dr. t

Self-diagnosis via the web is rarely a useful activity.

My excellent results were actually due to an error in my code, and so instead of p = .15 (that's pretty good for the humanities), I get p = .32. AND The digital humanities project I run was invited to give a talk at a conference on human-computer interaction. We said we'd do it, and started work on the paper. I just went to register, and, since it's a science conference, it's $750 (a mere $450 for students) for registration. We aren't grant funded.

Looking over past results, it looks like very few programs interview, and those that do don't do it consistently. I was having a minor nutty until I checked.

Not really. I see plenty of discrimination on a daily basis, even on my friendly, liberal campus with all-gender restrooms. I would be somewhat skeptical that any program will be all sunshine and unicorns. The idea that academia is a meritocracy where people are judged on their ideas is a legitimizing myth, and one which is not true. I mean, there's still an absurd gender pay gap among full professors. None of the replies in this thread are from people who are actually trans*, or, as far as I can tell, minorities, although the blog above posted by fuzzy is a good start. I would seek out people with actual experiences before coming to a conclusion, else you might be in for a rude awakening. If you'd like, PM me and I can ask some friends if they'd be willing to talk.

Die große Stille - the period of radio silence between Dec. 15 and Feb. 1 (also a fantastic documentary about Carthusian monks).

Nah. I was a mechanical engineer, but it was a lot of factors, the largest being that I wasn't really mature enough to be on my own, and I needed to learn a lot of tough lessons before I could devote myself to school. It turned out OK - my final cumulative undergraduate GPA was above 3.0, and I'm about to get my second degree from Harvard, but it could have easily have gone differently. Of course, I'm not out of the woods until I actually get in somewhere. Actually, even with that GPA, my experience in an engineering program has proved really important to my career in history. Those interests have pushed me towards quantitative and digital history, and I now manage a major DH project (see `MAPS!' in sig line). They've also inspired a couple of projects which have turned into conference presentations and, deus vult, publications.

It could be worse. The total gpa for the first 4 semesters of my undergraduate career was 0.86.

I've found that I fuss less about what I'm writing if I'm writing it out by hand. Often when I get writer's block, I'll start working on the paragraph in a notebook until I work it out.

The links, they do not work.

They're less relevant to the humanities for obvious reasons, but all the stuff about grad student life is pretty much spot on.

NB: comic was first published in 2008, hence "Guess who's coming to grad school".

This is data pulled from the results search on GradCafe, yes?

Die große Stille.

It was hard to hate HIMYM when it had NPH and there was the Big Bang Theory to take the brunt of my anger.

I had heard a few years back that BU's funding situation was iffy, so you might want to check into that.

Not to be brutal, but I would put forward the idea that if he cannot deal with you choosing what is best for you and does not encourage you to pursue the course you love, but instead pressures you towards a different course, he is not your soul mate.

Thanks! I'll take you up on that if I hear back positively!

Uh, false.

I would be outside my department, but not outside places I would be expected to show up, if that makes sense?

If someone cannot find free lunch at Harvard at least three days a week, they don't know where to look.

Pro tip: do not look at app materials after you have submitted them, ever.

Is the Chronicle of Higher Ed specifically designed to make my blood pressure go up and to want to throw my laptop across the room? Because it seems like that's exactly what it's for.

Same. I also got something for an administrative aide who helped me in a tight spot or two.

I would bring it up to the student, and I wouldn't start off with the assertion they're wrong. Try the soft sell - "Hey, why did you pick X, wouldn't Y work better?" The student's reaction will determine how to proceed from there.

French library catalogs. French library websites. The French.