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What part of $100 is illegal? Would $50 be ok? $20? I used to run a testing a training center, and $100 for a for-profit, monitored test is reasonable (if on the higher side). Think about what that $100 pays for: Computer Desk Chair AC or Heat Lights Proctor to monitor the test, fill out the verifications, check ID Scheduling system Maintenance and Housekeeping Office Supplies Rent Now, you're right if you claim that the 10% of the space you used for a few hours, even with all of those cost, doesn't cost $100. You would, however, be neglecting the fact that you are also paying for all the time that those desks and staff are there and not busy, as that availability is part of the cost of doing business for you.

You telling someone to stop the drama is hilarious.

I think it's a little more complicated than that. As I looked at schools, almost every program had guaranteed funds of some sort, either through TAing or other departmental jobs. Even with that, as a humanities student, my stipends are going to fall short of allowing me to live comfortably, so I'm taking a small loan out through FinAid/FAFSA. I would guess that most programs, particularly outside of science and tech (where RAs get better pay), are the same way. As an international student, you won't be eligible for those funds and will have higher tuition premiums (along with higher relocation costs, travel expenses, ect) so I can see why a program would want to know that you can actually afford to attend. The other side of that is that programs often don't like when students take outside jobs. Before I got the funded offer at my current program, I had considered taking a job with ResLife at another school that hadn't been able to get me out of state waivers. The department didn't outright discourage it (they couldn't), but it was clear that they didn't want me that heavily committed outside of the program. As an aside, I understand you are upset about not getting into your program of choice, but this is the third or fourth post you've made that comes off as bitter. Let it go, figure out where you fell short academically this year, and improve your cv for this season.

Conference, Netflix and moving/starting stress. I really haven't been very productive at all, and need to at least get a sleep schedule in line before I start TA training in two weeks!

Ya. I'm hoping that she stays active in the community after retirement. I walked her through Google Glass after our town hall, which was a thrill for me. Never thought I would get to teach her anything.

Are you sure? I'm almost positive that OSU requires the MA before starting the PhD (though I do believe that they offer it as a two-part program with one acceptance). If not, the op should definitely look at OSU (It's on my own PhD list, as I would kill to work with Dr. Selfe)

I have a few thoughts here, though I'm hardly an expert as an incoming MA. First, I don't believe any of the top programs (or really any programs) accept direct PhD candidates without an MA/MS (or at least none of the 20 or so I looked at did). That shouldn't matter, however, at comp/rhet programs do have funding in many places for the MA, as you are going to be TAing in the FYC program or working in a writing center. The better news for you is that I got funding with lesser qualifications than yours, so you should be fine. Now, as to safety schools... I'm with the rest of the folks here who say that there is no such thing. I had one safety school, in my mind, and it was the last program to offer me admission, off the waitlist (in mid-May). I also encourage you to stretch a bit past the programs you have listed above.

The biggest thing, from the feedback I received on my own applications, is the ability to explain why the bad grades happened, while also assuring them that they won't happen again. Blaming things like ADHD is fine, but you need to explain what you've done to overcome it. Financial issues are more complicated, as schools expect grad students to be under financial stress, and it may or may not help you to blame that. Junior/Senior and major gpa are more important that overall GPA, so an exceptional few semesters will help. It looks like you've got a few years left to finish, so just concentrate on doing as much as you can in that time to improve your grades, and find a mentor to review and proof your SOP.

It's important to note that some of the answers you get on here are influenced by the type of program you want to get in to. English and Lit programs lean toward accepted more people from the BA directly, which Comp/Rhet almost always wants the MA/MS first (or, at least all the major programs I looked at did). Again, the best thing you can do is identify people who are doing what you think you want to study, and talk to them directly.

If you are considering an academic career, especially in English or Comp/Rhet, the best thing you can do is reach out to professors at your own campus to get their feedback, both about graduate school itself and the career path you would be choosing. DM me and I can pass on some names at UCF to talk to. I hate this idea that, because the job market is tight, that you should choose to pursue something else. The market is tight in almost every field, including law, and most law school grads finish with significant debt. I would personally suggest, at 21-22 or so, that you find a funded MA in a field you are interested in and pursue that. If, after that 2 year program, you feel like a PhD is still worth it, you can do so with more confidence that you are in the right field, and, if you don't, you can opt for law school with a stronger resume and background in writing. (I would tell you to look into Professional Writing and Rhetorics programs, in that case)

Well, this is more of a paragraph than an essay, but I'm going to offer some basic feedback on grammar. First, you have quotations in your opening sentences, but no sense of where this quote is from. Either this isn't a quote (it doesn't read like one), or you need to cite a source. Second, in American English, you would want to have a "the" in front of a capitalized Taj Mahal. You make a similar error around the word nexus. Further on, you have the pyramids as being a "source of enigma," which is problematic. An enigma is the thing itself, not the mystery created, so you want your language to reflect that. You've got a few comma issues, along with capitalization issues. While you vocabulary here is impressive, I don't get the point. I wouldn't think that this would not be a passing paper in First Year Composition.

As someone who has managed people, believe me that my budget included overhead for all my people. I can guarantee you that every department in a tech company has to pay their own budget for supplies and equipment, and the general overhead is considered when they look at how much profit a unit generates.

No, we are shocked that someone would be so ridiculous as to call this plagiarism. There's no dishonesty here.

Oh for goodness sake. This isn't disgusting, or plagiarism, or anything else. I did this as an employer in the past. You ask people to write their own reviews, LoRs, job descriptions, not because you are lazy, but because you want to see how the person sees their own roles/work/potential. I can guarantee that a professor who asks a student to write this letter doesn't just sign the bottom and send it off, but uses it as a base for what they write. This isn't much different than my professors who asked for my CV and SoP before writing letters for me. They wanted to know how I saw my own skills, and how I wanted to represent myself to the adcom, and tailored their letters to match.

