Graduate School in English

[veritas16]

I would really like to apply to a graduate program (PhD) in English. I am a sophomore in college now and I attend a reputable liberal arts institution. What should I be doing to prepare myself for a top program?

[Imaginary]

Get involved in research, i.e. get an assistantship and/or present at conferences. In particular, present at large, professional conferences if you can. Work on a well developed writing sample of somewhere between 10 and 20 pages that can be cut or added to, if necessary. Start discussing your options with your professors. Research schools for professors and programs which interest you, reading faculty bios and articles that they have recently published. Study for the GRE. 

[shortstack51]

Trying to get into a top program is a difficult task. I would suggest ultimately that you should focus on a wide range of at least 10 schools that you're interested in plus a couple of funded terminal MA programs (I personally applied to 6 "top" schools as in top 30, 3 or 4 midlevel, and a couple of "safeties"). I was the top student in my (small, unknown) undergraduate program and didn't get into a single MA/PhD program, and that's unfortunately something that happens a lot. I ended up doing an MA at a midlevel school. Top programs get at least 300, sometimes more than 500, applicants per season. Yale only accepts 5, Brown I think 8-10, etc., and funding availability shrunk for a lot of programs this year, so they may start accepting less next year. Of course, some people refer to make a few goes at it and only apply to top programs every season because they don't want to go to anything less than a top school. How much money you have for those processes is up to you. On that note: start saving. It's a pretty expensive process.

 

This isn't to scare you at all, and plenty of people on these forums have gotten into exceptional schools, but there is a certain reality to applying that needs to be faced.

 

Other than that, if you are applying to combined MA/PhD programs, you should have at least a good idea of what your dissertation research would involve (most programs expect your interests to change, but they want to know that you can be clear and direct). Your writing sample, like the above post says, should be between 10-20 pages and should (ideally) relate to your intended subfield. Select a few professors of interest from programs and tailor your statement to those programs (at least one paragraph should be different). Talking to current professors is good; try to find someone who has recently been through graduate school.

 

Overall, I would look through the Lit forum and scout out topics. There are a few that have pretty detailed advice from people who got into good programs. What I can offer is very limited. I've gotten into a program I am thrilled about that is "only" a midlevel program according to US News but is in the top 10 according to the National Research Council, so even "top school" can vary greatly.

 

Make sure to research prospective schools' job placement rates.