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MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou

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Everything posted by MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou

  1. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Hey there! My apologies for any repeat asking on this forum, but I'm seeking input on my approach to requesting additional funding. For backstory, I was accepted to a PhD program in northern CA with guaranteed funding for three years, with an additional two years presuming "normal" progression through the program. The financial offer I received (full tuition remission, including healthcare, and a $20k stipend for 9 months of the year, which includes a TAship and fellowship) is overall a viable offer, and I'm grateful to have received it. My main concerns are that living in CA is expensive, and as stipends can be taxed, that it will be less viable after taxes. The total award th school gave me this year is roughly $2k less than their calculated graduate student budget. I certainly don't want to come off as ungrateful, and want to handle this delicately. This is my only acceptance thus far, so comparing other offers to theirs isn't an option. My visiting day for the school is next Monday. I was thinking maybe I'd wait until after I'd met the graduate director in person (are they the right person to talk to about this matter?), then email her, thank her for the day, and phrase my questions along the line of "the offer I received is very generous, but I am concerned about being able to focus on my studies what with the high cost of living in the Bay Area, what I might have to pay in taxes on my stipend, etc. Can you recommend additional internal/external sources of funding for which I might qualify/apply?" I'm honestly nervous about just calling her up or emailing her about this before I put a face to my name, as well as generally looking ungrateful or even losing my offer. I really want to accept the offer (I'm waiting for a response from two other schools, but those are likely rejections), but I have to contribute to a household, and I'm concerned it won't be enough. I plan to ask about summer funding/ability to work outside of school on visiting day, but I don't know if I should ask about my funding offer specifically NOW, or later. i appreciate your advice - thank you! (And wow, did this turn out to be long)
  2. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Congrats to the UCLA admit this morning!! :-D May I ask if you were the person who posted being waitlisted? I haven't heard anything from them and am just trying to gauge when I'll get notified either way. Thanks!
  3. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Yeah, they've sent out three acceptances, but I haven't seen any rejections this year. Last year it was late February, so I'm sure they'll be coming soon. I also haven't heard anything from Bryn Mawr.
  4. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Thanks Takeru - I wrote the department this morning, and you were right - there's a hold-up at the GSD level. I'm glad I checked, I just didn't want to be a bother!
  5. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Hi all! I'm writing here before I take any sort of action, as it's entirely likely I'm just being impatient. I was accepted to a program via phone on February 14th, and in my conversation with the Grad. Studies Director she said she had the formal letters and such on her desk to send out next week. While I have not yet received a formal acceptance letter or funding offer, the online portal noted my acceptance to the school - so, I'm guessing it's not an acceptance issue. it will be a month since my informal acceptance next week. Should I be concerned/contact anyone about my official letter/offer, or continue to wait it out? According to the GSD, the department offers guaranteed funding, plus fellowships/TAs/RAs, so I wonder if they are waiting on external word for something. Our visiting day is next week. Thoughts/advice appreciated, thanks! :-)
  6. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    It's entirely possible they HAVE sent out acceptances. I don't know if you've searched the results board for past years, there are very few acceptances (none last year, either).
  7. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    CONGRATS to the UKentucky admit!! :-) :-)
  8. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    I know it's really hard to sit on your hands, but unless you are being pressured for a decision from another school I would say wait until sometime in early to mid-March. We're still in the middle of the season, and depending on the school, they might even have another wave of acceptances yet to send out. Not that I think inquiring hurts your chances or anything, but many university pages say notifications are sent between March and April (even if we know they are not all sent that late), so that is most likely what they will tell you. BUT. this is just my humble opinion. :-) Best of luck!!!!
  9. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Hey Wilk - post-acceptance recruitment events are really a chance for the school to dazzle you with how awesome they are and how much you want to go there. You are already accepted, so while you DO want to make a good impression like you do any other time you first meet someone, there is not as much pressure to perform. These visiting days are a great chance to get a feel for the campus, the department/faculty/students, and to get all of your questions answered (so come with questions!). As far as dress code goes, it depends on the school, so it wouldn't hurt to ask the person who invited you for suggestions (it also depends on the activities - you should receive an itinerary at some point). Most likely you will want to keep it kind of casual (I think trousers/khakis and a button-down would be fine), since you will probably be doing a lot of walking if they give you a campus tour. Like @avflinsch, my visiting day is a full schedule, but I think humanities/social sciences are a little less rigorous. We have a campus tour, a few speakers, a "sample" graduate seminar, a few meeting opportunities with advisors, some research presentations by faculty/students, and a dinner/social gathering. None of the events are super long (maybe two hours tops), and there are breaks in between. Oh, impostor syndrome - I'm not sure that EVER goes away. Try to keep in mind that even if some people don't act like it, they are ALL kind of terrified underneath it all that they will say something stupid (or not be able to keep up, or not have anything to say), and that they want to make a good impression, too. It might help to take some slow, deep breaths before you walk into a room, and remind yourself that they are here to entice YOU to attend their program. Also, flinsch is right - you are not expected to know everything - that's why you're going back to school, to learn more. :-) Hope this helps - and RELAX and have a good time!
