runonsentence

Indeed, many of us would be happy to give your SoP a once-over. If you want to (when you have a draft in place), many post requests in the SoP sub-forum in the applications forum. (I'd avoid posting the actual draft, if I were you, and just post a request.)

I think it's fine to state why you want to go to grad school, but only if by "grad school" you mean "graduate-level study in my chosen research area." Make sure you're going beyond why you'd be a good graduate student; you need to tell them why you'll be a good ___ graduate student. (What do you understand your discipline to be? What do you think it takes to succeed in the discipline, and how do you see yourself doing that?) There's no one way to start an SoP, so you're not confined to starting with "why I love my discipline" if that's not what feels right for you. For instance, I've liked the way that several samples I consulted opened, by stating research interests. (E.g., "Teaching, in addition to the reading, thinking, and administrative work I’ve done in rhetoric and composition over the past year, has confirmed for me that this is the discipline where I can best combine my interests in pedagogy, rhetoric’s social and cultural implications, and textual analysis. ") But really, I'd honestly worry about the ending last. I'd work on getting a draft (no matter how awful) down on paper, and then see what feels most natural or right for the opening.

I can see why you're tempted to show an adcom that you've overcome something crushing, but here's why I'd still recommend you resist the impulse, even though you applied to this program before: I think that too many people get their SoPs bogged down with trying to explain away what they see as imperfections in their profile. While the SoP is the ideal place to explain something glaring to an adcom, you really want the document (as others mentioned) to be a positive one that focuses on your accomplishments and potential. You don't need to tell an adcom why you're better than a rejection—you should tell them why you're a kickass applicant, period.

I also ran into the quota yesterday after only 2 or 3 ups, FWIW.

This recent thread might be of interest to you:

I'd also suggest that, when you study for the next time around, that you not study (or minimally study) for the math section and concentrate all your efforts on the verbal. English programs aren't going to give a hoot about your quant scores, as long as you're at any cutoff scores set by the university.

I still see folders, stars, and faded/grey stars. Using Chrome for Mac.

This depends on the program; at my program, we don't have separate courses for MAs and PhDs. Everyone takes the same classes (save for a couple of master's requirements that only have MA students in them) and everyone takes the same number of classes. Sometimes profs make distinctions in final paper requirements (PhDs must write 20-page papers and MAs 15-page papers, for example), but not always.

Also, my advice is to be sure you're familiar with the politics of the institution you're applying to if you start dropping specific names in your SoP. If you're not familiar with these dynamics, it might be best not to use names. $0.02

After a year of wasting money on books I'd never read again, I developed a motto: I will only buy books I will use again for exams or in future research. Trust me, this was a difficult decision to come to, as an English person. But it's worked out really well so far, and the ridiculous piles of books are slowing their coup of my apartment.

Ideally, you WILL want to address your poli sci background, as you'll want to show an adcom why you're now choosing rhet comp. Don't worry about an adcom doubting your commitment; not only do a number of graduate students switch fields for graduate school (see: ), but the SoP is your chance to show how your poli sci background has uniquely prepared you for rhet comp and keep them from wondering about your interest in the field. What interested you about poli sci that you've now brought to your interests in rhet comp? How has your background in poli sci helped prepare you for rhet comp, or informed your understanding of rhet comp? Your SoP needs to answer questions similar to these; you will need to show there's a trajectory. As for the writing sample: the advice I received when doing my PhD applications was to use my very best work. If your writing sample can demonstrate your capacity to write rhet comp material, I would use it even though it doesn't speak directly to your research interests. You can always take a quick moment in your SoP to clarify why you've used the writing sample you did. (For example, in my SoP I mentioned that the "big picture" approaches I'd taken to literature in my M.A., particularly examining cultural situations and historical contexts, would carry over to my rhetorical work, and then I mentioned that my writing sample was one such example of this approach and further showed that I could find rhetorical angles to analyze even in a literature course....)

PhD programs are probably where you could construe having presented at conferences as more of a "requirement," though I say this from the perspective of having completed an MA before applying for PhDs. (My department chair once told me roommate that if he didn't have any conference presentations after completing his master's, he might as well not apply to doctoral programs.) I don't know that adcoms expect someone who hasn't completed any grad school work to have presented tons, but it would certainly be expected from an MA-holding applicant and would certainly be an asset to your CV no matter what your background. As for conferences to look for, it's less a matter of the most prestigious venue and more a matter of the best fit, in my mind. Certainly the biggies like the MLA (for all subfields but most especially lit), ACLA (for comp lit), CCCC (for comp/rhet), and AWP (creative writing) would look impressive, but competition for these venues is keen and I don't think that an adcom would be expecting a grad applicant to have presented there. That said, you may find it useful to at least attend a big conference in your area or subfield. I remember you mentioned Shakespeare studies in another thread, for example; I'm sure other Shakespeare buffs in this forum can point you to some must-see annual conferences run by biggie Shakespeare societies. If you don't get to it while applying, definitely make a point of trying to attend at least one big conference within your first year or two of grad school. It's good to shake some hands and get a feel for field conversations. But IMO, the best thing to do as far as finding conferences is find ones that have calls that fit your projects. Most conferences develop a broad theme and encourage applicants to write to said theme (e.g., CCCC 2012 is "Writing Gateways"). Keep a lookout for CFPs that speak to your work: the website http://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/ is a good start. If you use an RSS reader, you can link to certain keywords or areas of interest. Don't write out small conferences; they're great for getting a start at your first professional presentation, and often more welcoming and less nerve-wracking than big national conferences. Also, unless you're currently a grad student with travel funding resources, conference travel can get expensive. If there's a regional or small conference within driving distance that speaks to your work, definitely try applying.

