hi all! i graduated from a funded Master's program this last year, and after a close-but-no-cigar at Notre Dame last cycle, i'm here again with a longer list of schools and better material to work with. my BA/work experience before my MA is in another field, though not entirely unrelated to my research. i'm primarily interested in studying affect theory as applied to nonhuman bodies and natures in contemporary science fiction film and literature. my fingers are crossed for Notre Dame since i've made a connection with my POI, but i'd be happy anywhere at this point. i took a long enough break after my BA and didn't really want a break after my MA, but life never quite goes the way you want, right?
at this point, i'm starting to think of which schools i'll add (or remove) for next year if i have to do this all over again. contingency plans are really the only thing that keep me sane when i'm experiencing high levels of anxiety. anyone else like that?
so what is everyone's dream program and why? and on the other hand, if you don't get in anywhere, is there anything you can fall back on that doesn't make you feel sick about facing another application cycle?
edit: i forgot to mention i've been lurking for a while but felt too intimidated to join into the conversation. this is me trying to convince myself i'm not an imposter lol
Ugh, would've loved too. I had a full courseload this semester + lots of extracurricular activities, and I had to cut my list off at 7 for my own sanity. But WUSTL (alongside York University and UPenn) are on my add list for next cycle if it doesn't work out this time.
Oooh, I hope you get published, I would love to read those pieces. Let me know what happens!
I realize that the people doing it are unlikely to read this, but please use the spreadsheet Warelin shared wisely. The idea is to add information you have when you have it. Instead, data is being deleted and the sheet is made unreadable by aesthetic changes. Some of us are actually referring to this document regularly, so please be careful as anything you touch might result in a permanent change and there's no reason for anyone to have to oversee the document.
@Mumasatus More and more schools are no longer requiring the GRE (general or subject)! Stanford and Harvard also both took it off the requirements. And from the research I've done, SoP, LoRs, and WS are far and away the more important aspects of the app. Best of luck to your daughter!!!
Thanks for the replies.
I feel like in the end, so much comes down to luck.
Even though this daughter went to a school with over 50,000 students, she was lucky to get a ton of individual help from her mentor and her advisor. That has been critical to her success.
My middle daughter is at a much smaller school, but hasn't had anywhere near the same level of support.
School fit isn't an easy for me to predict.
@Bopie5 It really is a great novel! I can't wait to start devouring some of Adichie's other books.
I see we have many overlapping interests--with drama being the only exception. I'm also applying to Columbia (AHHH Halberstam!) and Chicago (AHHH Berlant!) but they're so far out of my reach I might as well go open a Blockbuster on Mars.
My last LOR writer FINALLY submitted to my last four schools! With that done, all 7 of my apps are officially complete! I've officially, completely done everything in my power to get them in, and it's now totally out of my hands. For now, yay!
Current undergrad seniors applying, I feel your anxiety about leaving school. I really couldn't envision myself doing anything else but took a couple of years to do other things because every single mentor told me it was a good idea.
I started applying to on-campus administrative jobs (in the English department, libraries, stuff like that) shortly after graduating and struck out after about 20 of those (maybe about 6 weeks in application time). I ended up getting an entry level customer service job and it's been pretty wonderful. If you end up in a similar situation (I hope you get in, of course), I think you'll find that it can be really nice to watch and read literally anything you want. Especially if you can manage to stay in the town where you went to school and can remain connected with your mentors. I pretty much only spend money on food, rent, used books, and criterion collection flash sales, so I've also been able to build up a little nest egg to help pay for living expenses when I'm (hopefully) living on a stipend next year. :]
I'd say don't worry too much about lining up other plans until you know for sure that you'll need to find a job. Employers don't really hire more than a month or two out anyway, and because you're strong writers/communicators you'll have an easy time of it.
My last LOR writer FINALLY submitted to my last four schools! With that done, all 7 of my apps are officially complete! I've officially, completely done everything in my power to get them in, and it's now totally out of my hands. For now, yay!
This is EXACTLY how I feel. Although I also get the feeling that there's a correlated relationship between how much time has passed since my submissions, and how much worse I feel about myself/my prospects...can't imagine how I'm going to feel in February ?
The process of applying to grad school, although exhausting and discouraging at points, has made me more confident in my capability to write statements of purpose, cover letters, and other similar documents. Although waiting for decisions is UNBELIEVABLY stressful, I'm thankful for the skills I've already learned on this journey!
Hello to all.
I have been silently reading these threads for a while, so I thought I might as well introduce myself before the coming storm of admission results. I'm finding that--now that all the applications have been submitted--the idea of waiting for two or three months seems impossible and exhausting. At least while composing the necessary documents there was something tangible to throw myself into. Anyone else feel like they oscillate from a sense of complete hopefulness about one's prospects one day to utter dejection the next?
My focus is 20th and 21st century poetics and critical theory. I've applied solely to schools in the Northeast (11 total, and hoping that's enough).
Any way, best of luck to all of you.
@northwestnative Most programs that I've looked at say that citations/works cited doesn't factor into page count. For example, Northwestern says "Scholarly citations must be included, but do not count against the page limit," Michigan says "A writing sample of around 25 pages "double spaced, of critical or scholarly writing, excluding notes and bibliography. Notes and bibliography have no page limit," and UChicago says "Page count does not include bibliography." So I'd say with your argument concluding on page 23, you're good to go! I haven't seen any program websites/FAQs yet that specify that your max limit includes bibliographic material.
This is kind of extra, but I knew I'd need a formal "project" to occupy my brainspace over the next few months so that I didn't dwell on waiting for decisions, so I've signed up for teacher training to become certified as a yoga instructor! I think having a project outside of academia with a clear end and start date will help me in the waiting. Plus, getting in shape is always a good way to prep for a new life stage!
It really depends on the program. Some programs have orientation that could last a day; others could last for weeks.
If you google the college's academic calendar, it's likely that you can expect to start around then. Mid/Late August is the most common start date. This is more likely to be different if the school is on a Trimester or Quarter system rather than a Semester system though.
That is such a good idea, kgras13!
Last year I made a gift basket of cheetos and wine for my advisor, who helped me with an LOR, my SoP, and my WS. Cheetos are her favorite snack, haha.
This year I think I'll do the pen idea...provided I get into a program!
I had four professors that I've had multi-year relationships with write LORs for me for my PhD grad apps. I want to write them all thank you notes and get them each a small gift, but I have no idea what to do! Obviously I'm a poor undergrad student with limited funds, but I do want to do something to show my appreciation for their time and energy...any suggestions?
About your dog: I think that depends entirely on you and your program. I am in a social science program where the majority of my analysis and writing can be done from home, and I prefer to work from home or from a library (as opposed to my cube in the windowless cube farm). When I was taking classes I was generally there from 9-6 or so, but now that my coursework is finished I am rarely at the school itself. I go for meetings, seminars, interesting kinds of things and I do most of my work remotely. My time is verrry flexible, and if my building didn't prohibit it I would get a dog in a heartbeat. Another thing to keep in mind: a dog can be a great comfort when you're all stressed out over graduate school.
Advice?
Age:
-Don't feel like you have nothing to offer just because you are younger. I was 22 when I started graduate school. You got accepted to the program for a reason, and chances are you are just as equipped as any older students are to successfully complete the program, just in a different way.
-Your older classmates may be just as terrified as you. Talk to them. You have a lot in common. You are, after all, in the same place.
-You will feel like an imposter, like you don't belong, or like you are constantly behind. Or all three. It's normal. It will pass. (Well, sort of.) People of all ages go through this.
Adviser related:
-If you are lucky enough to get both research interest fit and personality fit perfect, congratulations! But sometimes, personality fit is more important than research interest fit as long as the research isn't too different. A great adviser is interested in your career development, likes you as a person, advocates for you, and wants to hear your ideas. Even if his or her research is quite different from yours, they may give you the autonomy to work on your own projects and just supervise you. A bad personality fit will drive you nuts, even if you love his or her research. Consider that when evaluating your adviser fit. (This will vary by field: research fit may be less important in the humanities, more important in the natural and physical sciences. Social sciences are somewhere in-between.)
-Don't be afraid to be straight up blunt with your adviser when it comes to asking about your progress. Ask if you are where you should be both academic program wise and getting-a-job-after-this-mess-wise.
