lapomegranate

? thank you!

Grad school is hard but we have given birth, some have breastfed, have been without sleep for months caring for our babies, so...

Thanks! I accepted since no one replied on time hahaha, I do feel bad I did not try to negotiate but that is ok, I feel I should have though. Congratulations to you too!

Hi! Can you share some of those IG accounts? I don't have Facebook

Hello everyone! I applied to just two programs, one MA and one PhD and got accepted by both. My choice is simple and I already know I will be accepting the PhD. The offer was sent to me around the 20th of last month. Is it too soon to accept an offer or should I play hard to get? Also, I am thinking of negotiating the offer but I don't want to lie and say I have other offers because I don't, I didn't apply to other PhD programs. Should I try and negotiate anyway? I am ready to accept/decline and end all this grad school turbulent application phase, so any thoughts/suggestions are highly appreciated! Thanks!

Hi- thanks for this! I was actually looking at that option and it is definitely doable. Thanks again!

@Nothalfgood Thank you, I don't take it the wrong way, in fact I need this type of insight. I do not "need to start working" immediately, that is more of a want, I want to be out in the world, and since I am older I feel that I have less time than the traditional student to build a career. However, if I am completely honest with myself, I would love to do a PhD for the research. I love researching, this is what I enjoy the most doing, but it turns me off to know that after I finish a PhD I would have to start looking for opportunities that involve little to no research, or that include teaching (which I do not think I like even if I have not tried it) and the juggling of teaching and research and publication. etc. I have only a BA in art history and I do not think I can get any job with the degree, especially as a grown adult, and that is why I think a graduate degree is of essence. However, I am more and more aware of the fact that the city plays a prominent role in my desicion, since I would not want to spend so many years regretting moving to a better place (I already live in a place I don't like, really any of the two programs would be an upgrade in terms of the place where I would live) and, being an adult, I will also move my family which includes a young child and I think the opportunities he would have living in a place with plenty museums and rich cultural life. Of course, this are, as we call it in my family, "first world problems", and any city would be appropriate for my child, but that is where I am mentally. If the PhD were in the better city then I would not hesitate. So in short, I prefer the program in the worse city and the better city as a place to live for the next so many years. Again, both cities I like, it is just the better one that I think would hold more opportunities for me once I am finished, for my husband and my child. Thank you again!

This is great insight, thank you, especially when you talk about treating the program as building a career. This makes me think differently and see the programs from another perspective. Time is precisely my main preoccupation; I believe 7+ years is crazy long, at least for me, but two years is so short I wonder how much I can get done in such a short time. The MA thesis, for instance, makes me think of my senior undergrad thesis where I had about 6 months to a year to research it and write it and I was so frustrated by the lack of time. I guess the MA will recreate that experience. I am actually thinking that maybe I could try the MA and then apply for a PhD but the issue I am encountering is that very little credit is offered for the MA. In one of the programs I have been looking at only a semester is credited, so that would be one and a half years of MA work added to the 6.5 years of PhD. Do you or anyone knows of any program that offers more credit for the MA? At least you are now sure what you want to do which is teaching, but for us who are not really sure of what to do and, as in my case, don't want to be in academia then it gets complicated, especially when you're older and have less time. But again, treating the programs as career building is really something to think about. Thank you!

@adjunctlifer Wow, this is really enlightening, thank you a million times! And I am so happy you are another "older student". I feel at times this status or circumstance is rather isolating. I am also very afraid of those entry-level jobs because I am not at an "entry-level" age, so I completely understand and I am there. That is part of my problem in deciding, because what will I do with an MA that is not entry-level? On the other hand, it is only two years which will give me some more time to build a career versus seven years of PhD. I don't know what to do. This is killing me! But thank you for sharing your insight about curating with an MA!

Thank you! You bring so much clarity into my torment It is good that you have a clear plan and I can almost predict you will be successful. It is true that for Classical there are other requirements in terms of language and specialization. I wish you the best in any case. And thank you for the anecdotal bit about your friend, the museum world is so cryptic that if don't know anybody you will never know. Thanks again!

For those with a MA and applying to a Phd, how much time do you think you have saved by entering Phd with a MA versus those with a BA? I know it varies by program and that is why I ask. The PhD I am considering only credits a semester to those entering with a MA, so it is definitely better to go straight with an BA into this one in particular. I am curious whether other programs give more credit toward the PhD. Thanks!

That is what I'ver heard and that is why I ask, it is important to me to have some level of involvement from the advisor. Thank you for sharing this!

Thank you again, @jondewitt. Do you mind sharing your experience with Dr. Bellow? And I wish you the best on your PhD!

Thank you, @ClassicsCandidate! Your insight is must helpful! Honestly I would love to do curatorial work but I have given up on that idea because I do not have many years to dedicate to building a career in such a competitive field. Are you pursuing a PhD because you weren't happy at a museum? I have also worked at galleries but they have been virtually unknown ones and what I did was selling, not curating or anything related. I will look into research libraries, that sounds like an amazing idea. These schools where I have been accepted both have very good resources and opportunities for internships at museums, etc. Also, the MA program awarded partial tuition remission (half). The city I like most and with most museums is the one where the MA is, and that is why I am so hesitant. Also because a PhD is such a long commitment, even though I love the idea of dedicating all those years to specializing and doing research work. I think that if the PhD was in the city where the MA is I would have done it without a doubt. I am so divided I was also an adult as an undergrad and I am happy to see a fellow adult on here. Thanks so much again and I wish you the best in your pursuit of a Phd. What are you planning to do after you finish your PhD?

Thank you @jondewitt! Your insight is definitely helpful! I thought you had said full tuition remission when I read your post, but thenI I see it is partial. Do you know if full tuition remission is every granted? I am also so glad to hear it is a good program. May I ask what your area of study was/is and what is it you are doing now that you have finished? Thanks so much!