Going to argue one point here. Bring your warm weather clothing! Maryland can be/often is shorts weather for at least half the year. One thing, if you have stuff worth moving, is to call uhaul, Pods, and companies like that about doing a store-and-move. If you are moving from major city to major city, you can negotiate rates down. A friend of mine just did Orlando to Boston for $680

TAing/teaching my own section of FYC, haven't heard anything other than training report date. I did get an email asking for my schedule last month, but that's about it.

I think the point here should be that the OP never tried (as far as we know) to contact the school in April. In early March, I reached out to each of my outstanding schools to get a timeline, and each were nice enough to give me some sort of update. I never did hear from one school, though they insisted, when I notified them in April that I was going elsewhere and to pull me out, that they had waitlisted me.

In the county I grew up, a PhD at the HS level starts at 52.6k, teaching certs only gets 42k starting. (Both 10-month rates).

I would also suggest posting this (or, a less dickish version of this) in the forum for your specific field, as you will likely get better answers.

Any suggestions on which building to avoid? They, and Westbay Club (sister building) had the biggest unit for the price, with covered parking.

I've done better than that, though I tend to negotiate. I can get into Water's Edge at $620, or Hunt Club at $600, but both are being a pain about my proof of income (TA letter). Worst case for me is Ramblewood, which is $520/m with covered parking, but the reviews are mediocre. I'm trying to avoid the student-heavy places.

I spoke to a number of grad students (and recent former grad students) at my top programs, but I didn't reach out "blind". I was lucky enough to meet people at conferences, or through mutual friends, and then speak to them. In addition, once I accepted an offer I almost immediately heard from multiple grad students in the program who offered to help with my transition.

One thing in the last response is definitely worth nothing. Admissions personnel network just like anyone else, both inside and outside the university. You came across horribly here, both in your language and tone, and it wouldn't shock me if your emails get forwarded around (you have no implied right to privacy with emails to admissions, afaik). It's also worth noting that, even if you aren't a native speaker, it may be worth your time to take a little longer on crafting professional emails. There are, as someone up-thread pointed out, several places in your letter that are ungrammatical, and you probably don't want to communicate, even as a customer, this way. Back to the main point. While it's nice to expect an outright rejection, or at least some response from a program, that really isn't what you are paying for. You have no proof that your application wasn't reviewed, and to accuse the school of doing otherwise can be interrupted as accusing them of fraud. The MBA program at GW likely received 1000s of applications every year, so it's not shocking to me that some rejections fall through the cracks. I have to ask what your communication with the program or graduate school was prior to this? If you haven't heard anything since submission, it may well be that a mistake was made, but it could just as easily mean that the school was waiting for you to send a missing item, or had put you in some sort of unofficial waitlist. Your better bet, at this point, is to email the adcom asking for some update for your status, and, if they confirm your belief that they never received your application from the admissions office, then you may be right to ask for answers. (this should have happened in April)

So, I did a breakdown of this for an undergraduate journalism class. We broke down all the salary data for professors at our small state school (it's worth noting that the state's flagship university pays on the same scale, just with a cost of living increase for the more expensive area. This is for a school where almost every professor is 4/4, with a few research slots in the environmental and green engineering side. (I wish I had the published link but it looks like the prof took it down after the semester) The University of Maryland has a base of 50k for all professors in the system (TT), regardless of department. In the humanities, education, math and phys ed, assistant profs start right around the base (English started a little over 55k for their last few hires.) Associates (which can happen as soon as year five for fast track) jump another 8k or so (on top of any annual increases), with another jump for full professors. In sciences like bio and chem you can add 5-15k to the starting point. Programs like engineering and computer science will be another 5-10k on top of that (so, a start of 70kish). Business and Accounting will start over 80k. All the step increases will scale up in relation to the starting point. The top dozen paid profs consisted almost exclusively of business types, with a poli sci and engineering prof mixed in (The poli sci prof was the most recent provost, so he retained some of those bumps). In my department, the full profs ranged from 75k for the newest promotions (10 years in or so) to a pair making over 120k. One of those was a former provost himself, while the other was an associate dean of the college of arts and sciences, and had 30 years on staff. Now, this is also in a poor area, so that's a lot of buying power, but it will never touch what most of these folks will make on the corporate side, if they chose to go that way. Keep in mind that this is in Maryland, which is a high paying state in general. Most schools won't be near this, except for the very best private schools. Now, there are ways to supplement your income that won't show in salary. Professors at my alma mater made ~3k per summer or intersession course, and I know some who taught five or six of them a year (usually pre-tenure). Department heads received a bump of 4-5k (along with course relief). Publications, conference keynotes, editing, and the like all can pay money, and I know professors (lecturers and adjuncts, but I'm guessing TT profs as well) who would adjunct at local CCs over the summer or do GRE/GMAT/MCAT tutoring for money as well. You're never going to get rich as a prof outside of a few fields, at least not from teaching, but if your debt load is reasonable you can live a very comfortable life, and the benefits are usually pretty good (defined benefit pensions, decent insurance, job security). UT-Austin has all this published http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/government-employee-salaries/the-university-of-texas-at-austin/departments/department-of-english/17862/ They top out higher than we did, but they have much larger departments, bigger class size and graduate programs (which pay a bit better, sometimes.)

Mind sharing where you've found editing work? I've taken a few gigs through Guru, but they've not ended well for me.