klader

Also, @maenaew, the email said that the department will cover the costs of transportation and lodging (although I've yet to get contacted by the travel coordinator). And if the flights are as cheap as pbhwhey said, I'm sure it'd be within their budget! That is quite a distance for you, though, so it's understandable for you to question going. I'm about 1200 miles away (which is still a lot, I guess), but I'd be willing to fly down there. To all those experienced with open houses: is it worth it to go to the open houses? Has it helped any of you directly make your decisions? A couple of my professors waved it off and said they weren't that important, but I kind of feel like they could be.

Congratulations, @maenaew!! I bet you feel so relieved now (I know I sure do!). Yes, while USF isn't the most well-known program, I've heard that it's still quite good and that they're doing some quality work. My professors here at my ungrad think very highly of it and are excited that I have a chance to consider it. Did you get offered a teaching assistantship, too? My email mentioned it and said that I'd receive the official offer in the mail. Also, are you going to go to the open house? I have a couple of professors who are a bit cranky about me missing so much class two weeks in a row for the two open houses, but I'm probably going to do it anyway!

Ahhhh!!! I got two offers within 15 hours. Last night I was accepted to Miami University of Ohio's MA program in Composition and Rhetoric with a teaching assistantship and a nomination for a university scholarship, and this morning I was accepted to the University of South Florida's MA program in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition, also with a teaching assistantship. I got rejected from Michigan State rather early in the game (January 22 or so), so I got off to a bad, nervous start. I'm so glad that things turned around and I'm so glad that I can now finally breathe!! Still waiting on 3 others, but I'm very content with these offers.

Yep, got the email from the DGS a few hours later!! The general graduate school email then replied to my transcript email and said I still needed to send an official one for the Graduate School to process everything, though (which I sent, so it's good). Thanks for the input!

Hi all, I'm freaking out a bit here, and I know that you all can relate and can perhaps help me think clearly. Last night around 5 pm I got an email from a grad school (I applied for an MA program in the humanities) saying that the scanned transcript I sent with my application was not legible. They said that I needed to send another copy to their email address (general grad school email) or fax it/send an official one in the mail in order for them to "to finish processing it." Today I re-scanned a clearer copy and attached it to my reply to the first email, apologizing for the inconvenience and letting them know that I had my school send an official copy by mail as well. THEN, at 4:30 today, I got an email saying that my admission decision will be posted to my application portal in 48 hours and that I can log in at my convenience to obtain the information. That's it - no email from the DGS or anything but just from that general grad school email. I checked the grad cafe results section for this school, and last year, someone posted around the same time of year (mid Feb) saying that this happened to them and that they got accepted like this. So, should I be getting my hopes up?? Did they just need to verify that my grades were solid (which they are), or did they maybe just need all the parts of my application in to be able to reject me?? I also saw on the results section that pretty much all acceptances for this school are in mid-late Feb, most wait-list emails come in the beginning of March, and most rejections happen in mid-late March. I read that some schools send out first-wave acceptances in early/mid February, so could I be so lucky...?! I'm trying to think about this logically, but I think my heart is pounding so fast and I'm getting so worked up that I don't know what to think. This school is one of my top choices and would be a great fit academically and geographically, so I'm getting quite emotional here. I'd appreciate any ideas/stories of similar experiences!!

I didn't even apply to Purdue and their graduate advertising system sent me a birthday email on my birthday! (They obviously had gotten my information from the GRE). So, I'd say +2 for Purdue.

@haltheincandescent thanks so much for the insight and encouragement, and congratulations!! You must be thrilled to have an early acceptance and funding/a fellowship to boot! I hope this at least de-stresses your days for a while Interesting to know that you're no t rhet/comp. I wonder if it's like you said with alerting the fellowships first, but I also wonder if they do it by speciality, too? I would assume the lit and rhet/comp people all choose their own people, so I wonder if one batch gets accepted and then they choose the other? I've heard Penn staggers their acceptances, and I just wonder if this could contribute to that. Also, does anyone know how many Penn State (and any school, really) take from each different speciality? Does it just depend on the year and the applicants?

