MFAtoPhD

I was a lurker on these boards most of this season, but I want to thank all of you regular posters for your positive energy, good humor, and often helpful advice. I accepted an offer for the Ph.D. program in Writing History and Theory (WHiT) at Case Western Reserve University today. To those who've already accepted, good luck in your programs come Fall! To those who are still waiting for wait-lists to convert, I'll keep my fingers crossed right there with you. To those who were shut out but plan to saddle up for the next application season, I am sending the best of good vibes your way. I (with uncharacteristic optimism) only applied to one program for Fall 2012, and when I was not accepted, it was difficult to rally again. I did, though: I rethought my strategy, reworked my materials, and I came out of this season with 8/10 acceptances. It can happen. To everybody, I look forward to reading your work, running into you at conferences, and perhaps being your friend and colleague in years to come. Take care out there. [edited for silly typos]

Jumping on here to, unfortunately, be the bearer of bad news. I just shared this on the results board: I've been in touch with Prof. Patricia Sullivan, director of Purdue's Rhet/Comp program. The last remaining unconfirmed slot of the Fall 2013 Rhet/Comp Ph.D. cohort declared acceptance today. I am sorry to deliver bad news to anyone who was on the tacit wait-list for this program: you should receive an official rejection soon if you have not already. Here's hoping you have good prospects elsewhere: good April 15th luck to you all! I don't know if anyone here was still waiting on Purdue Rhet/Comp, but thought you should know sooner if you were still waiting it out, esp. if you had another offer waiting in the wings.

I can attest to both ComeBackZinc's and muchado's impressions of Jill Quirk and Paul Heilker. Ms. Quirk is truly organized, friendly, helpful, and a sane space in the whole whirlwind of graduate applications (and later, graduation!). I got to know her when I did my M.F.A. at Purdue. I too am waiting to hear from Purdue about my Rhet/Comp Ph.D. app and will be in touch with her this week. Prof. Heilker was super friendly when I dealt with him earlier this semester re: an offer of admission to Virginia Tech - which I have turned down at this point, so I hope that means good news for you, Gooey, if VT is a top choice for you and you also happen to seeking a Rhet/Comp Ph.D. Good luck!

ABH90, first I echo the advice of proflorax above: check with the program(s) to which you intended to apply. Some are more lenient than others in accepting application materials that come in after their stated deadline. If that does not yield good news, there are some programs accepting Ph.D. applications in Rhetoric/Composition (or related fields) whose deadlines have not passed. (I only have information on Ph.D. programs; if you are applying to M.A. programs instead or as well, you will want to investigate further.) Georgia State University (Ph.D. in English, Rhetoric and Composition concentration) has extended their deadline to March 1, 2013. University of Texas, El Paso (Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition) says: "We will begin reviewing applications on March 1st [2013]; however, we will continue to consider them after this date." University of California, Santa Barbara (Ph.D. in Education, specialization in Language Literacy and Composition) has a deadline of April 1, 2013 (though you've missed their campus fellowship deadline). Texas Woman's University (Ph.D. in Rhetoric) also has a deadline of April 1, 2013. Northern Illinois University (Ph.D. in English) and Texas A&M University, Commerce (Ph.D. in English) each have rolling admissions and continue to accept applications well into the spring until their desired cohorts are filled. Good luck to you!

My grandmother simply cannot understand why I have not applied to a Ph.D. program at one of the two (small-ish, private) universities in my hometown. "Because, Grandma, they don't offer the program I intend to study." "Well, you should write them a letter and tell them they should have that program for you." "Yes, I'll get right on that."