rising_star

I’m back to share my story for future ref.! I’ve got a full ride with TAship from the school. I’ve contacted with the Head of Dept. directly and kept contact. Keep up the hope anonymous-reader.

Does your university have a writing center? Often, there's one or a few folks who specialize in working with graduate students. If you can find someone there, try to meet with them regularly (e.g., once a week) to go over your writing. They may be able to help you identify specific patterns in phrasing which you could eliminate to make your writing more concise. 

@MandarinOtter, why is it R1 or corporate for you? Is there really nothing in between? Lots of people teach and do research at R2s and SLACs and have successful careers. Is there any particular reason why you've decided that isn't for you? Have you ever looked into what a career outside of a R1 would be like or talked to anyone in TT/tenured jobs in those places?
I wouldn't expect prospective faculty advisors to know much or anything about how to prepare for the nonacademic job market since that isn't there area of expertise. (It's the equivalent of walking into the supermarket and asking the first employee you see how to tile your kitchen floor.) Instead, look into the career center at those institutions and see what, if anything, they do to support graduate students seeking positions outside academia. See if they are institutional members of resources like VersatilePhD. Ask current graduate students if they have the ability to do things like a summer internship to gain work experience. Ask about taking courses outside the department (e.g., programming, statistics) which could help prepare you for additional career possibilities.
Finally, I would take a serious look at what's been going on with the legal job market for the past ten years. Even graduates of T14 law schools are having trouble finding jobs, which is especially troubling when you consider the student loan debt involved. The funding situation at law schools is far worse than it is for PhD programs so you could be looking at $100K+ in debt and still have dim job prospects.

This has been my experience as well. My department has an almost weekly happy hour frequented by grad students and faculty. Some people talk about random things (sports, news, etc.), others talk about teaching, others about research. I've found that in some of these small conversations I've gotten great ideas or insights into my research that I hadn't gotten otherwise. Sometimes just being asked to give the 30 second version of your research can force you into thinking about it in a different way or allow someone else to say something you hadn't thought of. Without those conversations, my work would definitely suffer.
 
And yea, I'm one of those people who can't work all the time. Back when I did my comprehensive exams (which were multiple questions over like 10 days), I remember people in my department (mostly those not yet at the exams stage) being surprised that I was still attending the class I was TAing (I was mostly grading but went to every single lecture), working out, and even watching an episode or two of a TV show online. But you know what? You can't work for 16 hours a day for the 10 days without a break. And really, since I was limited to like 25 pages double-spaced per answer, I would've ended up writing way more than I needed if I'd worked that long. Instead, I rode my bike to the gym, worked out with friends (including some who had PhDs and thus totally understood what comps were and why you might need a break), cooked myself real food, etc. It's about knowing what you need to work efficiently and be productive and taking the time to do whatever that is.
 
Back to the original question though:
- Be open and willing to learn.
- If you're in the humanities or social sciences, take the time to just browse the library shelves in your general field and in your intended research area to get an idea of what's been published and what research resources are available to you. (Even better, meet with a librarian early on to make sure you know what your school has and the support s/he can give you.)
- Skim through recent journal issues in your field to get a sense of what topics are current and which are becoming dated. Pay attention to book reviews if there are any and use those to help you find relevant books for your discipline and research area.
- Learn to use reference management software (EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, etc.) and start keeping track of your references that way.
- Figure out an easy to use system for staying abreast of current/new research in both books and journals that may be of interest.
- Read your graduate handbook (and TA handbook if needed) so you know what is expected of you. Ask questions if expectations are unclear.
- Start figuring out what, if any, courses outside the department you might want to take, how often they're offered, how difficult they are, etc.
- If you're going to need research methods training, figure out how to get that ASAP. In the social sciences, this often means taking courses in qualitative methods, statistics, and/or GIS and seats in those classes can fill because they're attracting students from an array of disciplines. Getting your methods coursework done means you can start collecting data sooner.
- Get to know whomever helps oversee grant apps (NIH, NSF, SSRC, Fulbright, IAF, etc.) at your institution and ask them what you can do beginning now to prepare to apply in the future, when you should be applying, what you'll need to be competitive, etc. And, while you're there, get them to help you set up some alerts for grant announcements.
 
There's probably more you could do, especially related to conferences and networking, but I don't want to overload anyone with suggestions.