Just joining the party! I applied to MA programs in rhet/comp and also applied to Penn State, which I believe is both MA and PhD since they prefer to accept MA students who will continue on for the PhD? So far I've received a rejection from Michigan State, but that's it. Generally, do MA decisions come before or after PhD decisions? I have no idea how this process works, but I saw in the portal that Penn State already accepted at least 1 person (if that poster is reading this, did you apply directly to the PhD with an MA already, or are you on the MA/PhD track? I'm getting nervous here...) I thought applying to all these programs was hard enough, but the waiting is brutal, especially since I got a rejection so early. I've been ignoring all my homework and have just been stalking this forum to try and find some peace of mind!! Lol

Hi Everyone, I'm currently in the process of writing 8 personal statements/statements of purpose for 8 different schools, and I'm having a hard time determining how to best balance the different parts of them, especially since each school's statements have their own requirements. For example, School 1 wants a 3 page statement of purpose, School 2 wants a personal statement AND an academic statement, School 3 wants a 2 page letter of intent, School 4 wants a statement of purpose AND an autobiographical sketch, etc. Basically, I have a compelling personal story that I feel makes me stand out, but it's hard because I also have significant experience with my prospective MA field (Rhetoric and Composition) since my undergrad institution has a very rhetoric-focused program. One of my professors encouraged me to directly mention certain scholars and their theories and how they have influenced me as a rising scholar of rhetoric, and another has mentioned to clearly and strongly state what I'm specifically interested in and how School X and Professor Y can help me (though I don't necessarily know SPECIFICALLY want I want to do yet...). So, is there basically any kind of rule on how much you should focus on what you've already done academically vs. what you want to accomplish in the targeted graduate program? I know that a couple of the schools are great fits because they focus on classical rhetoric, which is something I really like and could see myself studying further. For those schools, then, would I make reference to my course work dealing with classical rhetoric and perhaps give them a writing sample that relates to it? I'm also interested in writing center studies, though, so if I see that the university has a great writing center and that some of the faculty are involved in its operation, should I focus more on the work I've done for my university's writing center and on research relating to it? Should I focus on the writing center work even if it's NOT directly related to the program? I would appreciate any tips and advice as deadlines are approaching and I am really starting to feel the pressure!! Thank you!!

Hi everyone, Thanks so much for the input! I really, really appreciate it. So, I see that the consensus is that I should retake the test, but I talked to a few of my professors and they said that they didn't think it was worth worrying about... Personally, I feel like perhaps I SHOULD retake it, but would it be worth spending several hours over the next few weeks and taking away time from my writing sample and personal statement? Also, I know that I can improve significantly on the math with some proper review, but I don't know how much better I can do on verbal given the short amount of time (3 weeks isn't the best amount of time if I choose the December 1st option). I know I should have taken time long before this to work on these skills, but when it comes down to it, I don't care about scoring well on some standardized test -- I care about writing, teaching writing, and getting the opportunity to work with new, amazing people and growing even more in this field, which is what I have been doing with my time. I don't feel like my scores on the GRE can possibly reflect that sentiment, and while I would hope that admissions committees would feel that way, too, I'm just not sure because of the increasing competition of this field. Also, I was wondering what everyone can suggest regarding which date would be best to take it -- December 1st or 15th? I know it takes 10-15 days after the test date for scores to be sent out to schools, so would a December 15th date be too late for a January 1st deadline (even if they have my first score already and I could note in my application that I retook it the 15th and scores will be sent out)? Thanks again!

Thank you so much for your reply! I agree that it would be very unfortunate for my application not to even get reviewed of my score, which some people say can happen, others say can't... Do you think I should take it December 1st or 15th? Those are the only two days available in my area, and I'm worried that the 15th would cut too close to the Jan 1st deadline of a couple of schools. Also, do I submit the application with my original scores and tell them I'm retaking it? 4 of the schools will already have my scores since I sent it directly from the test center. This is why I'm thinking that it would be better to take the test Dec 1st because then my second set of scores could be sent out by mid-December, and then I could finish the rest of my application.

