gradqs
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Posts posted by gradqs
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I applied to McGill and still haven't heard back. Is there a way to check on the application portal? I'm not seeing anything.
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Now it's really hitting me how low the stipends are for a lot of these programs. I'm currently working and have a salary and most of these offers will involve cutting my income in half. This might be money nerves talking, but would programs be amenable to me deferring a year to build up my savings? I'm not overly concerned about budgeting/living on less but I won't have my parents as a back up and one car accident or unexpected medical issue could clean me out with so little coming in.
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2 hours ago, TheBunny said:
Thank you so much, but I really take these rejections personally. I know there is nothing like "safety" in Ph.D. applications as getting into any Ph.D. program is very competitive and connected to many variables such as fit, scores, interview, and personality. However, for many programs I got rejected, I thought I really have a shot, and that frustrates me so much. I guess I am not made for a Ph.D.
Two things:
1. This process is absolutely brutal. I don't know any person who would go through this and not have the very same feelings. It's one thing to understand on an intellectual level all the things we know about how admission decisions can be arbitrary, how lots of extremely impressive applicants get denied every year, etc. It's a whole other thing to get there emotionally. After all, we are pouring out our thoughts and ideas and shiniest accomplishments onto paper for the purpose of being judged. That's a really hard thing not to take personally.
2. Something that has been helping me deal with rejections (in addition to all the stuff about it being arbitrary and what not) is that the people making these decisions are looking at a much reduced version of you. You can only glean so much from some stats and a personal statement. If you have racked up all the signifiers that told you you'd be a good fit for those schools, you were probably right and just got unlucky. Trust the sense of self you had when picking schools to apply to. I was really spiraling after getting two rejections in the same afternoon and then picked myself back up the next day thinking that it's a shame I wasn't accepted because I am going to be an awesome grad student and I'm sure they would love me if I was there. Can't say I always feel that way, but it's a start.
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4 hours ago, pscwpv said:
Has anyone heard anything from UCSD post-admission email? Have been emailed by professors from other departments and gotten lots of info on open days that are in April, but I haven't heard anything from UCSD professors/department, which is weird because their visiting day is in less than a month.
Nope, I haven't heard anything either. Followed up today and no response yet.
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Is there typically funding to travel to Open Houses for schools you are accepted to? Probably a long shot but I want to visit a school I got accepted to that is literally on the other side of the country without breaking the bank.
Policy Jobs Forecast
in Political Science Forum
Posted
I've worked with a lot of PhD's that did not go to academia (and even interviewed a few for jobs). If you are angling for an industry position, or just want to prepare for it as a plan B, I think there are two main tips:
1) Cultivate quantitative research skills (modeling; statistics; computer learning; using R, Python, SPSS, or Stata). Your hard skills matter much more than your pedigree in Industry jobs. Industry will take the person who can build them a model from Middle of Nowhere University over a Yale graduate who can't.
2) Cultivate your teamwork skills and be able to talk about them in a compelling way. Academics (and by extension PhD students) can sometimes get a bad reputation in industry circles for being overly focused on their own goals and interests and being difficult to work with.