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dr. t

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Everything posted by dr. t

  1. I didn't see the need to draw attention to it. This was back when UoT grad students were striking because they made CAD 15,000 a year, and the poverty line in Toronto was CAD 23,000 a year, so I just politely declined the spot. As the former mayor of my town was fond of saying, "The toe you step on today may be connected to the ass you kiss tomorrow."
  2. As I said earlier, if you've not heard positively from Harvard at this juncture, you should expect the answer to be no. For some ungodly reason, rejection letters take until early March to go out. And to tie this back to the theme of hilarious/terrible rejection letters, I was reminded of the... special... way Harvard phrased my rejection: "The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is unable to take favorable action on your application to the Department of History." And when I was waitlisted at UToronto, and received this: "We were EXTREMELY impressed by your application, which combined what many of us thought to be an important and interesting project with an impressive and unique background. It goes without saying that the University of Toronto would be a wonderful place to pursue your research, particularly given our depth and strength in Asian history. As Graduate Coordinator, I read all the PhD applications, so I can say with confidence that your application and proposal really jumped out." Which is nice and all, except I study high medieval France. You'd think, since they have to do this every year, graduate departments wouldn't be shit at it. And yet. The key is to see them as what they are: a reminder of how universities (not departments) see their graduate students, and a bit of comic relief.
  3. Then why are you here?
  4. @Sigaba was giving you advice, and that advice was well meant. That's why those of us who have already gone through this process stick around. Ignore it to your own disadvantage. Also, disparaging the ivory tower while applying to PhD programs is... special.
  5. Now. But wait until late June to panic.
  6. ...well, me, for one. A great number of people have "real practical experience" (as opposed to?) before entering academia, particularly on this forum. Brown's program - the subject of discussion here - actively seeks out people with such experience; four out of the ten members of my cohort (including myself) are over 30. I understand you're not in the best mental space right now, but this is sentiment simply condescending and patronizing. The point isn't to stop you from feeling shitty about your rejection. For me, at least, the advice re-centered my perspective on what the rejection was, reminding me that, even if I were incredibly successful, this would happen a lot more, and therefore I would need to find ways to cope with that reality.
  7. That's a pretty poor reading of the advice as given.
  8. Then don't find it helpful - I'm not sure what the big deal is. But it's not about adjusting to things. It's a reminder of the realities of the profession.
  9. As I was told during my first round of applications, if you find your feelings hurt by grad school rejections, get out now before you encounter the job market.
  10. No, Brown does not interview.
  11. As someone who's been there, done that, and has the literal t-shirt, I'd say that "fairytale" is a bit of an oversell, unless you mean the original Grimm versions.
  12. Most Harvard POIs contact as soon as they know, in my experience. It's not certain, but I wouldn't have any expectations if you haven't heard.
  13. A week. After the approvals are done. Yes. Unfortunately, the nature of the beast is that acceptances hear first, and that silence should usually be understood as rejection. No clue, I interact with AS only briefly. IIRC, history apps were due in December. But it may be because it's a very small department?
  14. The decisions at Brown have been approved by the department and are waiting upon final approval from the grad school. It will all be over soon
  15. I got my Brown admit in the middle of a nap. I didn't check my phone when it buzzed for the email because I figured it was just another false alarm.
  16. http://www.theonion.com/article/report-today-the-day-they-find-out-youre-a-fraud-35133
  17. Berkeley should be this week, if memory serves. Harvard, early to mid Feb, but if you haven't heard directly from a PI by the end of the first week of that month, I would steel yourself for a no.
  18. I would first seek evidence that such an action would be in any way beneficial. I suspect not.
  19. “A wise man does not burn his bridges until he first knows he can part the waters.”
  20. dr. t

    AHA 2017

    Anyone going? I'll be there for Thursday. Shameless plug for my DH workshop on databases for humanists: https://www.historians.org/annual-meeting/resources-and-guides/digital-history-at-aha17/getting-started-in-digital-history-workshop
  21. dr. t

    MA Title

    This is the crux of the matter, I think. And of course you can. But when you confuse possibility for probability, you tend to end up with problems. To repeat what I said above: if you have a problem, it's because you have an online degree from a minor state university, not because of the particular wording on that degree. I am happy you feel confident in your choices. I hope you continue to have cause to do so.
  22. dr. t

    MA Title

    I'll believe that after I get the TT job, maybe
  23. dr. t

    MA Title

    I don't really think anything you've put there responds to what I've said; you've no need to justify yourself to me. And in case it wasn't made clear above, my undergraduate degree is from Harvard Extension, which you reference. I took a good chunk of my coursework online there, and know both the benefits and downfalls. The above is lessons learned from experience, and not me trying to shit all over your hopes and dreams for giggles. With respect to your point of the utility of the MA, I agree, and I was being a bit flippant with my binary. But the benefits you mention are such regardless of the particular wording of your MA. Given that subject, I focused my advice on the PhD.
  24. This is a stupid thing to post on an internet forum. You are not as anonymous as you think you are.
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