Quickmick

When @Sigaba says this, the way I understand it is that the thesis option will involve more research and is generally the preferred experience if you plan to continue in academia, while the non-thesis/profession/report track is more appropriate if you plan to enter the workforce upon completion.

Agree with @Bmay80 in terms of looking at an amortization calc. like this https://studentloanhero.com/calculators/student-loan-deferment-calculator/ It is important to remember that you will be charged interest while you are in school, the only deferred part are the payments. So if you borrow 60k in three years you will owe 70k and will be on the hook for around 800$ a month for a decade. ouch. Also remember that at some point you might want to buy a house and your student loan debt counts against your DTI ratio so might be a deal breaker. good luck!

After a challenging couple of weeks (written exams two weeks ago) I successfully completed the orals this morning and am pleased to share that I have passed my comps and am ABD. hip hip Basically, though, it just means I get to keep going to work! Good luck everyone, hope you are well and your summer gets off to a good start. ~QM

Hello ijop45, Just curious, what do you want to do after you get your degree? Thinking of the endgame might help you plot a course. Also, when you say you might consider looking at the researchers first, then where they are based.Maybe look at your most cited researchers? Someone who inspired you somehow? One thing is for sure, you won't get into 100% of the programs you don't apply to! Hope this helps a little, just thought it might be beneficial to re-frame how you are looking at potential targets, then when you have some work on the strategy to get there. I do a lot of predictive work using ML. For me, it is just the best tool for the job...are you interested in writing the tools or using the tools? A colleague of mine (in the US) has a degree from a Canadian university... how it is 'viewed' has never come up. good luck!

For my MS I wrote a thesis, and as part of the formatting had to say what journal format I would follow. Currently that work is 'under review' for publication and, in my experience, the main difference between the versions was length. I had to be very concise, which meant I had to be very discerning about the scope of the publication version. For the PhD you can (at my uni), indicate that the dissertation will be a whole, or will be comprised of three separate chapters each publishable. The approach here probably depends on the discipline. History might opt for the long one, and the sciences the article approach--but I am speculating about history. I don't have to publish as I go, though it might make the defense a bit easier lol. While these are logistic components, I would think that part of the decision as to how to format should be driven by what you want to do after you graduate. If you want to pursue a path that values publications then you might want to have some articles in the can stemming from your dissertation. If you plan on doing something different, it might not matter so much...good luck!

In my experience, "fit" is very important to advisors. In addition to talking about your interests, you might want to mention something about what your potential advisors do, and how your interest can support that/dovetail/align etc... good luck!

I am chiming in to share my experience and offer an element of the financial aspect I considered (and still consider). I just turned 45, am in a PhD program and will be ABD after quals this spring. I finished my BA after 1 1/2 years of coursework finishing in Dec '14. Got in to a MS program (was willing to relocate) and after a semester picked up some funding that covered my tuition, most of my health insurance, and paid me. 2 years on the MS, grad Aug '17. Continuing to the PhD, I spent last year doing coursework and research. Coursework is done, will defend my proposal this fall and am lucky enough to get to travel for some fieldwork. So I am about 5 years in and have 2-3 to go counting the whole trip--which sounds similar to what you are about to tackle. It has been instrumental that I am on a fellowship that covers my tuition and pays me a reasonable salary. I have a wife (who contributes financially) and a two year old daughter. We take family trips, and have bought a couple of houses in the past two years (just pointing out we aren't starving). For me, the PhD was always a life goal as well. While working in academia is a possibility, I am doing this because I believe it helps make me the best possible person I can be. I am looking at the journey as door opening and as I go I try not to pigeon hole the future. I don't see myself necessarily being willing to make the sacrifices that go along with the responsibilities at an R1. Part of the financial calculation should probably include what you are giving up. So, if tuition is covered and I make 24k/year, I need to consider what I would have made working. If I would have made 100k then the cost of the education has to include the difference between my compensation and the "would have made" number on an annual basis. In this case it is 76k a year, but you could back out tuition and benes for consideration as well. In addition how much of that would you have saved and been making 7% on? Just pointing out the opportunity cost while you are in school is probably substantial. In short--at least to this point--people have never considered my age in terms of providing me opportunity, though if this will continue, I cant say. Also, given the opportunity cost I mentioned combined with working years ahead of me it might not payoff financially, but there is more to this equation. What makes you happy? How many 'things' do you need? If the PhD is the credential you need to put yourself in a position to be qualified to contribute to society in the way you want then go for it. I have no regrets about the experience so far and would make the same choices I did in '13 if I had it to do over again. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Go back for the BS, maybe consider if there are accelerated classes on 8 week sessions or something to get that BS knocked out and apply to some programs and see what happens. If you work hard, are nice, play well with others, have a good work ethic and are reasonably bright there is no reason why you can't do what you are discussing... I did.

