snappysorbet

I am reaching the point of obsession/neurosis when it comes to checking my mailbox and e-mail.

Hi all! I know there has been some talk about specific rhet/comp concentrations and a few comments on other threads about where people are applying, but I thought it might be good to get our own thread started. So, if you're willing to share, where are you applying? what are your specific interests? And anything else you'd like to share with the class. I'll get the ball rolling with my ridiculously long and ultimately very expensive list of apps: (these are all PhD programs, btw) Bowling Green (Rhetoric & Writing) Iowa State (Rhetoric & Professional Communication) Kent State (Rhet/Comp) Louisville (Rhet/Comp) Miami University (Comp/Rhet) Michigan State (Rhetoric & Writing, already rejected, boo) Nebraska (Comp/Rhet) NC State (CRDM) UNC - Greensboro (Rhet/Comp) Ohio University (Rhet/Comp) Old Dominion (English - Rhetoric & Textual Studies) Purdue (Rhet/Comp) Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (Rhet/Comp) UT-Austin (English, Rhetoric concentration) TCU (Rhet/Comp) TWU (Rhetoric) University of Utah (Rhet/Comp) VTech (Rhetoric & Writing) University of South Florida (Rhet/Comp) Wisconsin - Madison (Comp/Rhet) Wisconsin - Milwaukee (English, Rhet/Comp concentration) whew! My interests are primarily first-year composition, writing program administration, technology and writing, new media, women's rhetorics, women's and gender studies, and critical theory. Good luck to everyone this application season!

Thanks for the clarification! I had a minor freak out session because the app was due by the 15th and I was astonished / terrified that they had already made decisions. Glad to hear you speak so highly of the university. Did you earn your MA in Rhet/Comp? If I get in (fingers crossed) I will definitely be asking you more detailed questions. And good luck with all your applications too!

grifter, would you mind sharing when/how you were notified of your Miami acceptance? I know it's totally nosy, I'm just curious. Congrats again, and good luck on the rest of your apps.

Wow, me too. Congrats! Hope I hear something soon, I didn't realize they were sending out responses so early. This process is crazy!

Update: just checked the mail and my MSU rejection letter was waiting for me. Bummer.

Wait, really? Eek. I applied to MSU Rhetoric & Writing too, haven't heard anything yet though. I still have a few apps left to get in, but I didn't think we would hear anything from anybody until at least next month. Apparently I was wrong.... Sorry to hear about this, good luck with the rest of them.

I had an informational/informal interview with faculty members at one of my top choices, but that was a different situation that what you're asking about, in that I reached out to them to schedule a visit to the department because I was in the area. I would imagine that it's a bit early for department calls for interviews, but who knows? I'd be interested in knowing if this has happened for anybody yet.

I'm applying there too, Woolfie, and wondered the same thing. But I'm just going to go ahead and assume they mean 2-3 pages double-spaced, because 2-3 pages single-spaced seems a bit long to me. Good luck to you!

I recently heard a rumor that Iowa State University has seriously slashed their program in Rhetoric & Professional Communication because of state budget issues, firing a number of faculty members and not planning on hiring many to replace them. Since I'm applying there, this concerns me. Anyone know if there's anything to this?

Thank you, thank you... this is exactly the dilemma I'm facing. I really like the idea of addressing my reapplication directly, and, as you say, being completely blunt; it's more in line with my personality, and I want that to come across in my sop, especially in light of my success rate (or lack thereof) during the last round of applications. On the other hand, as other commenters have said, I have limited space, and why should I use up a paragraph with some sort of explanation that could, in the end, "serve the function of shooting oneself in the foot"? I don't know... but I do know that reading these responses has helped me think a little more clearly about why I might choose to write about reapplying, and why I might not, so that's a good start.

I've been perusing this site for a couple of months now, and the amount of information I've found has been amazing. This probably would have been good to find when I was applying to PhD programs over a year ago... as is evident from the title of this post, I'll be applying again this season, so you can imagine how the last round of applications turned out for me. I know that many programs ask applicants if they have previously applied to University X, and applicants can check a box for "yes" and a box for "no" - but my question is about SOP / Personal Statements, etc. For those programs that rejected me last time, but to which I'm applying again, do I acknowledge said rejection in my SOP or do I let the checked "yes" box speak for itself? Any insight from people who have reapplied would be much appreciated.