Crafter

Great thread!! I wish I have seen this before I started my applications!! 
 
Besides the  "no such thing as safety school" "Fit is the best way to increase your chances, don't apply to schools where none of the faculty is doing research of your interest" (and to this I would add "don't apply to schools where only ONE faculty is doing what you are interested in" -unless that faculty has showed interest in you) and "don't apply to schools you don't want to go -because of the city or the school itself" or "don't rely on school ranking". 
 
If I knew then what I know now....
 
I would have applied to more private schools.
 
As a foreign applicant to US schools, I did not realize how relevant the funding issue was for international applicants!! I got rejected to every single Public School and the main reason I was given (when given) was funding. I found out that most of the schools I applied to only take one or two international students per year and none of them posted such relevant piece of information on the program's website. Some schools post that information but some others don't. Unfortunately, the ones I applied to did not stated anything like that. 
 
This is, of course, a generalization and should not be taken as if carved on stone. Many public schools have enough funding to take international students, but my advice would be to apply to public and private schools in a balanced way Out of my 10 applications, only 2 were private schools!
 
I disagree with people saying that applying to, say, 10 programs will hurt your chances. I only got asked where I was applying to in 3 of my 10 applications. And in the 3 of them I just answered with 5 names (out of laziness, not to be secretive). 
 
I also disagree with people offering advice about not worrying about GRE or GPA. I used to be very vocal about the poor value of GRE as predictor of grad school success. I still mantain that GRE is a useless way to measure research and grad school sucess. BUT, when it comes to grad school applications, it is part of your entire application package and the better your scores, the higher your chances, whether the schools claims to be reviewing your files as a whole, this is, somewhat bullshit in most cases. If you got mediocre scores in your GRE (or in one of the components that happens to be of relevance to your field) somebody with better scores will likely take your place.  With this I am not saying that an average or poor GRE score will ruin your, otherwise, brilliant application, but unless you really have an impressive CV, great GPA and LORs, a poor GRE will be something that will put you in disadvantage. Also, a good GRE could compensate for other small faults in your application. So, study with plenty of time in advance for your GRE. As somebody said in this same thread before: GRE will not help you, but will certainly kill you (if bad).
 
If I new then what I know now, I would have only applied to one school. The one I got in!!!! (and saved lots of money).

Now that is bizzarre. VO is not who decides if you are a good prospect for a PhD student, only your admissions department is. Probably in those cases (in case that is what really happened) they rejection of the visa was for some other reason and either the VO wanted to justify it by saying something about the fit of the candidate (but I think that is odd) or the applicant just misunderstood the whole interview and reasons for visa denial. You see, I can think of a VO asking your GRE scores and GPA as part of their interview and to make sure you are the prospective candidate and not someone else (or just to make you nervous... even just to small chat while he fills out a form, and sometimes if you have english a a second language, certain language nuances will be lost to you). But if your scores or GPA are or not enought for a particular program in a particular school is nothing the VO can actually assess. Actually, I don't even think they know those numbers anyway. If asked you can say you got skyrocket scores and won't need to prove it. 
 
Honestly, I don't believe that story of a VO denying a visa BECAUSE he/she did not think your scores are suitable for a PhD program. 
 
Remember this is the internet, anyone can post anything and it will not necessarily be true. 

So, your GPA sucks.
Your GRE score? Taking that baby to the grave..aren't ya?
OR maybe it's worse....perhaps much like myself you have both factors weighing down your application...ya?

I understand..too well, so let's begin with this:
Calm down... breathe....and please, do not take everything on this site to heart. If you're motivated and you're driven to get into an MPH program, you'll get there. You can stop reading now really because YOU WILL GET THERE.

My advice to you is simple: Stay Positive, Stay Confident, and compensate for your low points in your application strategically....it's fine...you will get in.

If you listen to nothing more I say in this blog --- take just this advice with you: All of those previous post you read from people worrying about their "low" gre scores between 1150-1300....screw them. They are the worst - ignore them...all of them. Do not compare yourself to them - value that you have far better sense of self-perception than they do, which will make you a much better graduate student.

So here it goes:

Here was what I was working with when I applied:
Undergrad GPA: 2.9 (average liberal arts school)
GRE first time 870
GRE second time 930

Awful.. I know. School was the LAST thing on my mind, that is until after I graduated.

So here is what I did that got me in to a top 20 program.

Work Experience:

I got a job that paid me to do research (entry level) at a research institute in Boston (city where I did my undergrad)
The job was awesome, challenging, and I was totally unqualified, unprepared, and not holding any academic cred for it (but I tricked them into hiring me somehow, with a bad joke and a super "I really REALLY want this job endearing speech in my interview...)

