Let’s just TALK about it...

[surprise_quiche]

Can we talk about how ridiculously expensive this whole process is? $205+ for GRE, $300+ for application fees, $50+ for travel expenses... and more... the process is so limiting for people with low income or those of us living independently. 

[spamhaus]

I'm super anxious as well. I'm pretty sure most of the programs I've applied to only conduct interviews for borderline cases, but one university seems to conduct interviews for most (if not all) of the applicants they are interested in. At least, from previous years they have a large streak of interviews before sending out acceptances and rejections, which I didn't see from any of the other schools.

So far this year, they've already started sending out interview invitations! It's a fairly good school, so it makes sense that my application may not be a strong enough, but I'm anxiously waiting for an email... Thing is, if I got an interview invite from the program, I would feel 1000x times better about my application. I could rest easily knowing that my application is fairly strong, such that I would be less worried about the rest of the schools that I've applied to.

My situation is much different than others, in that I have been out of school for over a decade. I do not have nearly as much guidance regarding how competitive my application actually is. I vacillate between feeling I am a strong applicant, to thinking there are likely much stronger applicants. This is especially true since the field I am trying to enter is cutthroat at the moment. Everyone is clamoring to get in, so I'm potentially competing against stronger traditional candidates who are from undergrad programs that have been conducting research with well-known professors... At least that's what I keep telling myself.

I just want to hear some good news so that I can stop feeling so worried!

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

Seriously @surprise_quiche . I think I spent ~900 for all the applications/GREs/transcripts. I'm hoping the programs I visit are fairly speedy with the reimbursing for travel costs or I'll be running on fumes.  

[PsychedSloth]

40 minutes ago, surprise_quiche said:

Can we talk about how ridiculously expensive this whole process is? $205+ for GRE, $300+ for application fees, $50+ for travel expenses... and more... the process is so limiting for people with low income or those of us living independently. 

I second this! I've spent a ton of money on applications and I'm worried I'll have to do it all over again. 

[spamhaus]

17 minutes ago, PsychedSloth said:

I second this! I've spent a ton of money on applications and I'm worried I'll have to do it all over again. 

Gah! I didn't even think of the cost of applying again. I spent over $1500 on applications this year... I really do not relish the idea of spending that much again.

[Arkhy]

1 hour ago, spamhaus said:

I'm super anxious as well. I'm pretty sure most of the programs I've applied to only conduct interviews for borderline cases, but one university seems to conduct interviews for most (if not all) of the applicants they are interested in. At least, from previous years they have a large streak of interviews before sending out acceptances and rejections, which I didn't see from any of the other schools.

Which school is it?

[spamhaus]

2 minutes ago, Arkhy said:

Which school is it?

UC Berkeley

[PsychedSloth]

1 hour ago, spamhaus said:

Gah! I didn't even think of the cost of applying again. I spent over $1500 on applications this year... I really do not relish the idea of spending that much again.

The thought worries me! At least if it does happen, I'll have a better idea of what to expect and plan accordingly. 

[GarbledGeyser]

None of the programs I've applied to have started contacting prospective students (one application deadline was only today, anyway) but I'm expecting to hear from one school before the end of the month. [internal screaming]

3 hours ago, PsychedSloth said:

I second this! I've spent a ton of money on applications and I'm worried I'll have to do it all over again. 

Nooo I don't even want to think about that.

[Carly Rae Jepsen]

4 hours ago, surprise_quiche said:

Can we talk about how ridiculously expensive this whole process is? $205+ for GRE, $300+ for application fees, $50+ for travel expenses... and more... the process is so limiting for people with low income or those of us living independently. 

Yes it's freaking insane.

I would've applied to more schools but the fees deterred me. Instead I found schools kind enough to offer me fee waivers.

Still, I spend $380 on my applications (GRE included) and I'm sure I'm on the low end expenses-wide compared to other people.

[Jamesvsteel]

52 minutes ago, Carly Rae Jepsen said:

Yes it's freaking insane.

I would've applied to more schools but the fees deterred me. Instead I found schools kind enough to offer me fee waivers.

Still, I spend $380 on my applications (GRE included) and I'm sure I'm on the low end expenses-wide compared to other people.

