Graduate Studies in Literature

[grassissinging]

hi cirdamour and everyone!

i haven't registered for the exams yet; thinking of doing that by next week. will u plz help me ? i am thinking of writing the exams according to this schedule: 1. subject gre -- 10 december 2. toefl and tse -- last week of december 3. general gre -- first week of january. do u think scheduling of exams will be too late to apply to universities with deadllins ranging from 1-15 february? will there be enough time to receive scores and send applications in time?

i am thinking of applying to these universities in the usa: washington state university, tulane university, southern illinois university, st. louis university, university of rochester, nothern illinois university, florida state university, university of delaware, university of connecticut, baylor university,arizona university, university of alabama
I am also applying to some canadian universities: queen's university, university of ottowa, victoria university, mcmaster university, western ontario university, dalhousie university

plz give me your opinion of this selection so that i get some confidence to register for these exams and be mentally prepared to apply to these universities latest by next week.

waiting for a prompt reply from someone....
--grassissinging

[cridamour]

hi cirdamour and everyone!

i haven't registered for the exams yet; thinking of doing that by next week. will u plz help me ? i am thinking of writing the exams according to this schedule: 1. subject gre -- 10 december 2. toefl and tse -- last week of december 3. general gre -- first week of january. do u think scheduling of exams will be too late to apply to universities with deadllins ranging from 1-15 february? will there be enough time to receive scores and send applications in time?

i am thinking of applying to these universities in the usa: washington state university, tulane university, southern illinois university, st. louis university, university of rochester, nothern illinois university, florida state university, university of delaware, university of connecticut, baylor university,arizona university, university of alabama
I am also applying to some canadian universities: queen's university, university of ottowa, victoria university, mcmaster university, western ontario university, dalhousie university

plz give me your opinion of this selection so that i get some confidence to register for these exams and be mentally prepared to apply to these universities latest by next week.

waiting for a prompt reply from someone....
--grassissinging

I wrote a reply a couple of days ago, but my connection broke down and I lost it. So, a quick summary of what I wrote: whether you'll have enough time or not will depend on how many universities have a 15 Feb deadline and how many have a deadline before. For the four universities to which you can immediately send your scores, there will not be a problem. For the other scores, you need to take into account that it might take up to a month, sometimes a month and a half, after your test for your score report to arrive, and you are only able to request more scores to be sent once you have your score report. If you live in the US, the report will reach you on time, if not, you'll have to hope it arrives early enough. Otherwise, you always fill in your Q and V scores on your application forms, send them, and phone the university to give them an approximate date of the arrival of your official score report and ask them whether it's OK if it arrives after the official deadline. I have done this with one university with an early deadline, and they said it was OK. After all, they can already start evaluating your file if they have the V and Q scores, and just wait for confirmation by your official score report...

About the universities, I cannot tell you much, since I'm only applying to one that is on your list (UConn) and I'm not familiar with the programs of the other universities...

But maybe someone else here can give some information about your list...

[grassissinging]

Thank you Cridamour! You've been a very good adviser. I wish I could help others like you. I think I can help the forum better after I have sat for the exams.
Wish everyone in the forum the best in the exams!

[grassissinging]

Dear friends,

Hope u r all studying hard and pacing yourself well to your destination. So am I, but once in a while am stressed out when I think I am nearing the final date. 10 December 2005 is just a little over two months. It is such an uncanny feeling. Am I the only one who feels this way? May be I'm over excited to take this exam. How do I calm down myself? Can anyone give me some tips to remain peaceful during and before the exam. I know I am always trying to view that I am doing well in the exam and be positive all the time and make others feel the same, but yet it does not seem enough. I hope and pray questions of this test is easy for all of us . I am trying my best and so is everyone. Please God help me and everyone in this forum.
Wish you all the best.
--grassissinging

[cridamour]

