<p>I'm a senior at William and Mary and I'd really like it if someone could give me an idea of what you think my chances are of being accepted into a Masters in English program. I'm thinking of applying to these:</p>
<p>Columbia
Brown
UPenn
UVA
Georgetown
NYU
Maryland
George Washington
Wake Forest
James Madison</p>
<p>Major: Double Major in English and Music
Research: Completed a James Monroe Scholar Research Project (a scholars program for the top 7% of undergrads) -- will also be completing a Senior Honors Thesis in English
GPA: 3.91 overall, 3.84 English
GRE: V: 650 (93rd percentile) Q: 710 (73rd percentile) AW: 4.0
-participated in lots of extra-curriculars and Honor Societies in college including Mortar Board, Greek Life, etc.</p>
<p>I was very disappointed with my AW GRE score, but I don't feel comfortable retaking it because I took the old test and now I would have to take the new test. I'm also hoping that my good verbal score and GPA will compensate. I think that since I'm still a student working closely with professors I should be able to get recommendations and I plan on using part of my thesis as the writing sample. I also will be taking the subject test in November. Thoughts? Suggestions?</p>
<p>You should apply to Ph.D instead of MA if you have the credential. MA in humanities is often a waste of time and a waste of money. If you get funded, then it is worth it; if they ask you to pay for it, hell no, go for a master in something practical instead.</p>
<p>And another thing, your GRE doesn’t really matter. I say you are good with your current GRE score. Some schools, though, take GRE Lit into consideration when weeding out students. That is to say, if you can get above 600, you are good to go. </p>
<p>When applying to grad schools, you need to consider these things personally first:
1.MONEY
2.Your interests and the immense sacrifice you will make by going to graduate school in a subject that nobody cares
3.Program’s Location
4.Program’s Fit </p>
<p>Admission committee considers these things when they admit new students
1.Writing Sample
2.Statement of Purpose
3.Recommendations (or languages if you have them)
4.GPA
5.Course concentration as related to the proposed topic of your research
6.GRE</p>
<p>Apply for both masters & PhD, if you do not gain entry immediately to the PhD, you can improve your app with the masters, but if you do a masters, be sure it is funded with tuition remission and TA or RA funding. Also be sure to file the FAFSA early (by the campus deadline not the federal deadline) as some funding can be channeled through work study</p>
<p>Your AW score doesn’t matter much, even for an English program. The GRE AW task is stupid and reflects nothing of what you will be expected to write in graduate school. Your writing sample will be far more important in determining your ability.</p>
<p>Your GPA and GRE scores are quite high and above the threshold any MA program would want (and most PhD programs, honestly). Your extra-curriculars don’t matter with the exception of some of those honor societies (if there’s an English one, and if you graduate Phi Beta Kappa, then those matter. Anything else, not really).</p>
<p>Although pharmakeus01 used a flippant tone I agree with him/her. Why are you apply for an MA in English? What do you hope to gain with that? Not that the degree is completely useless, but I just think you need to have a plan in place when getting an expensive graduate degree in the humanities that you will almost certainly be expected to pay for yourself. As for the rest…well. I know this may be an unpopular opinion amongst doctoral hopefuls, but I agree with him/her about the interest v. sacrifice. Location is less important for an MA that should only take 2 years; those go by fast. But do you really want do live in Podunk, KS for 8-10 years while you complete a PhD? Is it worth toiling for 8-10 years when your chances of getting an academic position are comparatively low? I’m not saying the answer is no; I’m in a PhD program myself, albeit in a different field. I’m saying you need to consider the answers to these questions and be satisfied with them yourself.</p>