emilywantstogetin

p.s. of all the professors I have known, only one got her degree in Canada- University of Alberta. The other Canadian professors I know all studied in the US. I would eventually like a job in North America, whether Canada or US. Also, I looked on Academic job wiki and it seems like US phD's vastly outnumbered Canadian phD's. I have no intention to bad mouth Canadian programs- I know they are very good. I am just wondering.

Hello friends! I recently got Canadian permanent residency, which requires me to live in Canada for at least 2 out of 5 years to maintain the permanent resident status, or 3 out of four years if I want to become a citizen. Once I become a citizen I don't have as much residency restriction. The years don't have to be consecutive, but i did the math- even if I spend every single holiday in Canada, it won't be enough. I am 25 this year, and i have one more year left in my second master's. I really want to move onto a phD program after this one. I figured I should get my phD in Canada, but so far it seems like only York, Toronto, UBC, Alberta, and Memorial University of Newfoundland offers phD programs. I am really not a fan of UToronto. The other schools are cool, but I don't particularly want to study Canadian music, and it seems like all the programs in Canada focus on that. I am not sure what to make of the Memorial University- I've heard great things, but I have never met someone with a tenure track job with a phD from there, so I don't know. Maybe it's new. Does anyone know if there are other programs? And does anyone know how degrees from these schools are perceived? I know to a large extent my own work and publication matters more than branding, but I don't want to go to school whose name invites red flags. My other option is of course to delay the start of phD for two years- fulfill my residency requirements, then get a phD from one of the programs that I really do consider to be a good fit (they are all in the US. Except for UBC, but I am not sure about that anymore.) Does anyone know if you can defer a phD offer? Or if you can take off one or two years during phD?

Official as of 10 minutes ago-- the school I was waitlisted at notified me that all of their acceptances accepted this year. 6/6. Very upset.

To the folks who think/were told that they are too old for a meaningful career, and for the other folks whose life calendars (where you get your ph.D. at age 28, first job at 29, tenured by 40...etc)are thwarted-- Two things- 1. I once read that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of focused hard work, or 10 years of continuous effort, to become a trained expert in one field. That's just the training part. 2. Another thing I heard has to do with class mobility and career. During the 10 years of training, it's very possible to climb up the ladder or fall flat on your face. We've all heard of people who graduated high school with a 2.0 GPA, but rocked out the dinky college they went to and was offered a full ride to Harvard. Or vice versa. After that, the first 10 years of working professionally there are still some mobility, but much slower and much harder. Where it used to take only good grades and stellar papers to change where you stand, now you have to publish, win approvals of senior scholars, and come up with something original. The second 10 years after your 10 years of training, you are basically stuck where you are. So, you work to become the best among second tier ______-ologists, you train students to move towards a higher level, you increase breadth. Or you continue to be the very best and move the field forward when you are shaving. Basically, the introductory paragraphs of the "career" chapter of your memoir are already written; now you make the best out of it and finish that chapter on a good note. After that, whatever time you have left, you split between wrapping up your life and mentoring young-ins. The person who said this is a businessman, so the number of years might not match exactly to an academic career. And of course, the desire to be the best of ___________ is different for everyone. What I took from these are that A. One can expect to have a meaningful career if they foresee another 30 years of productive life. This is assuming that none of their prior trainings is in their projected field or translatable to that field-- which is rarely the case. If your field regularly see 70+ folks still kicking around, I would imaging a 40-year-old can and should expect a career. B. Even if we are not in a formal training environment, there's nothing to stop us from getting started with those 10,000 hours. C. You wouldn't be reading this if you don't still have 15-20 years of possible career class mobility. So, any more time spent sulking beyond its necessary cathartic functions, can be considered career-damaging.

ootg- thanks! Now, lets get you into an ad. com...

Jennifer- yes! One of my worst was imaginary scenarios. I am convinced that if I get ahead of myself it will not happen. Like, if I imagine how it would feel to tell my Mom the good news, that good news will never come. Unfortunately because I think about not imagining such scenarios, I dreamed about all of them in my sleep. And here I am.

