rising_star

You'll be fine, try not to worry about it.

I too was worked into the ground in undergrad. I didn't think grad school was "easy" when I started my MA, but certainly didn't find it as difficult as some of my peers did. But, once it came time to start doing the MA thesis research and writing, I remembered/learned that grad school may not be more work, but they do expect a higher quality of work.

My goal has been to get off and stay off these lists. Or for someone to pass me on the list of all-time posts... which will probably only happen if I quit or rejoin under a new username...

I like both the original and UnlikelyGrad's questions so here goes. If I could start all over, I wouldn't let a stupid academic advisor mislead me and major in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with the goal of becoming a marine biologist working with marine mammals. Or, I would have gone with the religion major or minor and would currently be working on a dissertation on how the Super Bowl gets incorporated into American religious life and practice (btw, feel free to scoop this idea and hire me as a RA). Three careers: marine biologist theater administrator United Nations ambassador

melusine, I'm in a small discipline. I know several of the past applicants in my discipline who are on this forum because I subsequently met them at the national conference or, in one case, when I ended up applying to the school two years later for my PhD and visited. It has never been awkward, at least not for me. In fact, I'm now real life friends with someone I originally interacted with when this website first began because we were applying to the same discipline but different departments. So, rather than be worried about meeting these people later, think of it as an early networking opportunity. I should also add that there is a related thread elsewhere on what people are studying and why. Check it out if you're interested.

Apply to some geography programs. You will find your interests well received and be able to study the things you want.

I applied to six programs when I applied for my MA and seven (six really, since one was where I already was) when I applied for my PhD. In hindsight, I should've dropped two of the PhD applications. I think 4-5 is fine if they are the only schools you want to attend.

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I love The Big Bang Theory. My brother got me season 1 on DVD for Christmas. Other favorites: Movies- The Polar Express, X-Men (and the two sequels), El Crimen Ferpecto, Bolt, Aristocats, Original Kings of Comedy, any Chris Rock special TV- How I Met Your Mother, Deadliest Catch, Top Chef, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Miami, Hank, Psych, Monk

Auction

This has been covered a lot in other areas of this forum, so poke around over in "City Guide" and "Officially Grads". Personally, I moved across the country for my PhD. I relied on advice given here, elsewhere on the internet, and from current graduate students to identify neighborhoods and places to live. I then flew out in June (my first trip to the city) to hunt in person and found a place that way. The place ended up not working out (crazy roommate, which sucked because the location was great) but I then leaned on current grads after moving to help me find somewhere to move. For my MA program, it was much easier because I moved to a city about 80 miles from where I have family. So, I stayed with family while apartment hunting. I ended up finding my roommate through the local alternative weekly newspaper. She and I are still friends a few years later and I'll be going to her wedding next year.

Almost everyone in my program does some work over winter break but the amount done varies. I'm going to be working on a manuscript, catching up on some journal reading, and starting the lists for my comprehensive exams over break (I'm off until mid-January). Summer breaks are even more stressful. We teach (all summer courses in my dept are taught by grad students since we don't earn money over the summer otherwise), do fieldwork, and work on publishing. I'm slated to teach in the summer, if the course gets its minimum enrollment, for three weeks and then spend 8-9 weeks in the field doing (pre-)dissertation research. It's widely expected that we'll apply widely for funding throughout the spring to be able to conduct research over the summer, or self-fund that research.

When I applying for a grant that said 1000 words or 4 pgs, I was told by two faculty members to adhere to whichever is the smallest/shortest...

When I think about economic geography, the following profs come to mind: - Jamie Peck (UBC) - David Harvey (CUNY-Anthropology) - Neil Smith (CUNY Graduate Center) - Robin Leichencko and Kevin St. Martin (Rutgers) Also, University of Minnesota. If you're worried about funding from state universities, look into Clark and Johns Hopkins.

captiv8ted, for PhD programs, I got accepted to all 7 programs to which I applied. For MA programs, I was accepted to 4 out of 6 programs. coyabean, glad I could help. If you want more specifics, just PM me. I got lazy and decided to stop looking for additional schools and acceptance/rejection info.

