Kamisha

I saw a thread like this on another section of GradCafe and thought it was a wonderful idea. Let’s leave some advice to help out all of the candidates next year as they suffer through the PhD application process next year Everyone chime in with your ideas! What I’ve learned that I want to share: Always submit a writing sample in your area of interest (or as close to it) as possible. While there are always exceptions to the rules, this is pretty much application suicide. Trust me--I learned the hard way. Make friends with other awesome GradCafe-ers. For the most part, it’s a wonderfully supportive community who really understand what you are going through. And, for that matter, try to keep the community civil by not picking fights and taking things too personally. Know what you are getting into. Never walk into academia without your eyes open. The job market out there is atrocious (as many feeds on GradCafe will illustrate) and most of us can expect to spend the first decade of our career working as adjuncts. We’ll all be lucky if we land tenure-track positions. That being said, my personal advice (which many might disagree with) is to not let tough circumstances keep you from chasing your dreams. Most of us are squeamish in showing others our writing samples and statements of purpose. Don’t be. Have your professors, friends, colleagues, etc. edit them; double and triple check for errors; personalize your statement for each school; and, for the love of all things Harry Potter, ​make sure you mention the right school/professor names in each copy of your SoP. You’d be surprised how easy it is to look back and notice errors. Apply to a wide range of schools because there really is no such thing as a “safety” school. Some folks will disagree with this, but my advice would be to not limit yourself to “top ranked” programs. Focus on schools with strong placement records that really are a great fit for you. And on that note... Fit trumps everything. Remember that. This applies not only to your decisions about choosing the schools to which you want to apply, but also to the schools choices in picking their cohort. They need to be the right fit for you, but you also need to be the right fit for them. Most everyone who is applying to PhD programs has amazing scholarly credentials, a strong background in teaching/TAing, incredible letters of recommendation, etc. If someone’s area of interest is a better fit for the program. Remember that and don’t take the rejections personally. You still kick ass.

Again, like I said, "or informing administration ahead of time” if it was necessary for the student to be in that section.

This is great info. I have to retake it, as well, if I end up going to England and having to reapply. That test is a nightmare.

I will never understand my generation’s proclivity toward online douchery. One a more topic-related note: I would recommend not reading the Divergent series. I tried and thought it was absolutely terrible. I don’t know if someone has already mentioned it, but I thought I would throw it out there. And, of course, Twilight is a given. When I read Life of Pi as a teenager, I absolutely hated it. However, we used it in a poststructuralist critical theory class when I was an undergrad and I grew to appreciate it a lot more. It’s definitely not one of my favorites though.

Like I said in my post, it would have been better to avoid the class entirely or inform the administration ahead of time. According to the OP, school policy says that all relationships must be reported. If the student couldn’t have found another section, they should have followed universities policies.

Online adjunct? Work in the writing center? That situation is crappy. I’m sorry

If they were, in fact, dating before the semester started, that presents another huge issue: why would you enroll in a class where you SO was a TA/student? Hello, extremely apparent conflict of interest. If they were dating before the class started, they should have avoided the situation entirely by having the student enroll in a different section or informing administration ahead of time. That situation never should have happened, is highly suspicious, and, in my mind, is almost more serious. As you say, "Rules exist to protect serious wrongdoing, not to modify behaviour so that they meet some arbitrary set of 'standards.’” --Exactly, like don’t enroll in a class when someone you are dating is the TA (or, if you are a TA, the student). This has unethical slathered all over it.

Ugh. I’m sorry. Do you have an MA? Maybe you could find an adjunct position open at your university?

Yeah I’m definitely assuming rejection. I just hate limbo.

The age difference doesn’t bother me; the power relationship does. If they really are into each other, they can wait a few more weeks until the semester is over.

Just looked back over the discussion board and noticed that Washington has a tendency to trickle out rejections into April. Ugh. I am really hoping to be done with all of this before the week is over.

Bad mojo. Needs to be reported.

I study intersectionality. What I reject is your notion that we should downplay any discrimination just because it’s happening to a majority group.