@MandarinOtter, why is it R1 or corporate for you? Is there really nothing in between? Lots of people teach and do research at R2s and SLACs and have successful careers. Is there any particular reason why you've decided that isn't for you? Have you ever looked into what a career outside of a R1 would be like or talked to anyone in TT/tenured jobs in those places?
I wouldn't expect prospective faculty advisors to know much or anything about how to prepare for the nonacademic job market since that isn't there area of expertise. (It's the equivalent of walking into the supermarket and asking the first employee you see how to tile your kitchen floor.) Instead, look into the career center at those institutions and see what, if anything, they do to support graduate students seeking positions outside academia. See if they are institutional members of resources like VersatilePhD. Ask current graduate students if they have the ability to do things like a summer internship to gain work experience. Ask about taking courses outside the department (e.g., programming, statistics) which could help prepare you for additional career possibilities.
Finally, I would take a serious look at what's been going on with the legal job market for the past ten years. Even graduates of T14 law schools are having trouble finding jobs, which is especially troubling when you consider the student loan debt involved. The funding situation at law schools is far worse than it is for PhD programs so you could be looking at $100K+ in debt and still have dim job prospects.

Generalize your response. If giving a longer answer, do not stare down the original questioner, but continue to look around the room. Refuse to get caught up in a debate over minutiae. Distill the essence (rather than the specific form) of their critique, and make your responding observations based on that. Do not give them the opportunity to interrupt at the end of your response - be looking elsewhere, and call on another person (if you're able to control your own Q&A). If they keep interrupting anyway, suggest that they continue the conversation outside of the Q&A.
Sometimes, there's nothing you can really do and the moderator has to step in. Sometimes they don't, because not all moderators do their jobs properly, particularly if it involves shutting down a senior scholar.
Your first aggressive question can be a really unsettling experience, and everyone's default reaction is to go into defense mode. Practice the mental discipline to take a breath and process your response, and you'll be much better off.

You definitely want renter's insurance! I would get quotes from multiple companies (easy to do online). Some companies also offer discounts if you're a good student so that may be something to look into.

From an outside perspective: you had the whole summer to prep, plus the whole fall + half of spring semester, and there is no way you spent the whole time writing. You could have (and perhaps should have) prioritized studying for your exam more. To me, the story you're telling sounds like an excuse. You're always going to have more than one thing on your plate as an academic, and if you can't handle that, you won't succeed in academia. Now, beyond that, there's a question of whether you prepared correctly, which it sounds like you may not have. You say that there were concerns about your ability to recall your readings and express yourself orally, which isn't so much a problem of having time to do the reading but of doing the extra work to digest, integrate, and actually speak about these topics out loud. I don't know if you did that, but that would be something I would think about. Short version: I don't see anything unfair here. 
Now when it comes to the letter, not knowing your program it's a little hard to know what to say. For one, no one outside your program ever needs to know it exists. These "files" students have won't follow you around after you graduate. So I guess the question is what it does program-internally, and that is something you'd know better than us. The good news is you passed! A pass is a pass. A high pass or a low pass are both just the same a pass, meaning you've been approved to move on to the next level in your program. It sounds like your program isn't shy about letting you know what they think, so if they thought you should leave, they would tell you. Nonetheless, I think it's wise to have a frank conversation with your advisor about this question and get their opinion. If they say you could/should stay, you should ask explicitly how to fix whatever was lacking in your exam. But assuming you stay, you will need to put this unpleasant experience behind you. As I said, a pass is a pass. Impress your committee with your next steps, and they will assume that you've taken their advice in the letter to heart and improved. They won't hold older offenses against you if you're doing well later on. And again, the letter is internal (as is the exam for that matter) and doesn't matter to anyone but your program. You'll be successful in academia on independent grounds that have nothing to do with this exam or letter, so all is most definitely not lost, and you still have a path to success directly ahead of you. 

I just finished my sign, heading out tomorrow to join the march for part of the morning.  I can't stay the whole time, but I think this is an important safety issue for us as teachers at universities just as it is for high school students.  I really want to encourage these high school students to keep at this and help make a change.   Anybody else going in their city?

Honestly, no. The Brown name isn't well-known as even being part of the Ivy League outside of the northeast/mid-Atlantic states.

