iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns

East Lansing is fine. Throw enough rocks and you'll peg someone from somewhere who almost had something happen to them. That said - like any college town you just need to keep your wits about about you. Be safe, keep your head up, trust your intuition.

Are we celebrating the death of 2014 or the birth of 2015?

I really dig Heja's take on it. When I was getting my feet wet in rhetoric I searched out all of the Ph.D. reading lists I could find. I bought Johanek, Smagorinsky, Horner, Lunsford, etc. Freire, hooks, and Cushman made sense - but when reading the more theoretical stuff I just couldn't orient myself in it. I was reading a lot of how to do "it" without knowing what exactly "it" looked like when done. Or why "it" had to be done in the first place. (Well, that's a bit harsh on myself - I had a vague idea...) I don't think my preparation prepared me for much. In hindsight I would have been better served developing a more interrogative style of reading (to which I can elaborate if so desired). But your case is different. You've got different goals. Advice: Clay Spinuzzi, writes some occupational/organization type stuff - check out his book Topsight. You'll want an understanding of Genre. Rhetorical Genre Studies (RGS) is a useful search term. Carolyn Miller is a good start there. In advertisements you may want to consider thinking about Agency. You may find a lot of useful stuff under Linguistics. Read bibliographies (I usually start there) they help point me to further research. Which will help you develop your own mental database of search terms.

Very similar experience here - I thought I had an idea of Rhet going in and boy was that naive.

My insight into University of Oklahoma is that it's that their rhet/comp program doesn't get the support it deserves from Admin (so it's sorta tense) and that the MA students spend 3 years on the MA.

Bowling Green's funding situation was a little weird for the MA last time I checked. And on second check: "Most applicants to the Rhetoric & Writing Ph.D. Program have MA degrees, but under BGSU’s Continuing Ph.D. Option we occasionally admit extremely capable BA graduates who have strong backgrounds and/or interest in rhetoric and composition and the teaching of writing. ... The Continuing Ph.D. Program tends to be more time-efficient than doing an unrelated MA and then starting a doctoral program. Unfortunately, in most years, assistantships are not available for Continuing Ph.D. applicants. An approach some BA applicants have considered is applying for funding in BGSU’s strong Textual Studies MA program, planning to take a couple elective rhetoric courses and then apply to the R&W PhD Program during their second year of MA work." Since you're in the Mitten State (Woot! Michigan-native here!) I might recommend Eastern Michigan University. They offer funding in the way of Writing Center and Comp Class - they don't pay you a ton but it's do-able. They also have a really wonderful curriculum and faculty who are surprisingly well connected. One thing about paying for a Rhet/Comp MA - "don't do it" is good advice, partly due to financial considerations but more so, to me, because the assistantship is one of the ways you build relationships with faculty. Your MA LORs should attest to your ability to do good course work (research) but also your ability to balance it with a teaching load. Teaching is important. Hit me with a PM if you'd appreciate more direct advice. :-)

Eh, maybe it means something. Maybe it doesn't. Try not to waste too much energy getting worked up about it. Feel free to post your anger and frustration here - if complaining about it on here makes your IRL easier- go for it.

It'd be one thing if you only wanted to examine a singular text from a particular perspective but in this case I wouldn't worry. Its alright to have a specific "box" but it's also alright to have a general "box". The advice I've heard as an MA student is: interests will change/shape/flex/etc. One thing I may think about in regards to your interests - can you voice why you're interested in it and what you'd do with it? Rhetoric & Economics in Digital locations leaves flexibility - (e.g. you could take a more classical approach - invention/delivery/etc. You could take a sub-topic focus by adding in something like environment/feminism/welfare/etc. You could approach it from a cultural level - how culture privileges "logos" in economic rhet and various other privileging in digital humanities).

Howdy, thread. I am a tweener - I'm in an MA program right now and will be applying PhD next round. Rhet/Comp folks seem awfully quiet this year - we're usually a noisy bunch, what gives?

I think the Watson Conference at Louisville is pretty good - if you're into that sorta thing. C&W is pretty good - if you're into that sort of thing. Cs is good - period. I want to give a caveat - but I'd end up going on and on about "it".

What are your interests?

