English PhD Admissions Requirements...

[AsKingfishersCatchFire.]

Hi all,

 

I am close to graduation from a lesser known state school and am new to the whole grad. school scene, basically trying to find out some essentials to applying to English Doctoral programs. I have a high GPA of 3.95/3.96, a 4.0 in my English major, and two majors total (one in History and one in English). I have three to four strong letters of recommendation from English professors I have taken classes with and worked with one on collaborative independent study and original research for my BA. I have strong statements of purpose for applications and transcripts. I have presented English papers at two conferences and am Vice presidents of both the Historical Honor Society and English Honor Society at my university as well, including winning a history scholarship and was nominated for a campus wide leader award. Furthermore, I have been TA for an English professor and TA for a history professor too. I have not taken my GRE or Subject Test as of yet, but intend on doing it soon. 

 

I am posting this piece to ask any one about what is the average credentials and requirements students need for getting accepted into graduate schools? I know this is vague and all schools are different, especially with the wide variety of schools, but any information on this would be greatly appreciated!

[Porridge]

You've got better credential than me. To be honest, I have no idea how I got in.

[AsKingfishersCatchFire.]

Mocha, where do you get in by chance? What school? Just wondering...

[Porridge]

Mocha, where do you get in by chance? What school? Just wondering...

 

I'm off to UPenn. I had several offers and a couple of waitlists. Only one rejection. So I must have done something right.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Porridge

[semicolon2013]

OP, you sound like you certainly have strong credentials, probably stronger than the "average" applicant, but realize that it all comes down to the SOP and writing sample.  It's not a "numbers" game, although scores and grades could get someone cut early in the process(yours certainly will not, assuming you get above 160 or so on the GRE V).  

 

Above all, work hard on your writing sample and make it great.  Easier said than done, I know, as I will also be applying this fall.  You can search gradcafe for previous discussions of what a good writing sample entails.

[jazzyd]

OP, you sound like you certainly have strong credentials, probably stronger than the "average" applicant, but realize that it all comes down to the SOP and writing sample.  It's not a "numbers" game, although scores and grades could get someone cut early in the process(yours certainly will not, assuming you get above 160 or so on the GRE V).  

 

Above all, work hard on your writing sample and make it great.  Easier said than done, I know, as I will also be applying this fall.  You can search gradcafe for previous discussions of what a good writing sample entails.

 

Agreed. If were about numbers I would not have gotten into any programs: my GPA is average (probably lower than average compared to other English majors), my subject score was below average, and my GRE V score was alright (above average overall, but likely lower than average compared to other English applicants). I've had zero teaching experience and haven't presented at any conferences. Since I still received acceptances from several well-ranked programs, I'm especially inclined to believe that numbers matter much less than the strength of your SOP/sample. 

 

It's really hard to build a picture of the "average" applicant who is accepted since two samples or SOPs can vary wildly even amongst those receiving offers from the same schools. Since you have a lot of time between now and when application open up, I would focus on laying the groundwork for these materials and getting as many professional eyes to see your working drafts as possible.

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

I'm silly- just humor me; are you a non-traditional student?

What type of degree are you specifically interested in? What do you want to do? Why do you want to study more? Can you answer those succinctly?

[NowMoreSerious]

All I can say is this, and I've said it before here. I visited 6 different schools in making my decision, and of all the fellow prospectives I met (probably at least 50), it was difficult to get a sense of what we all had in common. Many came from different types of schools, different ages, backgrounds, etc. There was also huge variation in people's GRE scores and GPA's.<br /><br />But the one thing I noticed about everybody was their unique and cutting edge interests. Everybody was looking at a really interesting subject area and doing so in a very fresh way. Of all the people I talked to, nobody bored me with their research focus. I mostly left those conversations with an enriched sense of possibilities for work in the humanities. That's how powerful I thought people's research interests were. So in presenting yourself to these schools, especially through your writing sample and SOP, you might want to tap into that, however vague or abstract or general it sounds.