I guess the best thing to do is to keep focused on the questions and not on the implications of the outcome of the test. You can't start guessing or worrying about the score you're going to get, all you should do, is take it one question at a time. If a question is too difficult, skip it and come back to it later if you've got time left. It's important to try to get into this way of thinking before the test, practice staying calm and visualize yourself being calm when taking the test. Other things that help you stay calm, are of course being well-prepared, well-fed (but not too much), making sure you are prepared for any temperature in the test center, and most importantly, making sure you had a good night sleep the night before the test. It's a good idea to start going to bed at the same hour you'd like to go to bed on the night before the test, say about a week or so before, otherwise you risk lying awake if you're not used to the hour. These things seem might obvious or silly, but they can really help, believe me! The diet you should be keeping to contains: fish (great brain-food), nuts, fruit, vegetables, and loads of water! Food that contains a lot of fat and /or sugar will make you feel tired or will give you a short energy boost and then leave you flat, so avoid those even in the days before the test. Also avoid cafeine, since it can make you feel too agitated. If you do need a little boost, try some green tea with gingko. I hope this helps! I feel as if I'm giving advice to someone who's going to run a marathon! But a lot of the advice is similar! Take away from it what you think might work for you and try it before the test! Most importantly, stay happy and upbeat! If it doesn't work out, there's always a plan B! GOOD LUCK!!!

[puja]

hey..m new here..and really clueless on how to apply for my masters in english..any help with how to apply..wat should i begin with?wat are the basic requirements?

[cridamour]

hey..m new here..and really clueless on how to apply for my masters in english..any help with how to apply..wat should i begin with?wat are the basic requirements?

Hi Puja, the best way to start is to have a look at some university website and see what their requirements are. At www.princetonreview.com, you can search for programs by field and you'll then get a list of universities who offer these programs. Just pick one, check out their website for requirements and keep on checking others to see which university offers the best program for you. (You'll probably find you'll have to take the GRE and TOEFL (if you're a foreigner), unless you've already taken those. Other general things they usually require are: transcripts from your undergrad grades, 3 recommendation letters from professors who taught you, an essay describing what you want to do, why you want to do it, and how you prepared for it, and some other things.) So, start off surfing and gathering information. For more questions, be sure to pass here! It's a long process, but very satisfying in the end!!!!! Best of luck to you!

[Scraggle18]

........
I'm going to apply to a large number of universities, since I really want to get started because I'll be 25 this year and I'm sick of doing jobs my heart isn't really in while waiting to get in. I'm dreaming of Ivy League, so I'll probably apply to a couple of them, but I'm also going for decent top-30 state schools. ....

I feel the same way! I am 25 and definitely ready to start on the Ph.D. path, toward my real dream of becoming a scholar and professor. Hurray for choosing Brown! That is one of my favorite schools, and I would be thrilled to live in Providence. You can also take courses from the fabulous Rhode Island School of Deisgn as a Brown student, I think!! I think its really important to stay as well-rounded as possible during graduate programs, for sanity and enjoyment purposes.

[cridamour]

Hi Scraggle! You have a fabulous background, so aim high! Duke has such a great reputation for literature, oh, and you got a law degree as well. It sounds a bit like my situation (I had to get a Master in Business to realize I didn't want to do anything with it!) with the main difference that your BA is from a well-known university.
If you need any help or feel you need to talk about anything, just post it here or send me a personal message.
I guess the main difference between law school and grad school applications for our fields is the writing sample, on which you should spend enough time. (if you already have a great paper on a topic you'd like to continue working on, even better!) It's also important to find professors who work in your specific area of interest in the schools you apply to. As most applicants have great profiles and all for different reasons, they will usually take out the ones with too low test scores and GPAs somewhere at the beginning (but this really means very low!) and then they'll look what you want to work in and see whether they have professors who specialize in the field. This also means that, sometimes, you don't get admitted for the stupid reason that they admitted someone in your area the year before and want to admit someone with a different interest. So, there are a lot of elements you don't control. There are, however, many elements you DO control and it's your job to work hard on those and then sit back and let them make the decisions.
I'm babbling... anyhow, as I said, any questions...

[Scraggle18]

Wow, thank you, that advice helped already! I've been fretting about studying for the GRE and GRE English Lit, but there was the bubble of thought at the back of my mind that I need to also focus on the writing sample and matching my interests with the school's professors' interests. Your advice definitely helps me turn to those things.

I'm a little worried about the writing sample because the ones I have are from (gulp) years ago, in undergrad. I want to articulate my interests as being cross-disciplinary, making use of some of the analytical knowledge I gained in law school...and my essays from undergrad don't talk about this stuff. I wrote plenty of essays in law school about issues that are intertwined with literary topics though. Does anyone write a new piece, specifically for admissions purposes? That might be my best bet.

Thanks so much for replying! I'm sure I will have more questions. Brown is such a fabulous school, its on the top of my list from the research I have done so far!! Yeay Brown!!!!

I'll post again soon!!