jazzyd

Got accepted to Cornell. Can't believe it.

Holy shit, I got accepted to Brown and Cornell today. This is the best Valentine's day ever...

Hey guys,
 
I have some news for UChicago hopefuls. I just called their English Grad Admissions staff (and there are some very lovely, very polite folks over there, by the way).
 
Having seen the four admits posted on our forums, I asked them if they had contacted all admits. They informed me that not all decisions have been made, and that they're contacting admits and rejections as decisions are made. More specifically, they told me that they're evaluating "groups" of applications and sending out decisions when they finish a group.
 
TL;DR?
 
If you haven't heard from Chicago yet, don't give up hope! 

I mentioned financial resources instead of salaries for the very reason that salary caps exist; but there's many things a team like the Lakers or Cowboys can do to lure talent outside of a strict offer of more money. I mean, just look at Jerry Jones' overpriced playpen. Thinking just in terms of name, finances, resources, prestige, there's no reason why the Cowboys should be as abominable as they are. Or at least, there wouldn't be if we were following along the alma mater=sport teams analogy, prestige=more success.
 
I had no clue about the NBA penalties though. Very cool. Very needed, lol.

I guess I don't understand the analogy. Huge sports franchises with boatloads of financial resources and the most to lure good coaches and talented free agents with - Yankees, Lakers, Dallas Cowboys - don't make it to their respective playoffs every year. Or win championships every year. By that logic, these teams would almost always be at or near the top every year by virtue of their clout alone, even if less wealthy teams with fewer resources had better players. That's not that case at all. 
 
Unless you're making the comparison to college athletics, in which case I think it holds more water what with the NCAA division between D1, D2, D3 schools, the BCS system for college football, the bid system for basketball, etc. etc. where a school that's undefeated in an obscure conference will in most cases go ignored in comparison to a Big 10 or SEC school with a poorer record.
 
In either case, I'm sure I thought way more into this than it warranted 

FWIW, Dallas Cowboys have no resource-based advantage over any other team as the NFL has a hard salary cap, making it impossible to have a higher payroll than the maximum allowed. The minimum payroll is roughly 85% of the maximum, so everybody is spending the same. The NBA has a "soft" cap which lets you overspend the salary cap only to retain your team's own players, which will make it impossible to sign other players. If you are too far above the cap due to taking advantage of this rule, you start paying enormous penalties for the overage. For instance, the Brooklyn Nets are expected to pay a $100 million penalty for a $30 million overage this year, a figure which will double in the coming years if they do not fix that.
 
The Yankees can pretty much spend as they wish and their payroll this year will be about 4x as much as the lowest team. Spending on veteran free agents in MLB is such a precarious proposition that the teams who do so often get themselves into just as much trouble as they do improve their team. They also have a "luxury tax" and it does indeed scare teams, but it is set so high that only 2-3 teams are within a stone's throw of it in a given year. 
 
I know you didn't mean for this to become a sports discussion but I couldn't help but drop some fun facts  
 
 
I would say that the NRC is more trustworthy but they're both complete bullshit. Rankings are completely wrongheaded in and of themselves, but NRC gives weight to things that actually matter and shuns the idea of hard rankings and instead favors confidence intervals, which makes more sense.

Just got awarded a fellowship. *sighs*
 
Making it really hard for me to stay in California at this point. I don't want to leave home, but it'd be idiotic to turn Urbana's offer down, especially now with this fellowship.

"Is ETS screwing us over more than we thought?"
 
Yes... the answer is always, "yes".

I have lurked this forum for over a year and have never posted or created an account once, but your last few responses have prompted me to opine my mind. You, lady, are one hell of a bitch and are acting like an immature brat. You will quickly learn not everyone on this planet will agree with you, and that is perfectly fine. So pull the dick out of your ass and quick acting like a baby. No one gives a fuck.

Now ban me. I don't care. Never posted here before anyway.

Stupid brat

I don't think many people on this board applied to Michigan State, but if you're looking at the results board and see the two acceptances on there, I'm one of them.  Just got an email about 45 minutes ago, upon waking up from a nap.  Very pleased to have gotten an acceptance.  Funding is not certain, though (will hear in the next few weeks; they'll email me.)  I feel like I have a great shot at a TAship, though, given that I have tons of teaching experience.  Michigan State is one of my last choice schools (based on city; I'm fine with the school). But I'm very grateful for the acceptance and will seriously consider the offer.  I didn't apply anywhere that I absolutely wouldn't go, sooo....I may go there if funding is good and everything falls in place.  Still waiting to hear from 10 other schools.  

