• Check out some graduate program web sites; find their faculty's publications, read a few of them to see if you like their work, their thought, their approaches.
• Look at graduate seminar descriptions. You can find this on web sites, or calling/writing to request them (do the seminars sound attractive?)
• Sit in on a graduate seminar here at UCSB-- discover what they really do in seminar (just ask an instructor)
• Talk to your TAs and other graduate students – find out what life as a graduate student involves
• Read brochures and catalogs
• What can you do with a PhD in English – do you want to be a professor?
• 50% placement of recent PhD’s is a pretty good job placement record for a graduate program – are you ready to face this employment picture?

Learn as much as you can about many specific programs

• Learn about the faculty of schools where you think you might like to apply
• Compare various program requirements: are they relevant? Comprehensive? Too numerous, too few? Have you fulfilled any of them already?
• Does the school offer the emphases or approaches that you want?
• Will the program expect you to specialize early (and is this good for you or not?)
• Do they offer the MA as well as PhD? Can you do just the MA?
• What is the faculty/student ratio?
• How much will it cost to attend the school?
• How much will it cost to live in the area?
• What is the job placement record of recent PhDs? Ask for numbers overall, as well as numbers for specific years (How many students were actively seeking academic jobs in a given year, and of those, how many found positions?)
• If any program is not fully forthcoming with answers to your questions, question their integrity

Estimate your chances for admission to particular programs and apply selectively

• Application standards: is there a minimum GPA? GRE?
• How many applications do they receive? How many of those do they admit?
• What application criteria are most important for them?
  • Writing Sample
  • Statement of purpose
  • GRE Scores
  • Letters or Recommendation
  • Undergraduate GPA overall? in major? in Jr/Sr years?
  • Foreign language preparation
• How big is the program?
• What financial support is available?
  • TAships
  • Fellowships: first year only or multiple years? How about later, for continuing students – are any available?
  • Research Assistantships

The Application

• Learn early what the deadlines and application requirements are
  • Application deadlines
  • GRE Deadlines – these may be many months prior to application deadline
  • Letters of recommendation: ask your professors well in advance (warn them them in Spring that you’ll need a letter in Fall, or ask early in Fall quarter at the latest.
• Tailor your application to the program you're applying to.
  • Spend the most time on the elements of the application the school identifies as most important
  • Change your Statement of Purpose to reflect the focus of the program.
  • Consider sending different writing samples to different programs
• Write an effective Statement of Purpose