Let's Try This Again, Kids

[jrunner17]

Hi everyone---

I've been lurking around this forum forever, and after a horrific round of universal rejections (my first attempt), I've wallowed for a week, and am now ready to look forward to next year. I wanted to start a thread where others can join in the momentum of Fall 2013 applications, with ideas of what they can do differently next year.

For my next round of applications, I want to...

...improve GRE scores and take the subject test

...focus my SOP more on fit, focus, future

...make a note in my SOP as to my less-than-great undergrad GPA (I worked full-time in college)

...apply to more schools

...make contact with more professors beforehand, especially with those that are the graduate directors

and also to present at at least one more conference.

Anybody else out there already having an eye towards the next round?

[seafoam]

I'm anticipating a round of rejections, and i've come to terms with the fact that I might just be too "green." I have a pretty good undergrad GPA from an okay state school (3.7 ish), an okay GRE verbal (161), and pretty good LOR (one from the most respected emeritus here, another from the director of the American Studies group). I know that I have the basics of what these schools look for, but I think my problem is that I don't have anything to really set me apart. My subject test score was horrendous, and I know that while that score is not heavily weighted it is more "eye-catching." I'm trying to convince myself that a year off after graduating won't be the worst thing in the world (even though right now it seems like it )

What I plan to do is:

-definitely study and re-take the subject test

-get some sort of "experience" under my belt, whether it be non-profit work, editing, tutoring/volunteer teaching

-try and contact professors in my area, but this seems very difficult to do at larger schools where the faculty are quite busy.

-apply to more MA programs, but only ones that at least attempt to offer funding, like Boston College

other than that, I'm at a loss. My writing sample and SOP were generally praised by my advisors/mentor

Edited February 12, 2012 by seafoam

[Origin=Goal]

One of the things that I can't emphasize enough, it is to really know the programs you're applying to. Research the character and the reputation exactly who's there exactly who do you want to work with etc. And in my mind this is the most important factor and this was the thing I wish I would've done twice as much. Things like GRE and GPA and other quantitative measurements will only get your foot in the door.

With this in mind, make sure to apply to a good mix of programs including some longshots; I had a pretty successful round this year and will only wish I would've maybe tried to take a few more risks. You never know, but it always comes down to your fit in place within the particular program.

Double apologies for all the typos I'm sure there are, my grad café addiction has only gotten worse since I got a smart phone

[TripWillis]

One of the things that I can't emphasize enough, it is to really know the programs you're applying to. Research the character and the reputation exactly who's there exactly who do you want to work with etc. And in my mind this is the most important factor and this was the thing I wish I would've done twice as much. Things like GRE and GPA and other quantitative measurements will only get your foot in the door.

With this in mind, make sure to apply to a good mix of programs including some longshots; I had a pretty successful round this year and will only wish I would've maybe tried to take a few more risks. You never know, but it always comes down to your fit in place within the particular program.

Double apologies for all the typos I'm sure there are, my grad café addiction has only gotten worse since I got a smart phone

I likewise wish I had taken a few more risks, but hindsight is 20/20. I would've swapped Davis and Buffalo out for Columbia and NYU. Because why not, eh?

My schools were pretty well stratified over the top 50 of USNWR, none under 55 I don't think. I only applied to places I would want to go to. It's really not worth it to apply to places just because you think they're "safe." I think you have a better chance at schools where you think, "Wow, I'd fit in really great there!" than schools where you're like, "Eh, I don't love it, but I bet I have a good chance at getting in." That's definitely not the case.

Edited February 12, 2012 by TripWillis

[ComeBackZinc]

The first time I applied, I didn't have an MA, and was pretty clueless about everything. Getting my MA made all the difference. I developed better understanding of the field, of my interests, of where I wanted to study, of what being an academic really meant, of how to signal to other academics.... But I didn't get funded my first year, and I will be paying down the debt from that for a long time, and that's something to seriously consider. Consider the option carefully and think about applying to schools like Uconn where English MAs can get funding.

Also, if your numbers are seriously deficient, you should try to improve them. It's 100% true that fit, writing samples, SOPs, and recommendations get you into programs. But bad numbers can keep you out. Some schools have arbitrary cutoffs, the applications below which grad committees don't even see. Often, the selection process involves sorting through dozens of immensely qualified applicants. In such a situation, even if you're the perfect fit, you might lose out to someone with an equally perfect fit who doesn't have an obvious flaw in the numbers. If you have bad GREs, as much as they are laughed off as unimportant, you might consider working on them. If your GPA isn't very good, see if you can take a continuing ed course in your field and get an A. Not as important as the other stuff, for sure, but not as irrelevant as people sometimes act.

Finally, understand the fact that there is no competitive human endeavor where networking and connections don't matter. That's not nefarious. Unqualified people aren't getting rushed through the door of elite programs or anything. But the most competitive programs get hundreds of brilliant, dedicated applicants, with great stats, SOPs, and writing samples. In that environment, a letter of rec from a friendly and respected prof means a great deal. I'm not in lit myself, but I have friends in very prominent lit departments who will say matter-of-factly that a particular prof's help made a big difference in their app. So talk to your professors and recommenders and ask where they think you should apply and where you'll have the best shot. Often they'll speak very candidly about your chances.

Good luck. It was very rough getting rejected everywhere the first time, but in the long run, things worked out the best for me.

[DorindaAfterThyrsis]

There's a lot of good info/advice in this thread, but I think it can't be stated enough how instrumental your writing sample is. Both of my acceptance e-mails from the Profs and DGS' at the schools I got into made a point of mentioning my writing sample...and considering how mediocre I consider the rest of my app to be (slightly above average (among GSchool applicants) GPA; high GRE scores; enthusiastic LORs, but not from rock-star or famous profs; SOP that was barely coherent; and no history of publication, presentation, or any sort of "experience" in the field), I'm pretty confident that I got in on the strength of my writing sample alone.

