pawnee68502

Anyone else heading to the Davis recruitment weekend March 14-15?

Synthla, are you ok? :wink: ........just kidding!!!!! .....and I have two.

EXACTLY. Additionally, I've found when you take the time to, really do nothing more than be a decent human being, office assistants and clerical workers can save your a** if need be. And they will. And, as someone who has worked as an office assistant, and with a parent who has "only been a secretary" her whole life, it's really unnecessary to take the tone of, "it's their job." Some day, someone may say the same to you. Karma.....

This is a pretty specific Davis question, but maybe someone out there may be able to help. My husband and I are seriously considering a move to Davis, but as we own our home where we are currently living, we are thinking of renting a house in Davis. Might anyone know if houses are readily available in Davis? I've scoured craigslist, and have some idea of what's out there, just wondering if anyone from Davis might have some tips or suggestion on where or how to look for houses to rent. Thanks!

I would certainly let you know--but they said I wouldn't receive funding details until March! However, I plan to speak with my potential advisor, and the grad chair early next week. I can pass on what I find out. What I do know is I have full funding for the first year, and then "...our PhD students typically all receive TA-ships for a consecutive 4 year period after." Something else that was mentioned by the prof I was talking to yesterday was that he said by law, in the UC system they can only offer the first year of funding, but then renew or do TA-ships or whatever. I really have no idea if this is true, (I don't know much about the UC system and it's rules) but I'm sure there are others here who have first hand knowledge. Maybe they'll share. I'm guessing California schools outside of the UC system have different guidelines.

Yesterday, I was speaking with a professor whose opinion was that students entering graduate school this cycle are in a somewhat fortunate position. Next year he predicted that wide-spread, deep budget cuts will keep many more students from being accepted than will this year. He said that budgets are currently being evaluated and departments are primarily making minor changes. Also, he said that those entering grad school now were much more fortunate than students almost finished with their graduate work, who are now heading out into (a pretty sparse) job market. I know at my university (and dept) faculty searches have recently been called off. It's unfortunate,but I think in the next year or so the situation will probably get worse. That being said, being a student admitted with funding to a UC school, I will certainly take the financial situation into consideration, but won't base my decision off of it. Funding is definitely important to me, but as a future humanities grad student, I've never expected to be rolling in dough. Just my two cents.

Congrats Harvard Admits!!!!

See! Check those junk mail folders!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!

Hm. I hadn't been checking the application website either. I did just now and it doesn't reflect my admission status. It just lists a few things (like transcripts and ref's) received. Like yours, it seems to have been updated today. Sorry that doesn't help much. I haven't visited the Davis campus, though my husband has been there a few times, and really loves it. I've heard great things. Though coming from a midwest winter, it sometimes doesn't take much.... Though I doubt any of us here aren't doing so, just a friendly reminder to check those junk mail folders (or spam filter, whatever) the email I received today from Davis had been deposited in my "trash".

Thanks Nicolay! Those double rejections yesterday from Yale/Minnesota were brutal. It sounds like UCSB and Stanford may be out next? Thanks to the Stanford "insider" on the board--are you a grad student liason at Stanford? Just wondering how you have the inside scoop!

...I'm the UC Davis admit from today. Was good news to hear after the bloodbath that was yesterday. Here's to more news tomorrow! :wink:

Oops! How embarrassing! :oops: Anyhoo, my congrats to the Minnesota admit!!!

Congrats Seahistory!!!!!! As fellow UMinn applicant, mind if I ask it it was via phone or email?

I can certainly sympathize with you synthla. Just this week I found the "results" posting board here--and now wish I hadn't! Checking it 10 (or more..) times a day isn't helping my anxiety level.

Thanks for the UCSB update! --a fellow UCSB applicant

Hi everyone, This fall will be round one for me. I'm applying mostly PhD programs in Modern Middle Eastern history. After lurking on this board late last spring, I think I *may* have a taste for what I'm in store for this upcoming fall, and am equally terrified/excited. I think I'll have a strong application with a high GPA, honors thesis, research experience, and great letters. That being said, my mediocre GRE scores still keep me awake at night...... My current list of applications include: UPENN, Georgetown, Rutgers, UT Austin, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCSB, UC Santa Cruz, and UMinnesota. Good luck everyone, and let the worrying begin!

So, my husband and I are (VERY tentatively) considering a UPENN/Princeton combo. (Me to UPENN, him Princeton) I was wondering if it was possible to do a train commute between the two locations? We would likely live in Princeton, and I would commute to Philly. If a train commute is reasonable, any ideas on how long travel time would be, and an approximate monthly cost? I'm not familiar with the east coast, so all of this is new to me! Mapquest seems to make it look do-able, but I'm sure realistically it's another story.... Any help is GREATLY appreciated!

I too would be interested in getting answers to the post above. Also, I'm interested how non-native Minnesotans deal with the Winter? I'm from the mid-west, but know that extreme winters can be oppressive. What are Minneapolis winters like? And, are there lots of activities or does everyone just hunker down till Spring? :-)

Could anyone offer advice specifically about the cost of renting a house in Santa Barbara? I'm married, and wondering if this is something that is even feasible for the area. Additionally, is there a significant amount of housing near the UCSB campus, or do students live off campus and then commute? Just trying to get an idea of the area. Thanks for your help!

There is a similar discussion on another thread, but I thought possibly there were enough of us out there dealing with this issue, maybe I should start a new topic. I will be starting my grad program in Fall '09, but with a husband in academia, who is ready to being a tenure track position, I'm now dealing with the stress of trying to find 2 perfect schools--one where we'll both fit in. My question is: Do any of you have advice on how to face this difficult decision? My current advisor lived apart from his spouse for 5+ years while they were both finishing advanced degrees. To me, this is really over the top. I'd like to say, screw it, 'me first! let's go wherever I want to go!' and choose whatever ever program is best for me, but realistically there's two of us to consider for. Anyone else out there dealing with a similar situation? Advice?

Thanks! Univ. of Arizona sounds like a solid possibility. I had Julia Clancy-Smith on my list, but didn't realize that there was a Middle Eastern Studies program there as well.

My research so far has been focused on cultural/intellectual histories of contemproary French and Algerian Intellectuals. I have a couple of different interest areas and haven't chosen yet which I'd like to pursue. I've thought about staying within North Africa, and working more within Cultural history or maybe women's movements. I've also considered working on Muslim immigration issues in Europe, likely Germany, because of my language skills. Thanks for your reply!

Hello all, This is my first post on the grad cafe, and I must say it seems to be an amazing site! I am finishing up my last year as an Undergrad, and have begun to seriously compile my list of target schools/faculty members. I was wondering, might anyone else be applying to Middle Eastern and/or Modern Europe History programs? I've had luck searching for some of the more prestigious or well known programs, but does anyone have advice on smaller or maybe even private Universities? So far my list includes: UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UT Austin, Columbia. Suggestions? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!