Round Two Preparation

[Pol4ris]

So I know there is already a Plan B thread floating around, but I wanted to start a thread to discuss what those of us who might sit out another year can change/do differently/add etc. when we apply again next time. I'm not trying to be a melodramatic pessimist or anything but I know a few people are near being shut out completely (though don't drink the hemlock yet because miracles happen). Anyways, my best way of coping with potential failure or letdowns is to obsessively create proactive lists of what I can do going forward. So without further ado, here is what I have so far:

 

• Retake the GRE. My scores were pretty good (93% verbal) but seemed a bit below the average scores of accepted students at schools I applied to.
• Retake the GRE Subject Test. I hate to keep throwing $$$ at ETS but I did poorly (55%) on this one. Which shocked me because I had been studying for 2-3 hours everyday for months. I actually got my hands on tons of practice tests and using those got my score up from 23% on my first one to averaging between 75-86% on the last three. BUT THEN THE TEST WAS NOTHING LIKE THE PRACTICE TESTS/BOOKS/MATERIAL THAT ETS HANDED OUT. I wouldn't have been so pissed if ETS had updated their guidelines on the website but it was legitimately not what I was expecting. /rant
• Get my French back up to par and find a way to prove this to adcomms. My French was actually at reading comprehension on a literature level at one time but has faded. Unfortunatley, my grades in school don't reflect this. I've actually been brushing up and doing textbook exercises/reading news articles but I want to prove this academically. I don't really want to drop $1k on taking an upper level class now that I've graduated but I'm wondering if there is a recognized test that schools would value the scores on?
• Keep my CV updated.
• Inquire at schools that rejected me as to the weaknesses/strengths of my application. I know some will probably beg busy but if I have even one or two meaningful conversations, I think that can offer me invaluable insight.
• Edit my three best papers and shoot them off to journals immediately. I will actually start doing this no later than next Monday.
• Completely overhaul my SOP. I stupidly hoarded it to myself and only let two close people look at it but I'm actually thinking once the season is over I will post it on GC and let people xray it to understand where I went wrong and what I can improve. And while I mentioned POI's for most of my schools, I want to really work on customizing each statement heavily for each school. Madness, but if I start in April I should have *plenty* of time.
• Contact POI's I am really obsessed with and feel them out in terms of work and expectation of taking on students in the coming year. I didn't do that this year partially because I was overloading myself with school and partially because I felt awkward about it. But guess what. Being rejected feels more awkward. Lesson learned~
• Create a new writing sample. I mean completely just write a new paper. While I've had a lot of freedom in terms of assignments I want this paper to be on something I am so intellectually passionate about that it just beams.
• Devour scholarship and journals from my field. This ties in a lot with above but I want to reread some items as well as keep up with current conversations. Luckily, Santa gave me a ton of critical essay books for Christmas so I have plenty to start with.
• Remain in contact with my current recommenders. One, because I will need their lovely words of support again and two, because I am going to ask for them to review the papers I intend to send off for publication and provide commentary on my new SOP.
• Create/update an Academia profile. Partially because there is a small chance it could help and partially because I want to obsess over people viewing it.

So. Thoughts? Comments? Do you have a list? Or additions to mine? Or a way to dismantle the beast that is ETS?

 

[fancypants09]

 

• Contact POI's I am really obsessed with and feel them out in terms of work and expectation of taking on students in the coming year. I didn't do that this year partially because I was overloading myself with school and partially because I felt awkward about it. But guess what. Being rejected feels more awkward. Lesson learned~

 

I'm a huge fan of this, and see if you can get your LOR writers and/or your favorite professor(s) to help you reach out to your POIs. And see if you can meet with any of them in person during application season.

 

I believe that my application to UCLA was helped immensely by meeting with my POI before I submitted my applications. I live overseas and had been contemplating a trip to LA to see said POI (yes, dead serious), but luckily he was presenting at a conference in the city where I live. I took a day off from work, contacted friends who knew said POI and were also attending the conference, and asked them to make the introduction. I hung out with the POI at the conference and then set up a meeting separately to talk shop about applications, and came away from that meeting (1) really liking the POI as a potential advisor, and (2) a sense that I would have a fighting chance. 

 

I think face-to-face meetings are important because there are some factors in determining fit on your end that you won't get from emails. You may meet POIs from your "dream school" only to realize that they are a horrible fit; then you can save yourself the time, effort, money, and the heartbreak in reconfiguring your list of schools. 

