johndiligent

Indeed, February was not it.

Got e-mail notification tonight that I'm on the shortlist at the University of Toronto. Final decisions are still forthcoming but they've invited those on the shortlist to the campus visit. I noticed another person posted on the Results Page re: U of T Religion tonight, saying that they were waitlisted. Want to come forward? I'm really curious if we got the same e-mail but we're interpreting it differently. I'm taking being shortlisted as different from being waitlisted (assuming shortlisted means that they've narrowed down the number of candidates but haven't yet made a final decision, whereas waitlisted would mean they've offered admission to others and I'm in if enough of them decline).

Congratulations, Febronia! That's an amazing accomplishment!

Lawn Bowl

Blue fish

talk radio arguing about whether Team Canada went too far in celebrating their gold medal win P.S. They didn't.

two fish

My theory as to why Canadian application fees are so much more expensive stems from a) the fact that Canadian graduate programmes have fewer applicants overall than top American programmes so the overall cost of processing applications is spread across fewer people, and the fact that Canadian schools don't usually require the GRE so the total cost per Canadian application is a bit lower and they feel justified in charging more.

Hey! From someone in a cognate discipline: You say you have lab experience, but do you have any field experience? Field experience is highly valued as an admissions criterion for North American graduate programmes (both MA and PhD) in archaeology (less so in the U.K. where archaeology programmes often emphasise theory over practice). If I were you, I WOULD definitely apply for some Master's programmes, not least of which because once you have an MA in archaeology, then you'll be able to hold a dig permit in many jurisdictions. Then go for your PhD once you have more field experience and even a specific site that you've already worked on a bit in mind for your thesis. That's the norm in Canadian archaeology, at least.

Big Fish

Sorry to hear that, Hermes. I hope that March brings some good news on the other three.

U of Alberta: $100 U of Calgary: $100 McGill: $100 McMaster: $105 Toronto: $110 Of my six schools, the only one that DIDN'T hit triple digits was UBC, at a comparatively genteel $90.

Hollywood Bowl

Three more days!

If you haven't already, do a search for results from past years for your Master's programmes, since it'll give you a basic timeline as to when you should know. Most of my programmes reported in previous years in mid-to-late March, so you might not have to wait too, too much longer.

Star Scream!

Those are the only qualifications. You're in.

When I was in high school, I thought I wanted to a high school teacher. One of my teachers at that time told me and many others with similar ambitions NOT to do so if we could stomach doing anything else. His rationale was this: that we wanted to be high school teachers simply because it was one of the only jobs we'd ever seen "close-up." We thought we should be teachers because we'd spent the majority of the last twelve years of our lives watching teachers do their jobs and it was a system and a routine that we understood. It was a safe choice. In many ways, academia lures a lot of success-driven, structure-oriented people because it's a path that seems very friendly to us. We've spent so much of our lives in an educational setting, jumping from one institution to the next, and it's what we understand. And the sheer amount of "I'm applying to grad school because what else can you do with a BA in English?"-type comments we see around here illustrate the fact that without the structure of academia, many of these great students have no idea what to do with themselves. I'm really glad you posted this because I think it will be useful for a lot of those applying now and in the future. But also because I think that it's a good idea for applicants to reflect on whether they're applying to grad school just because it seems like the thing to do next. Especially since spending a life in academia nowadays - while perhaps a choice with structure - is not by any means a safe choice. A lot of us will never get a TT position, ever. So, if you're going to piss away the next seven odd years of your life on a PhD, it really should be because you'd rather do that and wind up with absolutely nothing than have everything but.

I care a lot. Though, admittedly, I would rather be the one accepted.

Haha, nice to see so much Jewish representation on this board! Here's hoping we all get something definitive worked out before the end of March, kaynahorah!

I'd note that if you're reading this and it's a Master's programme you've applied for, then don't freak out if you haven't heard by March 15th.

Two possibilities resembling what you're suggesting come to mind: a qualifying year (that is, you attend the school taking the undergraduate or possibly graduate courses you're deficient in with the understanding that if you complete them satisfactorily, you will be admitted the following year) or non-degree status (that is, you're not officially admitted to the program but you are permitted to take graduate courses. This can sometimes serve as a backdoor to grad school because if you form good relationships and excel, you can approach the powers that be at the end of the year and request to be given degree status, which may be as easy as filling out a form.) A qualifying year is usually offered to otherwise exceptional students who are lacking preparation in certain areas. If you are such a student, you probably already know it, they probably already know it, and - unfortunately - they'd probably already have offered you the possibility. But you can contact the graduate secretary or coordinator to discuss whether taking graduate courses as a non-degree student is a possibility.

final fantasy