Academicat

If it's a prestigious school or one that the adcomm might have connections to, mention it. It's only three more words. If it's The University of Phoenix or Strayer University, maybe it'd be best to leave it out.

Wow, I went to a meeting and came back to a flurry of activity. First, I want to let you all know that I am absolutely not telling you what to do, nor am I claiming to have all the answers. I'm just sharing what I've learned and what seems to be working for me. You can choose to do a cover letter or not. I didn't see the cover letter as a risk, and I wouldn't have written one if I hadn't gotten explicit advice to include one. I was at the Council of Writing Program Administrators conference this summer, hanging out with some older WPAs who serve on adcomms. They were trading stories about crazy applicants, and I asked them what they look for in an application packet. During the conversation, they discussed the cover letter AND the SOP as if they were two different documents. For what it's worth, they also suggested that they favored applicants who were "normal" (and not crazy/obsessive/haughty). That's what led me to write a cover letter. I figured these guys who worked at different schools and had a couple of decades worth of experience on me knew what was up. I wrote the cover letter and presented it as part of my CV with no second thoughts. To respond to the writing sample questions, I saw the writing sample as a risk because the document I used was an old essay, from five years ago. I considered writing a new one based on my current work, but decided against it because of time. Instead, I revised and updated the older essay. I'm really glad that some of you have found value in my post, and as I mentioned, I'm willing to share/discuss off-forum. If you contact the department and they explicitly say not to include a cover letter, then it'd probably be best to heed that advice. I'm not ready to share which departments I got offers from publicly, but they're major universities, so I don't think the programs were especially unique. Keep in mind that the cover letter isn't the only change I made to my application packet. Every single document went through heavy revision, and I didn't write in a vacuum. I talked with my writing group, which is comprised of both TT and NTT faculty and graduate students from across disciplines, about my documents, and nobody balked at the idea of including a cover letter, for what that's worth. But like I said, you are all smart and capable and free to revise as you see fit.

That's right - I had no cover letter the rejectionful year. I assumed that the SOP served as a cover letter, but in talking with people who review these applications, I learned that most applications have cover letters. I was actually pretty mortified to learn that I'd missed this piece of information, but I was quick to correct it. I usually uploaded the letter in the same .pdf as my CV as an introduction to the entire packet, as all of my applications are online. I'm happy to let you look at what I wrote, but it was about a page and a half long, and while my SOP spoke to my research interests, my cover letter talked about my competence as a teacher and writing center administrator. I played up the projects I'd been a part of and how scholarship both informed them and would continue to inform future projects. For what it's worth, I made sure I took the time to put it on letterhead and include an electronic signature.