Discrimination toward any group of individuals should be approached with disgust. The goal here shouldn’t be to weigh what is more offensive and what is less offensive--it should be to treat everyone with respect and recognize that all discrimination is harmful to society.

Fundamental misunderstanding of libertarianism. Not even worth discussing the philosophy with those who hold this attitude.

You and I are in the same boat. My online status hasn’t changed, but I have the sense that they’ve sent out all of their acceptances already. I just am curious as to why they are staggering rejections like this if they’ve already made their offers. Wouldn’t it make more sense to make your offers, pick your waitlist, and then reject everyone at the same time?

“If I am going to be drowned – if I am going to be drowned – if I am going to be drowned, why in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate land and trees?” Few people know that Stephen Crane actually wrote this about U of Washington. Just reject me already!

I absolutely understand where you are coming from. From a financial standpoint, it’s definitely less cost effective to study abroad and the opportunity to teach that you gain in the states is incredible. For me, there are a few huge “positives” that make my particular situation worth it, including the cultural experience, the opportunity to live overseas while gaining additional experience and qualifications in my area of interest, and having study abroad experience on my resume (which I understand schools view very favorably). Also, being able to finish the degree in 8-10 months is really appealing, as it means I’ll be able to start my PhD next Fall (should I choose to defer my offers/reapply next year). My plan is to work as an online adjunct (already been hired) to make living expenses and pay for the other half of my tuition out of pocket/savings. While completing my first Master’s, I’ve been fortunate enough to have a full fellowship + TAship, so I don’t have any real student loan debt. As such, I’ll take out $5K-$7K in Stafford Loans if absolutely necessary (though I’m hoping to be able to manage without it).

That advisor sounds like a real douchebag.

I think that number is probably really hard to calculate because not all people who go for the MA want to go on to the PhD and some of them go to PhD programs that have nothing to do with their MA. A lot of people take time off in between the MA and the PhD, as well, so that makes a big difference. I think you could ask, but I’m not sure how reliable the information will be because at the MA level, so much is up in the air. A more valuable question to ask might be where the schools are placing students. Are they placing them in top programs or in non-ranked programs, for example?

All, GraduatingPhD is a troll/douche who has posted similar “discussions” to this all across grad cafe. He’s been on the Literature, Rhet/Comp Page, this History page, the “Decisions, Decisions” page, etc. We’re all begin to wonder what his true motives are here. Edit: I just noticed that SmellyBug already pointed this out. My bad!

The man is holding an adorable dog in his picture. Trust him. Seriously.

Chiming in with my $.02: I have a Macbook Air and I love it. I will never buy a computer that’s not made by Apple. The customer service alone makes it worth it. Case and point: I broke my computer charger last week and Apple replaced it for free. I’ve had to replace broken chargers a few times and have received them for free every single time. What’s more, before I got my Macbook Air, I had just the regular Macbook Pro. It started having issues one day (about a year after I’d purchased it) and I needed it for work, so I took it into the Apple store. They were initially going to send it out to have it fixed, but when I told them that I needed it for work, they just replaced the entire damn computer for free. They just walked into the back, grabbed a new one, loaded all of my stuff onto it, and were like, “There you go. If this one has any issues at any point, just bring it in and we’ll take care of it.” Apple is amazing. AMAZING. And now that they run all Microsoft applications, there’s no reason to buy a PC. Anyway, just my thoughts. PS (Edit): I also have an iPad Mini, an iPhone 5c, and an iPod Touch. As a teacher, it’s a wonderful thing to be able to sync all of your devices to one another. For example, I create Keynotes on my iPad, display them on my computer/monitors, and use my iPhone as a remote. It seriously is incredible. I can’t say enough nice things about Apple.

So where’s it going to be: Duke or UConn?! That’s a couple of fabulous choices you’ve got there! I’m still waiting to hear back from 3 schools, including Washington. Ugh. Just give me my rejections so I can move on!

It’s going to have to be GradCafe related.