Graduate Studies in Literature

[cridamour]

Hello hello!
I thought I'd open a thread where we can share our MA/PhD plans. Let's post information concerning the rest of our applications here! E.g. programs we're going to apply to, our research interests, specific questions concerning literature applications (writing samples etc.).
Let's increase our chances of success by sharing what we know!!!

[cridamour]

I'll get things started!
I'm going to apply to MA/PhD programs in Comparative Literature. Since I don't have a literature MA yet, I will probably have to get that one first, but I want to start an MA only to be able to continue towards a PhD, since I already have an MA (in American Studies) and a Master in International Business, and I don't want to start collecting Master degrees! My broad focus will be in American and Italian literature. My research interests are extremeley varied (Commedia dell'Arte, Theater of the Absurd, Psychoanalysis (applied to specific author's work, e.g. Sylvia Plath), Suicide, Jewish-American literature, Antonio Tabucchi, Italo Calvino, representations of beauty and pain, immigrant literature in general, and, actually loads of other things) and I'm trying to narrow them down for my statement of purpose, so far, without any luck.
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 am having trouble deciding on my safe option, since I want it to be good enough to worth attending, while giving me enough certainty that I'll get in...
So, as you can see, the usual worries!
How about the rest of you?

[manusrat]

Hi!
I'm interested to do my PhD in post-colonial literature. Any idea where I can get information on witing abstracts in this area? I also don't which universities to apply? Can any one tell me if the following universities are suitable for me? Emory/ Boston/ Michigan--Ann Arbour/ Indiana Bloomington/ George Washington/ Iowa

[cridamour]

Hi manusrat!
Post-colonial literature is definitely very popular at the moment and there are a lot of interesting research angles there. Tell us about your undergraduate studies, did you study literature? Which focus did you have? English literature? Or already post-colonial? And which programs are you interested in at these universities? Would it be in the English Department? I think you will have a large advantage over other students wanting to study post-colonial literature because of your mother tongue and because you have (probably) lived in the surroundings where post-colonial literature has been/is being written. Make sure to use your nationality and personal experiences to your advantage in the Statement of Purpose! So, let us know some more details about your research interests and background, maybe also your TOEFL score.

[manusrat]

Thanks Cridamour for the useful advises! I did my undergraduate in English Lit but I did not focus on postcolonial Lit then. In Masters I wrote my dissertation on Anita Desai but from the stylistics point of view ( applied linguistics, took some ELT courses as well but did not focus on any particular lang/lit area, thats how it is in my country). It was then I realised how interesting my dissertation would have been if I could use postcolonial theories in it. So I'm thinking of pursuing postcolonial literature for my PhD, especially on the women writers of the subcontinent.
I got 613 in my TOEFL but I have to write it over since its time has expired. I was wondering if I have to write it again since I am a foreign student and English is my second language (though I have majored in English)?
I am OK with preparing for the subject GRE in English which makes sense but it seems to be very difficult for me. I should have been more serious in my undergrad. The study load is higher than Mount Everest!And I don't have much time for studying for both the GRE exams. But what about the math part in general GRE? Do I have to get a decent score in math for admission in an English Department? Don't you think it's a waste of time, isn't it wiser to score well in the vocabulary section? Can you please suggest any useful method how I can memorise all the words from the Barron's book? If I can get a good score like 700 or more in the vocab section why bother the math section? Would I be eligible for admission in some reputed university with a low score in math? I'm pretty bad in math!

[cridamour]

I think you'll have to retake the TOEFL. I know in general some countries get you out of it, but I don't know if yours does. I think it'll only be an advantage that your English is excellent and you'll be able to score very high on that one and impress the admission committees! I managed to score 297 out of 300 with about one or two weeks' preparation.

About the GRE general: the most important part for us is of course the verbal and analytical writing. I think it is important to work hard on the verbal preparation, but also not to completely ignore the quantitative. I think you should aim for a quantitative score of about 500, it's not that hard, and it'll will not make you stand out for a very bad Q score. For funding, test scores are really important, so try to do average on the Q while doing extraordinarily on the verbal and analytical writing!

As for the Barron's list, I am not using it, so I can't advise you on that one. Maybe check the forum on GRE Verbal here at TestMagic!

