any advice on admissions based on my info?

[tingdeh]

Need some honest opinions. Just got my GRE subjects back and they aren't looking too pretty.

Program: English BA (June 2014 expected)

Interests: ethnic American literature, immigration, postcolonial/transnational

Applying to: Harvard (English with an ethnic studies focus), UCLA (for Filipino and Pacific Island literature), Columbia, Stanford MTL, UMich English, Duke English, Case Western

General GRE: 159V 151Q 5.5A

Subject GRE in lit: 580

cGPA: 3.25

GPA in English courses: 3.85

Additional: Strong writing sample (received a 98 percent for this paper and additional edits), two research supervisors and the Dean as letters of recommendation, research experience through fellowship and travel grants, symposia and conferences, Sigma Tau Delta, graduating from top 20 school.

Really appreciate some advice moving forward. I'm currently writing my personal statements! Thanks everyone.

[iphi]

I would be a little nervous about your stats considering the calibre of the programs you are applying to! Low GRE scores especially, but GPA not great either. I'm not trying to discourage you, but is there any way you can take the GRE again? You didn't break 160 on Verbal, and your subject test didn't even break 600?

 

Throw some safety schools in? I'm not really sure. Also, your research interests (in your signature) seem really diverse. Make sure you reign them in on applications (don't tell all schools you have all those interests) and make sure your references know what to say for which school.

 

Basically you need to be extremely strategic in how you proceed.

[NowMoreSerious]

Need some honest opinions. Just got my GRE subjects back and they aren't looking too pretty.

Program: English BA (June 2014 expected)

Interests: ethnic American literature, immigration, postcolonial/transnational

Applying to: Harvard (English with an ethnic studies focus), UCLA (for Filipino and Pacific Island literature), Columbia, Stanford MTL, UMich English, Duke English, Case Western

General GRE: 159V 151Q 5.5A

Subject GRE in lit: 580

cGPA: 3.25

GPA in English courses: 3.85

Additional: Strong writing sample (received a 98 percent for this paper and additional edits), two research supervisors and the Dean as letters of recommendation, research experience through fellowship and travel grants, symposia and conferences, Sigma Tau Delta, graduating from top 20 school.

Really appreciate some advice moving forward. I'm currently writing my personal statements! Thanks everyone.

I'd give you the same advice I'd give anybody applying to those schools, which is to make that SOP and Writing Sample cutting edge and flawless. Good luck!

[Seeking]

I think you need to re-take the GRE for PhD admissions. 

 

You can apply to some lower-range schools, but since you are in top-20 now, I don't know if this would reflect well on your CV later.

 

I suggest that you apply to some good Masters along with PhD programs, including to some in Canada. If you get a good GPA in Masters, it will make your application strong for PhD application later. If you want to save time, you can also apply to some good 1-year Masters in the UK.

 

In case you get into a good PhD program in the US on the strength of the rest of your application, of course that will be the best. So, make the rest of the application as strong as possible.

 

You can also apply to some top 3-4 ranked PhD programs in Canada and UK, where GRE is not required, but they work just as well in the academia.

 

Of course, ethnic American literature should be studied in America, but postcolonialism/transnational and immigration will work in Canada and UK.

 

Also take care that you don't apply to the Masters and PhD in same schools in the UK and in Canada.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Seeking