natsteel

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back.

I'm not a drinker either and, in fact, went many years without even touching it. However, in social situations with professors or whatnot, I have "taught myself" to drink the occasional small glass of wine, though I'm not especially fond of it. At a campus visit last week, I drank a small glass of wine and half a beer and probably didn't walk a perfectly straight line back to the hotel. But that's just me... if you really just can't stand it at all, don't drink. These people are adults (for the most part) and will not judge you and, certainly, won't think less of you for not being a social drinker. There is NO shame in drinking water or soda at a social event. Worry about what will make YOU comfortable and not what you probably wrongly think those around you expect of you.

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back.

+1 I've been using Papers for over a year now and just upgraded to Papers2. I don't know what I'd do without it. I also use an app called Notebook for Mac which I use to take class notes. I generally record my classes with my iPod while taking notes with Notebook and then afterwards I drop the audio file right onto the Notebook page for that class session. I use Things for Mac as my task manager and to help me plan and keep track of what's due and when for each class and paper. That's been indispensable as well.

I also use Scrivener when writing a long research or historiographic essay. If you haven't seen this application, google it. It's incredible.

I use Evernote for random or on-the-spot notetaking and Curio for mind-mapping/paper conception. Of course, I use EndNote for citation management and DevonThink Pro for having one searchable database of all my files.

I backup most of this stuff to my Dropbox account, i.e., email archives, calendars, contacts, tasks, EndNote libraries, Notebooks, etc.... I also keep my main semester folder with subfolders for each class in my Dropbox folder so it's always backed up along with all my "project" (essay) folders. I also just got a Kindle which has been really good for reading journal article pdfs since I spend a lot of time traveling during the day. And, almost everything above is also synced to my iPod.

I have been considering getting an e-pen as well... the Livescribe looks really interesting.

I didn't cast self-righteous judgment in that post. Anyone will tell you that $100k in debt for an undergraduate degree is a bad fiscal decision. And for anyone to say that $24k/yr in debt repayment "isn't unbearable" leads me to believe you are fiscally naive. Which is why I took a few minutes to run those numbers for you, just in case you happened to be unaware of them.

Since you asked "what is one supposed to do..." One can do what myself, and many others, have done. Go to a school you can afford, do extremely well there, and then get a fully funded offer to a top 5 PhD program, like me. That would have been the more responsible move. I went to a public university where tuition was $5,000/yr. I didn't have parents to pay for school and I have a wife and two kids to support. So don't act like going to a PRIVATE school and wracking up $100k in loans to play football was your only option. If you had a football scholarship which barred you from working, why would you have needed $100k in loans, in the first place? Maybe you should think twice before being so self-pitying when many others on this public forum don't even have a funded offer and/or are coming from much more difficult circumstances than yourself.

The median (not starting) salary for an assistant professor of economics is under $70,000.* A more realistic estimate would be around $50,000. And that is only IF you are lucky enough to get out of your program right into a TT position. If you had no debt from undergrad, it might be more possible, but $100k is alot of money.

You didn't say how much of that is private and/or unsubsidized debt, but, even if the entire $100k was from a Direct Loan, at 6.8%, payable over 20 years, you're still looking at $763/month.** That's $9,100 per year. You would pay back $183, 201 for that $100,000. If any of it is unsubsidized or from private lenders, those numbers would go up SIGNIFICANTLY. A good rule of thumb is to not take on more debt overall than your expected STARTING salary upon degree completion. Of course, you are already well beyond that. I've read so many stories by people being crushed later in life by student debt repayment (many whose debt load was much less than yours is now).

Taking out $100k in loans for undergrad was a very fiscally irresponsible decision, which will affect you negatively for decades for to come. Don't make it worse. If you were to take out another $100k for a doctoral program, then you would have to double the numbers above and you could very well end up owing upwards of $25,000 per year in debt repayment. I would just encourage you to strongly consider the ramifications in the events that things don't go perfectly according to your plan (i.e., get PhD, get job for $70,000+ yr right away, etc...), as they often do.

I think it would be fiscal madness to take out another $100k on top of what you already owe for a PhD in Economics. But that, of course, is just my .02... Best of luck to you, jblsmith!


*http://www1.salary.com/Asst-Professor-Economics-salary.html
**http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

I didn't cast self-righteous judgment in that post. Anyone will tell you that $100k in debt for an undergraduate degree is a bad fiscal decision. And for anyone to say that $24k/yr in debt repayment "isn't unbearable" leads me to believe you are fiscally naive. Which is why I took a few minutes to run those numbers for you, just in case you happened to be unaware of them.

Since you asked "what is one supposed to do..." One can do what myself, and many others, have done. Go to a school you can afford, do extremely well there, and then get a fully funded offer to a top 5 PhD program, like me. That would have been the more responsible move. I went to a public university where tuition was $5,000/yr. I didn't have parents to pay for school and I have a wife and two kids to support. So don't act like going to a PRIVATE school and wracking up $100k in loans to play football was your only option. If you had a football scholarship which barred you from working, why would you have needed $100k in loans, in the first place? Maybe you should think twice before being so self-pitying when many others on this public forum don't even have a funded offer and/or are coming from much more difficult circumstances than yourself.

