upsy
-
Posts
45 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by upsy
-
Has anyone heard anything about funding yet from Berkeley? The other UCs I applied to included funding info with the official admissions notification (thankfully!), but Berkeley sent out results 2 weeks ago now and I still haven't seen anything on funding.
-
Thanks so much for sharing the blog post! It and the linked article are great. I'd seen similar studies but nothing anywhere near this recent. Minor point: Is the CHYMPS acronym used in polisci grad apps? I'm familiar with it from undergrad apps, but there, the M is usually MIT and the C is usually Columbia (I've seen Caltech mentioned as well). Given polisci grad rankings, M=Michigan and C=Cal make more sense, though MIT and Columbia are definitely up there. Maybe it's just always a bit of an ambiguous term.
-
The Silent Toxic Stress of Being a Minority in Academia
upsy replied to JustCallMeDoc's topic in Waiting it Out
To be completely honest, though I'm a "woman of color," I can't empathize with the OP. I have no familiarity with being near-first gen (I'm black; the first person in my family to attend college was a daughter of slaves in the late 1800s; both my parents and all my siblings are college grads, several with postgraduate degrees; my mother attended an Ivy and both her parents, born in the 20's, were college grads; several other members of my family have or are currently pursuing PhDs). I've been one of the only if not the only minority in most situations of my life, so it hardly feels notable, and I've definitely never felt like I needed to represent all of the millions of people who are considered the same race as me. I want to say this not to dismiss what OP's written, but because I think it's important to note that people's experiences are not monolithic. Nonetheless, as a person, I can certainly sympathize. OP, from your GRE scores and from the sincerity and eloquence of your post, it's clear that you're driven and much more than capable. I trust that someone like yourself will end up somewhere good. If this application cycle doesn't turn out well, that somewhere good may be outside of academia. But please, don't think you are worth any less because a few admissions committees, looking briefly over an incredibly short summary of your academic career, chose to go in a different direction. -
I've always read a lot and liked arcane vocab, so I wasn't worried about verbal. Without studying, I got 170s and the occasional 169 on practice tests for verbal, so I didn't study for it. Quant was my main focus. My initial practice test scores were in the high 150s. I studied the ETS guide and the ETS practice quant, which moved be over the 160 hump. I got 161Q on my first test. I got the Manhattan 5lb prep book and studied around 30min-1hr/day (more on weekends) for another month, getting my practice test scores up to 164Q at the highest. On the actual test, I got 163Q. I felt if I had managed my time slightly better I may have been able to get 164Q, but I didn't want to sit the test for a third time when I felt at the absolute best I'd be getting 1 more point. It sounds like I should have tried Magoosh!
-
Last year UPenn was about 2/19. Recent years look similar. I probably wouldn't expect anything from them until next week. Georgetown last year was even later, at the end of February, but in previous years they've released results in early-mid Feb. I'd say it's anyone's guess on when you might hear from them.
-
I'm not sure what living situation you are in or what salary history you have, but $20k, for a 12-month stipend, is very low almost anywhere. $20k is equivalent to being paid $9.62 an hour (using 40hrs/wk, 52 wk/yr). I didn't check every location in the US, but the living wage calculator you provide gives $11.04/hr ($23k yearly) as the living wage for a single adult, even in Mississippi. In New York City, it's $15.07/hr ($33k annually), and even in Oklahoma City, it's $11.27/hr. $20k is below the living wage there; it's not remotely "high". The $3k difference between the living wage and a $20k stipend offer might seem small, but at the margins, a few thousand dollars matters.
-
The email mentioned they were still reviewing applications at the time. Hopefully, with several weeks having passed since then, accepted students will be getting funding information at the same time as their decision. But, many schools seem to be okay with putting a week or more between releasing decisions and releasing funding information, so it's anyone's guess. I hope the schools that provide decisions towards the end of the February will be a bit faster about getting funding information out, since we'll all be thinking about our own choices during March.
-
Re: eggsalad14's very helpful post - My POI at UCLA contacted me in late Jan, so they definitely have known about some decisions for a few weeks now. I still haven't the slightest idea on when official decisions will be out, but wanted to share that if it's helpful.
-
My thoughts are mostly in line with Taraeh's, though I might be somewhat less stringent. For an initial contact, from a prospective grad student to a professor, undoubtedly. use Prof. [Last name]. If you're reaching out to an administrator, then Mr./Ms. (though I would look up the person to see if they have a doctorate, many in academia do, and if so, use Dr.). But, I wouldn't go as far as Taraeh in saying that first name usage needs to be "earned." Oftentimes, the professor in question will sign his/her response with just a first name. That, in my experience and understanding of norms, is a signal to begin using the first name.