Hi all, I've posted on this forum before earlier in my undergraduate career, but now I am deep into the fall 2016 application season as a senior and would really appreciate some advice. I just took the GRE today, and the preliminary results were less than pleasing: 151 verbal and 151 quantitative with (most likely/hopefully) good AWA scores. I understand that 300 combined is supposed to be average/50th percentile, so I'm at 302, which is just a shade higher than average (or potentially less depending on the percentiles that come out). Other than this disappointment, the rest of my application should be strong as one who's majoring in Writing and Rhetoric and applying to rhet/comp programs. I have a 3.94 GPA, worked at the writing center for 3 years, served as a teaching assistant, served as a type of student assistant in a basic writing class, presented at two writing center conferences (one international and one regional) with presentations that focused on rhetoric, am applying to present a research poster (also about rhetoric) at Cs this year, helped a professor design and conduct an academic workshop, helped design writing center training and professional development (specifically about, you got it, rhetoric), won a writing award, won a few French awards, studied abroad, president of one club and vice president of another, co-editor of a student-published journal, have a compelling story that enhances my personal statement, have amazing letters of rec, and will have a solid, research-based writing sample about *garsh!* rhetoric (I'm working on it this semester). I'm sure there are people applying who have way more impressive accomplishments AND a great GRE score, so my question is, does the GRE matter that much in my particular case in our particular field? I've asked my professors, and their advice differs. Some say the GRE doesn't matter because composition people don't care much for standard test-taking, some say it might be important to secure funding, some say it can help but not hurt an application, etc. I'm particularly concerned with Penn State, the University of New Mexico, Ohio University, and Miami University of Ohio since they require the GRE. I'm also applying to Michigan State that doesn't require it, but I'm still worried about that as well (perhaps a good GRE score could give me an edge, after all). I'm applying to some other "safeties" (if one can even have safeties at this level!) in Michigan that don't require the GRE, but given my stats and my interests (rhetoric and writing center studies), are there other, more realistic schools I should be looking at that perhaps DON'T place a large emphasis on the GRE? I'm sorry that this post is kind of winding, but I'm just really freaking out about the GRE. Truthfully I didn't really study for it (looked up some math stuff a few times), and I KNOW I could get a better score with the proper preparation. However, that's also time taken away from the other parts of my applications (which is a big deal since I have a lot of them open right now), so I'm torn. I could take the GRE again on December 1st or 15th (the 15th would be pushing it since Penn State's app is due Jan 1st), but I just don't know what to do. Thanks so much for reading and for putting up with me! I appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Thank you all so much for the replies and the anecdotes! It truly does help me a lot. I think studying abroad can definitely make for a an interesting experience, but just from the examples on here, I noticed a few things. girlscoutcookies, your study abroad trips were related to your field, you went before you applied, and you used it for your thesis. As for me, I'm not writing a thesis type piece until next winter AFTER I apply to programs, and my study abroad won't directly contribute to my area. Since I'd be applying to grad programs right in the midst of my semester abroad, I also don't know if I'd be able to put it into my personal statement/SOP since I wouldn't have finished the experience. I guess I'm worried that I'd be doing the study abroad too late and that it's just messing up everything. Has anyone else studied abroad during the fall semester of their senior year? It's just a really inconvenient time and I wished I had studied abroad earlier.

Thank you very much! So, on the flip side of that coin, not going wouldn't make me look worse? It would just reflect the lack of one particular experience? I suppose I really am leaning toward not going, and someone had told me that going would strengthen my application and that it would benefit me tremendously. I just don't know if I can handle it emotionally, and I'd rather be in a good emotional state when applying to graduate school.

