jeudepaume

well, I am claiming another UCSD offer.

I can claim a University of Washington acceptance. Woo hoo! 

URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT!
 
It's a new day.  No debating or arguing.  It's a happy day!  LOTS of good news for us all today. Happy Day!  Happy Friday!

Linear Algebra has nothing to do with politics.  You should not waste your time on mathematics.

I agree that PPP is an issue! But at the same time US Government has a need- (or merit- in less poor countries) based program called "Opportunity Funding" in many developing (probably developed too) countries to support promising students in US Universities admission process (both to undergrad and grad levels). This funding is pretty generous and covers all expenses on application: TOEFL, GRE, sending transcripts, sending scores, application fees. It also covers all possible sort of expenses after you get admitted to a program, but before you start your study there: visa, visiting weeks, tickets, etc. And application for this funding is very similar to standard program application (CV, SOP, Transcripts, etc.), so it does not require anything special.
 
As I understand US citizens do not have such funding opportunity.

I think you should also consider that most international students don't make/have that kind of money in their home countries. It's an additional burden on them. Assuming that you apply to around 12 schools, that would cost you upwards of $1000. That's more than average monthly income in a lot of countries. So for international students it could be an even more constrained choice problem.

A few things:
 
Why does being an international student make it especially abhorrent to pay for applications? With the exception of domestics who qualify for fee waivers (which not all universities offer and which are few and far between), we're all paying the same.*
 
I disagree with the ego stroking. In fact, I don't know that I've seen an "Ivy" quality SOP that did much ego stroking at all. I didn't play that game and so far this year I've done well (and last year I did just okay, but my research interests were not clearly defined). "Fit" is a tough term because it doesn't always mean perfect alignment of research interests. In fact, it probably rarely means that. And you're right, for the good scholars facing rejection, it's probably less a matter of fit - but also probably doesn't have much to do with "being too poor to afford someone." Maybe for the wait list or a few cutoffs. But in a field already saturated with applicants, it benefits nobody to grow programs too much to accommodate every promising scholar. That is difficult to accept, it seems unfair, and it hurts. I know, I've been there. What a university does not owe you is an explanation for why you weren't accepted. In some cases they will talk to you about this, but they don't owe it to you and the 200-400 other applicants they rejected. 
 
And while affecting change is a laudable goal, I don't believe it to be the mission of academia. Scholarship and science help us to understand and to predict. These two goals are important for reasons beyond changing the way people think. Who are you or any of us to say that what someone is studying is not important or useful? That it is, as you say, "minute" and unrelated to the "real world." What is the objective definition of the "real world"? And who are you or any of us to make the judgement that such scholarship is "delusional, cyclical, self-referential"? Such assertions border on arrogance and, in my opinion, betray a misunderstanding of the mission of science.
 
 
 
1.) I think we have to question the premise of the question here. Who is the judge of what is important or related to the real world?
2.) Again, the premise here is, in my opinion, false. If research happens to affect change - hopefully in a positive manner - then that is a happy byproduct of the true goal of academic inquiry.
 
Edit: *I have been reminded that international students are also often paying for TOEFL, transcript translation, and currency exchange. 
Edit 2: I realize that we're all incredibly stressed, rejection is not easy to handle, and in the end, we all have very different goals. Please consider everything I've said as my contribution to the conversation at hand, my own opinion, and a grain of a grain of salt.

I'm mostly a lurker, but I felt the need to come out and post something.  This is my second cycle.  I got rejected across the board last time - except for an MA program that I couldn't afford.  I put everything into applying again.  My GRE quant score really hurt me last time, and doubled I down this year on my efforts to improve it.  Unfortunately, I never reached the scores most of the admits seem to have (163+), and ended up topping out at 158.
 
I didn't get e-mails from Duke or Berkeley, which pretty much means I'm finished with both of them.  The Berkeley one really hurt.  I visited the campus last fall and fell in love.  I genuinely wanted to go there and am crushed.  I cannot bear the thought of not getting in anywhere again this cycle because it basically means I'm finished with most of the schools I would want to go to.
 
There is really no point to this post other than just getting these feelings off my chest.  No on in real life understands how stressful this is.  All I hear from my family and friends is "of course you'll get in!"  If only they knew the truth of how things really are .

Wer will mit mir etwas in einer anderen Sprache diskutieren?

Nope, it's an award that is not tied to me returning to my home country in the same way, which is great.

So, I just got an external, sizable scholarship. Who do I contact at the different schools to tell them about it?

