random_grad

Yes I understand that. But when you have dependents the amount to prove adds up...

"J-1: You need to show enough funds to cover yourself and your dependents for entire length of degree" Well, that settles it then. Thanks a lot for the detailed reply!

Oh my, I just wasted so much money on international transfer... oh well.

1 month of intense training. Started with diagnostic test which showed that all sections needed work but esp. data analysis (which is more about attention to detail than math); did all exercises in McGraw-Hill (corrected their errors too); did all practice tests I could get my hands on; used Kaplan vocab lists; used Magoosh for whatever math was not covered elsewhere; prepared summaries of math and list of most tricky vocab for last-minute review; slept well before exam, brought nuts and water. Background: ESL but learned many languages in the past - this helped with vocab (words' roots) and memorization skills; always was good at math. Result: Q170 V170 AW5.5 Tip: when clicking "next" on exam day, click once and wait patiantly. I got kicked out of one of the sections b/c I frantically clicked again and it was the last question so I ended up clicking on submit. Tip2: ask for a new draft paper book after _every_ section even if there is space left because they take away you old one when they give the new one. This could jeapordize your section when you do the review of answers. This situation increased my stress level dramatically - luckily it was the experimental section as I can tell from my score.

aren't the financial documents supposed to all be in your own name? i.e. a parent's bank statement is no good.

since we're discussing this... is it possible to transfer from F-1 to J-1 status after, say, a year?

In addition to things said above, consider the prospective adviser with whom you apply to work. Does (s)he have any interest in modern history or is she 100% focused on the middle ages? you need to fit in with their priorities.

That's good to hear! All the best with your PhD!

Yes you can. It all depends on the overall financial situation. In fact if you get OSAP the uni might give you an additional need base grant. and even if you don t get it, it s free to apply, right?

I am 100% with you on the idea that reaching out to the public is the way to go for humanities. It s awesome that you work in that direction! It is unfortunate that not all universities think about this enough (from what you say) but many do so more and more (from what I noticed). I gather you did find a dpt open to the idea? The rate of new PhDs to jobs is notoriously disbalanced... I consider PhD as a gamble on your own ability to be one of those few who gets a job. It is a competition all the way: not all finish the undergrad, few get into grad school, half don t complete the PhD and not all get the job they want. But without trying you ll never know if you re the one who succeeds. the fact that the overall attitude that "not getting an academic job means failure" is strong in some fields was acknowledged at career events for grad students who leave academia that I attended. But as rightly noted at those same events, It s all in your head and a matter of perspective: anyone outside of academia might of course be jealous of a person becoming a professor b/c of the ingrained attitude that professors "just teach 2 courses" (an attitude we all need to work hard to dispel) but if you don't and get a non-profit job instead the average person will not perceive it as failure.

I'd have a change of scenery - school B. good for CV, good for your own development. besides, since it's all in the same city, you will still have access to resources from school A.

if in the coming year you d get that little extra that would make Berkeley accept you right away, it is definitely worth trying. At the same time, you d have a year to seriously consider whether you actually want a PhD and all the inconvinience that it comes with. As a nurse you partner will be able to find a job easily at any new place where you go so I don t see how it would be 5+ years separated. Wouldn t it just be for the time of her masters?

If you make a compelling case of why you think a PhD is necessary for you to further your non-academic career, I'm sure you would find a place which would be interested in training you. However, most programs are geared toward research or college teaching and I think this is reasonable. A PhD takes too long to complete to be an equivelent replacement to actual work experience (with the exception of careers in certain fields which actually require a PhD , such as museum work mentioned above, in which case a department would be used to people saying that as career goals in the SOP). Otherwise, Professional MAs are here for that. What would a PhD give you that the same number of years working wouldn't? The Dr. title? Or rather, how could one expect to get professional connections in the workforce by spending 5y in the library? Additionally, why should a university/the government invest all that money in you if you don't intend to serve the Academia forever and ever? Unless a person does an unfunded PhD, of course Professors would not be too happy to see you leave the field. That being said, those who choose a different path do not always do so because of poor job prospects. I met a person who had a tenure-track job with solid prospects but chose to leave. A PhD may help a person realise it's not for them, then people get creative with their career paths and some schools have ways to help with networks, workshops and councellors. baby steps, true,but retraining should not happen on the payrol of the university and there are already fast-track professional degrees available.

would be happy to offer feedback on SOPs - just message me your draft. All the best with the applications, folks!

If getting a higher score won t require too much work for you then go for it; otherwise I d say focus on the more meaningful sections as ideas are what matters and Profs know that once you arrive your English will improve exponentially.