Me. I still have to hear back from the last one, and I have one wait list. a week ago, the rejection letters from my dream school and my absolutely-perfect-fit school came simultaneously. It was very hard. I cried. Then I took a long nap. Then I organized everything I own-- computer files,old notes from college, books, wardrobe, etc. Then I cleaned my laptop,my bike, and my apartment...everything. Then I threw out everything that is either unnecessary or distracting, along with all the junk food I bought a while ago when the anxiety of response-waiting was too much. Then I showered for about an hour. Then I contemplated for a long time if an academic career is really what I want. All of these took about 2.5 days. When I made up my mind about what to do next, I called a professor who I felt could provide some guidance, and talked to her about what to do next. Then I made a plan for maximizing my chances next round. I've been on that plan since, so I've been very successful not thinking about rejections. (switch out academic career for "significant other/life partner", professor for "my sister", what to do next for "who to date next", and maximizing my chances for....uh, "maximizing my chances", and now you know how I deal with a break-up.)

That's great to know! I did apply to a few schools this year, but I didn't strategize very well and it seems like all of my ships are sunken at this point. Except for a lifeboat. I was taking the GRE's at the same time preparing for my recital, so it wasn't pretty haha... So, i'm most likely going to build up my credentials during the year off. I'm presenting at a conference at the end of the month, so it's good to know that at least the building-up part can get rolling! Mklish-- my undergrad was at a high-ranking university's music department, and now I'm at a school of music. I think there definitely is some of the "what? do music schools have classes" sentiment involved, because when I was at my undergrad institute, I never had to explain very much my academic achievement. A 4.0 is a 4.0, and everyone is impressed. Nowadays, if I get a 4.0, the first question I had to answer was "but don't you get A's from lessons and ensembles automatically?" (not at my school! people get graded with a rubric like a normal class)

I thank them via email after everything is in, and then when all the results are out, I thank them either via email or a handwritten note with the results.

I don't have any hard evidence of this, but the general impression I've gathered in the past 7 years studying in the US is that 1. In natural sciences, engineering, studio art, music performance...etc, where your Absolutely Perfect Grammar and Fantastic Vocabulary is not mandatory for success, there are always more international students than humanities and social science programs. I know this hasn't taken into account Canadians, British, Australians, New Zealand-ers...etc. My apologies. I am just talking about folks who I can tell didn't grow up in the US. 2. What has been said about funding seems to be true. 3. If you did your undergrad in the US and you are into social sciences, you are in a very awkward situation, especially if your undergrad was not in a discipline geared towards Absolutely Perfect Grammar and Fantastic Vocabulary-- which, if you are international, I am guessing you are unlikely to major in English or ESL education ( I don't know that you are eligible for that, even if you do have excellent English) Why is that? Because nobody knows what to expect from you in terms of your English. Obviously, you are still not a native speaker. But you've had more exposure than someone who did their undergrad in their home countries. So, if your English isn't so great, or if you speak like you grew up in Boston, nobody knows if they should be impressed, concerned, or if it's just normal.

Hello folks! I'm currently getting my master's in viola performance, but I'm certain that I'm switching track to ethnomusicology afterwards. I was wondering if there are any other performance--> academic veterans out there? Or currently changing gear? One of the things that worries me the most is the lack of academic credentials compared to people who's always knew they wanted to be a musicologist/ethnomusicologist. I have always done exceptionally well in academic classes, but my summers, weekends, and evenings are spent at music festivals, practicing or rehearsing. I actually don't know what musicologists do in their summers, but I'm pretty sure they've racked up some seriously impressive stuff while I am rehearsing with my quartet. Did/do you have this problem? How was it overcame? Another one of my worries is that the technique that took me years to accumulate will just foam and disappear as soon as I stop practicing at the intensity level I do now. Now that I have mentally committed to academics, it doesn't bother me as much, but I fear I've wasted years of my life to obtain such an ephemeral skill. Did/do you encounter that?

