Desperate for Advice and Words of Wisdom (especially from English Students)

Graduate School
1

<p>I will be applying this Dec and am TERRIFIED!! I am an English student at Cal, but my grades are less than stellar (3.4-3.5 range). I am hoping to apply to many prestigious schools. Any advice on how to prepare for the GRE and the GRE LIT test? How much in advance should I prepare? What resources will work best?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Well i hate to say I’m not an English major.
But you should :

  1. take a practice test–take serveral. Determine where your weaknesses are. If you’re an English student wanting to go into English–your vocab should be stellar. Start now reading diverse publications, if you aren’t already.
  2. Based on your practice score (take a practice test online at Kaplan, or Princeton Review, or I’m sure they have moc GRE tests at your school–contact student life…Decide if you need to take a GRE prep course. You should absolutely get some prep materials for the Lit GRE…Get a book and start practicing. If your score is far below what you need, enroll in a GRE prep course (Kaplan, Peterson, Princeton Review, etc.–if you can afford it).
  3. if that is too expensive, start collecting GRE prep books. You can get them at used book stores really cheap. I methodically worked through about 5 GRE books page-by-page and did every section and math problem. It took about 3 months, 3-4 hours a day. Make time.
    The good news is by starting now, you have a lots of time to prepare. And once you take a practice, you might learn that you don’t need much studying. Good luck…</p>
3

<p>Work on the GRE, but do not get too tied to the “prestigious” schools. PhD admissions is very hit and miss, and often the best advisor and department for you will be at a lesser known school. I hate to use the term “safety school” but make sure that you investigate and go after a spectrum of schools, any of which would make you happy (admittedly, some more than others).</p>

4

<p>i echo cosmicfish’s sentiments regarding “prestigious” schools. a friend of mine, with stats similar to yours (a bit stronger, actually) had the same attitude about only applying to top 15 schools. “if i can’t get into a top 15 school, then i don’t want to go.” well, she’s received 9 rejections and she isn’t going anywhere.</p>

<p>your GPA is borderline in an average year. 3.5 is the cutoff for consideration from most of the top schools and you usually (not always, but usually) need something higher than that to gain admission. this cycle in particular, from everything i’ve heard, has been particularly brutal. the number of applications have doubled and the number of spaces available have dropped from 30-50% depending on the school, all because of the economy. chances are the economy will be in the same sorry state next year, and all the people who were rejected outright this year may be applying again the next cycle.</p>

<p>really, really, really consider schools that are a good fit for your interests, even if they’re not ivy league or top 15. you can still get a job in academia with a degree from a lower-ranked school, but if you aim too high you might get across the board rejections. certainly apply to the prestigious schools you have in mind, but be sure to throw an application or two at lower tier schools, if only to give yourself options once the admissions process is over.</p>

<p>as for the GRE, the biggest thing i can say is to actually study for it. lots of those prep books come with 4, 8, or 12 week study plans. if you follow them to the letter, you will definitely do better than had you just looked at vocab lists and practiced your math skills.</p>

<p>also, make sure that the schools you’re applying for actually require the GRE lit test. if some schools don’t require it, don’t send them your score unless you manage something in the 90%ile or higher. if no school says it’s mandatory, don’t do it at all.</p>

5

<p>Thanks a lot for advice. I am already lining up letters of rec. I am definitely researching schools. I was thinking about 20 applications (I know its a lot). I was thinking top 15 schools and 5 schools that may not be so demanding, but where I can see myself being happy. </p>

<p>I don’t know if I am paranoid for already researching/ preparing for programs because none of my other friends seem to be caring. My main struggle is my own laziness. I am happy writing a paper the night before and getting a B+ as opposed to spending time to get an A. I know that is a big red flag for considering Grad School, but in grad school I will have the chance to tailor my own program to my own interests.</p>