eddyrynes

Some programs highlight their own strengths.  
 
E.g., Rutgers states, "Our department is known for its work in feminist and gender studies, as is Rutgers as a whole, and we have specialists in women’s writing in every historical period.  We also offer many courses in drama and performance studies, in digital humanities, and in literary theory.  One of our particular strengths is African-American literary studies, in which we have a large group of faculty and students."  Another example:  UC San Diego offers detailed information about the strengths of its program.  Check it out:  http://literature.ucsd.edu/grad/phd-admissions/index.html.
 
Other schools don't provide any information about specific programmatic strengths.  In those cases, your best bet, I think, is to check out faculty profiles and CVs. 
 
Also, bear in mind that a program's representations of its own strengths might not be comprehensive.  I've heard elsewhere that Rutgers has a reputation for being strong in Victorian literature, and my own research of faculty profiles has confirmed this.  Yet its program overview page says nothing about Victorian literature:  https://english.rutgers.edu/academics/graduate-92.html
 
Bottom line:  some programs list specific strengths, and those lists might be useful.  But don't take a program's recitation of its strengths at face value, because you might learn about other strengths by putting in some in-depth research into faculty profiles.
 
For me, finding out about a program's strengths literally involved opening like 50 tabs at a time on my web browser (one for each faculty member), opening just as many CVs, and looking through publications, classes taught, interests, etc.  It was a little tedious (OK, a lot tedious) but ultimately led me to apply to a number of programs I had not previously considered to be contenders.

Lee Edelman's No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive and José Esteban Muñoz's Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity are two seminal texts in recent(ish) debates in queer studies about the social and the antisocial. Mari Ruti brings these together quite thoughtfully in her recent book The Ethics of Opting Out: Queer Theory's Defiant Subjects. Hope that helps

Lee Edelman's No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive and José Esteban Muñoz's Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity are two seminal texts in recent(ish) debates in queer studies about the social and the antisocial. Mari Ruti brings these together quite thoughtfully in her recent book The Ethics of Opting Out: Queer Theory's Defiant Subjects. Hope that helps

My interview was literally 1 minute, the longest part was waiting in line (at 4 different lines) and security checks.
The officer just looked at my file and asked me "so you're going to do a PhD in chemistry at X university?" to which I answered yes, and he replied "ok, your visa is approved"
but obviously your mileage my vary, usually phd ones are easier because you're fully funded, while for a master's they might look more into your financial situation
it also varies for different countries
so my advice is: be prepared for everything, but also be relaxed... save the stress for the interview at the airport ? (that scares the hell out of me)

If you put an idea out there, you should be aware that it's now in the public domain and anyone can pick up on it and essentially write your paper before you manage to. For that reason it may be wise to strategize about when you start presenting a new idea. If it happens to be the case that there is someone in the audience who works on the same problem as you and is familiar with the literature, you might be supplying them with precisely what they're missing to make their own theory work. In that case, they may beat you to the punch. So, someone could take your idea and run with it, but if their new paper is based on a presentation you gave and on any written materials that originated from your work, then that contribution should be cited and you be credited with coming up with the approach or proposing the idea (even if you didn't have a full theory of it at the time) or whatever else is relevant. If that is not done, you're looking at what you can call "idea stealing." If your original work was cited but then essentially someone beat you to writing the paper that would result from the idea, then that person is perfectly within their rights. It's all about how the credit to the original ideas was given.
 
Of course it still sucks if instead of collaborating, this hypothetical audience member doesn't approach you to discuss your contribution to their work, but I suppose that's not anything out of bounds. Just kind of sneaky and someone who I would mark as a person I want to have nothing to do with.
 
I know this is a real problem in some fields, but in mine people are happy to cite several people for coming up with basically the same idea at roughly the same time (independently). It's terrible if someone beats you to writing your own paper, so it's important to worry about this, but you also need to balance that with being out there and spreading your ideas. So it's a tough problem, but one that everyone deals with. I tend to opt to be out there and be known for saying certain things even if the papers come much later, because I believe it gives me the right image and authority so that people know to associate my ideas with my name. But yes, it is a risk that someone else will beat me to the final punch line.

What I plan to do may not be necessary for everyone, but I plan not to take any books with me when I move for grad school.  It's an opportunity to try and break a hoarding habit.