[mmmscience]

Legit, I am on a one-woman crusade to figure out how to stop schools from even accepting the GRE. It is a hellbeast that needs to be put down.

 

Would going to a conference be possible? Sometimes it's nice to put a face to a name, and if you could stalk POIs in person, that might help? And if you are still in school, do you have access to the writing center? I went obsessively during SOP writing and writing sample polishing. Having a great WC consultant was great not only to improve my samples, but also because she often talked me back off the ledge. I needed as many of those ledge talker-backers as I could get in my life during application season!

[Lycidas]

 Re: French examination. I highly suggest the DALF, the French government’s official test of French aptitude. There are many test centers in the United States where you could take it, although I should add that it isn’t all that cheap. But if you’re looking for an official way to show adcoms your French abilities, this is it.

 

Here’s a list of test centers in the US

[empress-marmot]

 Or a way to dismantle the beast that is ETS?

 

There are a couple ways of dismantling ETS. One, that everyone has to agree to get really awful scores. 

Two, that someone goes undercover, finds corruption, and the whole organization goes down in scandalous flames. 

 

As for Round Two, I think it's still too early to be assuming anything. That being said, I told my mother the other day that any news from this point on will likely be negative. 

 

It's safe to say that come August, I'll be in a tiny funded MA program. That means that I'll have one year to make myself into the ideal PhD applicant. I'm not sure how many of you read Karen Kelsky's blog, but she recommends putting together a five-year plan for your education. Mine is a six-year plan, and I'm building it in month-to-month chunks. 

 

Here are my goals for 2015:

 

1. Study my field. Learn about the major players. Develop specializations.

2. Start writing down research questions. Write papers about the research questions. Constantly.

3. Write a novel. I have about as much chance of being published as I do of getting a TT job. Why not?

4. Figure out what PhD programs I'd like to apply to. Cultivate POIs. 

5. Spam journals with my (professor approved) writing. Go to a couple conferences.

6. Form alt-ac connections (gonnections) through volunteering, in case I want to get out of academia after the MA program.

7. Finish thesis draft. 

 

Hopefully if I pretend to be the ideal PhD applicant for a whole year, I'll just magically become the ideal PhD applicant by 2016. 

If not, I'll be a better scholar. Small victories. 

[lazaria]

 

• Retake the GRE Subject Test. I hate to keep throwing $$$ at ETS but I did poorly (55%) on this one. Which shocked me because I had been studying for 2-3 hours everyday for months. I actually got my hands on tons of practice tests and using those got my score up from 23% on my first one to averaging between 75-86% on the last three. BUT THEN THE TEST WAS NOTHING LIKE THE PRACTICE TESTS/BOOKS/MATERIAL THAT ETS HANDED OUT. I wouldn't have been so pissed if ETS had updated their guidelines on the website but it was legitimately not what I was expecting. /rant

 

• Contact POI's I am really obsessed with and feel them out in terms of work and expectation of taking on students in the coming year. I didn't do that this year partially because I was overloading myself with school and partially because I felt awkward about it. But guess what. Being rejected feels more awkward. Lesson learned~

 

I made a similar list last night. The two that I am most convinced will be helpful in my next round is improving my GRE Subject score and networking with POIs. What you described about the GRE Lit is exactly what happened to me. I studied for hours every day and took practice tests almost every weekend. But, the test was nothing like the practice tests at all. Not even close. Does ETS (or someone else?) offer any tutoring for that horrid test? 

 

In truth, part of my issues with the GRE are because it was the first standardized test I had ever taken in my life. I transferred from a CC to my uni for undergrad and I wasn't really in school as a child. The strategy behind standardized tests is brand new to me. 

[Between Fields]

• Edit my three best papers and shoot them off to journals immediately. I will actually start doing this no later than next Monday.

 

I'd be cautious about this. I saw in one of the other threads that you were offered an MA slot at one of the schools you were applying to, so does that mean you don't already have an MA? I personally wouldn't try to publish anything that didn't come out of a graduate-level seminar or an MA thesis, before you're a PhD student in an academic journal. It will be there forever, after all, if you get in. This isn't to say anything about your abilities as a scholar, but advice I've seen given in the past.

