natsteel

I would recommend the Semenza book to anyone. Not only does it give a clear picture of what you can expect down to a very detailed level, but it also offers sound advice for coping with it. It also has a handy appendix with samples of the kinds of documents grad students need, i.e., CV, Teaching Statement, Conference Proposal, Book Proposal, Syllabus, Cover Letters for jobs, etc... It should be included with your graduate school's handbook.

I imagine that, if all goes according to plan, that my first book would be a reworking of my dissertation. However, I do think up "vanity" projects... the kind you couldn't do until you have tenure and can write about whatever you want... I'd like to do a popular biography of William Livingston. And, I think I'd also like to write a book of essays on American roots music (blues, folk, country, bluegrass, and jazz).

"No," is what everyone is saying. The time to send a second email was right around the deadline (and even that is in some dispute here). The consensus on the fora is that emailing them after the deadline, especially after the process has begun, is more annoying than anything and will not help your cause.

LadyL, please tell me you told that admin that their request for a response was "inappropriate" before declining their offer.

Congratulations, Postbib. I'll be starting a PhD program in the fall and have two boys, 4 and 3, born 1 year and 25 days apart. I know it was tough to get through my undergrad work while juggling family responsibilities but I imagine it will be even harder to do the PhD. I would think a stipend of 16k/yr is low enough to qualify you for Medicaid in most states. Definitely something to look into.

Your second email was probably not the best move as evidenced by the curt reply. It doesn't mean "yes," "maybe," or "no." And I certainly don't think it would be a smart move on your part to go contacting other professors in the same department. Like Strangefox said... sit tight and hope for the best.

1) Tell my wife. 2) Email my immediate family. 3) Family group-hug with my wife and 2 boys. 4) Sit alone for a little while to soak it in a bit. 5) FB it to my friends. 6) Take my wife out to dinner for the first time in much too long. 7) Not stress as much during the last semester as I have for all before it.

Definitely look into finding one of your plan's "preferred" outside psychiatric providers. Don't let anyone dismiss your concerns either. I know how that can make it even more frustrating on your part. Try to do your reading little chunks of 10-20 minutes... when you know you only have to do it for a short period of time, sometimes it's easier to focus.

K Ryan, I didn't end up applying to NYU, because there wasn't a really good fit in interests between me and the early Americanists like Kupperman, Morgan, or Eustace.

K Ryan, may I ask which professor you applied to work with at NYU? I'm in early American/colonial as well and was just wondering...

I'm assuming we're applying to work with the same professor, EricaMarie. He told me that he could only take one funded student. Like you guys, for me its "no funding=no go."

I had a situation at OSU in which my PA emailed me to say that 2 of my LORs were missing and to have my professors email them to him. This morning, my professor emailed me back to say that she had sent it to him and that "he said he hopes he can persuade you to come to Ohio State." As StrangeLight has said, any information like this is so ambiguous at this stage though and there are SO MANY contingencies at every stage of this highly subjective process, so we really have to take everything with a grain of salt and try not to read too much into these kinds of things. Barring any direct communication (i.e., an offer or promise of an offer), we really can't assume we know anything about what is actually happening. How frustrating is that?

Unfortunately, I passed that marker of obsession about a week ago...

The only way to check your app status at the one school to which I applied that used Embark was to call the Office of Admissions. A bit less convenient, perhaps, but also a bit more trustworthy hearing it from an actual person than reading it online.

I feel the same way... I'd genuinely be thrilled to go to any of the schools to which I applied. Come on... ONE!!! Congratulations on PSU, iknownothing!!!

When I first joined, that's what I thought. So I Google'd "POI Professor of Interest" and found a few results sort-of confirming it. I have just assumed that's what it was. I think seeing PA used for prospective advisor is what made me a bit unsure. I guess it doesn't really matter if it's "person" or "professor" of interest...

I had a similar situation. The PA was doing some of the more exciting work in my subfield and so I considered School A. When I told one of my mentors, he gave me a warning like the OP received. And when I say "crazy," I mean "CRAZY!" Then, when I was in contact with a PA at School B, in the same city as A, I asked him what he thought of School A and the PA. He wrote back warning me of the same things as my mentor, in very honest though slightly more diplomatic terms. In fact, he was so honest that he said, "I fear I may have been too candid, I trust I have your discretion." The point is the PA at School B didn't have to go out of his way to let me know to avoid the "crazy" PA at School A. The fact that he did really convinced me to not even apply to School A.

FWIW, in the last two years, Yale's initial acceptances were notified on the 5th and 6th of February. So, if they hold true to form, the lucky ones might begin hearing from them in around 2 weeks or so.

I'm in the Humanities, but my own personal opinion is that the questions about classes and, possibly, school funding are information you could get on the school's website and these are the kind of questions you wan to avoid asking. Someone may disagree with me, though. Also, I met a PA and asked how long on average it took her advisees to finish the degree and she had no problem answering it honestly. I also asked about the placement record of her most recent PhDs.

Welcome, SimilarlyDifferent! My experience has been similar (no pun intended). I'm 35 with a wife and 2 young boys (no mortgage, though). I began undergrad at 31 and my "advanced" age and life experience gave me a focus and determination I certainly didn't have at 18 or even 25.

FWIW, I think this is what I would do in a situation like that. I also think that if they casually asked where else I was applying, I would mention some schools of similar ranking. Of course, if they asked ALL the schools I was applying to, I would tell them.

This is very much the case, especially for early Americanists. I actually get the sense that, in the future, elective courses that used to be "Colonial America" will be replaced with Atlantic World courses. That's one of the reasons I took into account schools that offered "Atlantic World" as a defined minor field, which was a fair number of them.

Whether people complain a lot has more to do with their personality than their age, so this is certainly not something that's worth generalizing about. In my own personal experience in graduate classes taken as an undergraduate, older students contributed to discussion in a very valuable way by approaching many topics from a different perspective than many of the younger students. But that is only my own personal experience. Obviouly, YMMV...

I'm in History and my potential advisor told me that the Graduate Committee would be meeting in "7 to 10 days." Not quite sure exactly what that means as far as when decisions will ultimately go out though. The History Department started sending out initial acceptances on Feb. 5 in 2009 and Feb. 22 in 2010 (found by going through the Results database, as suggested above).

robot, if the counselors at your school aren't giving you the help you think you need, perhaps you should consider seeing a non-affiliated professional. Speaking from experience, if you're depressed and have anxiety to the point that it's affecting your life and your work, such as you describe, then there are viable treatment options. But you won't know unless you go see a professional that will take you seriously. And don't sit on this... the sooner you do it, the better.