Hi Everyone, First of all, I know that April 15th was a big day for many of you, and I hope it went well! So, I've posted on this forum a few times before about graduate school in the rhetoric and comp field, and I've decided that I most definitely want to apply (I'm finishing up my junior year this week and will start working on applications, my personal statement, and my CV this summer!) Since I'm a Writing and Rhetoric and French duo major, I've been grappling profusely with the concept of studying abroad. I did a month week program last summer in Quebec, and I have the opportunity to study abroad in France this upcoming fall semester. This would be great for my French and my overall being, but I have a few concerns... First and foremost, I would be applying to graduate programs while abroad, which will be extra stressful and quite difficult when everything around me is in French. I also won't have in-person access to my professors to receive help on my personal statement and CV, and while I know I can email them and even Skype them, it just won't be the same. Second, I very well might attend graduate school out of state (depending on where I get in), so I don't know if I want to leave for four months and burn up a bunch of money when I'll only be leaving again six months after my return. Also, I just straight up don't know if I can do it, and though everyone tells me I need to push myself and get myself out there, I think I would just rather be here (although I DO really want to go to France. It's such a complicated thing). So, to all the people who are way more experienced than myself concerning the ins and outs and applying to rhet and comp grad schools, would studying abroad for a full semester make or break my application? I already did a summer program and am already at an advanced level of French, so I know I'll be able to pass any language requirements. I don't want to necessarily go to France solely to make my application stronger, but if not going would definitely bring it down a notch, I really need to think this through. For reference, I go to an okay institution over all, but its undergraduate writing and rhetoric program is (apparently) pretty top rate and I've worked with some well-known professors. I've also been working at our writing center for 2 years, have attended and presented at 3 conferences (one international at IWCA), have been a TA for two semesters, am possibly getting an internship that deals with editing a writing center journal, won a writing award and a few French awards, have a compelling story with which to craft my personal statement, and have a 3.9+ GPA. I haven't taken the GRE yet, but I will over the summer. I know applying to grad school can be pretty cut throat since more and more people want to do it and there are still only so many available spots, so I'd really appreciate some advice and insight on what I should do. I know without a doubt that my heart lies in at least getting an MA in writing and rhetoric, and I know that my life will be geared more toward writing than it will be toward French. I just want to have the opportunity to make that happen. Thanks so much in advance!

Hi all, I'm back! I've now finished my 5th semester of college and 4 of my upper-upper-level French classes, and I did well. However, I'm getting closer and closer to graduating, and I need to start making some important decisions!! I studied abroad in Montreal this past summer and did okay. It was a short program and I was completely overwhelmed with trying to actually communicate with people in French (and in weird québécois French at that), but I did improve. I improved tremendously after this past semester as well, and I have the opportunity to study abroad in France next fall and then to potentially do the English assistant program after I graduate (though I'm still up in the air about both). Basically, my professors have told me that I write well in French and that my literary abilities are good, but I struggle tremendously with my spoken French. My pronunciation is okay, but my accent sucks. And my fluency is so blehh. I panic and stress over how to respond. I probably actually come across better than how I feel, but I'd say I'm at a good B1 right now, though my Montréal certificate attests to a B2 (but I'm totally not there yet. I just placed high because I have a good grip on the grammar). So, I guess my question is even if I'm doing well in my courses and in the written sectors of my skills, does my lack of excellence and confidence in spoken French rule me out for grad school in the language? Would I absolutely HAVE to study abroad in France and do the assistant program to even get in? You see, I don't even know if I want to TEACH French. I just want to continue learning it and continue studying literature. Ultimately, I want to be able to write well in it as that would correlate with my writing skills in English. So, I guess I truly am torn, and I don't really know what to do. At this point, I wonder if I should just get a job after I graduate and see what happens. Merci d'avance pour vos réponses et votre aide.

