Looking for some advice on my list of programs + feasibility of admittance

[mariannem]

Hello all!

I will be submitting applications this coming December/January for programs in Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy. I need some serious help narrowing down these programs!

I graduated from Ohio State University in 2012 with honors in English and creative writing minor. Stats: 3.8 GPA, handful of internships with publishing magazines, writing associate in Ohio State's WAC program, obtained a research scholarship for my honors thesis, and completed a research thesis (unfortunately the topic was unrelated to my current interests). I scored a 157 (revised) on Verbal for the GRE. I should also mention I have speaking proficiency in Spanish (at least I meet the min 20 hours of coursework in a secondary language). I've been out of school for a few years--teaching for two years, coordinating logistics for a charter school's professional development program, and currently working at a publishing house as a marketing associate. Diverse experiences, to say the least. After being benched as an alternate for the Fulbright last year, I decided that I need to start getting more serious about applying to grad schools, so here I am! I've got a pretty solid list of recs: undergrad thesis adviser, former RCL professor (who also assigned the research paper I'm using for my writing sample), and director of teacher development at the charter school network.

My ultimate goal is to get into a fully funded PhD program. However, I'm willing to go for MA programs that are a good fit for me and pursue a PhD thereafter. I'm looking for programs that have ample opportunities for teaching/graduate assistantships and offer a rigorous curriculum in interdisciplinary studies. My primary interest is in multimodal and digital composing practices, but with my teaching experiences, I am also very interested in pedagogical writing training.

I've been out of the academia scene for a few years, so I'm petrified of applying to schools and not getting in... but I also don't want to psyche myself out of applying to top programs. I'd like to limit my list to 10 schools. I had Northwestern and University of Washington on here, but took it off because their program seems too generalized for my interests. I also was hoping to have more west coast schools on here, but somehow ended up with mostly mid-west or east coast schools! However, what do you think? Is my list feasible? What schools can I cut out of my list, or should I add any schools in lieu of others?

University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign	MA in English (Specialization in Writing Studies)
The Ohio State University	MA/PhD in English (Specialization in Rhetoric/Comp)
University of Maryland	MA/PhD in Writing Studies and Rhetoric
University of Massachusetts, Amherst	MA/PhD in Composition and Rhetoric
Penn State University	MA in Rhetoric and Writing Studies (PhD later)
Miami University, OH	MA/PhD in Composition and Rhetoric
Carnegie-Mellon University	MA in Rhetoric, Composition, and Linguistics
Purdue University	MA in Rhetoric, Composition, and Linguistics (PhD later)
Syracuse University	MA/PhD in Digital Rhetorics, Pedagogies, and Technical Communication
New York University- Steinhardt	MA in Communications: Media, Culture, and Composition
Michigan State University	MA in Digital Rhetoric & Professional Writing
Washington State University	MA/PhD in Rhetoric, Composition, and Linguistics

Edited October 20, 2015 by mariannem

[Ramus]

Unless you retake the GRE, you probably won't be competitive at the first five schools you've listed. You need a score at or above 164, or right thereabouts. 

[ProfLorax]

This looks like a great list, Mariannem! Really, any rhet/comp program will have writing pedagogy coursework, and any strong program will have faculty doing work in multimodal composition. Go through each program's faculty and make sure you can find a few professors you would want to work with. They don't have to match your interests exactly (like, if you're interested in how teen girls write fandom in social media, you may find faculty interested in women's writing, fandom/popular culture, and digital writing), but this will help you narrow your list considerably. I had UT Austin on my list for forever, only to realize they didn't have any faculty doing the work I wanted to do, so I sadly had to cut the school off my list.

On whether or not you'll be competitive? That's hard to know. Rhet/comp values real life experience, so you have that going for you. Your GRE score isn't the greatest. I also got a 157 my first try. I retook it and boosted my score to 161, and was accepted to University of Maryland, Illinois, U of Arizona*, Miami, and UMass, and I was wait listed at Ohio (and not because of my GRE). So while I don't think you need a 164 or higher, it may be worth retaking the test for your own peace of mind. I think it's most important to have interesting questions you want to investigate while in grad school, at least for your PhD apps. Lots of folks are doing work on digital/multimodal composing, so what about digital writing that excites you? Answering that question will be key in your apps. Also, play up your teaching. Again, rhet/comp really celebrates teaching and writing outside of the university, so these are assets. I taught at a community college for three years before going back to school, and I think that strengthened my application, especially since I framed that experience as cultivating my investment in composition studies. 

*Check out the University of Arizona's RCTE program!

[rising_star]

Hello all!

I will be submitting applications this coming December/January for programs in Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy. I need some serious help narrowing down these programs!

I graduated from Ohio State University in 2012 with honors in English and creative writing minor. Stats: 3.8 GPA, handful of internships with publishing magazines, writing associate in Ohio State's WAC program, obtained a research scholarship for my honors thesis, and completed a research thesis (unfortunately the topic was unrelated to my current interests). I scored a 157 (revised) on Verbal for the GRE.

Just popping in to say that you that you shouldn't diminish the value of completing a research thesis just because it's on a topic that's not connected to your current interests. When I applied to grad schools, people were impressed that I had done a thesis (esp when I was applying to MA programs) because not everyone has that experience conducting research and writing something longer than a 15-25 page seminar paper. So, whatever you do, don't let any language about how unfortunate it is that your thesis isn't on what currently interests you creep into your SOP or anything else you submit. It is an accomplishment to have done a thesis as an undergraduate because it demonstrates your ability to conduct research! 

[mariannem]

Thank you all for your honesty! It's very much appreciated. And rising_star, you're right, I absolutely shouldn't diminish my thesis, especially since I spent a majority of my senior year working on it!

[mariannem]

And ProfLorax, I'll definitely be going through the faculty list to help narrow down this list. I will check out University of Arizona's RCTE!!

[rhetoricus aesalon]

So, I also got a 157, and I was accepted to 5 programs (3 on your list) and wait-listed at 2 (1 on your list). I'm now in the PhD program in RCL at Ohio State. It's definitely possible.

But with that said, and even though my score didn't keep me from acceptance in multiple programs, I'm certain it did keep me from getting fellowships. I received no university-level fellowship offers, though I did receive one department-level fellowship offer. This doesn't mean that my offers were unfunded -- it just means that I've been teaching while also taking courses. So that may be something you want to consider: A $100 test now could mean less teaching later. Though, to build off Proflorax, this doesn't necessarily hold the same sense of appeal in RCL as it does in other fields, since so much of what we do (and routinely gets us hired) is tied to pedagogy.

I think you might also be interested in looking at UW Milwaukee, as it has a reputation for digital media studies. You have a great list here, though, and I'm also very happy to talk more about my experience in the graduate program at Ohio State if you're interested or have other questions.

[Horb]

Unless you retake the GRE, you probably won't be competitive at the first five schools you've listed. You need a score at or above 164, or right thereabouts. 

A lot of schools don't actually weigh the GRE heavily. I got into an amazing school and only had 161 as my score and an atrocious Subject Test score.

[bhr]

I can tell you that my program (top 5 ranked, and on your list) doesn't look at GRE's at all, except maybe to supplement. Mind you, we also don't accept direct PhD admits, though the MA is usually fully funded either with WC or Teaching assistantships.

[dr. t]

Also, some schools look at your %ile scores, not your raw numbers, particularly for university fellowships.