I’m mentally preparing to apply for grad schools and take the GRE. I need help.
I’m looking into schools that focus on rhetoric, pedagogy, and especially literacy, that also have a strong emphasis on technology (I could very well stay in town for this, by the way). I’d like to focus on literacy and writing with adults, since my absolute dream is to get a job teaching writing skills to working adults in a community college/learning center atmosphere publishing, publishing, publishing for an elite university.
1) What do I need to know about the GRE? I know next to nothing, so give me whatever you wish you knew now that you’ve jumped that hurdle.
2) What do I need to look for in a graduate program? Any coded language I should look out for during my research? Again, I’ll take anything.
3) Since I know fuckall about what I’m doing, what other suggestions or hints can you give me in my planning?
I can’t help much on the school selection topic but I did take the GRE last winter and can offer some pointers.
I studied for the test for all of two weeks. I really, really recommend spending more time. I’d say a month at least, doing some studying every evening. (No it doesn’t really have to be every evening, but the more the better.)
Buy a test-prep book. Go with the cheapest one you can find that has a CD included. The CD practice tests are a little more realistic than the pencil/paper versions.
The #1 rule for me is to look at the faculty. Since you know what you want to study, look for teh scholars in those fields. Is there someone who you’d want to work with? where are they? If you are geographically fixed on your area of the country? Look at the unis and check out the faculty. If you’re going to be spending the next few years taking classes & writing papers, you might as well do it with a few cool people. I’d also investigate how they support their grad students. Are there always enough TA positions? What’s the deal with loans? Are there fellowships available? And if you’re moving elsewhere, you might even look into family housing. I know it’s not ideal, but it might make things easier if you & the kiddo would live in the residence halls where you can get to quickly instead of a huge commute…if you say move to a big ass city. ;)
As for the GRE, visit its website at http://www.gre.com and check out the details. If you remember the SAT/ACT, it’s fairly simliar. I need to check it out as if I’m going to go and get my PhD in the next 4 years I need to retake the GRE. EGADS!
Good luck chica.
Oops, hit submit before finishing the comment. For the verbal (vocab) section, look at the list of popular words (I think there are 100 or so?)and make flashcards and memorize as many of these as you can. The expanded lists I thought were too overwhelming to try and seriously tackle.
The good news about the math section is that it is all high-school level math. The bad news is that you don’t get notes and only have scratch paper to do calculations. Many of the questions have a quick trick to finishing them instead of relying on brute arithmatic force. You need to be able to recognize the tricks to be able to finish on time. The tricks aren’t that nasty, you just have to really know the subject material.
The best advice about the writing portion I can give is to be concise and be able to back up your arguemeents. The essays you have to write are more logic-driven than anything else. Really make sure you budget time correctly. The prep book will say something like “spend 5 minutes jotting notes, 3 minutes on your intro, 10 minutes on the body, etc… The listed time guidelines are really helpful.
Take the practice tests seriously and the more time studying, the better.
Nick
The best practice you can do for the GRE is to take tests, which you can get in any GRE prep book.
As for what to look for in schools, I’d say the following, which is pretty much an echo of what’s already been said:
1. Faculty. Once you get past your general exam, your advisor is going to have the predominant role in your eduction, so it’s important to find someone who does what you’re interested in doing.
2. Support. How well are students funded? Where does their funding come from?
3. Location. How mobile are you? Is the school somewhere that you can live in for several years?
4. Later on in the process, if you get this far, talk to grad students in the programs you’re considering (you usually don’t get this opportunity until you’ve already been accepted somewhere). They will often have very valuable things to say, especially about the intangibles of a program that nonetheless can make a big difference. If you can, talk to a range of students, from first-years, to sixth-years. Some programs that are great when you’re beginning get worse as you get to candidacy, and some that are great for candidates can be very hard on beginners.
I hear Liberty University is quite good in this field.
Hi, Lauren, I really like your website. You’re a very talented writer. I believe you have my email through this reply thing, so just send me a message and I’ll be happy to try to answer whatever questions you have. Briefly, though, do not go without a funding package, unless you’re really desperate. You may have to take on some debt, especially with a child, but they should absolutely give you something. Also, if you’re planning on doing a PhD, I would recommend visiting every place you apply, and trust your gut. Whatever you’ve heard about the school or program, however perfect it seems on paper, if you go there and the professors seem like prima donnas and the grad students seem like cliquish assholes, they almost certainly are. Don’t end up being miserable for the next n years, and trying to write a dissertation in that misery, because you didn’t trust your instincts.
