renea

Congrats on the conference acceptance! What you wear will be really dependent on: field, conference, and weather. My field (Rhet/Comp) tends to be more casual in general so it would not be unusual to see a man wearing anything from a polo and nice jeans/khakis to a full suit. At more "prestigious" (think traditional, national, or more longstanding) conferences like MLA, I think there is more of an expectation to dress formally (full suit or traditional businesswear like slacks). My husband is in the STEMs (physics) and he usually wears a full suit and tie for national/international conferences the day he presents and a dress shirt and slacks for the days he's just attending. I remember one conference I attended in which my first day I dressed very nicely for my own presentation, but upon seeing that most people dressed pretty casually, I opted for leggings and a tshirt on day two. I didn't stick out at all and was quite comfortable for the rest of the conference. The advice from @sigaba is sound, I might suggest seeing if your conference uses a hashtag as well and searching for past ones on Twitter. Just keep in mind keynote speakers or official conferences photos will likely show people who are dressed up the most. I'll add that you can also ask other graduate students or an advisor/faculty member who you know has attended in the past. They'll be able to steer you towards the right choices. In general I can say these things have been helpful for me: People tend to dress their best on the days they present and more casually on the ones they just attend. Local conferences are generally more casual than national/international. You can always take a layer off if needed: it's easy to remove a blazer if you feel hot, uncomfortable or overdressed. Dress for the local weather and conditions. You can always mix and match or pack spare clothes. A tie takes up little room in a suitcase and can be added or removed from an outfit. A pair of dress shoes can be swapped for a nice pair of boots or loafers and can be dressed up or down. Lastly, dress for your comfort and budget. If a full suit will make you nervous or put you in debt forget about it. People rarely remember what speakers wear but will remember a stellar presentation.

In my field (English- rhet/comp specific), I have heard wildly different answers for this question from one (laughable, maybe in the 80s) to 8-9 (which seems near impossible). This is of course if your goal is a tenure-track job. I see people landing TT jobs who have 8 plus publications, and I see others who only have 3-4. I think it's more about where you publish and what your subdiscipline is than the # exactly. I think it also depends on your position and the university itself. I have just started my 3rd year of my PhD and I have one single authored publication (online), one single authored book chapter accepted and under revision, and one co-authored special issue publication accepted and under revision. My goal is to have 6 publications (not necessarily all published but at least accepted). My goal is at least one publication in a major journal for the field and at least one publication in print (since my current ones are all digital). It seems each year that the job market is more and more competitive, but I personally think publications are only one part of an entire package.

I agree with kendalldinniene, generally students in the program will be more honest about professors with reputations (#metoo or otherwise). Unfortunately in my experience this tends to be disclosed or discussed after you've already made a decision to attend somewhere. It helps if you have an opportunity during a visit weekend or via email to chat with students and ask if there's anything you should know. There are generally at least 1-2 students in a grad program willing to be honest with incoming recruits. Some grad student groups have considered keeping track of these types of professors (for example, the NexGen rhet/comp listserv had a whole debate about this very idea), but most agree that publicly calling people out is just too risky for grad students. At my current program, I got all the information about department drama, profs to avoid, etc from older grad students early in the semester. Some were more direct meetings where I asked about things I needed to know, but other information was just shared naturally as I progressed through my first year.

I second this: But also if you don't want to do awkward emailing, I've had great success getting articles from Academia.edu. Sometimes people just post pdfs but other times you can send a quick pregenerated response requesting them. I'm at a university but sometimes I don't have access and don't want to bother with interlibrary loans.

