Questions: BA directly to PhD

[charliemarlow]

Hi, everyone:

I am currently a senior studying English at a big public university in the south, and I am interested in applying for Phd programs in Victorian Literature. Naturally, my goal is to get an offer from a top-tier institution, so I'm trying to figure out the best combination of when to apply + what more I need to do to make my application as powerful as possible.

So, my questions for you folks:

1. Does it make the most sense to apply the fall prior to graduation from undergrad or the fall following graduation from undergrad? 

2. Have any of you gone directly from BA to PhD? If so, would you have done anything differently? 

3. For those of us who are planning to applying to PhD programs directly from undergrad, what qualities/what accomplishments/stats do you think can make us as competitive as possible? 

I am planning on applying to at least 8 programs, and I know I'll be thankful to get accepted to any of them. That being said, I want to maximize my chances of getting into the best program possible. I've been conscientious about this goal for the past two years, so I've made sure to present a paper at a conference, win a research award, take graduate level English courses, keep my English GPA at a 4.0, etc.. I want to try to get published in an undergrad journal, but I doubt that will happen before the upcoming fall's application deadlines. That's one of those things that could influence my applying this fall or next if it would really benefit by PhD applications?

Thanks so much in advance for your help! This community is truly a bunch of rockstars. I hope this thread can help some others in this situation, too. 

[silenus_thescribe]

Congrats on making this big step! I went from a BA to a PhD program, albeit with a year taken off in between the two. I knew I would be applying to PhD programs during that year off, but I wanted to (a) avoid getting burned out and (b) take an awesome job opportunity in a field I'd wanted to work in for a long time. That being said, I have some tips:

(1) There's no particular sense-making feature intrinsic to applying during your senior year or the fall after your senior year. If you truly feel you are up to the task, you apply when you are ready. The upsides/downsides vary based on your own individual circumstances, but some universals hold true for either experience. Applying during your senior year has the downside of juggling schoolwork (which you're trying to excel in) and the exhausting application process. From September to December of 2015, I was applying to graduate programs left and right (13 total) while working full-time, and it felt like a part-time job. I know I couldn't have done it as well if I was in school during that time -- although, of course, everyone's aptitude is different, so you could totally be up to the task. However, tough as it is to be applying senior year, there is a downside to not applying as early as you can, in that shut-outs are common, and the longer it takes for you to get your PhD, the longer it'll be before you get your degree. All of this is to say, aside from some generic considerations to applying during undergrad or taking a year off, the motivating factors there should be your unique circumstances. I know that if I hadn't taken a year off, I'd be burned out to a crisp by now, and I'd have missed out on a job opportunity that I know I probably won't ever get again. But I have a friend in an Econ PhD who's doing great having gone straight from undergrad; it all depends.

(2) Your qualifications sound pretty solid as it is. Getting a paper published would be a huge boon for your applications, but by no means is it necessary; in fact, I doubt most applicants have academic publications, often even those with MAs. The thing to remember is that while you should line your CV with as many relevant accomplishments as possible, don't think that there is a "perfect number" that'll for sure land you in a PhD program. I probably got into my PhD program over people who had higher GRE scores than me, more teaching experience, better-repped undergrad institutions, etc. There's an ineffable aspect to the decisions of adcomms. This is no reason to not keep doing your best work, of course, but I wouldn't psych yourself out over thinking that if you get X, Y, and Z, you will get a spot. 

You can feel free to PM me with more specific questions if you'd like!

[__________________________]

This is something that's been touched on in a lot of threads, though they don't tend to go anywhere as their own dedicated ones.

2. Yes. It's really not uncommon to go straight to a Ph.D. from a B.A. in literature, or most humanities fields for that matter. My cohort is about 50/50 people who came in with MAs and those who didn't. I'd say it doesn't greatly disadvantage you, but it's probably wise to apply to at least one or two MA programs and inspect the MA programs at the schools you apply to (in the case you are offered admission into an MA program at a school where you applied for the Ph.D.).

1. $$$. For timing, this is largely a question of employment, stamina (do you want to dive straight into another 6-10 years of school after your BA?), and financial concerns. I had a year between finishing my BA and starting my Ph.D. and had to do a little juggling to stave off loan payments and save money for moving and the gap between my job ending and my first stipend arriving... etc. etc. On the other hand, paying for the GRE and application fees and shit might be hard while you're still in college and probably broke af. But, I mean, plenty of people don't go straight through to grad school too. So when to apply is largely just a question of when you want to start and what you have going on until then.

3. I wouldn't let things like publications or conferences be the things that keep you waiting another whole year to apply. There are plenty of good reasons to take time, but those things aren't really expected of undergraduates. Schools care more about your academic performance, writing samples, and assessing what kind of work you can do in their program and who you might work with. The other stuff is garnish that can emphasize those central concerns, but aren't the main focus.