crimsonsneakers

Me too... I'm wait listed at UC Riverside. I heard from the DGS last Wednesday that no decisions had been made on the WL and they hoped to make them last week... alas.

Miami of Ohio, Syracuse, UCSB... There's a Norton of Composition Studies, which is what we used in the one rhet/comp course I've taken. It has fairly current scholarship; the anthology is from 2009 I think.

Fellow wait-listers: Are you following up with the DGS, or waiting patiently? What's your strategy?

Any UC Riverside wait-listers hear anything?

I think diversity of interests is a good thing, and, certainly, most programs emphasize their interdisciplinarity. But what I hear from my adviser is that while it's fine to do interdisciplinary work once you are in, it's better to represent yourself as primarily one thing, that way they know whose desk to put your application on. So for the sake of applying, it's probably best to present yourself as a 20th C American person, with secondary interests in x, y, & z. That your interests will change while in grad school is expected, but you will probably always be expected to have a sense of where you fall within the traditional sub-disciplines.

I'd probably work on reading the canon. If you apply to English Lit programs they will likely want the GRE Lit and a high score there could make up for the deficiencies you'll have in coursework. It seems like you have a fairly strong narrative as a scholar, provided you can successfully address the music composition master's. I think the challenge will be to portray yourself as devoted primarily to literary scholarship, and make your other interests secondary. Alternatively, apply to interdisciplinary programs where you wouldn't be expected to do so. What would your field in English be?

Unless you think you might apply to Rhet/Comp PhD programs, take the offer that best allows you to focus on your own research (provided other factors-- funding, program, etc-- are equal). I'm finishing up an MA where I've been teaching two classes of freshman comp a semester on my own (not TAing), and I don't think my teaching has enhanced my application-- except insofar as it has solidified my career aspirations.

May there be many more of you.

Waitlisted! Keeping my fingers crossed...

While everything everyone has said is very helpful, I feel obliged to point out, as my professors have done over and over again, that the job market is very bad, that despite the challenges of getting into PhD programs, many people do not finish their PhDs and many of those that finish do not find jobs they find desirable. So, I would encourage you to think very hard about what it is you think you would like about professing, and if there are other career paths that you might find similarly amenable. There are a number of careers well suited to academic types, in addition to college teaching: high school teaching, non-profit administration, grant writing, academic publishing, academic or student affairs, library science, various types of research, and the list goes on. Prior to going to graduate school, I worked as a researcher and then an editor for an academic press. That is a field in which jobs are also not plentiful, but they are more flexible in terms of location, they often pay more, and you have similar perks-- somewhat flexible schedules, work trips to foreign locations, smart colleagues. What is your internship in? Why aren't you considering that as a career path? Getting a PhD is something I aspire towards as well, so I naturally understand your inclination. As an undergrad, I intended to go that route immediately, until I spent a year writing an honors thesis. I got burnt out on "the academy" and spent the next five years of my life working, until I decided to get an MA, which I love love love. Going to grad school right out of undergrad does have its perks, but I notice in my younger colleagues a lack of focus and energy that I feel I have, having surveyed the professional landscape before jumping in. So, my advice is to take some time to really explore what else is out there, whether it's through internships, jobs, international study/travel, etc. Oh, and that's one thing I'd add to your pre-PhD to-do list-- study abroad. It is the best way to acquire a language, and will give you some transnational perspective on your own research.

Anyone else still waiting to hear anything at all?

Nope, nothing. Yargh...

Still nothing...

Wondering if anyone else hasn't heard anything from Riverside... saw the wait list yesterday, and a rejection today, but I still haven't heard boo.

Just got my rejection email... about two hours after the last rejection posted.