Ufffdaaa

Seriously, Purdue... "Quit playin' games with my heart" [Not officially rejected because of their rolling acceptance process, but I've sort of written it off at this point]

@klader: Congrats on Purdue and Michigan! I almost applied to Michigan because their joint PhD is so unique. One of my professors went there, and she's had some great opportunities to teach in the English department and English Ed to undergrads. I emailed Syracuse back with an open availability range on a few days, but they didn't reply back today. I'm now worried that they will just randomly call me, which is freaking me out. I assumed it would be at a set time. @EspritHabile: I don't want to jinx anything, but what will you do if you go 5/5?

I'm in the camp that says to just wait it out. The departments are busy and cannot handle inquiries from all of their applicants. It's still early February. We have a lonnnnng way to go! In late March/April, I might have a different answer.

@EspritHabile: No problem. It looks like you've already received some good news. I hope it continues for you!

I applied to Purdue, and I can attest to the fact that they do not invite all of the people who applied. I haven't heard anything from them. I assume it's a good sign that you were invited

@mk-8: That's awesome about UT-Austin! It's a great school AND you'd get to live in Austin!

It's difficult to keep track of the rhet/comp people on the "acceptances" thread. Does anyone want to update here? I've been rejected from OSU and Wisconsin, but I have a phone interview with Syracuse. Still waiting on Tennessee, Purdue, and ASU.

According to the results board, there are at least three from gradcafe. I assume that includes the two of us though. I was hoping to find an answer on past threads, but I didn't have any luck when I searched "Syracuse" or "Composition and Cultural Rhetoric."

@klader: I assume that the interviews help them determine who they are going to accept? Also, I put together a list of the number of current CCR students: 1st year: 4 2nd year: 5 3rd year: 3 4th year: 0 (expected graduation year) 5th year: 1 ABD: 11 They have really small cohorts.

I got an email to set up a phone interview too! This is my first piece of "good" news, but I'm also aware of the fact that there have only been four "accepted" posts on the results board in the last 10 years. Each year, I think they only accept 4.

Thanks @FreakyFoucault. I've been looking at PhD placements at some of the schools left on my list (Tennessee/Arizona State), and I'm disheartened by most of them. A lot of the recent grads teach at schools that I have never heard of or are lecturers/adjuncts. Maybe I should just be happy that I'm a full time lecturer at a great school (with benefits!)...

And another one bites the dust. Wisconsin rejection! That one stings a little bit.

Congrats! I really like Winnipeg. It's the Slurpee capital of the world!

I'm looking at placements for recent PhD grads, and I couldn't help but laugh at "Dr. XXX is a Scanning Technician at Digital Office Solutions." Me: This is my future if I pursue a PhD.

ME!!! ^^^^^

With a straight rejection from OSU and an implied rejection from Wisconsin, I'm more chill. The emails will ultimately end up in my inbox. Also, @jpbends: Did you apply to the Literature department's PhD at UCSD?

8:21pm Pacific: Received standard rejection email from OSU. Well, at least it's not silence!

Another day... It's only 2:30 here, but I know that it's already 5:30 on the east coast. After a lot of soul searching (and reading about the dismal job market), I've sort of decided that I don't want to pursue a PhD any more. Despite that, I keep obsessively checking. If I didn't care, I wouldn't check though, right? So, do I really not want a PhD or am I such a control freak that I want to make the decision (instead of letting the schools reject me)?

Me right now: silence = rejection

@canadianchartrand I saw that you are a UND grad. Go Bison!

I went to North Dakota State (a rival of UND) for my undergrad and MA. Grand Forks is an ok city. Fargo is much better in my opinion. The support, funding, and teaching experience that I got at NDSU set me up on a great path! Don't overlook some of the schools that aren't ranked as highly (especially for your MA).

I think that everything @khigh said was fair except for winter. There's a reason people are "Minnesota nice." Winter is rough. People who have always lived in those conditions are tough. Do you know why "-20 is easy to deal with" (or -40 or -50 or -60 with wind chill)? Because you can't go outside! You spend your winter months running from a building to your car. Also, I'm not sure which months most of the country considers "winter," but winter can stretch from October to May. Once, my classes were cancelled in Fargo, ND in May for a blizzard. Did you know that we plug our cars in? I took my car in for an oil change while I was roadtripping around the US and an employee at a car repair shop came up to me and quietly asked (about my then 2001 grand am), "Why do you have a plug in sticking out of your hood? Is it electric?" I don't want you to be shellacked by winter. It sucks. It hurts. You walk outside and your face hurts. Like, stinging pain. If you try to walk a few blocks in -20, your legs will become giant ice blocks that feel like they each weigh 100 pounds. If you go outside without gloves, you will get frostbite and lose your fingers. If you plan on driving a long distance when it's that cold, you need to pack emergency supplies in case your car breaks down. The cold literally kills people. The food in the Midwest is amazing though! You've probably had Southern comfort food, but Midwest comfort food is its own thing!

Why shouldn't I get a PhD? I found myself asking Google this question the other day. What are your honest answers, people? NOTE: You don't need to focus on the fact that I applied to English PhD programs (although you can). I meant this as a question that could apply to any PhD applicant.

So, I fell down the grad cafe rabbit hole and ended up on a thread called "The Graduate School Ponzi Scheme" (it's on page 8 if anyone is interested). While I was reading it, I followed a link to a wiki about rhet/comp job listings (posted by @rising_star). Here's a link to the 2018 version if anyone is interested: http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Rhetoric/Composition_2018. Personally, I really appreciated the harsh dose of reality.

Oracle/Peoplesoft error when I try to log into Ohio State's system: "This is not a valid time to access the system. Click here to see hours of availability." Don't they know that I need to obsessively check for updates at 11pm Pacific on a Saturday night? Just give me the official rejection OSU! I know all of the acceptances went out last week!