If you have a good connection with one of the profs from your alma mater, consider approaching them about writing an independent project with them "off the record" so to speak: tell them you have an idea for a topic and would appreciate if the prof could read your proposal and final version. Doing a project with a prof might also help reconnect with them and get you a better LOR. It's also clearly better than trying to do it all by yourself - although it is certainly doable to write a sample of writing on your own, I know people who've been successful doing just that. I agree with the above comments that you probably should at least try applying for PhD directly; you could also do both MA and PhD applications in the same season, as it's too late now for MA anyway, isn't it?

I included similar experiences as Professional Experience on my CV and I think it added a nice touch to my application, showing that I am not just my GPA. If you decide to list some of your articles written for the newspaper as publications, make sure to title them as "journalistic pieces" or similar so that it does not look like you are trying to mislead the committee. Before you submit your CV, you should ask for feedback from your profs as they would be able to tell you whether the entire thing looks good and whether certain things ought to be changed a bit.

Thank you for your input, sorry for the late reply; didn't check the forum for a week and it now feels like I've done the exact thing the students in your post did - not even saying a thank you... so sorry! I ended up writing a note to just those students with whom there was still some immediate interaction to be had.

- Taking a year off to work on my PhD applications - what topic, which Profs, why grad school - helped tremendously. I could have assembled all documents while doing my Master's, but it would not have been as strong. Considering that this is a step that will affect your whole career, doing it to the best of your ability is essential. - Giving LORs-writers a complete package: papers I wrote for them with their comments, SOP, CV, list of deadlines - Strong sample of writing which engages with current scholarship, major questions in the field and cites Prof(s) with whom I applied to work - Diverse professional background relevant to the field, major scholarships won in the past, independent project Result: got into #1 school in my field (I also had a 99th-percentile GRE, but it appears that nobody actually looks at that in the humanities, so I would not list that as something that helped, although who knows - this is all just my own feelings either way) I wrote emails to all prospective POIs praising their work and asking if they will be accepting students (you don't wanna waste money and energy applying to a program where they won't be accepting anyone, right?). All wrote back, some offered to skype. If you can visit, sit on a public lecture and ask some smart questions - even better!

It seems that the Prof may be thinking that you have not notified school A yet, and so he's trying to recruit you. imo a nice think to do would have been to ask him for advice before making your decision; now it's obviously too late, but I would recommend talking to him on skype b/c talking in person can help you adjust what you say according to his responses and body language and thus clear the misunderstanding: just as you might be misinterpreting his reaction, so might he. Besides, since he wrote you LORs, you must thank him properly anyway. So I'd say skype in, apologize for choosing a different program, thank him for support, enthuse about his projects and suggest avenues for collaboration between the two labs if at all possible.

I see your point.

I'd say it' s not just about those on the waitlist, but also about profs in the school you will reject eventually. They want to be able to make an early offer to the next person on the waitlist so that if _that_ person declines there is enough time to move on on the list. You should let schools know the earliest possible so that when you later seek to publish they don't remeber you as that guy who was waisting our time. They appreciate early declines less than accepts of course but more than late declines. So if you can narrow down you choices you should inform the schools you decide to decline immediately (including those where you're officially waitlisted) to save them time.

Thanks a lot! This is very helpful.

I was in the same situation. Imitated those rejection letters unis send to us: 1. politely inform of decision and do tell which other school you chose 2. decision was very difficult etc, + tell how good the school you're declining is, what you liked about it etc 3. express interest in future collaboration and such Also, write a more personalized message to the prof(s). imo doesn't hurt to be a bit more personalized in a case like this, as they spent so much of their time for you - might as well spend some time for them

Made decision this week, informed accepts/declines to profs and wondering whether I should also write something to students with whom I spoke by email/skype about programs which I declined. What would be more polite: let it lapse or letting them know? Two types of students too: those with whom I spoke on Skype, then sent thank-you notes so the conversation reached closure, and those with whom I was planning to maybe meet but I'm not gonna visit the school I declined (obviously). I think I should definitely shoot the latter folks a message, but as for the former folks, I'm not so sure. I mean, these are folks with whom I will be in the field for the rest of my life. Don't wanna antagonize them. Problem is, if I do tell them that I accepted another school, they might be a bit upset and maybe perceive it as me being boasty or condescending. And finally, whether you think this could wait until after Apr 15, as I seriously have a lot going right now for me to spend time tracking those emails down and responding in the style and tone appropriate for each person.