runonsentence

This is a question for your co-authors or other professors, preferably ones who sit on the adcom in your department.

In some fields co-authored papers are the norm and you're hardly likely to find any single-authored papers. In others, co-authored papers are rare and people have a harder time understanding the nature of the collaboration. First-authorship means different things in different fields too (as do contributions that merit second-authorship, etc) --are these conventions clear within your field? Do you expect the adcom members to understand these conventions? Do you expect people who are unfamiliar with these conventions to also read your writing sample? Even if you only put your advisor's name on the paper because it's customary in your field, people in other fields may interpret it to mean that they did part of the work on the paper. If the assumption is that the work was shared, your readers won't be able to judge your contribution. They can't assume that any specific part of it was yours, so there is nothing unique in the paper that can be attributed to your research abilities. Since the purpose of the writing sample is to demonstrate your research skills, that is an unfavorable eventuality. Does the paper specify each author's contribution? Will your co-authors write you LORs and explain your contribution? Even with clarifications, I would guess it's probably better to submit a single-authored paper, if you have a good one ready; you should make sure it's acceptable before submitting a joint paper as your writing sample, even if it is your best paper. Ask someone who has admissions experience in your field for the most reliable answer.

1. obamacare? really?

2. the school in all likelihood won't give you anything back if you opt out of their health insurance. they don't deduct the cost of insurance from your paycheck, they give you the insurance for "free" and tell you it's valued at a few hundred dollars a month. i tried to opt out of my school's insurance, because i already have great coverage, and their insurance runs the cost of over $200/month. gouged. but they told me i wouldn't see that extra $200 because they technically don't charge me for the insurance.

Just remember this mantra: research interests/project ideas are seldom too specific. When in doubt, try to pare down.

This is a big question, but I'll take a stab at it. In a word: yes.

From what I understand from my tutors at my undergrad study abroad program in Oxford, if you want to teach in the U.S., you'd best help your career by getting your PhD in the states, where teaching assistantships are more common. (By a different logic, you should really only consider attending a PhD program later on down the road if you're able to get some kind of funding for it, whether it be a TAship, RAship, or fellowship. Paying for a PhD would be extremely unadvisable, especially if you're not going into a high-paying industry with a strong job market.)

If you're looking to better understand academia and what the job market is like, you might consider perusing a publication like The Chronicle of Higher Education or Inside Higher Ed. Granted, I don't know how much of the information in those periodicals applies to European universities, but those sites will give you an idea of what's currently going on in the academy, what the job market looks like, and have lots of advice columns and blogs.

Yes, you will need to network, and you'll need to better understand what it takes to get to the job market and make it in academia. When you start your master's degree, I suggest you work on presenting a paper at (at least) one conference, or at least attending one, in your first year. Also, attend any events/seminars on professionalization at your university (or sometimes conferences host these sorts of sessions as well).

Basically, get used to "plugging into" your field and the academy in general. I develop lists of professionalization goals for myself, and the list is always growing. Hopefully this gives you a few ideas for getting started.

OP: When I worked as a production editor for a large academic publisher, we did have our copyeditors check (and edit) references on journal articles. But there's a wide disparity in the quality/competence of copyeditors, and it becomes a huge headache at proofs for everyone involved (including yourself) if there's a ton of missing information in your citations. Plus, every change you request at proofs has the potential to go awry when the typesetter goes to implement the change. It's best to send the cleanest copy you can to a publisher, despite the presence of copyediting.

I feel a bit slighted myself with my school. They have a gargantuan list of scholarships and grants they have for the graduate students, and I managed to qualify for a small one. Apparently being dirt poor and having good grades is not enough to get more money. Cheapskates - then again, it's a Catholic-based college, so it makes sense to me that they'd be such tight wads. Not only that, but despite the fact I do qualify for $20K in direct loans, the school will not authorize the loan (which is a federal loan). I did not apply anywhere else because this is the only school in the state with the desired major in a master's program. The fun part is I'm beginning my second year and while I'm glad to get that whole $2000, a loan would help since I just do not have $4700 three times a year when I have no job. Time to start learning to make fake money now, I think.

Hi

Does anyone know of any good resources for strong SOP ( standard operating procedure ) samples?
I'm looking for SOP.samples for manufacturing industry ( manufacturing samples)
I will appreciate asap response

Thanks

I am not in the civil engineering discipline so take what I say with a grain of salt. However based on what you have presented above I doubt anyone could truly evaluate your chances with so little information. Since with both of those schools most applicants have high marks. Meaning other things in your application would likely be needed to distinguish you from other candidates such as past research experience, LOR's, a strong statement of purpose, and other factors.