How did I get my foot in the door for the interview? I searched the HR contact girls name in facebook and found a mutual friend (someone i talked to say once?) in common and capitalized on this Kevin Bacon degree of separation by not being afraid to ASK someone for a favor.

I learned more in that year and half than most people will in their MPH program. Just get in the field somehow and stick with it for a year and half at the least.- I don't care how, just do it.

Working now in my second year in the MPH field at a great health care center/research gig - I CONSTANTLY pay this act of kindness forward as my acquaintance once did for me. It's a fun little helping cycle... get into it.. and stop worrying about ASKING... just do it - worse they can say is no.

Should you work for free?
If you have bills to pay then NO. Honestly, don't...you'll end up resentful if you're broke and you'll be tempted to make a rash choice to switch career paths.
YES - if your rents can flip the bill -
YES - if you know your boundaries and work/volunteer once a week for a few hours or a couple during the week at a lab in a university doing research.


Your BEST strategic move is to work AT the university you want to go to in anything (administration, billing, research, what-the-hell-ever) then not only are you allowed to take courses in the masters program but youll most likely go for free.

Graduate Classes?
I took two graduate level courses in a similar area to what I was interested in studying, got A's, and I believed this helped.
Note - i'd prob. do this at the university/program you'd like to attend...

Published papers?
Screw anyone with a BA and publications - they prob had zero fun in college ...and take pride in that.

I had two posters with my name on it from working in a psych lab that summer before i applied - I'm thinking that helped, but it's such an overrated experience... focus on getting a job that pays with your free time. Ask yourself this: What's more annoying than applying to grad school? Attending conferences with graduate students....

Recs?
They matter - be nice to people, this shouldn't be a problem if you're not a dick in life.

Essay's
Be yourself, research faculty research, and edit the crap out it.



You'll be fine. You'll get in. Just find a way that works for you to work around your weak points and you'll get in. I promise.

This topic should be in "the Lobby", not here.
 
Anyways, for what I read here are my conclusions (not that you seem to care for all the advise you've got here, though):
 
1- This has been going on for about a YEAR. Things have not changed a bit since your first post last year. What makes you think things will change now?
2- You seem to be in love with this guy, therefore, you are over-analyzing his every move, his every word. People can be nice, can spend a lot of time with you and have fun, can share the same interests of yours, some even go as far as having sex with you and that does NOT mean a thing, romantically speaking.
3- You seem to be entertaining thoughts of hope for this "relationship". However, he has been really honest and clear to you, as far as the story you presented here, he has no interest in more than what he is getting from you now.
4- Not sharing the same romantic interest with you doesn't make him a douche-bag. Asking you to drop off food for him and go away when you had a date does.
5- It sucks that your first sexual experience is like this, but don't worry, you are not alone, most first sexual encounters are rather clumsy, painful and/or boring. And, without any scientific data, I dare to assume that most of those "first ones" are not even that relevant later on in your life. Chronological "first" is not what matters, it is that first time when you go to bed (or table or floor or couch or backseat) with someone who cares about you and loves you and you love. Once you got that (and you will, for sure) you will not think about that other "first".
 
My advice would be:
a- move on (the advice you've been getting from anyone, which is the healthiest one).
b- keep things the way they are now (because I don't think they will go any further) and be realistic about what to expect from the said guy. Be honest to him and to yourself, that will keep you from a broken heart.

Did I say that? I said that giving preference to legacies, over a more deserving student (and I dare you to tell me that doesn't happen) just perpetuates privilege. I'm saying that legacy status helps elevate students based on factors that have nothing to do with the student (which is true). If you can't get in on your own merits, and need legacy status to sneak in to a school, you are taking a spot from a student who deserves it more, and are, in fact, a bad person. (And that isn't even getting into the racial and economic disparities tied up in legacy issues).

Mind you, 90% of schools, and almost all public schools, don't care about legacy status. It is only the money-obsessed schools like the Ivies, with an eye on their endowment, that give preference to legacy students over students who actually deserve enrollment, thus continuing to stratify economic privilege.

I am a bit confused with your post. You are a 4th year PhD student and still no research topic? What is your field? (if you don't mind disclosing it)
 
What is that conference paper about if you don't have a topic? Can you discuss what happened to you with your supervisor? Ask him why he asked you to submit research topics that ended up assigned to somebody else and what you should do about it. If you -for what I gather from your post- have an uninterested supervisor, then you must be the one being proactive about your problem. Ask your Supervisor about your research. I mean, you are a 4th year PhD student and you should graduate quite soon. You definitely need to discuss this with your Supervisor and your thesis committee (I guess you have one). If nobody is paying attention to you, you should be the one taking the lead, because, honestly, nobody cares more about your graduation time and your research than yourself.
 
What do you mean with "at the end I will have no contributions"? Are you afraid that you will submit a paper and get no mentorship and guidance from your thesis advisor?
 