  10. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    To the person who posted a rejection to UC Irvine PhD yesterday and stated they are trying to transfer from another UC, can you please PM me? I'm interested in knowing which school you are trying to leave. Thank you very much!
  11. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    I am! I notice you are local-ish, as well - so at least we don't have to travel far. :-)
  12. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Who is the most recent UCSC admit? Congrats! Are you going to visiting day?
  13. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    I just came to say I've been where you are, and do NOT give up! I am on my third application cycle, and last week received my very first acceptance. Getting into grad school is unbelievably competitive - most schools take less than 10% of applicants - so not getting in the first time is by no means an indication of your "fitness" for graduate school. Getting rejected across the board two years in a row was really disheartening, and there were times I said I wasn't going to go through this whole grueling process again just to try to prove I can hack it to a group of strangers based on a few pieces of paper and an online form. HOWEVER, after the devastation subsided, I realized changing my viewpoint about the application process to that of a learning experience helped me move forward and try again. Each time I have gone through this, I have learned how to present myself just a little bit better, how to describe my work and my research interests more clearly and succinctly, and how to gracefully handle rejection - which we are going to get a lot of in academia. Giving up after one cycle, if this is something you really want to do, seems a little premature when you consider how few applicants actually receive acceptance. Also, this cycle is far from over!!
  14. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Hey all! I hope you're enjoying the holiday weekend. I was fortunate enough to gain my first acceptance (took me three years!), and am trying to start preparing early to fall back into the academic flow. I know many of you are also anxious about returning to academia, and am wondering what you are doing (or plan to do) to prepare for the change in lifestyle. I feel a little behind on my theory, and I had just started researching for an article when I received acceptance, so I am planning to get back into the habit of reading/writing every day, and practicing time management by scheduling around two hours of daily work after my 9-5 job. I am starting to make lists of foundational theory works and materials for my article, and plan to read one piece from each list every night (or a book chapter, or whatever), making sure to take organized notes so I have them for reference. I've also recently started using Mendeley to catalog my sources, but I'm not quite in the habit yet. What are you doing/what would you do to prepare? :-)
  15. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Congratulations to the University of Kansas admits! My undergrad alma mater. :-D Lawrence is a fantastic town, and Kansas City is only 40 minutes away!
  16. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Congrats on the waitlist, and thanks for the info! :-) I'm on the West Coast (I notice you're in NC), so whatever the notification is, I'm sure I'll get it in a few days.
  17. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Hi there! my field is slightly different (thus far I've studied mainly contemporary Jewish art and identity), but I've applied to work with a lot of African American/Diaspora scholars due to theory/approach overlap. I would recommend you look into Cornell (Cheryl Finley and Salah Hassan), Yale (Kobena Mercer), UChicago (Darby English), UC Santa Cruz (Derek Conrad Murray), Northwestern (Huey Copeland), and Steven Nelson (UCLA), I know there are others, but these are the first that come to mind!
  18. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    I've read/heard conflicting accounts about Bryn Mawr's notifications. On the one hand, I've seen people receive acceptances as late as early March, without any warning. On the other, last year someone told me in early March that they had just come from a school visit with two people who were going to an admitted students day for BM (which would mean they would likely have to have been notified at least a few weeks prior). In 2015, someone was accepted WITHOUT an admitted students day. So pretty unpredictable! :-) Oh well, just thought I'd ask.
  19. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Has anyone heard from Bryn Mawr? It's still a little early, but things have changed over the past few years...
  20. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Oh, are you international?
  21. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    CONGRATS! Are you going to the admitted students day?
  22. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Thanks so much! I'm sorry you didn't hear. :-( I hope your app season is going well otherwise? I'm American - I actually live in NorCal right now (did my master's here). My area is contemporary, particularly American identity and memory. My advisor is Derek Conrad Murray. I must say this was my second year applying to most of my chosen schools (including UCSC), so if you happen to need to reapply next year, it is certainly worth doing so at Santa Cruz. My conversation with the DGS was fantastic - she was so pleasant and welcoming.
  23. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Hi, la_bouche - I was accepted to UCSC yesterday. I think they did notify later than last year, and I fully expected to be rejected. Did you hear something? I hope so!
  24. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    "Horrible human being" - that's a pretty strong statement. Of whom are you speaking, and why do you say that? You had to know there'd be some questions here.
  25. MaytheSchwartzBeWithYou
    Hey guys! Just posting a "YOU CAN DO IT" note, since I know we're all going crazy right now. This isn't my first round of apps, so I definitely know how difficult it can be. I'm having a really hard time staying off the results board or checking my app sites. I'm seriously hoping I get in somewhere this year. Just remember this process can be unpredictable (for better or for worse!), and it ain't over till the CURVY LADY SINGS. :-) Now go eat some chocolate, have a glass of wine, and scream into your pillow!
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