browneyedgirl

Berkeley, for comparative/methods/behavior. this decision (which came down to a few last-minute negotiations) was far more stressful and emotional than I ever expected. I'm both excited to get started and disappointed that I had to turn down other programs I really did like and want to attend.

I still haven't received a letter by mail, but I received two e-mails, the second of which promised a letter by mail and contained an attached, general version of said promised letter. the funding information wasn't specific, though, so I'm guessing that still has to come. unfortunately, it ideally needs to come... within the next 8 days. sigh.

congrats, Lenin!

I completed a terminal MA from the same institution as my BA, and neither of my undergraduate majors were the same as the MA, though one was related. provided you can do a master's without completely overextending yourself financially, I think it's a great plan. I am very glad I went through the program (I was able to do an accelerated program that came with a good amount of aid, which didn't hurt), mostly because it prepared me to continue doing graduate work, brought me in contact with new faculty/sources of information/possible LOR writers, and gave me some additional time to research, write, and present before applying to the PhD. as I mentioned on a different thread, it seemed that the vast majority of fellow prospectives I met at visit weekends already held an MA (some had other advanced degrees, like JDs) and, while US schools don't require the MA as a pre-req (at least, I haven't seen one that does), it's becoming so commonplace that you almost have to have one to be competitive. I'm anticipating negative feedback from that statement, but it's my perception of the admitted population I met at the schools I visited. that said, I don't see why you can't address a change in fields or a certain academic choice in your application. if there's really no way to fit it in, why not contact professors of interest while you're working on the PhD application and mention it to them during your back-and-forth? *edit* - also, I addressed my decision to change fields (all related) from x to y to z (BA, MA, PhD) in my application, as well as the reason why I took time between the MA and PhD. I didn't know as an undergrad that I'd want to work toward a PhD. I admitted this and wrote about what changed my mind, what topics inspired me, what questions I wanted to answer as a grad student. rather than feeling you need to apologize for changing fields, portray it as a strength, something like "I've already done abc and now I want to do xyz and here's how I plan to do it and here's how I'm showing you I'm committed to this." some people are destined to be PhD students and will tell you they've known since age 10 that they wanted to be professors. me? not so much. but I know now that it's what I want to do, and that, in my opinion, is what matters most.

I know, I'm not saying I personally don't understand the distinction, or that I believe Penn should be higher than they are. but yes, I agree with your qualification of my statement.

I've received two e-mails from the department to which I applied, one last week as a general "welcome" e-mail and one a few days ago containing the text of the letter they're mailing to us. specifics on funding are still, well, not terribly specific, but we're supposed to get those shortly. my status still hasn't changed from "under review," however.

thanks, everyone! I'm looking forward to it - and will perhaps see some of you there?

I'm curious about what to expect, as it'll be my first time in attendance. I've been offered a poster presentation and it seems rather 'middle-school science fair,' so I'm trying to envision how best to set up such a thing... any thoughts from anyone who's been there, or has experience with these posters?

I would echo much that's been said already. not that I'm saying you don't already know this, but I've met quite a number of people who are shocked at how large Pennsylvania actually is (as a native, I know this all-too-well), and if you are searching by geography, you'd want to either focus on the western or eastern part of the state. Penn is rebuilding - it seems strange to see an Ivy not in the top ranked set of programs, but I've seen and heard them range wildly between 20,25 and 50. they are improving but, for many subfields, you'd want to look over the bridge to Princeton for a local example of a top program. and, truly, it is very easy to commute to Princeton from Philadelphia and the surrounding area. granted, needing to be on campus for class and teaching and research might make that harder, but it is not uncommon for people to even live somewhere around the Princeton (Junction) area with one partner heading to Philly and one to Manhattan.

I think so, and I'm impressed. the problem then becomes (and I'm glad this isn't my problem) that the first school is definitely a top program, desirable location, and so on. the new one isn't really renowned and the location is not nearly as desirable. the faculty member would be the main draw for prospective students at the second school. and, of course, to complicate matters, there's a spouse in the picture. these things are never easy, are they? one of my hosts at a visit weekend said that we were all lucky, the hard part was over. I informed her that this part is even harder for many of us!

