rhetoricus aesalon

Whoa. It's Perl's felt sense! PS - I love off topic, obviously.

To be honest, I've been told the same thing by my major professor. He said some committee members might be sticklers for the rules, but in the long run it is probably more stressful trying to find what to cut/add to a good WS than the benefits of doing so.

I think that's great advice, BunnyWantsaPhD, and is something we probably don't think about enough. This might also be something that differentiates a WS for a master's program from that of a PhD program. Maybe I was just lucky, but I felt like for my MA I just wanted to provide the WS that showcased the best, most "polished" form of my writing--not especially in a particular subfield of interest--just something that proved I was capable of doing research at a graduate level. But with the PhD, I am feeling much more pressure to provide work that begins to show I am capable of the critical analysis and expression of contributing to the field as a scholar. It's not just about organization and coherence now, but also ideas and criticism.

I have a cousin who studied Irish history and taught at the same time while studying at Oxford. His experience seems to align with what is being said, though I could add he was completely converted to the Oxford mindset after returning to the States. In fact, he even had a distaste for how American scholars wrote published articles. He hated the academic system in the States so much after returning that he left his TT job after a few years and now works for the government. I'm sure his case isn't the norm, but I do feel like it may contribute to what is being said about the very different academic approaches that are celebrated at Oxford vs. the States. It sounds like you need to fundamentally re-establish yourself when professionally crossing the Atlantic, reorienting yourself to the research that is publishable and teaching that will support your career if and when you make the transition. It might be something to consider, especially if you intend on eventually teaching and working in the States.

For some reason I keep picturing the scene from Tina Fey's Admission where students are being dropped through trap doors in the floor during one such admissions meeting. Yipes!

Hi all! I'm new to these parts, and I just wanted to drop a quick note to express how thankful I am for all the information you have all already shared. It's been great, too, in seeing I am not the only one who is gearing up for one of the most stressful experiences in life over the coming months. Perhaps the moment can be captured best with "may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Thanks, ComeBackZinc! Hopefully I'll get into one of them. I have to ask, too, how far along are you at Purdue? Is it as amazing as it is in my dreams? I, too, apologize for going off topic.

I'll echo that I left a comfy corporate job when I went back to school for my MA, and I have never regretted the decision once. Think about what you want from your degree, though. I once heard a good friend who was completing an MFA in poetry say, "An MFA is the gift I'm giving myself. I'm not getting it for anyone else or expecting anything else from it. If I become able to support myself by writing, that's great! But that is not why I want this degree."

Do you have much teaching experience? I'm assuming the course in discourse analysis (especially from a linguistic perspective) would give you a great foundation for the formulations of English grammar, which would be very beneficial in speaking (in, say a SOP or supplemental GTA application) to how you are prepared for a GTAship in a funded PhD program in which you will teach first-year composition.

I took some courses at UNLV a few years ago before I was fully admitted into my current program and they were pretty nice--though I am more interested in rhet/comp than lit. Something that you may want to consider, too, is that like most schools UNLV is struggling for funding, and the English department has been hit hard in the past few years. Administrators attempted to fire the entire tenured line of composition faculty in 2011, for example, though luckily they were not successful. Needless to say, I know of some faculty members who are actively trying to find other appointments.