2018 Applicants

[WildeThing]

So I realize this is super early as people are still getting responses for 2017 and the focus of of the forum has gradually shifted from focusing on the process to dealing with the fallout. However, I am sure that there are many here who are gearing up to applying in the next cycle and figured we could start discussing and preparing for the process together.

So, who is on this boat and what are your plans?

[Dr. Old Bill]

And so it begins...




Seriously, good luck to everyone applying in the next cycle! It's great to start thinking about this stuff now.

[FeetInTheSky]

Godspeed, all of you. 

[la_mod]

I am definitely on the boat (assuming I don't get off this waitlist).

My plan:

+ get MA by August 2018 through one-year program

+ have writing sample finished May 2017 (it's my BA honor's thesis!)

+ maybe re-take the GRE Lit next month

+ submit for a CFP that relates to my research so I can add it to my CV (// get selected, so that I can add it, lol)

+ write specific SOP section for each program I'm applying to before starting my MA in September

+ clean up the more general parts of my SOP fall semester

+ try and be cool about this all 

[Dogfish Head]

 

Yo, thank you for making this. I will be applying in the next cycle and I have been thinking a ton about it. 

 

Current plans in roughly the order they will occur:

* Finish writing sample for independent study project I am doing (then edit the heck out of it)

* Take GRE 

* Have a final list of graduate programs I will be applying to (anywhere from 7-12ish schools)

 

Then I will be starting my last year of undergrad. So, yeah. Really looking forward to going on this journey with all of y'all.

Edited March 6, 2017 by Dogfish Head

[Yanaka]

Hahaha hilarious. I think I might be on this boat, yup. Waiting to be sure to follow up with you guys.

[WildeThing]

Good luck to you all and thanks to the veterans offering support. I'll do me now:

Step 1: Apply for a scholarship from my home country that might help with applying in this cycle. For this I need to prepare a personal statement, get recommenders, and choose 3 destinations, so I'll have to prep for all of that.

Step 2: Finish 2nd semester at 2nd MA, hopefully maintaining a high GPA.

Step 3: Start polishing written samples (oh yay, top 3 schools on my list don't overlap in sample lengths, that should be fun), research and focus final destination list, contact any new recommenders.

Step 4: Prepare for and retake GRE and take Subject test.

Step 5: Hopefully submit articles for publication.

Step 6: Finish samples and statements and begin final MA year.

Step 7: Submit applications super early.

Step 8: Acceptances everywhere?! Oh wow, such happy, very graduate.

Step 9: Bidding war for my services leading to lots of funding.

Step 10: Be a PhD candidate, regret nothing.

For future reference I'm a 20th century americanist.

 

[theburiedgirl815]

I've heard back from all of my schools for this cycle and haven't had great news so it looks like I'll be joining everyone in applying for next year. My plan of attack is pretty much the same as it was this year, with the slight difference that I will be taking the subject GRE (didn't have the time to this cycle) and will be applying to more programs next time around, since I'll actually be able to afford it now.  I'm also going to look into getting some work published to make my applications more appealing.

I am heartened because I heard from one program that they're in the process of finding a new director for the field I'm interested in, which was why I wasn't exactly rejected outright, it's just that the particular program happens to be a bit in flux at the moment so they didn't admit anyone with that particular interest. So I'm definitely planning on reapplying for that program for 2018 provided that they've gotten that situation worked out.

Here's to repeating the process and hoping for better news next time...

[Dogfish Head]

2 hours ago, WildeThing said:

 

For future reference I'm a 20th century americanist.

 

I am also a 20th century Americanist (though, my interests bleed a bit into the 21st century).

[clinamen]

22 hours ago, la_mod said:

+ maybe re-take the GRE Lit next month

+ submit for a CFP that relates to my research so I can add it to my CV (// get selected, so that I can add it, lol)

+ write specific SOP section for each program I'm applying to before starting my MA in September

+ clean up the more general parts of my SOP fall semester

+ try and be cool about this all 

Yes, All of this. Plus teaching. I have already applied for a full time position and will be sending in another app at a different university by the end of the month. I am also planning to do more conferencing and publish this paper that is in the publication process already. It makes me want to die a little bit thinking about having to repeat this application process again this coming year. It took so much out of me this time around, but I'm not giving up!

20/21 c. Americanist here as well, although my interests are much more theory-oriented. 

[Dogfish Head]

6 hours ago, clinamen said:

20/21 c. Americanist here as well, although my interests are much more theory-oriented. 

Nice. What sort of theory do you usually work with?

[a_sort_of_fractious_angel]

Hallo, new frands. 

I'm returning for my third and final shot at academia. So, if anyone starts to experience that largely unpleasant "oh no, not this again" feeling, I'm happy to chat through/around/over it because I'm very likely feeling it myself.

~The Plan 3.0~ 

March - continue getting comfy in my field; eyeball W.S. and P.S. lengths; be aware of POI-related articles/texts (a.k.a. read everything I haven't yet read and read again the things I've already read.)