I didn't cast self-righteous judgment in that post. Anyone will tell you that $100k in debt for an undergraduate degree is a bad fiscal decision. And for anyone to say that $24k/yr in debt repayment "isn't unbearable" leads me to believe you are fiscally naive. Which is why I took a few minutes to run those numbers for you, just in case you happened to be unaware of them.

Since you asked "what is one supposed to do..." One can do what myself, and many others, have done. Go to a school you can afford, do extremely well there, and then get a fully funded offer to a top 5 PhD program, like me. That would have been the more responsible move. I went to a public university where tuition was $5,000/yr. I didn't have parents to pay for school and I have a wife and two kids to support. So don't act like going to a PRIVATE school and wracking up $100k in loans to play football was your only option. If you had a football scholarship which barred you from working, why would you have needed $100k in loans, in the first place? Maybe you should think twice before being so self-pitying when many others on this public forum don't even have a funded offer and/or are coming from much more difficult circumstances than yourself.

I didn't cast self-righteous judgment in that post. Anyone will tell you that $100k in debt for an undergraduate degree is a bad fiscal decision. And for anyone to say that $24k/yr in debt repayment "isn't unbearable" leads me to believe you are fiscally naive. Which is why I took a few minutes to run those numbers for you, just in case you happened to be unaware of them.

Since you asked "what is one supposed to do..." One can do what myself, and many others, have done. Go to a school you can afford, do extremely well there, and then get a fully funded offer to a top 5 PhD program, like me. That would have been the more responsible move. I went to a public university where tuition was $5,000/yr. I didn't have parents to pay for school and I have a wife and two kids to support. So don't act like going to a PRIVATE school and wracking up $100k in loans to play football was your only option. If you had a football scholarship which barred you from working, why would you have needed $100k in loans, in the first place? Maybe you should think twice before being so self-pitying when many others on this public forum don't even have a funded offer and/or are coming from much more difficult circumstances than yourself.

I didn't cast self-righteous judgment in that post. Anyone will tell you that $100k in debt for an undergraduate degree is a bad fiscal decision. And for anyone to say that $24k/yr in debt repayment "isn't unbearable" leads me to believe you are fiscally naive. Which is why I took a few minutes to run those numbers for you, just in case you happened to be unaware of them.

Since you asked "what is one supposed to do..." One can do what myself, and many others, have done. Go to a school you can afford, do extremely well there, and then get a fully funded offer to a top 5 PhD program, like me. That would have been the more responsible move. I went to a public university where tuition was $5,000/yr. I didn't have parents to pay for school and I have a wife and two kids to support. So don't act like going to a PRIVATE school and wracking up $100k in loans to play football was your only option. If you had a football scholarship which barred you from working, why would you have needed $100k in loans, in the first place? Maybe you should think twice before being so self-pitying when many others on this public forum don't even have a funded offer and/or are coming from much more difficult circumstances than yourself.

The median (not starting) salary for an assistant professor of economics is under $70,000.* A more realistic estimate would be around $50,000. And that is only IF you are lucky enough to get out of your program right into a TT position. If you had no debt from undergrad, it might be more possible, but $100k is alot of money.

You didn't say how much of that is private and/or unsubsidized debt, but, even if the entire $100k was from a Direct Loan, at 6.8%, payable over 20 years, you're still looking at $763/month.** That's $9,100 per year. You would pay back $183, 201 for that $100,000. If any of it is unsubsidized or from private lenders, those numbers would go up SIGNIFICANTLY. A good rule of thumb is to not take on more debt overall than your expected STARTING salary upon degree completion. Of course, you are already well beyond that. I've read so many stories by people being crushed later in life by student debt repayment (many whose debt load was much less than yours is now).

Taking out $100k in loans for undergrad was a very fiscally irresponsible decision, which will affect you negatively for decades for to come. Don't make it worse. If you were to take out another $100k for a doctoral program, then you would have to double the numbers above and you could very well end up owing upwards of $25,000 per year in debt repayment. I would just encourage you to strongly consider the ramifications in the events that things don't go perfectly according to your plan (i.e., get PhD, get job for $70,000+ yr right away, etc...), as they often do.

I think it would be fiscal madness to take out another $100k on top of what you already owe for a PhD in Economics. But that, of course, is just my .02... Best of luck to you, jblsmith!


*http://www1.salary.com/Asst-Professor-Economics-salary.html
**http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

I didn't cast self-righteous judgment in that post. Anyone will tell you that $100k in debt for an undergraduate degree is a bad fiscal decision. And for anyone to say that $24k/yr in debt repayment "isn't unbearable" leads me to believe you are fiscally naive. Which is why I took a few minutes to run those numbers for you, just in case you happened to be unaware of them.