[CarolineNC]

My experience has been the writing sample and the statement of purpose are the two most important factors of the application. My GRE scores aren't that great (a potato could beat my math score) but honestly I don't think it matters THAT THAT much. I say work until the last minute on your writing sample. Revise and revise and revise. Get a sense of the critical conversation surrounding your topic and make that clear in your writing sample. Make sure your argument isn't one that's been made before and is sophisticated. Get as many people as possible to read your writing sample. Your statement of purpose too. Go through multiple drafts. 

 

I think grad cafe might provide you with some potential readers, if you feel comfortable with that. 

[jhefflol]

I've decided that if I get shut-out this year, I'm going to work at CCs and apply to maybe 4 or 5 programs each year until I get in. I'll retake both GREs, have stronger letters from second-year grad seminar instructors, and will be able to put out the writing sample I wanted to include with every application. I wrote a seminar thesis I am really proud of in my Shakeapeare class last semester that I wanted to use as my writing sample, but didn't get it finished until more than half of the applications were already turned in.

I think that I will only be working will help as well. I was working 2 part-time jobs that equaled full time and taking 2 second year grad classes while doing my applications/GREs. I love keeping myself busy, but I do think I was too busy and it hurt my application. I can do this, it's just a matter of when.

[jhefflol]

I made a similar list last night. The two that I am most convinced will be helpful in my next round is improving my GRE Subject score and networking with POIs. What you described about the GRE Lit is exactly what happened to me. I studied for hours every day and took practice tests almost every weekend. But, the test was nothing like the practice tests at all. Not even close. Does ETS (or someone else?) offer any tutoring for that horrid test?

In truth, part of my issues with the GRE are because it was the first standardized test I had ever taken in my life. I transferred from a CC to my uni for undergrad and I wasn't really in school as a child. The strategy behind standardized tests is brand new to me.

Same. I hadn't taken the SAT, ACT, or anything before I took the GRE and I think that really put me at a disadvantage.

[silenus_thescribe]

Retake the GRE Subject Test. I hate to keep throwing $$$ at ETS but I did poorly (55%) on this one. Which shocked me because I had been studying for 2-3 hours everyday for months. I actually got my hands on tons of practice tests and using those got my score up from 23% on my first one to averaging between 75-86% on the last three. BUT THEN THE TEST WAS NOTHING LIKE THE PRACTICE TESTS/BOOKS/MATERIAL THAT ETS HANDED OUT. I wouldn't have been so pissed if ETS had updated their guidelines on the website but it was legitimately not what I was expecting. /rant

 

Devour scholarship and journals from my field. This ties in a lot with above but I want to reread some items as well as keep up with current conversations. Luckily, Santa gave me a ton of critical essay books for Christmas so I have plenty to start with.

 

On the first one, I very much agree with you that the test I was given was significantly different than the practice tests I had been taking up to that point. In fact, my mind goes to a thread on GradCafe (can't remember which) where someone pointed out that after doing six months of studying the literary canon, s/he was given a test that was overwhelmingly reading comprehension. I had that anecdote in mind when I went into the test, and -- surprise, surprise -- that's what I got. Whereas the practice tests I had taken contained a plethora of different questions on different texts, the test I took generally used longer excerpts and followed them up with numerous questions. Of course, the questions weren't strictly "reading comprehension"; there were still plenty of questions about authorship, time period, genre, and allusions. But the amount of comprehension questions I had were of a degree far more substantial on the practice tests.

 

However, as many have said throughout numerous forums here, while having a good subject score is a big boost, having one that's average or slightly below average isn't an automatic cause for worry. The only concrete data on what a school expected out of a GRE subject score I found in the application process was UT-Austin. They said they wanted at least 60th percentile; I scored at the 55th. (Costs of being interested in more contemporary stuff, which, save for the Beats, Joyce, Beckett, and Woolf the subject test pretty much leaves out.) I expected to be shut out of the five schools that I applied to which required the subject test, but not only did I manage to overcome that, but I also landed a school near the top of my list.

 

As to your second one: yes. Very much so. I've found that universities that house the leading journal of one's interest are often a good match. If I could have applied to U of Toronto's PhD outright (which I couldn't do with only a BA), it would have been my top choice, easily. (They run Modern Drama.) It's also good to read journal articles by POIs at places you're applying to; my personal statement for UT is the only one where I directly quoted a professor at the institution. 

Edited February 18, 2015 by silenus_thescribe

[lazaria]

Is anyone is taking the GRE Lit in April? Have you changed any of your study habits for it this time around? I am relying much less on the practice tests than I was before and simply spending time on the reading comprehension questions since those seemed to make up the majority of the test. 