You probably need some Marie Kondo in your life haha. Then even two suitcases will be extra. But I agree, don’t bring the books, let it be the fresh start.

This was me six years ago! 
I think two suitcases is enough, but you have to be prepared to get rid of your stuff. I sold a lot of things before moving, left some things with friends. 
Here's what I did:
* Packed the clothing that I really liked, that I knew I'd be using for the next few months.
* Took only a couple of books and left the rest with friends/family. On every trip back, I took one or two books. For most, I realized I didn't need them. 
* Left some clothing I couldn't take the first time with an aunt and then she brought it when she visited (like cocktail dresses and high-heel shoes).
Now, this is my biggest piece of advice: You will be coming to a new country, a new program, a new everything. Bring with you some decor that you love from your place to make you future apartment your home. I brought a small mirror, a knob decor, and a picture frame with my grandmothers. That alone helped me feel more at home. 

same here
I think 2 suitcases won't be enough, so I'm planning on having some boxes shipped to me once I settle down... no way I can feet both summer and winter clothes plus books and other stuff in just 2 airplane size luggage

I'm not sure yet because we can't register for course until later in the summer, but right now I'm thinking about Contemporary Af-Am Fiction, Multiethnic American Fiction, and Feminist Theory. There's also a very interesting Black Lit and Culture course in the History department which would be great. Honestly, I'm having a hard time deciding whether to take all the courses I'm interested in and satisfy the requirements later or divide it equally. Is anyone else anxious about this? For instance, I have three requirements and there are some good courses I could take now that would satisfy them, but I also really want to take courses in my field. If I put them off, perhaps the required courses won't be as interesting (or they might be MORE interesting), and perhaps later there won't be any courses in my field (or there will be amazing ones and I'll have to pass to take another course). I'd love to get a 4 year course plan so I can make efficient choices.
Gonna wait until I know what books I'll need for my courses and take those, plus anything that seems like it might be useful for them. If there's room, I'll take some for general reading, especially if they're hard to find in libaries and such, or have notes I could use. I'm planning on just gradually taking more and more and asking people who come and visit to bring some when they come. Since there's still time until I have to work on thesis/comps, I can wait with my core texts.

International students! How are you deciding which of your books you absolutely have to bring with you to grad school in the US? Too many of my books spark joy, and definitely not enough luggage space ?

I haven't gotten many new emails since April, so there's not much going on on my end... I have, however, probably memorized their website, graduate student handbook, and all the degree requirements for the next ~5 years, at this point... Yeah, I really need it to be August now.