-
Stanford was 2/15 last year, so next week would be about right. I don't know the others. MIT just now was a week ahead of last year though, so who knows!
-
Just heard from UChicago with funding info.
-
I think those schools came out on or about Feb 2 last year (see here), which was the first Friday in Feb, so we probably have a decent chance of hearing some results.
-
Thanks, that's super helpful. I hadn't looked back so far in the forum. One that I know about has a different date but the other 3 look to be about the same. Most of the potential overlaps would be between schools I have pretty clear preferences about, so that's one less concern!
-
I've heard of it, from a current grad student in a top 5 program. She negotiated an increased funding package at the top 5 school based on an offer she had from a top 10 school. I don't remember whether she was focused on speaking with administrators or professors, but she did get a better offer.
-
I agree with eggsalad's suggestion that schools could check back in to be sure that applicants are still considering them, if schools are really that concerned about the time they spend reviewing apps. More broadly, the fact that there's so little information available about graduate admissions compared to undergrad admissions means there's going to be a lot of inefficient behavior. There's some uncertainty built into admissions even when you have, as you do for undergrad apps, admissions rates, 25-75% SAT/ACT and GPA ranges, college counselors in your high school, and tons of other resources besides. Grad admissions lacks all of that. For most programs, even something as simple as an admissions rate is impossible to find, and you're lucky to find average GRE scores and GPAs for admits. Funding information is also completely opaque until very far down the line, and that's obviously crucial. If schools were really bothered by the inefficient applicant behaviors that this sort of uncertainty generates, they'd respond by making more information available earlier in the process or doing things like confirming applicants' interest. They don't, so applicants have to hedge. I totally agree with you both that visiting a school you're sure you won't go to seems bizarre. I'm surprised your advisor's seen multiple applicants do it.
-
Thanks, eggsalad, I haven't found anything, so I'll really appreciate that.
-
I guess I'll have no choice other than to wait a bit, there was very little information on visit dates in the other thread. The earliest visits are still a good month away. Schools also seem to be fairly willing to schedule alternate dates, so I guess I'll try to rely on that if I end up with more conflicts.
-
One school I've been accepted to that's somewhat lower in rank still appeals to me because it probably has the best fit based on my research interests and has very substantial funding. It released results early, so withdrawing was never really an option, but I wouldn't have considered doing so. I think the deciding factor should really be that you as an individual don't prefer the school, not its mere rank. There are some very highly ranked schools that I'd consider withdrawing my application from because I don't think I'd be happy there. I think there's also some wisdom in leaving yourself with multiple options, particularly since funding info doesn't come out until a while after acceptances. In speaking with current grad students, I've also learned that visit events can be immensely important in shaping their choices. No doubt, you should take the 5+ hours that admissions committees and administrators put into reviewing your application and developing your offer into consideration, and insofar as you may interact with those people in the future, they'll appreciate your having done so.* But, this is also a 5-7+ year commitment for you, and you have to ensure that you leave yourself with enough options to be able to make a well-informed decision. *I'd also say that anyone who holds a grudge against you years down the road because they spent an hour or two reviewing your application when you ended up going to a different school is probably someone who'd find a reason to dislike you no matter what you do.
-
As I said in my post, I already have a conflict between two schools I've been admitted to, so for me, it very much doesn't seem to be getting ahead of myself. With current admissions alone, I'm likely to be making 3 trips with 5+ hour flights each way. It's no small commitment. Schools have limited reimbursement budgets and encourage us to book flights early, which is difficult to do when so much is still up in the air. I'd also hate to schedule a trip and then have a school fall lower in my preferences based off of future admissions. I'd still be pretty much obligated to go (some schools won't reimburse you if you don't attend), but it would be a waste of the school's money and of their faculty's time in speaking with me, which I would feel poorly about, and a waste of my time to boot. In any case, if I find much in old threads, I'll share it.
-
I know we're all focused on results, but visits come after that! Does anyone know how to find out when schools' visit days are? Two of the schools I've heard back positively from conflict, and I've still got many more to hear from. It's hard to start arranging any travel without a better idea of whose visit days are when. I'm looking particularly for these schools: Harvard MIT Stanford (FAQ on their site says "early April") UCSD UPenn UChicago UMich NYU Columbia
