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As someone who just came to Purdue for their PhD in 2018, I wonder if we bumped into one another! Awesome luck at your new gig.

I don't know where you're applying, but don't worry about the lack of conferences or publications. I would say that most of my cohort doesn't have either. And honestly, your GRE seems about average from what I've seen. So don't worry! I agree that a research match is the most important part.

It kind of seems to me like you're stressing yourself out, which is affecting your performance. if you do end up taking it again, I would stop all studying a few days ahead of time, do some relaxation exercises, etc. What program are you applying for? Do you have a sense of what you "need?"

Grad schools in general take multiple factors into consideration. For example, your essays, when you apply, will indicate that you found your home in CSD/SLP, which will explain your poor first year performance. Furthermore, you can always retake some of the classes you didn't do well in your first year, which will boost your GPA. So I agree with Moods' advice to talk to SLP people specifically, but it's been my experience that grad schools "get" that one's college experience may be varied. You might not get into the best of the best school, but you'll get into a perfectly good school all the same.

One of my advisors did a program at North Carolina State University and seemed very pleased with it.

Depends on where you're at. I bought it when I started my PhD, but my program paid for it. So I wouldn't get it unless you're: 1. Planning on going to a conference AND 2. Getting your PhD. If you are getting your PhD, I definitely would also go to one/both of them if your department has a travel budget for grad students. That said, being on the mailing lists is free, and those are good. So sign up for the email lists.

I didn't have any recommendations from my undergrad institution, nor would I have been able to since I graduated 13 years before I was applying. I've never heard of that as a requirement, or even a recommendation, unless you're going from your undergrad degree STRAIGHT into a PhD program. But it sounds like you already have a master's. So yeah, you don't need one from undergrad.

I agree 100% with Warelin. There's no point in getting a master's degree unless your specific career goals require it, or your company will pay for it. I highly recommend going to work for a few years, if you haven't already. It gives you a much better view of what you do (and don't!) want in your career.

Whoa! Magic! I'll include a link on the spreadsheet.

Hi - welcome! 1. What was your GRE score? 163 verbal, 151 quant, 5.0 writing 2. past college GPA: BA - 3.4. MA - 4.0 3. Did you have any publication experience? Nope 4. Did you have and related work experience in the field of communications/media studies/film? Not directly. But I spent 10+ years in management at various tech companies, which -- given that I'm interested in online communicative communities -- probably helped. 5. What school were you accepted to and what did they offer full funding? I was accepted at Purdue (full funding, guaranteed 4 years, 2 classes each semester), and MSU (full funding, but I declined before I got the details). For other funding stuff, I've started a spreadsheet for people to record their experiences: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r563bGkj3JsqGrnNKIct1phwgoqJou1ZKdq3iifhAdQ/edit?usp=sharing

I would ask, in general, what your goals are. It seems that you've been somewhat directionless since graduation, which is fine -- you're young! It's okay! -- but a graduate degree is a longterm relationship. What are you hoping to get out of it? Where do you want to be when it's over? If you go PhD, what are you wanting to research? If you're going LIS, what are you wanting to do with that (since people with library degrees actually becoming librarians is getting fewer and further in between)? I would say that your first step is some soul searching, and getting a better job. The better job will give you the freedom to go to graduate school because you want to, not because you have to escape your current situation. It will also give you the financial resources to apply (it's expensive!), and to afford to go, since I doubt your MA or MLIS would be funded. Ideally, it would also give you educational benefits - if you get even an entry-level job at a big enough company, you may very well be able to pursue graduate school on their dime. I find that a lot of times in my life when I've been unhappy with my life/job, it's more because I'm unhappy with who I am as a person, not necessarily the situation. It might be worth meditating on whether or not you're happy in your own skin. I call this "Life broken, add more schooling!" Having been there, I don't recommend it. I know this isn't the answer you wanted, and I'm sorry for being the rainy cloud on your parade.

That's not obnoxious at all - thank you! Too much time has passed since I made the post to edit it, but I appreciate the correction. ?

@Hk328 is correct, based on the programs that I saw. Alternatively, if you don't have an academic writing sample in English, you could also translate a chapter or two of your paper into English. You might have to modify the language a bit to get the same nuance (I've heard that Arabic is dense/more detailed than English), but I imagine it would do the trick all the same.

In my previous life, if a company hired a new employee from another part of the country, they would pay relocation costs (typically negotiated based on how valuable the employee was). Is this a Thing in academia? It's a few years away, of course, but should I start saving NOW for what could be a cross-country move, or is it reasonable to expect that a tenure-track assistant professor job would come with a relocation budget?

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Is your university an environment where you can discuss the "not cool" aspect with that professor? More than likely, since you're in a field not known for high emotional IQ, he doesn't know how inappropriate the comment is. Alternatively, could you mention it to the Title IX people at your school? Maybe they have suggestions of gentle ways to give him feedback about commenting on women's clothing/style choices? It's shitty that you have to defend yourself against harassment - but this IS harassment. And you shouldn't have to deal with it to go to work.