I haven't dealt with this situation personally, but I have met a handful of students this application cycle who are looking to transfer from one PhD program into another, for personal or professional reasons. this point was mentioned when discussing moving from an MA into a PhD, but I think it holds for PhD to PhD as well - you'd probably want to talk to the potentital new program for you and see if they'll accept the coursework you've already completed. I've heard that not only will some schools not grant advanced standing/let you exempt out of coursework with an MA, but won't allow it even if you were already in a PhD program elsewhere. the MA bit I understand, as most of my MA (area studies specific) courses wouldn't meet other major or minor field requirements - plus, I think most everyone I've met at the admit weekends has an MA, and it's not as 'novel' as perhaps it once was - but the idea of being almost ABD and then starting over sounds, well, unpleasant. on a similar note, I have a friend who was accepted to begin this fall and found out her future advisor is leaving and wants to take her along to the new school. talk about transferring!

my apologies - I just checked my status, and it's still "under review." this is what I received: Greetings from the Political Science Department at the University of Toronto. Our PhD admissions committee has just met and a decision was made to offer you a position in our PhD program beginning September 2008. CONGRATULATIONS!! I am more than happy to bring you this news and hope that you will consider joining us in the fall. The offer comes with a guaranteed funding package of $13,000 plus tuition. Details related to the funding package and your admission will be communicated to you shortly. My apologies for not emailing individually but this email is simply to give you the good news and to welcome you to our PhD program. so, it's not clear if everyone received this e-mail, but I would guess (and it's just a guess) that a number of people did and that there may be some sort of waitlist depending on what happens.

for something a little different, looking ahead to warmer months... is anyone planning on attending this year, either participating or observing?

on a related note, I'm guessing everyone should hear from Toronto shortly if they haven't already, as I received my e-mail earlier this evening.

[quote name="Louiselab

I had a hard time finding anyone in the US doing exactly the sort of research I want to do, so I had to get a bit creative. thankfully, I had a wonderful MA advisor who guided me through the process, which included many hours of me doing some cross-researching. I looked for two things: departments able to give me funding both as an incoming student as well as when I want to travel, etc./departments more likely to help me obtain a position at a top-tier university (I know there are various debates on the merit/importance of this, which I won't get into, except to say that this is what I want to do when I finish my PhD and, thus, it's influenced my school choices) AND professors who were interesting to me. I went through my MA thesis and my senior thesis and picked out names I cited multiple times, and started there. where did they teach? where did they themselves go to school? I spent many hours browsing department websites, reading literally every bio of every professor to see who stood out as a good match for me. then, when I combined these two things (good people + good departments), I made a chart to begin the application process. I included all sorts of important details (addresses, deadlines, fees, requirements for samples/LOR/etc) as well as the names of any professors of interest to me and their contact information. and then I got to contacting them. I was impressed with the number of responses I received, and indeed flattered by many of their contents. I would be remiss in saying this didn't somehow affect the application cycle for me. also - I submitted conference proposals. I went and talked to people. I solicited feedback from everyone, everywhere. I sought as much advice as possible and tried not to take any of it as "life or death." in sum, I guess I'd say you should first determine where you want to go after you finish - do you want to teach, to research, to move into the private sector? if you're looking to leave academia, it's often the case that the name on your diploma will be much more important than the name of your advisor or the work you produced there. another piece of advice I received was to pinpoint the schools or types of schools where I'd want to teach, and look at where all of their faculty members were schooled. I knew I wanted to be able to go to a top-tier research university. my advisor cautioned me that it's terribly difficult to go tenure-track even when graduating from the top schools, and that I would do best to set myself up accordingly. helpful? maybe?

I absolutely agree with you on this. the schools that are "highest" or "best" are not always best for me, and it's been particularly hard to find people doing the sort of research I do. I find subfield rankings much more useful.

you're welcome! I hope it works out for everyone.

I just spoke to the graduate admin assistant - she said decisions are being made and that they're trying something "new" by notifying everyone online through the application site. pressed further, she told me that everyone should hear within the next two weeks.

that was definitely the impression she gave me. the fact that Princeton wasn't my top choice doesn't make me less disappointed. just because I wasn't dying to go there doesn't mean I wouldn't like to get in.

I just put this over on the main thread, but I was told about half an hour ago that all decisions were made by yesterday and letters are going out regular mail today. she added that the DGS has also contacted some via e-mail.

re: princeton I just spoke to someone in their office who said all decisions were made yesterday and that letters are going out today by regular mail. she added that the DGS has given a heads-up to people via e-mail.