Canis

I hope so - the timing is interesting b/c the first admission result on the board from last year is this coming Monday. Hopefully this is a sort of unnoficial acceptance. I'm actually not sure how to respond to the email...

Anyone else hear from a POI at Umass Amherst? Got an email from mine saying that they hope I choose Amherst, and offering help with the decision if I need it. Though I can't tell if this is hinting at an admission, or something else... mysterious.

In other words, this:

Colorless - this would be a great time to submit applications for PhD programs in Scandinavia. Many of them have a March 1st deadline, they're all fully funded, they support you as you move your family with you, they even give you time off if you have a new baby, and the quality of life is greater than the US overall. Those might be a good way to put in some back up applications at this stage in the process.

Awesome news - congrats!

(On the Canadian schools question that skylarking brings up - based on last years posted results there won't be any news until early March or mid-Mach.) I'm hoping for word from UMass Amherst in the next week or so though. Did anyone else apply there?

It's hard to accept, and disspointing. But, we all just have to remember the simple facts of PhD applications: 1. There are more fully qualified applicants than there are positions 2. There are more PhDs than jobs. So actually, yes - everyone is great (mostly). When you aren't admitted, it's not because your application wasn't good enough, it's not a reflection of you or your skills, your CV, your SOP, etc. For most of us, it's more than likely a very arbitrary set of factors that you have no control over: personal preferences of the admissions comitttee, which professors already have students and which don't, who has recently gotten new students, who they're recently hired, what the current cohort looks like and what they're studying, how the adcom can create a diverse incoming cohort, etc. This is why you must apply again in the future, assuming that when you reached out to your POIs they were excited about working with you - apply again, apply 3 times. That gives you several chances for all the factors to add up at once and for the aspect of this which is about chance (which is high) to line up in your favor. I know this is horrible to hear as an international applicant - but as international applicants we have it even harder because we are competing for even fewer spots than everyone else, so it's even harder to get all those factors to line up.

Well, she is writing broadly about graduate school, but if you read the interview, the quote, the links - she's primarily talking about Social Sciences and Humanities. STEM PhDs are often (though not always) a completely different world. There is nothing like the possible STEM funding for the Social Sciences and Humanitites. Even the absolute top funding Anthro program gives 1/2 the stipend of the average fully funded STEM package. "these things are only true if you have full funding that's large enough to cover your living expenses in the program, as well as tuition, fees, and health insurance." Absolutely - that's the kicker, there are very few programs (almost none actually) in Social Sciences and Humanities where that is the case. And on the question of whether people are talking about it - yes, you're talking about it, and PhD students are talking about it, but the people who are posting in admissions forums this season and are currently deciding on programs aren't. It's not new advice - but the job market is changing rapidly for Soc Sci and Humanitites, and in the last few years it's been on a downward spiral - the discussions have reached a critical mass for this reason.

congratulations to you both! that's great news!

If they're telling you that you have to respond right away - you can always ask for an extension. It's really worth investigating if the MA program is right for you, right for your career and life goals, and making sure it's not just the cash cow for the university.

Have a look at Karen article "Should You Go To Graduate School?" The advice I'm giving is based on the idea that doing the MA will add a substantial amount of debt, will take 2 years, and will not actually move the candidate closer to admissions. Unless it's a terminal MA that they want to use for a specific job. Here's an excerpt from the above article to help you think about your motivation for pursuing the MA and the PhD: "Understand that doing the Ph.D., especially in the humanities, is a terribly risky proposition financially. During the years in the program, even if you are “fully funded,” the quote-unquote full funding is inadequate to support most people’s actual expenses, particularly if they have a partner, children, a health challenge, or any other responsibilities. Understand that if you do it, you almost certainly will not get a full time permanent tenure track academic job at the end that will even begin to make back the money you invested into the program. Even if you get a permanent job, the pay scale of faculty is low enough in most colleges and universities outside the elite schools, that you will be unable to pay off your undergraduate student debt or readily meet basic expenses like child care or medical expenses. There is also opportunity cost. While in graduate school you will lose many years in the workforce. You will lose any trajectory toward seniority in any other field you might currently be in. You will experience perhaps a decade of lost wages and lost payment into social security; these losses will follow you through to retirement. Understand that you will not be told the truth about this by anyone in any graduate program to which you apply. If you still feel determined to consider this step, I would advise it be only under the following conditions: You do not have substantial debt from your undergraduate degree, that is to say, debt above $15,000-$20,000. You are offered a full funding package that includes tuition waiver, all fees, and a stipend. You take out absolutely no new debt to undertake the degree. This means that you must either be prepared to live on a stipend of approximately $15,000-$20,000 a year, have a partner/spouse/family member who can augment that stipend, or work a second job to augment the stipend yourself. You go to one of the very best programs in the country, judged by funding available, prestige, and job placement rate. This is not because of elitism, but because only these programs deliver the financial support and connections that give you a fighting chance of a debt-free degree and permanent employment at the end. You avoid any second or third tier Ph.D. program like the plague, regardless of what they appear to offer by way of programs in your area of interest. Your Ph.D. will not be competitive for a wide enough range of jobs at the end. Online Ph.D.s are beneath consideration. You align yourself, before signing on, with an advisor who is well known, who is at the peak of his/her career (no asst profs, no emeritii), who has recently placed other Ph.D.s in tenure track jobs before you, and who is genuinely and personally invested in your arrival to the program. You understand that the system is entirely hierarchical and productivity-based, and you will be judged by your high-status output (publications in major journals, national grants, high profile conferences, famous recommenders) more than by the inherent “brilliance” of your ideas. You approach academic pursuits as a job, not a calling. You approach graduate school as vocational training for a job. You do everything I say in the column, Graduate School Is a Means to a Job, religiously and without excuses. You are under 35, and ideally, under 30. If you fail to find permanent employment within 3-4 years after completion of the Ph.D., this outcome will be far less disastrous if you are still in your thirties and can reinvent yourself for a different career track. The financial stakes for middle-aged people are exponentially higher, the risks exponentially greater, than for younger people."