What a great topic, SleepyOldMan. Last year, I didn't get into any of the programs for which I applied, and I would have really appreciated something like this. My experience is a little different than a lot of traditional students, as I've been working as a writing center administrator (I supervise and coordinate the directors) and NTT faculty at a state university (so it was a real blow last year when I didn't get in, as I'm actually working in the field right now). *By the way, if anyone with an MA is looking for a job teaching writing, we're hiring! And if anyone with writing center administration experience and an MA is looking for a job, we will be hiring this summer! Drop me a message.* Anyhow, I'm applying to Comp/Rhet programs, and my research focus is the intersection of writing centers and digital media literacy. When we see people's success, what we don't usually see is all of the failure and learning that preceded the success, so I want to emphasize that I have stumbled a LOT over the course of my career in my attempts to reach my goals. My "recipe" for success is as follows: 1 part buying people I admire coffee and asking lots of questions 1 part making friends and collaborating with people I admire 1 part mentoring people who are a few steps behind 1 part being involved in everything I can and taking on projects/creating projects as much as I can handle 3 parts assessing the state of the field critically and specializing as early as possible in something that not many people are doing but that will only become increasingly relevant (rather than simply "doing what I love," though I do love what I do) 5 parts being willing to take risks and fail (and I did, many times) 100 parts actively making the choice to use the failures as a learning opportunity Here's my stuff: The Numbers Honestly, I don't know how much numbers matter as long as they're not abysmal. My verbal and writing GRE scores are above the 90th percentile, though they're not outrageously high, and my math score is just embarrassing, but I wasn't about to learn calculus for one test. Both my BA and MA GPA are around 3.8. My BA and MA aren't from a prestigious university at all (it's a large, open admissions state school). I counterbalanced that with pragmatism. I figured out early what I wanted to do career-wise, so I started presenting at conferences (I'd ride along with faculty and sleep on their hotel room floors. Cheap!), doing voluntary internships, seeking out mentors, starting my own projects and rallying people to help, and building experience as an undergraduate. I was never "supposed" to go to college in the first place; nobody in my family goes to college and they don't always get what I'm doing. Most of the time I feel like I'm stumbling in the dark figuring out academia, so all of this is just what has worked for me so far. The Writing Sample My writing sample this year was a risk. I finished my MA in 2009, and I've been working in the field ever since, so I have drafts from conferences that I considered revising for the sample, but I ended up choosing an ethnography that I wrote during my MA and revising it for currency. I chose that piece strategically because it quotes scholars from schools where I wanted to study and because it reflects my research interests closely (and stands to show that my research interests have been a part of my work for many years). The SOP My SOP was the document that changed most between my failed year last year and my successful year this season. My first SOP was more of a narrative, but that chanced when I gathered all of my friends SOPs, especially those who got into programs, spread them out on a table, and looked for patterns. The successful ones seemed to follow a specific formula, so I modeled mine after the patterns in structure and tone. The first few paragraphs of each SOP were the same, but the penultimate paragraph was very tailored for each program. In cases when I knew which scholar I wanted to work with, I talked about his/her research and how it connected with my own. I focused on academics in the statement of purpose, talking about conference presentations, special projects, and even my writing in graduate school, even though it had been a while. The LORS My LORs were written mostly by people I'd worked with (because, as I said, I've been working for five years now). The first was written by a fairly big name scholar in writing center studies who had been a supervisor during my first job out of grad school (I applied for and accepted the job because I wanted to work with him). The second letter was written by my current department head, who is a tenured composition scholar. The third letter, because I thought it might be good to find a former professor, was written by a tenured professor who had supervised my teaching as a graduate student. I chose him because I had worked with his wife for years, so I knew I had stayed at least a little bit in their consciousness, and because he had always been very aware of my interest in writing centers and supportive of providing opportunities that fostered that research interest. I did make it a point to go to his Christmas party when I was back home for the holidays (because I hadn't really talked to him in years), give him materials to refer to for his letter, including essays I'd written for his class, my CV, and my website URL, and ask him specifically to focus on certain aspects of my work that the other two professional colleagues wouldn't be able to speak to. The CV & Chances to See Me After crawling out of the hole that the crushing blow of being roundly rejected by all of the PhD programs I'd applied to last year had shoved me into, I called up my mentor to talk about how I could do a better job the next time around, and the advice he gave me was to give them as many chances to see you as possible. Last year's application didn't have a cover letter, but after being rejected, I was frankly pissed, so the cover letter I wrote was aggressive and bold, and it outlined my work experience and stated, very openly, that to progress, I needed the kind of scholarly foundation that I could only get from their PhD program. I put it on departmental letterhead for a little extra clout, and followed it with my CV. I did what I could to give people chances to see me. In my work, if I had a chance to travel and talk to people, I took it. I emailed scholars at other schools for advice on projects we were working on at mine. Over the summer and after application season, I emailed faculty at schools I'd been rejected from to ask what I could do better next time - and they were often people I'd met through work anyhow, so I was both receiving advice, and reminding them that they had worked with me. Sometimes trying to find a way to phrase the emails was difficult and awkward, because I wanted to maintain my dignity in the face of failure while at the same time asking for help. A phrase a friend gifted me with was "I didn't get the results I'd hoped for this year, so I was hoping you could offer some advice for next year's application." Other Stuff Like I said, this thread is awesome. We're also really lucky to have one another as resources - I am happy to share my documents with people, acknowledging that they're not necessarily perfect, but they're my best attempt and they've achieved some success. I'm also willing to give up some of my anonymity in the name of being collaborative. Here's my website (as simple as it is) with some documents that might be useful: paula-miller.com. I'm also happy to Skype or GHangout with anyone who wants to talk more.

