rising_star

I also did the fly out in advance and scout for places then move later about a month later. It was fine and still gave me plenty of time to do things like find grocery stores, figure out transportation, etc. If you're working now, I would maximize the time you can spend working. It can get boring sitting around in a new city where you don't know anyone and don't have anything to do all day...

My experience was actually that the coursework in my PhD program was easier than the coursework in my master's (I went to two different institutions) and you weren't expected to take as many classes. Why? The emphasis was on research and getting started on your dissertation. I also spent much more time applying for grants as a PhD student. Overall though, my work/life balance was about the same.

This definitely varies by discipline. In my area of the social sciences, you wouldn't be expected to list your advisor as second author if their role was only editing. That said, ask your advisor what their expectations are.

I would wait until the end of the month to inquire.

If I were in your shoes, I would defer. Why? To give myself a chance to save up some money and get better prepared for NYU. Might there be an option for you to take some graduate courses part-time in California in the next year to help prepare yourself for NYU?

@Bleep_Bloop, what are some of the specific things that you are responsible for as a student that you are no longer responsible for as faculty? The only thing I can think of is that you no longer have to take courses (which of course you also don't do later in your PhD). Maybe I've been out of grad school too long but, from what I recall, I needed to read, write, do research, apply for funding, present at conferences, and teach as a graduate student. Am I forgetting something? (Asking in all honesty because, like I said, I've been TT faculty for the past several years.) I have all of those same responsibilities as a faculty member plus additional ones (e.g., service; supervising theses). I also go to way more meetings now than I ever did as a grad student. I miss the days with fewer meetings. (Also, FWIW, I still have time to read broadly because that's what I have to do in order to remain current in my focus area. There is definitely time to read in a faculty position, but only if you're sure to carve out that time for yourself.) Of course there are many different ways to do work. Some people do 40 hours a week, some do more, some do less. The real key is making sure that you're hitting the targets and milestones you need to hit. I think the best answer to @dreamerr33's questions about work-life balance (and many of your other questions) will probably come from current students in the program you're interested in. If everyone in the department is telling you they have to work 50-60 hours to not fall behind, that will give you a good indication of what life is like in that department. Similarly, some advisors may not mind if their students travel home/away over winter or summer break while others will expect you to be in the lab/office working on projects. My own work involves fieldwork so my PhD advisor knew (and required) students to spend time in the field over the summer. We could do other travel but it had to fit around the fieldwork. As for some of your other questions, a lot of those are deeply personal. If you want to pursue a relationship in grad school, you can. If you don't want to, then don't. If you want to find ways to save money, then it's probably possible regardless of the stipend and where you live because you can do things like dumpster dive for food, live with lots of roommates to cut housing costs, take advantage of free events for entertainment, etc. Time to degree in the social sciences varies widely. Lots of people finish in 5 years or fewer, particularly those who come in having already earned a master's. Some of it will depend on your dissertation topic and the availability of data. It can take longer to finish if you have to collect the data yourself, though this isn't always the case. One of my friends did a qualitative social science PhD in three years. That is, they did coursework, data collection, analysis, wrote it all up, and defended in three academic years. This person did work a significant number of hours during the term and during the summer in order to make this possible but, it proves that it's possible. Of course not all advisors are willing to work with their students to finish so quickly since spending additional time in the program can help you gain more teaching experience and get out more publications.

Yes, you can apply for more grants or fellowships. However, most deadlines have already passed. Also, there isn't some master list somewhere. You should be seeking out opportunities on your own.

I would also ask about placement and what their alums are doing now.

FWIW, years ago I was in a somewhat similar situation. I went with the best PI, even though it meant I left a bunch of funding on the table (I had better offers from other schools). I did end up having to TA more, which can be a time suck if you let it. But, looking back, I'm pretty sure I made the right decision. Working with that PI opened doors for me that wouldn't have been open otherwise. And there's something to be said for having a supportive PI who will help you become the best scientist, researcher, and professor you can be. That said, right now, this isn't really the choice you need to make. You're on the wait list at one school and accepted at the other. I think it makes the most sense to settle on Minnesota (I see other schools in your signature but you don't mention them in your post), sit on that for a week or two, and really reflect on how that makes you feel. Yes, cold winters suck but they're survivable. Also, have you talked to your PI at Minnesota about their willingness to work with you to do more publications or grants? Is there a mentor in the department you could seek out for those things if it's not your PI?

