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jusrain

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Posts posted by jusrain

  1. 30 minutes ago, ja.col said:

    Thanks for the tip! I'll check them out. About the SoP: I know the kinds of things I want to propose and focus in on, but the structure of the statements required is still something I'm trying to work out. At the moment I'm trying to find any morsels I can online, and contacting various faculty that I think would be a good fit for me. One step at a time, I guess. I had a proposal for U.K schools drafted, but that's a dissertation proposal, which obviously isn't what I'm doing with the SoP - I'm just adjusting to that right now I think.

    Feel free to PM me if you wanna talk through the SoP structure (from my understanding, but it seemed to work alright for me, so happy to help) 

  2. 1 hour ago, hgtvdeathdrive said:

    Has anyone turned down larger funding offers for a better fit? It's gonna hurt so much to turn down the extra $4,000 per year plus 3 years of summer support (out of 6 summers) plus better health insurance at UMass but the fit, program, and approach to study at Buffalo is what I reallly, really, really want. So little time to decide :(:(:( 

    Yes! I did this but I’m happy with my choice— don’t forget to consider cost of living, too. Buffalo is WAY cheaper than Amherst, from what I’ve heard. So that extra $4k might not make much of a difference. Plus, it’s way worth it to go somewhere you fit and are excited about. 

  3. In addition to the comments from people above, I wanted to pass on what several DGSs have mentioned to me this cycle: a year off is definitely not a year lost. In my case, I’ve had nearly 3. And I thought I would be “rusty” going back into academia, but many of the DGS I’ve spoken to have said that having some work experience is an asset, too, because you’re able to do the less interesting “job-like” parts of the PhD that you might not have the skills for in undergrad. That of course depends on your previous work experience and how you approach tasks, but having a full time job might help folks learn how to balance their workload and be more efficient. At least that’s what some profs I’ve spoken to at visits said. It certainly did help me, I think, but of course this depends entirely on your working style. 

  4. On 3/24/2019 at 9:32 AM, ExileFromAFutureTime said:

    Rutgers is also unionized and they are militant- just authorised a strike vote. Mobbies in the best way.

    Yeah, just want to second this, when I visited they were discussing the upcoming strike and it seems like it’s a really vocal and supportive community— I think all faculty, staff, etc across all of their campuses are included in the union. @inkbee1 any decisions yet? 

  5. 1 hour ago, Eucerin said:

    I have been to 5 + visits. My take is that you be as honest as possible (of course, we all know that there're questions that you can't ask). I am sure you have real concerns and real questions, so go for those. :)

    Other than money and questions about department politics, what is off limits? Anything that isn’t obviously off limits but still good to avoid? 

  6. I thought it was just me, but after speaking with a number of other prospecive students during open houses, it’s clear that the much anticipated Visit can be an awkward animal at times. 

    I’ve been to 3 so far, and they’ve all been vastly different, from hyper-structured (and thus physically exhausting) to incredibly free-form (and thus socially exhausting). I can’t seem to nail NOT feeling weird during these things, though, so I’m wondering if anyone has any advice to have the smoothest possible visit. 

    Is it helpful to have written questions when meeting with prospective advisors? How have you transitioned from asking questions that an applicant would ask to asking questions that a *prospective student* would ask? And, if you happen to be one of those people blessed with the small talk gene, how do you do it so effortlessly? 

    Maybe I’m the only hopelessly awkward one at these things. 

     

  7. There are also some programs that are open to less “traditional” literary projects, where your PhD can absolutely be paired with CW if you wish it to; like I believe USC and Denver have some element of creative writing in their programs (I think USC’s is a PhD in creative writing but it essentially entails what you’ve mentioned). 

  8. 56 minutes ago, effietheant said:

    Hey, is it normal to still be waiting on SIX schools? I'm potentially looking at a huge move and I applied to some of these on like December 1st so... I'm kind of losing my mind here. Also, does anyone else start to feel a bit resentful toward the schools that take long? ?

    I felt that way about Irvine and just emailed them— I ended up being on a waitlist. Some schools have “hidden” waitlists so it might be worth reaching out to see if decisions have been released yet at this point. 

  9. On 2/25/2019 at 8:54 PM, historygeek said:

    That's awesome! Small 'site! :) I had vaguely heard of Bryn Mawr, so that's awesome information. I have seen that the Main Line area is pretty expensive and that the city proper is a bit more reasonable, but I'm hoping that I can get a decent deal with a roommate. 

    I went to Bryn Mawr and my friends and I lived off campus for a while. We’ve had lots of luck in the past finding smallish but nice apartments above businesses on Lancaster Ave. You can get away from undergrads, and get a decent 1 bedroom for under $1200. Probably more affordable with a roommate, but the proper apartment buildings in the area are so saturated with undergrads (or the ones with older people are too pricey for grad students), that you’ll probably want to get a bit away from that. 

    And the SEPTA train is pretty accessible from most of the mainline cities, so wouldn’t be crazy to find a place in Ardmore or another town a few train stops down from campus and commute. Totally doable. 

    Edit: also, low-key, Bryn Mawr college owns entire apartments in some of the buildings by campus and rent them out only to TriCo students (probs at an up charge), so I’d avoid those buildings if I were you, like Mermont.

  10. Rutgers is still a really excellent school! I decided to apply to the English program when I had the same experience with AMST— they didn’t respond to my inquiry either. But don’t write it off as a school, their humanities programs are some of the best PhD programs in the country, and I’m sure it’s the same for sciences etc. 

  11. I didn’t apply to many top English programs! I think I would definitely NOT have applied to any American studies programs if I were to do this again— my degree is in English and it seems like English depts were more open to my project (lol pretty unanimous AMST rejections for me). So, in another world, I would’ve only done English programs and included more “top” programs on that list. 

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