ProfLorax

I think this is a great rule to follow for CV's. There are no right or wrong answers for what absolutely belongs on a CV, especially at this early stage in our careers. So, when thinking about if you should include something, ask yourself, "Is this something I want the adcomm/hiring committee to know about me as a candidate?" If the answer is yes, put it on!

I did seasons because I taught, so Fall 2010-Spring 2013. But really, adcomms aren't going to worry about gaps. Some applicants will have large gaps on their CV because their employment wasn't relevant (retail, food service, admin work, etc). Hell, I have nothing on my CV between my BA and my MA because I was working at Borders (RIP!).

Deep breaths, y'all! Just remember: adcomms aren't looking for already polished, perfect scholars when they read your writing samples. They are looking for proof that you have the potential to grow into a polished scholar! My writing sample was probably one of the strongest part of my application, but a year and a half into my program, I already feel like the sample no longer represents my writing or research abilities. You want to revise your sample until it's as strong as it can be, but don't fret over the small details. The best sample is one who shows the adcomm what kind of student you are and what kind of scholar you can be.

Turns out, most parenting books are really exposés on the many ways newborns can kill themselves. So that's fun. For my light reading, the hubs and I are listening to Amy Poehler's Yes, Please whenever we are in the car. I don't usually enjoy audiobooks (I am just not an auditory learner), but I find comedy books (like Bossy Pants and Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me?) are super fun to listen to, as the author is usually the narrator. And speaking of listening to things, yes, I am in the cult of Serial, warts and all.

Like fancypants, I had a vacation planned during January. My husband and I went to Paris and Rome for two weeks. It was an amazing trip, and I couldn't obsess over grad apps while watching snow dance around the Eiffel Tower! Even if you aren't able to plan a vacation abroad during January, I think it's wise to have something to look forward to. A camping trip, an amazing concert, hosting some friends/family, etc. It's really nice to have something fun to look forward to and take your mind off of things! I was also relieved during the waiting period that I didn't tell many people about my applications, so I didn't have lots of people asking for updates. By the time I told people, I had good news to share. I didn't experience anyone gloating over my rejections (fancypants, that's awful you did! I really hope that isn't the norm). I found GC to actually be a help during the waiting period. Sure, the results search feature can be maddening. I learned that many programs spread out their acceptances over a few days, so there were two programs I had assumed rejection from and I was actually accepted in the first round. But the peer support from people who "get it"? That was invaluable. I mentioned this before, but I also had a Plan B in the works. I think that relieved some of the stress of waiting, though not all. Mostly, I just kept on with my life during the waiting period. I threw myself into teaching, continued to spend time with my partner and friends, read some books, watched some TV, etc. Just keep living!

By January, I had the cleanest inbox ever. I unsubscribed from all the things (good bye MoveOn, Planned Parenthood, and Groupon) because every time I saw I had an email, my heart jumped!

I'm not in Art History, but one thing to consider is that many universities have a minimum GPA for graduate admissions established by the Graduate School. For example, SF State, which is just up the street, states that a 3.0 GPA is minimum GPA for grad applicants. That being said, several people have found ways to buck the trend and end up in grad school with lower undergrad GPA's. A useful resource may be the long and thorough Sub 3.0 Acceptance thread: It's for all disciplines, but it is full of success stories from people in similar situations as you. The thread offers both optimistic and strategies for navigating grad school apps with a lower uGPA!

Interesting! I suppose we'll find many different attitudes toward work/life balance among graduate students. What we feel we need to do in terms of communicating with our advisors will largely be shaped by the culture of our program, our relationship with our advisor, and our personalities. iphi, I think what you do will depend greatly on your own personality, relationship with your advisor, and your needs. I have found it useful to communicate with my advisors when I will be out of town for conferences, medical needs, or vacations. Like you, I wouldn't have thought it was necessary for Thanksgiving break, but perhaps it is for this advisor. You may even want to consider emailing her a week ahead and asking if she has any last minute tasks to add to your to-do list before you clock out. If you find the problem persists, then you may need to consider what next step is within your comfort zone. You may have to sit down with your advisor and communicate exactly what expectations you each have for your work and your schedule. Then, you may want to write down notes from the meeting and email them to her afterwards, so everything is in writing. I don't think this has to be a confrontational meeting; you can frame the whole discussion as you being an eager graduate student who wants to understand exactly what is expected of you while communicating your own needs. Good luck!

Lewin, your post initially bewildered me, but now I see you're in Canada. Last week was Thanksgiving in the states, and Thanksgiving is a major holiday here. Pretty much everyone travels home to visit family; Thanksgiving break is definitely not just for undergrads. What this professor did was similar to emailing the OP on Christmas Eve expecting him/her to be in her lab on Christmas and not with his/her family. Given the scenario, it is absolutely justified that the OP did not respond right away. Major holidays (and Thanksgiving really is a big one here) should be for family and not for work, and advisors who expect anything other than that are unrealistic in their expectations.

NETFLIX MARATHON.* *not what I'm doing today, but what I love to do when I've finished a big project. What can I say? I live for excitement. Danger. Intrigue.

I 100% agree with everything fuzzylogician says. Of course, your course of action depends on your relationship with your advisors. But since the divorce is (understandably) affecting your performance, it wouldn't hurt to have an advocate in your department. You don't even need to go into the emotional aspect of the divorce: merely explaining that your attention is divided between your work and these life changes should be sufficient. Also, hug yourself frequently! I have some friends who have recently gone through divorce (not from each other), and while everyone's situation is different, they both were pretty stressed in the beginning but then felt better pretty quickly. After the shock of the divorce wore off, they started to feel a sense of relief and contentment that was missing from the end of their marriages. I hope you find the same peace they did.

