LCB

I'm celebrating... by having my exam defense today. 30 minutes to go. Eeeeep (but also yay that it'll be over soon!)

Man, I hope you hear about funding soon so you can come too! I'm sending lots of good vibes your way.

I just accepted my offer at Michigan State in the Rhetoric & Writing program!

I just declined an offer from Miami. I'm declining a few others in the next few days as well. Good luck WCers!

I am on the WRAC side. I'm a bit sad about the disciplinary divide - that's actually one of the other things that I don't like as much. I come from a program where rhet/comp is with the lit and creative writing folks and I love it here. But I agree, I liked the weekend and I like the program a lot. Hopefully funding gets figured out for y'all soon, though! I'm sending good vibes.

I'm leaning towards Michigan State! They have a lot more of the stuff that I want to do, and honestly the only drawbacks I have right now is that I'm being offered more money elsewhere and I like Louisville as a city better. But I'm going for the program, not the city, and while the money is important, I think MSU gives me more opportunities for what I want to do, which matters on the job market end of things.

Accepted off the waitlist at Illinois Urbana-Champaign! I am pretty much decided on another school, but I was kind of hoping to hear from the waitlisted schools on my list before I made that decision final, and hey! What do you know?

I just want to ask a few questions here, and maybe also talk a bit about what I see rhet/comp as a field doing (to both respond to the debate in this thread but also hopefully talk about rhet/comp). WPA, rhet/comp, and fields dedicated to the study of writing and pedagogy should be able to have conversations about what makes up good writing and pedagogy. And let's be clear here: these are conversations about what make up good pedagogy, not assertions. Our field is filled with people disagreeing with each other on best practices, continually revising the way we do things, adapting to new situations and technologies, etc. We're not some monolithic entity beating up lit TAs in workshops until they agree with us that our way is the only way, because we don't always agree on "our way." I guess I'd just ask you the same question you keep posing to rhet/comp and WPA: why do you get to define these things? I see rhet/comp as a field that doesn't assume that a good writer is necessarily a good teacher (re: your first post). Clearly, you disagree. But why? What makes you assume that having skills automatically means that one can teach them successfully to other people?

I also know someone who got notified they were waitlisted there, which I also feel like is unusual (maybe I'm wrong?). But I'm assuming rejection too if they notified some people of waitlists.

Waitlisted at Illinois Urbana-Champaign too! Cheers to those also waiting on them.

Definitely! I'm actually in a similar position, funnily enough - I came over from political science, so I have a lot of political texts but am just starting to delve into the new media. It sounds like we have a really similar approach.

Another thing that might factor into the questions to ask/decision process for PhD and MA/PhD people: look at the recent job listings in your area of interest (and related areas). What are universities asking for, outside of research expertise? While it's been true for a while that teaching has always been a factor in getting a job at the other end of the PhD, different kinds of teaching experience are being asked for. For example, more and more job calls are asking for experience or training in online courses. So you might ask if the university (1) offers training in online courses or (2) offers online courses for graduate students to teach. Ask what other kinds of training they offer too (computer-mediated classroom training; technical writing training; etc.).

Tip from someone who's moved across the country before and will be doing it again: you can ship your books across the country cheap through media mail, which is reserved for "educational materials." It takes them longer to get to the destination and the boxes will probably arrive (1) a little beaten up and (2) not all at the same time, but if you're okay with that, it's a really nice way to save room in a car or suitcase and get to keep some of your belongings.

Some schools also do a lot more post-acceptances than pre-acceptances (one of my schools was definitely this way; I got some basic contact/info going in, but then a lot of stuff once I actually got there). You might also be wary of the reverse happening - where schools are so focused on getting people to come that they know how to "sell" their program, but don't always end up being as beautiful as they sound once you get there. This has happened to multiple people that I know, who were basically recruited really hardcore by specific POI at their schools and arrived their only to find that their POIs weren't nearly as interested in taking them on as it had seemed, the POIs were super busy and didn't really have the time to devote to them at all, there were major personality conflicts with them, etc. In general, I'd say that I'm definitely leaning more towards programs that are being more friendly to me. I feel like that indicates the university is organized, wants me there, and has an environment I would enjoy. But I wouldn't necessarily bank on it, I guess? Or count the programs out who are less interactive. A side note: I can't remember if this is on the list of questions to ask programs, but one question I've found extremely helpful has been to ask how many students have dropped out of the program in recent years. While placement rates for some programs might be extremely high, placement rates are also only determined by the number of people who are applying for jobs; they don't tell you the number of people who didn't make it that far. If a university has a really high dropout rate, you might (politely) ask why. Obviously, there are individual reasons why people might leave the program, so don't worry too much if one or two people has left, but there are some places where entire classes of students have dropped out - and that's indicative of a deeper problem within the program. If they aren't taking steps to solve it, be suspicious.

I have degrees from the social sciences (psych and polisci) and originally came to English to do literary theory. When I got here, I was just really frustrated by (1) the need in literary studies to declare a specific time period (especially when I wanted to do theory); and (2) the general disdain/misunderstanding of different methods/methodologies that happens often in literary studies (this isn't universally true; there's really awesome people doing stuff with digital mapping and literature, for example, but I just noticed that my background was often treated more with suspicion than excitement). On the other hand, the comp/rhet people were more open to interdisciplinary approaches and I felt like I could bring more of what I knew about from other fields with me if I did comp/rhet. Plus, I just found that I was much more invested in pedagogy than I expected to be. I really connected with the teaching side of stuff, and I really enjoy administrative work (I'm in writing program administration now, and I love it). There is much more discussion of that on the comp/rhet side of things, since there tends to be much more research on pedagogy and a concern about the application of the research to the classroom.

