Sonic

no money mo problems

My significant other is incredibly supportive, but his job is completely inflexible and he can only live in one city. Last year when I applied to Masters programs, I applied to 5 in his city of residence and 1 outside of it, and ended up at the one outside. This time around, there was only one PhD program in the same city and 2 other good fit programs nearby -- I applied to 10 in all, very aware that if I attended one of those we'd be long-distance again. The only advice I can really stand by is to try to be as honest as possible about your expectations. For us, we were fine with living apart for awhile, but we wanted visits to be as easy and frequent as possible. I limited my applications to schools that had ample transportation to and from his location. This year we see each other an average of once every 3-4 weeks, which is fine with us. He spent Thanksgiving helping me simultaneously cook a turkey and finish a grant application. I spend my other breaks there. We're lucky in that since both of us love our work, we don't think the other person's constraints are crazy. It really is a team effort. For me, the hardest part has been explaining to people (significant other, friends, family) that the life of an academic is far from stable. I think that a lot of people envision professors as having tons of say in where they end up from the moment they get their PhD, with flexible schedules, breaks and big chunks of time off. I love my field and am very willing to go the whole nine yards for my research and my career. Still, I have anxiety that after 5-7 years of my significant other being so patient and understanding, I still might not end up anywhere near him.

I, too, wish I had better anticipated the financial element to this -- I would have started saving a lot sooner! Some of the costs are to be expected (the $20 GRE score report multiplied by 10), but the application fees upwards of $120 nearly knocked me on my behind, as did having to overnight several items that I know I already sent to the programs. I try to think of it as a big investment in my future, but next time, I'm getting sponsors.

Now that applications are mostly done (for this year, anyway), I'm being asked to reflect on the process in hopes that I might be able to offer some kind of advice to next year's batch of applicants coming out of my undergraduate institution. This is probably a noble pursuit, since I was totally clueless when I first applied for Fall 08. I figured I'd open it up and ask you all, What do you wish you had known going into the process?* *Also, as a historian, I can guarantee you will be properly cited for your contribution!

There are so many weekends between now and when I'll likely hear back. But that doesn't make it easier!

I had the opportunity to read my adviser's letter last year when I applied to Masters programs. I mulled it over, and finally gave it back to him, still sealed. I trusted him and knew he had spent a lot of time reviewing my file, re-reading papers, and speaking with me about my plans -- I figured after that he would have declined to write a letter if he wasn't somewhat convinced of my potential. Turns out, I'm applying for PhD programs this year, and he offered to again write me a recommendation. I would have felt very weird if I had not only read last year's letter, but essentially knew what he would be writing this year in advance. Maybe you'll never use these profs again for recommendations, but who knows when they might pop back into your academic life down the road? Even if you never waived your right, it's still hinky.

I'm not telling anyone anything. My roommate, a very patient and supportive MA student with no doctoral dreams, serves as my sounding board. Everyone else has to stay in the dark. I'm currently an MA student surrounded by classmates applying to several of the same schools. I don't intend to tell them if I get rejected, but I also don't intend to tell them if I get an offer, because I'd probably be pressured to respond quickly, and I don't want to be constantly questioned. The "where did you get in, what have you heard?!?!" will get old very fast, and is practically unavoidable by mid-March. I'm hiding as long as I can and hoping people assume (incorrectly!) that I am on the Eternal Waitlist.

Good luck to everyone who expects to hear something, anything, sometime soon. Most of my schools appear to be Johnny-Come-Lately April Notifiers. I'll pass the time by reading all the incoming results for you molecular biology and chemistry applicants -- I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

I, like Cornell07 and some others here, slogged through the Eternal Waiting of Spring 08. I was a college senior last year and I applied to 6 programs. I wound up in the Early American Masters program at The College of William and Mary; a combination of enthusiastic faculty and a partial tuition waiver and paid apprenticeship lured me to the South. The program also solidified my desire to continue with grad school, and WM being a one-year program has me back in the game for Fall 09. I study crime, violence, and political economy in British North America and the Caribbean, and managed to complete applications for: UC-Davis, University of Southern California, Maryland, Brown, Duke, Columbia, Northwestern, and Washington University in St. Louis. I wish everyone luck. I'm actually enjoying this "rest period", the two or so weeks between submitting the last application and the frantic checking of websites/spamming of grad secretaries/panicking on GradCafe.

I'm headed to The College of William and Mary for a Masters in Early American History.

Congratulations, Anese! I also got positive news over the phone from NYU -- I guess it really came down to the wire for their decisions. I'm glad things worked out!

Hi Anese, Did you manage to wrangle any information from them? I think I've been placed on their Eternal Waitlist.

I don't have anything from them either. It's like they went on spring break and never came back. Good luck, and let us know when you hear something!

I, too, am beginning to fear that I am on "the Eternal Waitlist". I know some people have received news from NYU, both positive and negative, but I'm still checking the mailbox compulsively and to no avail. I've heard horror stories about students funneled onto the waitlist so the department can pick and choose after their top choices decide, and the waitlisted students didn't receive letters until practically summer. I know that some schools are just slow or have different procedures that hold up decisions. Still, with less than two weeks left until people have to make decisions and no returned correspondence from admissions, I have a feeling I'll get the letter from NYU at the end of the month, when it's too late no matter the decision. Good luck! Hopefully we'll hear from them soon.

Anese -- I haven't heard a word from NYU for the American Studies MA since I submitted everything December 1st. I noticed that last week most people were notified about decisions for the American Studies PhD. I have a feeling NYU is one of those schools that funnels the PhD students they don't accept into the MA decision pile, and therefore makes MA decisions later. Still, it's past the point of ridiculous, since it's been almost 4 months now. If this is your top choice, good luck! I think I'm ready to accept another offer just so the waiting game will be over.

From the website, it seems the school provides some graduate student housing in the form of a shared apartment complex. Unfortunately I've not been able to find much other information about alternative housing, costs, what it would be like to park there. I'm hoping things will be clearer once I visit. Are you going to be attending any Visit Days, Karenwog?

I won't know for sure until after my Visit Days in a couple of weeks, but it's very likely I'll be at W&M for an American History Masters next year. It's been my top choice school throughout the process, so assuming all goes well I'll be moving to VA in August!

Hello, It's nice to encounter someone on the forum who has similar academic interests to mine! I'm graduating with a BA this May and attending graduate school in the fall, probably at William and Mary. I agree with what Cornell07 wrote about doing work with primary sources and learning languages. Those things seem to go a long way in setting you apart from other applicants. It seems like you're also concerned about how your grades will be interpreted. It might be a good idea to select as one of your recommenders a faculty member who will be able to briefly explain how grades work at your institution, like the chair of your department or your faculty adviser. If your grades are significantly higher than most others at your school, you want your recommenders to mention that. If you are still worried, make sure you prepare thoroughly for the GRE, and take it early in case you want to take it again, since you have to wait a month to retake it. The advice I wish I'd had the most before starting the process is to begin everything early, no matter how crazy people think that is. Even though I began applications as soon as they were available (usually August or September), I was still swamped with supplements, forms, letters of intent, plus the workload of a college senior by the December deadlines. Start working on your statement of purpose early, investigate the faculty and degree programs of your schools over the summer, and ask for recommendations months ahead of time. Getting those things out of the way will leave you more time to actually prepare your application and keep your sanity. Good luck! I hope this helps. Sonic

I'm a few weeks away from the admitted weekend at the College of William and Mary, but it's currently my top choice and I'll almost definitely be moving there in August. Any information about the town and surrounding area would be greatly appreciated!