Hi Everyone, I'm currently an undergraduate student working on a research project that is essentially going to run as a "real" academic conference. I've no experience with any conferences since I'm only in my second year, but I'd like to take this project and this opportunity to submit this eventual paper to my university's annual undergraduate research conference. My field is Writing and Rhetoric (Rhet/Comp), and I basically have a few solid sources and a certain direction I want to take the paper, but I don't know how I should craft and develop it. This was thrown on us kind of last minute to see how we can handle pressures that are common in academia, and though I have a good start, I know that I'm behind. I have a meeting with my professor early next week, but I'd like to ask if anyone has any practical advice on how I can simultaneously write and research a conference-worthy paper in a short amount of time? I have 11 days left to do it and submit it to the actual conference, so I hope I'm not entirely irresponsible with this. Thanks, and if this is posted in the wrong place, I apologize.

Hi Everyone, Thanks again for all of the advice! I followed up and consulted with some of my professors, and they're very supportive and encouraging of my ambitions. Of course they don't want to pressure me into anything, especially since I'm still young yet to fully make up my mind, but they were very kind and said that they'd help me find and apply to programs when the time comes. As to how to prepare for it, they admitted they were a little puzzled at my suggestion of working on research and trying to attend/present at conferences. They didn't think undergraduates had to do a lot of professional activities before even starting an MA program, and while they agreed that it couldn't hurt, they didn't really offer much advice about it. So, if I may ask yet another question, how can I get started with research in this field? One professor suggested I utilize my experiences at our writing center and maybe submit a poster to the next CCCC conference, and another suggested I see if I can help out with some journal editing as a student assistant. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I also have ties to the Department of Modern Languages with my other major, and though work there wouldn't be directly related to Rhet/Comp, I could maybe ask if there's any opportunities there as well.

If you want to focus on reading and writing, audio programs can help, but they won't be ideal alone. Programs like Rosetta Stone are good for the traveler who wants to get a good base for conversation to get around, but if you want to read literature or something, you should also consider some good workbooks. I study French, and I've found that the series Practice Makes Perfect has been helpful for my grammar skills. They have an intermediate version for the core tenants of grammar (the past tenses, the future tense, the conditional tense, and the start of the subjunctive mood), and I also have experience with the advanced grammar version that delves further into the specifics and elaborates on the foundations. Also, the about.com French guide is fabulous, and they have bilingual forums where you can ask specific questions about grammar or language. French actually has a different literary tense used in formal writing (and maybe Spanish is similar?), so it'd also help to get some practice with that. They have a lot of free French books for Kindle available on Amazon (I'm currently reading Ourika right now, which is fabulous), and it really does help to just read a bit every day and write out new vocab words you learned throughout the day. I'll also jump on board for Duolingo. It's always good to brush up on your skills with vocab and little tests like that. Good luck with everything! Learning languages is fun PS: As far as how learning languages is useful for English/comp/rhetoric, I've found that it really helps me tutor ESL students in my university's writing center, especially if they're French/of a similar romance language. You can relate to them about trying to learn and harness another language, and it gives you a better sense of patience and compassion. Also, it just spices up your studies.

Does anyone else have any advice? I elaborated a bit onto why I'd like to pursue French, and if that's completely off the wall or a bad reason to do so, then I'd totally appreciate hearing so. Merci d'avance.

Thanks for the advice, Graditude! That's actually a really good idea and something I would definitely consider. So, as a kind of follow-up question, having two undergradute majors and potentially some time working with my French speciliaty wouldn't look bad to a writing graduate program? I know people sometimes say that having more than one area of interest looks like you're wishy-washy, but is that true?

Thank you so much for all of the advice! I really appreciate it. I can definitely benefit from hearing some honest feedback. I will continue to do as I'm doing (working at the writing center, keeping my grades up, getting to know my rhetoric professors) and will also start to get more involved in the department (one of my professors is an editor and asks for students' help occasionally, and we have a couple PhD students coming in to present their research as part of their application processes for a TT position, so I'll definitely attend and ask them what it's like). I know it's still early, but I may as well do some exploring and preparation since it could help me in other ways as well. As for research and writing contests, I entered one contest last week (who knows what will happen), I'll be doing several research projects in my classes that could maybe turn into good writing samples, and I'm sure I can get experience with conferences through working at the writing center. I've yet to really find an area of interest, but I hope it'll come along the way. I like hearing anecdotes of how others have structured their pre-grad school years and how one is recommended to do the same, so I really appreciate everyone's feedback! It helps tremendously.