As for the GRE, I don’t really remember doing anything to prepare. I think it’s basically a situtation where if you do well with standardized tests, you’ll do well on the GRE. You may want to brush up on a few things, but I don’t know how important it really is (but then, I went to graduate school in Canada, where they don’t even look at GRE scores, so I could be totally wrong).
Also, and this part may piss you off, depending on what kind of programs you apply to, you may not want to mention that your “dream job” would be at a community college. Elitist, yes, but also, graduate students are reflections on their professors, and ambitious professors want ambititous students. Depending on where you go, there will pretty intense peer pressure to adopt a “four-year college or bus,” or even, “PhD institution or bust” mentality. Don’t worry about it–you’re sane, they’re not. But don’t be shocked when it happens, and I probably wouldn’t mention the community college thing when talking to people at the places you apply.
Also, visits are good because you can ask the profs face-to-face about placement records, completion rates, and completion times. You probably won’t find a PhD program where the professors feel like they’re there “for you,” but they should be accountable to you and your very real concerns about post-degree employment (and finishing the degree). First, see if they hem and haw. Second, if they seem dismissive or as if you’re out of line for asking, they’re arrogant a-hole prima donnas, and you probably don’t want to have to work with them. Ask their students, too, about completion times and rates, how long it takes for the professors to get work back to them, what it’s like to work with them, etc. Don’t be intimidated, especially once you’ve gotten an offer. Again, they’re not there to serve you, but there is a level of professionalism you have every right to expect, but which academics often fall short of.
I’m realizing that this may sound really bad. Don’t let it put you off or anything; whatever bitterness is shining through here is a result of my own bad experiences, and the advice is just meant to help you avoid making the same mistakes, not to suggest that grad school has to be awful. I’m sure others will have many other good points to make. Like I say, if you have any other or more specific questions, please feel free to email me. There are also some links I can send you, but I’m much too exhausted to find them now. Anyways, hope this is helpful.
Oh, and by the way, I believe Judith effing Butler is in a department of rhetoric (at Berkeley, of course).
Here’s my secret: I love Judith Butler.
You sure you don’t want to consider an electrician apprenticeship? That’s what I’d do if I had to do it all over again.
Welding. I’d go for welding. (honestly)
I saw Flashdance so I know exactly what it’s all about.
I took the GRE almost 20 years ago, and the format seems to have changed. What I remember though, is that it probably wasn’t a good idea to take the English subject test and the general test in the same day. Exhausting.
“Here’s my secret: I love Judith Butler.”
Whew, thank god. All of the compaining about how Judith Butler makes no sense makes me cry a little inside. As a philosophy geek, I get a little defensive about the “can’t you just say it plainer?” whining I hear, often from other theorists (or philosophers, anyway). Look man, it’s just not that hard; I mean, I’m just this chick from southern Indiana, and I can read it; how hard can it be? Like most things, it just takes work. The difference is, I didn’t get all defensive and angry when I didn’t know how to work the cash register at Target and had to learn.
Well, granted, the cash register at Target didn’t claim to be undertaking a political intervention in theory for the benefit of radical politics, but whatever.
/rant
As for advice, definitely don’t take an offer without a fellowship. You’re working for them; you deserve to be paid. Only apply to the programs you’re serious about, since the application fees are like $50, $60 a pop. Ask whether the fellowship includes health insurance or if a portion of the stipend goes towards health insurance. Feel out the graduate student community: do they seem happy? Or are they pale and sweaty and nervous? And look into the faculty: read some papers if you can find them online. Send them or the grad student representative an email with your questions; I’ve found them generally pretty receptive.
The GRE will I’m sure be no problem for you; I studied out of an old Princeton Review book for about a month and did fine. Brush up on everything, but if your math score is low, don’t sweat it: you’re applying to English programs, not engineering. Do spend some time with the vocabulary practice: most of the GRE is just figuring out how to do the test, which is why when kids can afford to pay a bunch of money for a prep class, their scores always go up. But I don’t think it’s worth it in your case unless you’re really worried. You can make the hell out of an argument and use big words in it too if you want, and paying a bunch of money won’t teach you anything you don’t already know.
