Wisdom-Lover

Oh my goodness! I'm terrified! But I'm super stoked for all of the new adventures and exciting things like that! I love traveling, so living in a new place (especially a city when I've been in a suburban town most of my life and attended a school in a rural town) will be crazy and scary and absolutely awesome. Plus, I will be on my own for the most part. That will be a new sensation. However, I certainly cannot wait to get into my classes. Not looking forward to all of the homework and stuff, but I cannot wait for the amazing discussions that I will get to listen to (and hopefully feel confident enough to participate in!). Hopefully, everything goes smoothly for all of you and that it starts out exciting and entrancing! Good luck!

Well, I want to teach, so I'm hoping for some experience... But I understand what you mean! Research is certainly a major component! haha

Thanks, everyone! I opted for the fellowship at Purdue!

Haha! I can't avoid them forever (and I can't say I want to) because I want to be a professor of philosophy! Thank you for that, though. I will definitely use that as a decision-making factor!

I guess that would have been the easiest course of action. I have become a little skittish when contacting professors from my other options... The fear of accidentally burning bridges when I have no intention of causing problems is a bit nerve-wracking, especially since philosophers need to stick together! It would certainly have been nice to have had another friend at Purdue, but LSU is a good school! I have a friend who attended there. Not for philosophy granted, but you can certainly make the most of your time to have the best one possible!

I am extraordinarily sorry if this is the wrong thread... I have searched for the right thread but nowhere seems quite appropriate for my question. There is a particular dilemma I am facing: I recently received an email from a professor offering funding at a school from whom I have not been able to get word as to my acceptance or rejection. Do I count this as an acceptance?? I am just unsure what to think of this, and hopefully you all can give me a better understanding... I was told that all applicants have already been notified of their admitted, rejected, or wait-listed status, but I never received word (I live away from home but neither address has received anything in the mail, and my email has been utterly devoid of any contact save what I initiated and save this latest communication). When I tried to contact the person in the philosophy department (listed as the contact on the department page), she merely said that she can only safely tell me I am wait-listed until the Admissions Office gives more word. I have not received further communication from her or from the Admissions Office; the only communication since then was the email informing me of the offer. I have already accepted another offer, so I assume and grant that this should not be a concern or anything of mine. However, I guess for my own sense of dignity (if such a thing exists), I want to know how I stand with the school before sending an email along the lines of a decline when I might in fact have only been waitlisted. (I feel safe in assuming I have not been out-rightly rejected at this point....) I just want to have a sense of what is going on in this situation... In happier, more easily understood news, I was accepted to Purdue's Ph.D. program with a TA-ship which I plan to turn down in favor of a fellowship they recently offered me that will give me later opportunities to teach and gain that experience! I am blissful in the wonder at being able to attend such a wonderful school! The faculty are fantastic in their scholastic work, and I have been pleased at meeting those I have had the pleasure of meeting and look forward to those I have yet to meet! This whole process has been a roller coaster, but I am certainly excited for the future!!!

I assume that the norm is three classes, at least earlier on to finish sooner! Thanks for that! I'll definitely keep that in mind. Prestige is good. Since I have the teaching opportunity later, it sounds like the fellowship is the way to go!

It is about equal, if I understand the two letters correctly. The stipend is a bit less for the TA-ship over the fellowship, but not terribly less. I am not sure about the tuition-paying portion (I'm not sure about terms in this sense; forgive me). I believe the fellowship offers a larger scholarship part (the tuition-paying part). I am asking my graduate correspondent. (Does that answer the question at all?)

Hi! So, I have accepted Purdue University as they have kindly offered me a TA-ship, but I have now been offered a fellowship in place of the TA-ship. The fellowship requires that I take 8 or more hours of credit per semester. This will be my first year as a graduate student, and I will be teaching in the later years if I maintain the fellowship. Therefore, I will still have the opportunity to gain teaching experience, which I want. I am leaning towards the fellowship because it would give me the first year in grad school to adjust and acclimate to the new environment (moving in from out of state into a city when I'm from a suburb area), as well as be able to focus on my studies more for the first year. Which one is preferable to graduate students? Both are incredibly wonderful opportunities and will be blessings whichever way I decide, but I would like to choose the one that is most optimal and more preferred. Thank you so very much for your help!

That's fantastic to hear! So, what places are best to live in either West Lafayette or Greater Lafayette? Any favorites from current grad students?

Go to Oxford for study! You can always look at opportunities in the U.S. to study or travel in short stints. But for a long term situation, Oxford seems to be the happier choice. Also, I might be wrong, but I think it is common for universities to offer "study abroad" options. Oxford might have something similar to offer. Regardless, Oxford would have to win, hands down. You shouldn't miss a wonderful opportunity like this, that might be a one-time deal, when you always have the option to travel and study.

Hi, there! So, there's a strong likelihood I will be attending Purdue in the Fall 2014, going from undergrad to grad. I was curious (or more so, my over-anxious mother is ) if there are areas of Lafayette and West Laf housing to avoid, as far as crime goes. Specifically, she was just wondering if there are any areas that are known for being "problem areas" with drugs or violence or if there are "better areas" for living. (Obviously, there is no clear-cut idea, one way or the other but just as a general idea.) Trying to help my mum worry less, you know? haha

Awesome! What will you be doing in that, specifically?

