The CEA Forum Summer/Fall 2009 - Next: What Can They Do with an English Major? - Advising Undergraduates Considering Graduate Work in English

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by SANS

Guidance for undergraduate English majors on planning and applying to graduate programs in English, grounded in an admissions-committee perspective and a university questionnaire. The piece recounts recommendation challenges experienced by a longtime college teacher, illustrating how credentials, test preparation, writing samples, and timing affect outcomes. It then presents a structured form requesting academic indicators (GPA, GRE percentiles, languages, writing sample, accomplishments, weaknesses) and summarizes the intent to improve advising for future Pitt applicants.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

The CEA Forum

Advising undergraduates considering graduate work in English

The questionnaire for collecting applicant outcomes

The document: "Advice to Students Considering Graduate Work in English"

The CEA Forum Summer/Fall 2009: 38.2 Next: What Can They Do with an English Major? ADVISING UNDERGRADUATES CONSIDERING GRADUATE WORK IN ENGLISH Michael West During my first decade of college teaching spent at Harvard and Wesleyan I often wrote letters recommending students from those relatively prestigious institutions for graduate English programs. Upon moving to the University of Pittsburgh, however, I did so less frequently for two decades, partly because much of my teaching focused either on graduate seminars or courses oriented toward non-majors. But about two decades ago when I became more deeply involved in our undergraduate major, I found myself again being asked for recommendations from students and advice about where to apply. And increasingly I felt uncertain about what advice to give undergraduates applying from a solid state-related university but without the cachet of an Ivy or a potted-Ivy degree. Fifteen years ago matters came to a head when I encouraged a strong student I'd been working with to think that she would have a fair choice of teaching assistantships by applying to her favored M.A. programs at Georgetown, Notre Dame, Tufts, Arizona, UC Santa Barbara, UMass Amherst, SUNY Stony Brook, and Alabama. A magna double major in English literature and Art History with two years of college German, her GRE scores were 80th percentile verbal, 35th percentile subject; pointing toward Renaissance studies, she had a decent but not overwhelming application essay on Whitman. She was sorely disappointed when only her anchor school Alabama offered her a TA—and I was chagrined to think that I might have contributed to her disappointment by encouraging unrealistic ambitions. After she distinguished herself at Alabama it became clear that her ambitions were not unrealistic but had been hampered by soso GRE scores and the fact that as a senior she authored prize-winning essays too late to be included in her application. Reapplying more widely to doctoral programs three years later with her prize essays on record, GRE scores jacked by cramming (99th percentile verbal, 80th percentile subject), and a publication in an online Shakespeare journal to her credit, she was rejected by U Pennsylvania, Illinois/Chicago, Stanford, and Brown, but showered with offers of TFs by several strong schools (Rochester, Colorado, Wisconsin, Penn State) as well as lucrative honorary fellowships from Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Maryland—programs ranked more highly than most that had initially rejected her But those rejections prodded me to educate myself more thoroughly about the entire application process in order to improve my advice to undergraduates considering graduate school. So I not only volunteered to serve on our department's graduate admissions committee but began collecting information from Pitt students. To do so I devised the following questionnaire and distributed it to every Pitt senior I could contact who applied to graduate programs in English. The Questionnaire On behalf of the English Department let me extend congratulations on your recent acceptance[s] to graduate programs! For some while the department has felt that we could do a better job of advising applicants to graduate schools if we kept better records of where past applicants with specific credentials have and have not been successful. It would be extremely helpful to your fellow students in the future if you would take a moment to share with me the following information. If willing to have it shared for counseling majors and department personnel, please initial here Your GPA in the major? Your university GPA? Your GRE scores (by percentile if possible): verbal / quantitative / analytical / writing / subject. Your foreign language preparation? Length and nature of your writing sample (was it a footnoted research paper or not)? Accomplishments that may have made your application esp. strong (publication, undergraduate teaching experi

FAQs

Why does the author emphasize better advising for undergraduate applicants?

The author argues that departments should keep records of where applicants with specific credentials succeed or fail, so advice can be grounded in evidence rather than uncertainty.

What information does the questionnaire request from accepted or rejected applicants?

It asks for GPA details, GRE percentiles, foreign language preparation, the length and nature of the writing sample, key accomplishments, perceived weaknesses, and how programs responded financially (funded, unfunded, or rejected).

How does the later “Advice to Students” document connect to this effort?

After gathering applicant case histories and counseling experience, the author compiled a detailed 30-page document explaining how the selection process for future English professors works and how majors and strategies can strengthen applications.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by SANS