wordslinger

Personally, I did not have much contact with the school or professor prior to applying. I did know that the school was a "good fit" because: 1. my mentor recommended it to me and 2. when I perused the faculty list, I recognized several names from the work from which I drew for my thesis and other writing. I did not spend a lot of time strategizing the application process. I wrote my SOP based on what I really feel and think about teaching and research in composition. I got advice from my mentor and used an excerpt from my thesis for my writing sample. I applied to schools with professors I with whom I want to study. Shrug. For what it's worth, I'm not lit, and my interest in national rankings is pretty much zero. Good luck to you, my friend!

I have a Kindle, and I absolutely adore it for light reading. Certainly, you can get what you want quickly and it's easy to carry about. For scholarly work, I find that the vast majority of books I am reading for grad classes and my own research are not available for the Kindle. There were maybe two this semester of the twenty books I have purchased. Additionally, I find the annotation process much more tedious than old-school writing in the margins or even just making notes on my laptop while I read. With PDFs, I have had troubles. Sometimes they are very difficult to read (if it's not an "official" PDF, for example), and even official ones can be annoying to flip through. In summation, I'm glad that I have my Kindle. I read lighter scholarly works on it, not to mention the trashy novels from which I cannot sever myself. But I do not think we are quite there in this being a replacement for buying the texts one needs for most scholarly research. My two cents. And I'm glad to answer any questions anyone has about the Kindle by the way.

Hey, I'm sorry to hear about that bad experience. In my opinion, you need a strong writing group of trusted English colleagues or other profs who can give you the feedback that you need. And most importantly, DO NOT take his offhand insult to heart. I cannot imagine why he would say that, but it's not something you should worry about... you will be fine! I draft just like you do and didn't do any formatting until the end, and my thesis turned out fine. Good luck!

Well, I finally did it and bought my official grad school laptop today... a MacBook Pro. I went with it because of the durability and reliability I believe it will have. I'm in English. I'll definitely be picking up MS Word for Mac. Any other recommended software, particularly for managing notes, sources, and pdfs?

Yeah, my personal policy tends to be "live and let live," but I become really frustrated when people are cruel or unfair to others. Fiscal policy is one thing (arguably), whether you are liberal or conservative, but the desire to restrict the rights of others on the basis of gender, sexuality, or race is something that I cannot understand. On that note, I honestly do not understand the opposition to gay marriage; nobody's *insisting* that you marry someone of the same gender, just that you have the option. Riotbeard: People accuse me of being an idealist all the time, and I don't think they mean it in a nice way. But I'll take it over the alternative.

I haven't taken Latin in years, but I had five years of it back when, so I'm finding that it's coming back easily enough as I review for the exam. Now French will be different matter, since I've only got one year of high school French plus a few semesters of foreign exchange student tutoring in curse words and sexual innuendo. The other grad students don't seem too worried about it, so I'm not stressing either. I'm sure you'll be fine too.

I've been teaching high school English as well, although I don't hate it. I am on the verge of burning out, though; it's hardcore.

Well, just FYI, Louisville only offers a Rhet/Comp PhD. Or are you looking for MA programs? Good luck in narrowing down your schools and starting the process!

I really relate to this issue too... I took my husband's last name when we married but have since divorced. I had my first publication in a national journal in January, so I used my maiden name and am in the process of returning to that name in all ways (driver's license, bank, grad school, etc.). I really could not imagine publishing and working under somebody else's name. I may eventually marry again (or maybe not!), but I think I'll not change my name again, probably for equal personal and professional reasons. As for the OP, I know no one enters a marriage thinking about the possibility of being post-marriage, but my advice is that a woman has to take care of herself, look at her own interests professionally, financially, personally, etc. And relationships can be happy whether you share the same last name or not. If you were to have children, they would be fine. I know many children who do not share one (or even either) of their parents' last names and they seem untraumatized. Good luck with your decision!

