rheya19

I thought I was out for the count, but I just got a surprise acceptance letter to Oxford..... AH!
Now, we await funding decisions. Oxford would be a dream come true, especially since it is very strong in my field of interest and has a perfect PI. How sad it would be to turn Oxford down. 
Are there interviews for funding? Is there any way to know if I still stand a shot at funding?

1. I have a sweet tooth and binge on whatever is sweet in the house. So I've made a rule that I can have any treat I want, but I have to go to the store and get one single serving of it. One slice, one piece, one candy bar, one whatever. I can't bring any of it home again.
70% of the time I'm too lazy to go get anything, and when I do get a treat, I eat more slowly and savor it, and I can't binge. 
2. Gym membership. I set certain days and times I have to go. But I only have to go there. If, when I get there, I'm tired or don't feel like working out, I can turn around and go straight home. That caveat gets my butt there, but 95% of the time I figure "I might as well do the tread mill for 10 minutes," and an hour later I have done a full workout.

I think everyone goes into the application process with a couple of top choices. (I even intentionally told myself I didn't have any just to avoid feeling disappointment later.) But then we get told that to succeed, you need to fully commit to your goal! So we work extra hard on the top choice applications, positive thinking, privately engage in the Secret, prayer, and witchcraft, indulge ourselves in researching the city where our top choice is just to get a feel for it... 
So of course it's disappointing when we don't get it. And I'm willing to be that more people don't get into their top choice than do. 
I think the disappointment can stick with you, because most grad students I know nail their sense of self-worth to their grades, publications, schools, and what their profs think of them. Academics are in an unusual world where validation never seems to come often enough, and when it does come, it never feels enough or lasts long enough. We always are reminding ourselves of ways we're falling short.
I get what you're saying, and I think you're not alone in feeling that way. 

I hate when Starbucks employees get pretentious when you say "medium." They get that attitude and say, "Grande, Tall, or Vente?" and pull the friggin cup sizes out to show you.
I want to drag them across the counter and say, "A MEDIUM. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT MEANS. IT'S THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE." Don't play games, little girl! I haven't had my caffeine yet.

A week ago I stupidly reread that article abt how the top 8 schools in history make up [scary statistic] of the number of the tenure tracked history professors in the country. I'm not going to one of those top 8- so what exactly is T2 when we're talking about placement anyway? The only reason why I'm doing a phd is because there literally wasn't anything else I was willing or able to do and having avoided ever getting a day job, my stipend next year will be 2x more than I've ever made (I'm in my 30s). In other words: as far as I'm concerned, I got a job with a 5 year contract doing one of the only things I was qualified to do, making the highest salary I could possibly make. But I (do desperately) want to stay in the academy/Having said that:
-try to think along the lines of creating multiple CVs to increase application options. (Mine are ethnic studies, American studies/history, Islam in America, black religion, and American religious history.)
-increase your odds for placing outside of your track by publishing in secondary fields (my plan there is theology- aiming to teach intro to religion courses or at least show that I could teach a basic theology class).
-digital humanities are not going away. Start gaining skills that might make it possible that you're hired by/have a secondary appointment in a DH lab, university library, etc. (those gigs they tend to take the work horses from public schools anyway because those are the schools that deign to teach real skills.)
-find out abt whether your school is part of Versitile PhD (or whatever it's called) which gives further opportunities to develop skills for deanships etc (esp relevant for div school if you're ordained and willing to work in student affairs- those folks get to teach sorta and publish without much support). 
-look at community college jobs. You can be the next bell hooks!
-we could all be dead in 5 years so no worries.

@brittanyandrea is the question which program will produce the best job or which program will make you the most competitive applicant you can be for the jobs you'd like?
Either/Or
Find on Linkedin the incumbents of positions you'd like to have. Look at where they've earned their degrees. Get a list of recent graduates (ten years or so) from Syracuse and Brown and see how they're doing in their careers. When you're preforming this research, keep in mind that graduates of Ivies may be hard to find because parts of their networks are accessible only to its members. (You might ask Brown to put you in touch with an alumna.)

I think I read a more critical reply to your post, and I was all of a sudden defensive for you. Maybe it's also that I finally got the rejection letter from my top choice a few days ago, so I'm still feeling that sting.
I agree with you that disappointments in our life are not always forgotten. For me, the longer I live, the more I wonder how my life might have gone and how much further I might be now if things had been different. 