Last but not least:
This is a very friendly advice from someone whose native language is not English, just like you: you do need to practice your English a bit more. I know that many international student end up hanging out with other students from their home countries or general region because of homesickness, because it is easier to hang out with people who know your language and culture and "gets" the joke. But I think that if we move to a different country, with different culture and different language, we should try to get the most out of our experience. Not just the the academic level, but also the cultural, language and friendship one as well. My two best friends during my Master's years were two American girls, one of them, a girl from a very tiny town in the Midwest, the other one, from a large city in the pacific northwest. Even though I am back home, we still keep in touch, one visited me here in my home country and I can tell you that besides being their friendship a great treasure for me, they both taught me A LOT  of English, not only proper words, but also slang, correct pronunciation and the so many different meanings of a simple sentence.
 
I hope you don't feel offended by my post. It is just a friendly advice

I am a bit confused with your post. You are a 4th year PhD student and still no research topic? What is your field? (if you don't mind disclosing it)
 
What is that conference paper about if you don't have a topic? Can you discuss what happened to you with your supervisor? Ask him why he asked you to submit research topics that ended up assigned to somebody else and what you should do about it. If you -for what I gather from your post- have an uninterested supervisor, then you must be the one being proactive about your problem. Ask your Supervisor about your research. I mean, you are a 4th year PhD student and you should graduate quite soon. You definitely need to discuss this with your Supervisor and your thesis committee (I guess you have one). If nobody is paying attention to you, you should be the one taking the lead, because, honestly, nobody cares more about your graduation time and your research than yourself.
 
What do you mean with "at the end I will have no contributions"? Are you afraid that you will submit a paper and get no mentorship and guidance from your thesis advisor?
 
Last but not least:
This is a very friendly advice from someone whose native language is not English, just like you: you do need to practice your English a bit more. I know that many international student end up hanging out with other students from their home countries or general region because of homesickness, because it is easier to hang out with people who know your language and culture and "gets" the joke. But I think that if we move to a different country, with different culture and different language, we should try to get the most out of our experience. Not just the the academic level, but also the cultural, language and friendship one as well. My two best friends during my Master's years were two American girls, one of them, a girl from a very tiny town in the Midwest, the other one, from a large city in the pacific northwest. Even though I am back home, we still keep in touch, one visited me here in my home country and I can tell you that besides being their friendship a great treasure for me, they both taught me A LOT  of English, not only proper words, but also slang, correct pronunciation and the so many different meanings of a simple sentence.
 
I hope you don't feel offended by my post. It is just a friendly advice

I am a bit confused with your post. You are a 4th year PhD student and still no research topic? What is your field? (if you don't mind disclosing it)
 
What is that conference paper about if you don't have a topic? Can you discuss what happened to you with your supervisor? Ask him why he asked you to submit research topics that ended up assigned to somebody else and what you should do about it. If you -for what I gather from your post- have an uninterested supervisor, then you must be the one being proactive about your problem. Ask your Supervisor about your research. I mean, you are a 4th year PhD student and you should graduate quite soon. You definitely need to discuss this with your Supervisor and your thesis committee (I guess you have one). If nobody is paying attention to you, you should be the one taking the lead, because, honestly, nobody cares more about your graduation time and your research than yourself.
 
What do you mean with "at the end I will have no contributions"? Are you afraid that you will submit a paper and get no mentorship and guidance from your thesis advisor?
 
Last but not least:
This is a very friendly advice from someone whose native language is not English, just like you: you do need to practice your English a bit more. I know that many international student end up hanging out with other students from their home countries or general region because of homesickness, because it is easier to hang out with people who know your language and culture and "gets" the joke. But I think that if we move to a different country, with different culture and different language, we should try to get the most out of our experience. Not just the the academic level, but also the cultural, language and friendship one as well. My two best friends during my Master's years were two American girls, one of them, a girl from a very tiny town in the Midwest, the other one, from a large city in the pacific northwest. Even though I am back home, we still keep in touch, one visited me here in my home country and I can tell you that besides being their friendship a great treasure for me, they both taught me A LOT  of English, not only proper words, but also slang, correct pronunciation and the so many different meanings of a simple sentence.
 
I hope you don't feel offended by my post. It is just a friendly advice

I am a bit confused with your post. You are a 4th year PhD student and still no research topic? What is your field? (if you don't mind disclosing it)
 
What is that conference paper about if you don't have a topic? Can you discuss what happened to you with your supervisor? Ask him why he asked you to submit research topics that ended up assigned to somebody else and what you should do about it. If you -for what I gather from your post- have an uninterested supervisor, then you must be the one being proactive about your problem. Ask your Supervisor about your research. I mean, you are a 4th year PhD student and you should graduate quite soon. You definitely need to discuss this with your Supervisor and your thesis committee (I guess you have one). If nobody is paying attention to you, you should be the one taking the lead, because, honestly, nobody cares more about your graduation time and your research than yourself.
 
