wahineilikea

It sucks that there are such people with whom we have to work closely who are just not on our team. I would say never let one person's opinion sway you from applying wherever you want. Thank this negative prof for her opinion and move on as you see fit. It's not a bad think to stretch, as I think we all tend to underestimate our abilities. I applied to UCLA and U Washington, not expecting to get into either. I thought my SoP for UW was weak and at my interview I was convinced that the department head thought me kind of weird, but it turns out they regarded me as their top applicant and I got a three-year assistantship. Now I'm about to work with a professor at UW that has nothing but praise for my accomplishments and complete confidence in me. Some profs are seriously bitter and hate their lives, and don't want anyone else to succeed. I have seen some of my friends be completely crushed by having to work with such profs and it's just really sad. So just be sensible - aim high, include a few safety schools that would suffice if you don't get into your top choice, and see what happens.

I just got an awesome PhD assistantship and I'll be around 40 when I'm done with the dissertation, and I have been reflecting on this very thing. Basically I have just made the choice not to have kids in the next 5 years - because for ME, I don't want to have a kid while I'm working on the PhD. If I have a kid I want more of my energy and focus to be available for her...and right now, I am really loving my research and where I am in my life in general. But in my experience, kids are kind of a thing that just happens. I have friends who got pregnant while in the middle of it all and it just works because it kind of has to! Not that it was necessarily easy, but they are managing and their kids are doing fine. It is hard to have a kid in the US regardless. The government doesn't help, the uni won't help, your job generally doesn't help (and by this I mean extensive paid parental leave and/or free or affordable child care and guaranteed health coverage). Fortunately for me I have always wanted to adopt anyway, and with a PhD and great job opportunities I think I'd be able to offer my kids a lot of security. This could be one of the reasons behind the statistic that the more educated a woman is, the fewer children she will have! My PhD is my "baby" right now.

I have three tattoos on my back but am seriously getting a visible one on my arm. I am studying a Polynesian culture and it is like a mark of solidarity and community that I feel with these people. I was hesitant because of the whole "OMG she has a tattoo" in professional situations, BUT - 1) Polynesian academics often have tattoos with a tribal/cultural association and no one says boo 2) Academics are supposed to be open-minded to ideas and there are infinite ways cultures decorate their bodies, this is just one of them 3) Tattoos are more acceptable these days, as are nose piercings. I actually won an argument at a school I was working when I told them my nose stud was in solidarity with the Chhetri caste of Nepalese that I used to work with, and if I was from subcontinental Asia would they still ask me to remove it? So don't worry too much. Maybe to play it safe, cover up the first day, make your first impression, then after that reveal your gorgeous ink in all its glory.

What the hell? Why are all these 30+ folks being all ageist on themselves? I will be 34 when I start and if I get the Fulbright I want to come back here to NZ (2 years coursework at UW and 3 years funding for the diss) I will be 40 when I finish...and I am totally stoked! I will finish my PhD with a ton of teaching experience, travel relevant to my field, a boatload of awesome contacts, and an additional PhD in LIFE. To all the youngsters who are going straight through, good on you, as it obviously has taken a lot of hard work, talent, resourcefulness and tenacity to get into those programs and get that funding. But I would hope that anyone with some life experience in-between degrees is appreciating that as an asset. After my BA I worked in Europe for seven years, during which time I traveled extensively through Europe, Asia and Oceania. That subsequently inspired me to return to school for three years for my MA (during which I continued to work in my field to pay the way) and the sum total of all those experiences got me a fully-funded PhD assistantship after I took MORE time off to pause and reflect and think about how I wanted to move forward. It was my life that got me these academic opportunities, not the other way around. I sometimes allowed myself to feel inferior to these young career academics in my MA program whose reality was all about school, GA-ships, grants, etc. But some of them didn't even know how to get car insurance. My social and professional life was FAR better - while they were making photocopies for professors, I was getting valuable experience and way more money in my job outside the university, and actually had some fun! I have NO regrets about going out into the working world and waiting until I was really ready to further my education. I'm far more mature now, have better study skills, and work experience is basically essential to being an expert in my field. I also spent my 20s partying, making great money, and traveling the world - not in a library. Now in my 30s a quiet night in studying is way more tolerable. Whatever your path to a PhD, just be proud of it, for God's sake!

My two NZ cents are that is the PERSON getting the PhD is more important than the field itself. Anyone can do anything with the knowledge and leverage they've earned, and they can use it to be a good person or an asshole. I know people in academia who are bitter recluses and those that are so wonderful I want to cover them with chocolate and eat them up. I can only speak for myself in that I HOPE my PhD in music education will benefit society. Music brings joy to families and communities, and as my specialty is in global/multicultural education I hope I can contribute to world peace as well by using music to foster relationships between cultures. That's taxpayer's money from the state of Washington well spent, right?

A friend of mine got officially accepted this week. Good luck!

Yoga, reading People and US in the checkout line, going to a live show and dancing like a madwoman, hanging out with people who aren't in grad school (extremely important!!!) surfing, and of course, orgasms don't hurt AT ALL.

Congratulations! I graduated with an MA from UHM. I don't know anything about your department but there are two main considerations you should think about before studying there. One is that the UH system's funding (and overall the state budget in Hawaii) has been severely cut in the past year or two, so try to find out exactly what sort of funding you would be given before committing. Also, keep in mind the cost of living in Hawaii is hellishly high. My friends in the geo department had about $1000/month plus health insurance, but that grand does not go very far. Expect to pay an absolute minimum of $650/month for shared accommodation, and you will pay the country's highest rates for food and gas. If it is your dream to study in Hawaii, by all means go for it and don't let anyone's opinion stop you! The weather is amazing, the beaches are exquisite, Hawaiian culture is awesome, and you CAN do a lot of things for free and/or very cheap to entertain yourself. However, I found the three years I lived there somewhat stressful as I was paying out-of-state tuition for two of those years and worked 2-3 jobs. If you are mentally prepared for the high costs then you won't have constant sticker shock. And, UH is always hurting for money so infrastructure and resources in your department might be a bit lacking (and in mathematics that may not really be too big a deal, right?) Good luck with your funding and I hope it all works out for you!