Some advice on English Grad School

Graduate School
1

<p>I'm actually hoping to get replies from people that have performed the admission process, but any answers are welcome.</p>

<p>I'm 37, and have finally decided to go back to Grad school for a PhD in English lit, after nearly 8 years in the professional market (with a variety of jobs from network admin to technical writer, ESL teacher, content writer, etc.). I have a pretty high GPA - 3.66, and a 3.8 in the major. I graduated from George Mason university with distinction and honors in the major, including a BA thesis. Even more encouraging, my undergrad profs remembered me well, and were happy to write rave reviews about me for my applications.</p>

<p>I've applied to 4 top tier schools - Yale, Brown, UVA, and Cornell (in Cornell, I've applied for the dual MFA/PhD - creative writing and literature). And yes, I'm very much aware that the competition for these schools is tough as nails.</p>

<p>My main concern are my GRE scores. My verbal wasn't that hot (600) since I took the test with almost no prep (last minute decision to apply this year), and i completely missed the October GRE subject test. I've already registered for an additional GRE general in February, and am sending the results to the above mentioned schools. I'm also sending the director of admissions in each school an email explaining this.</p>

<p>My question is - from your experience, if all else is well, and the admissions board don't even notify admission decisions until April, will they consider keeping my application on hold until the new GRE scores are through? I'm confident I can raise my verbal to it's natural score of 700-750 (which was the range I was in in 2001, immediately before graduation). Even with 600, I'm in the 86th percentile.</p>

<p>Obviously, my wet dream is to go to Yale - but does anyone know if there is any hope at all of getting in for fall 2010? That is, if the admissions people in the department are impressed enough with my scholarly work (I submitted my absolute best papers from my undergrad classes), will they be willing to "bend the rules" as far as the GRE scores? Brown is less of a problem since they don't require the subject GRE....</p>

<p>Many thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>I think English my be one of the most competitive programs (if not the most competitive), and the acceptance rates around are 2%, especially for those schools. Unless you have a really interesting hook I don’t think you’re going to hear positive results from any of those schools. When they make their decisions I’ve heard they tend to weed people out by GPA and GRE scores. Certainly by April they’ve already extended offers to people and made a list of alternates and your application may be long gone by then, regardless of any new GRE scores. You might want to consider applying to some other places if there is still time. I know its hard with English because its so impossible to get a job after getting a PhD so you want to go to the best schools to have the best chance, but honestly with your numbers it doesn’t seem to add up. Try looking around a bit more. Best Wishes and good luck!</p>

3

<p>I think you should add some more schools to your list such as UNC, CUNy, Northwestern</p>

4

<p>Hi LitNut - maybe someone else can speak to how likely grad programs are to “bend the rules,” but, likely not, because when you make an exception for one person, you have to do it for every applicant, and delaying the decision making process for one applicant doesn’t make much logical sense from the adcom’s point of view. These programs have their own time and resource limitations, and this is why deadlines are set as they are. So, I wouldn’t bet on their leniency. If you are really intent on going to a top school, you may want to take some time now to improve scores and really think about your application, and then apply in the next application cycle, because it sounds as if you are diving into this a bit haphazardly. If you are serious about getting the phD, you want to put forth the strongest application that you can, and that means going about the whole process more methodically. But, if you are intent on applying in this cycle, add some schools more closely aligned with your range of current scores. And finally, be realistic and have no false expectations about job prospects after earning your English phD.</p>