Sigh. Chicago has traditionally had a bad reputation with how they treat applicants during this period but this is some real shit. "As I am sure you are aware?" Well, Chicago, I am aware that you are truly bad at treating applicants you don't immediately love with any kind of respect and understanding. Seriously they have a rep of waiting for a very long time, and sometimes not even bothering to reply or replying with this kind of snarkiness. It made me not wanna apply actually. My favourite proff at undergrad did his Phd at Chicago and spoke wonders of it and really he is the reason I applied.
 
Well thanks for asking for all of us, I suppose. We'll wait till the 18th. Here's a toast to you hoping the next correspondence with them makes them seem a lot less like the dicks they seem right now, cos they're coming back with an acceptance for you.

I got my first acceptance this morning and I feel like a completely different person. It's actually unbelievable the shift--this admissions season was really wreaking havoc on my sanity. 

Guess thats a no on NYU, then...

Russian cartoons are delightful. Everyone's talking about Frozen right now, and I just want to direct people to the Soviet version of The Snow Queen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Queen_%281957_film%29)

Hahah! Soyuzmultfilm for the win.

This is great, thanks!
 
Mother: Choose now! It is either him (referring to the cat) or me?
Father: Well, I've known you a long time so I choose you...
 
My favorite still is Vinni Pukh though. The cartoon has so much character, the characters have a lot of soul, and the dialogues are so well constructed. Oh and Vinni Pukh himself isn't giving this bizarre impression that he is half naked in this version - admittedly, it might be just me who thinks that way about the American Winnie.
 
Youtube videos: I am just pasting the youtube link and it just appears that way. I wasn't aware of the etc magic

I'll claim the most recent OSU admit!
 
I'm really excitied, and it was like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders.
 
Forgot to mention, longtime lurker, first time poster.

And a UCSD rejection.. Is it Trololololololol? If so, I wonder why UCSD is the troll favorite of the year..
 

Claiming the Penn State!

I just got an email this morning from my adviser (who's a BC grad) saying that BC got in touch with him about my application. Apparently I'm 'particularly promising' (his words) and they want to know that I intend to get the PhD since BC tends to accept people who are intending to get the PhD. 
 
This is the first good news I've gotten in this admissions cycle (even though it's not official or anything), so I'm really excited. Apparently I'm promising!

This is very thoughtful and well-intentioned advice. However, please bear in mind that there are quite a few people on here, like myself, who are anxiously waiting to hear back from schools, who have spent nearly $800 on applications, GRE scores, and transcripts, and have spent a great deal of time thinking about what they'll have to give up to attend graduate school. No one is rushing into this decision, and no one in the middle of the process really wants to hear, especially right now, that they're making some huge mistake because they didn't take a year off. 

My beef with visitation is mostly the evasive discussions of placement. I was accepted at 2 places. I visited both. Both programs that otherwise have a very quantitative focus (particularly in my subfield - American) suddenly became very qualitative when the topic of placement came up. Anecdotes of great placements are quickly recalled, but no one mentions the other great students that didn't get any offers and are now on their second post-doc.
 
The reality when you are in a program like this one (upper teens / low twenties in the rankings) is that about two thirds of a cohort will defend dissertations. Of those, about half will find tenure track jobs. Most importantly, it varies quite a bit by subfield and by advisor. When you visit, ask specific questions about subfield placement. "How many Americanists were on the market last year? How many placed and where?" You might have a very good idea of who your advisor might be. Ask her about her placement record. "Who was your most recent student to finish? Where did he go?"
 
When you are visiting you are in the driver's seat. Ask for more money. Ask for a longer guarantee. Unless you set fire to the building during your visit they won't rescind the admissions offer. After the admission offer and before you accept is the only time for the next six years that you are in the dominant position.

The short answer is yes, you are in the kiddie pool, but that's okay. PSR isn't the deep end - it's a neglected jacuzzi with algae in it.

Any reasonable expectation besides professionalism and common courtesy, you mean. * Climbs on soapbox * I've noticed a permissiveness towards unresponsiveness in academia that I don't think would fly in a lot of other jobs. Sure, people are busy and all that...but so is everyone. A quick: "Thanks for reaching out, it is my policy not to speak with applicants until after decisions are made. Best of luck, X" or "Thanks for reaching out, I look forward to working with you--I'll be in touch in the upcoming months as the 2014 fall term nears. Best, X" doesn't take THAT long. But oh well, different professions have different norms--and there are certainly awesome professors who are just the worst at emails. *Departs soapbox *
 
I wouldn't take the lack of response as anything other than an insight into the POI's working style--not a reflection on you. At the end of the day its just a little more information to plug into your decision-making process.