saramari

Hello, Whether or not the GRE Lit. is required depends entirely on the program. You can check program websites to find out. I would say that MOST programs (especially top-ranked ones) tend to require it, but definitely not all. I'm in a higher-ranked M.A. program, and it didn't require Subject test scores, just General scores. Good luck!

Hi everyone, I'm a first year M.A. student in English at a good school (it was one of my top choices). I am thinking about reapplying to my #1 choice - it's an even better school, and MUCH closer to home. How forthcoming should I be in my SOP about what I'm currently doing and what my reasons are for wanting to transfer? Has anyone dealt with this situation before? I'm not sure how much I should say about this when applying. Thanks! saramari

Is there a graceful way to tell a university that you've changed your mind after accepting the offer? I accepted an offer (no TAship, am still on the wait list) at a modest university, and then got a very late-in-the-game admission to one of my top choices. There had been a clerical error processing my application, which had resulted in my rejection. The director of the department contacted me to let me know that there would be room for me if I wanted to go, and the offer is AMAZING. TAship, tuition waver, generous stipend, very prestigious program (English, by the way), the works. Once I've officially decided to accept the new offer, I have to disentangle myself from the first. How do you explain this kind of situation? Help!

The only thing I've heard so far is an official rejection via postal from U. Michigan...other than that, NOTHING! Waiting on Boston U.'s PhD program, (assuming it's a rejection since there were a couple of admits posted on thegradcafe about a week or so ago), Ohio State's English Master's program, and several others. I'm ready for the waiting to be over, that's for sure.... Anyone else heard anything?

First of all, don't let this test intimidate you! It truly CAN be studied for. Although there aren't as many good books out there for this test as there are for some of the others, Priceton Review does make one. I scoured this book and wrote down every single text and name that it mentioned and familiarized myself with them. A great deal of this test is name recognition. You can pick up points by knowing the context of canonized texts and their authors, even if you've not read them. I scored decently enough (600), but if I had it to do over again I would change two things. First, I'd simply spend more time studying. The problem is that this isn't the kind of in-depth study that we're accustomed to as literary scholars. It's more like a skim-the-surface-Cliffs-Notes kind of thing. Your time will be much better spent reading plot summaries than reading novels. This makes the test irrelevant, I think, since it doesn't so much test your critical abilities as it does the sheer number of texts with which you are familiar. But that's beside the point--we have to take it anyway, and it is what it is. Secondly, I would give myself time to take it twice. I only had one shot at it, and I think I could have gotten a considerably higher score the second time around, after taking it once and having a better idea about how to study. Overall, spend AS MUCH time studying as you can. Read the section introductions in the Norton to familarize yourself with historical contexts, and brush up on your literary terms. Think of the areas in which you haven't had much study, and become familiar with the "canonical" texts from those periods. Most importantly, don't stress! It's important when taking a timed test like this to remain calm, because if you don't you won't be able to dig back into those corners of your brain that remember things like the differences between sonnet styles. :) Best of luck!

I know! I have been tormenting myself with The Grad Cafe over the last week. All I do all day is hit refresh, refresh, refresh... The only school I applied to that had any results posted at The Grad Cafe was U. Mich. The acceptances went out by email on 2/19. This backhandedly indicated that I'd been rejected, and softened the blow a little when I got the official thanks-but-no-thanks letter from them yesterday in the mail. The letter said they had 350+ applicants and only 12 spots, which is pretty much what I expected. Oh well--there are others. :)

From what I've seen on online admissions results forums, it seems like schools generally send out all of their acceptances first and then rejects shortly after. I got a rejection letter from U. Mich yesterday through regular mail. I would say that all the admits for a specific program usually go out on the same day.

I hear you--I'm seeing acceptances coming through for U. Mich...and I haven't gotten anything yet. It's one of the schools I really wanted to get into. Let's think positive: if we're still waiting, we're technically still in the running!

The only site I knew about when I posted this was yuster and the old whogotin.com, but now that I've taken a look at whogotin.info and thegradcafe, I think I like thegradcafe best. If I put my program name in at yuster, I have to click on each school to see the results, many of which are still from last year. I like the "results from the last 2 days" option at thegradcafe, and when you search by program, you don't have to click school by school. Thanks for the insight from everyone! It's a way to pass the time while we wait and wait and wait...

