Snglo-Aaxon

You made a poor decision. This isn't the case of "screwing ethics" but a matter of what would have been most beneficial for your training. However, that said, the decision has been made, and does not foreclose the possibility that you will outperform in your chosen program.

You made a poor decision. This isn't the case of "screwing ethics" but a matter of what would have been most beneficial for your training. However, that said, the decision has been made, and does not foreclose the possibility that you will outperform in your chosen program.

To clarify, I wrote: "This isn't the case of "screwing ethics" but a matter of what would have been most beneficial for your training." Anyway, I'm not going to get into argument about the nuances. But rather, I'd prefer to wish OP all the best.

You made a poor decision. This isn't the case of "screwing ethics" but a matter of what would have been most beneficial for your training. However, that said, the decision has been made, and does not foreclose the possibility that you will outperform in your chosen program.

But the post above you did.

 It's impossible that it revolves around all of us.

So, Eternal, I think you did the "right" thing. Soon you'll be part of a new community where you'll start making a name for yourself. 

 

You guys are seriously going to have a hard time building a career in the academy-- a very small world-- if you think that "screw ethics" is a reasonable response to this kind of situation.

You made a poor decision. This isn't the case of "screwing ethics" but a matter of what would have been most beneficial for your training. However, that said, the decision has been made, and does not foreclose the possibility that you will outperform in your chosen program.

Getting your PhD in English from one of the top 10 schools in the country (like Harvard) is probably a bad idea. Getting your PhD from school outside the top tier is just insane. Sorry, but this cannot be said enough. At least some of the Ivies offer stipends of over $30k/year so you're not totally wasting 5-7 years of your life if (and when) you have to switch careers. The schools that will actually replace the jobs vacated by retiring faculty will be elite private universities (like the Ivies, Stanford, Duke, Vandy, etc) and private LACs with big endowments (Swarthmore, Williams, Amherst, etc). You need, at the very least, a PhD from a top school just to compete for those jobs (let alone teach there). And even these schools are increasingly relying on visiting lectureships. Public universities across the country are under siege and the first jobs that state legislatures are eliminating are in the humanities. I have no idea what would compel someone to slog through a poorly ranked PhD program on $15k/year with no job prospects. I'm absolutely baffled by people who take out loans to pay for an MA. In both cases, you're better off working at Starbucks and reading literature the way it should be read (for fun).

I don't mean to be critical, but before blaming the adcomms for having a bias against China, maybe you should explore your own resume and look for faults. It appears that you've applied to a wide variety of programs, which may have come across as unfocused in your SOP. The commenter before me also hit the nail on the head with your syntax. Now, obviously, we all write a bit "lazy" on forums like this, but if you write the same way in your application packets you are going to have problems.
 
I'm with ResLife on my campus, working with international housing, and I've heard the same argument you make from many of my residents. The fact of the matter is that you're right, your degree isn't going to count as much as one from an equivalent program in the states. The adcomms know the professors and the quality of work coming out of domestic programs, so they will carry more weight than an international program.

Whether or not a given person has the money available, it's honestly a terrible investment. There is no PhD in any field worth the many hundreds of thousands of debt nor is there an MA that should cost at least 6 figures, especially after you factor in your living expenses. If you have the money, it might make sense to eat a short-term cost (maybe in-state tuition to get an MA) but to do something like the MAPH completely out of pocket is lunacy IMO. I believe there is no better use of your time than learning, but there are better ways to do it when you could buy several houses with the same expenditure. Why not just pay yourself to hang out at home or work some enjoyable, but low-paying job if you're going to drop that much money? 

I don't understand what the problem is. Helping out colleagues is part of the research experience and, in particular, it is vital for developing beneficial relationships. You'll get an acknowledgement in the dissertation, and, hopefully, enough gratitude to access return favours.

Well, I said what I wanted to say the way I wanted to say it. It's not personal; it's an opinion. 
 
As for "pointing out everything that others are doing wrong"? 
 
All I've done here is suggest that we not call departments the first week of February because one acceptance appears on the board. That's all. 

I completely understand the desire for peace of mind and the madness of anxiety, but I still feel that a phone call should be a last resort -- for example, once a slew of rejections and acceptances have gone out, and you haven't heard anything. Not this early in the season, with one or two acceptances on the board. Obviously, more responses are coming. What benefit is there to getting a general answer like "responses will be out in February"? Anyway, that information can usually be gleaned from past years. 
 
One phone call might not make a big deal, but you also might not be the only one calling/emailing. These people are usually overworked and swamped with tasks, especially at this time of year. I don't see the need in interrupting them with a phone call, even if it's just a minute, just because the waiting is painful. I agree with whoever mentioned upthread that patience is a sign of maturity. 
 
If you felt the call wasn't a big deal to you or them, OK. Cool. But personally, I don't think I will share any more info on the boards, at least not early info like that. I didn't really think of the consequences; I just thought it would provide helpful info, not make people more stressed.
 
You can't control what people will do or how they'll react, so sometimes the best course of action is no action. 

Are you sure it's not you? I ask because you say you had a crappy life before this. There are people who are just miserable no matter what happens. Are you sure that's not you? Also, are these feelings just your interpretation or are they legit? Are your professors really sexist, do they really favor the male students who just pull things out of their ass, do they really shoot down all the intelligent things you say, do you really say intelligent things, do your classmates really talk down to you, and do they really laugh at you?

In a nutshell, you are being paid to a job. In my experience, what your advisor is asking you to do is not unusual. 

