ThousandsHardships

@gyeum Being on the shortlist is synonymous with being a finalist. If they don't tell you that the program is admitting you, then they haven't admitted you yet. Yes, the visiting weekend is to woo you, but it's also to determine who makes the final cut. Sometimes they might be choosing one out of two candidates for a certain fellowship or project, and only one of the two will be admitted. Other times it's purely to meet you in person before deciding. Congratulations either way. Making it this far means you've done well!

I'm not sure I'll be accepted (I don't think I will be as the usual decision date for my program is past and I haven't heard back), but anyway, I'm a Berkeley alum and Bay Area native. You'll love the place!

I'm thinking a little ahead of myself, but as I'm transforming my resume into a CV, I'm starting to wonder, for future publication purposes, whether I should use my legal name or my preferred name. As with many 1.5 generation immigrants, I have a foreign legal name and another English name that I go by. My situation is complicated by the fact that I have co-authored publications (not to mention filed my M.S. thesis) under my legal name. Normally, consistency would make the most sense, and there's always a possibility that certain places may not allow you to use a preferred name. At the same time, however, a lot of people I meet do not know me by my legal name, which means that using my legal name may pose problems as I advance further in my field. In addition, my new field is completely unrelated to my previous field. If I can progress further in this direction, I may even consider eliminating previous publications from my CV altogether, which makes consistency a non-issue. These things indicate that using my preferred name would be better in the long run. Thoughts? Opinions?

@ChemGuy2333 Grad schools look at match more than anything. If you know what your intended direction will be in, begin looking for schools and see at which schools the faculty's research best matches your interests, ideally even talk to a potential mentor in the process. The name of the school matters little, and the match alone will make you a more competitive candidate than others.

You know it's admissions season when: - You can't read or even prepare for your future program because you're waiting in front of the computer all day. - You go on an impromptu road trip alone just because you want to stop stressing about admissions decisions. - Your heart stops beating when you get a notification that someone in the vicinity of a prospective school had Googled you and reached your Academia.edu page, only to panic even further wondering you should have actually posted something...and which other pages they might have seen. - You tell yourself that your first acceptance will ease your stress but keep stressing afterwards anyway. - All your friends in your field seem to have been accepted to almost all schools they applied to, and you feel bad for only getting one acceptance out of many. - You panic-email a professor at your alma mater after a devastating rejection, only to realize that this may not have been the best move, seeing as you've actually applied to your alma mater and haven't yet heard back. - Every rejection makes you wish you could erase something you've done in the past.

I began a PhD program four years ago in a STEM field and graduated three years later with two master's degrees instead. This year, I will be beginning my PhD journey anew in a humanities field. My mindset about my PhD has completely changed during this process of self-discovery. Four years ago, I applied to PhD programs because I loved being in the university setting, and I loved to teach. I thought that a PhD would be the ultimately gateway toward teaching at a four-year university. I treated research and my PhD as something that I simply had to put up with in order to reach my long-term goals. This made me miserable. I saw no end to what I was doing, thought of lab work beyond the bare minimum as a waste of time, was constantly stressed at my lack of progress, and was very worried about wasting my time in school possibly without getting the degree I wanted or the job I coveted. This time around, though, I've realized something. When you love your field and the research makes you feel alive (even if it does sometimes lead to tears of frustration or distress), then it is not a waste of time. Why? Because when you think about it, what are you looking for in a job? Money? Something you love? A PhD program gives you all that, if you choose the right field, and if this is what you want. I for one want to go into academia. As a PhD student, I get to satisfy my curiosity, I get to express my insights in writing, I get to interact with intelligent scholars, I get to teach to my heart's content, I get to take advantage of campus resources, and I get to get involved in student affairs. And I will be paid for doing so. This is everything I've ever wanted in a job. If it is only for five years, then I will have the best five years of my life. Why would the best five years of my life be a waste of time? If I can't find a job in academia, I will at least have had these five years, and that is better than nothing. If I need another job, I can find another then. A PhD student isn't just a researcher; s/he is also a teacher and a student leader, if s/he chooses to be. An individual trained as a teacher and student leader will not be limited to a single path.