I still need to contact two schools, but, coming from a rather small undergrad philosophy program in West TN, I applied to a number of Ph.D. programs and got a positive variety. However, for top 50 PGR I was rejected. (One of those rejections is assumed, but I still need to contact for verification. Also, one might be an unofficial waitlisting but won't be sure until I call. I'm not overly optimistic but still hopeful!) It seems my writing sample has been a big influence in the process of admissions.

That's exactly the kind of thing I want to know! Thank you so much, rsilver! Good luck with your studies, as well! :3

SaschaA has more experience, so I don't know if you'll want any suggestions from me because this will all be a new adventure for me as well! But in the City Guide forum for Lafayette, someone posted this link for finding apartments. You can narrow the searches based on such things as whether you want it North of State St. in West Lafayette or if you want it in Greater Lafayette or if you want to be able to have cats or dogs or no smoking, etc. It's really cool, and, unless suggested otherwise, I will probably use that website for renting. (You can "message" the apartment owners and such, which I thought was sort of neat.) I am thinking of living in Greater Lafayette as well, but I guess we'll see!

Definitely agree with your "waiting game never ends" comment... It makes me tired thinking about it. I'm glad that helped, though. ^^

I would miss being in school, too! (I plan to be a professor, though, so I guess that shows how much I'd miss it! haha) I understand lack of finances. I just happened to have an opportunity to visit, though for only a short time of about 2.5 days... So, I will describe to the best of my ability. (N.B.: I go to school at a small university that very few have heard of and give credit to as a good school. It's also in a small rural town. If any bias comes out (and it will be a positive bias), I apologize and hope I do not mislead much, if I end up misleading at all...) Lafayette has many older homes that were colorful and looked well-kept. It gave the town (the part I drove through) a sense of quiet suburbs while having the atmosphere of city life. There is PLENTY to do on the Greater Lafayette side: chain restaurants, Target, local places, I was told about bars, and more. I did not visit anywhere on the Greater Lafayette side, staying exclusively on the west side of the river by the campus. I stayed in the Union Club Hotel on campus (it was VERY nice as was the staff). There is one parking garage across from the hotel which is where visitors park as well as students (I think). There is more than one parking garage, if I remember correctly. (Here's a map.) I am not used to this next bit, so I was highly impressed with it: the buildings were all very impressive and/or prestigious feeling. My current school is relatively young, so it doesn't have the nice "old and established" sense. (That is probably a bias. But you might get what I mean if you see the pictures of the buildings on the website.) I can't say much more about the location itself. The people I can say a little about, though, I am not sure about all aspects as I stayed within one sphere, mostly. However, if this gives you an idea, I will admit that I got lost 3 or 4 times, and each time a student of their own volition approached me to offer me directions. To me, that spoke volumes. But the campus is CERTAINLY diverse, ethnically-speaking at the very least. There are students from many countries. Again, though, I was mostly within the small sphere of the graduate philosophy students/faculty... They were absolutely wonderful, though! I felt like I was already a student there because they were so open and accepting! I'm sorry I cannot offer much more... And I hope that you will find a similar atmosphere/sense. It felt rather "hipster"--though not the snooty, "I'm cooler 'cause I'm not mainstream" version sometimes portrayed--which I am rather pleased with personally. It just felt intelligent and accepting and fun and mature all at once. I most definitely had rose colored glasses on at the time. All the same, I think Lafayette is a good city to move to, and I cannot wait, it being my first true extended city living adventure!

That sounds awesome!! Are you living on or off campus? (Assuming you're living off campus and have not found a place to live, Greater Lafayette is cheaper as far as housing goes, but I heard the parking pass is $250 (per semester or year, I'm not sure). Of course there are the bus systems and the options to walk and/or bike to campus.) Good luck with your research!

Yes! I am in the same boat! I am waiting on word about funding, which I am hoping to hear about in the next week or so! So, what does American studies entail exactly? History, language, sociology? It sounds interesting! I hope you get the funding you need because I visited the city, and it is wonderful!

Hi! I'm planning to work on my Ph.D. for philosophy at Purdue this fall! Anyone else hoping to call (West) Lafayette home?

I guess I never thought about it like job postings.... They feel fundamentally different, and I would expect a rejection from a school, whereas I don't expect one from a job... But it makes sense. I mean, it's still a little bothersome, but I understand you're right. Would it be bad form to call on April 15th any schools I have not heard from just to know for sure so that I can go ahead and make my choice on the fifteenth? Or it would probably be more problematic because I would not be the only one calling, right?... I guess, my next question would be "how long can you wait to give a final acceptance response?" If some schools don't get to give final offers until after the 15th, then is it really bad for the student(s) to hold off (although declining all but a few as you advise)? I don't want to do that, and I will probably make a decision on the fourteenth or fifteenth, but I'm just curious. I completely agree about narrowing the choices down! I am on a wait-list for funding at my top choice right now, so I would prefer the accepted ones go ahead and decline! haha That said, these are hard life decisions that some are making in the middle of full-time attendance to classes and part-time jobs and kids/family and so on. So, I don't fault them for not being sure, too. I guess it's just really difficult waiting so one wants to find out information in any other aspects possible! haha Thank you for your response. It really helps!