ribeth

I definitely spent most of my time on the quantitative--usually about 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. Mostly, I was re-teaching myself the basics since I did a spectacular job of forgetting even basic high school math. I made a 54th percentile with a 630 (old format)--which doesn't sound particularly good, but I did MUCH better than all of my other English major friends. So yeah.

LOL. I meant to say that I could have improved my verbal by 20 or so points--not 200. As you may have guessed, I did not exactly ace the quantitative section...

I took about 2 months (7 weeks) to study. My biggest weakness was math, so I spent most of the time reading through solution sets and completing practice problems. I also compiled a vocabulary list and created a huge amount of index cards. I didn't really study for the writing portion at all. In the end, I think the studying paid off--I could perhaps have improved my verbal score by a couple hundred points, but I plateaued in my math results (according to the ETS PowerPrep software) after a month and a half of studying.

Thanks! I can use all the luck I can get.

I finally emailed Janet Atwater to see what had happened to my application (I've heard absolutely zilch this whole month), and I got an email back from Kristie Fleckenstein, one of the rhet/comp faculty. She said they were "enthusiastic" about my application, but they couldn't tell me anything for sure until next week. So...it sounds like I'm waitlisted, and they may be pulling from this list soon? Needless to say, I'm starting to get excited. My only acceptance so far is to an unfunded program, so an FSU acceptance would be just the break I need.

I've only received one acceptance so far, and it's to a program that will (most likely) be unfunded. Very slowly, I'm trying to acclimate myself to the idea that I may not be going to grad school in the fall. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE. =(

I just received the email. It was addressed "dear applicant" and simply gave information about conferences and events...in other words, it didn't really tell me anything substantial. Did anyone hear about funding? I'm about to email the DGS just so I can know whether this definitively means that I don't have funding.

I haven't been accepted by FSU--but I've read through the student manual a couple of times, and I'm pretty sure that the reason out-of-state tuition isn't waived after the first year is because they expect you to establish residency in Florida by your second year. But you're right, FSU doesn't give very good funding. Here's to hoping we both receive better offers? =D

Yes, I looked it up to see how much debt I could potentially rack up, and tuition at URI is currently $25,000 per semester. Very frightening. o.O Thanks for the reassurance, ComeBackZinc. Unfortunately, I've applied to the MA program, so I don't know whether they'd offer me funding for my first year. To be honest, I probably won't attend if I can't get, at the very least, tuition remission. But that's ok--that's why I applied to two funded MA programs as well (who I haven't heard back from at all...eep).

I just got accepted too--but it was a nondescript letter from the grad school office, not the department. Perhaps the department will contact those with funding later? I'll admit I'm not holding out for that, though. It seems that URI has trouble funding all of its PhD students, so, as an MA applicant, I'm probably not at the top of their list. My only hope is that the Writing & Rhetoric department has a little more funding available than the English (I had to apply through the English department, so I'm not sure how that works).

I'm still in review--but I applied under rhet/comp, so that may not mean anything (if the post was for Lit). Definitely hoping that I'm wait listed somewhere. Purdue is such an awesome program, and it has a great reputation for rhet/comp. It doesn't help my nerves at all that my dad is seriously convinced I'll be attending in the fall. My parents met each other while they were both attending Purdue, so they love the school. No pressure, right?

I'm definitely feeling this thread today. I haven't heard a single thing...and Purdue and FSU have already started notifying...needless to say, I'm biting my nails over here. I used to think I was smart. Hah! The admissions process definitely has a way of taking you down a notch...or two. *goes to cry and eat more chocolate cake*

I sent thank-you letters the week after all the LOR submissions had been confirmed. Some people send them after they hear back from all their schools--but since that can take months, I thought it best to send them sooner. Instead, I told my writers I'd get in contact with them again after I received my admissions decisions (I'm graduated, otherwise I'd be in their offices everyday complaining about how long the process takes. Hah!).

I'm also very interested in Rhode Island's program, although I applied for the MA, not the PhD. I'm glad to hear URI was a great experience for you, ComeBackZinc--I got a good impression of the program from the website, but it's not the same as hearing from those who've actually attended. I think the hardest part for me was finding MA programs that would let me take some solid rhet/comp classes. Hence why I only applied to 3 programs. =P

Yes, I also only applied to 3 schools...at the time it seemed like a good idea. Not so much now. In other news, I've been lurking in this forum forever. It feels good to finally post something. Hello, fellow sufferers/applicants. =)