This is a terrible reason to go to graduate school. I recommend getting some work experience doing something because it will help you figure out what you want to do and help you pay down your student loans.

For a Jan 15 deadline: My online application was completed Jan 10. This didn't include recommendations (or the SOP, if memory serves). On Feb 8, they contacted me about an incomplete recommendation because the recommender didn't include the required form. The next day, I found out they were interested in nominating me for a University fellowship. My inbox doesn't have the date of the acceptance... Oh wait, I found it in my journal: "Status: Congratulations| On JANUARY 30, 2006 you were admitted to the university. You will receive further information by mail as well as a request for final transcript(s) with degree statements." Here's the one from the Jan 1 deadline: Acceptance letter dated Jan 26 Received this email from the DGS on Jan 5: "From glancing at your record, I believe your application is extremely competitive. You are almost certain of being admitted and should be competitive for funding from departmental and/or university sources." ----------------- Okay, all of those were for MA programs, which I applied to for Fall 2006 entry. Here's some info from when I applied to PhD programs for Fall 2008 entry. - Rejection dated Feb 4 for a Jan 1 deadline (they later apologized for sending me the rejection and admitted me, but that took a couple more months) - Jan 1 deadline, accepted March 14 (took forever but I know why, and would've taken less time if I weren't already a student there) - Jan 15 deadline, March 4 acceptance - Deadline was Jan 15 (can't remember), accepted Feb 11. Had a massive LOR problem with one person having to send the letter three or four times (he ended up emailing it directly to the DGS and apologizing to me for the trouble) - Jan 1 deadline, Feb 8 acceptance. - Jan 15 deadline, Jan 23 acceptance. They were missing 2 of 3 recommendation letters and official transcripts (they had unofficial) when I got the acceptance, which they told me to send because they needed them to nominate me for a University fellowship. - Jan 15 deadline, late March acceptance. And no, I wasn't on a waitlist. They just notify super-late compared to other programs in my discipline. That's all of them for the PhD. What does this show? That you can get accepted even with late latters; that you can get accepted before all of your materials have arrived; and that this whole thing is completely unpredictable.

Never more than 4 days before the deadline (aka, enough time for them to arrive by the deadline when sent via priority mail).

Okay, but not every program gets 900-1000 applications. Those are the exception, not the rule. Or maybe you're just a slow/inefficient worker. It's impossible to say. I posted about my experience, you posted about yours. Merry Christmas.

I study conservation both because I believe in it and because I hate how the ideas of Westerners screw over the impoverished.

No, they really don't. Our program has a part-time grad secretary and she has all the files together within a week of the deadline. How? She starts the file as soon as the first piece of the application is received. Profs have different criteria that they use to make their initial cuts: GRE, GPA, recommendations, SOP, etc. And honestly, even if you're missing a recommendation, profs should be able to get some clue of whether you're in their definite, maybe, or no pile... I know for sure that one of my applications was evaluated without the third letter initially and I got admitted there.

You know, professors can review applications without the entire committee being able to get together. They just "check out" files from the grad program secretary, review them, then return them. Then, once they've all been read, they meet to discuss them. This is sorta how it works at my current program, and how it works for big grant competitions.

When I applied to MA programs, I applied for Jan 1 and Jan 15 deadlines and had two acceptances before Feb 1...

I know several graduate students that have met their future spouse and gotten married during either the MA or PhD.

Hmmm... two different things here. First, I'd be wary of having a dean or chair as an advisor as they are often incredibly busy with administrative duties and may not have much time for working with graduate students. Second, I think the effect on your application really depends on how the department does admissions. At my MA program, it would be to your benefit to have a professor interested in working with you since someone has to say they're willing to advise you in order for you to be admitted. Here (where I'm doing my PhD) admissions are done by the committee and students aren't admitted to work with a particular professor. So having someone interested in your may not come into play.