Teaching Faculty Wannabe

I'm going to grad school!!!!!!!!!

Long but hopefully perspective for fresh out of undergrad students who are trying to figure out what life is like without going straight to gradschool haha.

I graduated undergrad in 2014 from an insanely hard university in an extremely difficult major.  So all I wanted to do was work and NOT study for a bit, so I did that for 4.5-5 years ish.  It was a lot of fun, I made a lot of money traveled all over, did the partying I didn't get to do in undergraduate (due to course rigor), gained a skill unrelated to my major at all but that can always pay the bills, learned to be self sufficient and made a ton of amazing non academic friends.  I say this for anyone straight out of undergraduate who might not make it into their grad schools, I honestly loved the years I spent working, it was enjoyable and fruitful and not a waste what so ever IMO.

Having said that I applied for the 2019 cycle because I was ready to go back to academic sciences/engineering and try again to do something I was deeply passionate about and made a difference, fully refreshed and more certain of the direction I want to take and the types of projects I want to work on.  I am expecting to be denied by most if not all of my schools mostly due to GPA (although my last two years are nearly perfect GPA wise my first two were rough which hurt my overall) and due to the lack of experience/the long break.  But I wanted to try and see, you never know!

If I don't get in I will probably go back to work in my previous field in a new job, preferably one with a company that promotes positive change in the world even if it doesn't pay as well as my last jobs, and possibly take up my applied physics part time master from my alma mater (I had applied for it a little while ago and was accepted but it was expensive and I had gotten a new job role so I put it off, but I can pick it up anytime and start it, it is online and "for professionals" aka easier, but since my school was a top 10 and it just says applied physics masters on the diploma hey can't complain.)

 

That's still really weird that they said that to you in the first place..

Update: The school basically apologized and offered to pay for me to visit so yay!

Well, this was a massacre and not just a stab in the heart towards me....

Well, this was a massacre and not just a stab in the heart towards me....

Definitely not just you! Each email I get, I think it’s from a school and then I have to take another look and be disappointed that it’s just coupons for Food Lion. At least I now know that I can get two bags of Goldfish for $4 this week. 

Every time my mom and her boyfriend come home from work, her boyfriend asks me if I have checked my email today yet. Every time. He hasn't missed a day since mid-January. And every time I start doing this and want to hide in bed.

I hope you hear something soon! And that’s a great way of thinking of about the situation! Adopt a dog!! 

Hi all!
I am sure I am not alone when it comes to feeling super anxious about waiting to hear back from schools after pressing that submit button. I know there is a Venting Thread, but I thought it would be nice to have a specific forum where people can talk about their worries while they wait. So, I am going to first talk about what I am worried about and then talk about what I am excited about if I get accepted in grad school.
Worries: I feel like I don't have enough research experience under my belt, especially since I haven't done any research in the fields that I want do pursue my graduate degree in. My GRE scores are mediocre, so that scares me as well. I think the fact that I am taking a gap year and I am not currently doing anything "resume/cv worthy" right now will make me look lazy to the admission committees. I am also worried about paying for moving to grad school. I really hope I can get a retail job next year so I can start saving money for that. Also, I want to pay off my loans during grad school, even though I know I can defer them while in school. I just am tired of my interest accumulating.
Excitement: Even though grad school will have plenty of hellish moments where I probably won't get enough sleep and be able to make meals for myself, I am ready to be back in school again. Despite the homework and stressful tests, I oddly like taking classes. I am even more excited to take graduate-level classes because I feel like I will be able to focus more on learning and less on getting an A on every single assignment. After doing that in undergrad and pretty much destroying my mental health, I am never going back to putting myself through that again. I am also ready to move to a new place and explore the area. Additionally, I can't wait to start researching something I am interested in. I am nervous that I might find out that I might not like it, but at least it will still be interesting enough that I can do it for 5-7 years.
So, go ahead and just type away your worries about waiting, grad school, and anything else. Also, talk about what your excited about when it comes to grad school. I feel like doing both will make you feel slightly better. 

I hope you hear something soon! And that’s a great way of thinking of about the situation! Adopt a dog!! 

Honestly, that is very weird to me, especially if they are saying they can’t afford for everyone to visit. Does that mean they are paying for some people and not others or are they saying that because they won’t pay for anyone since it would be unfair to only invite some people? I am not sure if you know this, but I am just curious. It may be a red flag. Maybe that department doesn’t allocate the funding they get for visits for prospective students and that’s why they don’t have the money. Who knows. I would talk to other grad students in that department to see if funding is ever a problem, though, if you feel comfortable doing so. Good luck! 

That's pretty much how I feel, especially on reaching out to potential advisors. I had no idea you were supposed to do that so I ended up only contacting one professor simply because I was in the area and wanted to stop by the physical offices where the other grads work. I feel like I'm out of the running entirely, and it doesn't help that my quant score was barely passable for my field (160Q)
Let's keep hoping, though! Tons of acceptances go out in February - just because we didn't hear anything positive in January doesn't mean we're out of the race entirely. And congrats on your offer, that's super exciting!! 