@Yanaka The CAF definitely applies to foreigners. I'm not sure about the bourse. I'm spending the year as an English teaching assistant in France, and I have yet to understand everything (or anything at all) on my bulletin de salaire. I think I'm just happy to be paid at all in a sufficient amount to live on... The thing about American graduate programs, especially in the humanities, is that committees can be quite nitpicky when it comes to evaluating your statements. I've been told you should know what you want to focus on, but that you shouldn't be so specific that you already have a topic for your thesis or dissertation. I've been told that it's good to have identified an adviser, but that knowing exactly who you want to work with can backfire. I've been told to express interest while avoiding clichés, to avoid life stories while talking about experiences, to explain past difficulties without giving excuses, and a bunch of other seemingly contradictory things like that. It's a delicate balance and an art in itself. And even when you've mastered this art, there's still no guarantee of being accepted into a program, especially if your field is competitive. If your only experience in higher education has been in a different country, then you might be at a disadvantage simply because your professors will not know the system and will not be able to help you in the way that faculty who have sat on numerous admissions committees and evaluated countless applications will. So have a bit of confidence in your abilities. Any rejections you get might not be because of your competence, and as long as this is the case, chances are that at least one school will see your strengths. Practically speaking, if you don't get in this admissions season, you could try again in the future and not limit yourself to comparative literature graduate programs. Honestly, I feel that foreign literature programs are less competitive than comp lit. You could consider applying to French literature programs, for example, and from there, you can always take comp lit classes once you're in, write your thesis or dissertation in English, with perspectives that you gain from comp lit. You could even transfer departments later on if that's what you want.

@gardensgrey I'm starting to not want to talk about it. Last night, I just received the most devastating rejection of the season. I had applied to this school because a professor in my M.A. program (who works in my intended subfield) had suggested it as a good match, and I mentioned this in my application. It was one of the only two schools where I'd contacted faculty to talk about research interests. The professor I talked to was super positive and even CC'd the director of the program in his replies. I talked to him on Skype, and he told me that with my background, he was sure I'd get in. Two schools (one waitlist with a very kind email) with positive attitude tell me that my writing sample was held in very high esteem, and that my statements were fascinating to many and suggest above adequate preparation. Almost everyone I know in the field had gotten into at least half of the schools they applied to, indicating that competition isn't too bad. Honestly, I just hate the idea that my rejections might have nothing to do with competence or competition. I wish I could be judged by my future potential and not on decisions made in the past.

Four years ago when I first applied to PhD programs...I got home from work and checked my email at my desk right by the window and saw an offer letter complete with an invitation to visit the campus. I think the first thing I did was cancel a phone interview with an M.S. program I had applied to in Canada. Three years ago when I was applying to a concurrent M.A. at the school I was attending, I had been taking classes with the professors in the program so I simply asked one of them and she confirmed that I was in. To her it hadn't really been an issue since I was competent in the field, was doing the work anyway, and was funded by my other department. I never did get an emailed acceptance. It simply showed up on my transcript and records in due time. This year, applying to different PhD programs, my acceptance came while I was on the train getting home from work. I decided to connect my phone to check my email after reaching the train station, and there I found my acceptance email. I immediately texted my mom and then bought Thai food to gorge on because it meant so much to me to get into this program and redefine my educational experience that I no longer even cared if I got fat.

I was already accepted by a school and I'm still freaking out! It's not that I wouldn't be happy with that school. It's just that my field isn't as competitive as some other fields and almost everyone I've talked to were accepted to over half of the schools they've applied to, while I was rejected by four schools, likely butchered one interview, and haven't heard from the rest. Kind of a blow to my self-esteem. The worst part is that I'm quite certain that my rejections have very little to do with my competence and everything to do with personal issues and a complicated academic background. Actually, no, that's not the worst part. The real worst part is that I haven't heard from my beloved alma mater, and I'm bracing myself to be devastated when I do.

