nevermind

I don't know what program you applied to...but based on what you posted, I'm going to make a guess about what was wrong with your application: it was too personal and not business-like enough. Typically, they're looking for a colleague and generally don't care what a person's background is as long as they have a great research fit and credentials. Unfortunately, you can generally "buy" opportunities that seem like credentials (e.g. studying abroad and gaining fluency in a language, hiring an admissions consultant, etc.). which may give other (more affluent) candidates a longer resume. Your job now is to show them why you're qualified as a candidate and only using an "unconventional past" as reinforcing those traits (it certainly shouldn't be the theme of your narrative). I made a similar mistake my first round of PhD applications (focused too much on obstacles I've overcome...not enough on "fit"). One thing to keep in mind: they didn't reject you (and certainly one rejection doesn't reflect on your academic potential)...they rejected your application. And there's plenty of things you can likely to do give you an edge next application cycle. Since you live close to the university, you may want to contact professors to see if you can audit a class or two in the program, get to know them, and then have them write letters of recommendation for you the next round.

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny - yay! You're choosing Cornell! You'll love it!

Agreed. Now that I have an offer that I'm *pretty* sure I'm going to take, I emailed my last remaining school to see when decisions are going out. I'd rather just get it over with and start a new chapter of my life.

@Neist - Congrats! That's awesome! I think not moving + funding up to 5 years (with pretty much the guarantee of a PhD) pretty much trumps BGSU's MA...but that's just me. Let's all meet up at 4S next year!

bahaha. I'm not sure if the "So nice" is in response to a student picking you up or your expectations of Peoria. Have fun! There's not a lot in Peoria (tiiiiny airport). I grew up about 1.5 hours from there and drive through it every time I go home to see my parents. Hopefully UIUC is better.

Anyone hear anything from Oregon? I've heard nothing, so I'm assuming "no news is bad news" at this point.

The example web pages from this site are perfect! Thanks!

I was admitted to History / Science studies. I'm 99% sure I'm going to accept.

CONGRATS @Josh J.!!! I guess Oregon is going to have to make one heck of an offer.

I have the opposite problem. Going from somewhere cold > somewhere warm. Skirts for daaaaaays.

Yep. Definitely why I didn't apply! It's SUCH a competitive department that even though I *went* to Cornell and took a graduate class in the dept. AND there were professors who overlap with my interests, it was still a long shot. To me, that's crazy. Hopefully you guys don't beat yourself up for it. I know how hard it is to get accepted from "dream" programs, but now I'm so pumped about UCSD (especially with their financial offer) that it's becoming a "dream program" for me. Hopefully your other offers will do the same for you!

Sorry to hear about Cornell STS, @Neist. There were four rejections and no acceptances on the boards when I saw (similarly, there were no acceptances to Harvard's HoS program either)...so I think it must've been a super small admit group this year (historically, at least one person posts an acceptance). What a bummer of a day.

I would still email the POI, thanking them for their time and saying something cordial about paths crossing in the future. Considering you may see them in future conferences/talks, there's definitely no harm in going out of your way to be extra gracious.

Thanks @fuzzylogician and @TakeruK for the helpful information. I've worked for the past couple years as a copywriter/content strategist, so I'm not really *too* worried about optimizing web tools for indexing/analytics/etc. I've worked extensively with branding, so developing a personal brand throughout graduate school is pretty key for the eventual job hunt, I suspect. I've seen a lot of different pages (anywhere from half personal / half academic to entirely academic), so it's nice to hear a (sort of) consensus of how to present the information. The live tweeting conferences (complete with twitter handles) didn't even occur to me. I really just wanted my own page to update/link to in addition to the short bio on the student directory.

A good coat and good shoes will get you pretty far. Ithaca is heaven in June when undergrads have left and the weather isn't too hot yet!

I was wondering if any of you guys have a "Grad student" site (with CV, research interests, blog) on it? I'm thinking about building one (I've been looking at other students' pages) and was wondering what type of strategic content to put on it. So far I have: -Research interests -link to download CV -social media links (LinkedIn, Academia.edu, my Twitter which is professional and engages with scholars on research topics) -maybe a blog where I can document my research (?) -a little bio about me that's professional, but shows I have interests outside academia --- Anything else that I'm missing? Thanks!

Rock climbing outside all year round? I'm going to be so strong! and by "so strong", I mean...reading and highlighting and note taking.

Thanks! I tried not to get my hopes up because I know how broke the UC system is and I knew that it was a particularly competitive applicant pool (and my quant. GRE was frightfully looooow). But now it means that I can start planning my move (and start making a budget)...I'm way more excited about the admitted students day now that I know how much confidence the department has in my abilities/potential.

Thanks! I'm only waiting on Oregon now, but to be honest, I think it'll be hard for them to match UCSD's offer. SO happy and grateful tonight.

It's no Nobel Prize winner calling me personally, but I'll take it. ;-)

Thanks! This admissions cycle has been so up and down for me. Reading the letter and knowing I can just focus on studying...it's amazing and something I've never really had the luxury of doing before.

Finally got my funding offer from UCSD! "This financial package represents the highest award that the Department offers and is a tribute to your outstanding qualifications for graduate study." SUPER excited for 5 years of guaranteed support AND no TA-ing my first year. San Diego sunshine is looking better and better.

I'd also add UT-Austin to that list.

I graduated college in 2004. Graduated in with my first Master's degree in 2008, second Master's degree in 2012. Now I'm class of *maybe* 2021. So let's not talk about this.

I asked about when funding information would be sent out and was pretty explicit, saying that I'd applied to the joint program and I didn't know if that would factor into my funding package / notification. They told me that they've "been in contact" with the Science Studies program and that funding info would be sent "early next week" (this was on Friday). So I'm assuming it means I'm in. The acceptance letter said that official acceptance through the graduate school is pending, so I'm assuming all the funding decisions have been made, they're just waiting on the graduate school's stamp of approval. Also, my POI is in the Science Studies program, so it would only make sense.