I haven't been keeping track really, but I've easily spent over $900 total between taking the GRE twice, re-scheduling a test date, ordering GRE scores sent, ordering transcripts sent, and then application fees that range from $65 - $100 dollars a piece. It's been ridiculous

Edited January 16, 2018 by Jamesvsteel

[PsychedSloth]

57 minutes ago, Carly Rae Jepsen said:

I would've applied to more schools but the fees deterred me.

Definitely this! I had a list of 15 schools to start with and only applied to a handful of them because they were so expensive. 

[ms123456]

I am a first generation college student. Neither of my parents even graduated high school. When I applied to undergrad it took 3 application tries before I got accepted to my undergrad institution. Therefore this whole process has a sore spot in my mind. 

 

I applied to only 4 schools. I expected a couple of out right rejections. Well at this point I have had 7 interviews, and 3 schools are flying me to see them. I’m a bit overwhelmed with this process. I work 6 days a week 60 hour weeks between two jobs. I am always worked up and having quite some trouble sleeping. While I know the interviews and meet and greets are good signs, I do not know how people do this when they have applied to 10+ schools. 

[realllllJulia]

5 hours ago, GreenEyedTrombonist said:

I think I spent ~900 for all the applications/GREs/transcripts.

 

I spent about $1800. I took GRE twice. And I must have paid for two or three extra transcripts at the last minute of apps because I was sooooo nervous that I just cannot make it clear. The application system just said my transcript was not received.  As an international student, I have to pay for WES in addition.

I'll be extremely guilty if I don't get in anywhere. T_T

[Carly Rae Jepsen]

1 hour ago, Jamesvsteel said:

I haven't been keeping track really, but I've easily spent over $900 total between taking the GRE twice, re-scheduling a test date, ordering GRE scores sent, ordering transcripts sent, and then application fees that range from $65 - $100 dollars a piece. It's been ridiculous

That's insane. I suppose I understand processing fees are needed, but these fees seem more like efforts to weed out students who don't have a trust fund.

I forgot greedy ETS also charges to send additional scores. My total was actually 434 then. 

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

That sucks @realllllJulia . I had some issues with ETS and my GRE scores for two schools, but I can't imagine the added stress of a third party transcript service. 

 

[littlemy]

I am an international student and my major is English. I've applied to 11 PhD programs (all in the United States) and, so far, I haven't heard from any.

It means so much to me to get accepted and funded by at least one of these programs, because there is no way that I can take to achieve my professional goal other than this.  And I am not so sure if I could take another chance, applying all again, asking for the recommendation letters again from the professors of the university I've already graduated from, because, honestly, I am not sure what I could do to significantly improve my application if I were given another chance. Of course, it doesn't mean that there is no possibility of improvement. I just don't know 'how.'  I have poured in much effort in my SOP and my writing sample. I guess I could probably try to improve my GRE scores a little bit, but I am not so sure if that would make such a difference in my application.  

Also, I have this anxiety that, even if I do get in, I won't do very well. I think that part of this feeling comes from my status as an international student and the fact that my major is English (literature). Although I had lived in the States for a few years when I was much younger, I haven't had any higher education in the States, and I often feel unconfident if I could catch up with others who are native English speakers and who must have read so many more literary texts written in English than I have. I know it might be silly to worry this much about what would happen if I got in, since it's either too late or too early to do that. (I should have thought about this more before the application process. Or, I could start worrying about this later if I am accepted, since I haven't actually been accepted to any.) And that's why I'm talking about it here, without censoring my emotions and leaving them as they are.

This is my first post in the gradcafe. Thank you for your post and this chance to talk about it.

[WatchfulWombat]

8 hours ago, ms123456 said:

I applied to only 4 schools. I expected a couple of out right rejections. Well at this point I have had 7 interviews, and 3 schools are flying me to see them. I’m a bit overwhelmed with this process. I work 6 days a week 60 hour weeks between two jobs. I am always worked up and having quite some trouble sleeping. While I know the interviews and meet and greets are good signs, I do not know how people do this when they have applied to 10+ schools. 

Congratulations on the interviews and the invitations! That's great! I applied to eight schools, but haven't heard back from any and am pessimistic about my chances. I guess many people who apply to more departments start selecting in the interview phase?