@CrunchyMamademic If my future faculty mentor supports the idea (one prospective mentor did mention this as a possibility), then I will edit it for publication. However, I was told by faculty at both my M.A. school and my prospective school that 1) if you publish too early you risk making a reputation for yourself before fully maturing as a scholar, and 2) publications are important for tenure and yet new assistant professors rarely have time for research and writing among their other responsibilities, so it might not be a bad idea to hold onto a few publishable papers until after you get a tenure-track position, such that you get the research output while still being able to dedicate yourself to your other responsibilities. Not sure what other people's opinions are on this.

I used a paper I wrote during the last semester of my master's that analyzed gender identity in a short story where two transgender people enter a heterosexual relationship with each other. I won't go into detail about what I wrote, but I chose this paper because it had amazing and detailed feedback from a professor that I've always known to be brutally honest, and the text I talked about was within the time period that I wish to specialize in. The only caveat was that I was applying to programs in French literature, and this paper was written in English. Grad students in foreign languages and literatures are typically allowed to write in English since the idea is that we'll end up publishing in our mother tongue. It felt like the easy way at the time (this paper was due a mere days after my M.A. exam and I didn't even need the class), but in the long run I essentially ended up having to translate my entire writing sample...

@gardensgrey About ten minutes as well. I have a somewhat unconventional academic background and I was surprised they weren't more curious about that. In retrospect, maybe I should have brought it up myself, because I'd have been better prepared to talk about it. I assumed that when they asked me to talk about myself, that they simply wanted to hear about my research interests, so I went off of what I thought they wanted instead of using the opportunity to try to steer the conversation in a direction that I was more comfortable with. Big mistake.

@gardensgrey Good to know! And I now see what you mean about the Skype interview with Brown! I asked good questions and expressed decent interest in the faculty's works (two of the interviewers were in my domain), but I couldn't manage to talk about my own interests very well. I guess we'll see what they think...

@pepeletaylor Me too! IUB was my first acceptance and I got an interview notification from Brown on the same day! Ironically I was expecting UCLA to get back to me before either of these because they seem to have historically notified applicants earlier...but I guess anything can happen. It definitely sets my mind at ease that I'll actually be allowed to do my PhD and that nothing went horribly, horribly wrong on my recommenders' side.

@pepeletaylor The only thing new is a rejection from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. No other notifications. But don't go by me...I'm starting to doubt my ability to get accepted at all since UW-Madison seems to have a higher acceptance rate than most other schools I applied to and I was still rejected. As I said, I have a weird application, and the positive aspects may not outweigh the negatives, especially if compared to candidates with no negatives. If you look in the results search of this website, you'll see approximately which dates these schools tend to notify students. I don't know about Harvard or Emory, but I'm pretty sure none of the other schools you applied to typically start sending admissions decisions until around mid-February. From this site, I see that Princeton often starts sending interview notifications at the end of January. I haven't heard from them though.

I just finished my MA in French, but I did it concurrently with an MS in a completely unrelated field, and I wasn't teaching within the French department, so I highly doubt my experience was representative. That said, most graduate-level French literature classes at my (quarter system) school involved reading one major work plus 2-3 critical articles/chapters per week, and the assignments for the class would be a presentation of sorts plus a 15-25-page research paper. Most grad students in the department were taking 2-3 graduate courses plus teaching a lower division language class five days a week. I know in other schools, like NYU, they expect students to take 4 classes their first year without a teaching commitment. It really depends on the school that you go to. In my opinion, the hardest thing to get used to about grad school is the fact that graduate seminars tend to be several hours in length and meet only once a week, such that all the readings have to completed by the same day of the week and not spread out. Another difference between grad classes and undergrad classes is that you will not really touch on close readings at all. Theoretical and scholarly engagement becomes the focus instead.

I applied to PhD programs at UC Berkeley, UCLA, Princeton, NYU, Brown, Duke, University of Chicago, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Indiana University Bloomington. I've only heard back from the University of Washington so far and the news weren't good. I have a pretty weird application though, and it could be interpreted in any number of directions. I have talked to friends who are PhD students at Berkeley, NYU, and Cornell right now who had gotten into 5/6, 4/5, and 2/4 schools that they applied to, respectively. These were exceptional candidates, though, who were double literature majors with near-perfect GPA, honors theses, and great recommendations. One even had two honors theses, so even though they've gotten into a lot of schools, it still makes me nervous. I'm just hoping for the best right now. Top choices among the ten I applied to would be Berkeley (my alma mater), Princeton, NYU, or the University of Chicago. Good luck to everyone! I'm so glad to find this thread. French majors don't seem to be a big community.

