readwriterun

Bit late to post, but I've decided to attend Penn State's doctoral program in rhetoric and composition! So psyched! Now to figure out moving:) 
 

Bit late to post, but I've decided to attend Penn State's doctoral program in rhetoric and composition! So psyched! Now to figure out moving:) 
 

Bit late to post, but I've decided to attend Penn State's doctoral program in rhetoric and composition! So psyched! Now to figure out moving:) 
 

I've been expecting this to happen for a week or so now. If I'm being honest, half the reason I sent them out was so that I wouldn't receive more rejections... 

Minor, half-hearted vent here, but I dislike it when you either take yourself off of a waiting list, or turn down your offer of admission, only to receive an email several days or weeks later telling you that you have been rejected! I want to respond like Coriolanus to Rome, shouting "I banish you!"

I know it's just an administrative blurp, but it's a point of pride, dammit!

I have officially accepted OSU's offer! I am immensely excited!
This also means I declined offers from Auburn University, the University of Georgia, the University of South Carolina, the University of Delaware, and the University of Florida. I do hope that this helps anyone on those waitlists; they are all stellar programs, and it was an unbelievably difficult decision. 
Good luck to anyone still waiting on results/waitlists and for those still making decisions. Stay strong!

Hey @FeetInTheSky! I was in your shoes with UNL's MA two years ago. I asked them politely if they could give me another week until I had finished campus visits, and they were really nice about it. I think their early deadline stems from wanting to not leave people on the waitlist hanging for too long:) They're a great program...you've got some exciting possibilities!

As someone who recently survived the job market, I'd second the sentiment that ranking plays less of a roll in job placement and also that the R/C job market is tightening. As such, I'm going to offer the pragmatic things to look for that will help you succeed x many years down the line. Areas that are currently most in demand on the market are technical/professional communication, digital rhetoric, and multilingual support. Obviously, demand shifts but I don't see any of there three areas falling out of favor any time soon. If one or more of these areas interest you, prioritize programs that have opportunities to get coursework and/or teaching experience (or even a concentration) in them. Also consider whether there are opportunities for administrative experience and how competitive they will be.
Other considerations:
- How many R/C courses are offered a semester? Many R/C faculty are in administrative positions that keep them from teaching much and they are often a smaller cohort within the department, so some programs might be limited in course offerings. Take a close look at the class schedules from the last few years.
- Do faculty seem to be publishing with their graduate students? If you can look at profiles of current students, see if there is a trend towards publication with advisers. My sense is that some schools have more of a culture for this than others and it will make a very big difference in your professionalization and preparation for the market. Also, of course, see if graduate students are publishing on their own, as an indication of how well they're being professionalized.
- Will you get a variety of teaching/administrative experience? Prioritize programs that will have opportunities to teach beyond first year composition, ideally (again) in a technical communication/digital rhetoric/or multilingual context. Bonus points for programs that will provide an opportunity to teach upper level courses in your areas of interest by the end of the program or that will give you teaching releases for administrative positions in FYC, the writing center, the WAC program, etc.

Hi there! I'm a recent CompRhet MA alum who's reapplying to PhD programs next year because my research interests shifted. I've been lurking on these boards for a while but haven't said anything.
 
CompRhet is lucky to still have a lot of jobs (though fewer than we did a few years ago), so ranking isn't quite as much of an issue. In fact, since a lot of ranking systems don't separate CompRhet from literature programs, I'd say ignore listed ranks altogether. There's a lot of programs that are completely separate from English departments, like Syracuse's CCR, and others that are within English departments but run 100% separately. An amazing CompRhet program could be in an average English department, that is. 
If prestige does matter, I'd suggest asking your faculty for advice. There's some programs that seem to be near the top, based on faculty/placement/history, like Wisconsin-Madison, UIUC,  OSU, Umass, Penn State, etc. But even lesser known programs are churning out top scholars who can compete for good jobs.
 
I'd suggest going for fit and funding.