First I want to say that feeling overwhelmed or burnt out is not unusual even if it's *just your first semester.* It doesn't mean you're not cut out for graduate school. Perhaps your program isn't what you expected. It might also just be a very rigorous program with high expectations. I know my current program has way higher expectations/pressure in regards to coursework than my previous one, which has caused me to be very overwhelmed this semester- so you're not alone. While I am not taking any time off, I'm also on fellowship which helps with the workload. Is your graduate assistantship (if you have one) contributing to the stress? If so maybe reach out the WPA or advisor. If you could share your reasons for feeling burnt out (if you have a hunch of why), that might help us to give better advice, but without knowing this is what I would suggest. Talk to your DGS. If you are just feeling stressed or overwhelmed (perhaps there are outside circumstances that are adding to the stress- health issues, family problems, money problems, etc), they can help you with your options. Some programs allow for a semester leave of absence. I know our program had an MA who took a leave and is returning next semester. If a leave of absence isn't available, your DGS may be able to help you strategize for keeping up (guiding you towards profs who are not as intense, helping you balance your courseloads with thesis credits, or helping you to a different assistantship that might be more manageable). If you're not wanting to stay in the program... I would personally try to stay a full year, unless your grades are being affected (in which case it could hurt your chances of going to a new program). I say to stay a year, because it will look less unusual than a single semester at a MA program. It would also give you a chance to see if you adjust and to take a few more classes, go to a conference, and figure out your options. Unless you have a backup plan (for $$), I would try to stick it out until the summer, after which you could reapply. If you're already feeling burnt out from your coursework, I can't imagine you have much creative energy left for applications (since most of the work will have to be done before you withdraw). Asking for LOR will also be easier a year in vs one semester, I didn't really know any of my professors well enough one semester in. While I agree that the above statement from @Bumblebea may apply to some people, I don't think it's odd to feel burnt out in the first semester. We don't know all the circumstances or experiences that led to your first semester. Further, your feelings do not by any means imply that you are not passionate about higher ed. If you're not passionate that's totally ok too, don't feel bad about leaving. Further, don't feel like because at one point grad school was the plan that it's your only option. My husband took a 2 year gap between undergrad and graduate school and I know he felt a lot of guilt when he was questioning whether or not to go back to school (because for his family, not going to graduate school was a failure). All of this is to say that in the end you should do whatever you need to feel happy and healthy, being open and honest with your department is in my opinion the best way to figure out what your options are or how your choices will be viewed.

Hey everyone, I'm curious- for those of you currently in a graduate program, what do you do for summer work? In the past I've worked in my writing center or worked in food service. However, my new institution doesn't do comp classes over the summer or really offer summer work/funding. I'd like to get an internship this summer for CV building, but it seems a lot of the programs I find are looking for undergrads not PhD students. I know it may seem early for applying to summer jobs, but a lot of internships seem to have fall/spring deadlines to apply. So... what type of work do yall do over the summer? How were you able to translate your research/coursework into job skills? *I should note that I'm not really interested in teaching FYW courses as an adjunct at a CC over the summer, although it's certainly an option if I can't find other work.

Hey so the confusion might be that $22k is what they quoted me for the total "offer" so this is the combined costs of your stipend, tuition credits, and out of state waiver. The original stipend was around $15k, but the costs of fees and health insurance (which was not fully covered) was $4,249.66- so at the end of the day my fall/spring stipend was barely over $10k. If it was $22k I'd be fine that's on the upper end imo. Now I will say that the department has fellowships, and when I told the DGS that the stipend was the only thing keeping me from accepting she worked on getting me more funding (roughly $11k total in fellowships added to my 4 years of funding which she secured in one week). That was not near enough for us to justify the costs- but I do want to give a shout out to her because she made me feel totally comfortable being honest with her and she was very understanding about me not being able to accept even after getting me extra money (she was also just super nice). It's really not the department, the fees & insurance affects the entire university- they killed my husband's offer as well- our combined offers was actually less than what I'm making this year at my current PhD program alone. However- if you were an in-state resident already and didn't need health insurance (it's required by the university, but if maybe you were on a spouse's or parent's plan) the program could work (and does for many students!). It's an amazing program and the people I talked to seemed very happy. Like you so smartly said- everyone's needs are very different.

I was accepted into FSU last year (rhet/comp PhD, but same department) and while they are fully funded, the stipend was on the low in and student fees were not included and if I recall either none or only partial insurance was included. It's a fantastic program and the cost of living is low, but for me and my husband the numbers did not add up even with several fellowships stacked on (the fees are just really ridiculously high).

I'm not going to comment here on whether or not you need or don't need a PhD to get a job, but I will say that if you're wanting to do rhet/comp with these research interests Miami University (of Ohio) would be a very good fit for you. It might be better to begin reaching out to programs and ask if seeking a PhD would be a good decision. Most of us (on this particular forum) are in the process of attaining a degree or applying, so we probably haven't been privy to hiring committee processes, but the programs you apply to will and they would better be able to tell you if a PhD will help or hurt you.