What do you mean with "at the end I will have no contributions"? Are you afraid that you will submit a paper and get no mentorship and guidance from your thesis advisor?
 
Last but not least:
This is a very friendly advice from someone whose native language is not English, just like you: you do need to practice your English a bit more. I know that many international student end up hanging out with other students from their home countries or general region because of homesickness, because it is easier to hang out with people who know your language and culture and "gets" the joke. But I think that if we move to a different country, with different culture and different language, we should try to get the most out of our experience. Not just the the academic level, but also the cultural, language and friendship one as well. My two best friends during my Master's years were two American girls, one of them, a girl from a very tiny town in the Midwest, the other one, from a large city in the pacific northwest. Even though I am back home, we still keep in touch, one visited me here in my home country and I can tell you that besides being their friendship a great treasure for me, they both taught me A LOT  of English, not only proper words, but also slang, correct pronunciation and the so many different meanings of a simple sentence.
 
I hope you don't feel offended by my post. It is just a friendly advice

I am a bit confused with your post. You are a 4th year PhD student and still no research topic? What is your field? (if you don't mind disclosing it)
 
What is that conference paper about if you don't have a topic? Can you discuss what happened to you with your supervisor? Ask him why he asked you to submit research topics that ended up assigned to somebody else and what you should do about it. If you -for what I gather from your post- have an uninterested supervisor, then you must be the one being proactive about your problem. Ask your Supervisor about your research. I mean, you are a 4th year PhD student and you should graduate quite soon. You definitely need to discuss this with your Supervisor and your thesis committee (I guess you have one). If nobody is paying attention to you, you should be the one taking the lead, because, honestly, nobody cares more about your graduation time and your research than yourself.
 
What do you mean with "at the end I will have no contributions"? Are you afraid that you will submit a paper and get no mentorship and guidance from your thesis advisor?
 
Last but not least:
This is a very friendly advice from someone whose native language is not English, just like you: you do need to practice your English a bit more. I know that many international student end up hanging out with other students from their home countries or general region because of homesickness, because it is easier to hang out with people who know your language and culture and "gets" the joke. But I think that if we move to a different country, with different culture and different language, we should try to get the most out of our experience. Not just the the academic level, but also the cultural, language and friendship one as well. My two best friends during my Master's years were two American girls, one of them, a girl from a very tiny town in the Midwest, the other one, from a large city in the pacific northwest. Even though I am back home, we still keep in touch, one visited me here in my home country and I can tell you that besides being their friendship a great treasure for me, they both taught me A LOT  of English, not only proper words, but also slang, correct pronunciation and the so many different meanings of a simple sentence.
 
I hope you don't feel offended by my post. It is just a friendly advice

I am a bit confused with your post. You are a 4th year PhD student and still no research topic? What is your field? (if you don't mind disclosing it)
 
What is that conference paper about if you don't have a topic? Can you discuss what happened to you with your supervisor? Ask him why he asked you to submit research topics that ended up assigned to somebody else and what you should do about it. If you -for what I gather from your post- have an uninterested supervisor, then you must be the one being proactive about your problem. Ask your Supervisor about your research. I mean, you are a 4th year PhD student and you should graduate quite soon. You definitely need to discuss this with your Supervisor and your thesis committee (I guess you have one). If nobody is paying attention to you, you should be the one taking the lead, because, honestly, nobody cares more about your graduation time and your research than yourself.
 
What do you mean with "at the end I will have no contributions"? Are you afraid that you will submit a paper and get no mentorship and guidance from your thesis advisor?
 
Last but not least:
This is a very friendly advice from someone whose native language is not English, just like you: you do need to practice your English a bit more. I know that many international student end up hanging out with other students from their home countries or general region because of homesickness, because it is easier to hang out with people who know your language and culture and "gets" the joke. But I think that if we move to a different country, with different culture and different language, we should try to get the most out of our experience. Not just the the academic level, but also the cultural, language and friendship one as well. My two best friends during my Master's years were two American girls, one of them, a girl from a very tiny town in the Midwest, the other one, from a large city in the pacific northwest. Even though I am back home, we still keep in touch, one visited me here in my home country and I can tell you that besides being their friendship a great treasure for me, they both taught me A LOT  of English, not only proper words, but also slang, correct pronunciation and the so many different meanings of a simple sentence.
 
I hope you don't feel offended by my post. It is just a friendly advice

Sounds like you've had a pretty bad year, I'm very sorry.  There is a lot to disentangle here, so this post will be long.
 