[empress-marmot]

Is anyone is taking the GRE Lit in April? Have you changed any of your study habits for it this time around? I am relying much less on the practice tests than I was before and simply spending time on the reading comprehension questions since those seemed to make up the majority of the test. 

 

If I were to take that test again (and I probably won't), I would study key line, author, and title matching. That part was utterly humiliating, as I remember.

Good luck!

[Dr. Old Bill]

I'll probably take the GRE lit test again next April, so that if I wind up having a mediocre score once again, I can retake it in October 2016. The prospect of taking it two more times is aggravating, to say the least, but one thing I've learned from this application cycle is that it does matter. Not as much as other components, I'm sure, but more than I had previously believed.

 

As for the regular GRE, I might take it again in a couple of months, and keep doing so until I have a verbal of at least 165. No more excuses.

[1Q84]

Gah I wish I could give my free retest for the subject test to one of you.

[lazaria]

Ha! I would gladly take it, if I could. How did you bag that? 

[hypervodka]

I'd like to recommend the Smart Student's Guide to the GRE Literature in English Test. It looks very suspicious, but it was actually supremely useful. I'd skip the Shakespeare section, though, because there's just not enough questions on the test to be worth it.

 

Ha! I would gladly take it, if I could. How did you bag that? 

 

Translation: "Exactly how badly did ETS screw up that they actually managed to compensate you in any capacity?"

[1Q84]

Ha! I would gladly take it, if I could. How did you bag that? 

 

 

Translation: "Exactly how badly did ETS screw up that they actually managed to compensate you in any capacity?"

 

The answer: super badly. 

 

I already described it in the GRE thread from this past cycle so excuse my repetition but basically: our testing room was beside an outdoor frat concert. The bass literally shook the walls of the room as we wrote. After an hour and a half of that, an elementary school play day appeared in its place and we had screaming children right outside the room. (This is not to mention that they started the test an hour late because they had to 'wait to fill up the room'; if I didn't feel like livestock before then, I certainly did at that point. I was stressed as hell over getting a parking ticket since the maximum time we were allowed to buy was not covered by the testing time with the addition of the one hour of waiting).

[jean-luc-gohard]

The answer: super badly. 

 

I already described it in the GRE thread from this past cycle so excuse my repetition but basically: our testing room was beside an outdoor frat concert. The bass literally shook the walls of the room as we wrote. After an hour and a half of that, an elementary school play day appeared in its place and we had screaming children right outside the room. (This is not to mention that they started the test an hour late because they had to 'wait to fill up the room'; if I didn't feel like livestock before then, I certainly did at that point. I was stressed as hell over getting a parking ticket since the maximum time we were allowed to buy was not covered by the testing time with the addition of the one hour of waiting).

 

I was there! I can second how awful it was. The desks in the room were actually vibrating. I think death metal was playing for a stretch of time. Parking was closed off at all the lots because of the frat event, so I had to street park and wake up a friend at 8 am (on a Saturday) in a frenzy to ask him to feed the meter two hours later so I wouldn't get a ticket (he's an awesome friend and he got a truly spectacular burrito in return.) I was sent a voucher from ETS too and was thinking about using it if I have to reapply, but I'm honestly wondering if I want to potentially go through all of that again. I still feel traumatized.

[CarolineNC]

Just fyi, I did terribly on the subject test in 2012 and didn't bother retaking it for phds. I really don't think it matters much. And to be honest, my gre score isn't really worth writing home about either. I really think the most important things to focus on are writing sample and s.o.p.

[lazaria]

I'd like to recommend the Smart Student's Guide to the GRE Literature in English Test. It looks very suspicious, but it was actually supremely useful. I'd skip the Shakespeare section, though, because there's just not enough questions on the test to be worth it.

 

 

Translation: "Exactly how badly did ETS screw up that they actually managed to compensate you in any capacity?"

 

Thanks, hypervodka. Purchased!

 

Just fyi, I did terribly on the subject test in 2012 and didn't bother retaking it for phds. I really don't think it matters much. And to be honest, my gre score isn't really worth writing home about either. I really think the most important things to focus on are writing sample and s.o.p.

After talking with a few of my POIs, I agree. The GRE is often a formality. However, my subject score was so low that I don't risk throwing it out there during a second round. I'm assuming a higher one would only help. 