Did anyone else get accepted to UT Knoxville? My letter seemed really... unusual for an acceptance letter. I wonder if anyone else had the same experience.

To add mine to the list, for a more pragmatic take on the challenges of academe, check out Dr. Karen's blog: http://theprofessorisin.com/pearlsofwisdom/ She is a former tenured professor who left the university to do private consulting for grad students, grads on the job market, and professors working toward tenure. In addition, she writes this blog, and it's both brilliant and practical.

Has anyone else applied to NCState's CRDM program? Have you heard back yet? There's nothing on the results board.

I have nightmares about this. Those poor applicants. I hope MIT sent them all a fruit basket for the mix-up.

Last year, I didn't hear from Louisville until March when they let me know I was on the waitlist, so there is cause to have hope. You might also want to start making contingency plans just in case, though I hope you won't need 'em!

If you've finished your undergrad so young, you are likely a focused, driven person, but as someone with over ten years on you, I encourage you to recognize the freedom you have right now. You're 19 years old - you can do just about ANYTHING you want in the interim. If you're not dealing with children or a mortgage or debt, and you don't get into a program, have a year of adventures. Live simply so you can do stuff. Hike the Appalachian Trail. Start a band. Travel (megabus + hostels). Love your family like crazy and spend time with them, because as an academic, who knows how far from them you'll live in 5 years or in 10 years. The whole year, write like a madwoman. Chronicle your adventures, and think about how worth it the stories are, and how you'll be able to spin them into selling points later that will make you a more enticing, experienced applicant. I hope you do get into the program of your dreams, but if you don't, it might be a boon you didn't see coming.

Love the community reference. You are hilarious.

This thread is essentially the Lit/Rhet/Comp chatroom, isn't it?

Last year, I didn't get into one program, which was a huge blow to my ego. After dusting myself off, I regrouped, and it seems to have made a difference this season. Here's what I did: 1. Over the summer, I started a writing group. I invited widely, so we ended up with compositionists, TT librarians, and literature scholars, both faculty and graduate student. We used the Wendy Laura Belcher book "Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks: A Guide to Academic Success" as a guide. The value of the group was twofold: I got some feedback on my writing sample, allowing me to revise, but I also got to see my colleagues' writing processes. Seeing what they write and how they write helped me refine my approach. Helping people with their writing helps me write better. 2. I collected Statements of Purpose from my friends who had successfully gotten into fully funded graduate programs, spread them all out on the table, and looked for patterns. This is a strategy that has worked well for me when writing cover letters, and it helped me take a completely new approach to my SOP. 3. I reconsidered my recommendation writers and swapped out one very busy colleague for a former professor from my MA program. This particular colleague had forgotten about writing my letter last year, and though we worked closely, she showed me that the letter she eventually did submit was just a form letter, so I knew I needed someone else. Even though I had been out of graduate school and working for four years, my former professor was happy to write me a letter, and moreover, he has been a great resource for advice this application season. To make it easier on him, I sent him the papers I'd written for his class, my current CV, and a link to my website. 4. I built a professional website. The advice of one of my mentors was, "give them as many opportunities to see you as possible," so even though the website is fairly simple (my CV, a statement of research interest, a teaching statement, and a blog), I didn't think it would hurt my chances. 5. I felt a little silly about this one. Last year, when I submitted my applications, I treated my SOP as a cover letter, and I didn't use letterhead. When I was at the CWPA conference in Savannah, I had a conversation with some colleagues about what they look for in an applicant, and they both talked about both the cover letter and the SOP. For some reason, I had assumed that they could be the same document. This year, I wrote a separate cover letter that discusses my work experience and what I would bring to the department as a TA. I put it on department letterhead, which gives it some gravitas. If you are currently a graduate student, you should have access to departmental letterhead. Just ask. 6. I asked lots of people lots of questions, and I took their advice. We are all resources to one another, and people who are further ahead in the field may be busy, but they also want to help you succeed because, chances are, they are successful due in part to the support of their mentors. If you don't get in, it's not the end of the world, and it's not a reflection on you as a person. It's just that your application packet didn't showcase you as well as it could, and you can work with that. Spend your year out of grad school developing yourself professionally in whatever ways make sense to you. One option is to pick up a course adjuncting at a university that offers free classes to their part-timers. With your free class credit, take a course that would allow you to create a new writing sample, and then throw yourself into making it as awesome as possible. Take advantage of all the resources you have available to you on campus to revise the rest of your packet. Go out for lots of coffee dates with people who have succeeded. Ask their advice. It's worth the investment.