There are a lot of "honor societies" that exist just to make money from membership dues, and it sounds like Golden Key is one of them. Don't join, it's just a waste of money - for all we know, they send emails to everyone.
Deans' list is something most universities have - if your GPA is in the top 10% (or 5% or whatever, depending on the school), you are on the "Deans List". This is not really a society as a university recognition, you might get a little card in the mail or something. You can put it on your CV if you want, but in general your GPA speaks for itself.

I might have to correct myself already, as the title is misleading: technically, when I applied to grad school, I only had a first choice, and all other schools (about 10) were 'fall-back options'. And this might already be my most heartfelt advice I could give to current applicants: don't do it with my attitude. Because if you don't get into that one school, you might never fully stop resenting them for not having admitted you.
The irony is that my first-choice school was much lower ranked than the school I ended up going to. While I was rejected by my first choice, I got into an ivy league (much to my surprise), and so took their offer. At that time, the fact that I had gotten into a higher-ranked school kind of alleviated the pain of not having gotten into my first choice. But let me tell you, even after almost four years in the PhD program in the ivy league school, I cannot pretend that I wouldn't have preferred the other school.
I want to make this clear: This is a very subjective point of view, and it might not be the case for anyone else. And also: I think it was ultimately for the better that I ended up at my current school instead of my first choice. Academically, I've learned about so many new approaches to philosophy that I would not have been confronted with at my first choice. And I would not have lived in this very exciting global city that I live in now, an experience that is worth having in itself. And perhaps it's true that my chances on the job market are better coming from this school instead of from my first choice.
But there is this curious and irrational phenomenon of knowing that this was not my first choice. I was, in some sense, forced to be here as opposed to my first choice, and I know that, despite all the good things, I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been forced to. Do you know the feeling of 'this person looks good on paper, but I just can't fall in love with them'? That's how it feels. I just can't fully fall in love with my current school. And my first choice is a school I had fallen in love with, but was never able to get to know fully. I'll never forget that my current school had always been 'only' my second choice.
The irony is, again, from today's perspective, that I might not be happy if I were at my first choice school. But at least I would have gotten the chance to not love it anymore, to grow wary of it. After a while there, I might have felt the same frustrations that I feel at my current school. But I would have gotten it my way, and the only one to blame would have been me. This way, I can never fully get rid of the feeling that the things that are stupid at my current school (and there are many!) might not be a problem if I had only gotten a chance to go to my first choice.
As I said, I think that being at my current school is on the whole actually better for me than if I had gotten into my first choice. I just want to express this fully irrational feeling about my first choice that never went away. Perhaps someone can relate?

Sounds like the kind of place where there might be lots of politics and inter-personal intrigue. I would suggest approaching your PI with this question, and taking his lead. 
(If it were me, I would probably try to figure out if this is the kind of thing that usually merits authorship, and if so, I'd bring it up and not be ashamed to ask. But then, it's not like a middle authorship is all that important to one's career, so I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it. I would want to make sure this is not a repeat issue, though, where I spend time doing work for someone else, without reciprocity, and without any benefit for myself.)

Agreed. The logic of the ranking is not stated, and none is apparent in its ordering. Not to mention that the subfields under "Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies" are so diverse, and the specializations of certain schools so idiosyncratic, that ranking of schools under that broad category would be difficult in the first place.

Like @RiskyNT, I don't translate unless I'm doing something nuanced with the text and I need to stress it and want everyone on the same page.

Well, Austin FINALLY graced me with their decision. They're out.
Iowa, here I come!

Well, Austin FINALLY graced me with their decision. They're out.
Iowa, here I come!

When you say that the cost is the same, are you taking into account the cost of rent and tuition vs. cost of tuition and free rent? Or are you just looking at tuition? If it's the latter, then they are not similar in cost and you will need to determine the total cost and decide if you are willing to pay (or get a loan for) the difference.
When you say that you are worried about being able to adjust, are there any specific life experiences you've had or things you know about yourself that give you the feeling you would have a hard time making new friends and adjusting? Or do you think it comes from never moving before, being afraid to do it and not knowing what to expect?
This could be an opportunity for you to step outside your comfort zone, to see a different part of the country and to learn new ideas, meet new people and to make new friends. By overcoming your fears, you can become more self-confident and proud of your self for overcoming one of your fears. You will also become more independent and mature in the process. 
If, on the other hand, you have more profound reasons for not wanting to leave - maybe you are extremely timid, used to be bullied in school, possibly have a social anxiety disorder or other health/mental health issue you need extra support for - then having stability, consistency and a solid support system might be what you need to excel. Only you have the right answer to this question.
When all is said and done, barring any extenuating circumstances making it difficult for you to leave, I'd go with the first option for the reasons the poster mentioned above. But if you have to take out a loan for this option, then I'd go with the second if it means you'd have to take out $30,000-40,000 is loans or more for living costs (but only because only because I hate taking out loans. They're no fun paying back).