The end of a relationship is never easy. Getting cheated on sucks and is unfair. I assume it happened not long after you moved/started your new job, based on your timeline, and I'm sure that didn't help either. Not having close friends around probably didn't help deal with the situation, and I would bet the pressure and anxiety that's associated with the job market made it even worse. This is all to say that it's understandable that you're feeling down, I think anyone would be. 
 
You say the job market ate up a lot of your time and you did nothing other than teach for a while. I understand, it wasn't all that different for me this year. It was my second year on the job market and I have to say that last year's experience helped, but there was one semester this year where I taught and traveled to interviews and basically did nothing else. I don't think this is unusual, based on my friend's experiences too. That said, if your new colleagues only saw you sad, confused, extremely busy or gone a lot, and not really getting research done, they may have the wrong idea about who you are and what you are about. It sucks that they judge you and jump to conclusions, but that's their bad, not yours. I really don't think your actions were different than anyone else's in your situation would be, so either they are impatient, or inexperienced, or not a good personality match (I think that much is a given), but either way, as have2thinkboutit says, I think this school may not be the best place for you. You talk about "the email," so I would assume they consulted with each other and together decided not to do it? Then it's not four rejections but one, not that I think it sucks much less. Anyway, it doesn't matter. In that sense, the fact that they say they don't want to sponsor you for a fellowship might be doing you a favor. If they can sense you are unhappy there, they are helping you find a place where you can fit. I tend to think people are not evil, but they can be selfish and self-serving. The comment that it would be too much work is very telling. But if they don't want to put in the work, you can't make them. I would write this place off, invest my time in another successful year on the job market without making the effort to collaborate with anyone there (which will free up time and emotional resources), and plan on moving to a new place next year, whatever happens. That is, I am going with your "happy self" that enjoys what you're doing, and ignoring the hurt feelings that come from having bad things happen to you that you can't control.
 
With regard to getting papers rejected and your research being stalled: rejection is something that happens to everyone. If it's your first one, congratulations. You have been extremely lucky so far. It sucks that the rejection coincided with other bad things in your life, but you have to learn to deal with it. If you haven't yet, pick the paper up, make whatever changes do make sense from your reviews, and submit it to another journal. Regarding feeling stalled, since you say you are spending your summer writing up multiple papers, I assume that's not really so. Being on the job market can slow you down, especially when your emotions are already all over the place. It sounds to me that you are doing everything you should be. It'll take time to get papers accepted if you didn't submit anything this year, but it'll happen, there is no reason to assume otherwise. 
 
 
And here I want to come to my main point. You describe the following situation: (success,) (success,) success, success, success, success, success, failure. Of course, it's possible that this was a turning point and now there will be a streak of failures. But there is no evidence to support this in your narrative. You had one bad year, but even as this bad year ends you are starting new collaborations and already writing new papers. Therefore, it's inevitable to conclude that this was an isolated incident and your future will be as bright as your past has been. Of course, the job market is difficult and one never knows, but if I were a betting person, I'd put my money on you. Again, if I were a betting person, I would bet that your panic attacks stem from the fact that you did everything right and still couldn't stop a series of bad things from happening to you. I can imagine if it were me, I would want to be able to put my finger on something I did wrong and could improve, to make sure it never happens again. Having no control over the situation is very difficult.
 
My advice is twofold: first, keep doing what you're doing. The chances of this bad thing happening again are minuscule, and you cannot plan your life around avoiding it. Second, do something new, non-academic. It would help you feel better to have good memories associated with your town, not just rejections and failed relationships. Plan to leave next year, but leave on a high note. Pick up a new hobby, find a meetup group you like -- anything, and start living a full life there. 
 
 
Lastly, I want to take time to address a couple of the suggestions that were made in the posts above mine. First, I do think there is something to have2thinkboutit's thought that the place you are at right now is not the best place for you. However, I would not go as far as to leave or take a break, unless you really feel like that is at the root of what is affecting your mental health. It sounded like your postdoc has already been extended and you are committed to being there, and if so then I would make it work -- perhaps mentally disengage from the people -- and plan to move next year, with enough time to do it professionally and not last-minute. Taking an impromptu break might leave a hole that's hard to fill on your CV and make it unnecessarily difficult for you on the job market. Plan to be elsewhere this time next year; it helps to have a plan and an end-point to the situation. Second, I don't think this one incident on your first year on the job market is any indication that you should be applying to lower tier schools or that you did anything wrong (and frankly, ivorytowerunlocked, I was surprised and confused by your comparison between this person's situation and a woman-hater, as well as by the suggestion to take multiple years to improve the research and grants before applying again). OP, you say that aside from the unfortunate ending, you did well on the job market. If it was unheard of, etc., then we must conclude that it will not happen again and next time will be successful and stay successful. Aim high and don't flinch. Conclusions should be drawn based on data, not anecdotes. And the data says your aim should be true. 
 