I got into the program I am in by having good recommendation letters and a good writing sample, and by writing a personal statement that explained what my work meant to me and was completely honest about the fact that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I just couldn’t make up stories about how I really wanted to work with a bunch of folks I don’t know. And that worked, though it was absolutely the opposite of what everyone told me. So I don’t know what that means.
Good luck, lady, and fingers crossed.
Nah….plumbing.
That’s the ticket.
Clancy at Culturecat did that stuff — you might want to get in touch with her. For the future, ETS has this grad student summer research internship thing that quite often covers these topics — they’re usually looking for psychometricians, but occasionally branch out, and they always had a few projects on literacy going.
If you want to study welding in Quebec city (in French), I have an in.
Lauren,
I’ve just discovered your new blog. I was a big fan of yours when you were at Feministe. It’s great to have you back. I’ll be checking in often.
I’ll second the advice offered above: apply to a school for the particular faculty member/advisor you’ll be working with. Make sure you visit, because you WILL learn things you can’t learn any other way (I know this from experience).
Money counts. Play hardball with your school and ask for more scholarship money/funding. Take on as little debt as you possibly can. I’ve been working on a Ph.D. for nearly 8 years and I have close to 100,000 in debt to my name. You don’t want that.
Have you read the book “Getting What You Came For” by Robert Peters? It’s the best guide I’ve seen. I STRONGLY recommend it to you (as I do to everyone). It’s got chapters on how to pick a school, how to choose a dissertation committee, how to appear “scholarly” to your professors, and more many more essential topics.
I’d also add: apply to the BEST (ie most prestigious) schools you can and go to the best one with the most-renowned advisor. I’m at a top-10 school, but as I get close to graduating, I can see how it’s the top-5 schools that dominate the job market in my field. Academics are huge snobs (and not in a good way). In the “real world” my degree might look impressive, but in the highly distorted and artificial world of academia it doesn’t. I’m not sure I’ll ever get a job as a professor. Going to grad school is a big risk. You’ll need EVERY slight edge you can get.
Are you sure you want to get a Ph.D.? What do you want to do with it? Getting a Ph.D. is, in nearly all cases, training to become a university researcher and professor (they don’t train you how to teach). It’s an incredibly narrow training and career path. They don’t want to train you to become a community college professor (your advisor may just disown you if you tell her that’s what you want to do). There’s massive and completely unnecessary stress. My wife tells me I’m a “born academic” and yet my marriage is on the rocks and I’m halfway to becoming an alcoholic. Most of my classmates are on Prozac and are taking 10 years to complete their degree (the U.S. average time to degree in the humanities is 10 years).
Maybe applying to do a Master’s at a terminal Master’s program is a better idea? (i.e. apply to a school where they don’t have a Ph.D. program–that means the Master’s degree won’t simply be the consolation prize for people who flunk out of the Ph.D.)
As you can see, I’m bitter and maladjusted. You may fare better than I will. I just want warn you what you’re in for.
I wish you all the best. I know you’ll go far. Please keep us posted about your progress.
Lauren, if you learn to TiG weld, perhaps you can help me realize my dream of actually seeing a woman go on Build or Bust and get the bike.
As for standardized tests, they are a skill that one can acquire. I took the SAT on native intelligence and did pretty well, but I drilled for the LSAT on practice tests, and I kicked its ass and took its lunch money. Same thing for the bar exam, where scores are given for the standardized multistate portion. Get the practice tests and drill, then work on your weaknesses. Confidence that you’re taking the right approach and not missing anything will save you a lot of time on the ones you know, leaving time for the ones you need to work out.
I want to emphatically agree with everything Heraclitus said. (Including the part about being willing to talk to you about it if you want, cuz I am too).
Excellent excellent advice.
Purdue is actually very good for the things you mentioned - I considered going there myself. If you want to IM about this stuff, just let me know.
This may sound like a crazy idea, but have you thought about library school?
Hi, Lauren. I’ve taken the GRE and taught SAT and GRE test prep, and I have to agree with everyone else who says practice, practice, practice. I would recommend getting a book from Princeton Review or Kaplan. They include some useful tricks. Take an introductory practice test to see where you need help, read those sections in the book, then take as many tests as you can while practicing those tricks. I would also recommend getting some past tests from the GRE website to practice with - I think they are more realistic.