This is definitely a concern of mine! I have fellowships at two of the places I've been accepted to, and I'm interviewing for one at the third. So... I worry about getting experience. However, every school's fellowship package is different. I have talked to the DGS at each school about these concerns, and they've helped me think about ways I'd still be able to get experience while also having the fellowship. Some schools have summer jobs, some have RAships or small positions that are outside of the normal teaching/research duties, so you can take those on, etc. Also, many fellowships don't last the full time that you are there, so you still get teaching experience the years you aren't on fellowship; it just makes it easier for when you are. My advice would be to directly ask the DGS how flexible they can be, and you might end up finding out that a lot of places have some pretty good ways of getting around the "no work while on fellowship" rule if it's a great opportunity for you.

So the Louisville and Michigan State visits are the same weekend (boo!). I'm actually going to the MSU one for a few reasons. The primary is that I found out about that acceptance first and had my trip planned before I knew about the Louisville acceptance. But I also went to Watson last year and met a lot of the students/faculty while I was there, so I feel like I've at least been to UofL before and want to make sure to visit a campus I haven't been to yet. The DGS at Louisville was kind enough to offer to send me out another weekend if I can schedule it, however. Also, foucyeah - your research sounds awesome! My secondary area is in political activism and new media, so it seems like you and I might have some interests in common (though I've never looked at hashtag compositions specifically, so that's an awesome one to think about). It's a fascinating (and ever-changing!) area.

I'll introduce myself as well! I'm really undecided on where I'm going to end up at the moment (insight/advice/whatever is certainly welcome). But I never really said anything on this thread, so I might as well now.

I'm another Ohio State waitlister! I'm a rhet/comp applicant.

It's totally okay to ask - just make sure that if you do, you're framing it in a way that makes it clear that you may not necessarily come there even if they do produce the money. The advice I got from a former DGS at my school was to choose the school you'd most like to go to to negotiate with and stick with them first. When DGS's put time/effort/resources into finding grad students that extra money/time off/etc., you should consider if you'd actually take it. The posters who suggested saying, "hey, I'd come to X school in a heartbeat if you could match this stipend" are right - but make sure that if you frame it like that, if the DGS produces the money, you're prepared to accept. Otherwise, that phrasing is really misleading. (Which is why you might consider negotiating with one university and then moving on to the other if they are unable to do anything).

I got a new productivity app for my phone (for those with smart phones) and it has been a miracle. It's 30/30, and you can set your schedule for all day (I make sure to include lots of breaks. I was in a funk and then started using it and have actually been able to get back into a semi-regular routine. I sound like an advertising service, but sometimes it's about finding what works for you for breaking back into that routine too.

To go along with the training: if you are asked to teach comp immediately, find out what materials you will be given. At my institution, for example, we were given the lesson plans for the first unit to prepare us (which we could tweak to fit our style; it was meant to be a comfort rather than a "do these exactly as we say") and then we worked on the lesson plans for the rest of the course in the mandatory teaching class. It was actually a really beneficial system, because we got to learn about pedagogy but we didn't have to worry about designing the first unit. At some schools, you do have to design the whole class walking in. Some places give you the syllabus, others you design your own. Some have common paper prompts; others you will create your prompts based around unit themes; and still others you have a lot of freedom even in unit design. Some ask you to use a common textbook, while some do open-source texts and might have you choose the readings (which could be scary for a first-time teacher). Finding out exactly what you're given and what you're not walking in on the first day can help you know how much support you'll have, and it can help make your decision. Yes, you're going to an institution for research, but never overlook how much support they give teachers. While you're there, you will be (probably) earning your stipend through teaching. If the place you're at throws you to the wolves... you might want to consider that (especially since the job market on the other end will ask you about teaching too).

Uhhhh I just got a really generic "your application status will be updated in 48 hours" email from a university. I'm pretty sure that means I will be rejected, or I'd get a personal email (or more personal than that, anyway). Friday the 13th, I guess.

So, I have a question for a different kind of interview... I've been asked to interview for a fellowship, not for a position at the school. I don't need to worry about being accepted, it's for a better position if/when I get there. From my interactions with the person who will be interviewing me, I suspect that this interview will be more casual than some others' experiences, but I obviously still want to make a good impression because I'd love to have the fellowship. Any advice or others who are in a similar position? (It'll be an on-campus interview, fyi.)

I think that's kind of true. I can't say the school (because they haven't sent out waitlist/rejection notices yet), but I know someone at a program I applied to who told me I was waitlisted today. I was really surprised because it was one I expected to get into, but he told me who was on the adcom and there was no one in my area of interest. Then he told me that everyone who got accepted has areas of interest that are really mainstream, and it kind of makes sense with what you're saying. That's not to say they aren't wonderful scholars - I'm sure they are - but it's all really typical for the field, whereas my area is riskier and definitely more polarizing. Anyway, I'd say it has a lot to do with who is on the adcom too. Several of the faculty members here told me that makes a huge difference when I was applying, and so far based on who I know was on the committees at where I've applied, I think it's been pretty true.