Hmmm, seems I'm late to the party here. I won't get involved in the discussions that have already taken place, as interesting as they are, except to say that while nutrition needs can vary by individual (a 24 year old male endurance athlete has very different needs than my grandmother) there are a few pretty well-supported "standards" that can be considered to apply to everyone who is not an extremely odd case. I've seen through skimming that some people here claim to have gotten their information from "nutritionists" and I warn everyone: Nutritionist is not a protected title in most areas of the US. Regardless of your background, you can all call yourselves nutritionists if you feel like it, because it requires you to know absolutely nothing about nutrition. Dietitians are the nutrition professionals, so unless your nutritionist is an RDN I would take everything they say with a huge grain of salt. (Unless you're on a cardiac diet. Haha dietetics joke.) And some of the information I see here attributed to nutritionists is something RDNs would not advise except in extreme circumstances under direct professional supervision.
OP, fasting for religious/spiritual reasons is fine if done in a healthy manner, but from a weight loss perspective, it is not useful and will most often lead to weight regain. For sustained weight loss you are best off simply counting your calories and staying under your daily energy expenditure for a long period of time until you hit your goal weight, mixing in exercise as you are able. Beyond that basic foundational approach, I recommend you seek out a dietitian if you would like to learn more about nutrition, since this thread shows that the nutrition knowledge in the public, even among educated individuals, can run the gamut between useful and dangerous, and without a strong nutrition background to separate the two, you risk moving even further from your health goals.
 
("Source": Dietetics undergrad, heading to an MPH Nutrition program in the fall focusing on obesity management and weight loss interventions, personally lost 50% of my total body weight and maintained that loss for five years and counting.)

If you want a hug, I'm located in CPE on dean keeton. we'll hold hands, drink tea and sing songs.

Go to a nutritionist on campus. They know the nutrients you need and they know the stress of school. They are the professionals that can help. They helped me a lot. 

Been in grad school now for almost 2 years (going to graduate either summer or fall) and I must say that this probably has been one of the low points of my life.
I came off a life threatening illness back in 2014. Enrolled in school the following year at a major research university for a masters program since I couldnt do what I do for undergrad ever again since my old job was too stressful and after the damage of my illness I had to change fields. I must say that I've never been so dissatisfied with the choice to go to the school that I went to. For starters the teachers are just straight up arrogant morons. Most of them with the exception of 1 or 2 of them don't really understand the working blue collar world and have this ridiculous attitude towards anyone with a different opinion than theirs. You cant disagree with any of these people, even when they are clearly wrong about something. I always felt they were off about things since before I got sick I worked for a while in the working world and knew that some things they said just don't make sense. Alot of the grad students seemed as clueless as the teachers, maybe not all of them but I would say 3/4s were not thinking much about what they were learning. They were mostly buying into what the teachers were telling them. There was also a pretty bad communication barrier since half the students werent from America, which made it extremely hard to really get to know anyone since the foreign students had a hard time trying to communicate / issues with English.
While trying to put together my portfoilo for jobs I've come to realize that 90% of what I learned is completely useless. None of the jobs I've been applying for really give a crap that I slaved away on pointless papers, projects or learned abstract theories that have zero world value. I'm having to do alot of work on my own learning certain skills and doing my own research before applying to jobs since school did not prepare me very well at all. For the money I spent, it just was not really worth it. The program itself didnt really come with any huge benefits either like as in I had to pay for it myself and that there was no way of finding tuition waiving jobs on campus. Not to mention the attitudes of the department, just a bunch of stuck up nerds that don't care about anyone sides themselves. I felt like it was just a second class business in that they take your money and give you such a crappy deal along with god awful customer support in the process.
But the thing that really pissed me off the most was the campus I went to's attitude about things. The university seems to mostly care about football, a corrupt greek system, and how much money they can sucker out of students. I seeked help in multiple departments for business ideas I had or ways to make the campus better or even just someone to have a conversation with about what was on my mind, but I was just basically shown the middle finger and given no help. The admins of this school seem like some of the most miserable and disconnected human beings I've ever came across. Most of them dont know how to have a personality or show any sort of humanity. It echos very similar to what you would see in corporate america in that it's a very cold stress driven culture with no real goals in mind. Even the psychiatric counselling was awful. I was put in anti depressants and told "you can quit them at any time". Turns out I had withdrawl so bad that I cursed out the pharmacy when they wouldnt give me a refill since that was how bad the drugs made me feel. Luckily when I called the pharmacy a few hours later the drugs were ready and to this day I'm stuck on them since until I leave school, there arent any good enough doctors in my area who can get me off the drug.
Finally the students...I try to not blame them as hard since they are young and still learning the world, but some of them I just don't even understand how they made it to this school. This school requires at B+ average to come right out of high school, so while they arent at the top of their class, it seems like on paper they should be remotely intelligent. But one thing I learned is that grades dont always mean anything. It just means they can follow instructions, but have no abilities to think outside of the box or have any real skills. The school seems to be a very follow the herd mentality. Everyone just follows around another groups of people doing mindless shit like binge drinking, clubs with extreme viewpoints/focused too much on one thing, spamming facebook with political nonsense that makes no sense, having random fundraisers for things that they cant even comprehend, like I could go on, but it seems like most people in college just have no awareness of what they are doing with their lives. They all seem to go with the motions to just make everyone else happy. Nobody seems to have a pair of balls to do whatever the hell they feel like doing.
The only upside of my experience is that I will get a great job once I graduate, one that can pay my bills and isnt too stressful. Thing is that I missed out from working for 2 years since I been stuck in this town to where the economy revolves around the school. I been keeping busy with my own business ventures and finding some mediocre jobs to try out, but none of it has really brought in any serious money. I might have some good job prospects coming in within the next few weeks, but nothing is certain.
I dunno if its just grad school, the school I went to or that college in general is not what it really seems, but I never been so unhappy in my life. Im happy to get the hell out of here within a few months and be done with college forever. Im pretty disappointed since both grad school and this school that I always wanted to go to since being a freshman in undergrad wasnt what I though. Not really looking to be judged or given advice, but was just seeing if anyone else out there dealt with anything similar.