The only site I knew about when I posted this was yuster and the old whogotin.com, but now that I've taken a look at whogotin.info and thegradcafe, I think I like thegradcafe best. If I put my program name in at yuster, I have to click on each school to see the results, many of which are still from last year. I like the "results from the last 2 days" option at thegradcafe, and when you search by program, you don't have to click school by school. Thanks for the insight from everyone! It's a way to pass the time while we wait and wait and wait...

I do use gmail, and I still hit refresh!! My obsessive website and email checking has got. to. stop. :)

I am really starting to get anxious here....I know it's still pretty early (especially for English programs, since they have so much writing to sift through), but I just want to hear something, already! I feel like all I do is sit at work with my email pulled up and hit refresh, refresh, refresh..... How to pass the time?

Hi everyone, I just thought I'd share a website that I came across that is kind of like the old whogotin.com. It's yuster.com, and you can view (and post) admissions results from students who are applying to your university or program, as well as information about how they were notified. Check it out! saramari

Gah! I was so relieved to have my applications done that I didn't give much thought to actually HEARING something from the schools I applied to. We'll all probably start hearing something soon, so let's keep each other posted! Anyone heard anything yet?

I've not heard anything yet...waiting on pins and needles!!

I think your recommendations should be fine...usually recommending teachers are indeed PhDs just by virtue of the fact that they work at universities, but that doesn't mean that all recommenders must hold doctorate degrees. As long as your recommenders know you well and can speak to your strengths, I don't think it matters. Good luck!

Scraggle, I'm with you. I called finally and got my score--580/65th percentile. I was so so so disappointed, but what can we do? If anything, I think it just proves what a crapshoot these tests are: my recommendations are great, my Verbal score was in the 95th percentile, and my GPA (both overall and in the English program) was 3.9--and I studied a lot. I "should" have done well on this test. Hopefully our low-ish scores will be overlooked in light of the rest of our applications. Good luck to everyone!

Hi everyone, I wrote the GRE General and Subject tests in the same month. I called today to get my Subject test scores, but when I put in the month it reported my General test scores. Anyone else have this problem? Thanks!

I met with an admissions counselor at a good school and she said anything over 600 is okay, although obviously the higher the better. I think that a 650 is just about as good as any school could hope for in a student with an all around solid application. Great job! I'm too chicken to call just yet....

I wrote my GRE in September (V600/Q680/6.0), and am planning to take it again this month. Does anyone have any feedback about the new test format? I thought that the experimental questions that I took at the end of my test (they were verbal) were MUCH easier than the actual verbal questions. I had heard that the new format would put less emphasis on obscure vocabulary for the verbal section (can anyone say "incarnadine?"), and if my experimental section was any indicator, I think this may be true. Any comments on the new format vs. the old?

Whoa, redsfan! Those are great test scores. Any advice you'd care to offer to your fellow English applicants?

It's nice to see some new activity in here! I've been thinking about applying to PhD programs for some time, but am now actually going through the process of applying for Fall 2007. I'm interested in modern and postmodern lit, but really like to work with these texts in the context of Romanticism. I also like to study lesser-known texts by otherwise well-known authors. (For example, I wrote my thesis on how Kate Chopin's Bayou Folk tells us more about her ideas about feminism and gender than we would ever know from reading The Awakening alone.) I don't have my list of schools finalized yet, but am working on it. I take the general test next week and will be taking the subject test for the first time in November. I have a great GPA and solid recommendations, and have what I think are some pretty good ideas brewing for my SOP. I can't wait to be done with the GRE so I can get on with it, already. Good luck to everyone and let's stay in touch as we prepare our applications!

Hello - I got a great book from Borders that has saved me the time and effort required to make flash cards. I think it was made by Kaplan, and it was a book made of perforated flash cards with GRE words already printed on them. I just tore them out and started studying like crazy - this was a real time saver, and the book contained about 600 vocabulary words that frequently show up on the GRE. Hope this helps!

I seem to remember it being offered more frequently in the past.... Thanks! saramari

Hi everyone... I'm posting this here because we're few and far between on the English Subject Test forum. I would like to pick your brains for any information that any of you have on U of M's English Ph.D. program. What kinds of test scores do they look for, for example? This is my top choice school, and I want to really polish up my appilcation so I have the best possible shot at getting in. I graduated in December 2005 with a BA in English from a mid-level program. I graduated with a 3.9 departmental GPA and a 3.9 cumulative. I have excellent references, and wrote an honors thesis during my last semester from which I can draw a good writing sample. I haven't taken the GRE General or Subject tests yet, but am currently preparing to do so. Any information that anyone has to offer about this program would be greatly appreciated.