murkyama

Thanks for your feedback on this one, Gary in CA and fuzzylogician. I know that by asking the committee member off it will raise more eyebrows then anything and could further cause some social damage.

Hi all. I haven't posted on here for awhile, but I am looking for some advice. I am unable to go into detail, but generally talk about what is going on. I will appreciate any feedback. I have organized my committee for my exams. I did this before taking classes with two of the members, but with talking it out with my adviser and talking to other people in the program about working with the two other members. And, now I have a concern about one of the members. I had a somewhat rocky class with one of the members. It got to the point where the prof went out of their way in class to give others feedback on projects, and ignore giving feedback for me in a very recongizable way. We've also had a few outside of class conversations, where I've gone in to talk about course projects, and this prof has taken the opportunity to talk about concerns about me. The first time, the prof gave very confusing and contradictory feedback that was veiled. When I read between the lines and said, sure, I am aware that this happens, and I am working on it--the prof immediately said that wasn't what the prof was trying to convey to me, and the prof was sorry that they gave me a different impression. So, I took the talk as best I could. Near the end of the semester, this prof and I had a conversation wherein the prof said that I was overly confident and agressive at times--and that behavior wears on people very fast. In this conversation, while the prof began each talk with some positive indicators, some of the feedback was very negative and directed at me as a person instead of my actions. The prof also said that they gave it a lot of reflection and decided to not make this public to others in the department. I am also the first to admit that I have made some mistakes and sidesteps in that class, but when the prof mentioned one of them, when the prof completely shut down one of my comments with a classmate then jumping on board to shut down my comment--I shut down and withdrew from the conversation because I could not believe that there was no discussion of the comment. When the prof brought this instance up to me during the conversation, the prof read my body language as that I was being overly confident and disrespectful to others when I withdrew from the conversation--and that I couldn't do that. When I expressed it was because I felt shut down, the prof said that it didn't matter because the prof and possibly others read me in this negative way. So, what I saw in this prof, as someone who is respected in the department, and someone that I respected for a good portion of the course--was a slow erosion of misunderstandings that led the prof to express their thoughts and feelings about me. This has now led me to think that we might not be suited to work with each other, and perhaps I should seek out a new committee member. But, if I go down that route, there are people in my department who are extremely prone to gossip--and not the nice kind--and who will want to find out and will probe me and possibly the prof for information as to why the prof is no longer on my committee. I can't really talk about this with anyone in my department because it could get leaked to others through gossip, so this is really my only venue to solitcit advice on help with a decision before I talk to my adviser. I thank you in advance for your help.

rems--I think the decision to adjunct or work outside of academia depends on a few factors such as thinking about finances, health insurance and benefits, staying connected to academia, and gaining teaching experience or continuing teaching. I am not sure what university or college you would be adjuncting at, but adjuncts typically don't get paid very well. This has been a concern for a long time in the field of English studies, to the point where there has been several discussions from Michael Bérubé on the inequity of adjuncts in the field. Joshua Bolt even began the adjunct project (http://adjunctproject.com/) to highlight and make transparent the pay and (sometimes lack of benefits) adjuncts receive. You might take a look at that spreadsheet. But, more than these field conversations, what do you want to do? I don't know if a committee would look on your application packet in a less than favorable light because you decided to work outside of academia for a year to support yourself in a manner that might be better than adjuncting, but I have to say that having that teaching time on a cv can help your application packet, especially if you did not teach while you were a master's student.

Hi Chanel: I think those are reasonable questions to ask, but you might want to think about asking a few more to help you decide between the two programs. One thing that has been important to me in both my MA and PhD programs has been the sense of community and collegiality among my cohort. You might talk with professors (and ask if you can talk with current grad students) about their view of collegiality. Also, you might want to ask about funding for professional conferences and if it is expected that you attend one or two conferences a year. You also want to ask about where the graduates of the MA programs go to after graduating. Are they going on for PhDs (and where) or doing something else instead? Good luck in your meetings.