April - revise chapter 1 of my M.A. thesis and make it palatable. 

May - produce a new writing sample that is equally palatable; scope out a conference panel or two that are related to said samples (and hopefully see what the three people in the audience and my co-presenters world has to say about it at a later date.) 

June - debate if the GRE and/or the GRE subject test is really worth taking again & do so if necessary; contemplate the joy that is the Personal Statement.

June - edit, edit, edit the W.S. and P.S.; compile logistical application stuff.

August - reach out to letter writers; pray the work I've done isn't totally wonky; edit everything.

September - reach out to academic friends and see what their reactions are; edit everything again.

October - do some more heckin' edits.

November - evade that Threat Level Midnight feeling; tie those metaphorical bows on my applications with a confident flourish of the wrist.

December - sing holiday songs Very Loudly; pet some dogs.

I'm glad to be on board with you all! 

Edited March 7, 2017 by a_sort_of_fractious_angel

[hopeleslie]

Hello all! After a very rushed and unfortunately unsuccessful Fall 2017 application season (the fact that I even applied is hilarious to me now, after everything I've learned about the process after the fact...) I'm on board with you all! 

I'm doing my very best to remain excited and optimistic about this application season, and trying to be happy about the year I'll have off in between undergrad and (hopefully, hopefully) grad school. Sooooooooooooo right now I plan to finish my thesis and graduate, then start the large reading list of both theory and literature that I've made for myself to both pass the time and improve my knowledge. I'll be taking the GRE lit and re-taking the GRE because what could be more fun? While also figuring out where exactly I'll be applying this round. 

Let's all be friends, okay!

 

Oh also, any other early American folks around?  

[Dogfish Head]

41 minutes ago, hopeleslie said:

Oh also, any other early American folks around?  

How early? I occasionally find myself dabbling in the late 19th century (Poe, Melville, Dickinson, etc.), but nothing too much earlier than that. I wish I knew more about early American literature, though, and I remember reading a lot of cool Native American folklore in a survey course I took a few years back. 

[hopeleslie]

10 minutes ago, Dogfish Head said:

How early? I occasionally find myself dabbling in the late 19th century (Poe, Melville, Dickinson, etc.), but nothing too much earlier than that. I wish I knew more about early American literature, though, and I remember reading a lot of cool Native American folklore in a survey course I took a few years back. 

I wouldn't consider myself an expert, but mostly the 19th century--especially folks like Melville, Hawthorne, and Crane. Oh and the Transcendentalists.  

[Dogfish Head]

14 minutes ago, hopeleslie said:

I wouldn't consider myself an expert, but mostly the 19th century--especially folks like Melville, Hawthorne, and Crane. Oh and the Transcendentalists.  

Nice.  Also, if you wouldn't mind, I would love to see that reading list you said you compiled. I am trying to fill in the gaps in my education as well. Feel free to message it to me if you are cool with that.

[Daenerys]

I am in an MA program and will be applying for a PhD this Fall.  I have yet to take the GRE and am studying for both the general and Lit tests.  I am a little older than most students, and I already have an advanced degree in another field.  I am planning to stay in the Midwest as I have a family and a husband with a job.  ;-)  Looking forward to going through this process with all of you!

[Daenerys]

On 3/6/2017 at 0:38 PM, WildeThing said:

Good luck to you all and thanks to the veterans offering support. I'll do me now:

Step 1: Apply for a scholarship from my home country that might help with applying in this cycle. For this I need to prepare a personal statement, get recommenders, and choose 3 destinations, so I'll have to prep for all of that.

Step 2: Finish 2nd semester at 2nd MA, hopefully maintaining a high GPA.

Step 3: Start polishing written samples (oh yay, top 3 schools on my list don't overlap in sample lengths, that should be fun), research and focus final destination list, contact any new recommenders.

Step 4: Prepare for and retake GRE and take Subject test.

Step 5: Hopefully submit articles for publication.

Step 6: Finish samples and statements and begin final MA year.

Step 7: Submit applications super early.

Step 8: Acceptances everywhere?! Oh wow, such happy, very graduate.

Step 9: Bidding war for my services leading to lots of funding.

Step 10: Be a PhD candidate, regret nothing.

For future reference I'm a 20th century americanist.

Starting with Step 2, this is pretty much my plan too, and my preference is also for 20th Century American Lit, though Lit Crit is my preferred major field of study.  I am in the second semester of my first MA, though I have another advanced degree.  I started out my MA program thinking I was into rhetoric and writing, but now that I am here I am 100% committed to lit crit.  I wasn't required to take the GRE for admission to my current program, so I have yet to take it.  I plan to take the general test once in the summer and again in September.  Only one or two of the schools that interest me require the Lit in English test, but I plan to take that in September, October, or both. 

I was contemplating taking an online summer class, just for fun, but I am now thinking that I will focus on the GRE and finishing up the research for my Master's Thesis.