Definitely try contacting programs and asking for feedback on your rejected applications. You may not hear back from all of them, but many (even most?) programs are really happy to offer you advice and let you know what portions of your application hurt you in the admissions process. And I agree with the above posters that it was most likely a demonstration of fit that hurt you, since you have an excellent background from undergrad. Do a bit more research/reaching out this time, and make sure your SoP demonstrates how you see yourself fitting into the departments you are applying to. Good luck, and keep your chin up!

I haven't had to endure anything like this, but I've had friends who have lost parents or siblings while in school. My roommate at study abroad lost her Dad right before she come out to the UK and met me, and a friend in my grad program just lost his brother. The friend in my grad program took incompletes for his classes the term it happened; in my program, that means that you continue attending class and completing weekly readings, but you have two terms' time to complete your final paper (though most profs ask/encourage you to complete it over the break immediately following term). If your program has any options like this, it'd be good to keep in your back pocket in case things get tough for you toward the end of the term. Last, I know your intention wasn't to come in here seeking sympathy, but I'd like to offer it. I'm so sorry for your loss.

To piggyback off of IRdreams, I've seen a number of interesting presentations on the state of publishing in my field at recent conferences. One thing that might be helpful to remember as well for grads is that these acceptance rates we're seeing aren't always a measure of the quality of the manuscripts submitted, but also of the small number of pages a print journal has with which to publish. (And as a former production editor for a journal press, I can confirm that page budgets were always a huge issue.) That is, many journals would love to publish more papers that they deem acceptable for publication, but can't due to budget constraints. I mention this for two reasons: one is so that aspiring grads feel a bit better about rejection notices, hah. The other, because I know that in my field at least, open-access electronic journals are gaining more traction. They, unfortunately, can still look less prominent to a tenure review committee, and possibly even a hiring committee. But it's something to think about, when writing for a publication venue. (And one should always target their manuscript for a specific venue!)

So, it sounds like you're asking what kind of subfield you should go into (or, what sorts of programs to apply to, i.e., comp lit, philosophy, etc.) with these research interests? Do I have that right? I'll let others more authoritative in lit speak for the viability of fitting in these interests into comp lit programs. If you're asking whether these are rhetorical concerns (per your thread title), I'd say possibly, but only loosely so. It sounds as though your interests could incorporate rhetorical concerns, but it doesn't seem to be the focus of what interests you, and so I wouldn't recommend applying to rhetoric programs.

Did you try asking librarians about alumni access, or simply try logging on with your old student credentials? From what I understand, schools that have alumni and community access would ask you to apply for access again (that is, your old student info probably wouldn't work). If that's what you already did, then try something close by—community colleges might be your ticket. For instances, the county where I grew up had the community college in the same network as the county public libraries, so it was very easy to use the library there even though I wasn't a CC student. Good luck!

No no, you didn't start a conflict, and no offense was taken. I was just perplexed (and still am, I confess) as to why you seem to be disagreeing with my suggestion. I don't think my post ever implied that every university would offer public access; as neither of us knows what kind of institution the OP comes from, I merely wanted to suggest s/he check it out. (It may still be of use to lurkers reading the forum in a similar situation.) But anyway, I don't mean to derail the thread, and again no offense was taken. I second the suggestion to look into UNC Chapel Hill if you have early modern interests.

You can always ditch the blazer if it feels like too much! Good luck!

I'm not in government affairs, but I can tell you that it will be very difficult to get into most graduate programs in most fields in the first place without having some kind of scholarly identity and some state research interests. In my own field some programs are more happy to train generalists, but they are generally MA programs, and they would still be looking for you to demonstrate the capacity/potential to develop some kind of trajectory and more narrow interests while studying there. My own MA program was one such program. Also, it seems like you're under the assumption that just because one has specific research interests, one isn't interested in anything else. It's still perfectly fine to find other aspects of your field interesting; having specific research interests shouldn't prevent this. Further, most graduate programs expect that your research interests will grow, evolve, and change as you continue to study, research, and/or teach. I wouldn't assume, either, that others have "pick[ed] a concentration just to have [their] interests narrowed." How do you know they haven't narrowed down their interests based on past research experience, coursework, and careful reading?

I'm not sure why you see my advice as contradictory. Again, my own institution offers community members who sign up for a library card access to resources (including database access if on-site), just as you mentioned. I simply recommended the poster check out these resources, in case Google access gets frustrating.

Yes, you're right — it's more about the institutional (or even department) culture than the Carnegie research designation. I suppose that the two can often go hand-in-hand, though.

Tough decision! Deferring sounds ideal, apart from your fears of what the program will look like in a year and not being able to be with your boyfriend. Though, you might also think about whether you'll have to the discipline to save money over the year you'd be working. (I know I found it harder than I thought I would!)

2 seminars + teaching, or 3 seminars if I'm on teaching release.

Perhaps my experience with Dell was an exception? Yep, that's what my boyfriend did as well—bought himself an HDMI cable and uses the TV instead of a monitor. It's great for a second computer, though hard on the eyes (at least it is with his size screen). But it also means we don't need cable; Hulu all the way!