So I'm about to start the first year of my Phd, and I got my dog just one year ago (in the summer before the last year of my MA). The big things I've learned (as they've applied to me): Consider who will take care of your dog when you are at a conference or away. A weekend or day might not be that hard, but what about breaks? While my husband is around to take care of our dog, my program is about 16 hours from our family so Christmas break was rough, as almost everyone we knew well enough to watch our dog was also away. We ended up driving home and keeping him with our family, but it was a hassle. Most grad students are rent dependent, if this is true for you then be warned renting with a dog can destroy your savings. We managed to find a rental that only had a $200 deposit, but many of the places we're looking to rent this upcoming year charge a $200 deposit, $200 fee, and "pet rent" anywhere from $10-25 a month (obviously we know pets can be expensive, but this in particular is a burden) Think about your routine and how long you're away each day. When I was taking thesis credits, my dog was pretty happy, either me or my husband were home most of the time, but when I suddenly had classes nearly every day the next semester I think it bummed him out. Suddenly he was alone for 4/5 hours, 5 days a week. He's gotten much better, but when we first had him he was still potty training, learning to be alone, had very severe separation anxiety... it was stressful trying to decide each day whether I wanted to leave for just a one hour presentation or meeting. So on top of what @jrockford27 said about irregular schedules- also consider the guilt. With all of that though, I want to say that I'm so happy with my decision to get a dog. Our puppy was with a family previously who had too many pets and not enough time to properly train or take care of him. We may not have as much money or time as some people, but he still gets a lot of attention and we have a set budget each month for his food/toys/treats etc. He's basically a spoiled only child and we love it. In addition to providing me with company while I study and affection when I'm stressed- he's also helped me develop some better habits. We've started incorporating hikes, daily walks, and trips to the dog park into our routine. I'm forced to get up at a reasonable time to take him out. Plus, he "reminds" me (via begging and harassment) to play with him and take him out, forcing me to step away from laptop at least once an hour or so. Training has been terrible and getting up at like 4am to take him out those first few months was awful, but he just turned one and is starting to really figure stuff out (with a dog that is already trained, I'd imagine it being much easier). So, yeah- there are pros, there are sure cons, but if you love the dog, have the money, and can make a few small sacrifices, I think it's worth it. When we get settled in our next program, we're already considering adding a second dog to the mix so I guess it works for us.

eh it really depends on what field you're in and what school you lied about. Most likely it won't come up again (generally speaking, I imagine professors have better things to do than talk to other people about potential admits). With that being said, I'm in rhet/comp and our field is smalllllll, when I went on school visits nearly everyone knew my current advisors and there were plenty of people who came up and asked me about certain people (to say hi or ask whether I worked with them). But our field is small and I'm at a well known program. If you mentioned a lesser known school or are in a much larger field it probably won't matter at all. I wouldn't address it as it will probably never come up again, but as you clearly know it's not the best habit to get into.

damn. I don't think I could ever commit to eight years unless it was a tenure track job.... I hope that you find somewhere you love! I know I felt instant bliss once I realized I'd be moving somewhere that would make me personally and professionally happy. I think making the decision to wait to go somewhere that's right can be a difficult, but very brave. My husband took a two year gap to reapply after having a single acceptance his first round and had a much better application season this time. Better offer, better fit, and overall in a place where we can both be productive. I wish you all the luck!

I'll be honest, this conversation really becomes: attend a Phd program this year vs wait and reapply. I'm the odd one out in that I think where you live can have a huge impact on your happiness and productivity levels. I know I'm currently in a medium size city (Lansing, MI) and I hate the town- there's nothing to do and other than the college not a lot of people our age. I went to college near a large metroplex (DFW area in Texas) and loved being close to everything. I could drive 40 minutes and be in a big city or hangout in my college town and still have plenty to do. My husband and I love going to concerts, theater, galleries, eating out- which Lansing has very few of. Now if we want to go to an event it's a 1.5 hr drive to detroit. We've managed and at the end of the day it's the quality of the degree that matters, but when it came to the PhD we seriously considered whether we would like where we live. We're moving back home to Fort Worth. Our campus is next to a zoo, lots of arts and music venues, and in an area where a lot of young people/families live. Those things don't matter to everyone, but for us we wanted to find a balance of affordability and amenities because 5 years is a long time (also not every urban area is as expensive as Chicago or NY, in Ft Worth you can rent a 2 bedroom apartment for $900, which our stipends can handle). However, those are things to really consider when you're choosing schools to apply to. I agree wholeheartedly with everyone here- choose a program that feels right to you and you will (probably?) be happy, but if you only have one option it's not about whether you'll be happy moving, but whether you'll be happy if you don't attend graduate school right now. Also, just curious, why 6 years? Most programs are only 4 years (5 max), if you're coming in with an MA you shouldn't need the extra coursework. Maybe if the time committment wasn't as long, it wouldn't be as scary to make the move. One of the biggest motivators for me living somewhere I didn't like was that it was a short amount of time (2 years). If you don't love Bloomington, just try to finish up in 4 years and move on.

Officially accepted my offer at TCU's rhet/comp PhD program. Very happy to finally have made my decision. Good luck to everyone out there still trying to make a decision. It can be hard, but take your time, you've still got two more weeks

Just turned down offers at Miami University, Florida State, Georgia State, and Virginia Tech. All rhet/comp. Hope this helps someone out!