I would say your chances are diminished by your verbal GRE and toefl scores.

From Stanford's EE website: http://ee.stanford.edu/admissions.php?p=5
Q: What is the minimum TOEFL score required in order to be considered for admission? [hide]

A: The minimum TOEFL scores required are 230 for the computer-based test, 575 for the paper-based test and 89 for the internet-based test. If you are admitted, Stanford may require you to take an English placement exam and/or take English classes.

Before you begin writing a Statement of Purpose (or as part of that process)—and before you start worrying about your application packet—you need to develop a really clear idea of the kind of research you want to do. Then you'll want to start looking for schools that fit what you want to study (and how you want to study it).

So my advice would be to make developing a clear scholarly identity for yourself your first priority. If you're not already, read read read in your discipline. Identify scholars that are meaningful to you, or paths of inquiry you'd like to go in.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I was going to make a similar comment about the description of rhet/comp. Writing centers is a small sub-field within the discipline, and it'd be difficult to characterize "the kind of work" done in rhet/comp tracks and departments: some schools are heavily focused on rhetorical theory, while others focus more on pedagogical practice. And rhetorical theory encompasses a huge range of focuses and conceptions in and of itself. Some schools focus on classical and epistemological rhetorics, while others think more socially (perhaps focusing on ethnography or discourse communities) and would more broadly define rhetoric as "making meaning."

At any rate, I don't mean to harp on this, as i realize you're not strongly considering it for your own scholarship. Just wanted to clear the record.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I was going to make a similar comment about the description of rhet/comp. Writing centers is a small sub-field within the discipline, and it'd be difficult to characterize "the kind of work" done in rhet/comp tracks and departments: some schools are heavily focused on rhetorical theory, while others focus more on pedagogical practice. And rhetorical theory encompasses a huge range of focuses and conceptions in and of itself. Some schools focus on classical and epistemological rhetorics, while others think more socially (perhaps focusing on ethnography or discourse communities) and would more broadly define rhetoric as "making meaning."

At any rate, I don't mean to harp on this, as i realize you're not strongly considering it for your own scholarship. Just wanted to clear the record.

I unfortunately don't have any specific schools to recommend you add to your list, but I do have a bit of unsolicted advice!&nbsp;&nbsp;I recommend, as you continue adding to your list, that you ensure your schools represent a wider range of tiers/competitiveness (UT-Austin, for instance, is one of the most competitive rhet theory schools in the country).&nbsp;Of course, this would be far more helpful if I had suggestions for you. <div><br></div><div>Assistant profs: hard to say. One of my mentors here is really knowledgable, already well-known in his subfield (heard his name thrown around like candy at a recent conference), and is doing a crazy amount of research. But it's also possible you could end up with someone who seems really "green." &nbsp;Best advice is to try to visit schools when/if possible. (This strategy may be best once acceptances come in, next spring.)&nbsp;</div>

I've occasionally read over breaks in preparation for a term that looked particularly busy (I had to overload one term my first year), but I don't think you're a slacker for wanting to, you know, enjoy your last few months of no homework.

Personally, I'd be reticent to read more than one or two week's worth of material, because you're going to forget much of what you've read by the time you get to the fall semester. I'm not sure what your classes are formatted like in your field, but mine are all three-hour seminars largely based on student discussion. If I'd read all the texts over the summer, I'd end up having to re-read them in preparation for each week's discussion anyway.

I've occasionally read over breaks in preparation for a term that looked particularly busy (I had to overload one term my first year), but I don't think you're a slacker for wanting to, you know, enjoy your last few months of no homework.

Personally, I'd be reticent to read more than one or two week's worth of material, because you're going to forget much of what you've read by the time you get to the fall semester. I'm not sure what your classes are formatted like in your field, but mine are all three-hour seminars largely based on student discussion. If I'd read all the texts over the summer, I'd end up having to re-read them in preparation for each week's discussion anyway.

I've occasionally read over breaks in preparation for a term that looked particularly busy (I had to overload one term my first year), but I don't think you're a slacker for wanting to, you know, enjoy your last few months of no homework.

Personally, I'd be reticent to read more than one or two week's worth of material, because you're going to forget much of what you've read by the time you get to the fall semester. I'm not sure what your classes are formatted like in your field, but mine are all three-hour seminars largely based on student discussion. If I'd read all the texts over the summer, I'd end up having to re-read them in preparation for each week's discussion anyway.

