ThousandsHardships

In my former program, all admitted PhD students get a departmental fellowship for their first two quarters (so they don't have to teach or get into a lab at the beginning) while M.S. students get one quarter. Beyond that, they also nominate their top PhD admits for university fellowships, which can cover either the first year or the first two years. I'd say most programs that can afford to do so automatically cover their first-year students, and the ones that cannot afford to do this give them TA'ships instead to help fund them.

@phoebusrising I feel you! I'm in a similar (albeit slightly more hopeful) position. I was accepted to one school and waitlisted for another. The one school I was accepted to said that I was runner-up for a fellowship that I'd get only if the top person declines his or her offer, and that other forms of funding haven't been decided so I'd better give them any info about my teaching record. To add to that, I'm slightly terrified that I might have come off as overly desperate to my prospective mentor just because I had asked several times when I can expect to hear back about funding. Basically, my excitement over being accepted has recently turned to stress and sheer terror, literal dreams of hope followed by disappointment upon waking.

I'm not sure what the norm in your field is. In the sciences, the first author is usually the person who did most of the writing, whereas the PI is almost always the last author. The ones in the middle are often ranked by the amount of work they did or the significance of their contributions. Sometimes this can be arbitrary though. My mother (a senior scientist at a top university) has sometimes insisted on yielding the first author position to promising grad students or postdocs because she's planning to retire on her present position and would rather have these articles help jumpstart the careers of competent future professors/researchers than to add a distinction to her own CV that she'll never use.

Assuming you intend to go into academia, you are going to end up interacting with these people in the future. These will be your future colleagues, ones that you will see at conferences, cite in your papers (and hopefully vice versa), and to whom you may recommend your own future students. It won't hurt to have a good relationship with them from the start. In any case, if they gave you an interview opportunity, it's always good to thank them for it.

Because I want to be a professor. Because my field keeps me grounded and I can't imagine my life without it. Because doing a PhD in and of itself allows me to do everything that professors get to do (research, teaching, leadership opportunities akin to academic service), and be paid for it. If I only get 4-5 years of that, then so be it. It's still better than never getting to do it at all. And yes, I am admitting that the competition in academia means that I may never get the job I desire. I am also admitting that going into a PhD makes no guarantee that I am going to finish. But why look this far? Life is too short for regrets, and no regret would have compared to the one I'd have if I had let my inhibitions prevent me from applying. Because life away from the university is miserable.

For my previous graduate program, we were fine as long as we filed before the June federal deadline. We needed FAFSA on record to have our fellowships disburse, but it didn't seem to be a requirement that we file before we were considered. At least I hope I'm interpreting this correctly. I haven't heard back regarding funding for the only program I've been accepted to, and it's making me quite nervous. From conversations with faculty, they didn't seem to intend to leave me unfunded, but it's hard to not worry when there's nothing in writing and when I have no other acceptances to turn to if this one falls through.

@auburn_sprite What I did was change degree objectives from a PhD to an MS, not completely drop out. I think I did it at the beginning of fall quarter my final year, though I don't completely remember. I started my application to teach English abroad for the following academic year at around that time as well. The fact that I was leaving to teach abroad gave me more of a solid deadline to meet. If I didn't get my lab work done by then, I decided that I would either write up what I had and call it a thesis (my adviser was fine with that) or give up the degree altogether. Fortunately I ended up doing the first. I finished my thesis (I went on filing fee status and used my time abroad to write) and worked on PhD program applications at the same time. I don't think I would have been in the right state of mind to apply last year, and so I'm glad I waited a year. Sometimes I feel that I would have gotten into my top choices if I had waited some more, but I really do want to be back in school and the school I did get into isn't weak and is a pretty good fit. I might as well take the opportunity now.

Oops, I didn't realize that post was by the same person as the original post. Thanks for pointing it out. And good point -- getting into a top 10 school for a master's already sounds like a pretty impossible feat. That said, I personally dropped out of a PhD program after several miserable years, and I would not have gone into the program if I could go back and do it over. Attempting this PhD has been more of a hindrance to my career than it has been a help. Of course, that's not to say that everyone who starts a PhD without a clear academic goal is bound to leave without the degree, but genuine interest and a sense of direction can play a larger role than one might think in success and emotional wellbeing.