If they say that you can ask, then you should. I would be polite in the email and let them know that you have another offer in hand which you need to make a decision on by April 15.

It's worth noting that there's a great deal of information available on that website for free. Use that to your advantage. I'd also recommend contacting the career center at your institution to see what resources they may have to assist you.

Correct, it is not teaching experience nor is it research experience. I would, as @TakeruK has suggested, list it under work experience. I also wonder why this professor is using an undergrad to do this, rather than a professional translator...

I just want to say that I honestly don't believe that's true. Or rather, that one can be thinking and reading about all sorts of things unrelated to their field and still live an intellectual life. I'll share a valuable piece of advice several junior TT faculty told me when I was about halfway through my PhD: the PhD is the easy part compared to a TT job at a research-intensive university. Rather than teaching one class, you'll be teaching two, in addition to having service (departmental and university level), advising, thesis/dissertation committee work, and the need to get grants and publish. In my field, you need a minimum of two peer-reviewed pubs in quality journals per year to be competitive for tenure, in addition to needing to show you can get major funding from a national funding agency. If you're already working 50-60 hours a week without doing those things, how many hours will you need to work in order to do them? Just something to consider. My real concern is that prospective graduate students will read this and think they aren't working enough if they aren't putting in 50-60 hours a week. That may be the case for you but it is far from a universal truth.

Better fit, without a doubt.

Translation can be considered research sometimes. This is particularly in the modern languages where one's area of expertise can be translation. But translating a book chapter for money as an undergrad is highly unlikely to be seen as research.

It will hurt you, particularly depending on what you want to study. There's also probably not much you can do about it unless you plan to try to get a job as a RA. Here's my real question: why do you care about the Ivy League schools? Your priority should be on finding schools which are a good fit for your research interests, not choosing schools based on their membership in an athletic conference.

What is this exactly?

@Bleep_Bloop, to me, that sounds like too much and a recipe for overwork/burn out. I wouldn't advise anyone to work that much, especially not if you want an academic position in the future.

Does your institution have access to Versatile PhD? The career profiles there might be of interest/help to you.

Short answer: what you've heard about funding is much more true of research PhD programs than of master's programs in general and even more so when it comes to thinking about professional master's degrees. That said, there's plenty of posts here about asking and/or negotiating for funding. Check the "Government Affairs" subforum. If you're concerned about the connections/placement of UT Austin, look it up. Ask the department to provide you with placement information. Use LinkedIn to see where program alums are working now.

They have to be broken out somewhere on a website, otherwise people wouldn't actually know what they're supposed to pay. Or you could ask current students about it. But if you're trying to make a well-reasoned financial decision, you need all of the information.

You should be able to find OSU's fees online if you do some research.

Prestige and ranking matter. However, it's important to keep in mind that there's the university's overall ranking, the departmental ranking, and the ranking of your subfield within the department, which could differ widely. Inside of academia, people in your field will be familiar with the top programs in your field, even if those aren't the top overall psychology programs. Outside of academia, brand name tends to matter most.

1) Have you talked to the people who read your SOP and WS to see if there are weaknesses in those? Have you taken enough French literature classes to truly be competitive? 2) Why did you apply to MA programs if you think a MA is a waste of time (implied when you talk about "repeating" coursework)? What did you help to gain by doing a MA when you applied? What would you gain by potentially doing a MA in Paris versus doing one at Notre Dame? 3) 30 isn't old whether in academia or beyond to reinvent your career. There are plenty of people on here and who I know personally who start their PhD as a career change in their mid-30s... Also, if you're currently experiencing ageism from being too young (as you say here), why not try to age and mature some before applying again? For the record, I don't think there's any evidence that only those who go straight from undergrad to PhD get academic jobs. In fact, I think the opposite is true... You might want to do more research on careers in academia while you're thinking about this decision. 4) Why did you apply to Notre Dame specifically? Is the funding they've given you enough that you could live on it? Are there professional development opportunities while in the program? Answering some or all of these questions might help you make a decision.

You might find this past discussion useful: