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placeinspace

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  1. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from gagne in Americans Abroad!   
    Bringing this thread back for the Fall 2019 app cycle. Any other Americans applying to Canadian PhD programs? I'm in English lit and applying to U of Toronto.
  2. Upvote
    placeinspace got a reaction from Esther. O in How to start with the first para of the SOP?   
    I struggled with this for so long and ultimately just went with an upfront intro of my research topic and how I got into it. I didn't use a "hook" or a story, though I had that in my initial drafts. It really is a personal choice. I would also ask a few people you trust (including professors or advisors) to read it over and see how they feel about the intro. That's how I made my ultimate decision.
  3. Upvote
    placeinspace got a reaction from Joe VL in LOR after several year break from academia   
    Hi all,

    From the beginning of deciding to pursue a PhD, my LORs have been the biggest source of anxiety for me, as I have been out of my MA for 4 years now. I am terrible at networking and didn't really stay in touch with professors, though I am confident my MA advisor will at least remember me. I've been told by some people helping me with my apps that it's silly to be worried, and that it's common for profs to write LOR even for those who have been out of their classes for a bit.
    I guess I'm hoping for some anecdotes from any of you who also took a break and were successful in getting great LORs from past professors. Is it really as common as I've been told?
    Thank you!
  4. Upvote
    placeinspace got a reaction from rheya19 in First time presenting a conference paper   
    Congrats on getting it done! I wouldn't sweat it, you'll have it on your CV for applications and it was good practice. I wish I could redo my first conference presentation over, but instead, I just used it as a learning opportunity. Sometimes that's all you can do!
  5. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from victoriansimpkins in 2019 Applicants   
    Considering it's April 5 and still no news, I'm starting to feel like WSU just isn't going to accept any students this year. How does it make sense to give people less than 10 days to make a decision???
  6. Like
    placeinspace reacted to victoriansimpkins in 2019 Applicants   
    that was me. I got that email last week and i'm like "uh ok"
     
    I also have a visit coming up at SIUC. I proposed two dates since they encourage a visit, but don't require one, and I. AM. NERVOUS.
  7. Like
    placeinspace reacted to punctilious in OK, let's talk about UChicago's MAPH. I need some advice...   
    I think this is a bit unfair. Husband took two years between undergrad and his PhD to work a non-academic job and, yes, read and write. He chose not to attend any of the MA programs he got into during that time (Trinity College Dublin, Edinburgh, and Cambridge) because they didn't provide funding. I think it is absolutely helpful that he took the time to read, refine his research interests, and write (getting some book review & short story publications). I do not think whatsoever that it "didn't look good" on his CV, and instead of spending a ton of money on an MA, we saved money and he's now at Harvard for his PhD...
  8. Upvote
    placeinspace got a reaction from ABee in How to start with the first para of the SOP?   
    I struggled with this for so long and ultimately just went with an upfront intro of my research topic and how I got into it. I didn't use a "hook" or a story, though I had that in my initial drafts. It really is a personal choice. I would also ask a few people you trust (including professors or advisors) to read it over and see how they feel about the intro. That's how I made my ultimate decision.
  9. Like
    placeinspace reacted to Ramus in Getting Out of Academia   
    Take it from someone nearing the end of the PhD: if you haven't considered alt-ac, you should start immediately. I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but the vast majority of those posting here will not get a tenure-track position, even if you finish your respective program (and, statistically, half of you won't). Period.  Those of you in that position will invariably be smart and have worked on super cool, worthwhile projects. But the reality is pretty simple: there are far too many qualified candidates for too few jobs. As a result, hiring departments can be super choosy, demanding a top-ten-program graduate when their own department is nowhere near that prestigious. A handful of people from, say, Illinois or Ohio State or fill-in-the-blank-middling-school, might end up accepting crummy 4/4 positions that pay 45K/year. The rest of us will confront the prospect of adjuncting until the end of time or, if we're lucky, working as the nominally better lecturer, a position won't clear more than $35K/year.
    I know that, from y'all's position, labor and pay conditions feel cheap, dirty, or irrelevant. Believe me, I get it -- at twenty-three, fresh out of undergrad, I said exactly the same thing. But when you're pushing thirty and you have little savings, no chance of buying a house, and no money to start the family you discovered you'd like to have—then, these things start seeming important.
    I raise all this hullabaloo as preface to this: you don't have to accept shit pay, shit working conditions, and no job security. Hell, if you've committed ten years to higher ed, you'd be crazy to think those things are fine. Instead, you can—and will, if you try—find valuable work outside of higher education. I can confirm this from experience. While ABD, I've completed graduate internships with the Government Accountability Office and a nationally-recognized education nonprofit. Both gigs made me realize a few things that I wouldn't have known otherwise: first, that there are smart people outside academia working on really important, consequential issues; two, that those same people recognize the value of having someone with our critical thinking and communications skills; and three, they're actually willing to pay what we're worth. I'm very happy to report the last. Both of my internships led to substantial job offers that I'll be weighing when I graduate in a year. It would be virtually impossible for an academic job, were I offered one, to compete with the other two offers I have in my back pocket. 
    I'm telling you all this not to poo poo grad school or make you feel bad. There's plenty of reading out there on the job market that'll do that just fine. Rather, I'm telling you this so that you might see alt-ac as an opportunity that needn't be relegated to the "I'll do it if I don't get that job at Yale, or Emory, or Southwestern Oklahoma Baptist..." In fact, it might be the only option you have that will properly reward you for your intelligence, hard work, and writing skills. So, please, please, please, keep it in mind as you start your work in graduate school. Don't wait until you've graduated and been spit out of higher ed before you position yourself for success beyond the campus grounds. Avoid the grad school mindset that you're an amateur that doesn't know much and can't do much, either. Recognize your worth and refuse to accept a miserable working life. 
  10. Like
    placeinspace reacted to The Wordsworthian in 2019 Acceptances   
    Accepted at University of Washington!  My first acceptance and I am STOKED. 
  11. Like
    placeinspace reacted to mandelbulb in 2019 Applicants   
    i called and got through - the number on the website isn't actually for the grad program. she said acceptances are rolling out still, could be as late as april 15th. i'd take that to mean they may have sent out most acceptances but not waitlists?  
  12. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from The Wordsworthian in 2019 Applicants   
    @The Wordsworthian I agree with this so much. I've called Davis twice now trying to get a rejection but no one seems to be answering their phone. 
  13. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from Matthew3957 in 2019 Applicants   
    Just an FYI, I'd called Davis the other day to try and get an official rejection but it went to voicemail. I'm going to try again today. I'll report back.
  14. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from Musmatatus in 2019 Applicants   
    I have more respect for Michigan because of this than all the other schools I applied to. Active communication is a sign they respect all their students, imo, which is to the credit of the program.
  15. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from Musmatatus in 2019 Applicants   
    my rejection came 4 minutes after i posted this i am glad umich values my mental health
  16. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from vondafkossum in 2019 Applicants   
    I have more respect for Michigan because of this than all the other schools I applied to. Active communication is a sign they respect all their students, imo, which is to the credit of the program.
  17. Upvote
    placeinspace got a reaction from vondafkossum in 2019 Applicants   
    my rejection came 4 minutes after i posted this i am glad umich values my mental health
  18. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from arbie in 2019 Applicants   
    I have more respect for Michigan because of this than all the other schools I applied to. Active communication is a sign they respect all their students, imo, which is to the credit of the program.
  19. Upvote
    placeinspace got a reaction from jadeisokay in 2019 Applicants   
    my rejection came 4 minutes after i posted this i am glad umich values my mental health
  20. Upvote
    placeinspace got a reaction from millw in 2019 Applicants   
    my rejection came 4 minutes after i posted this i am glad umich values my mental health
  21. Upvote
    placeinspace got a reaction from tacocat211 in 2019 Applicants   
    my rejection came 4 minutes after i posted this i am glad umich values my mental health
  22. Upvote
    placeinspace got a reaction from havemybloodchild in 2019 Applicants   
    my rejection came 4 minutes after i posted this i am glad umich values my mental health
  23. Like
    placeinspace reacted to The Wordsworthian in 2019 Applicants   
    Same, just received my rejection e-mail.  Sad but feel relieved that they don't drag things along like a lot of the other programs I applied to.  This was the first notification I've heard from any of my schools and I appreciate Michigan's timeliness even though I'm disappointed to be rejected. 
  24. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from jusrain in 2019 Applicants   
    god i hope my rejection from michigan comes today so i can have a good solid therapy session tonight where i hash out all my feelings of inadequacy without any blind hope hanging over me in the background
  25. Like
    placeinspace got a reaction from reluctanthuman in 2019 Applicants   
    god i hope my rejection from michigan comes today so i can have a good solid therapy session tonight where i hash out all my feelings of inadequacy without any blind hope hanging over me in the background
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