I will also be using this as my writing sample since it is the perfect length and represents my finest work both in terms of the research and the prose.

LORS: Will be excellent. I know my professors very well, and they all are strongly encouraging me to go to grad school.

Undergrad teaching assistant experience

Proficient in Spanish, reading ability in Latin, very comfortable with Middle English, and currently working independently on French and Anglo Norman… I’ve never actually taken a language class, but I scored very high on the Spanish CLEP and have taken four National Latin Exams. Should I take an actual language class to bolster my app?

SOP: I’ve already identified professors at several unis that I’m applying to that I’d like to work with and have set up meetings with a few. So, that will feed into my SOPs. I also have a fairly clear trajectory in terms of research ideas.

[lyonessrampant]

Hi! Lots of questions I'll address a few and leave some for others.

1) Decide whether the new or old GRE style fits you better. If you decide the old, take it before August. If you decide the new, take it after August.

2) Get started on your apps now. Your apps for all US schools will be due anywhere from Dec 1-Jan 1, so that's really not a ton of time to get your apps together when you still need to take tests. A lot of the schools you apply to for a Ph.D. will require the subject test. It's kind of a bitch. If you want a high score, start studying now. They've changed (from what I can tell) so that there's more reading comprehension than random passage identification, which is easier in my opinion, so make sure you're preparing for all areas. There are a lot of net resources (hapax legomena is one) and prep books you can order from Amazon.

3) UK/EU universities: funding is a much more difficult issue. You need to get started applying for outside scholarships ASAP if you're not planning on paying for yourself.

4) Your chances. Objective numbers aren't really an indicator. You hear all kinds of stories about people with 4.0 GPAs and perfect GRE scores not getting in anywhere they apply and people with pretty low GPA and GRE scores getting into top 10 programs. It really is all about the subjective factors of your application and the ever illusive fit. Your SOP and writing sample MUST be amazing, and there needs to be a good fit between your research interests and the English department. You need to do your homework to find those people. Reading recent scholarship in your interest areas helps you do that. Based on your outlined areas, check out Mark Miller at the U of Chicago. Once you find the work of one person you really like, look at their works cited areas for other people and look them up. Pick schools to apply to largely based on who is there, though I would say that rank is somewhat important (just for the brand of your Ph.D. and job placement later). Write many drafts of your SOP. Go to that forum area and you'll get some good advice about what an SOP should look like, but basically, you need to outline your research interests and show why the school you're applying to is a good place for you to be (faculty, library resources, collaborative research groups, etc.). I'd individualize these statements for each school, at least the fit parts. Then have as many people as you can read these and give you feedback on everything from feedback to style. No typos or grammar errors in these documents!

5) LORs: It's great they'll be strong. Are any of your writers pretty well known in the field? That will help quite a bit. If not, encourage them to write specifically about your strengths, research background, ability to work independently, etc.

6) Language background: Unless you're studying continental Medieval lit, I'm not sure how helpful the Spanish will be. That said, at least having started Latin is great. Lots of people slip in original Latin bits into their writing samples and translate it themselves in the notes as a sort of gesture that they're competent at Latin. Schools don't really check what you say you're proficient in, so if your proficiency comes in ways not shown on transcripts, that's fine, but I'd say don't oversell yourself, as that could bite you later. Otherwise, your language background looks pretty strong, though you might want to focus on French as that is a pretty important Medieval/early modern language. Middle English isn't a language. . . so I wouldn't put that on the language forms. Most folks in Medieval/early modern are expected to be comfortable with reading Middle English.

7) Sounds like you're on track with thinking about your SOP and doing some good work with trying to build relationships. The main advice I'd share is that you need to get actively working on your apps NOW. You really don't have that much time to start from scratch and do everything. Apply for conferences and submit to publications NOW. It takes a really long time to hear back sometimes, though you can at least put that you've applied on your CV.

Anyway, you seem like a strong candidate. Good luck!!!