@Dontdoit2017 Most students bike. I'd never have thought it convenient before moving there, but it's pretty much the way to get around in Davis. It's often considered one of the most bike-friendly campuses and cities in the U.S. It's nothing compared to what you see in some European countries, but it's pretty decent compared to most places in the U.S. Driving is okay for shopping and all, but parking on campus isn't easy (or cheap), and parking downtown often has a 2-hour time limit, so I wouldn't say it's convenient in terms of everyday transport to campus. Some students walk, but it depends on where you need to go. Some buildings can be pretty far apart. There's also a bus system on campus, though it's free only to undergrads. Grad students are supposed to pay since it's not included in their fee. I personally always biked.

Not all programs even do waitlists, so there's certainly no such thing as a usual size. The thing about graduate programs is that they often admit more candidates than they expect to matriculate, expecting that some will decline. Unfortunately this means that getting in from the waitlist entails a little more than a single person declining his or her offer. It requires that more people decline than accept.

Your preparative steps look good, and I'd focus on the research and on obtaining letters. For European schools, this may be all that's needed to gain admission. But yes, most U.S. schools (not just the top 20 but virtually all schools that have PhD programs) require a minimum GPA of 3.0. Many programs will automatically reject candidates with less than a 3.0, and even for programs that are willing to recommend a candidate for admission, there's always the chance that the decision will be overturned by the university. That said, be sure to apply to grad schools with the right goals in mind. There is no reason for which you absolutely need a top 20 school. You can get a decent education from a lot of different schools. Think twice before applying blindly without regard to your program or research interests. Give it some time, work in a few fields/industries, and see where your interests take you before applying. And as far as reputation goes, you will be much more respected in the field and overall if you pick a school that's right for you than if you follow name and prestige. Good luck!

I left a science PhD program with an MS and will be starting a PhD in French literature in the fall, so yes, it is possible to switch fields. I do have a BA and MA in French, so I'm not going into unexplored territory. However, the fears of an unfinished PhD looking bad on grad school applications (add that to an incomplete undergrad honors thesis in my case) are very real. The stress I experienced during grad school also took its toll on my relationship with my MA department. All things considered, I didn't think I'd ever have the courage or confidence to admit I wanted a PhD in French. I thought I was putting myself up for ridicule. But at some point, if you realize that this is what you want, you simply have to go out there and get it. It's better to go for it and risk failure than to be miserable and spend life wondering what could have been. I also know a girl who started a PhD in psychology but ended up taking so many literature classes and was TA'ing for language courses exclusively...that she ended up naturally switching departments to comparative literature after a few years. Anyway, having an incomplete PhD does draw questions, but as long as your qualifications are on par and you explain thoroughly your interests and experience in your new field in your statement (avoid talking about how your program made you miserable though), grad schools won't consider it in too much of a negative light. There may even be some schools that view your experience as a positive. Of course, not all or even most will, but there are those out there that see your decision to refocus as one that came through trial and error and one that is now motivated by the right reasons. And many will see your background in biomedical sciences as an advantage. What is done is done. You can't go back and correct your academic record. But you can make a decision to apply for programs that you want and get a degree that you enjoy doing that leads to a career that you're passionate about. Best of luck !

There are a lot of master's degrees (not professional master's but research-based ones) out there that do provide funding in the form of teaching assistantships. I've done a lot of soul-searching myself. I had three undergrad majors, started a PhD without knowing what I wanted to study, started a second master's on the side, and ultimately downgraded my PhD as well. Now I'm going to start a PhD program in what had started as my "secondary" field during my first round of graduate studies, with much clearer goals in mind. Even though I have an undergraduate degree in the field, it wasn't until I was doing my MA that I realized what bound me to the discipline, what kept me going, and what I was curious about. The bottom line is, it really depends. If you do decide to do a master's, go for something that you're really interested in and one that gives you the experience required to explore your potential career paths. As I said, professional degrees typically come unfunded, so if you're thinking along the lines of a professional program, you'd do best to first obtain some experience in the actual field and make sure it's something you want to do before you commit to a degree program. If you're exploring options for a potential PhD, on the other hand, going for a funded master's can be a great way to figure out what you want to study and whether academic research is for you.

When a program says they've accepted you, it means that they've accepted you at the program/departmental level and forwarded your name to the university to make the official offer. Of course, the department usually also does send out an informal offer letter in writing, but that's less important. As far as the official offer goes...the university/graduate school usually accepts all students nominated by the individual programs. The only exception is if they don't meet certain general requirements. For example, if the school requires a 3.0 GPA but yours is lower, if for some reason you didn't actually receive the degree you said you did, or if you don't have all the application materials requested, then the graduate school can veto the department's nomination. But for applicants who do meet the basic requirements, this is rarely if ever an issue. Four years ago, when I did my first round of PhD applications, I received my unofficial offer on February 8th and my official offer on February 20th. This time around (I dropped out of my last program), I got an email announcing my acceptance on January 30th, got my unofficial offer letter on February 3rd, and I still haven't received the official offer. Typically, 1-3 weeks is the normal waiting period between the unofficial and official acceptances.