[alexastack]

I did some grad work in an MA program in the early '90s. I recently completed a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies and have been teaching as an adjunct (I am also a full-time college administrator). I am just beginning the search for a ph.d program. Does anyone have an idea of what scores ph.d programs are looking for on the GRE verbal and the lit subject test?

[cridamour]

I think this depends on which university you're applying to. For the GRE verbal, I think a minimum score would be 650, and I've seen it as a non-official cut-off in some programs, however, some universities also consider the percentile rank, which should be 90% or higher, and the score that corresponds with this depends on the others who took the test. The reason it should be this high is because most test takers go for a high Q score and don't care if they get an average V score, since they are applying to science or econ programs etc. This pulls down the average a bit.

I think the same score and higher would be good for the GRE general, 650 would put you in the 89th percentile (depending on the competition of course). If you're aiming for a highly ranked university, you should keep in mind that somewhere between 4 and 10 students will be admitted every year, so you'll need to score in the 99th percentile (maybe 95th will be enough) if you're aiming for a top 5/top 10 school. Again, these are just estimates, no score will automatically grant you admission, just as no score will automatically exclude you. Luckily all of those years of studying you've done before still matter and will be taken into account.

[manusrat]

Thank you Cridamour! It's a pain in the neck that I need to write the TOEFL again. I also prepared for a week. I work full time so I didn't have the time to prepare and I thought it was not needed! But then I realised how the CAT works. Don't you think 615/257 and 5.5 in the writing section is OK for a foreign student? I wish I coul get waiver from writing the TOEFL.

I wanted to know why you consider not to study the Barron's word list. Is it not helpful? I am not actually memorising them, I am writing to learn them. I am also reading a wonderful vocabulary book 'All about Words' to help me remember new words in context. And I'm checking the text magic web page as well.

I would also like to get admission at some Ivy League university but I'm afraid I am not good enough! But I'll try my best.

Please let me know which edition of ETS GRE in Lit is coming up in September? Is it 4th/5th edition? I want to order one.

It's nice to know that you are doing so well, you are pursuing PhD at 25! I'm 28 and I teach Foundation English courses in a Private uni in Bangladesh. And I seriously want to get back to student life. I need to doo research and get going for some publications. At the moment I am studying for GRE so I don't have much time to think about writing samples or proposals. I will after I have written the GRES and TOEFL. But I'll get in touch with you after sometime. It's hard to work full time and study for the GREs and also plan for sending applications at the same time. I want to apply to at least 15 universities. at Least 5 will be Ivy League. Do you think that's OK or I need to apply to more universities? So when are you writing the general GRE? You must be really very good in English, getting 297 as a foreign student is certainly great!

Thanks again for encouraging each other!

[cridamour]

Finally, a reply to your questions: first of all, yes the TOEFL score you mentioned is a good score! Remember, there is no such thing as a good TOEFL score for a foreigner, since TOEFL is designed for foreigners only, so if you get 300 it doesn't mean that you speak/read/write English as a native speaker, it just means that, for a foreigner, your English is good, AND you were able to concentrate all through the test!

I'm not (yet) studying the Barron's list, since I have other means of studying for the verbal GRE (Kaplan's vocab builder and "Words for smart test takers") and I feel there is so much material available that it can overload you. I need to do one thing at a time, and maybe I'll start the list later on, if I've finished the other two. I have already done the GRE once, and I got 640 for verbal (which is not bad) with little preparation, so I hope that now I can get a score in the 700s, the higher the better of course!

The GRE lit book that is coming out is actually a new version of "Cracking the GRE lit test" by Princeton Review. So it's not an ETS book.

For personal statements, check www.essayedge.com , they have a full online course on writing your statement of purpose and lots of examples! (I haven't started yet either, but I used it last year, and it was very helpful)

Concerning the number of universities, yes, I think 15 is about the number I'm going to apply to. I've made a full excel-sheet with all the criteria and all the information so that I won't miss any deadlines or any application material... But I still need to select the universities. I think I will apply to around 6 or 7 top 10 universities, another 6 or so ranked between 11 and 40, and then maybe 2 ranked 60 or so. I think (and hope) that will secure me a place in a good university and get me a chance of getting some financial assistance...