Thank you very much for the replies! I truly appreciate all of the advice. I do realize that grad school, be it within the realms of French or of Writing and Rhetoric, is quite the commitment. I'm one who embraces challenges and commitments head-on, but I know that I need to seriously think and consider the stakes of this potential "marriage," so to speak. When it comes to French, I love the beauty and the essence of it. I'm crazy about any kind of communication, especially written communication, but something about communicating with others in a foreign tongue just enthralls me. I honestly can (and do) spend hours working on ways to improve and diversify my French communication skills. It just feels "right", and I get a high off of being able to successfully interact with so many kinds of different people. This passion led me to take up French as my second major, and the faculty at my university are very inspiring and wonderful. The Chair of our department is incredible with her literary skills and perspectives, and regardless of where my life takes me, I'm happy to have been in her literature course and strive to be as thoughtful and open-minded as she. I love literature itself as well, and from the very limited French works that I've read (a 19th century piece and a couple 16th century works) along with other European classics, I've found that I love the voyeuristic sense of European Romanticism. It's so real and so tantalizing; it's something I can just drown myself in. I know that part of taking on French graduate studies is taking on a specialty, and French Romanticism, 19th and 20th century French lit, and feminism would definitely be my areas of interest, as cliché and common as they may be. However, I think that I still am a bit young to determine if I could spend my days teaching and sifting through libraries of French literature for research. I'm only at the language-learning stage now (though I've had some literature exposure through a European lit class), and I'm set to start studying literature next fall. I'd still like to get all my ducks in a row, though, and I know that one doesn't always have to go into academia if they study French at the graduate level. Thanks for the insight, Francophile1. I will definitely have to work on my language skills and determine if I could ever manage that kind of fluency. Of course it's possible if I put my all into it, but life is full of too many coulda/shoulda/woulda's.

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site, and I'd really appreciate some advice on how/if I should pursue graduate studies in French. I'm also majoring in Writing and Rhetoric and may wish to do graduate study in that field, so I'd like to know all of my options. As my title indicates, I'm a current college sophomore, and I've yet to take any upper-level French classes. I'm currently finishing up FREN 202 with plans to study abroad in Montreal this summer and potentially France a year or two down the line. I've received very high grades in my courses and have been told by my professors that I've got a great aptitude for French, but I don't go to a top school, so a part of me is skeptical of these feats. I had a few years of French in high school but didn't learn too much from them, so I completely started from scratch my freshman year. Basically, what should one do if they wish to study French in graduate school? What kinds of courses should I be taking, and is studying abroad in France an absolute must? I'll admit that finances are a bit tight for me, but I can always look into making it work, though I worry about my ability to handle studying so far away from home and my family. I'm sorry if this is ill-posed or too immature for discussion, but I'd just really like to keep my options open. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone, I am completely new to this site, and I would really appreciate some advice/guidance on how to pursue a graduate degree in the field of Writing and Rhetoric. I'm currently a sophomore double-majoring in Writing and Rhetoric along with French, and I'd like to know all of my options. I work at my univeristy's writing center, and I absoultely love it! I'll admit that it still makes me nervous sometimes, but generally, I love working with students and helping them with their writing and critical thinking skills. I've been told that I have a great temperment for this kind of thing, and I'd really like to follow up with it after my undergraduate experience. I'm currently learning about the field itself in my classes, and I truly appreciate and recognize how important and crucial it is for composition to be taught and researched. I do have a soft spot for literature as well, so I definitely wouldn't mind dealing with that in the future, though my current undergrad programs consist of composition studies and of French ltierature written in its original language. Basically, I know that I'm young and early yet in my post-secondary education, but what kinds of things should I be doing to determine if this path is the right one for me? I'll be honest and say that I may want to do something with French as well, but again, I'd just like to make sure I know all of my options. Thank you so much! I appreciate it.