UK Applicants to US Universities for English PhD?

[UndeletedScenes]

Hi,

I've newly signed up but have been browsing these forums for a while as I applied for entry in Fall 2012 and followed the results board which was a real godsend. I'm wondering if there's anyone else out there who's in the same situation as me - I'm English, did my BA and MA at a top ten UK university and am hoping to study for my PhD in the USA. I applied this year and got rejections across the board, and am now putting together my application for 2013.

I think I know where I need to improve but I wonder if anyone else from the UK has applied to the US and got in/got rejected and what their experiences were, especially with regard to contacting POIs as this was something I didn't do a lot of. You all seem like a nice bunch too so hello!

[wreckofthehope]

Hi UndeletedScenes

I'm PM-ing you right now.

[UndeletedScenes]

Thanks!

[hmurray]

I am in the same boat, I have my BA and MA from University of Leeds and am hoping to go to USA for my PhD. I also studied for a year of my BA at Penn State so I might go back there.

I'm also looking at 2013, trying to get my GRE score up (it's like the 11+ on steroids or trying to complete an entire General Studies A Level in three hours). There's so much work in applying compared to the UK.

Sorry to hear about the rejections but fingers crossed for 2013!

[UndeletedScenes]

I am in the same boat, I have my BA and MA from University of Leeds and am hoping to go to USA for my PhD. I also studied for a year of my BA at Penn State so I might go back there.

I'm also looking at 2013, trying to get my GRE score up (it's like the 11+ on steroids or trying to complete an entire General Studies A Level in three hours). There's so much work in applying compared to the UK.

Sorry to hear about the rejections but fingers crossed for 2013!

Nice to hear of someone else in the same boat! I've started revising for the GRE again, what a drag - though apparently you can now combine your scores from previous tests with new ones, so I can keep the one score that was good if it isn't so good the second time around. How did you find Penn State? I never studied abroad and now wish I did, obviously. I never did general studies or the 11+ either...maybe if I had done them I'd be better conditioned to the GRE tests.

Where else are you applying to?

[koshtoom]

Hey,

I'm also in the same boat, have just finished my undergrad at St Andrews, and am starting an MA at KCL in September and hoping to do the PhD in the US. It's definitely a daunting prospect, I'm currently battling with trying to write a first draft of the SoP and am feeling more than a bit overwhelmed by the whole application process! There's so much to do compared to the UK system and I just have no idea what to do to get it 'right', so any advice from past UK applicants would definitely be a great help!

Hi to you two fellow UK applicants as well! So glad I found this place to make me feel slightly less alone in the daunting journey ahead haha. What research areas are you guys interested in?

[UndeletedScenes]

Hey,

I'm also in the same boat, have just finished my undergrad at St Andrews, and am starting an MA at KCL in September and hoping to do the PhD in the US. It's definitely a daunting prospect, I'm currently battling with trying to write a first draft of the SoP and am feeling more than a bit overwhelmed by the whole application process! There's so much to do compared to the UK system and I just have no idea what to do to get it 'right', so any advice from past UK applicants would definitely be a great help!

Hi to you two fellow UK applicants as well! So glad I found this place to make me feel slightly less alone in the daunting journey ahead haha. What research areas are you guys interested in?

Well done on getting on to the MA at KCL - that's a great university. It's hard to get it 'right' as you say as it's so vast and complex. Have you drawn up a list of universities you're interested in or started prepping for the GRE etc? My field is the intersection between literature and visual studies, what about you?

[marlowe]

Well done on getting on to the MA at KCL - that's a great university. It's hard to get it 'right' as you say as it's so vast and complex. Have you drawn up a list of universities you're interested in or started prepping for the GRE etc? My field is the intersection between literature and visual studies, what about you?

Oldest English department in the world, it is.

[koshtoom]

Well done on getting on to the MA at KCL - that's a great university. It's hard to get it 'right' as you say as it's so vast and complex. Have you drawn up a list of universities you're interested in or started prepping for the GRE etc? My field is the intersection between literature and visual studies, what about you?

Thanks, am looking forward to starting in a month and a bit, but also wanting to get as much application prep done before I start so juggling the two doesn't get too much at the start of the new academic year! I'm still working on the list of universities, again as opposed to the UK there are so many to research that it's all a little overwhelming! I'm interested in the relationship between philosophy and literature, with a main interest in the literary interaction of religious thought and materialism in 18th century England and it's also proving a challenge to find a good match for my interests at the moment! NYU is the dream, but I'm not holding out too much hope of getting in, still going to give it my best shot though.

My brain is still a bit bewildered by the whole of the GRE, I guess it's probably because coming from the UK system I've never really encountered anything like it since I was about 12 so every time I start to think about it my brain goes into mini-meltdown mode. I think I just need to sit down and get on with it and stop panicking to be honest, though it's easier said than done!

