rising_star

That paragraph had my favorite lines but I really like this one, because it addresses something that comes up here all the time regarding SOP length. I bet this is what it all comes down to for a lot of people. Note: The quotes are from the post linked to by the OP.

I would contact the person in charge of the graduate program (Director of Graduate Studies, or the program administrator) and ask how assistantships are handled.

I have a laptop, a netbook, an external keyboard and mouse, and will soon have a 21" monitor to hook the netbook up to. The netbook I got for fieldwork, because I work in places where theft is common. I'm using it right now. They keyboard works well for me, though the 10" screen is too small to write papers on. I use the laptop on campus, whether in my office or elsewhere. I might get a departmental computer soon but I prefer all the customization that I've done on my laptop (mostly EndNote). Also, I work in coffee shops, at other people's houses, and outside when the weather is nice (which is like 6 months/year here) so the netbook is great for that.

Wouldn't it be a violation of attorney-client privilege if they did? Can you contact other law firms in your state?

I actually gave everything a nickname when I was a senior in college. My thesis was Carlos and the grad apps were Vladimir. I don't know why I picked those names, but they worked for me.

I just checked the results search for the first time in 10 months, lol. When did you add the "season" option?

Did it really? I don't remember that... But I bet you got a lot of emails about it.

Dude, you must be applying to some awesome programs if there are hefty stipends in exchange for not having to do a lot of work. Clearly I've gone into the wrong field... I guess what I'm saying is that I think one of the fallacies of grad school is that you get to make $15K (or $20K or maybe even $25K in the hard sciences) in exchange for sitting around in coffee shops while thinking and reading. That has not been my experience as a graduate student. My friends in the hard sciences spend no less than 50 hours a week in the lab, coming in on the weekends and staying into the evening, in exchange for their ~$20K/year. I don't make nearly that much, have a 20 hour a week TA position, take 2-3 courses per semester, and do my research and reading for comps outside of that. If I were on the ball, I'd probably be putting in a minimum of 40 hours of work per week, probably closer to 50. That works out to minimum wage, more or less... Sometimes I think being a receptionist/administrative assistant might be easier because then it's a straight-up 40 hours per week and probably pays $25-30K/year.

My personal experience suggests that submitting within 3 days of the deadline or on the day of the deadline results in acceptances. YMMV, of course.

The problem is that there are current students who aren't able to find jobs and will keep applying over the course of the next few years. I think the recent Chronicle article about the MLA job numbers hit on this. I can't remember the figures so I'm going to make them up. Let's say that there are 300 people on the job market and 50 jobs. That means 250 people won't get jobs this year. Some will pursue other things, others will reapply. Let's say that of those 250, 100 reapply. Add those to the 300 new graduates, and you get 400 people on the market with probably about the same number of jobs. This is a bad problem that even several years of smaller incoming cohorts to graduate programs will not correct.

Not to make anyone more depressed but I just thought I'd pass this New York Times article along, in case people missed it: "It took longer than some experts expected, but the recession and the resulting shortage of good jobs have spurred a jump in applications to law schools and a growing interest in graduate programs. ... Prebble Q. Ramswell, 37, is among those choosing to return to school after being unable to find work. A mother with two bachelor’s degrees, one in political science and the other in psychology and sociology, Ms. Ramswell has nearly 10 years of work experience, including six years as an intelligence analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency. Ms. Ramswell lost her job with the C.I.A. when her contract ended last spring. She and her husband, who had also worked for the C.I.A., were both unemployed." You can read the whole article if you want. Thoughts on how this will affect admissions?

A similar thread is here:

You're considered an independent student for graduate school so your dad's income is not a factor. Depending on the program, you may find that the stipend amount is not enough for you to comfortably live on. Filling out the FAFSA will make you eligible for Federal subsidized loans, which means the government pays the interest that would accrue while you are in school.

Things were so much simpler when I applied to MA programs since Twitter didn't exist and Facebook was both small and didn't have status updates. FWIW, the first person I told about a MA program acceptance was my roommate, mostly because she had to convince me to open the letter. Next was the guy I was dating. Then, I think I posted it on my journal and called my mom and left her a message to call me. For PhDs, I think the first person to know was either my boyfriend or whoever was in the office at the time. Probably the boyfriend. My mom usually got a phone call a day or two later. *Note: Telling my mom was never really necessary because she honestly and earnestly believed I would get accepted everywhere I applied with funding. (No, she's not completely naive, she has a PhD of her own.)

Could you get another professor from your department, or the dept chair, or the DGS to address the issue in their recommendation letter or in a supplemental letter?

Of course it's in my interest to encourage you all to stick around but... I have to say that I'm here, through two rounds of applications, having earned a MA, and currently working on my PhD. Granted, I'm not here as often as I used to be but I check in on a regular basis (and not just because I'm a moderator). If you want a challenge, I hold the title of "Most Posts Made on TheGradCafe" but I'm more than willing to give it up...

I've gotten acceptances directly from the department and from the graduate school so I think the answer to your question probably varies from one university to the next.

Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale going on now...

My PhD application LOR writers thought I aimed a bit too low... But I'm happy with where I ended up.

I got into a program and nominated for a fellowship when the department had only received 1/3 letters. I only know because they emailed me to see about getting the other two letters because they needed them to forward on to the Graduate School with the fellowship application. There were at least two other schools that I got into with 2/3 letters.

Grades don't matter in graduate school. In general, the minimum GPA to keep your funding is a 3.0. I feel like we've discussed this before so look for past posts in "Officially Grads".

It depends on the program. I've had second jobs in addition to TA/RA positions at two different institutions. But you have to read your contract and handbook to see what is allowed. Also, I don't know about your program, but professionalization through TA/RA positions is a part of graduate school. Yes, they may be low-paying but they are part of the training.

I totally agree with this. In a recent article in Science, the president of Florida State University said that the reason they aren't using stimulus money to plug gaps in the budget is that history has shown that once state appropriations to the universities decrease, they never increase just because the budget crisis has been relieved.

Not worth it.

I thought about sports when I applied. I almost exclusively applied to schools with solid reputations in college football, both for my MA and my PhD. If they weren't tops in football, I took a look at the college basketball team... Not that I go to games now but I did have season tickets to football during my MA.