If I may.
I say what I'm about to say while still recognizing that there is truth in your comments. The discipline is not what it once was. There is a vast disparity between how many people get PhDs and how many academic jobs are available for those PhDs. Tenure is being gutted at universities across the country. It is, indeed, not the best time historically to get an English PhD (not to mention other types of PhDs). It is also good to point out when departments exaggerate placement statistics, as it well seems Rutgers may have done here. It is concerning that Rutgers' placement page just lists "jobs gotten", without specifying who got those jobs and when they received their PhDs. (And, even if there is some truth to the 87 percent figure, it's worth noting that Rutgers qualifies that by saying, "In assessing our success, we exclude data from the most recent three years, since the job search has evolved nationally into a two- or three-year process, often requiring jobseekers to hold temporary positions before moving into tenure-track jobs (during this transitional period, Rutgers continues to offer support to our students, financial and otherwise)." That is to say: it takes awhile to get to that 87 percent, if it truly happens.)
With that said.
I've been in graduate school for four years now, and *never once* have I met a graduate student in my department or elsewhere who is either deluded or ignorant about the job market. The "holy shit what is happening to the profession" panel has been a staple of just about every significant conference I've ever been to, and they're quite well attended by current graduate students. Professionalization courses, including ones which tailor to non-tenure track jobs, are starting to crop up in grad programs across the country. All this to say: I think it's safe to assume that most people applying for PhDs in 2019 know that things are not great, academic job-wise. I do not know a single person who has ever thought that a published article(s), good letters, and a smile will get them a TT job the minute they turn their dissertation in.
Why do I say this?
During my application season on Grad Cafe and, it seems, somewhat persistently since, there are a certain crop of "grad school nihilists" who come on here and insert themselves in conversations being had by people who, in the face of crappy odds, are working hard to chase a grad school dream. Many if not most of them are already struggIing with the high difficulty of just getting into a funded PhD program at all, with all the resultant anxieties that come with that. I don't want to suppose right off the bat that you're necessarily one of these people, but your post does remind me of that kind of unqualified negativity I've seen on these forums.
To be fair, some of these more nihilistic posts come from people who, not unreasonably, have had their hopes charred after a successful time in grad school, only to find slim to no pickings job-wise. I'd be bitter in that situation too, and it's a reality for which I'm going to have to prepare -- and, in fact, something for which essentially all of my colleagues have prepared. But the brutal reality of the job market is known by people who are signing up for PhDs, so coming onto Grad Cafe to tell people that they're foolish for chasing a "dying profession" doesn't really help things, and at worst it can needlessly stoke the anxieties of prospective applicants who, again, already know how bad things are getting, and continue to get.
Because the other thing is -- and in the face of job market nihilism I always find myself asking this: what's the alternative? Precarity and oversaturation are hitting all different markets right now in the US. Sure, your odds of making a living wage are better if you'd started off being a computer programmer, but even now those programs at universities are getting overcrowded. It's not like the dichotomy is, "Either you risk everything on the chance of a tenure-track job, or you go for something more stable in a non-academic environment." Plenty of people with seemingly "stable" jobs get downsized, and whole industries right now are facing similar circumstances to the academy. The other career I was interested in prior to committing to grad school -- web publishing -- suffers an "independent contractor" disease even worse than the adjuncting crisis in the academy; I tried working there to see if I prefer it, and I made the calculated choice -- factoring the very risks you talk about -- to go to graduate school. 
So, taking your comments charitably, I would suggest that in a forum like this one -- whose directive is connecting people who have already made the decision to apply to grad school -- defeatist comments are at best pointless and at worst needlessly destructive. We know what we're getting ourselves into.

Unfortunately I only have experience with France. I went to the post office there and asked them about different ways to send books. They had amazing rates for shipping French books internationally via plane (part of a spreading French around the world thing), but English books were too expensive to send via airmail, so they suggested I send my English books by boat. I packed the books and brought them and they shipped them out. They arrived 4-8 weeks later on the East Coast of the US in pretty good shape.

I had to learn to make this transition too. I think small steps are important. For me, I started by setting pretty generous time limits on how much time I can spend on each problem or homework set. I budget my time so that I first aim to finish everything and then go back to perfect little things if there's time. I find that it became easier to not hand in 100% effort work when you first hand in 95% effort and realise that nothing bad happened! Then go on from there until you get to a level that is a good balance for you.
 
Other things that helped me was working on problem sets with your friends/classmates. I feel a lot better making a simplification and/or only solving the problem to order of magnitude if I knew everyone else does too. This became a lot easier in my second year--when I have to use a number such as the density of a specific type of rock in my computation, I just said well, it's probably 3g/cm^3, within 10% because most rock is like that. I think some of the newer students were spending the extra time to look up this specific compound of rock and found that it was 2.8 instead of 3.0. However, our grades are the same and the amount of learning we got out of the homework was the same. There's nothing to be gained from digging through a textbook for 20 minutes to find a specific number that does not change the main result of the question.
 
So, another thing that helps me is for me to look at homework and courses as not a form of evaluation but instead, as a means to an end (increased knowledge on course material). I think if you think back to your undergrad courses, you might find that the courses where you learned the most doesn't really necessarily correlate with your highest grades (at least it's true for me). Getting an A+ in a course does not always mean you got what you wanted out of the course! So, like my example above, I consider my time to be a valuable resource and I would consider being more careful with how I use it, so I learn what I actually want to learn instead of just spending time doing busy-work.
 
Having older students and other profs mentor me in how to use my time wisely helped me get over my perfectionism in my homework. For us, our grad courses have graduate student TAs so that really helps. In general, we understand the courses in our department are really a means to an end, so we don't get super nitpicky with our grading. Now that I am a TA, I completely understand when my students choose to not hand in a problem set or just completely skip some questions or parts of a question. Obviously, I still do not award points for incomplete work, but I don't give them a hard time for blowing off my assignments since I know they made the conscious choice to spend their time elsewhere. When they ask, I try to let them know which parts of the questions are most useful for learning (and I weight these parts more) so busy students know where to focus their time!
 