I don’t know about your field, but in mine it was important to show my dedication to research by talking about past research experience and future research plans in the application essay. If you have any research experience at all, you should try to get a letter from your supervisor. Don’t worry about being too specific about future research, though. They don’t expect you to understand the intricacies of the field yet, just demonstrate your enthusiasm. Oh, and you might want to find a way to bring up your single mom status. Schools love that kind of diversity and it might even help you get financial support. Especially at Berkeley, if you are interested in applying there.
Test prep books are very helpful for the GRE, mostly so that you will be familiar with the question forms and won’t be thrown or nervous and make silly mistakes. I actually bought several used ones from the previous year at a bookstore that were hardly marked up at all and cost about a buck a piece, worked my way through all of them, and was very comfortable with the test.
If you can get the CD that would be a good idea, because you’ll be taking the test on a computer anyway and should get used to it.
Also definately practice writing out your answers to the writing sample questions on the website. I wrote a basic outline for every question on the list and was able to call it to mind on the test, and it saved me a lot of time.
But I tend to overprepare. Your mileage may very.
Hi, Lauren, just to make sure I was clear–I was saying you should change your goals or priorities, that you should subordinate quality of life to a joyless devotion to a grim secular vocation. Just that you should pretend to, until they give you a funding offer in writing.
oops. I wasn’t saying. I was not saying that you should want to publish, publish, publish for an elite university. Not at all. Just don’t flout their expectations or sensibilities too violently until you’re “on the inside.”
First, make sure the schools you are interested in require the GRE. Some don’t. Some do. But why waste $120 on a test you may not need to take?
Pick up one of the GRE study guides at your used book store (if you’re in a college town, they’re likely to have them). You can take the practice tests online, as well. Frankly, I didn’t study at all and I found it to be pretty easy.
I am in a master’s program called Literacy, Technology, and Professional Writing (of the Rhetoric/Composition vein). I love it. The focus on Technology and Literacy is phenomenal and interesting. I also work at the university that I’m attending so it makes the tuition rather inexpensive. Our entire program is also offered online for those who can’t attend school in person (although some courses are only offered in person, you don’t have to take them to get the degree).
Shoot me an email if you’d like to talk about the program specifically. I’ll be happy to talk to you about it.
Hera, I read your comment and chuckled. I’ve already been warned on that front so I’m aware of the ambition and snobbery that surrounds the issue.
About the GRE…I way understudied for the verbal section because I was an English major and I thought it’d be no problem. That was stupid of me. If I had it to do over again, I would study more. I spent a couple of weeks studying, like Nick, and I would also recommend a month. I was only allowed to take a computer-based test where I couldn’t go back and check my answers, and that was hard for me. So, be prepared for that.
As for graduate programs, especially education programs, I would look at the requirements and see about pre-requisites (I’m sure I misspelled that). The graduate program in ed. I eventually entered had pre-reqs. that I hadn’t completed before I started and had to take during my course of study. That sucked. If there are pre-reqs you don’t have yet, get them out of the way before you start. Different schools of education often have wildly different course requirements, so what got you through at one school may not be enough at another (a problem I’m having now in going back to a different university for additional certification). Or you might be way ahead of the game.
Hi Lauren,
I came across your blog via Feministe …which I think I started reading just as you left- too bad! Anyway:
I’m taking the GRE for the second time two weeks from now. One thing you may want to keep in mind is that they’re revamping the test next Fall. Currently, the GRE is still a lot like the old-school SAT, so it feels sort of familiar. The new version is nixing stand-bys such as antonyms in favor of weird gimmicky-sounding stuff (read more about it on the gre.com website). The overall test is going to be LONGER and fewer testing times will be offered, so less flexibility to your schedule. Ew.
Prep: definitely allow yourself at least a month to get acclimated to the test. Where I went wrong last year was not practicing on the computer enough. When I did take the test, I experienced a brain freeze halfway through because I hadn’t done practice runs of the entire test at once- I wasn’t in shape for it. Flash cards are genius, of course. It’s good also to have the ETS’s 10th edition GRE prep book because it contains drills and actual tests.
Princeton Review has an excellent book- their study strategy is to point out where the ETS tries to trick you into the wrong answer. It was written for those who are cynical about the validity of standardized tests. They also offer a study schedule suggestion which incorporates the tests in the ETS book.
Good luck!