[alistair0505]

Thanks, am looking forward to starting in a month and a bit, but also wanting to get as much application prep done before I start so juggling the two doesn't get too much at the start of the new academic year! I'm still working on the list of universities, again as opposed to the UK there are so many to research that it's all a little overwhelming! I'm interested in the relationship between philosophy and literature, with a main interest in the literary interaction of religious thought and materialism in 18th century England and it's also proving a challenge to find a good match for my interests at the moment! NYU is the dream, but I'm not holding out too much hope of getting in, still going to give it my best shot though.

My brain is still a bit bewildered by the whole of the GRE, I guess it's probably because coming from the UK system I've never really encountered anything like it since I was about 12 so every time I start to think about it my brain goes into mini-meltdown mode. I think I just need to sit down and get on with it and stop panicking to be honest, though it's easier said than done!

Don't worry about GRE as English is your first language. I just have the feeling that the verbal section preys on most of asians and discourages them to apply in the States.

Edited July 29, 2012 by alistair0505

[UndeletedScenes]

Thanks, am looking forward to starting in a month and a bit, but also wanting to get as much application prep done before I start so juggling the two doesn't get too much at the start of the new academic year! I'm still working on the list of universities, again as opposed to the UK there are so many to research that it's all a little overwhelming! I'm interested in the relationship between philosophy and literature, with a main interest in the literary interaction of religious thought and materialism in 18th century England and it's also proving a challenge to find a good match for my interests at the moment! NYU is the dream, but I'm not holding out too much hope of getting in, still going to give it my best shot though.

My brain is still a bit bewildered by the whole of the GRE, I guess it's probably because coming from the UK system I've never really encountered anything like it since I was about 12 so every time I start to think about it my brain goes into mini-meltdown mode. I think I just need to sit down and get on with it and stop panicking to be honest, though it's easier said than done!

NYU is on my list too - it's a great department and a fantastic city. I don't know which departments are good for philosophy/English intersection but I'm sure there are lots. Are you considering Canadian universities too?

Having taken the GRE once and planning on retaking it, I'd say do study hard for it but don't get too worked up. It's harder for us (English applicants I mean) than some subjects because you're expected to score very high on the verbal, which I was complacent about, assuming I'd be good at it because I already had a BA and MA, so I didn't study enough and actually did a lot better on the maths (maybe that's telling me something I don't want to know).

Also, the subject test is a bit of a pain. I'm weighing up whether to take it again as I scored OK but not stellar, but it's only a requirement for a handful of the universities I'm applying to. It's also unbelievably poorly administered by ETS - it happens about twice a year at this tiny college in Canterbury which literally holds about 25 people max, all taking different subject tests. It was booked up, but they told me I could go 'on standby' meaning I could just turn up and see if they could fit me in. They did, but I had to pay a little more for the privilege and the conditions were very cramped. There was also only one guy running the whole thing so it took about two hours (not exaggerating) for him to collect the papers at the end! It was a bit farcical. So be prepared for some fun if you choose to take the subject test. The general test, however, is very well administered but can get booked up early so I'd recommend taking it as soon as you can, but not before you've studied hard

[UndeletedScenes]

Don't worry about GRE as English is your first language. I just have the feeling that the verbal section preys on most of asians and discourages them to apply in the States.

I don't think that's necessarily true - if your grasp of English is good enough to want to study at graduate level in English then I think it's good enough to understand some arbitrary tests in English too. The administration of the tests is much better in the US than the rest of the world, but I wouldn't say that it's 'preying' in any way, shape or form.

[UndeletedScenes]

Oldest English department in the world, it is.

Pleasing to me the Yoda-esque word order of this sentence is.

[marlowe]

It's also unbelievably poorly administered by ETS - it happens about twice a year at this tiny college in Canterbury which literally holds about 25 people max, all taking different subject tests.

If it makes you feel any better, it is only offered three times a year in the states: October, November, and April, I think.

[UndeletedScenes]

If it makes you feel any better, it is only offered three times a year in the states: October, November, and April, I think.

I guess that's the same as for us then - hopefully the test centres in the US are bigger than ours!

[marlowe]

I guess that's the same as for us then - hopefully the test centres in the US are bigger than ours!

Many of them are quite large, and they are much easier to access, certainly. I took the GREs near London Bridge somewhere, but took the Subject test in the States to avoid going all the way to Kent.

[UndeletedScenes]

Many of them are quite large, and they are much easier to access, certainly. I took the GREs near London Bridge somewhere, but took the Subject test in the States to avoid going all the way to Kent.

That's good to know. I live in Surrey so Kent isn't too far to go really - a lot of people had come from Scotland and Ireland to take it, and I really felt for them!

[koshtoom]

Thanks for the heads up on the subject test, just had a look on the GRE website and the dates in October and November are seemingly already fully booked which is beyond frustrating as it's a requirement to one of the schools that (though a very long shot at getting in) fits perfectly! Maybe a cheeky trip to the States is in order to take it... (I wish!) The general test seems fine and dandy in terms of free spots for the time frame I wanted to take the test, so I guess that's a plus...