Hahah Martizzle that actually sound a lot like my situation. I'm applying for ethnomusicology, and I'm interested in using ethnographic methods (supposedly an ethnomusicology thing) to study classical musicians (a historical musicology thing, I've heard). So it's weird to begin with. My past work is all over places: my undergrad degree was a BA in music and psychology, and my focus in the music major was music education and composition. My master's is in performance. In short, everything I've done in the past are remotely related to ethnomusicology... related enough that you can't deny the relations, but remote enough it doesn't really help. I don't know, maybe that's why it's unconvincing when I say I know exactly what I want to research? The ad com probably thought "what, are you sure you are applying to the right subfield?" to the OP- I'm in similar shoes. I've also heard that this is the toughest year in the past 75. I, too, and quite lost as to what to do next, except for reapplying and improving my GRE. Maybe we should start a business, selling chocolate cake to rejected applicants. But while we are on this thread-- does anyone besides me feel embarrassed asking professors for LOR again next year? I was fortunate enough to be working with faculty at a school that has no ethnomusicology program, and was the only one applying for phD this year. But I also feel like I disappointed them getting rejected across the board.

I couldn't agree more. I did exactly the same thing-- down to specific examples and projected research plans. Did not fare well. Especially since my research interest is sort of caught in the grey area between two subfields.

Hello friends! So, my last hope is all on this one school that I'm unofficially waitlisted. They didn't use the word "wait-list", but rather, a personalized letter that says my file is on-hold while their top picks visit the campus. As of two days ago, that was still the status. In the mean time, about two weeks ago I found out that my paper was accepted for presentation at a regional conference in my field. This is kind of a big deal for me, because I have not yet any formal training in this field-- The degree I'm working on is a remotely related but different subfield of music. I'm very tempted to send my wait-list school an email that says 1)I would really love an opportunity to study there, which I would and 2) Oh,by the way, I have some good news. Is that a Kosher thing to do? I felt like it could do me some good, but I am not sure. I wouldn't want the ad comm to be irritated and put my file on the bottom of the pile.

Did anyone hear anything from Pittsburgh ethno? Anyone in but not taking the offer?

I know that I am not the only one having a hard time with the abundant rejection letters in my mailbox, but honestly I didn't expect the bad news to strike with such might. I'd imagine this post tries to ask a couple separate questions while maybe venting a little. Just a little. Here's the run down: I graduated magna cum laude and with a bunch of distinctions and several awards from a relatively prestigious university (that consistently ranked higher than NYU and BU)with two majors. I'm currently finishing a Masters of Music at a highly ranked music school. Between my undergrad and this degree program, I started my Masters at another school but my teacher got fired and the school didn't replace her position, so I had to start over somewhere else since I couldn't finish my degree there. My GRE was not too great, with verbal in the 50 or so percentile and math in the 90th (or so), but my native language is Chinese. In grad school so far my GPA has never fall below 3.9, most semesters 4.0. I recently won a school-wide grant and my paper was accepted for presentation at the regional conference. I was told that I write better than most American students, and the professors at my school in my field told me confidently that they think I will be able to choose between offers. When I applied for undergrad, I was accepted with scholarship at 8/9 schools. For masters,too, I was accepted 5/6 with 4 scholarship offers. You could say I am spoiled. I just got the 4th out of 6 rejection letters, and I am so overwhelmed with emotions I don't know what to do with myself. I think I am freaking out, but I am not sure. I can't stop crying. The last time I felt this way was when a close relative passed away. Out of the four rejections, I know that I was short-listed at one of them. The rejection letter was a personalized one and basically said that I was qualified, but not a perfect fit for their existing class. The two remaining schools, I was unofficially wait-listed at one, and haven't heard a peep from the other (NYU department music). It's looking like all of my ships are sunk...or on its way to be sunken. My questions for the experienced are 1) What should I do with my unwanted gap year to maximize my chance of getting in the next year? I am thinking about internships, but are there other things I should look into, too? And yes, I am already planning on improving my GRE scores, and I now know the true value of safety schools as I didn't apply to any. 2) Should I have explained my first attempt at a Masters? I was told it happens all the time so I shouldn't worry about it, but now in the post-failure hyper-critical light I am not sure I did it right. 3) A lot of the SOP instructions were along the lines of "explain how your past work and experience culminate into your research interest" and so that's what I did-- for majority of them, I wrote about my past work and experience, my research interest, and how one lead to the other. Should I have focused more on my research interest? 4)Was it a bad idea that my Master's is in music performance? The programs I applied to were all MA/PHD anyway 5) For the schools that short-listed me, would it be a waste of application fee if I apply again next year?