Don't do an MA program if your goal is a PhD unless they're willing to fully fund you as an MA student. Wait and re-apply next year for the PhD.

A lot of people across disciplines are posting about their admissions decisions. They're panicking when they don't get admissions, they're thrilled when they do, even without funding. But there's something people aren't talking about and should be. Is it even a good idea to pursue a PhD? Obviously we all want to, which is why we've applied. But Karen Kelsky has a great reminder in her interview on the Anthropology blog Savage Minds today. Especially about funding and only going to an 'elite' school - not becuase you're a snob, but because that's the only degree that is going to get you a job when you come out! "This is the advice that I keep in a file as a boilerplate response to all of those who write asking me whether they should do a Ph.D. in the humanities of social sciences: I generally advise caution about applying to phd programs. Make sure you are fully funded, and that the so-called ‘full funding package’ is actually adequate for your real-life living expenses in the location of the program. Go only to an elite or high ranking program, and take on absolutely no debt to do the entire program start to finish. If all those are possible and you are under 40, then it’s not a bad choice. While there, firmly strategize for the job market from your first year, by reading my column, Graduate School Is a Means to a Job, and doing what it says. I elaborate on this in my blog post, “Should You Go To Graduate School?” The Ph.D. in the Humanities or Social Sciences is an extremely bad financial decision for many people at this point in time, certainly for those without a working spouse or family wealth. The reason is not simply the inadequacy of most full funding packages, which have not even remotely kept place with rising costs of living, but that the years in the program are — or should be — a person’s prime earning years when they could otherwise be earning a full-time income, paying into social security, perhaps accruing the funds to buy a first house, and otherwise laying the financial foundation for later years. All of those things are out of the question for most Ph.D.s in the humanities and social sciences (as opposed to Engineering, the hard sciences, etc.). So the financial repercussions of the decision do not stop at the years of “grad student lifestyle” [ramen noodles, etc.] in the program, which may seem like a reasonable and even appealing sacrifice when you’re in your twenties. Rather they extend outward into a person’s thirties or forties and beyond, when the stakes become urgent of having massive debt, no job, no security, and no financial cushion." She wisely reminds us to ONLY accept if we have a full, and generous funding package. This is the advice I've gotten from all my professors and from PhD students as well - but it's easy to ignore when you're trying so hard to gain admission and you just want to go 'somewhere' - 'anywhere.' The truth is though, if you don't get complete and full funding (more than the usual funding package which doesn't usually cover everything) - then you're signing up for a lifetime of struggle. You're much better off waiting, applying again next year and only going when you get funding that will actually get you through debt-free.

Karen has some great advice and a timely reminder for all of us in her interview which is up on Savage Minds now. Basically if you don't get GREAT funding don't go, apply again until you do. "I generally advise caution about applying to phd programs. Make sure you are fully funded, and that the so-called ‘full funding package’ is actually adequate for your real-life living expenses in the location of the program. Go only to an elite or high ranking program, and take on absolutely no debt to do the entire program start to finish. If all those are possible and you are under 40, then it’s not a bad choice. While there, firmly strategize for the job market from your first year, by reading my column, Graduate School Is a Means to a Job, and doing what it says. ... The Ph.D. in the Humanities or Social Sciences is an extremely bad financial decision for many people at this point in time, certainly for those without a working spouse or family wealth. The reason is not simply the inadequacy of most full funding packages, which have not even remotely kept place with rising costs of living, but that the years in the program are — or should be — a person’s prime earning years when they could otherwise be earning a full-time income, paying into social security, perhaps accruing the funds to buy a first house, and otherwise laying the financial foundation for later years. All of those things are out of the question for most Ph.D.s in the humanities and social sciences (as opposed to Engineering, the hard sciences, etc.). So the financial repercussions of the decision do not stop at the years of “grad student lifestyle” [ramen noodles, etc.] in the program, which may seem like a reasonable and even appealing sacrifice when you’re in your twenties. Rather they extend outward into a person’s thirties or forties and beyond, when the stakes become urgent of having massive debt, no job, no security, and no financial cushion."

All good advice - but honestly you can just tell them you've accepted another offer, you appreciate their attention to your application, but they can withdraw you from consideration. They're not going to doubt your seriousness.

If you accept an offer and you're certain about it being the only one you want - then yes. It lets them know that you no longer want to be considered and helps them in their process and helps everyone else applying. It's a standard thing to do.

Congratulations on the admission fishjg!

For those who applied to Toronto - what does your application status say on the web site? I'm wondering - it you were admitted has it been updated? If you weren't yet given a decision, does it still say "under review" as mine does?

I can't even begin to list the number of things I've had to apply for twice to get into! It's like a rule for me at this point - if it doesn't work the first time, try again...

My thoughts on Toronto are: There's been one US American admission already, so that's probably the end. The word I got from the department was there wouldn't be space for more than maybe 1 or 2 international students - they have a really hard time getting funding for intl students. So it's my first choice, but unless I'm wait-listed, I'm considering it my first rejection for now. I could be wrong, but that's my thought as of right now. Which means, I can start preparing my application for next year.

Skylarking - long live Cascadia... and I PM'd you.

Skylarking - are you a US American who applied to Toronto as well?

P.S. HannahNYU, I sent you a PM.

Congratulations!

Would love to hear more about the acceptance to University of Toronto that was just posted! If anyone wants to claim that or PM me.