Fall 2015 Applicants

[__________________________]

I'm not really sure personally. My gre scores are horrible. I don't mind sharing, because I think it's important to remember that these numbers do not reflect us, our drive, or our ability to do academic research. 163/143/4.0 and a pitiful 500 something in the subject. I do think that there's a correlation between high gre scores and acceptances, but it may just be resources/time/prep instead of numbers. It's potential they look for and you can't quantify potential.

I think this is true.  My GRE scores weren't dramatically better than this, and my GPA was not nearly as high as some of the people on here who've shared their stats or attached them to results board listings.  Granted my numbers weren't super low or anything, but judging from what I've seen on here, they're on the low end of very good/typical.  Departmental dynamics, politics, and luck all play a role, I think: I know there were people with better GREs, better GREs, longer, more impressive resumes than me applying to the schools I applied to.  Someone might be on the lookout for advisees and one applicant resonates with them personally from having a similar academic "path" or methodologies or something.  Or a program can only let in X number of Renaissance studies people.  Or a committee just gets bored of reading applications by people who want to write their dissertation on Paradise Lost (or something -- no offense to those who do, of course).  Who knows how this shit works.  Adcomms vary with each school and each year, as do applicants, financial resources of departments and schools, etc.  

 

I'd imagine it depends heavily on the program too.  I could imagine a "top 6" school being more selective based on stats and GREs.  But maybe I've always just imagined the top 6 schools and the Ivies as being populated by crooked old white aristocratic men hiding in their evil Victorian mansions collating the genealogies of all their applicants and laughing maniacally as they crush the dreams of 99.7% of their applicants.  Or something like that.  A school like Columbia states pretty plainly on their website that most admits have certain GPAs and certain GRE scores, whereas a school like the University of Chicago states pretty plainly that they don't care about seeing your GRE Subject Test scores if you have them and don't put that much weight on the general GREs either.  

 

Who knows.  Not me.  Obviously, if you get to an interview or acceptance/waitlist, then no one's going to seem interested in those numerical stats because they're boring and besides the point at that stage in the process.   They've only asked me if I have questions and about the kind of work I'm interested in doing.  I have no idea what role they play and what purpose they serve before that point though, and doubt any academic would be straight up about it due to the sorts of pretensions that are specific to the profession of being an academic.  

[Wonton Soup]

Hi all, 

 

I'm chiming in to send solidarity to those who frequent the forums but have yet to receive an acceptance letter. Stay positive. 

 

Also, I'm chiming in to rant because the GRE makes me mad, and it should make you mad too. Not insecure. Not inferior. Mad. The test in no way measures a person's ability to function as a successful scholar or teacher in their field. It provides data that is of marginal or no use to departments at a cost that is exorbitant and unfair (It does not take $17 to mail my scores to a school, ETS). I do not know why schools continue to require the GRE, but frankly I think it is a bit of an embarrassment that rhet/comp, a field that regularly reflects on the validity and reliability of assessment methods and their socio-economic/cultural exclusivity, requires the test. In my opinion they are being complicit in a system that exploits a group (prospective grad students) that has no organizational power or voice to defend itself, all to feed money to the monopolistic corporation that is ETS. ETS claims to be a nonprofit and it has legal status as one, but be sure that they are highly profitable, are exempt from most income tax, and lobby heavily for their interests. 

Rant over. Sorry for potentially derailing this thread--it's supposed to be about "applicants," not activism. I just saw some nice people feeling bad about themselves when they should be getting angry. It may be a fruitless anger because again, the people on the forum typically have little institutional power, but personally I find even fruitless anger to be comforting sometimes. 

[1Q84]

ETS claims to be a nonprofit and it has legal status as one [...]

 

Are you serious? That's like calling Trump Intl. a nonprofit organization. This is actually the most outrageous thing I've heard all week.

 

[lazaria]

Hi all, 

 

I'm chiming in to send solidarity to those who frequent the forums but have yet to receive an acceptance letter. Stay positive. 

 

Also, I'm chiming in to rant because the GRE makes me mad, and it should make you mad too. Not insecure. Not inferior. Mad. The test in no way measures a person's ability to function as a successful scholar or teacher in their field. It provides data that is of marginal or no use to departments at a cost that is exorbitant and unfair (It does not take $17 to mail my scores to a school, ETS). I do not know why schools continue to require the GRE, but frankly I think it is a bit of an embarrassment that rhet/comp, a field that regularly reflects on the validity and reliability of assessment methods and their socio-economic/cultural exclusivity, requires the test. In my opinion they are being complicit in a system that exploits a group (prospective grad students) that has no organizational power or voice to defend itself, all to feed money to the monopolistic corporation that is ETS. ETS claims to be a nonprofit and it has legal status as one, but be sure that they are highly profitable, are exempt from most income tax, and lobby heavily for their interests. 

Rant over. Sorry for potentially derailing this thread--it's supposed to be about "applicants," not activism. I just saw some nice people feeling bad about themselves when they should be getting angry. It may be a fruitless anger because again, the people on the forum typically have little institutional power, but personally I find even fruitless anger to be comforting sometimes. 