Thanks you guys! I ended up doing both-- I emailed a PDF file today, and overnight fedex-ed the extra "just in case" copy of transcript that I requested earlier in the semester. It doesn't have my fabulous 4.0 from Fall 09 but will get there tomorrow morning by 10:30 am. What really urg-ed me about my school's registra is that they charged my credit card and sent me an email a month ago telling me that they'll be on it. I mean if they could just say "oh yeah we are all going on vacation" then I could've mailed it myself. But oh well. I contacted the school, told them what happened and my solutions, and the response was positive. As in, they didn't say "well you passed the deadline" so I am guessing it's okay.

Application is due today. I requested my transcript to be send directly from registra 1 month ago. I was notified that my request went through, and my credit card was charged for the money transcripts cost. So you can imaging how PISSED I am when I found out from the school I'm applying to TODAY that they are still missing my transcript from this current school, and when I called to ask why they haven't been mailed I was told "yes, student clearing house handles the request, and yours went throguh and they printed your transcripts long ago. But we do the mailing, and we've been on vacation, so your transcript has been at the registra but we just haven't mailed it yet. Ain't a thing you can do." GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

For no particular reason, I just would like to say that it is very nice to go on an internet forum and find most entries composed with good grammar, complete sentences, and coherent arguments. No offense to the rest of the world wide web, but I often click into what seems like an interesting debate to find gibberish and overused emoticons. So I just want to tell everyone on this forum 1)Thank you for not eroding your/mine/each others' brains and 2)regardless of admission results, obviously we are all smart people. disclaimer: I will openly admit that I make grammar errors all the time, and have once tried to brush my teeth with a hairbrush (it was early), but n thing lIkE da FaBuL uS InTer$$@**nEt LeXiC n IDK my BFF Jill?

I love this thread! I've been lurking but haven't posted much. Anyway, I only applied to schools that promises full funding to all graduate student. When I applied for masters in a different but related field, it was 5 out of 6, 4 of which with fundings. My GRE scores royally sucked, but I feel pretty good about my LOR, SOP, and writing samples. I think my strongest point is actually fit-- not in terms of level of competitiveness, but in terms of areas of interest. I heard somewhere that the higher a university ranks, the more they emphsize research potential over GRE scores---i am just going to keep living in that bubble for now. Out of the 6 I applied, 2 are recognized as top-notch in the field. I will need a whole lot of lucky underwear to get in. 2 are recognized in general as freakishly top-notch universities, but not known for my field. I feel like I have a fair chance, especially since my area of interest is kind of in the grey area right now, and these schools are known for loving grey areas. These are my top choices, for their love of grey areas. 2 are recognized as solid, good schools in general and in the field. These I have been told I have a good shot. So I am hoping 3-4 acceptances. Preferably both "grey area", but I'd be happy going to any of the schools I've applied to.

Hello! I am a non-native English speaker, and I've always been better at Quantitative than Verbal. I'm applying for music phD programs. When I applied for my master's in music performance, I knew GRE was just a format so I took it cold-- I had a good night of sleep, coffee, and no studying, and I scored V460 Q750 AW4.5. A year and a half later, I am switching to an area where GRE actually counts. I studied for 3 months, mostly on verbal but other things, too. I was scoring 550-600V and 750-800Q on practice tests. Obviously I don't know what I would get on AW, but I generally felt good abotu them. The fews days leading up to GRE I was very anxious, as I was sick and a lot of random shit was piling on (computer burned with my term paper on it, etc...bad things.) On the day of, I was placed at a desk behind the testing room door, which was loud and i keep getting jammed. After the AW section I complained to the proctor and asked to change seats but she denied. The rest of the test was hell, as I had a hard time concentrating. I scored V510 Q650 AW4.0. This is lower than a year ago, when I expected my score to improve! On the plus side, for my field they really only care about Verbal, so I guess this is a small victory. But I felt awful! Notwithstanding the fact that I could've done better, I feel sick just thinking about how my score didn't improve and got worse. I'm going to take it again on Dec 19th, in a different testing center. I'm also not going to do the two hour drive the morning of, but instead I'm driving out the night before. But what do you guys think? How bad does this look? I don't want grad schools to think that I've been putting my brain on hold for the year and half between the two tests. I just had a really off day and I really should have canceled the score.