BillyBillyBilly

Wowwww, did not realize my edit only made that grammar catastrophe worse. Good to hear I guess, hope good news comes rolling in for both of us soon!

Congrats to Carleton accepteds! Has anyone heard anything from UWaterloo, that just hasn't happened to post to the results page yet? Based on previous years, seems like at some a few people should have heard, but no acceptances or rejections have appeared yet. I guess it's probably just taking longer this year for whatever reason.

Congrats to everyone who just heard about getting into Yale! Here's hoping UPenn just hasn't gotten around to sending out all their admits, and that I might still get one tomorrow (probably silly to hope for). Based on the results page, looks like people might be hearing from Syracuse tomorrow too!

On the subject of GRE scores, if you have the time and extra cash, taking a prep class with an instructor who really knows what they're doing could make a big difference. Even if its just an extra push to help give your own studying some structure. Taking a class helped me a hell of a lot!

Haven't heard yet from Indiana either, if that helps at all! So I don't think they're doing them all at once. I remember last year I heard back from them later than a lot of other schools, although it was a reject so maybe the timing doesn't mean much.

RE: UF admission, I applied there last year and was admitted on Feb 24th, so you may still have about a week or so to wait, unfortunately. (Decided to turn my offers down in the end for reasons, or obviously I wouldn't be applying to schools again this year, )

First things off, thanks for responding! And apologies if my post was longer than people were hoping to read. That's absolutely true, I mean, it was all anecdotal. But my goal was just to talk about the experiences of other people who had a lot to say on career realism. When the same negative message come from every possible direction, I don't think it's that hard to understand why after a while it makes new admits suspicious of it all. Even if you think that suspicion is really just a lack of experience. Do you see what I'm saying? To address your employment comment, again, no arguments here! In that specific case though, I wasn't really talking about comparison of the labor market so much as a hypothetical happiness in a different career or a different life. All I have to go off of is my own frame of reference, so I'm glad to get another perspective, 'specially a humbling one. Cheers!

So, I've been watching people talk about this issue for a while now, think this conversation is actually pretty productive, and I suppose I'd like to throw in my 2 cents. For whatever it's worth. Maybe nothing. Always nervous . I worked my way through undergrad in odd jobs, and since then I've spent a few years doing some freelance research work for policy folks in DC. Not that my background matters, just that I've talked to a lot of "career-level" people in different industries over the years. I think a dose of their perspective on what the working world is like could be important in a discussion like this. Especially because we're academics, trying to spend most of our lives cloistered away from it all on a university and even secondhand perspective is better than nothing. Whether they're a stage carpenter, grant accountant at a nonprofit, or even someone working at the Pentagon, not one of them spoke very glowingly of their industry. Especially people doing government work in DC. They talk about the restrictive job prospects, how pay is often going down, or how the environment can be so stifling that anyone proposing changes is trampled over, how frustrating rules and regulations are, how it's impossible to actually make a difference, etc. They say to be realistic, and please consider working in another field. Go to grad school or law school! And then of course, lawyers say the same thing about that. No jobs, incredibly competitive, too much debt, it's unrealistic to assume you'll succeed, etc. I'm inclined to think it's a tired story people tell to vent. Or maybe everything does just suck? But then it's not THAT much better anywhere else either. If the world is going to smack me around for having dreams of a tenure track job, OK. The world can go ahead. Worse things happen to people than not getting their dream job. It's no reason to be a curmudgeon (looking at you, PSR). At least my job for five years will be doing something I love (research, school, TAing) before it's back to the grind. And for the record, I'm probably just missing it, but I feel like I see a lot more lamenting a lack of realism lately than cases here of folks actually needing that dose of realism. Unless you count wanting to try in the first place, or being excited about acceptance to a #25-50 school as a lack of realism. In that case, humbug to you too, Mr. Scrooge. It's all a crap-shoot anyway.

Sorry about the late response! I've been busy with work. Thanks so much for both of your replies! I'm sending an email this evening to make sure that there wasn't a problem and that a decision just isn't ready yet. Still working on how I'm gonna word that. But anyway, I'll make sure to update on what happens in case anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation. Solidarity!

Hey all! I browsed the forums here a little, and it seems like a really cool community. This has been bugging me for a while, so I guess I'm looking for some advice... I feel like other people might be wondering kinda the same thing, or be in similar situations. without going into too many details, I applied to 7 schools for PhD programs that I've mostly heard back from (mostly rejects, some acceptances). There's only one left. Their application was due on Jan 1st, and it's been a few months since then. it's not the length of time itself that bothers me, though. the results page here for the program I applied to suggests that a bunch of people heard back months ago, at most a few weeks after applying. And no one has posted anything since. Most people were contacted via phone, which I'm pretty bad at answering on time. This all has me worried that there was some sort of problem sending me an email or calling me about the decision. Although I checked the application system afterwards which told me flat out that everything was submitted right (including recommendations from my advisers, who did get emails through system), I never actually got anything in my email back in December confirming that I had applied. The email they have listed for me is right though, so it would be some problem with their system. Anyway, I'm just worried its not a coincidence and its all connected and somehow a glitch caused them to pass me over. Do you think it would be weird to send an email asking about my application, if I think of a good way to word it? Even if im on some kind of waitlist, I'd like to know. Or just to know that things are still in motion. Thanks so much for any help you can give! Just going into fret mode. Hope other people can associate .