Timing definitely depends on the rental market where you are. Look online and also ask current grad students. Your new school may also have an off-campus housing office with resources available to you. 
My trips were typically 3-4 days in length (largely depending on how much money I had available since I was always staying in hotels). I always rented a car to make it easy/quick to see lots of places. I looked at way more than 6 places in a couple of towns, largely because I was trying to figure out where (in town) I wanted to live in addition to finding a place where I'd be comfortable. In some towns, many/most rentals aren't listed online, which certainly complicated the search. In those cases, I spent the first day driving around and making a lot of phone calls and the next 2-3 days actually seeing places. 

I wouldn't write anything to the POIs that rejected me. If you see them at a conference in the future, you can say hi and let them know what you're up to at that point.

I think an in person conversation makes sense. That said, if the program isn't supportive, that tells you a lot.

Does your university have a writing center? Often, there's one or a few folks who specialize in working with graduate students. If you can find someone there, try to meet with them regularly (e.g., once a week) to go over your writing. They may be able to help you identify specific patterns in phrasing which you could eliminate to make your writing more concise. 

I think an in person conversation makes sense. That said, if the program isn't supportive, that tells you a lot.

Umm... I'm risk-averse financially so I would follow the funding. I know nothing about your field but I do know that Loyola Chicago is a good school so it seems like a good option. What are your career goals after the master's? How will each of these programs prepare you for those? Where are there recent graduates now?
(P.S. For info on the cities, check the "City Guide" on this forum.)

So, I've never done it. But, one thing you might consider is having your kids in school/daycare closer to where you're doing your PhD in case something comes up and you need to pick them up during the day. I know faculty who have that kind of commute and that's what they've done to negotiate things. I would also definitely talk to the DGS and whomever is involved in TA assignments to make sure they're aware of your situation. Hopefully, they'll be willing to work with you on the scheduling so that you don't have to commute every day and that your teaching times work with your childcare arrangements. Good luck!

Umm... I'm risk-averse financially so I would follow the funding. I know nothing about your field but I do know that Loyola Chicago is a good school so it seems like a good option. What are your career goals after the master's? How will each of these programs prepare you for those? Where are there recent graduates now?
(P.S. For info on the cities, check the "City Guide" on this forum.)

Okay, so there's a lot going on here. It strikes me that you may want to meet with a counselor or therapist to discuss all of this. Below I'll run through what stands out to me:
- You say that you can't handle another year apart. Why is that? If you've already been apart for a while, what have you done to cope with this? Have you considered trying out additional ways to cope? How often are you able to visit one another? Might there be a way for you to visit more often?
- Have you considered looking for jobs, internships, etc. in the US so that you could be closer to your boyfriend? 
- Are there any scholarships/fellowships you could apply for in your home country which would provide funding to pursue a degree in the US?
- Are you willing to apply again next year? If so, have you thought about what you might be able to do until then to improve your applications?
Don't despair and totally give up on your dreams and your relationship. If these are things you're committed to, you have to be willing to go through some struggles to pursue your dreams.

Okay, so there's a lot going on here. It strikes me that you may want to meet with a counselor or therapist to discuss all of this. Below I'll run through what stands out to me:
- You say that you can't handle another year apart. Why is that? If you've already been apart for a while, what have you done to cope with this? Have you considered trying out additional ways to cope? How often are you able to visit one another? Might there be a way for you to visit more often?
- Have you considered looking for jobs, internships, etc. in the US so that you could be closer to your boyfriend? 
- Are there any scholarships/fellowships you could apply for in your home country which would provide funding to pursue a degree in the US?
- Are you willing to apply again next year? If so, have you thought about what you might be able to do until then to improve your applications?
Don't despair and totally give up on your dreams and your relationship. If these are things you're committed to, you have to be willing to go through some struggles to pursue your dreams.

This is definitely field-specific and also depends on where you're seeking employment. A number of TT jobs I applied for this year asked for a teaching portfolio, evidence of teaching excellence or effectiveness, or copies of teaching evaluations along with my application, before or after a phone interview, and prior to a campus interview. While it may not help a great deal, it can definitely hurt an applicant, especially if the evals you get aren't very good and there are other applicants with better evals you're being compared to.
 