 

I am in full agreement with you. ETS is also awful to deal with on several levels. 

[zanmato4794]

I see UT-Austin in a lot of people's signatures. I'm thinking we'll start hearing from them in the next three days. 

[TeaOverCoffee]

Whoever submitted the Columbia rejection with TLC lyrics, you have won my heart (or whatever is left of it after this whole damn waiting process).

 

 

[lazaria]

I see UT-Austin in a lot of people's signatures. I'm thinking we'll start hearing from them in the next three days. 

 

I was thinking the same thing.  Good luck to everyone!

[pannpann]

Are you serious? That's like calling Trump Intl. a nonprofit organization. This is actually the most outrageous thing I've heard all week.

 

I mean, considering that the NFL is also a nonprofit, ETS is not a huge surprise. 

 

I remember when I was in high school and I got very self righteous and totally blew off the SAT. "If a school cares more about what I did in four hours than what I did in four years, I don't want to go there." I got a lousy score and didn't get into any of the schools I wanted, so when the GRE came around I bought books and made flashcards and watched Shakespeare adaptations (did anyone else just love  Joss Whedon's Much Ado?). And my scores are okay. Good, not great. But to get them there I had to retake both the general and the lit exam. Doing that alone is nearly $700. That's insane.

 

Anyway, good luck to everybody hearing back now. I applied to nine schools and I haven't heard a peep since Indiana, Austin and Hopkins told me my app is complete and being reviewed. I am a bundle of nerves. 

Edited February 11, 2015 by pannpann

[Dr. Old Bill]

To all the GRE angst: agreed. Tenfold.

 

Normally I'm very good at accepting things I cannot change...and the GRE is something that cannot be changed (by us, at least). But the more I think about it, the more it sticks in my craw. This is going to sound like a horrible "excuse," on the level with "the dog ate my homework," but the first time I took the GRE general, I had a bad cold. I tried to get the date changed, but lo and behold, there's a massive change / cancellation fee in effect a few days before your scheduled date! Okay, fair enough, I thought: I'll just take lots of medicine, bring Kleenex, and I should be okay. Oh, I live an hour from the nearest testing center, by the way... The medicine did its job to some extent, but I was quite dismayed when they wouldn't let me bring a pack of Kleenex in the testing room. I understand why (because I could have had a dictionary printed in invisible ink across each tissue, of course), but quite literally one minute after I hit the "start" button, I had a major coughing fit...and my nose. Ohhhh my nose. Let's just say that I had to use my clothes in a way for which they weren't designed. Of course, that ate up five precious minutes. More to the point, however, is that it immediately knocked me off my game, so to speak. I wound up with a 162 verbal, which isn't bad, but I'm realizing more and more that it's a few points lower than most of the recent acceptances.

 

I did a retake a month later, and didn't fare any better...for the most ridiculous reason ever: my alarm didn't go off. It was a new phone, and I had tested the alarm, had correctly set it...but it just didn't go off! So I had to dash out without a shower, hop in my car, drive the hour, and I got there just in time to take the test. So I was rattled right from the get-go, and while it IS completely on me (i.e., it's NOT ETS' fault that this series of unfortunate events occurred), it shows the relative lunacy of a standardized test being worth as much as it is. As scholars, we have (within reason) the luxury of time to read, digest, form solid arguments, choose the best words, actually think about material... None of these vital elements are afforded on a standardized test. Had I realized in the summer just how significant the GRE could be, I probably would have taken it a third time. If I get shut out this cycle, I will definitely take it as many times as I need to for a 165+. I know for a fact that one of my LOR writers made a point of mentioning the breadth of my vocabulary. An 89th percentile verbal in no way sums up my prowess in that regard. So I vacillate between my innate tendency toward accepting the necessity of the GRE, and the anger that it is a necessary step to begin with.

 

All in all, I really dislike everything about the GRE (and by extension, ETS), but ultimately it is something that is partially within our control. I regret not taking it a third time, and that's on me. I just hope (futilely, alas) that graduate programs eventually find a better metric, or jettison standardized metrics altogether.

[bgt28]

I got a 159 verbal after taking the GRE on a horrible day. Can I do better? Obviously. Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I proud of myself? Yes: and here's why. I took the GRE in the midst of trying to graduate in December, complete a thesis, apply to grad school, and avoid drowning in a crippling depression. While I fear that score will keep me away from most all grad schools some days, I am not going to think about it anymore. It's itterly counterproductive and damaging to my self-esteem, and I'd rather think about all the things I have going for my application at the moment.

[bgt28]

Utterly*

[lazaria]

I remember when I was in high school and I got very self righteous and totally blew off the SAT. "If a school cares more about what I did in four hours than what I did in four years, I don't want to go there." I got a lousy score and didn't get into any of the schools I wanted, so when the GRE came around I bought books and made flashcards and watched Shakespeare adaptations (did anyone else just love  Joss Whedon's Much Ado?).

YES. That movie is pure excellence. 