Good luck, I hope this helps.

I think many of us have had experiences like yours, try not to beat yourself up too much.
 
My masters supervisor told me my work "was nothing special" and my postdoc supervisor basically called me fat.  Academia has such a rigid hierarchy with vast authority differences that it, more so than many institutions in the modern world, allows people to behave quite badly and to mistreat subordinates.  Most academic departments do far more to protect staff than graduate students or postdocs.
 
More than anything, you want to keep producing work.  It sounds like you've stalled a bit in your current environment, which is a shame, but even if collaborations are tough, you should keep producing on your own to help you with other fellowship applications and future positions.
 
It's strange that no one wants to collaborate with you or sponsor you.  Unfortunately, if you're able to, I'd suggest some serious soul searching here.  It seems quite unlikely that as a whole the faculty have plotted to be mean to you.  Rather, something has happened that makes them not want to work with you.  Think about a guy who hates every woman he's ever dated - HE is the common element in those relationships.
 
It's a bummer the tenure track position fell through, but if you got that offer than you can get other offers.
 
For more pragmatic ideas:  can you try to get a sponsor at a different school?  could you apply for a tenure-track position at a lower ranked school (and plan to spend 3 years improving you research and grants to apply to a better school later one)?  can you keep working there without a fellowship?
 
You mention leaving academia, but not wanting to "return home".  This is a bit of a drastic step, but I think most junior academics under-estimate their employability.  You say you're not sure what you'd do if you left academia, but that's something you could spend some time thinking about...

If you're this worried about it, have you considered contacting the other schools to see if you could still enroll with funding for the fall? If your mental health issues are leaving you concerned about your ability to do well in a PhD program this fall, have you thought about requesting a deferral or medical "leave" so that you could get your health in order and then start your program either in January or next fall? Those are the first two things that popped into my mind.
 
I would also say, without knowing your field, that some of your concerns seem legitimate to me. I would be concerned about a program that has only a few good placements in the last decade. But, I would also look to your specific advisor's placement and use that as a guide. (For example, my PhD program has decent placement but, of the faculty in it, the best placement record belonged to one specific person whose students got jobs at R1s and top SLACs.) Having full funding is definitely an asset though and one you shouldn't just shrug off. Have you talked to current grad students in that program about their experiences? That might help allay some of your fears/worries about the department.
 
Good luck!

I won't claim to be particularly knowledgable regarding these topics, considering that I'm an international and haven't started the program yet. However, I have some comments based on the impressions I got during the graduate student visitation weekends and my own situation as an international.

I experienced that a large fraction of the incoming graduate students had, at least in my perspective, unrealistic expectations and ways of reasoning regarding their life choices. It was not uncommon to hear comments along the line of "It is reasonable to give up all my interests and suffer for the coming 5-6 years, because that will prepare me for a wonderfull TT position". I find this disturbing for many reasons, but in particular because realistically only a few will actually go on to TT positions. In addition, I had the impression that there was a general feeling, projected from both students and professors, that the academic path is the only truly honorable path.

I think these attitudes are different from what I'm use to from home. At my undergraduate university, I feel that most people who go into PhDs do it mainly out of interest, and that there are no particular "rules" regarding what you should or shouldn't do after graduation. Even though the TT job market is probably worse than in the U.S., I don't feel that people have the same level of concer regarding their future prospects. There are probably many reasons for this, one surely being that the general environment here is not nearly as competetive; however, I would not be surprised if the attitudes play a large part. Students know what they're getting into and plan their PhDs according to their personal desires and needs, and faculty tend to be supportive. That said, there is a fair bit of uncertainty and job market anxiety here as well, but it doesn't seem to be on the scale scale.

I got the impression that many students in America are going into programs with rather uncompromising attitudes, putting all their focus working towards an academic position without seriously considering other options. Additionally, faculty may be fueling this by portraying academia as the only acceptable path. Driven by these kinds of attitudes, students might be tailoring themselves for jobs that they likely won't ever get. I'm thinking that the biggest issue is that graduate studies are covered in a sort of lie, claiming that the purpose of the studies is to pursue an academic career, while in reality only a fraction of the students follow that path. If so, the attitudes need to change. Students need to know what their prospects are, and the programs need to adapt so that the students get appropriate training in regards to where they will be going after graduation.