I don't think it's a trap, but there's a culture disconnect (well, throughout all of academia) that is rarely talked about. Not just blue collar/white collar, but how to operate in a system that isn't like working at a regular 9-5 or in retail or whatever. I've had to deal with a few issues you've dealt with and recognized that I didn't know the game beforehand in order to make better decisions for myself and my academic interests. Since you're already in there, you have to suck it up and learn the game for your future.

My husband and I have been talking about this very thing. I'm nearing my expiration date, but we wouldn't want to get pregnant in my first year (which will hopefully be next year,) in which case we'd have to wait till I'm 37 to get pregnant. I'm not opposed to being an older mom, though, as my mom was, and I've known people who had kids during their PhDs, and it is hard but do-able. We've also talked about adoption, but I don't know how much income affects your ability to adopt, and we all know how much grad students make.

It's a "no" from UBC. And unless Harvard or UT-Austin offer me a spot at 11:59PM on April 14th, I guess I'm heading to Iowa! Good luck, everyone, and don't let the process get you down! It's just grad school.  

I live in Minnesota and with any luck will be moving to Minneapolis to attend the U of M next fall. Regardless of the outcome of my application, I am going to move to Minneapolis--or St. Paul (which together make up the Twin Cities). I'm moving there because I do not want to own a vehicle and the city has a fantastic mass transit system. As well, Minneapolis ranks as the most bike friendly city in the country, even surpassing Portland (although Portland is a great place to live too). The city boasts a vibrant arts and cultural heritage scene, and there are over 4,000 nonprofit organizations that operate in the area. The Twin Cities gets a bad rap because of the cold winters, but it's not as bad as it seems. There are skyways in the downtown area which connect the major buildings so you don't have to go outside. But then again there are things called hats and gloves, too! Overall, Minneapolis is conducive to my lifestyle, and I'm assuming if you are reading this post you have similar interests. I think there is a growing number of people who, like myself, despise the idea of living in suburbia and being dependent on the personal automobile.

Unless you have a particularly strong reason to do your PhD soon and start this year, I would hold off for a bit. Simply because you might enjoy this school to me doesn't sound like it is all that compelling - it's not your first-choice school, it's far from home, the city isn't that great, etc., and you know you could avoid your application cycle mistakes from this year and possibly end up in the school of your dreams.
You can get a job, gain some "real world" experience, make some money, possibly travel, etc. before embarking on four or five years of grueling PhD work. Some young PhD candidates tell me that the PhD years come with the opportunity cost of missing out on work experience, which is a feeling some of them get when they see their non-doctoral peers go from job to job as they toil away on their thesis.
So, in sum, I wouldn't rush it.