When I saw Ranjan write this:
and this:
I thought I’d met my doppelgaenger because it all sounds so familiar (minus the marriage part).
Which is not to discourage you, Lauren, but I just mean it as a cautionary tale. You will need to ask yourself the very hard question of whether a Ph.D. is really needed for what you want to do. Me, I fell into graduate school not to “escape life”, but because at the time, I didn’t imagine myself doing anything else than being an academic historian. Now, ten years later, I’m working on my dissertation, and my desire to be an academic has pretty much gone the way of all flesh. I need to reinvent myself, since the academic job market is absolutely brutal (I once sat on a hiring committee in my department), and as Ranjan points out, graduates of the top tier universities dominate the job market. Quite frankly, being an academic isn’t so important to me that I’ll go anywhere to do, especially now that I live in a place I really like and don’t want to leave it.
The point is, a graduate degree, especially a Ph.D., can come at a very heavy price. I’ll be in debt for a very long time. I don’t expect ever to enter retirement. That’s the choice I’ve made, and I’m content with it. It may not be the case for you.
P.S. With regard to the teaching aspects of graduate student, that depends on the program. I go to a large public university, and teaching is very much emphasized in our training. In fact, I found it weird that our department once hired as an assistant professor someone who’d never taught a college class before, whereas several of our graduate students had been teaching on their own for a few years.
My thing is that I have a degree that sort of prepares me for what I want, but doesn’t qualify me for what I want to do. I’m not using it, I miss school, and I desperately want to do something that actually engages my brain and utilizes my skills.
I’m genuinely not interested in pigeon-holing myself into academia with a PhD, but I’d march straight in for an MA if I was sure it would open up the door for what I really want.
Lauren, maybe the best thing to do would be to ask professors at a local CC what you should do. They would know best what kind of degrees and such you would need. You can also check the career columns at The Chronicle of Higher Education; here’s the URL:
http://chronicle.com/jobs/topical/community_college.htm
Just from skimming the titles, though, it looks like most of the articles treat CCs as a demotion or consolation prize. Again, the snobbery thing.
Does this mean you’re not interested in a PhD program at all? I’m sure you could do it; the key is to take a pragmatic or utilitarian attitude towards the diss, rather than thinking it’s supposed to be some hugely meaningful event in your life.
By the way, and this also follows on your post about money problems, you obviously have considerable skills as a writer. Have you tried to get a job writing, freelance or otherwise, anywhere? Has your internets writing been of any help with anything like that? You seem to have many well-placed admirers; any chance of striking out in that direction?
1) someone mentioned a program called “Literacy, Technology, and Professional Writing” – whatever that is specifically, what matters is that you take that clue and go interdisciplinary/multidiscilinary. A woman of your background, brains, and skills will be bored in a one-note program/department; which brings me to
2) library school – another commenter’s suggestion; that’s one of my degrees and I couldn’t have been happier there… I mean, like, pig-in-shit happy, found-my-calling happy, people-just-like-me happy. UCLA and UT-Austin (close to Twisty!!) have schools of “Information” that give you the opportunity to study far and wide – lots of options for thinking, studying, innovating, learning…
3) Princeton Review is based on breaking the code of the GRE and helping you do well without going back to high school math. I got middling grades on my SAT, but nearly aced the language part of the GRE after using PR, doubled my SAT math score (equivalent);
4) listen to the other posters here: it’s really all about who is in the grad program you’re looking at – it’s all in the profs. I’m in my second grad program (already have one MS) and will have two more degrees when I’m finished. The only things that matter are the people you will be working with - faculty and peers. Be sure.
Since I took the GRE back in the fall of 1988, my advice is likely not as relevant as that from the younger folks. I remember three sections (verbal, math, analytical?) but no tmuch else.
But I absolutely agree on picking a reputable place that offers a solid funding package of some kind. Best of luck — it’s a great life, academe, for all of its frustrations.
I have no tips on the GRE, as I took it over a decade ago, I think it’s changed, and I didn’t prepare.
On the grad school front, I agree with those who recommend finding out if you need a PhD to do what you want. Beyond that, think about what *kind* of PhD you want/need. If your goal is CC teaching, you do not need to be in a top 5 or top 10 program, and it may not prepare you as well as a lower-tier program. Programs that are lower on the food chain can still be quite good, with great faculty, and possibly more respect for your career choices. If, on the other hand, you want to, or think you might, want to end up at a research university, then by all means shoot for the most prestigious program you can.