I submitted a sample that was VERY closely in line with the research interests outlined in my SOP, and I think this is important. It gives the adcom a glimpse of what you're actually capable of in the areas that you plan to work. I had better papers that I could have submitted (and those papers would have actually met the length requirements.....unlike the one I did end up submitting ), but decided against them because they were unrelated to the research that I plan to pursue. In my opinion (and what the hell do I know?), it's better to submit a good paper that has relevance to your stated interests, than a great paper that is tangential.

Best advice I got from a current prof when picking his brain about applications: "Use your SOP as a chance to show your readers how to read your writing sample." I.E. the SOP exists to illuminate the assumptions, interests, and theoretical concerns which are inherent your writing sample. You only have a very limited amount of time and space to prove to them what you can do.....my strategy was to go narrow, rather than broad.

tl,dr: Adcoms are mostly interested in how you think, and how you write. They want to know what kind of work you can and will do. All the other stuff ("experience", volunteering, life story, etc) makes you a lovely person, but isn't going to make or break your application. Work on your writing sample. A stand-out piece of work shows hard evidence that you can actually contribute to the discipline in the ways your SOP advertises. A great writing sample can make up for a LOT of other ills.

This is, of course, all just my opinion.

[thestage]

I absolutely need to research schools better and focus my SOP a whole lot more. I did not appreciate how pragmatic these programs are in regards to who they admit until well into this whole process--if you don't have a clear idea of what you want to work toward, and if that idea isn't laid out clearly in your SOP, it isn't happening. I'll try to contact professors, maybe look into publishing or conferences--all that logistical stuff. I will also almost certainly write another paper for my sample, as my current one is not organized well enough and does not have a forceful enough conclusion. I wrote it specifically for these apps and I simply didn't devote enough time to it (which, yes, makes me a complete idiot). My measurables are top notch (4.0 GPA, 170 verbal, 6 writing, 670 subject), so at least I don't have to jump through those hoops again.

Edited February 12, 2012 by thestage

[Tybalt]

Hi everyone---

I've been lurking around this forum forever, and after a horrific round of universal rejections (my first attempt), I've wallowed for a week, and am now ready to look forward to next year. I wanted to start a thread where others can join in the momentum of Fall 2013 applications, with ideas of what they can do differently next year.

For my next round of applications, I want to...

...improve GRE scores and take the subject test

...focus my SOP more on fit, focus, future

...make a note in my SOP as to my less-than-great undergrad GPA (I worked full-time in college)

...apply to more schools

...make contact with more professors beforehand, especially with those that are the graduate directors

and also to present at at least one more conference.

Anybody else out there already having an eye towards the next round?

I know I mentioned it last year, but my MA school (St. Bonaventure University), while not well-known, has a strong track record of placing its MA students in PhD programs (last few years, Bonaventure MAs have gone to Rochester, Buffalo, Hopkins, Penn State). They have a Learning/Teaching Fellowship that offers some tuition waiver and a small stipend. I don't think the deadline has passed yet, either. It's worth looking into if you're looking at re-applying for next year.

http://www.sbu.edu/artsandsciences.aspx?id=15818

[koolherc]

Great points made throught this thread. I'll respond to a couple and also add a point or two:

One of the things that I can't emphasize enough, it is to really know the programs you're applying to. Research the character and the reputation exactly who's there exactly who do you want to work with etc. And in my mind this is the most important factor and this was the thing I wish I would've done twice as much. Things like GRE and GPA and other quantitative measurements will only get your foot in the door.

Can't be said enough. I've been rejected from "less prestigious" programs and accepted with tons of money into "very prestigious" ones. It's all about fit. You need to get to know your programs and their styles and who's a powerful/upandcoming/onthedownslope profs way before applying. I originally had a list of about 30 programs that I was researching back in the spring and summer. By the late summer, it was a list of 11. Weeks into the application season, I was still cutting 5 more and added a different 1 at the last second as I learned more about what was what.

...and considering how mediocre I consider the rest of my app to be (slightly above average (among GSchool applicants) GPA; high GRE scores; enthusiastic LORs, but not from rock-star or famous profs; SOP that was barely coherent; and no history of publication, presentation, or any sort of "experience" in the field), I'm pretty confident that I got in on the strength of my writing sample alone.

I also had less than great numbers---3.3 ugrad gpa (2.7 in my first two years) and 3.7 MA gpa; GRE scores that were all over the place (I tested 3 times, and got a 4.5 on the writing the 3rd time and a 5.5 the time before that lol...and this is from a person who studied English and then Linguistics). I used a writing sample that I had gotten a B+ for in a graduate class 2 years ago---but I picked it knowing that it was good anyways and showed my ability to meld disciplines (the prof was old and losin it). I think my SOP is probably what did it for me---I read it now and i think it shows a deftness with academic material that I'm utterly unable of matching in speech.

Point is, ya never know what your app will hinge on. You just need to try to be as YOURSELF as possible. Try to give them as full and clear a picture of yourself as possible. When we fail to get into programs, I think it's most often because we've failed to depict ourselves, our minds, and our abilities as they truly are. we're all pretty damn impressive humans at this point. try to remember that next time you check out the "Sh*t [normal] people say when you are applying to grad school" thread; there's a reason people can't figure out why you're trying to going back to school YET AGAIN...

---it's 'cause we're freaks!

Edited February 12, 2012 by koolherc

[Two Espressos]

try to remember that next time you check out the "Sh*t [normal] people say when you are applying to grad school" thread; there's a reason people can't figure out

why you're trying to going back to school YET AGAIN...

---it's 'cause we're freaks!

And we wouldn't have it any other way.