Hello all! I haven't been popping in, but thought I would update anyone interested on how it all shook out. I aimed very high with my history apps and did not get admitted. I tried (unsuccessfully) to make the case that my MS Environmental Science could help me contribute in a novel way to the study of Environmental History. It may not be that they didn't like the idea, but just not how I approached it. I will admit that there were a couple of other weak spots in my app. That being said, the adcomm at my MS institution unanimously voted to admit me to the PhD program were I will continue my work in Coastal and Marine System Science in Socio-Economics. This is a good fit, and this process has confirmed that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. The funding is great, my colleagues are noteworthy, and the time to degree is a lot shorter than if I 'restarted' in the humanities. History, it seems, will remain an avocation--although I think I might have an Environmental Anthro chapter in my dissertation. Generally things are good. My data came in and is showing some significant results, I presented it last week at a conference, and have submitted a draft for an early June defense. I will spend the summer getting it published, and the data set looks to be robust enough to warrant a second pub which should also go out the door late summer. Oh, and I am closing on a house next week! If I had it to do over I wouldn't change a thing. I put my best materials together and knew it was a long shot (for the types of programs I applied) going in, so have no regrets. I was walking into my research institute the other day and found myself thinking that I like every day more than the previous one...which is a cool place to be. I hope everyone is at peace with how the cycle worked out...good, bad, or ugly...and I wish you all the best moving forward.

My setup is more of a cube..but there are only 2 others in the row and they are great. If I crane my neck a bit I get to see the ocean.

So there should only be 1/2 a gagillion.

big bang theory

@rheya19 yeah, but I still hit the elevator button a couple extra times... ;P

just to have different tools to peruse you might look at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/Resdoc/ and the QS world rankings are kind of interesting. The national academies has some interesting stats broken out...

@Ajtz'ihbgood to know, I only mentioned it as it has been an issue for someone i know, but am unsure of the the exact particulars, other than it has been a sticking point. If I get more details I will share.

I would highly recommend reading the solicitation. I applied this past fall ('16) for '17, I applied with one year of my MS complete and IIRC the solicitation said I could only apply with up to one year of graduate work complete (so I could have applied once the year before, too) but I don't remember seeing anything about gap years between MA/MS and PhD restarting your eligibility. It is a little wonky, as if you are a senior you need lors, as I did, and it was a little odd: I had to ask my committee chair and a member to write me a letter of recc for a grant that would be given to me for a program I had not yet been accepted to. While I imagine that I will get accepted to my MS granting institution it just felt kind of backwards. I wondered too, if they wondered why I was doing it given the fact that I am (and would be) funded anyway. It is very prestigious, would offer me more opportunities, give me a raise, and--as I pointed out--would make me "cost less." One thing to consider, if your funding comes with any kind of TA/RAship that is probably your link to uni health insurance, so you may have to buy your own out of the grant pay which means the raise wouldn't be as much as you think. It is another case of lick the stamp and wait, as I expect to hear around the last week of March and their decision very well may affect mine....If you apply make sure you adhere to the formatting requirements or your app will not be reviewed. Hope this helps someone! Good luck.

I, too, am in limbo. Why do you say "it must...?" Could it be that they felt that in years past they didn't have enough time, so changed the due date to give themselves some? Its just that, while your explanation is plausible, it's not the only one. I am not (nor will I) contact anyone until late March--if I have heard nothing. These are very busy people and will get to me in time. While I have only had limited success with this technique, I have been trying to turn any anxiety into excitement, trying to remember that this is something I will only (hopefully) go through once and remember that putting myself in a position to even be considered represents an accomplishment.

They have a really neat History/Anthro combo program (which I didn't apply to),

@slpmayb2123 Oh! My mistake, I just saw the "competitiveness" bit.

@ashny getting in to what? Fully funded PhD programs or self funded masters programs?

Don't forget we are operating with imperfect (incomplete) information, as there is no way to tell how many people have been accepted (and where they are from) who aren't members of the GC community.

@DancinFool scroll to the top of this screen and look at the third tab over. warning....habit forming oh, and its searchable, too.

That is interesting. I'll just make a couple of general suggestions as opposed to being content specific. Our group generally uses the 1 slide per minute guideline... and people tend to talk over so maybe 4-6 slides? While I like your ideas regarding projects/direction I would be careful of making the slides too wordy (people will read instead of listen). Maybe a slide could be a pic of you actually working on the project? My guess is you will do better describing it verbally anyway, so maybe just use the slides for talking points... good luck!

Huzzah! Congratulations.

This one is searchable too: http://www.phdstipends.com/ and you can add your data as well.

body shaping