I also concur with those who recommend considering your personal needs along with that. That includes $$, and location, and style. You also might want to consider child care options — is there student child care? That would say something both about how the program may fit your needs, and also their respect for students with children. Programs vary widely in approach. Some hand-hold more, some are sink or swim, etc. Where you’d do best depends on your personality and style. The more you can figure out some of these dynamics before you accept an offer, the happier you’re likely to be in the long run.
Be wary though of focusing too much on faculty. Faculty leave. Program strengths, sure, look at them, but do not go to a school based on one or two faculty members. They may leave, they may have no interest in you, you may discover they are awful people to work with.
Re the average time to complete a Humanities PhD: Most reputable Rhet Departments work to prevent this sort of thing by only funding you for 5-7 years. It’s completely reasonable to complete a MA in 2 and a PhD in 4-5.
This is how it works in entomology: The GRE is fairly unimportant. Your GPA is fairly unimportant. Past research experience, letters of recommendation, your undergraduate school’s reputation, and your connections are important. You don’t apply to graduate programs, you apply to professors. Most programs only require a 3.0 and an average GRE score, but those are only a formality - you can get in with less if you find a professor who really wants you. Find professors whose research you are interested in, then email them. If you have connections, use them. The reason you do this is because you need money to support you through school. Never, ever go into a program where there is no money specifically set aside for your project. And you don’t get into a Ph.D program without a Masters degree unless you’re the best thing since sliced bread.
In terms of the GRE, i don’t know if they still offer a written test, but if they do, i’d go for that. If you take it on the computer be sure to practice it that way, the test taking skills are very different.
In terms of schools, I am just finishing up a Ph.D. at Wayne State University, which is in Detroit. My degree is in literature, but the composition/rhetoric program is very strong. There is a huge emphasis on technology - all the freshman composition classes, which graduate students teach, have a computer component. The faculty have blogs. If you want to know more about it, feel free to email me.
I love Judith Butler too.
Something to be aware of if you want to end up teaching at a community college is that many of them are now hiring people as adjuncts only so it’s not a living wage. I know a fair number of people who teach at several schools to cobble together a living because no one will hire them full time. A disproportionate number of them are women - which certainly doesn’t pass the smell test but I haven’t seen anyone fight it successfully.
If you decide to go the library science route I’d recommend the University of Michigan. I know very little about the school of ed here.
GRE - be prepared to kick its ass.
Seriously, I didn’t prepare at all for the verbal or the essay, and I did just fine. I can only assume you’d do even better than I did on those parts, since physics educations are not exactly renowned for bestowing thier students with excellent communication skills.
If you feel your math is a bit shakey, all you need is a GRE prep book from a library. It goes over the high school algebra and geometry you need. If you do OK on the quizzes in the book you’ll do fine on the exam.
But you’ve been out of school for a few years, so no one cares about your scores. As long as you do average or a bit better they won’t glance twice at them. Play up your experience and be somewhat aggressive about getting them to interview and love you. Just fill out the applications and then give them a call and let them know why they need you. Treat it like a job search.
I’ll echo what Leslie just said. I have an MA in English, Lauren, and I live in your community, and there are no full-time community college positions. They’re all adjunct, for about half of what I made as a TA. One exception — Ivy Tech has recently advertised “English Fellow” positions, for recent MAs or PhDs, but these are two-year max positions, and they require a five course teaching load plus other responsibilities. I say this not to necessarily discourage you from thinking about grad school, but to let you know what the job market looks like right now, if you’re thinking that an MA in English will open the door to more full-time teaching opportunities.
If you’d like to talk more about this, feel free to email me. I can also give you the scoop about our local univ. and what I learned from the MA, PhD process.
Not related to your education as such, but might I make a suggestion fo you putting up an Amazon wishlist of the (text)books you need if you start studyong again?
I am probably not alone in being willing to try to help you keep the debt down.
Alternatively, drop be an email at public@kristjanwager.dk if there is a book (or similar), that you have to get right now but can’t afford.
Seriously–what about an information-related career that might enable you to achieve some of the same goals as teaching writing skills? Have you looked into Indiana University’s School of Informatics? They have a degree program in Human-Computer Interaction (http://informatics.iupui.edu/academics/hci/) that might be a good fit for you.