Regarding the GRE woes, if we have to reapply next year, it might be worth starting a virtual study group of sorts. I think it will be depressing enough to have revisit the application process again, let alone dish out hundreds of dollars to ETS for a test many of us have taken more than once. I know I could use the motivation and morale for that test. My scores are not awful, but they are lower than most of those who have been admitted thus far. 

[empress-marmot]

All in all, I really dislike everything about the GRE (and by extension, ETS), but ultimately it is something that is partially within our control.

 

Speaking of control, has anyone noticed some differences between the scores originally received and the scores ETS is sending to schools?

I'm not complaining much, because they bumped up my writing percentile score seven points. (and dropped my quant score four points...but it's quant)

 

Still, I don't think percentile scores are supposed to change year-to-year. Anyone else notice this happening?

 

Also, ETS is an awful, awful institution. Some of us should develop a free version of the ACT/GRE/Other Acronym Test. Then we could put them out of business! 

[lazaria]

Speaking of control, has anyone noticed some differences between the scores originally received and the scores ETS is sending to schools?

I'm not complaining much, because they bumped up my writing percentile score seven points. (and dropped my quant score four points...but it's quant)

 

Still, I don't think percentile scores are supposed to change year-to-year. Anyone else notice this happening?

 

Also, ETS is an awful, awful institution. Some of us should develop a free version of the ACT/GRE/Other Acronym Test. Then we could put them out of business! 

 

Did you figure this out by comparing the scores you received with what your schools received? 

[empress-marmot]

Did you figure this out by comparing the scores you received with what your schools received? 

 

When I went to order more score reports, I glanced at what ETS said my scores were (percentile only, remember). Their records don't match my original score report. 

 

But maybe I'm wrong, and they recalculate percentiles each year.

[unræd]

When I went to order more score reports, I glanced at what ETS said my scores were (percentile only, remember). Their records don't match my original score report. 

 

But maybe I'm wrong, and they recalculate percentiles each year.

As a matter of fact, they do. It's not clear if it's an annual thing--the ETS site only says the percentile score is in flux after you take it, and will reflect a "recent" batch of examinees, not the cohort you originally tested with.

[empress-marmot]

As a matter of fact, they do. It's not clear if it's an annual thing--the ETS site only says the percentile score is in flux after you take it, and will reflect a "recent" batch of examinees, not the cohort you originally tested with.

 

I did hear some gossip when I took the GRE (in 2013) that it was a hard year. That would account for it.

 

Thanks for clarifying! 

[margeryhemp]

I remember when I was in high school and I got very self righteous and totally blew off the SAT. "If a school cares more about what I did in four hours than what I did in four years, I don't want to go there." I got a lousy score and didn't get into any of the schools I wanted, so when the GRE came around I bought books and made flashcards and watched Shakespeare adaptations (did anyone else just love  Joss Whedon's Much Ado?). 

 

Chiming in to say YESx10000. Loved that adaptation!

 

I was thinking the same thing.  Good luck to everyone!

 

A friend told me that the Austin notices will probably be out by the start of next week, soooooo fingers crossed, everyone!

[lazaria]

As a matter of fact, they do. It's not clear if it's an annual thing--the ETS site only says the percentile score is in flux after you take it, and will reflect a "recent" batch of examinees, not the cohort you originally tested with.

 

Wow. I had no idea. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

A friend told me that the Austin notices will probably be out by the start of next week, soooooo fingers crossed, everyone!

 

This is such welcomed news. I have a conference this weekend and was preparing myself for the UTA notifications to come out around Valentine's Day. I am happy to wait until after the conference to cry into a pillow be completely mature and balanced about their decision, whatever it may be. 

[HesseBunuel90]

It's now inching towards mid-February, and I have yet to receive a single acceptance. However, I have plenty of schools to hear from, even as all the "implied rejections" (most recently from some of my dream programs) are starting to grate on me. I'm just glad I applied to as many schools as I did. For everyone in my boat, remember Yogi Berra's eternal mantra.

[Dr. Old Bill]

It's now inching towards mid-February, and I have yet to receive a single acceptance. However, I have plenty of schools to hear from, even as all the "implied rejections" (most recently from some of my dream programs) are starting to grate on me. I'm just glad I applied to as many schools as I did. For everyone in my boat, remember Yogi Berra's eternal mantra.

 

"Half the lies they tell about me aren't true"?

 

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it"?

 

"It's like deja-vu all over again"?

 

Ohhhh... You must mean "It ain't over till it's over."

[TeaOverCoffee]

Tufts rejection. I'm scheduling am appointment with my advisor to discuss other options next week. 3 rejections, a likely 7 more to come.

[jhefflol]

Just because I posted something earlier: it's not quite cancer so I get to keep all of my body parts for now!

Bring on the acceptances!

[Katla]

Count me in on the lovers of Wheedon's Much Ado, it is brilliant!!!!

jhefflol, glad to hear that it isn't as bad as you'd feared. Hopefully you'll get good news from your applics as well!

Tight hugs to the Tufts rejects ?

[Dr. Old Bill]

Just because I posted something earlier: it's not quite cancer so I get to keep all of my body parts for now!

Bring on the acceptances!

 

Hooray to a cancer-free J-heff!