-Be proactive. Advisers love when you draw up an agenda for your one-on-one meetings, come with talking points and progress to share, have concrete questions to ask, and have overall shown that you have been thoughtful and taken control of your own program. Of course, this won't immediately come easily to you, but in time you will work up to it. Every semester I type up my semester goals, and at the beginning of the year I type up annual goals. I show them to my adviser and we talk about whether they are too ambitious, or whether I need to revise them, and how I can meet them.
-Don't expect your adviser to actually know what courses you have to take to graduate. They will know about comprehensive exams and the dissertation, but a lot of professors don't really keep up with the course requirements, especially if their program is in flux. Get you a student handbook, and find out what you need to take. Map it out in a grid, and check off things when you finish them. Show this to your adviser every semester. You may have to explain how such and such class fills a requirement.
-Nobody loves you as much as you, except your mother. Keep this in mind as you take in advice from all sources, including your adviser. Your adviser is there to guide you, but that doesn't mean you have to do everything he says.
Studying:
-You will have to read more than you ever did before, in less time than you ever have before, and you will be expected to retain more than you ever have before. The way that you studied in undergrad may need some tweaking. Be prepared for this.
-Corollary: you may find that your methods change with age or interests or time. I preferred to study alone in college, but in grad school, I prefer to study in groups. It keeps me on task and the socialization keeps me motivated. You may find that you shift from being a more auditory learner to a visual learner or whatever.
-You will feel behind at first. This is normal.
-At some point you will realize that your professors don't actually expect you to read everything they assign you. This, of course, will vary by program, but there will be at least one class where the reading is actually impossible to do in one week. The point is to read enough that you know the major themes and can talk intelligently about them, and then pick some of the readings to really dig into and think more deeply about.
-For most programs, don't worry so much about grades. If you stay on top of your work and do what you're supposed to, you will probably get an A. How much grades matter varies from program to program. In some programs, a B is a signal that you are not up to par, and more than a few Bs will warrant a discussion with your adviser or the DGS. My program isn't like that - A, B, it's all meaningless. My adviser doesn't even know what my grades are. But at almost all programs, a C means you need to retake the course, and two Cs means you have to convince the DGS not to kick you out.
Extracurricular activity: What's that? No, seriously:
-A lot of your time will be unstructured. You will have coursework, but most grad classes meet once a week for two hours and you may have three classes. You may have meetings with your adviser every so often and some seminars or things to catch (like we have grand rounds and colloquia that are required), but a lot of time will be unstructured. However, since you have so much more work than you had in undergrad, you actually will have less free time than you had in undergrad. This may initially cause you great anxiety. It did for me. Some people love unstructured time, though. (I don't.)
-Because of this, you'll have to be planful about your non-grad school related stuff.
-TAKE TIME OFF. DO it. It's important for your mental health. However you do it doesn't matter. Some people work it like a 9-5 job. Some people take a day off per week (me) and maybe a few hours spread across the week. Some people work half days 7 days a week. However you do it, there needs to be a time when you say "f this, I'm going to the movies."
-Find your happy place, something that keeps you the you you were when you came in. I love working out. It gives me energy and I feel good. I stay healthy. I also love reading fiction, so sometimes I just curl up with a good book, work be damned. You have to give yourself permission to not think about work, at least for a couple of hours a week. You may also discover new hobbies! (I never worked out before I came to graduate school.)
-Your work will creep into all aspects of your life, if you let it. This is why I hate unstructured time. You will feel guilty for not doing something, because in graduate school, there is ALWAYS something you can do. ALWAYS. But since there will always be more work, there's no harm in putting it aside for tomorrow, as long as you don't have a deadline.
-You may need to reach outside of your cohort for a social life. None of my close friends are in my doctoral cohort. I've met master's students in my program, master's students in other programs, and I know a few non-graduate students I hang out with, too. Go to graduate student mixers. (If your university doesn't have any, organize some, if you like planning parties.) Join a student group that doesn't take up too much time. I had a doctoral acquaintance who kinda laughed at me because I joined some student groups other than the doctoral student one, and I was usually the only doctoral student in those groups, but I met some close friends (and future job contacts) and had a good time.