As for actual advice, I'll start with the following:
- Figure out what resources are available to you as a TA or instructor in your department, in your college, and through the university's teaching center. And then take advantage of them. My PhD university's teaching center flat-out told me that I was one of three grad students from my department (90 grad students) they had ever met with or assisted. Now part of this was due to my department's culture where consulting the teaching center was seen as an admission of failure but that's BS and you should ignore that if people are saying it.
- When in doubt, consult the internet. By which I mean, if you have to create a syllabus, google around to see syllabi others have created for that course or a similar course. If you're looking for appropriate wording for a policy, again you can consult the internet (though you may want to consult your peers and department first because some stuff is university-specific and/or university mandated). Looking for an assignment idea? Google it. Sample rubric? Google for one. There's really no reason to reinvent the wheel.
- Accept that it will take you a while to gain your footing in the classroom. Be willing to change midway through the term and to do different things for different sections because not all students are the same.
- Take advantage of any courses/workshops/tutorials that will help you become a better teacher. Again, the teaching center will probably offer workshops or brownbags. These are awesome as a grad student because most of the attendees will be TT faculty so you can see what they're struggling with or what they're doing that works and use it in your teaching. Doing that early on will make you more effective in the long run, leading to better evals.
- Devise and administer a midterm evaluation of your students that's for you. Take their feedback seriously and incorporate it into the course. It almost always leads to improved semester evals, even if you don't change very much.
- Have someone else (an experienced teacher) observe your teaching. It will be painful and awkward and difficult. But, it will help you improve. It will also give you more material for your future teaching portfolio.
- Take the time to identify excellent teachers on campus (whether or not they're in your field) and observe them. You may need to ask them first, of course. If you're having trouble finding someone, ask the teaching center. Watching other people who are awesome, especially those who do it in totally different ways (like observing a lecture for 400 students vs a seminar for 30 students), will help you understand the variety of what works and identify some techniques that will work for you.
- Oh, and take the time to learn your students' names whenever possible. They appreciate it.
 
Okay, that was a lot of advice and probably more than you can do all in one semester. But, I hope it helps someone!

Okay, so there's a lot going on here. It strikes me that you may want to meet with a counselor or therapist to discuss all of this. Below I'll run through what stands out to me:
- You say that you can't handle another year apart. Why is that? If you've already been apart for a while, what have you done to cope with this? Have you considered trying out additional ways to cope? How often are you able to visit one another? Might there be a way for you to visit more often?
- Have you considered looking for jobs, internships, etc. in the US so that you could be closer to your boyfriend? 
- Are there any scholarships/fellowships you could apply for in your home country which would provide funding to pursue a degree in the US?
- Are you willing to apply again next year? If so, have you thought about what you might be able to do until then to improve your applications?
Don't despair and totally give up on your dreams and your relationship. If these are things you're committed to, you have to be willing to go through some struggles to pursue your dreams.

You don't say anything about funding, which is a key consideration. I'd also be thinking about the track record of these programs and supervisors when it comes to helping their students get funding to do fieldwork if that's something you'll need to do for your project. I would also think about whether they have or are willing to publish with their students. 
I know traditional wisdom is not to go to a program for one person. But, I basically did that for my PhD and it worked out fine. My supervisor did later leave for another institution but, I was far enough along in my degree that it didn't affect me or alter my plans.

Update: going to Princeton.
Decision is based on research I will conduct, school reputation (for job hunting in a foreign country), and advisor's connection with Chinese academia.

This is a post meant to serve as some unsolicited advice for those of you who were admitted to both a PhD program and an MA, and are considering turning down the PhD offer in favor of the MA, to try to get into a higher-ranked PhD program the second time around. I decided to go one of the top MAs last year, rather than a PhD program ranked around 40, and I learned some things after being in an MA for (almost) a year that I wish I would have known about and taken into consideration at the time:
1. My MA program is fully-funded, I live in a low COL town, and I’m a frugal person. However, my MA stipend is really only enough to cover very basic living expenses. Consequently, I’ve had to borrow money to move, to make a trip or two out of town, and next year I’ll have to borrow more for application fees, to retake the GRE, and to pay for various student fees that my stipend won’t cover. I wish I’d considered how much further the PhD stipend I was offered would have gone for me.
2. There’s a cost in terms of stress involved in reapplying from an MA that I very much underestimated. There’s a lot of pressure to do well, since my future is riding on how well I’ll do at my MA. The first time around was stressful, but I also had MA apps as a backup plan. This time, when I apply out, I won’t have that luxury.
I may have still made the choice that I ended up making; I’m not sure. I'm certainly getting the chance to develop my interests, and to get better at philosophy. It may also pay off next year—who knows! However, I wish I had known about these issues when I made my decision. I just thought I’d share these things I’ve learned as you make your admission decisions. Good luck!