I haven't seen it make a difference whatsoever. In any case, I don't think it's a good idea to commit to a school just because you think it might increase your chances of receiving a prestigious fellowship. You should wait until the offers go out for all your schools and pick the best from there. Maybe you'll get an even better financial offer from one of your other picks. Of course, if there's a school that you for sure will not be attending, please decline that offer ASAP so that the department is not wasting their resources and nomination slots on you and so that any waitlisted students would get admitted with ample time to make the decision themselves.

Waitlisted for real at Brown, imaginarily waitlisted for NYU and Princeton (actually more like sure rejects at this point but one can dream). I do have an acceptance at a place that I feel might be a better fit for me than Brown though. I will still consider Brown if I do get accepted since I'm not in a position to judge objectively right now, but at least this means that I'm not going to stress too much over my waitlist status.

Oh hey, I didn't see this earlier, but I did my master's at Davis and know quite a few grad students in religious studies, having taken a translation class where half the students were from that program. I have to say, those students are really one-of-a-kind, not the typical type of people you've come to expect in academia. They all have very intriguing backgrounds and experiences, and many of them internalize their field of study by their style of dress, dietary habits (a significant number are vegetarian or even vegan), and stuff like that, which makes sense because they were drawn to their field for a reason. Most of the ones I know study some sort of oriental belief system. I'm not sure if the faculty composition is similar. The students are all incredibly nice and intelligent and passionate about what they study. Anyway, hope this gives you a bit of an overview. Of course, my knowledge is still limited.

If English is one of the languages, it makes things much easier! I'd probably have to learn a new language for my PhD too. My programs require fluency in English and French (which all admitted students have) and reading knowledge of a third language. I sort of took the easy way out during my M.A. by testing out with Chinese (my mother tongue), but for my PhD, I would likely not be able to do so. Chinese is totally irrelevant to my degree and research and is not on the pre-approved list of languages for my potential program anyway. I intend to specialize in 17th century French literature and therefore think that Italian might be the most useful new language to learn, though I've been teaching myself German for a while and think it would be a pity if I didn't develop my German skills to at least a practical level of competency. Latin and ancient Greek are other possibilities. Ah! Decisions! I love learning languages though, so I'm not complaining.

@tere93 I did my master's at Davis. I put myself on the waitlist for the place I ended up living at (the Atriums) at before I even accepted my offer, and I was just about to send off the security deposit for another place when I received my notification that there was a place at my top choice. I think Tandem Properties is a convenient organization to use to secure housing, and tons of people do it without visiting the place first since all the floor plans are online and you can find videos too. I lived less than two hours away and even then I didn't really think to visit apartments. Anyway, I really liked living at the Atriums because it's super close to the gym, to Trader Joe's, to the campus in general, and actually it's officially considered on-campus even though it's managed independently, so I was able to get my car jump-started for free one time by Parking & Transportation Services because they offered that kind of service for on-campus locations.

@haselnuss Thank you for your kind words! I completely understand. I agree that it sometimes takes very little to get rejected. Regret can be hard to contend with, and it's simply been difficult not to think of all the things that I could have done differently to make myself a less questionable candidate, things that for me have very little to do with academic competence. But the important thing now is that I really do get to do this PhD.

I'm not convinced you (or any other applicant) is actually going to give up hope, nor should you. There's always a part of us that hopes for a miracle, no matter what the improbabilities, and this attitude has gotten humankind far. There are so many things that we consider normal today that would have been considered miracles only a couple of centuries ago. As far as your application is concerned, by all means have backup plans, act upon them, and accept them. But that's it. There's no need to entirely let this go, not yet. I'd also like to point out that none of the posters in this thread are from comparative literature. Grad school isn't like undergrad, where all acceptances and rejections roll out at the same time. In grad school, the department and program admit students, not the school as a whole. One program's timeline is not going to match that of the others. I do not see any acceptances for your program posted in the results section of this site, and so there is every possibility that your program has not notified students yet.