On another topic, I've read a number of comments regarding implementing tougher quals/proposals/whatevertheymaybecalled to weed out a large fraction of the students after the first year. I'd just like to add that from and international student perspective this would be horrenderous. Starting graduate studies as an international often involves uprooting your whole life and moving to another continent, which is not trivial to say the least. Coupling this with possibly getting thrown out after a year would be nerve wrecking. The relocation process is hardly reversible; for example, if I had to move back after a year I would not be able to get a decent appartment, I would have lost a large sum of money and I would have to rebuild my whole life again. In addition, I might not be able to find a job/get into a new program for a while. I won't make any claims regarding whether such implementations would be good or bad when considering a greater picture, but I hope you will consider the situations of international students when discussing such suggestions.



As mentioned, I hardly have the experience to be an authority on these topics, and I'm just presenting my own highly speculative ideas.

As far as I know, most grants that professors apply for to fund their graduate students do not come with restrictions on the nationality of the graduate student. However, almost all fellowships that graduate students apply for (e.g. NSF) do come with such restrictions.
 
This makes a difference to the # of international students admitted because admitting domestic students means that there is a chance that student will win something like a NSF and reduce the cost to the department. But if you accept an international student, it is much less likely they will ever reduce your cost. This factor makes it harder for international students to be admitted in both public and private schools. (In public schools, there is an additional hurdle of international students costing more).
 
Also, as others point out, even though international students cost more, training them to be PhDs might be a fairly cost effective way to do humanitarian missions too. The US wants to send money overseas to help developing countries and training PhDs can be part of that mission. I'm certainly not qualified to comment on whether this makes quantitative sense, but I think it's important to point out / recognize that there is value to the US for them to train international students while also recognizing that international student admission should be harder because American taxes fund most schools.

If this were about some random people I would totally agree 100% with you, TakeruK.
 
But we have to keep in mind that we are talking about a professor's boyfriend attacking one of her students. That changes things.  Even when she did not directly participate and she is not responsible, she is involved, in a way. It is her boyfriend and her student. And definitely she was the one causing the trouble, otherwise, why would the boyfriend do such a thing if not because of something she said?
 
Regarding the post about feeling sorry for her and the possibility that she is in an abusive relationship... well, I guess we can throw all sorts of assumptions to the very little we know about this, but even when she did not do anything in front of the boyfriend, there are other ways to reach out someone to make things better.

First of all, congratulations!  I know that this was unplanned, but you plan to keep the baby and so it's a celebration
 
Second of all, this is tricky but I think this is about your comfort level.  Like you, I believe that a pregnancy (and any other health issues) are private and really only the PI's business to the extent that it affects your health.  Personally, I would wait until I arrived on campus, got settled in, and had my first meeting with my advisor.  I would mention it very matter-of-factly.  "Professor X, I just want to let you know that I am pregnant, and due in late December.  I'm just letting you know so we can discuss my plans for spring semester 2014."  And then begin discussing how you plan to handle the spring…don't let the conversation derail from being about how you're going to work your pregnancy around working (unless it turns into positive baby-talk, which is okay if you want!)
 
For what it's worth, I had a woman in my cohort get pregnant in our first year (maybe it was the beginning of our second year, I don't remember, but it was definitely during the coursework phase and our coursework here lasts 2-3 years).  She has since had another baby, and she's still here, trucking along and being awesome.  It can be done, so don't let people discourage you.  Only you can decide what you can and can't handle and do.  Lots of people do PhDs with children.

I like "advisor," because you can secretly pronounce it like "advizoar" in your head--which makes them sound like a crusading, world-defending robot.
 
But different strokes, right?

I did not read the original post, but I can say that it sort of bothers me that many people here are talking about how the professor is not responsible for the acts of her boyfriend. Certainly she is not, but let's not forget she is THE PROFESSOR and her boyfriend just assaulted HER STUDENT.
 
She should have stopped her boyfriend's actions immediately. It would have been nice to have an apology right there, but even a late, email apology to the student was the professional and right thing to do.
 
She, as a figure of authority in the whole situation, should have been the one worried the most about the acts of her boyfriend to one of her students.
 
I wonder what the school and the people in this thread who dismissed what happened to the OP if the case were "A professor and her boyfriend where having fun at a bar and suddenly, a student (the OP) insulted and dumped water to the professor's boyfriend". Sure, it was not a fight on campus, sure the attack was not to the professor, but I bet that everybody would be on the OPs case for doing that.
 
Moreover, if the OP after being assaulted had, as a reaction to the slander, kicked the professor's boyfriend in the balls. What the school and the people who has dismissed this awful event would say?
 
The OP posted a bad situation that happened to him/her hoping for some support and what he/she finds is a bunch of lawyer-like comments, dismissing what happened because the professor did not directly engaged in the slander (but permitted it and did not show any sign of shame or regret for doing so).
 
Granted, the OP needs to learn how to couple with negative feedback and bad advise (the whole Title IX was totally out of place, and the OP fell in the trap). But I felt that some posters here were just expecting the moments when the OP dropped the ball to attack her and cast a shadow of doubt in her account.
 