-DO NOT FEEL GUILTY FOR WANTING A LIFE OUTSIDE OF GRADUATE SCHOOL. This is paramount. This is important. You are a well-rounded, complex, multifaceted human being. NEVER feel bad for this. Everybody wants some kind of life outside of work. Yes, you may loooove your field, but that doesn't mean you want to do it all day long. Some other doctoral students, and perhaps professors, may make you feel bad about this. Don't let them. Just smile and nod. Then disappear when you need to.
Career:
-This is job preparation. Remember that from Day One. Always be looking for ways to enhance your skills. Read job ads and find out what's hot in your field, what's necessary, what's in demand. For example, in my field statistics and methods are a hot commodity, and they're not a passing fad. I happen to really like statistics and methods, so I have pursued that as a concentration of mine.
-Don't be afraid to take on volunteer work and part-time gigs that will give you skills that will be useful both inside academia and out, as long as it's not against your contract. Your adviser may be against it, but he doesn't have to know as long as it doesn't interfere with your work.
-If you want to work outside of academia - if you are even *considering* the possibility - please please definitely do the above. Even if you aren't considering it, consider the possibility that you won't get a tenure-track job out the box and that you may need to support yourself doing something else for a while. You will have to prove to employers that you have developed usable, useful skills and this is one of the easiest ways to do it. But don't overdo it - get the degree done.
-For more academic related ones - always look for opportunities to present and publish. Presentations look good on your CV. Publications look better. When you write seminar papers, wonder if you can publish them with some revision. Write your seminar papers on what you maybe think you may want to do your dissertation on. Even if you look at them three years later and think "these suck," you can at least glean some useful references and pieces from them. Discuss publication with your adviser early and often, and if you have the time and desire, seek out publication options with other professors and researchers. But if you commit to a project, COMMIT. You don't want to leave a bad impression.
-If you can afford it, occasionally go to conferences even if you aren't presenting. You can network, and you can hear some interesting talks, and you may think about new directions for your own research. You can also meet people who may tell you about jobs, money, opportunities, etc.
-Always try to get someone else to pay for conference travel before you come out of pocket. Including your adviser. Do not be shy about asking if he or she can pay. If he can't, he'll just say no. Usually the department has a travel fund for students, but often it's only if you are presenting.
-If you are interested in academia, you should get some teaching experience. There are two traditional ways to do this: TAing a course, and teaching as a sole instructor. If you can help it, I wouldn't recommend doing a sole instructor position until you are finished with coursework. Teaching takes a LOT of time to do right. You should definitely TA at least one course, and probably a few different ones. But don't overdo it, if you can help it, because again, it takes a LOT of time. More than you expect at the outset. If you are in the humanities, I think sole instructor positions are very important for nabbing jobs so when you are in the exam/ABD phase, you may want to try at least one. If your own university has none, look at adjuncting for nearby colleges, including community colleges. (I would wager that the majority of natural science/physical science students, and most social science students, have never sole taught a class before they get an assistant professor job. At least, it's not that common n my field, which straddles the social and natural sciences.)
-Always look for money. Money is awesome. If you can fund yourself you can do what you want, within reason. Your university will be thrilled, your adviser will be happy, and you can put it on your CV. It's win-win-win! Don't put yourself out of the running before anyone else has a chance to. Apply even if you think you won't get it or the odds are against you (they always are), as long as you are eligible. Apply often. Apply even if it's only $500. (That's conference travel!) Money begets money. The more awards you get, the more awards you will get. They will get bigger over time. If you are in the sciences and social sciences, you should get practice writing at least one grant. You don't have to write the whole thing, but at least get in on the process so that you can see how it's done. Grant-writing is very valuable both in and outside of graduate school.
-Revise your CV every so often. Then look and decide what you want to add to it. Then go get that thing, so you can add it.
-The career office at big universities is often not just for undergrads. I was surprised to learn that my career center offers help on CV organization and the academic job search, as well as alternative/non-academic career searches for doctoral students. In fact, there are two people whose sole purpose it is to help PhD students find nonacademic careers, and they both have PhDs. This will vary by university - some universities will have very little for grad students. Find out before you write the office off.