@ejpril88 I wouldn't trust online rankings if I were you. Maybe go to a few professors that you know and trust and ask which programs they would recommend and/or classmates who've applied in the past and ask which schools they applied to. Read some commonly cited articles in your field and look up where the authors teach. I think those give you a much better sense of which schools are stronger than online rankings alone. In my field, NYU has by far the biggest program I've seen or heard of in the country, and tons of resources to boot. We all the way in California are recommended to read books written by their faculty, and almost all of my high-achieving classmates have applied there as one of their top choices. Yet the rankings I've seen place it behind schools I've never even heard of, like the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Connecticut. By the way, I did my master's at UC Davis. If you have any questions about the campus or graduate student life, feel free to shoot me a message! Also, my cousin is an undergrad CS major at Purdue. She spent the entire winter break complaining about the weather (apparently she had to glide her way to finals), though it seems like she's enjoying her educational experience.

As many others have said, it's really not the name of the school that matters in the long run, but the quality of the program. Even when you're trying to look for jobs as a professor, it's the networking that will be important. The faculty within the field will know which schools are good in a specific field and subfield. If you graduated from Harvard, it might look good to your parents and to outsiders, but it will not be advantageous if all of your interviewers know that Harvard isn't as strong in your field. A lot of Ivy League (and other prestigious) schools have wonderful resources, great mentorship, and an excellent job placement record. They didn't get their name for nothing, and if you find a prestigious institution with all of these things, then all's the better. However, picking a school just for its name, without these other advantages, is not worth it in the end. Firstly, if it's clear that you're applying to a school just for the prestige and not the fit, the chances are that the school can tell and will not accept you to begin with. Secondly, if you don't have a good mentor to work with and no adequate resources at your school, then that can be a hindrance to your research productivity and networking abilities with scholars within your field, which will affect your job search later on. And lastly, PhD students are all the cream of the crop. As someone who's been through a round of grad school and have had both undergrads and grad students in the classes I've taught, I can tell you that the worst grad students BS'ing a class still always, with no exception, stand comfortably within the top 10% when compared to the undergrads. To get into a PhD program requires this type of skill and incentive, and to finish your PhD is in itself indicative of success, no matter where it is. And speaking of which, many students drop out for lack of good mentorship, so don't underestimate the importance of a good mentor.

I'd say in the humanities at least, going straight from undergrad to grad school tends to be an exception rather than the norm. As an undergrad, my TA's were all in their late 30's or early 40's. When I was doing my master's, my cohorts were mostly between 23 and 27 years of age (with a few exceptions...exceptions meaning older, not younger) during their first year. They've explored career options, they know what they want to do, and they have lives outside of school. Speaking of which, there is no reason that your academics should get in the way of your dating life or married life. Tons of grad students get married and have babies and take advantage of campus resources for student parents. There's absolutely no issue in doing that. Sure, it might get stressful and you'll be busy, but a family and a career do not need to be thought of as mutually exclusive things. And if you finish your PhD, you will have a job that you will have to dedicate just as much time to, and things that enter your life that you didn't even have to worry about in school. You won't suddenly be free to do all these extra things that you pushed aside during school. You have to make time for them, then or now, if you deem it important to do so. I'll be starting my program at age 27. I was forced to take a gap year after my undergrad, after which I started a PhD program that I didn't finish. I graduated in three years with a double master's instead and am spending the year abroad. I'm not in a relationship and never have been. I want one, but my anxiety makes it very difficult and stressful to make time for guys, especially when it's unplanned. But I don't think of school as a barrier. I think it's actually a great opportunity to get involved and get to know more people.

There are four schools I haven't heard from. I cracked about a week ago and emailed a professor from my alma mater about my status. He hasn't written back and I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm comforting myself by thinking that if they do reject me, it will make my choice much easier. I've been getting pretty excited about the one program I have been accepted to, but I know that if my alma mater accepts me, there's very little chance I'd be able to turn it down. Other than that...I've heard through the grapevine that the other three schools have already conducted interviews and/or decided who to invite for campus visits, so those are very likely to be rejects, but yeah, that silent hope for a waitlist still exists no matter how little the chances are. I just wish I'd know already. Then there's a school that I actually am on the waitlist for...and top of the waitlist, so I'm told...of course, it does take more than one accepted candidate to reject his/her offer for the waitlist to move, but this is truly a game of chance, and I'm not sure I can wait until this is finalized. I think once I know the results of the other four schools, I'm just going to have to consult with faculty to see if this is something worth waiting for.