Just received my first acceptance! It's no Berkeley or Duke but it's definitely comforting and an extremely strong offer--full medical/dental/vision and 16k a year! 

Visit both, but make ambiguous comments like, "Hmm, I notice your vending machines don't carry Diet Tab." Then gaze out the window as if thinking of the other university. Maybe they'll sweeten the deal!

I see your point, but not everyone's endgoal is tenure track, and the overall rankings often don't take into account specialities that may be a benefit on the job market.  

Hi thread – 
 
I was the recent UChicago post. Thanks for the congratulations! No info on how many accepted or the like, but good luck to you all! 
 
(Unfortunately, there is a good chance Chicago as a city will not survive this winter, so I'm holding my breath until Spring kicks in in... May...)

It's a play off of a joke from The Office. Dwight considering himself to be Assistant Regional Manager, with Michael (the Regional Manager) correcting him ("Assistant to the Regional Manager").

It's a play off of a joke from The Office. Dwight considering himself to be Assistant Regional Manager, with Michael (the Regional Manager) correcting him ("Assistant to the Regional Manager").

Honestly, this issue has been discussed extensively. The general consensus is that yes, rankings obviously do matter a lot. The problem is in the term "rankings" itself.
 
The NRC data illustrate why. Programs that were ranked based on how scholars in the field perceived the programs tended to not rank in the same order when the same programs were listed based on whether they actually had the attributes in question. Long story short, the data showed a disconnect (at times) between *reputation* and what is in fact there (or not there). 
 
Reputation aside, attending a top department brings certain obvious advantages: access to a stronger network, more resources, more flexibility, access to field leaders, etc. Right now, for example, Yale is hosting an incredibly major symposium in Film and Media Studies that features top-flight scholars from 4-5 countries across Europe and the Americas. In some ways it's just easier to arrange such things at some places than it may be at others. Having prominent dissertation committee members and advisors can't hurt.
 
On the other hand there may be some discrimination while on the job market because certain committees may assume (rightly or not) that as a graduate from a major research department, you are not likely to remain at a teaching-focused college and will take off at the first chance you get. And, it is sometimes not the case that "an Ivy" has the best department in a given field. It probably doesn't have a terrible one, but it's a mistake to correlate institutional reputation with departmental reputation.
 
That pretty much covers all the bases. For the aspiring academic, in view of the academic job market, it simply makes all kinds of sense to choose the very highest-reputed department where you actually have a great fit. It's that balance that is so hard to find. 

Not necessarily. Two schools I didn't hear a peep from until mid-March last year offered spots in their MA programs (Duke and UVA). And it's entirely possible to be waitlisted and not be notified of it. 
 
Someone mentioned that grad apps are like applying for a job. If an employer says they will touch base with you in 2 weeks, would you call them 5 days later to see how everything is going?
 
Not harping on you specifically, but just trying to put this whole crazy mess into perspective. This is why people say to stay away from GC! 

Not necessarily. Two schools I didn't hear a peep from until mid-March last year offered spots in their MA programs (Duke and UVA). And it's entirely possible to be waitlisted and not be notified of it. 
 
Someone mentioned that grad apps are like applying for a job. If an employer says they will touch base with you in 2 weeks, would you call them 5 days later to see how everything is going?
 
Not harping on you specifically, but just trying to put this whole crazy mess into perspective. This is why people say to stay away from GC! 

“....they just made a terrible life choice!” 
 

Please resist the urge to e-mail grad departments. We've just reached the first week of February. It may feel like 5 years in GC time, but it's just the beginning of the notification season. Unfortunately, not knowing is part of the process. But you never know what might come out on the other end, an offer for the PhD program or the MA program. Looking at that thread from another forum someone posted, I'd be wary about sending unnecessary e-mails with grad departments, especially when there's a good chance not everything has been decided yet. 
 
Just my $.02.

Please resist the urge to e-mail grad departments. We've just reached the first week of February. It may feel like 5 years in GC time, but it's just the beginning of the notification season. Unfortunately, not knowing is part of the process. But you never know what might come out on the other end, an offer for the PhD program or the MA program. Looking at that thread from another forum someone posted, I'd be wary about sending unnecessary e-mails with grad departments, especially when there's a good chance not everything has been decided yet. 
 
Just my $.02.

Huzzah!!! DAVIS! In!!        

I received an acceptance email yesterday from the English Department, but my online application still says "decision pending." 

How many upvotes do I need to collect before I can turn them in for a prize?