-It's never too early to go to seminars/workshops like "the academic job search inside and out", "creating the perfect CV," "getting the job," etc. NEVER. Often the leader will share tips that are more aimed towards early graduate students, or tidbits that are kind of too late for more advanced students to take care of. This will also help you keep a pulse on what's hot in your field. It'll help you know what lines you need to add to your CV. And they're interesting.
Other:
-Decide ahead of time what you are NOT willing to sacrifice on the altar of academia. Then stick to it.
I'm serious. If you decide that you do NOT want to sacrifice your relationship, don't. If it's your geographical mobility, don't. I mean, be realistic, and realize that there will always be trade-offs. But you have to think about what's important to you for your quality of life, and realize that there is always more to you than graduate school.
-If you don't want to be a professor, do not feel guilty about this. At all. Zero. However, you will have to do things differently than most doctoral students. Your adviser will probably never have worked outside of the academy (although this may vary depending on the field) so he may or may not be able to help you. But you have a special mission to seek out the kinds of experiences that will help you find a non-academic job. Test the waters with your adviser before you tell him this. My adviser was quite amenable to it, but that's because I told him that my goal was to still do research and policy work in my field just not at a university, AND because it's quite common in my field for doctoral students to do non-academic work. If you're in a field where it's not common (or where your professors refuse to believe it's common, or it's not supposed to be common)…well, you may be a little more on your own.
-Every so often, you will need to reflect on the reasons you came to graduate school. Sometimes, just sit and think quietly. Why are you doing this to yourself? Do you love your field? Do you need this degree to do what you want to do? Usually the answer is yes and yes, and usually you'll keep on trucking. But sometimes when the chips are down you will need to reevaluate why you put yourself through this in the first place.
-To my great dismay, depression is quite common in doctoral students. Graduate work can be isolating and stressful. Luckily your health insurance usually includes counseling sessions. TAKE THEM if you need them. Do not be ashamed. You may be surprised with who else is getting them. (I found out that everyone in my cohort, including me, was getting mental health counseling at a certain point.) Exercise can help, as can taking that mental health day once a week and just chilling. Don't be surprised if you get the blues…
-…but be self-aware and able to recognize when the depression is clouding your ability to function. Doctoral programs have a 50% attrition rate, and this is rarely because that 50% is less intelligent than, less motivated than, less driven than, or less ambitious than the other 50% that stays. Often they realize that they are ridiculously unhappy in the field, or that they don't need the degree anymore, or that they'd rather focus on other things in life, or their interests have changed. All of this is okay!
-You will, at some point, be like "eff this, I'm leaving." I think almost every doctoral student has thought about dropping out and just kicking this all to the curb. You need to listen to yourself, and find out whether it is idle thought (nothing to worry about, very normal) or whether you are truly unhappy to the point that you need to leave. Counseling can help you figure this out.
-Don't be afraid to take a semester or a year off if you need to. That's what leaves of absence are for.
Lastly, and positively…
…graduate school is great! Seriously, when else will you ever have the time to study what you want for hours on end, talk to just as interested others about it, and live in an intellectual community of scholars and intellectuals? And occasionally wake up at 11 am and go to the bank at 2 pm? Sometimes you will want to pull out all of your hair but most of the time, you will feel fulfilled and wonderfully encouraged and edified. So enjoy this time!
Ugh, I submitted my 4th out of 7 apps today, and I'm so fatigued! I'm hitting that point where my apps are all my brain can process. Anyone else feel that thing where your brain shames you for doing anything else (especially fun/silly things) with the time that you could be spending on your apps? Like, I need to rest and do things just for the enjoyment of them, but every time I do, my brain tells me I should be working on my apps instead haha.
Hi all! I'm in the same boat, applying to Molecular/Systems Biology PhD programs right out of undergrad.
Honestly it's super nerve-wracking having no idea what I'm going to be doing at this time next year or where I'll be... I purposefully didn't apply to many schools and the ones that I did apply to tend to be very selective. So I might not get in anywhere and end up looking for lab tech jobs if nothing in this app cycle pans out.
Also, I feel you Bopie, I hate waiting to hear back, with no idea when I'll hear something and worrying about it being bad news.
Someone from last year had suggested sending a pen from the school they decided to attend, which is what I'm going to do. A small gift but probably very useful to an academic, and thoughtful!
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