Thanks, everyone. Your advice has been really helpful. I'm going to visit them both.

This weekend, I found out that I've been accepted to two programs, and they are both have different strengths. One program is among the top on my list. The other, a much smaller program, is interesting to me for very different reasons - the program is much more intimate, there would be more one-on-one mentorship, and the school houses a journal in my field that I would love to work with. I've been invited to visit both schools, expenses paid, and the first visit is at the end of the month. I am strongly leaning toward my top choice school, but the other looks appealing, too, and I'm curious about it. I would say I'm about 70% in favor of the larger program and 30% on the smaller. I've spent the weekend pouring over both websites and talking to people about their experiences in/the reputations of both programs. How do you decide whether to accept the invitation to visit? Are they really used as opportunities to get to know the program better to make a more informed decision? I feel some amount of guilt, perhaps unjustified, at the possibility of expending the department's resources and taking up someone else's opportunity to visit a school that I'm not (yet, at least) head over heels about. Thoughts?

I am troubled by this post, in part because one of the "flame war" references mentioned began with a post from me. I responded to her question about the state of the field, and I mentioned my job title to give some context to my response. The conversation quickly turned from a conversation to something a little more aggressive and personal, in part fueled by the haze of unease and insecurity that this point in the application season brings, which is understandable. While all of this detective work you've done may be true, this kind of calling-out is unkind and unnecessary, and I question why anyone would feel the need to attempt to embarrass a fellow graduate student like this, especially under the veil of an anonymous nick. I like to think TheGradCafe is a place where we support one another in a positive, constructive way as we go through a difficult process. Navigating academia can be challenging, especially for someone coming from a family that is not full of academics, which may be where the "false credentials" came from - from a place of misunderstanding coupled with worry, rather than from a place of actual, out-and-out deceit. Balancing self-promotion is challenging, especially in our field. We all have to learn how to speak the language, but we also learn how to navigate politics (and egos), and the particulars of job titles are one of those tricky political issues that take some time to learn. Yes, referring to a GA position as if it is a full-time, permanent position is a gaffe, but the more constructive response would have been a private message, or at the very least, to have the respect to point it out politely under your main nick. I don't pretend to know this person's situation, but I do know that we have an obligation to be at least respectful and give one another the benefit of the doubt. If you already understand the politics of academe, then you are coming from a position of privilege. Use your privilege to lift your colleagues up, not shame and bully them.

Yes. yes. I love you.

That's me, and I am stoked! It was so unexpected. Were you in the English Dept? Can I pick your brain in a message?

They invite you to visit campus before the decision deadline (April 15th) because they want to convince you to attend. If you are still undecided on a school, the campus visit can help you decide. It's okay to decline if you decide, after the visit, that it's not the right place for you.