14 hours ago, surprise_quiche said:

Can we talk about how ridiculously expensive this whole process is? $205+ for GRE, $300+ for application fees, $50+ for travel expenses... and more... the process is so limiting for people with low income or those of us living independently. 

Uhm, yes! That ridiculous TOEFL is even more expensive than the GRE, and only valid for two years! I've taken both the TOEFL and the GRE twice. I chose to retake the GRE, but the only reason I took the TOEFL again is because my two-year-old score (of 118/120!) was no longer valid. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to rant about this blatant injustice! ;-)

But seriously, this process must have cost me close to $2000. 2xTOEFL, 2xGRE, eight application fees, fees for sending TOEFL and GRE scores, fees for sending transcripts, ... I did refuse to pay for WES or any of that transcript evaluation rubbish, and just hope adcoms can make sense of my weird foreign transcripts. It's a lot of money to spend without a guaranteed payoff..

[WatchfulWombat]

1 hour ago, littlemy said:

Also, I have this anxiety that, even if I do get in, I won't do very well. I think that part of this feeling comes from my status as an international student and the fact that my major is English (literature). Although I had lived in the States for a few years when I was much younger, I haven't had any higher education in the States, and I often feel unconfident if I could catch up with others who are native English speakers and who must have read so many more literary texts written in English than I have. I know it might be silly to worry this much about what would happen if I got in, since it's either too late or too early to do that. (I should have thought about this more before the application process. Or, I could start worrying about this later if I am accepted, since I haven't actually been accepted to any.) And that's why I'm talking about it here, without censoring my emotions and leaving them as they are.

This is my first post in the gradcafe. Thank you for your post and this chance to talk about it.

Good luck! If this helps at all, I don't think you need to worry too much about not having the right "preparation" for an English lit program. I'm sure having read in other languages will be equally helpful, and you'll still be able to catch up whatever you need to read.

I'm European but I have a degree in English literature and linguistics (from a European university) and have lived in the US for a while. I definitely noticed that the literary canon in the US is somehow different, and US students are assigned "classic works of literature" that I have never heard of, while ignoring others that I thought were essential from my European perspective. But all of that is easily remedied once you get into a program. 

[littlemy]

16 minutes ago, WatchfulWombat said:

Good luck! If this helps at all, I don't think you need to worry too much about not having the right "preparation" for an English lit program. I'm sure having read in other languages will be equally helpful, and you'll still be able to catch up whatever you need to read.

I'm European but I have a degree in English literature and linguistics (from a European university) and have lived in the US for a while. I definitely noticed that the literary canon in the US is somehow different, and US students are assigned "classic works of literature" that I have never heard of, while ignoring others that I thought were essential from my European perspective. But all of that is easily remedied once you get into a program. 

Thank you! You really helped me feel better. Good luck to you, too!!   

[WatchfulWombat]

18 minutes ago, littlemy said:

Thank you! You really helped me feel better. Good luck to you, too!!   

Well, of course I'm not really an authority on graduate literature programs, but still! 

Out of curiosity, which schools have you applied to?

[khigh]

With ETS, I spent a grand total of $280 for applications. I applied to one school because of two reasons. I love the city and I couldn’t afford to apply to any more. I haven’t heard back yet, but historically, they release results mid-late January. If I get in, I’m happy that I live about 3 miles from campus and can bike there in the spring and summer. 

[raul.carmo]

57 minutes ago, khigh said:

With ETS, I spent a grand total of $280 for applications. I applied to one school because of two reasons. I love the city and I couldn’t afford to apply to any more. I haven’t heard back yet, but historically, they release results mid-late January. If I get in, I’m happy that I live about 3 miles from campus and can bike there in the spring and summer. 

I hate the fact that there are schools which do not accept unofficial copies of the GREs and TOEFL for an admission decision. You have to pay almost 50 dollars (for a foreign student paying in a lower currency it is sooo expensive) to send your scores to each institution just to know: ok you have not been admitted to our program... 

[phyanth]

It's a huge monetary investment to apply for graduate schools, and very hard on people who don't have extra money to spend/an avenue to help pay. I've spent close to $1400 on GRE, sending GRE scores, applications, etc. And that's with a fee waiver to the three most expensive school applications. 

[cashewmilk]

I'm a literal ball of nerves at this point. Every time my phone buzzes my stomach drops. This cant be healthy!