splitends

I'm about to start a PhD program in the fall. I put together a pretty convincing CV when I was applying to schools, but now that I'm actually in and about to start, I'm not sure how long I should keep my undergrad experience listed on my CV.

I was involved with about three independent projects throughout my undergrad career and presented them at conferences and etc. Needless to say, though, the work I was producing as a 2nd year undergrad is a far cry from what I want to do now. Really, only the most recent project (my senior thesis) is something I'd like to be associated with going forward. But including all the other things just makes me look so much more prolific. It's weird to have worked this hard for the last four years to accumulate all this experience, only to wipe the record clean now.

What do you think-- do you keep your undergrad experience on your CV indefinitely, gradually purge it as you get involved with more serious work, or just start with a more or less clean slate in grad school?

Thanks!

[I posted this in another forum on this site, but I would also be interested to know if anyone in the smaller world of Sociology has anything to say on the subject...]




I've always been relatively confident in my choice to go to graduate school and in my ability to do well in my field. After getting into several top schools, I was feeling even more so. But since I've started visiting schools, I've started developing some serious impostor syndrome. I don't know if it's from having to repeat my somewhat shaky research interests over and over again, or from meeting so many super accomplished prospective students with really interesting and/or well thought out plans for grad school, but I am definitely starting to feel like maybe I am not ready for this.

Has anyone else dealt with these feelings? Do they go away at any point? Any tips for managing them?

I've always been relatively confident in my choice to go to graduate school and in my ability to do well in my field. After getting into several top schools, I was feeling even more so. But since I've started visiting schools, I've started developing some serious impostor syndrome. I don't know if it's from having to repeat my somewhat shaky research interests over and over again, or from meeting so many super accomplished prospective students with really interesting and/or well thought out plans for grad school, but I am definitely starting to feel like maybe I am not ready for this.

Has anyone else dealt with these feelings? Do they go away at any point? Any tips for managing them?

Is anyone else considering their own undergraduate university for graduate school? I would really love to hear how you're navigating the decision, because I am having an exceedingly hard time separating and weighing out a confusing mix of feelings about it.

On the one hand, there are lots of objectively good reasons to stay: it's a top ranked program, its a great fit for my research interests, I love the area, I adore the grad students here, I have great relationships with many professors, and on and on and on.

On the other hand, I'm lucky enough to have other great offers, and staying put will be the less personally adventurous decision, and maybe less rewarding in the long run. I've lived in the state more or less my entire life, and I've lived within a few blocks of campus for the past five years (minus one semester living abroad, and a few summers working out of state). I'm still quite young and think it might just be a good idea for me to see more of the world. And professionally speaking, I already know the work being produced in my undergrad soc department quite well, and maybe I would have more to learn some place new.

And of course the entire time it's hard to decipher whether or not I'm being biased by feeling comfortable, feeling attached to people, etc.

Anyway, if anyone else is going through or has gone through the same process, I would love to hear how you figured it out!

I have been fortunate to get into several PhD programs I am totally thrilled about, though I'm getting a little overwhelmed both by the prospect of making a really difficult decision and by the sheer amount of correspondance that comes along with acceptances.

I want to decline some of the offers. I know there must be some talented and probably anxious people on the waitlist, and frankly I would like the tidal wave of emails to stop.

But how quickly, and how, can I let a school know I'm not interested without seeming rude? I mean, if I email them a week later without visiting or even talking to any of the faculty saying "I'm sorry, it was a difficult decision, but I ultimately don't think your program is the best fit for me" doesn't that just smack of insincerity? These people will be my colleagues in the future and I don't want to come off as an asshole.

A grad student at my undergrad institution told me to wait on it a while so as not to come off as insulting, but after seeing so many people nervously sitting on waitlists here, that just doesn't seem right...

Anyway, thoughts?