Geochic, Wow, I'm so glad to "meet" another single mom here! I feel for you having to cover daycare in addition to other expenses. I think my saving grace has been finally having my son in school instead of day care. Thanks so much for the well wishes, and right back at you! In terms of a social life, I have an extremely supportive family. Also, my son lives mostly with his father in the summer, which expands my work and play times considerably during the summer months. Since we'll be living further away from my family starting in August, I definitely do not expect to have as much time to go out, which is okay by me, since my workload will be heavy. I think I'll be able to find the friendship I need in ways that don't include bar-hopping at all hours of the night, and I'm not going to try to begin or sustain a relationship while in grad school. Would love to talk with you some more!

swimming upstream

I'll be single and childed when I start grad school in the fall, but I'm not too worried about it. My social life's been fine as a single mom, and I don't really expect that to change. If you'll be in Kentucky, I'll hang with you, Coyabean.

I've "met" a few people in my cohort, mostly through Grad Cafe. (Thanks, by the way!) There were a few other people at visitation weekend, and I've kept in touch with one person who I know accepted. I'm not too worried. I'm sure it will all sort itself out in August.

Good luck to you! I'm in North Carolina now, and it's a great place to live (at least Charlotte is). If there's any way I can help you or answer questions, I am happy to do so!

That was great! An much-needed guffaw here at the end of my week.

questions about disciplinary distinctions petals on a wet black bough

I totally agree with other posters that working on an MA is an excellent plan. My MA was crucial to developing my research interests. I also completed my MA at night while working a full-time job. And, although it's going to be tough for me to give up the paycheck I've become accustomed to, it's been nice to earn a little money so that this round of grad school doesn't break the bank. There's nothing wrong with wanting to love what you do!

GreenFuzzy, Well, why are you interested in going to grad school? I think if you have a significant overarching goal, that can keep you going through the program. On the other hand, you probably do not want to be ones of those folks who completes the coursework but just can't get through the diss. Personally, I have a list of about five solid ideas (somewhat intertwined) that I will be happy researching and writing about. I suspect that my coursework and writing will point me in a more specific direction during my first year of the PhD. But I haven't started yet, so I have no idea what I'm talking about.

lip gloss

How old are your children? I hadn't thought about it, but he is a well-behaved child and capable of excellent focus, so this can be a back-up plan for emergencies.

I am also the parent of a 7-year-old heading into full-time grad school mode in the fall. My twist is that I'm a single parent, and I'm definitely not seeing too many people like me around here. Although I would love to chat if you are! I did my MA in English Education while working full-time and parenting full-time. It was very difficult. I really had no choice but to work, especially until he reached school age. Now, I will definitely be taking a pay decrease to go to school full time next year, but honestly I am feeling like it will be easier in many respects. Because of my previous experience, I am excellent at time management and do not expect the work load to constitute a problem. Also, my son is in school, so no daycare costs or even after school care will be needed next year (although I will need babysitting while I attend classes three times per week). My biggest worry is unexpected evening and/or weekend "stuff." Unlike childless people, I cannot simply drop everything and leave home at the drop of a hat. Do you all think that will be a problem?

crazy hair

I think we are all going through a very stressful time period right now... it's the end of the semester, decisions are made/about to be made regarding school in the fall, and things are altogether hectic. But I must admit that I prefer these English forums when we've got each other's back, you know? That being said, I am an insensitive galoot in real life and rarely discern straightforward, personal insults, either on paper or in person, and yet the tone of the OP's comments raised my hackles. I think, as a previous poster mentioned, it's the whole talk of "low ranked" and "high ranked" programs, perhaps combined with my middle-class upbringing and the over-emphasis on ranking and achievement as a measure of success. I don't think Americana was intentionally hurtful in her comments, and a considerable portion of my reaction to them has little to do with her original intention anyway. Better to talk it out than not.

BionicKris: LOVE this Ikea, and I'll be sad to leave it in August. Actually, I'm a little sad about leaving Charlotte as I really do like it here. So... you mentioned it in passing in another post, but how did you and your SO work out the move together? It kind of looks like I'm just going to have to leave my SO behind.

Congrats on that acceptance! That's huge!