Related to all of the above, I think the most important thing in making the transition from undergrad to grad student is to transition your priority from courses to research (at least for research oriented programs) and basically making the transition from "going to school" to "going to work". If it helps, very few people will ever look at your graduate transcripts. Almost no academic jobs will require you to submit your grad school grades! In the beginning of grad school, you might apply to a few academic based scholarships/fellowships that need grades (but most of your grades will be from undergrad anyways), but then as you progress further, your applications will mostly be judged on your research, not your grades!

That's a good one. I don't know about dating while doing a PhD because I am about to enter a PhD myself, but I do know dating while doing undergrad. From what I got from my experience, it was hard to find the balance between my social life, my studies, my health, and my boyfriend (ex now :/). My boyfriend and my social life were combined sometimes, but we also had to figure out when we could spend time with just the two of us. I will say that it also being my first relationship was overwhelming because I overthought a lot, I tried to spend as much time with him as I could (I actually spent too much time with him and eventually stopped hanging out with my friends, which is a big fat no-no), and in the end figured out that he was very toxic for me.
So, my advice to you is this:
1. If your first relationship will be in grad school, don't get swept up in it.  It is really easy to do, especially if it's your first one. There will be a honeymoon phase where you can't get enough of each other, but you have to remember that you have other things and other people in your life. Don't neglect your schoolwork nor the other relationships you have in your life.
2. Set boundaries with your significant others. Set up times weekly when you will get to see other, like a movie or date night. Don't spend every waking hour with them when you aren't in the lab or class. Of course, spend time with them, but this connects to number 1.
3. Make sure you have similar priorities. Is your partner also super focused on school? Are they okay with not seeing you in person everyday? Is your relationship causal or serious? Do they want it to become serious at some point? Are they okay with moving for a job or do they want to stay put? Etc. You don't have to talk about these things on your first date, but when things start getting serious, talking about these early on could save major heartbreak later.
4. Try not to date another grad student in your department. I have never technically never done this. I had a short fling with someone in the same graduating class and same department my senior year, and it wasn't fun when things ended. We still talked, but it did suck seeming them around. I have also gotten advice about this from other people, so I guess it's a common thing. I say TRY instead of DON'T because life happens. You can't really control who you develop a crush on.
5. Be there for each other, but don't become too dependent on them. This may sound weird because you do want to rely on your partner. However, don't become co-dependent. This will end up badly for the both of you.
6. You will probably get your heart broken during this process. I have dated two people already, and it was hard when they each came to an end. You can learn a lot from these experiences, and you want to use this knowledge to become a better partner and person. However, after break-ups or just even flings ending, it can be hard to do schoolwork and focus on things you need to get done.
I think, though, if you have a healthy relationship, each of you have talked about your goals (academic, professional, romantic, and personal), and have a general idea of when you will get to see each other while also having a life outside of your relationship, balancing a relationship with a PhD won't be extremely difficult. Sometimes it will be hard to find time to be with them, but if they are understanding about it, then I would think it would be okay.
I hope this helps!

Hey everyone!
I wanted to start a forum where people can ask questions about various topics related to adulthood, especially for those that didn't have to worry about it much until now.  So, feel free to ask questions about:
Health care and health insurance Budgeting Having a pet Owning a car Renting and renter's insurance Finding an apartment How to files taxes Having children Moving and its costs Vacationing And else you can think of FYI, I am nowhere near an expert. I created this to get a discussion going.