[lifealive]

My experience has been the writing sample and the statement of purpose are the two most important factors of the application. My GRE scores aren't that great (a potato could beat my math score) but honestly I don't think it matters THAT THAT much. I say work until the last minute on your writing sample. Revise and revise and revise. Get a sense of the critical conversation surrounding your topic and make that clear in your writing sample. Make sure your argument isn't one that's been made before and is sophisticated. Get as many people as possible to read your writing sample. Your statement of purpose too. Go through multiple drafts. 

 

 

 

I hate to reopen the "do GRE scores matter?" debate for the 459th time on this forum, but I do have to say that I disagree with the advice about the GRE. They do matter. If your scores aren't good, retake.

 

GREs don't matter as much if you're coming from a really great school with prominent letter-writers. But otherwise, they do matter. In fact, they matter a lot more than I even thought when I applied. They help your application get a second or more lingering glance, and if you're not someone who's connected, then this second glance is super important. 

 

Of course your writing sample should be fantastic as well--original, well-written, and forcefully argued. But just because the writing sample matters MORE, it doesn't mean that the GRE doesn't matter that much. I actually think that the "GRE doesn't matter as much as the writing sample!" consensus on GC has transmuted into "GRE doesn't matter at all!" And that's inaccurate, and one of the biggest pieces of misinformation that's been circulated here.

Edited March 21, 2015 by lifealive

[1Q84]

Of course your writing sample should be fantastic as well--original, well-written, and forcefully argued. But just because the writing sample matters MORE, it doesn't mean that the GRE doesn't matter that much. I actually think that the "GRE doesn't matter as much as the writing sample!" consensus on GC has transmuted into "GRE doesn't matter at all!" And that's inaccurate, and one of the biggest pieces of misinformation that's been circulated here.

 

100% agreed. I think, even more troublingly, the "I disagree with the standardized testing industrial complex!" sentiment has contributed in the same way to the "GRE doesn't matter at all!" vibe around here. Just because you hate something doesn't mean it loses its power to hold you back in life.

 

Generally, it certainly is a less important portion of the app but it can also certainly matter quite a bit to some adcomms (at different schools, from year to year). I fully support folks who want to put some more effort into their GRE scores.

[CarolineNC]

I hate to reopen the "do GRE scores matter?" debate for the 459th time on this forum, but I do have to say that I disagree with the advice about the GRE. They do matter. If your scores aren't good, retake.

 

GREs don't matter as much if you're coming from a really great school with prominent letter-writers. But otherwise, they do matter. In fact, they matter a lot more than I even thought when I applied. They help your application get a second or more lingering glance, and if you're not someone who's connected, then this second glance is super important. 

 

Of course your writing sample should be fantastic as well--original, well-written, and forcefully argued. But just because the writing sample matters MORE, it doesn't mean that the GRE doesn't matter that much. I actually think that the "GRE doesn't matter as much as the writing sample!" consensus on GC has transmuted into "GRE doesn't matter at all!" And that's inaccurate, and one of the biggest pieces of misinformation that's been circulated here.

 

Fair enough. It's just been my experience (and I don't come from a prominent school at all) that they matter less than other parts of the application. I guess if one does abysmally on the regular GRE (at least on the verbal section) it is probably smart to retake. But if you get somewhere above the 80% or even the 75%, I don't think it's necessary. YMMV.

 

(not that abysmally = less than 75%!!!) 

 

Edited March 21, 2015 by CarolineKS

[Dr. Old Bill]

Yes, yes, and yes. In no way am I blaming Grad Cafe at all for my lack of overall success in this Ph.D. application season, but I think I let the "GRE doesn't matter much" sentiment affect me too much...perhaps even subconsciously. Sure, a 162 verbal isn't a bad score. Some might call it a good score. But in a highly competitive situation, where anywhere from 1% to 5% (and rarely more) of all applicants get accepted, anything less than stellar can hurt you...and a 162 verbal is definitely less than stellar. Like it or not, having a quantitative figure or three for comparison purposes has got to be appealing to even the most egalitarian of adcomms. It says something definitive...something that can't easily be explained away. In other words, in the span of about two and a half months, I've definitely come to believe that getting a damn good GRE score is important. No, not the most important, but certainly important!

 

This is a bit of a soapbox issue, I know, but I often try to think about future GC members in coming application cycles when I post...and they should know that trying to hit 165 or so on the verbal is very much worthwhile, even if it takes another attempt and another $200 to do so.

 

 

Edited to add: cross-posted with CarolineKS.

Edited March 21, 2015 by Wyatt's Torch