Maybe it's been said in this thread before and it probably ought to be repeated every few pages: Prepare for a long haul. Admissions can be a terrible beast. By February blood begins to boil and things begin to change. You're all doing very well getting your app materials prepared early - just don't leave your mind/self/ego/psyche out of the preparation. Think a bit about what sort of books or hobbies you'll have to keep you busy while waiting. Think of ways you can remain collegial when the going gets tough. Maybe even familiarize yourself with your Campus Mental Health / Counseling services. There is no shame in asking for help. "You don't understand", is probably more true now than it has ever been in your undergrad career. Admissions is a journey. No matter the outcome, you'll learn something. "It is better to travel well than to arrive"

Bright eyed and bushy tailed - happy to see all the great advice for a Rhet/Comp hopeful. My advice: Don't let applications consume your life.

Indeed I can. I can't speak to their placement % (those numbers are regularly massaged anyways). From my experience with the PhDs out of (Mi)Tech - its a bit more technical than other programs. I know the folks I know from there have friends from their graduating class who have done well outside of academia as well as several folks who went on to be big names (check out Cheryl Ball). Check out current research there - Robert Johnson has some interesting stuff. Long winters. I'm uncertain about the amount of support ($$$) - I recall hearing it was "meh".

Indeed! I mean, why not engage the text through some low-stakes informal blogging? eh, eh?

Well... that depends. If you're applying a year after BA/BS/BFA then they'd examine the whole package. If you're applying years after your BA and you've since gone back and enrolled in a few courses. I imagine those recent courses would carry more weight. If you're applying to a program with a late November deadline they're only gonna see your previous winter/spring/summer. --- GPA is one piece of an entire package.

I really love bananas.

Now I'm just having fun and I know this is all informal - sooooo mistakes are expected and yada yada yada OMG exagerate - ya dig? But "exponentially higher"?!?!?! I don't think so. I know we're not "math" or "numbers" people... but is it safe to say that we are atleast "word" people? Then we should construct our sentences with some informed knowledge of words and the meaning behind those words. I'm sure you know what an exponent is. 3^4 or 3 to the fourth power - ya dig? If we assume that the limit for a GPA is 4.00 - then your 3.xx GPA does not have the room to expand to even the second power. Now perhaps there was exponential type growth but you reached a limit - akin to carrying capacity. But the idea of growth includes time (Things can not grow outside of time - if that were the case we could have simultaneous net growth and decay!) - your message had no indication of time, in fact you weren't using "exponentially" to describe a phenomenon but instead you were using it comparatively. So lets compare. 3.5 to 12.25 3.5 to 42.875 3.5 to 150.0625 So if you had 3.5 dollars and I had 150.07 dollars I could tell you that I am exponentially richer than you and I wouldn't be wrong. Exponential is a tricky bugger and I see it bastardized all the time. Exponential is exceptional - it can be a massive increase, and it's generally quantifiable.

I have to weigh in here. A. Probably doesn’t need to be said but here it is – take all advice with a grain of salt. Shotgun advice misses and hits. B. The year off advice is regurgitated a lot. Good intentions there (exploring the world of possibilities / getting experience) but don’t fool yourself. I’m from a city with a deflated economy; my peers, as awesome as they are, struggle to get local jobs with their humanities degree. Not everyone can afford the social and economic risks associated with relocating. A year off is a luxury. If you can, do it – enjoy yourself. Read. Work. Swim, whatever. But don’t fool yourself thinking that a year off is something you ought to struggle through. And don’t fool yourself that you should consider it “time for yourself”. As a matter of fact, I think we should all be developing coping strategies for the stress and work load that we will eventually face. So that’s my advice. Figure out how much you can take. Figure out how to take more. Don’t burn out.

I want to go. I just can't justify the cost. I'm not presenting. I'm unemployed. Its a long plane ride. Now if someone wanted to do a live stream (it's not that hard! it's not that hard! it's not that hard!) I'd be "going". If someone kept a twitter feed up during Q&A I'd be "participating". I'd even pay a small fee to be in on the stream. ETA: And the cheese champion title doesn't carry any monetary reward.

Wonderful news!

Clerks. That's the trend. We're all gonna check-out clerks. Students are the customers. Our knowledge is the product. Open up for your semester deposit. What a grim reality... I certainly hope it doesn't happen.

But the post above you did. It's impossible that it revolves around all of us. So, Eternal, I think you did the "right" thing. Soon you'll be part of a new community where you'll start making a name for yourself.

So, should I become a resident of the state I'm moving to?