PhDerp

Not that I remember, but we should hang out. I like you already. XD

Go to UMN.

Signed,
a Bruin.

> comes to forum asking for advice
> complains when people give advice

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)
 
I'm a grown-ass woman.

I have to disagree with you - I'm glad that you got into your programs, but I think that's because you followed standard guidelines for applying to graduate school rather than followed some protocol for safety programs.  You got into a school that was an excellent research fit for you and where you were above the minimum standards for admission.  That's not a safety school.  That's good application season planning - we always recommend that applicants apply to a range of schools, including some outside of the top 10-20, to maximize their chances of getting admitted somewhere.

I also said there are no guarantees but careful calculation can give you the closest thing to a safety, defined here, as somewhere where the likelihood of getting in is much higher than not getting in.

This isn't a safety school.  A safety school is a school that unless something very weird happens you KNOW you will get admitted.  That's why it's a safety - it's 'safe,' it rules out the option of having to take a gap year because you didn't get in anywhere.  There's no such thing as that in grad admissions.

I dislike the idea for two reasons, and the second one is bigger than the first.  The first reason is the same as everyone else - that even mid- to low-ranked doctoral programs are competitive in many fields.  For example, your post seems to suggest that someone - on the basis of very high stats and excellent fit - can pick a top 30 PhD program as a safety.  This, IMO, is folly; some of these programs are getting 300-500 applications for 5-10 slots.  There are bound to be many other people in the application pool who have good research fit (since all the professors' research areas are public) and who have excellent stats as well.

My second reason is that most people tend to use "safety school" to mean the school that they will go to even if it's not their favorite or preferred option, just to be in graduate school next year, and I fundamentally disagree with that idea.  I see graduate school as a means to an end - a process, yes, but one that eventually leads to a degree that's needed to have a certain career.  If you don't get into a degree program that perfectly suits your needs, there's no point in going to grad school.

By this I mean - let's say that you're in a highly impacted field in which no one who attends a PhD program outside the top 20 gets an academic job.*  I mean like, 0% of the graduates from the #21 program and down got academic jobs; they all went on to do fabulous and interesting non-academic things. You want to be a professor.  You may consider a top 50 program to be your safety school, but you want to be a professor.  Why go there if it's not going to get you to your goal?


*I don't believe in rankings essentialism like this; I'm just using it for the purpose of the example.

....Now I'm nervous that I'm not nervous. I should be nervous! x__x

Not to be insensitive, but you're using applying to grad school and being gay as being reasons why you couldn't pass this class? Will you still be gay in grad school?

It may end up losing you your offer. I know that's not what you want to hear but it is a possibility.  A conditional offer is just that - an offer that has conditions on it that you must meet in order to receive the offer.  It is possible they will still accept you but you will unfortunately wait and see.  And I disagree that an honours designation means nothing - it indicates that a student is working at a level that is indicative of success at a Masters level.  I also have a conditional offer to my Masters program, I have to get a minimum 75% average in my current degree to be accepted (I will be graduating with an 87% average so not a problem).  They put those conditions on offers for a couple of reasons - one, they want to make sure that students coming in are capable of Masters level work, and two, they want to make sure that students will not slack off once they have received their acceptance.

Unless judgmental = didn't say what you wanted to hear, no one here was judgmental or unsupportive. People wrote long thoughtful posts about why they think there is a time to start taking less classes and do more research. That's a perfectly valid opinion, even if it wasn't what you wanted to hear.
 
 
True, but the thing is, there are always too many things happening now that you may not have access to later. You have to pick and choose and as was already discussed above, at some point rather early you need to concentrate more on research and less on classes. 
 
That said, I'm glad you enjoyed your class. You're right that there aren't going to be lots more chances to take classes now, so it's great that you could make the most of it. 

And a girl who picks out baby names during work hours is his perfect match. 

I'm 23 and child free, obviously in my past posts you know how desperately I want children but recently I am finally being kind of content with where I am. I am 23 and getting an education and I know I will have the happy little family eventually. I just saw a Time magazine article about women my age getting their eggs frozen so they can implant them later in life (which seems like a good idea but say I got my eggs taken out now who is to say they will make it 10 years?) I guess a lot of super career women are doing it. I personally am going into a field where I think that it's possible to have a good work/family balance but hey you never know I guess.

I am kind of youngish in this post and you probably wanted people closer to your age to talk about being childless but I'm 23 and childless too:) which where I live right now is kind of rarish.

Are there any other child free humans on here? I am almost 30 and I often feel that I am one of the few that has no desire to have kids, ever. I am child free by choice.
 
I found out yesterday that I can get female sterilization for free through my insurance that I will get through grad school. I am planning to get tubal ligation as soon as I can so I can get off hormonal birth control and not have to worry about getting pregnant ever again.
 
I am not looking forward to the day where people assume that I have kids and ask 'how many kids do you have?'.
 
Anyone else child free? What have your experiences been thus far?
 
 

everything I know is a lie.

....Now I'm nervous that I'm not nervous. I should be nervous! x__x

....Now I'm nervous that I'm not nervous. I should be nervous! x__x

More updates ! I am eternnaly gratefull for both of you .! your responses made a difference I spoke with the PI and she gave me an interview ! 

Also, rescind is a GRE vocab word. See? I used one!

You shouldn't trust me, then.

You shouldn't trust me, then.

You shouldn't trust me, then.

Agree to disagree, I guess. I've spent years working with rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals of all kinds, and I would still say get a kitten. 
 
Should you leave them home for 8 hours straight? No. 
 
Can you generally make it a priority to break up your day so you can come home for lunch in grad school? Yes. Is it worth it long term? Definitely. 
 
A cat is going to be a pet that you will have for 15-25 years. It's worth taking the extra time early on to (a) get a young one that you will bond with, and ( take the time to make that bond. 
 
I find a lot of people that don't get a young cat, especially for a first one, don't end up bonding with it nearly as much, and it either becomes a quasi-forgotten "it's here" pet, or one that they end up trying to rehome when they move, etc. People are more likely, in general, to bond with and commit to a pet that they got young. 

Sucks knowing you didn't get all acceptances. Even Pinkster/CorruptedInnocence/LittleDarlings accomplished that.

Infinite series (new personal minigame: make every answer mathematical XD)

Forum University Speech Pathology And Linguistics, PhD (F14) Rejected via Other on 4 Mar 2014 A 4 Mar 2014
By "other" - a carrier pigeon brought me a note that said "use the discussion forum for discussions and use this board for admissions results". But I guess this repetative behavior qualifies as a form of speech pathology, so perhaps its part of the application process. And yes, I realize that this is a hypocritical mode of communication.  
 
 
Are people trying to get posted here...?

We're the adults now and we get to decide what that means. Screw expectations.