Since you asked "what is one supposed to do..." One can do what myself, and many others, have done. Go to a school you can afford, do extremely well there, and then get a fully funded offer to a top 5 PhD program, like me. That would have been the more responsible move. I went to a public university where tuition was $5,000/yr. I didn't have parents to pay for school and I have a wife and two kids to support. So don't act like going to a PRIVATE school and wracking up $100k in loans to play football was your only option. If you had a football scholarship which barred you from working, why would you have needed $100k in loans, in the first place? Maybe you should think twice before being so self-pitying when many others on this public forum don't even have a funded offer and/or are coming from much more difficult circumstances than yourself.

It's not required that you decline all your other offers before accepting the one you want. If you had accepted A's offer and then emailed the other schools and told them that, they would not have bothered to come up with extra funding. Your best bet is to accept the offer you want, and then inform the other programs that you "have already accepted another offer." You're not required to give reasons but if you don't want to take a chance on alienating the other POIs, you can always say something like jpufrock said, "After much deliberation, I must decline your offer of admission as I have already accepted another offer." Don't forget to thank the POIs that gave you extra time and departments which gave you a second, improved offer for doing so. They know how it is... most, if not all, will not hold it against you. But it's better to decline their offers definitively sooner rather than later, because they may have a waiting list. Good luck!!

This must surely rank as one of the geekiest threads I've seen in a long time. I'm fairly certain that at the moment you typed "intellectual infatuation" millions of schoolyard bullies around the globe suddenly halted in their tracks or bolted out of bed and pounded their fists into their palms, not knowing why, but consumed with a desire to hurt somebody somewhere!

I'm one of those who believe an unfunded admission is the equivalent of a rejection. The problem is some people really think it's their dream school or nothing else. For example, there's a post in another part of the forum where someone is considering taking out $100,000 in loans for a Master's in Education (of all things) because it's their "dream school." I'm sorry, but that's just ludicrous...

I posted 3 weeks ago when my top choice accepted me and then just the other day when I officially accepted the offer. If anyone was "offended" or off-put by it, I couldn't care less.

I have to join the "No" camp... 80k in loans even for PhD program is insane, unless it's in a STEM field, in which case it's just ludicrous. That amount of debt and monthly payment is just unrealistic for someone in your field, even if you did secure a top PhD offer and then a tenure-track job when you were done. But I am one of those who thinks that no graduate degree is worth paying for in the Humanities. These unfunded MAs are cash cows for schools.

Disappointment is in the air!! EndNote is the farthest thing from "sexy" I can imagine.

I also just upgraded to Papers2 and THAT is sexy. Absolutely fantastic piece of software.

You want an answer to that question? Look at my sig... If you go by the relatively useless USNWR rankings, I got rejected by a school 47 places below a school that accepted me. It's not about ranking. The best students will not always get into the best (or highest-ranked) programs, mostly because of fit issues. Even if you think you might be a good fit, either the committee or the POI may not see it the same way. Assuming you are not unqualified, one, two, or even three rejections is no real indicator of future decisions. Keep the faith!!!

For an Americanist at Yale with no need to go abroad, it is highly possible to do more than two semesters as a TA if one so desires. They expect you to TA in years 3 and 4, but you can also teach in year 5 if you don't take the University Dissertation Fellowship until year 6.

For an Americanist at Yale with no need to go abroad, it is highly possible to do more than two semesters as a TA if one so desires. They expect you to TA in years 3 and 4, but you can also teach in year 5 if you don't take the University Dissertation Fellowship until year 6.

I love my mac. I don't think I'll ever go back to a PC for my individual needs. They have good tech people to help when problems arise (which for me has RARELY happened), it is compatible with all of my media and the operating system is clean and very easy to use. They're a touch more expensive than PCs, but I think it's worth the extra money.

We should make a distinction between R1 and SLACs. A research university will likely be more interested in a candidate's research and publishing production, while smaller liberal arts schools focus more on teaching. Someone with very limited teaching experience will be at a slight disadvantage compared to someone with more extensive teaching experience when applying to these types of institutions. And, because jobs at R1 schools are increasingly scarce and you can't possibly predict where you will be competing for jobs 6-7 years from now, it's probably smart to try to find some sort of balance. Obviously, your research has to be of a certain quality, but likewise you must also have some real teaching experience (i.e., more than just 1 or 2 classes as a TA).

We should make a distinction between R1 and SLACs. A research university will likely be more interested in a candidate's research and publishing production, while smaller liberal arts schools focus more on teaching. Someone with very limited teaching experience will be at a slight disadvantage compared to someone with more extensive teaching experience when applying to these types of institutions. And, because jobs at R1 schools are increasingly scarce and you can't possibly predict where you will be competing for jobs 6-7 years from now, it's probably smart to try to find some sort of balance. Obviously, your research has to be of a certain quality, but likewise you must also have some real teaching experience (i.e., more than just 1 or 2 classes as a TA).

I had a similar issue. I got accepted to my top choice and knew immediately I would be attending despite not having heard from 4-5 other schools at the time. However, all my professors told me to wait until after the campus visit to accept the offer, which I did. The campus visit is a chance to be wooed by the school, but if you have already accepted there is no reason for them to woo you. Or, at least, this was my professors' reasoning.