You all have so much more will power than I do. I detest any work space that requires me to wear pants, so really, I do all my work at home. I'm not the most productive here, but I am comfortable!

In my program, this is totally acceptable. I have asked for an extension once, and I did so over email. I keep the email short and sweet and include a specific deadline. I keep the tone gracious and make it clear that I don't expect a deadline but would really appreciate it. Here is part of the email I sent. The first half was mostly me notifying the professor that I was pregnant and having a crappy first trimester, but I think the final ask could be applicable to other situations as well.

Not an applicant, but since we're talking to-do lists, I want to share my biggest accomplishment this semester: I completed all of my coursework two weeks early! This was hugely important for me because my due date is December 15, only three days after the last class of the semester. I now only have one week left of teaching (I have a sub scheduled for the last week) and grading-- both of which I can delegate to someone else if the baby comes early. I am just so relieved that I won't have to take out Incompletes and try to finish up coursework after the baby arrives. It's been quite the doozy, wrapping up a semester while nine months pregnant, all while teaching an extra section so that I don't have to teach next semester. I did it, waddling and achy, but I did it!

Having just wrapped up coursework, I can give you my perspective. I've been told repeatedly that coursework isn't really a factor on the job market. If a hiring committee is hiring a postcolonial literature assistant professor, the committee will want to see a dissertation, conference presentations, and a publication or two on postcolonial lit--not so much how many courses the applicant took in postcolonial lit and theory. That being said, there are many other ways coursework can be significant. You can use coursework to fill in any gaps of knowledge you have in your field/area. You can use coursework as an opportunity to read some of the texts that will for sure be on your exam (for example, I took a rhetorical theory course because I know that rhetorical theory will be a big part of my exam, so now I'm acquainted with many of the major texts on my reading list). You can use coursework to establish a relationship with a professor you may want to serve on your committee (I took a course way outside of my interests just to have the opportunity to get to know a specific professor). You can use coursework to start thinking toward your dissertation (I have at least one seminar paper that will likely be turned into a dissertation chapter). You can use coursework to explore a field that interests you and you want to learn more about just for fun (and who knows? This field could in fact shape your dissertation!). Also, talk to your advisor! He or she may have some ideas about what courses will be most beneficial for you at this juncture, as well as the skinny about which professors to avoid.

I'm not sure if this will be helpful, but here's my paragraph describing my WS. I approached my SoP as an intellectual history, so I tried to focus more on how writing the paper shaped my interest in disability studies (while knowing that many rhet/comp profs aren't really aware of the specifics of DS) rather than summarizing the paper as a whole. ETA: In terms of space, this paragraph takes up 12.7% of the entire statement.

Trimming down a 20-pagers into a 12-pager follows a similar process as trimming down a seminar paper into a conference paper. Whenever I have to do that, I do the following: 1. I trim down the introduction, partition, background, and theoretical framework. In a 10-12 pager, those sections should take 2-3 (maybe 3 1/2?) pages. The new length also means that I get to my thesis statement (now one sentence) within the first page. 2. Then, I look at my body paragraphs. I review my new intro and decide which body paragraphs/lines of argument contain the most "meat" in terms of supporting my thesis statement. Often this means I will keep three of four body paragraphs in a row that build upon each other in an important or significant way, then chop the next few body paragraphs. 3. I look for moments within the body when I propose new directions or incorporate new primary texts that aren't crucial to my new thesis. I then mercilessly chop them out. 4. I look back to my thesis statement. Now that I have drastically cut out my body paragraphs, I revise my thesis to fit my analysis. Usually, this means I have a more limited scope than my original thesis. 5. I condense my conclusion section to one paragraph. I modify it as needed to fit my new thesis. 6. I read from start to finish and add transitions/re-order paragraphs as needed so it appears like a strong, cohesive paper. Hopefully that helps! I also found this document, which explains in more depth the process of transforming a seminar paper into a conference paper: http://www.grad.washington.edu/gomap/via/nowacek-condense-paper.pdf. I think it will be useful for those who need to significantly cut down their writing samples!

Glad that you applied to UMD, HesseBunuel! I don't know Sheila Jelen personally, but some of my friends just adore her mentorship style. She's in CompLit, but since CompLit is housed in the English Department, I imagine you could work with her (her primarily interest is modern Jewish literature) even as an English grad student. Good luck!

So, who do you think did the crime? I keep telling myself to not worry about "solving" the mystery--after all, this is real life, which is rarely as neat and tidy as fictional crime procedurals. A few weeks ago, I decided to just start going along for the story, but I still can't help but wonder... is Adnan innocent?

Yup! I am hooked, even belong to a secret Facebook group of online buddies who are all equally obsessed. I sometimes wish the podcast focused more on the tragedy of Hae's murder, but I think this most recent episode responded to similar criticism by incorporating more stories of Hae.

Nope!

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What about a medical-focused post-bac program? For example, San Francisco State offers a Pre-Health Professions Certificate Program for people who already have a BA. I'm sure many other universities have similar programs. ETA: Never mind. It looks like CUNY's post bacc program is specifically not for people interested in PT and requires a 2.8 UGPA.

Ah, I always forget about the NRC rankings, mostly because I never figured out how to read them!

I think you're mixing up University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (ranked #22) and University of Illinois at Chicago (ranked #44). (Not that I care about rankings; they aren't really a factor in rhet/comp. Just wanted to be clear!) ETA: I don't know much about GW except that (1) it's near the Foggy Bottom metro, (2) the amazing Robert McRuer is there, and (3) it's part of the DC consortium, so students can take classes at Georgetown, UMD, American, George Mason, Gallaudet, etc.