[UndeletedScenes]

Thanks for the heads up on the subject test, just had a look on the GRE website and the dates in October and November are seemingly already fully booked which is beyond frustrating as it's a requirement to one of the schools that (though a very long shot at getting in) fits perfectly! Maybe a cheeky trip to the States is in order to take it... (I wish!) The general test seems fine and dandy in terms of free spots for the time frame I wanted to take the test, so I guess that's a plus...

I was in the exact same position last year - only needed it for a couple of schools so I wasn't sure it would be worth it and I'm still not sure it was! Is it a requirement for NYU? I know I could look on their site myself but thought you might know as it's on your list. I did consider going to Paris to take it as there were spare seats in Paris and the Eurolines coach was pretty cheap. I did ask ETS about the best course of action and had a long email exchange with their customer service desk about it. They advised me to show up for standby testing, so I did, and they let me take the test. There were one or two people in the same position and we were all pretty indignant about it so if it comes down to it you may be able to get to do the test by giving the guy a hard time, as mean as that sounds. If you really need it though, you really need it. I took the general test pretty late (November I think) so that should be all good for you. Also, it took ETS ages to send me my scores for the subject test due to the rubbish admin of the standby procedure - they refused to tell me them over email and I had to wait months to get them by post, and in fact I'm still not entirely sure they were reported correctly to the universities, but I have no way of knowing. I ended up with two ID numbers but only one of them registers with my online account, which seemed to confuse them no end even though it's their own system! I hope you have a smoother ride with it and am sure you will - I think I was in the minority with my experience, but it's good to be aware of it.

[hmurray]

I was in the exact same position last year - only needed it for a couple of schools so I wasn't sure it would be worth it and I'm still not sure it was! Is it a requirement for NYU? I know I could look on their site myself but thought you might know as it's on your list. I did consider going to Paris to take it as there were spare seats in Paris and the Eurolines coach was pretty cheap. I did ask ETS about the best course of action and had a long email exchange with their customer service desk about it. They advised me to show up for standby testing, so I did, and they let me take the test. There were one or two people in the same position and we were all pretty indignant about it so if it comes down to it you may be able to get to do the test by giving the guy a hard time, as mean as that sounds. If you really need it though, you really need it. I took the general test pretty late (November I think) so that should be all good for you. Also, it took ETS ages to send me my scores for the subject test due to the rubbish admin of the standby procedure - they refused to tell me them over email and I had to wait months to get them by post, and in fact I'm still not entirely sure they were reported correctly to the universities, but I have no way of knowing. I ended up with two ID numbers but only one of them registers with my online account, which seemed to confuse them no end even though it's their own system! I hope you have a smoother ride with it and am sure you will - I think I was in the minority with my experience, but it's good to be aware of it.

I am actually moving to Melbourne in September so have to negotiate taking the GRE and Subject Test in Melbourne and Canberra. Not making life easy for myself! Oh well, if I'm not happy with the score I will just put things off another year. It's really annoying that the subject test is only offered three times a year, hopefully the centre in Canberra will be bigger than Canterbury!

My top choices at the moment are Columbia, PSU and Duke but I need to start investigating some mid-tier places as well. As koshtoom said, there are just so many places in comparison to here!

My MA was in American literature and my dissertation was on the grotesque body in Chuck Palahniuk's horror trilogy but my future research area is primarily the deformed/disfigured body and racial liminality in 19th century American writing. Y'know, the body and death and race and stuff. I'm going to put that in my SoP! Better start writing that now...

[UndeletedScenes]

I am actually moving to Melbourne in September so have to negotiate taking the GRE and Subject Test in Melbourne and Canberra. Not making life easy for myself! Oh well, if I'm not happy with the score I will just put things off another year. It's really annoying that the subject test is only offered three times a year, hopefully the centre in Canberra will be bigger than Canterbury!

My top choices at the moment are Columbia, PSU and Duke but I need to start investigating some mid-tier places as well. As koshtoom said, there are just so many places in comparison to here!

My MA was in American literature and my dissertation was on the grotesque body in Chuck Palahniuk's horror trilogy but my future research area is primarily the deformed/disfigured body and racial liminality in 19th century American writing. Y'know, the body and death and race and stuff. I'm going to put that in my SoP! Better start writing that now...

Let us know how you get on trying to take it in Melbourne - I'd be interested to know if the Aussies are any better at organising it than we are. I applied to Columbia last year and their rejection was swift but I'm going to give it another shot as it's a great school, as are PSU and Duke. The mid-tier places will probably take some investigating, which is what I'm doing at the moment - I've made a spreadsheet for it to organise all the different factors which are good or bad about each college. Is that going too far?

The grotesque body is a classic - that was popular with a lot of people when I was an undergrad, but always in relation to Renaissance literature. I think it would be a lot more interesting in the context of Palahniuk and I'm sure that'll go down well with potential supervisors. Look for the ones who list 'the body and death and race and stuff' in their interests and I'm sure you'll be a shoe-in!