This is the  internet, people posts things anonymously all the time and we decide what to believe and what not to believe. But in this kind of forums, for the sake of the functionality and purpose of the site, we need to take the member's posts as true and offer advise accordingly. We do not know what has been left out or not, but can't just assume the worst.
 
When someone posts that his/her GPA is 3.9 and has 2 published papers (in the infamous what are my chances threads) we all assume this is the truth. Why not believe what the OP of this thread said too? This is not a place to set what is true and what is not and if the OP is lying or not about something, it is just about offering the best response to someone asking a question. What the person asking decides to do is up to him/her.
 
That being said, I would definitely recommend the OP to talk about what happened to the Professor AND the Dean. Maybe nothing will happen, but at least the professor is not left with a free lunch (of roasted student with chips on the side) and thinking that she can have her boyfriend to do her dirty jobs to students.

The biggest issue here is that the initial post was deleted (less than an hour after the thread was made). Now, anyone who comes into this thread has no context what so ever, even if you wanted "helpful" advice you'll never get it. 

I'm just going to say that the moderators have been real jerks to the OP on this thread. She came on here seeking advice after a really disturbing attack (that's what it was) from someone affiliated with a faculty member, and not only have you been dismissive, but you've 1) accused her of blowing things out of proportion 2) suggested she's a serial complainer/overreactor 3) suggested that her personal well-being is somehow less important than a professor's career.
 
You accuse her of ginning up a Kipnis style complaint, but your comments remind me of why I thought Kipnis was so off-base with her initial article. A professor has a sexual relationship with a student, and when they end, if a student feels that they were taken advantage of due to the power imbalance, they are often counseled to consider the ramifications of their actions on the professors career. "Oh, you don't want him to get fired over this" or "you were a willing participant" or "maybe you read action x wrong". It's terrible advice, and less than what I expect to see from you.
 
No, the school can't punish the professor's partner over an action that took place outside of an organized campus event, but to think that his action occurred in a vacuum, without any input from the professor herself, is ridiculous. If nothing else, the professor should have apologized to the student and taken actions to remedy any trauma, as there is no question that an act like that could have a chilling effect on a student's participation with faculty.
 
I think I've been a valuable contributor in my time here, but, if this is how the moderators and staff treat someone, I think I'm going to be ending my time on this site.

The fact that you can claim that you: 
- have a fair amount of experience with your university's Title IX office
- know that submitting a complaint does not initiate legal proceedings
- know that they will refer you to the correct office
- know that the first step is to contact the Dean's office
suggests to me that you may have a history of over/mis-interpreting your professors' actions and perhaps filing complaints that are not found justified. Perhaps the fact that those of us who were able to read your original post found your reading of the situation somewhat misguided can help you rethink why you want to file this complaint against a person who I believe you called a mentor in your (now deleted) original post, and whether or not it's warranted.
 
  You cannot control what people post in this thread, despite the fact that you started it. Everyone is allowed to post their opinion, and as long as the language is not offensive, it is perfectly fine for there to be disagreements. Discussions can naturally develop in different direction and our priority is to both facilitate the current discussion and ensure that the advice is relevant for future board members as well (and therefore the fact that you deleted your original post after receiving thoughtful feedback is against our board policies, and frankly quite disrespectful to the people who took the time to read and comment on your post). If you feel like the conversation no longer contributes to your situation, you can choose not to participate in it anymore.

>>Inb4 why more PhDs is important in some other countries:
 
100% with Crafter here, but I'm going to add a few points with my country as an example. Bangladesh hardly has any research opportunities currently. It's us with graduate degrees and research experience from abroad who can help improve this dire state. Lately, there's been a rise in the number of people pursuing graduate degrees abroad. When they come back, they're going to be entrepreneurs, create bridges for collaboration with the universities they graduated from, help improve the education system, initiate new research, motivate future generations, better the economy, improve infrastructure, etc. I hope to be a part of a tech and research boom in my country.
 
Being a young country, they're also building new universities (e.g. my undergrad school opened in 1995)--both public and private--to accommodate the rise in population and %literacy, so the number of TT positions is far from saturation. I'm sure there are many countries just like mine that would benefit from more PhDs. So yes, taking fewer PhDs is not the answer.
 
It's not only about STEM fields, it's the same for humanities and social sciences as well. There's a bias towards STEM fields and the others are seen as "lower"; we need to improve that. Also, there are some fields (within the "soft sciences" primarily) that are either completely absent or provided at too few universities compared to their actual demand.
 
Additionally, where you study also influences you thought and approach styles. We've been staying to ourselves and using only our resources for too long, hence the education system hasn't quite changed in a very long time. I hope the current rise in interest in abroad studies introduces some diversity of thought and ameliorates this.