In my mind, don't assume rejection until you get rejected. You never know what's going to happen until it happens. Assumptions can be bad, and I definitely think they are bad in this particular situation.
Good luck!

Worries: Decisions will probably start coming in over the next two weeks. 
Excitement: Decisions will probably start coming in over the next two weeks. 

Worries: First application cycle and I applied to the two most competitive schools in my field, and I was naive enough to think I might get in, in addition to a safer bet but also a more rigorous program. I visited the top one earlier in January for app research and it definitely put stars in my eyes, hoping now that I'll get in to work with some really fascinating artists who I align with really closely, but if I don't get an interview I feel like I definitely will be somewhat crushed at least for a while. 
Excitement: I got into the safer bet and am excited to go there even if I don't get in anywhere else, and I'm excited that my life is about to go through a significant and much longed for change.
Overall, I think I am mostly hoping for this process to be over sooner rather than later. This is my first time going through this and I really don't understand how people can do this multiple years in row. It is emotionally exhausting. So exciting and ultimately maybe one of the most important things we will do for our careers, but definitely draining - and I'm terrible at compartmentalizing. 

My worries: So far I've been rejected from 6 schools with no word from the others (I applied to a lot of grad schools to increase my chances but here we are). I've done everything I can but I never got an internship in my field because they're so competitive, and my undergrad department doesn't have research that really aligns with what I want to do. I don't really know what I'll do if I don't get into grad school, I guess I should start figuring out a plan B.
My excitement: I'm up for a really prestigious award at my university and I've been forwarded to the final round of review, so I think I could have a chance- that would be a really great mood booster among all of this. Plus, if I do end up getting in, I'm really excited to go to grad school and really get my hands dirty in some cool astrophysics stuff.
This is giving me flashbacks to the past 2 springs where I've applied to a bunch of internships and slowly but surely gotten rejected from all of them. Third time's the charm, right? Here's to staying positive!

Worry: NYU has sent out waitlist emails, and I haven't heard anything yet. If I'm not waitlisted, it could mean that I got in-- but it also means I could've been rejected. 
Excitement: If I'm not waitlisted, there's a chance that I actually got in! 
I feel like this is Schrödinger's decision. 

((flicks salt))

You both have awesome schools you interviewed at!! I know you will all do great. And thanks @Moods!

This image felt very applicable for this post. 

Same!! I thought I would be chill once I got my first acceptance but nope. 
I want MORE. 

I don’t know with Berkeley in particular, but I would let them know that you can’t make it to the visitation. Maybe with that, you can learn more about Berkeley by talking with professors and current grad student on the phone or on Skype. But I would definitely let them know that you wish you could go, but have other plans already. However, you would still really love to learn more about the program. Good luck, and congrats on all your acceptances! 

I got in! I got into grad school! 

Honestly, rank is not that important compared to other things when choosing a grad school to do your PhD at. When choosing, I think you want to look at these things:
1. The location of the school:
How easy is it to travel to and from the place? Since you will be traveling for conferences as well as to possibly see your family, you want to make sure there is an airport close by. The weather. Is the weather there extremely cold or extremely hot? Will you be fine with these extremes or could they be deal breakers? Are there things to do in the area around the university, such as museum, national or state parks, cafes, good restaurants, nice bookstores, etc? Look at your hobbies and see if you can correlate them with the location. How much is rent in this location? 2. The program:
What are the requirements of the degree, such as the classes you need to take, qualifiers, general exams, publishing requirements, TAing? Compare each of the programs to one another. How collaborative is the research for this program? Do you want it to be collaborative? Does it have lab rotations? Lab rotations can be good and bad. Good in the sense that you have time to choose your advisor, but bad in the sense that you might not be able to switch your advisor if you end up not liking them. If you already have an advisor when you enter the program, you get a head start on research and might have an easier time switching an advisor if you end up not working well with them. Is their a big focus on the research you are interested? (AKA are there multiple professors doing research that you might want to learn about or be a part of) Is there a lot of outreach? Do they provide assistance when it comes to grant writing, looking for internships, traveling to conferences, and helping search for jobs after graduating? How much funding are they giving you? Are they covering your tuition, fees, and student insurance while also giving you a stipend? 3. The university:
Do you like the feel of the university? Does the university have a lot of different events you can attend? Do they have a lot of talks and seminars? Are their clubs and organizations at the university you may like to join? I am only applying to grad school,  so I have not had to decide yet, but these are the things I plan on looking at when I have to make a decision. I just kind of wanted to point out that deciding on where to go is so much more than the rank of the university. You really want to make sure you have a supportive mentor and like the place that you are going. I hope this helps! Good luck!