I'd like to sign up for the 2017 admissions season. Is it too late? I already have a few posts about this on my personal blog, but I only share that blog with a select few people, most of whom are not future grad students, and I'd love to contribute in a more significant way to those who are actually seeking insights about other people's admissions journeys.

Those sites seem very specific to technologically-oriented majors and more specific to intended master's students than for PhD's. I haven't found anything other than this site that would allow me to stalk to my heart's content. If anyone knows of anything, please let me know.

It depends on your program. The number one way that you can maximize your year off is if you do something within or related to your intended discipline. If you're in a STEM field, find a 50% to full-time research assistantship at a research university or major company. If you're in the humanities, find a teaching or tutoring position (even if informal) in your field, ideally one that involves working with students high school-aged or older. Use this time to better research schools, read articles written by faculty members, and identify and narrow down your intended area of specialty. Mismatches are often cited as a top reason for rejection for otherwise very qualified candidates, so this is definitely an area you should work toward. If your GRE scores were below-average, perhaps spend some time reviewing and retake the exam. And spend loads and loads of time having faculty in your intended field help look over your statements and fit them to every school. I literally had to rewrite one of mine four times before my professor/recommender was satisfied. They're the ones who are on admissions committees and who therefore know what they'd be looking for. Take advantage of this resource. Improving your language skills is a great way to prepare for the next round of applications...if language skills are important to your field. They certainly are for students in comparative literature or for any other foreign literature. For social scientists intending to do research in another country, it is important as well. I know a couple of PhD students studying medieval French literature who spend a gap year learning Latin and other more local Romance languages from the Middle Ages. Again, it really depends on what skills sets are valuable for your specific field.

Many applications ask for research experience and/or publications. I'm applying to humanities PhD programs, and I'm coming in with an M.S. in a STEM field. Should I list my M.S. thesis and past co-authored scientific publications even though they have absolutely nothing to do with my intended program?

I don't think you're reaching too far, but your statement of purpose counts more than you might think it does, and sometimes is the thing that makes it or breaks it for you. It sounds like you have an idea of what you want your focus to be, which is a great thing, but also make sure to research the programs you're applying to and look at the faculty's research, read some of their publications, etc. so you can talk about it a little in your statements of purpose, which should be catered specifically to each school you're applying to. Good luck, and have a professor look over your statements and provide feedback before you submit them. They should know what you want to focus on anyway if they are going to write you a decent letter of recommendation.

I'd like to contribute something about humanities majors. Most of these points still apply, but since most faculty research alone and do not have labs, there are not as many undergraduate research assistantships to go around. But research experience is still very important, and the way that successful candidates get this experience is usually through an honors thesis, which is basically an independent research project that you take on your senior year, supervised by a faculty member in your field. And do a lot of reading outside of class (both primary and secondary resources and theoretical readings) on the topic you're interested in so that you can show off your knowledge when needed. When applying to graduate programs, also make sure to read the publications of the faculty that you think you may want to work with so that you can talk to them about their research. Teaching potential is also considered for applicants to humanities PhD programs, because it is typically assumed that students entering into a humanities PhD aspire to a career in academia. A lot of the times these students are actually required to teach during grad school as part of their professional development (often leading classes on their own), which differs from a lot of STEM programs which treat teaching as only a means of financial support as needed. So it would be very useful to obtain some teaching experience in either the field that you intend to go into or in writing in general, because all humanities fields require writing.

Ugh...I hate this too. I was a triple major with two diplomas (two of them counted as one degree) and got two simultaneous master's to boot, and I've struggled with this on every application. So far, I've been varying my approach depending on what the instructions are. Most of the time I've been listing each degree separately because they each have a different name, but if the application allows it, I only upload one of each transcript. If they specifically ask to list each school (and don't specify the degree) and has enough space for me to write all my majors, then I sometimes just list it once per school. I don't know if this is the correct way, but it's the way I've been doing it.