I have a strict no student rule on Facebook. I gently explain that I don't ever want them to wonder if their grade came from our friendship, and that they should be able to call in hungover to class without me knowing about it. Tell her that you can re-friend her after the term is over. People understand. They want their privacy too.

A few things. - Figure out who is the best teacher of your class in your department, and go sit in on some of his/her classes - Build relationships with students, but keep in mind all the various laws (FERPA, sexual harassment, etc.) that are relevant. - Your school may have a "be a better teacher" certificate or something along those lines. Do that. - Plan for your technology not working. If you're going to show a powerpoint, what will you do when it won't work? Consider these things and have a backup plan - Activities! Have a variety of activities to help people who learn in different ways learn the material. - Carry spare chalk or marker board pens with you - you can't be guaranteed that the classroom will have them, and they'll be working. - Remember that your students don't know it's your first time. Act confident, and they won't know the difference.

For my MA, I used Evernote. I've now switched over to Mendeley for the PhD. If I had stayed in industry, or were planning on staying in industry, I'd've stuck with Evernote.

So, because I'm not teaching for my first year, the school has put me into an office with 2 desks and 7 other people. By the time I got there, a couple of people have moved in, staked out their desks, and set up their personal stuff. We're not talking community staplers - I'm looking at someone's awards, business cards, knick knacks, etc. In my previous lives, when multiple people have to share the same desk, everyone leaves their personal stuff in a locker/shelf/etc, and only puts it up when they're sitting there. Then, first come first serve. Everyone else in the office is more "senior" than I am - I'm the only new doctoral student, and most of my officemates either did their MA here as well, or are studying for comps/writing their diss. Any suggestions on the social protocol here? My initial impression is to email everyone and ask who is actually going to be regularly using the office (some people have offices in other buildings, etc.), then work with those people to encourage them to use lockers/tubs/etc. for their personal stuff when they're not there. I'm even willing to buy tubs for everyone. But what is the "normal" protocol for this sort of situation? Am I the only one who has a problem with coming in and taking over space you're supposed to be sharing?

Ah, makes sense. Yes, you're totally right. Here's what I did when I was investigating my programs. I knew I wanted to go to an R1 institution (basically, institutions that offer Phds and do a lot of research). So I wrote down all R1 institutions that also PhDs in my field. Then, I went website-by-website to see if they had concentrations in what I was interested in. If they didn't, I deleted the school. Then, I looked to see what professors at those schools were doing that interested me, and made note of those. Finally, I made note of other factors (location, coursework required, etc.). I plugged it all into a spreadsheet and came up with a ranking, then I finally skimmed those for places I would live and wouldn't live. Here's a blank copy of the spreadsheet you can copy if it would help: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EBayVkXRcYS4ECviOkApehEO_oEedMKM5P7K9UNmYhM/edit#gid=746719307

I don't know that I personally would take on the extra work if it's unpaid. Your time is probably better spent writing SOPs, reaching out to professors, etc. Basically, I doubt it will prepare you for your PhD application. That said, if you're planning on applying to the PhD program at your current university, and you think you'd win favor by doing it, sure. But I'd still hesitate to work for free or for "exposure." Exposure doesn't pay the bills, and your time has value!

So, I got to campus a few weeks before class started, so I had a lot of opportunity to do just this. Here's what I did: - Try to make friends. Introduce myself, invite people out for coffee. Meet with advisors and department heads. Basically relationship building. Go talk to Samentha - she and I did our Master's together, and she started at UW-M last year. Tell her Elise sent you to say hi. - Figure out where everything is. Explore campus and get lost. Explore TOWN and get lost. Find your way back. - Settle into your new home. - Set some goals for yourself. If you can get a copy of the syllabi for your classes, start reading. Honestly, though I'm surprised they're forcing you to be on campus if they don't have anything planned. Are you sure there's no train-the-teacher training or anything like that? Might be worth doublechecking. For us, we have a week of orientation. The first 8 hours is all orientation to the school, program, etc. The rest of the week is training for the intro Comm class we all teach.

I recommend posting this question to the sociology or geography boards to get their two cents. That said, if it were me, I would look for a school that is top ranked in BOTH fields. Then, find which professors at those schools you're most interested in working with, and applying to the department where he/she works. You can create your plan of study around both ideas you're interested in. That said, I gather that most programs in those fields are more quantitatively slanted. Again, check with the particular boards, as I could be way off. But given that, focus on professors you're wanting to work with, then apply to the program they're a part of.

@hakubiwashuu Okay! DONE. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r563bGkj3JsqGrnNKIct1phwgoqJou1ZKdq3iifhAdQ/edit?usp=sharing