Apogeee

Ugh. That's individual school preference and administrative directive. It's not like that in every class, thank goodness!

It's a delicate balance, I think, between attention to reading and discussion, and work paid to increasing grammar skills. There is very little call for transltion in the real world. And, certainly, a reader has to understand the text before translation can actually happen.

This is a fascinating point of view that I have never, ever heard before. Have you taught at the university level for a long time? What would you say sets it apart from teaching at the secondary level?

Traditionally, one expects to hear by April 1, and have the response by April 15.

It is certainly an option that those students who have the disposition to learn proactively should consider! Not as good as a 3D program, but it can be better than nothing.

It is entirely possible that my experience will be different here, but do consider that the problems discussed here are problems of teaching and learning, and these are universal. (Upcoming PhD is Teacher Ed and Teacher Development).

No funding means you pay for all the courses, your tuition, and fees, housing, and get no money at all from the school.

When you are in a 3D class, you are able to interact directly with the instructor. Often, the instructor can tailor the course to the needs of the people sitting there. When you're not sitting there, it's entirely on you to be 1000 percent more proactive with contacting the instructor to ask questions, to prepare the material on the syllabus ahead of time, and to work alone. If you are very good at these tasks, you stand a good change of success even with the obvious and serious limitations of a distance course. But often, students do not have these skills, and they are basically invisible if they have trouble and don't speak up often and politely, almost before they realize there could be a problem. I have been an instructor and a student of these courses - so that's the source of my experience here.

I am a parent who is a grad student, and I highly recommend option C. Can your parents provide you a quiet place to study? Are your parents willing for you to stay there? Because if you move out, you are going to have to room with someone, and that can be a huge nightmare.

Not at all comparable. You don't get any of the nuance that you get in the 3D situation. Although these programs are said to be accorded the same respect, it doesn't really work out that way in the real world.

I sent hand-written thank you notes the day I applied to various schools. I am sending one more round after I make my final decision.

I should have asked more clearly. Studying what, specifically, and sharing which ideas, specifically, makes you happy? I wonder if your rejections are more a symptom of the fact that you are not applying for the programs you really are the most suited for. How do you like to share your ideas? As a teacher? But again, which ideas are you the happiest sharing? I don't think it's a good idea to skip this question, or minimize it. I think you are missing something vital here that could make all the difference to your personal success.

Since your school does not rank students, I would not add a rank on your CV. It is not going to be relevant to your next program anyway, and anyone in a graduate admissions department who sees the school you are graduating from will realize that the school does not rank. Include your GPA, which should tell the story clearly enough.

Ditto the advice above. Did you ask the school about funding options for this year? If the Church job is relevant to your field, you could want to do that anyway, but as to the other expenses and the additional part time work, perhaps you can do something via work-study that keeps you on campus, and perhaps even in your department.

I'm sorry about your rejections. What are you planning to do with your degree? What had you written in your personal statement about your research interests? Were there any hints in your rejection letters? When you wrote your thank you notes to those deans who responded to you, did you leave the door open to ask them what you can do to make your portfolio more effective? And finally, what do your current professors think about your portfolio, about your CV, and about your personal statement?

This makes me feel better about the fact that I keep looking for these sorts of signs, too. I hope you hear from them soon.

Just getting into a program isn't the whole picture. You will have to be renewed every year after that. Is your sense of social awkwardness more among your age-peers, or is it more general? Very often, people who don't get along with peers in the general school population find themselves right at home in academia. If this is more of a problem than just a sense of awkwardness, consider counseling. Regardless of what your status will be in academia, at some point you will probably have to work at a job somewhere. Tackling these issues now, if it is just a matter of facing them, can give you more confidence. As to the visiting weekend expenses, can you afford it to go? After visiting, it is possible that you will either find out that you fit right in, or that you don't even really want to go there. Good luck.

ASU is on Spring Break through tomorrow 3/13. Chances are that you will hear from them when their break is over.

You could probably write to NYU to decline and tell them you can't figure out the site, so that someone else could have an offer with time to consider it. I don't know why so many schools make the websites and the PhD application process so confusing: it's almost like a test of your ability to jump through hoops.

Here is my suggestion. If you get in but without funding during this cycle, or, if you the worst case happens and you don't get in this cycle, apply to a postbacc. The thing is, you will want to show, through your next work, either undfunded or a postbacc, that you are no longer engaging in the behavior that led to less than successful outcomes in the past. You can get beyond one less than stellar part of your portfolio. Meanwhile, too, ramp up your CV.

Are you applying to the right major? What are happiest doing? What makes you feel like you're home?

I am missing my family very much. I came here to do a job, and I am doing it. But I miss them.

I have just gotten an acceptance from School A with limited funding (about 40% of the cost of living), who wants to hear my reply within 3 weeks. Meanwhile, School B accepted me long ago, but with no word yet on funding. I was expecting to have until April 15 to decide. Has anyone else gotten requests for early response to acceptances?

Congratulations on your good news. I have been steeling myself for rejections. Is this because of what they call "impostor syndrome"?