In a nutshell, you are being paid to a job. In my experience, what your advisor is asking you to do is not unusual. 

My advice is likely what you are hoping not to hear: that as a sophomore in college, it's much too early for you to be thinking about graduate education. I'll go on record as saying that I think, unless you're in a situation where they have some sort of BA-to-MA program that would allow you to complete your MA quickly (and cheaply), it's best to take time off between undergrad and grad school. And even if you go straight through, sophomore year is just way too early to be thinking about it. You don't know that you'll really want at least 2 and possibly far more years of higher education after you complete these four (or five). That's all without even going into the terrible academic job market.
 
So my sincere advice is to put grad school on the back burner and not to worry about it now. Sure, keep your grades up, but you should be focused on that anyway.

You're in humanities for the money?!?!!?!?

The harsh truth is - job options are going to be limited regardless of where you go. I'm not entirely sure there is any sort of data correlating reputation to salary.

Certainly "better" programs will send their graduates off with more options so I'd advise you to offer up some more information about the programs you are looking into and what your research agenda is.

 

I don't think I can convey how much of a bad idea I think this is. I agree that you should take measures to avoid getting yourself screwed over. But I think this action would greatly increase your chances of getting screwed over. I agree with dat_nerd that if you really want something done by an earlier date, just be honest about it and say "I would really like the LOR by X" but I don't even recommend this. I would not want my professor micromanaging me and arbitrarily deciding that I should have X things done by certain dates even though the deadline is really another date and there was no reason to finish it early. So, why would you do that to someone else? (*Note: in many cases, it does make sense for an advisor to ask their student to finish a draft a week before a deadline so that they can go over it and make suggestions. But it is less likely that will be the case for a LOR!)
 
I also agree with fuzzy that the professors know way more about the "code of conduct" for LORs than you do. It's not like they are newbies to this, they themselves serve on admission committees to your school and they themselves have applied to grad school in the past. I also agree that in academia, integrity is everything. At this early stage in our careers, if we compromise our integrity in a professional setting, we will lose all credibility.
 
But if all that still does not convince you, here are some more practical reasons why I think this is a terrible idea.
 
1. Outside of rolling admissions, many schools have similar deadlines. The common dates are Dec 1, Dec 15, Jan 1, Jan 15, plus or minus one or two days. In my field, Dec 15 is an especially common deadline. For big name schools, the dates do not change from year to year. So a claim that a school's deadline is Nov 1 would be pretty fishy. If I saw that I would be curious and it would take me 30 seconds to figure out it's a lie. Changing the deadline by a week doesn't really make a huge difference.
 
2. Your prof has likely sent in letters to most of the schools you're applying for in the past. They probably have an annual routine of doing their letters at certain times of the busy fall semester to meet these deadlines. If you ask for something out of sync with the norm, it might raise a flag.
 
3. I also think if you can't trust your LOR writer to actually act in your best interests then you probably made a bad choice for a LOR writer. You are already trusting them to write positive things in the LOR, so why can't you trust them to send the LOR in a timely manner (timely as defined by the way things actually work, not necessarily meeting the online deadline).
 
4. This is probably the most important so I saved it for the end! Most schools use electronic LORs where you register your LOR writer's email address and name and the software sends the LOR writer a link to a page to log in and upload your letter. I am pretty certain (although I have not seen one) that this email/page would also contain the application deadline. 

Isn't sayin you'll get something done by a deadline of which you have no itentions of doing just as much screwing?
 
Except on tthat end the consequences aren't pride and ego, but rather actually school rejections because they didnt get the letter in time?

...unless the professors have other students applying to the same schools who don't lie and give the real deadline, in which case you are screwed. No one wants to be manipulated or be made a fool of.

It's a classic behavior modification technique. Need someone at an event at 7pm? Know they are always an hour late? Tell them the party is at 6pm.
 
The same concept applies to reccomenders. They have solidified notions in their heads that they can turn in their letter late.. because some places allow it.. but it's not like they research if the school you're applying to allows it. So while they're doing what they do.. you could end up thoroughly screwed over.
 
So you lie... you lie for the greater good. You tell them YOUR deadlines for the LOR and set your benchmarks to check in and see how progress is going, to touch base, to see if there's any questions you can answer and if there's more information you can provided.
 
And then, 2-3 weeks before the actual deadline you'll get your letter - minimal stress. Still, a week after the faux-deadline you set up, but well before the school deadline.
 
This is the practical and pragmatic way to approach get a LOR. Asking, waiting, replying on a prof to be professional and do what they say they will.. is an effort in futility most of the time. This forum exists as nothing more than a constant reminder of the stress, panic, and anxiety the "old way" has caused.
 
Save yourself the heartbreak and do it the new way.

Perhaps try Daedalus Books? http://www.salebooks.com/ . A mentor of mine has had good luck with them before. Or maybe Powell's?  http://www.powells.com/ . Also try The Strand online http://www.strandbooks.com/index.cfm . Depending on where you live, there may also be nearby or local specialized/used bookstores. Unfortunately some of them don't offer their titles online, but others do or will let you call and ask, and hold them for pick up. 

I have used thriftbooks three times. I never ordered books I needed right away, though, and perhaps that's why I never had a problem with TB. Hopefully others can share their experiences with you as well! 

I really would rather not feed the troll. This thread was really about find alternative sources for used books, and I have received some wonderful, helpful suggestions. I've been curious about thriftbooks. However, the company's reviews have been less than stellar (books not turning up). Has anyone else had success with them?