I think the point that was trying to be made is the cost of healthcare is often divided between the university and the individual. If your individual contribution is $0, then no you won't see a difference in your stipend if you decline the university's health insurance. If your individual contribution is > 0 and you decline the health insurance, then yes you will retain that portion of money that they would have deducted for healthcare costs.

Are you currently in a grad program or in the process of applying?

If you're in the process of applying, it may help for you to know that most of the smaller awards you speak of—a really good example being conference/travel money—are awarded through universities. This varies hugely by school (for instance, I have a friend at Purdue in the rhet/comp program, and she tells me that they don't have ANY travel funding), but generally that's where you're going to find smaller pools you're talking about.

For instance, at my university I'm eligible for an automatic $400/year for conference presentations (that is, by automatic I mean it's not competitive), plus there's an additional competitive source of funding for travel through an endowment. The endowment also has competitive "enrichment" grants of $2500/year for research activities like institute sessions, travel to archives, etc. We also have a smaller number of other awards sitting around the department (a small summer research fellowship of $1k, a $200 annual writing prize, etc.) and a few other competitive grants available through the university/graduate school at large.

In all, if you're in the process of applying, I'd spend MUCH more time looking into programs that offer funding that you can live on and professionalization funds, rather than trying to cobble together outside sources. I'd recommend you take a school's ability to fund professionalization into account when looking at schools or deciding between acceptances; I certainly did so during my last application round.


If you're a current grad looking to help keep costs down: certain conferences sometimes award graduate student grants as well, for travel; competitiveness varies by conference. (MLA, for instance, must be nigh-unto-impossible to get; travel grants at the much smaller Computers & Writing conference are insanely easy to get; awards are also available for rhet/comp students who join the WPA-GO, I know.) Some of the larger professional organizations also have awards available that carry cash prizes, though I'd expect them to be fairly coveted.

Thanks for sharing - this is an excellent example of the difficulty of measuring ability in a test.

When I first started grad school I used to wear comfy clothes -- not sweatpants and yoga pants, but big, comfortable sweaters and T shirts with sneakers and jeans. Problem is, I was TOO comfortable. I wanted to fall asleep every class. No amount of caffeine could wake me up either. Which is difficult when your class has MAX 5 students.

This year, I tried a different technique and started dressing a little smarter (this actually happened more organically, some days I was teaching directly after class so I had to dress more professionally). You know what? I found that it actually made me a better student. I felt more efficient, more professional, and for some reason more mature. The only thing I can think is that maybe dressing professionally made me approach school with a job-related mindset, so I was more on the ball.

Anyway, Ive been doing that ever since. Can't say my grades have gotten any better though.

I wish the girls I meet in the coming fall would be like you...

I don't like girls with heavy and overdone make up, if that is what you are wondering, but I do like it when a girl actually cares enough about her appearance to dress up and try to make herself look presentable (some of the people at my school don't seem to care). The jewelry might be over doing it, especially for school.

Don't let her guilt you into staying another day past what you want to work. You gave her the time; it's not your fault that she didn't get her act together with hiring. Plain and simple.

Dear Silly One,

I was not asking you whether this really worked. I was asking whether someone on this board (presumably a grad student) could really be so stupid and insensitive as to post something like that. And as the daughter of an "Asian from a third-world country," I'd also like to ask you to kindly go stick your head up your rear.

Sincerely,

runonsentence.

International conferences! It's only for a week or two, but that's how a good handful of my colleagues have gotten a bit of international travel in. If you work it so that you can stay an extra week or two post-conference, it's like a mini vacation.

Do bear in mind that there is a difference between programs that emphasize teaching and pedagogical training and ones that just make you teach a lot (which some refer to as graduate student "exploitation," though I'm not familiar enough with those programs to say if that's an accurate characterization or not). You will want time to do you own research and develop your own projects. Even if the projects you want to work on are teaching-oriented, you'll need time away from teaching, sometimes, to work on them. So I would caution against just looking at programs where the grad students are required to teach a lot, and recommend you focus on those that emphasize pedagogy and teacher training. Yes, many of the top private schools (Princeton, NYU, for example) require very little teaching and put little emphasis on pedagogical training. But others (along with some public schools) emphasize pedagogy though they do not require you to teach as much as, say, the UC schools or CUNY do. My program is great for that; everyone gets at least two years of teaching-free fellowship, so we teach less than do grad students at other programs. But, there is still a strong focus on pedagogy and training, and we still get a good deal of experience in a variety of classrooms (not just all comp, all the time, or whatever) and plenty of time to develop a competitive teaching portfolio. I think that this kind of program, instead of or in addition to ones where you're forced to teach huge loads all the time, is worth researching if you want a teaching focus in your PhD.