I just looked over the site and I saw a category for rhetoric and composition; however the calendar does not have the major conference in the field, CCCCs listed for this coming week. I might suggest that your team adds that information to the site.

When I applied and received my offer to my current institution, I notified the graduate director of my intent. It wasn't finalized, however, until I signed my assistantship contract. This is how it worked for me, so there may be different protocals for different departments and institutions. If you are concerned that the committee will revoke your offer, then you might want to reach out to your contact and ask if there is anything else you need to do other than what you have already done to ensure that spot for you is saved for you.

Does your university/college have a campus writing center? You might want to try some one-on-one work there.

Hugh10: I have submitted abstracts to six conferences so far, and received only one rejection. The one rejection is for the national conference in my field, but I have had sucess at submitting to other national conferences (two in fact), two regional conferences, and one graduate conference. I did start off though with applying to a graduate conference then to a regional conference, and then finally to a national conference. I don't think it's necessarily about not having experience presenting at conferences, but how much your research fits with the parameters of the conference, especially if there are other people at the conference presenting on similiar topics to group you in a panel. You might even think about forming your own panel for a conference and submitting that way.

Congratulations, t_ruth on the R&R. That is exciting news. I just got my feet wet with publishing a book review. I am now onto five other projects that will all go into submissions. One is co-authored, and the other four are single authored. I expect to have 3-4 publications before I earn my PhD to demonstrate to hiring committees that I am serious about publishing.

I would put everything applicable that concerns academics: research activity, teaching, service on the CV. You might also have different CVs. For example, if you are applying to a RU/VH or RU/H institution, you might tailor your CV with research activity appearing first and teaching experience appearing second. If you are applying to comprehensive or liberal arts colleges you might tailor your CV with teaching experience occurring first in the CV and research activity appearing afterward. While the CV is a very small part of your application packet, I think listing every possible academic activity to give you a competitive edge over other applicants is a wise endeavor to engage yourself with.

This means you weren't their top choice, but you weren't a rejection either. It simply means that you are on the waitlist. They have extended offers to others and are waiting to hear back. Depending upon where you are on the waitlist, if a person declines you may receive an offer of acceptance. How long ago were the deadlines for the other two programs? I am outside of your field, so I don't know what the deadlines are; however, I've heard that you can request an application status within six to eight weeks after the deadline (but, that's for English). If you do contact the DGS or GC you may want to frame the email or phone call around asking for a status update of your application and if the committees have met (not necessarily reviewed your application, but at least met). Also, do the programs you've applied to have websites where you can check the application status? If so, you might want to go there to ensure that all of your supporting materials were received. I hope that you hear good news from the programs you applied to, especially your top choice!

Akin to the Post Declines and Acceptances: The Wait-lister's dream come true thread of 2010, let's usher in the 2011 thread, if you feel comfortable posting of course! Go ahead and help out your fellow Lit and Rhet/Comp folks and post acceptances and declines to help out those waitlisters who really want to get into programs. I understand that not everyone will want to post, so contribute whatever you feel necessary or comfortable with. P.S. Congratulations to all those who've been accepted and to those who have been watilisted.

Herrman--I enjoyed reading your blog post and it resonated with me. I am my early 30s as well and I feel that (for me) time is running out to get into a doctoral program. I think, however, if you have a passion for something in life, you should not give up on it at all. No matter the age. I faced a disappointing application season myself, yet I am ready to kick the dirt off my pants, stand up and face round two next year with a fresh round of SOPs, LoRs, and writing samples. I learned some things this past round on how to strengthen myself as an applicant and I am going to use all feedback. Thanks for sharing and don't give up on your dreams!

Other than the email sent out a couple of weeks ago re: committee meeting over the next couple of weeks, has anyone that has applied to the program heard anything?

I read on another board that you got three funded admits. Congratulations!