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CLEMSON VS. NC STATE. I'm torn. My research interests are in rhetorical theory, digital media and web social activism. My far-too-simple analysis of these two programs, which are my finalists and are both offering similar funding packages, is that Clemson RCID focuses more on rhetorical theory, while NC State CRDM focuses more on communication, media theory and social media. I can't really go wrong with either-- both boast nearly 100% job placement rates. For anyone with inside knowledge of the programs, could you perhaps give me some advice on how they differ/which better sets up someone who'd like to one day publish in Kairos, Computers & Composition, and Philosphy & Rhetoric? My gut inclination as of now is to head to Raleigh and commit to NC State based on the faculty, the cohort, the awesome city, the location, the focus on media theory (which attracts me), and the overall level of comfortability. I haven't visited Clemson, so I haven't a clue what life would be like there. But they have big-name faculty and a history of excellence. Anyone have any inside knowledge on these programs? Thanks in advance!

CLEMSON VS. NC STATE. I'm torn. My research interests are in rhetorical theory, digital media and media theory. My far-too-simple analysis of these two programs, which are my finalists and are both offering similar funding packages, is that Clemson RCID focuses more on rhetorical theory, while NC State CRDM focuses more on communication, media theory and social media. I can't really go wrong with either-- both boast nearly 100% job placement rates. For anyone with inside knowledge of the programs, could you perhaps give me some advice on how they differ/which better sets up someone who'd like to one day publish in Kairos, Computers & Composition, and Philosphy & Rhetoric? My gut inclination as of now is to head to Raleigh and commit to NC State based on the faculty, the cohort, the awesome city, the location, the focus on media theory (which attracts me), and the overall level of comfortability. I haven't visited Clemson, so I haven't a clue what life would be like there. But they have big-name faculty and a history of excellence. Anyone have any inside knowledge on these programs? Thanks in advance!

Congrats! I'm in there as well. Looking forward to the visitation dates in a few weeks.

Congratulations! SLU is a great school. I'm considering it there. They have an up-and-coming rhetcomp program for sure. Are you visiting the department? I'll be there in early April.

You'll have better luck over on: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/32-engineering/

That's what I was wondering! Seems like some early acceptances have already gone out, but I haven't heard anything one way or another. I was tempted to email the grad director, but I've held off for now. We'll see.

Oh, how to choose between a program with a 100% TT job placement rate and a dream program (and perfect fit) in my research field. Anyone out there in the same pickle as I am?

I'm generally deciding to not do this at all, simply because these programs have already made at least $100 off of me through application fees and GRE scores, and because I assume any competitive program will have the funds allotted to bring grad students in to visit. Frankly, I have more than one program asking me to come in and covering my costs to do so. It's not a good look to ask me to pay for my own ticket to your out-of-the-way rural university in comparison, haha. The difficulty comes in when there's a program not holding an accepted students event (or at least not covering travel costs for it), yet is one I'm very much interested in getting a first-hand account of. I'll be meeting you at the Miami open house! Which day will you be there? Just out of curiosity, how did you find out about your Virginia Tech acceptance (congratulations, by the way)? I'm still waiting to hear back from them. Was it over email or through the portal?

Thanks! Will PM you.

Anyone else have a job and need to make some tough decisions in regards to which programs to visit? I'm deciding between three programs, all of seemingly equal merit, and trying to determine which is the best fit. BUT- I'm a practicing teacher, and I can't just cancel three or four class sessions at the drop of a hat because programs want us to visit on weekdays. My students NEED to hold class. Such a frustrating situation to be in. What I'm doing is narrowing down to my top choices and only visiting them, but... AH! So frustrating.

I really like the inclusion of Latour on this list, as he's as "hot" a philospher in academia as anyone out there. I'd replace We Have Never Been Modern with Reassembling the Social instead, though, as the latter includes an actual overview of Latour's Actor Network Theory which is only hinted at or outlined broadly in WHNBM.

So, last year I was rejected from every PhD program that I applied to. My thesis advisor presented me with two options: give up on academia, or commit to some serious reading over the course of the year. What he told me to do was simple: read the past five years of the major rhetoric and composition journals. Obviously, you don't have that much time. My recommendation is to read as much of CCC (College Composition and Communication) and College English as you can. These journals are the most prestigious in the field, though they're not specified to a particular sub-discipline within rhet/comp. Once you understand the general outline of the discipline, ie. the major debates scholars are still arguing about, you can specify the journals you're reading into those tackling only your specialty, such as those dedicated to queer rhetorics, etc. If you can show up on day 1 and make references to the major theorists in the field (Burke, Elbow, Flower....), imposter syndrome won't be quite so resolute.

Apologies if this has been asked before, but what are the best coffeeshops/cafes/public workspaces in Raleigh? Preferably near NC State?

Congratulations! I was accepted with funding as well. What are your thoughts on the program? I'm having an informal phone call with them on Friday to discuss. How exciting!

Nice! What are your research interests? I've heard great things about UCR lately.

Yupp, Nebraska-Lincoln. That one I'm not funded for, though I'm on the waitlist, so I'm not sure I'd be helping you if I officially told them I wasn't interested. They're my last choice as far as the places I've been accepted to, though. Seeing as how they aren't going to fly me out to visit, it's unlikely I'd move to an unknown in Nebraska anyway. I'll likely end up turning them down in a few weeks, as they weren't really in my ideal plans to begin with. Good luck!

Woo hoo! I'm in at NC State's RCDM program w/ teaching! Wishing the best to all the other NC State applicants. If anyone else plans to visit or is accepted to the program, feel free to message me!

Ah, sorry if I was unclear on this point. It's absolutely not NECESSARY to contact faculty members you're interested in working with, merely HELPFUL in certain situations. I've found it helpful in certain circumstances, such as if you have any way to "break the ice" in a natural, organic way. I've devised ways to do it for two programs this application cycle. But it might not be useful to everyone. As an example, I saw one of my POIs present at a conference once, and I was able to email her later on and say I enjoyed the talk (I also asked a question). Something like that. Circumstantial, but possibly helpful.

I haven't heard anything from Penn State, but I applied to their English program. Response time should vary based on department.

This one I found this morning might be more current: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XNJR4IhOJ56zd7zLuVSUK7h054dBRNvyiC7iStCOsxo/edit?usp=sharing Thanks to whoever made it/compiled it.

Some people on this thread have complained of St. Louis' "lack of culture." Can anyone suggest areas that might have more of this, even if they aren't particularly overwhelming? I'm not looking for Brooklyn here, people, but some coffeeshops, galleries, co-ops, theaters, etc.?

Something that helped me was to email a particular professor ahead of time about the work they've published. Something along the lines of "I was intrigued by your treatment of X in your essay X...." Academic writers work incredibly hard on the intricate process of publishing an article, and then often receive an underwhelming and oftentimes non-existent response from readers in the disciplinary community. Sending these emails demonstrates at least three major items about you: 1. That you keep up on disciplinary literature, 2. That you're interested and invested in that subdiscipline (Object-oriented ontology in Victorian literature; Community literacy in Rhet/Comp, to name two), and 3. That you have a distinct interest in that scholar's particular work. After doing this, ideally ahead of time, feel free to mention that you're considering their graduate program for MA/PhD work. Only after. Tell them a bit about yourself, and mention your interests. They'll ideally be able to tell you if you're a fit or not. Do this MONTHS ahead of the grad application's due date. It's a low-risk way to get your name out there, at the very least. It helped me get into two top-tier grad programs.

Congrats to the most recent bunch of admits!!

Society tends to privilege extroversion. Hopefully the grad program realizes that. Congrats!