 

Edited March 9, 2017 by Daenerys

[onerepublic96]

Been lurking on this thread even though I'm not applying for PhD in the next cycle (shooting for an MA first; I'm coming out of a science-based undergrad experience), and oh my goodness I've got a lot to learn... 

[aantoniojr4]

On 3/10/2017 at 3:00 PM, onerepublic96 said:

Been lurking on this thread even though I'm not applying for PhD in the next cycle (shooting for an MA first; I'm coming out of a science-based undergrad experience), and oh my goodness I've got a lot to learn... 

Same here.  Shooting for my MA first.  I switched from Biology into English my junior year of undergrad and still graduated on time, so in many cases I feel like a baby in the field.  Because I only had 2 years exp. by graduation, a lot of my papers then seem novice to me at this point, and I have yet to produce the work I can be most proud of.  This summer I plan on taking a couple graduate courses/seminars at open universities in the Los Angeles area, hopefully, to produce the work that'll get me into the next stage of my career.  Cheers to growth and hunger.

[jebbush2k20]

Glad this thread exists!

I graduated in 2014 with a BA/MA in English and have been working for 3 years. I'm aiming for a JD/PhD, so my situation is kind of weird. I'm getting my JD from Columbia, so I will probably only be applying to Columbia's English department (maybe NYU...), the stakes of which make me want to puke.

My plan over the next few months is to:

1. Take the GRE
2. Prep all of my application materials over the summer so I don't have to worry about them during 1L
3. Pin all my hopes and dreams on a program that explicitly says it rarely accepts GPAs as low as mine and is incredibly competitive
4.  

That said, I am totally in love with Columbia's English department. They have several literature and law folks (not exactly a thriving field), contemporary and post-45 scholars, etc. etc. 

[steve3020]

Greetings, fellow 2018 applicants! 

So I've been on two cycles so far and finally got into a MA programme. I will be applying again to Phd programmes this winter. I have a question: should I reach out to my recommenders from my undergrad again for this time? Or should I tell the profs at my MA institution early on about my plans, i.e., as soon as the programme starts, and ask them for letters? 

I know that writing references is part of their job, but I've already asked my recommenders twice, and one of them one more time for something else, for letters. And it feels awkward to ask them again when I don't see them regularly. What do you think? Is this something quite normal in academia, to ask for recommendation more than few times?

Anyways good luck to you all preparing for your applications! 

 

[Axil]

7 hours ago, steve3020 said:

Greetings, fellow 2018 applicants! 

So I've been on two cycles so far and finally got into a MA programme. I will be applying again to Phd programmes this winter. I have a question: should I reach out to my recommenders from my undergrad again for this time? Or should I tell the profs at my MA institution early on about my plans, i.e., as soon as the programme starts, and ask them for letters? 

I know that writing references is part of their job, but I've already asked my recommenders twice, and one of them one more time for something else, for letters. And it feels awkward to ask them again when I don't see them regularly. What do you think? Is this something quite normal in academia, to ask for recommendation more than few times?

Anyways good luck to you all preparing for your applications! 

 

Since you've asked them before, they should already have copies ready to go. They would only need to change the dates. 

I don't think there is anything to feel awkward about at all. Lots of people go through multiple cycles from what I can see and a lot of people are figuring themselves out through these application cycles. 

Also, if you're enrolling in a one year MA (in the UK?) then it would be too soon to ask for recommendations. Classes begin in October and so many American apps are due in early December. 

The other option would be to apply for 2019 and work only with grad recommenders. 

Edited April 26, 2017 by Diagon

[steve3020]

1 hour ago, Diagon said:

Since you've asked them before, they should already have copies ready to go. They would only need to change the dates. 

I don't think there is anything to feel awkward about at all. Lots of people go through multiple cycles from what I can see and a lot of people are figuring themselves out through these application cycles. 

Also, if you're enrolling in a one year MA (in the UK?) then it would be too soon to ask for recommendations. Classes begin in October and so many American apps are due in early December. 

The other option would be to apply for 2019 and work only with grad recommenders. 

I guess you are right! I'm going to Canada btw - I didn't apply to any UK courses because there's no funding at all in most cases which is appalling. 

[Daenerys]

On 4/25/2017 at 10:52 PM, steve3020 said:

Greetings, fellow 2018 applicants! 

So I've been on two cycles so far and finally got into a MA programme. I will be applying again to Phd programmes this winter. I have a question: should I reach out to my recommenders from my undergrad again for this time? Or should I tell the profs at my MA institution early on about my plans, i.e., as soon as the programme starts, and ask them for letters? 

I know that writing references is part of their job, but I've already asked my recommenders twice, and one of them one more time for something else, for letters. And it feels awkward to ask them again when I don't see them regularly. What do you think? Is this something quite normal in academia, to ask for recommendation more than few times?

Anyways good luck to you all preparing for your applications! 

 

I would ask as many MA professors as possible to write letters for you.  They know your capacity to do graduate level work.  Applications I have seen are due between Dec. 1 and Jan 4 (ish).  If you do a good paper early in a course you could ask that prof to write the recommendation.