After reading through all 23 pages, I think I've managed to compile the most salient (at least for me) and still relevant pieces of advice as far as grad school supplies 
Laptop - While most people have a laptop, it was recommended by several people that folks in a new laptop (unless yours is less than two years old) and make sure you get an extended warranty (one that will hopefully last the entirety of your program).  Note: look into funding opportunities for laptops within your department. Some will finance a new laptop for incoming grad students!  Desk - L-shaped came highly recommended, given the extra space. While i love my little desk, I may invest in a larger one by year 2.  Chair (Desk) - Investing in a good chair was stressed many times. You will likely be spending many hours hunched over a desk. get one that will be comfortable for your back, but won't put you to sleep.  Chair (Reading) - a separate reading chair was recommended for those hours upon hours where you'll be reading. a comfortable chair or couch was recommended. Printer - there was some debate regarding the pros/cons of a printer. In an increasingly digital age, I don't think a printer is completely necessary. ESPECIALLY because so many universities have printers available and printing costs included within stipends. But this will depend on the person Scanner OR File Cabinet - One person had recommended getting a file cabinet and regularly organizing it so as not to fall behind (if you are someone who likes having physical copies of everything, then go for this option). HOWEVER, someone then chimed in to say screw a file cabinet. just get a scanner. and i thought that was an excellent idea! just scan everything you need and chuck the physical copies (unless its like your birth certificate or something)  Coffee - Coffee maker, coffee carafe (to keep it warm for those days of marathon working), french press. you get the idea. ALTERNATIVE: electric kettle for tea drinkers  Large Water Bottle - lets be sustainable folks!  Snacks - for those long days  Wall Calendar  Dry Erase Board  Noise Cancelling Headphones  External Hard Drive Dongles - actually didn't see folks write about this, so I'm adding it! Dongles/adapters are constantly changing based on your device. Get the one that is specific to your computer to HDMI and VGA, and you should be set for most campus systems!  Paper shredder - unless your campus has a shredding removal service like my current one has. I'd say take advantage of that Travel - Luggage, toiletry bag, international travel adapter/converter, etc. You will presumably be traveling a bunch! Get the right travel accessories if you can Desk accessories - post its, highlighters, pens Notebooks - it seems like everyone has been unanimously pro-moleskine notebooks on here. mmmm I'm not! What *EYE* recommend is going to your local art supply store, and buying sketchbooks from there. They are usually so much cheaper. And most art stores have artist and student memberships available, so you can get major discounts. I just showed a sale and got all my notebooks and pens for less than $30. Just my opinion  Software - Just some of the software that came highly recommended and that I felt like was still relevant today: Evernote. Zotero. Scrivener. CamScanner. Nuance. iStudiez  Most of this is hella obvious. But some of these I hadn't even considered! And its nice to think about these things early so you have enough time to save up or search the internet for deals. I curated an Amazon wishlist based on the information i listed above. Let me know if you'd like me to post it here and make public! 
And remember: 90% (if not all) of this is OPTIONAL. Let's not make academia seem more inaccessible than it already is. You will excel regardless of whether or not you have these things.  There's always borrowing. lending programs through your university. free services through your libraries. There are options! 
Hope this is helpful to those reading this post 8 years later! It was certainly helpful for me. Aside from curating a great list of things i want, it also helped distract me from decisions this week ://////

Thank you @hector549! That is excellent to hear! The last time I moved with a lot of books it was international and I sent all my books by boat because the air rates were through the roof. I'm glad it's cheaper with higher weight. 

Just accepted Northwestern’s offer. Anyone else? 

Lmao. You need a good reason to go to that other school. Also, once you begin your PhD studies at a school, the transition is a real thing (moving, literally and figuratively, is NOT easy). Most people I know wanted to stay through the second year to solidify their connections in the school (faculty, other grad students). By the third year, you have to do generals / think about your dissertation. The IvyPlus isn't as feasible as you might think... not due to institutional limits (there aren't really many), but just because of the labor you have to do to learn the rules of your PhD school.
Maybe you could do it your fourth year, though? But then again, you might feel kind of done with classes by then...

Accepted my offer to Penn English! AHHHHHHHH

Will be attending UPenn in the fall!  ? 

I love this thread b/c of the role reversal!!! So nice to see students doing the rejecting, for once

@eddyrynesI'm sure you've heard this before, but it's important to note that the ranking might be different if one were to rank particular subfields within the program. My department has two subfields in which we have a large number of faculty and a strong placement record, for example--but other subfields with few faculty and weak placement records. The USNews ranking is helpful in broad strokes--i.e., in differentiating the top 20 programs from the top 40 or 60--but within those divisions, I think it's more important to consider the prestige of the faculty mentors with whom you would be working: their visibility in the field, their reputation as mentors among current graduate students, their record of placing students in desirable jobs.