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crunchyfallleaves

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    2020 Fall

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  1. For context I'm in an MA now and starting my PhD in the Fall. Have you done a Masters in film studies? If not, I would recommend trying to apply to (what few there are) funded MAs. I think USC offers some students partial funding and some full and maybe UW and Toronto ? Anyone know of others? You will hear a lot of people warn of humanities PhDs not being worth it or that the job market is abysmal. My #1 advice is to arrive at a personal decision about what matters to you. I realized that while all those warnings are sound, none of those people could actually offer me or point me to an alternative that would make me happier. All of the constituent parts of doing a degree are things I love: reading, writing, exploring new topics just for the sake of it, being in dialogue with peers and faculty, etc. There are of course things I don't and won't like, but I've also worked a desk job and know that this path is really better for me for now. Yes, the job market is horrible, but knowing that I have years of funding and license to study what I love for 5+ years feels like a really huge and amazing win for me right now. Some corners of academia are really distorted and toxic, for sure. But so are so many workplaces. We don't even know what world we will have in 5 years, and I'm just really happy to take it one step at a time. So, all this is to say, you need to make peace with the question of why you want to do a PhD. What do you want to get from the experience? If you fall more in the area of wanting the experience in and of itself, I would encourage you to keep researching and searching for the places that you think would be able to offer that. If you fall more in the area of wanting some kind of outcome, I would probably not pursue a PhD. If you are struggling to get in touch with current students, try reaching out to the department coordinator and saying that you are a prospective student hoping to have an informal chat with someone in the program. They may be able to help connect you with someone more easily than just cold outreach to someone on the webpage. I hope some of this is helpful to you!
  2. First of all, congratulations on these acceptances!! I'm not in your field so I'm coming at this just based on the information you've provided and my experience applying to MAs last year + PhDs this year. 1) Funding/fellowship: The first thing I would recommend is trying to speak to both schools about the likelihood of being selected for the fellowship. Tell them how excited you are about the program but how important funding is. They may be able to give more insight into as April 15 gets closer and candidates accept/deny. This, I think, is the most important factor. If on April 15 you are still in the dark r.e. both places, I would accept the UW offer and not tell GWU anything. This will allow you to ride out both a bit longer -- but check on any penalties/fees for backing out at UW if GWU comes to you and says they have funding. Alternatively you could ask UW for a decision extension by telling them you are accepted at GW with a deadline of May 1 and need more time to decide. This could also show them they should compete and fund you. Last year I got an extension on an MA decision deadline just by asking. 2) Program choice: Based on your writing, I really think you should listen to your gut. If you see yourself living in DC and closer to home in the longterm, but have dreamed of going to UW and living in Seattle, do it. Don't postpone your dreams just because it will create an adjustment period for those who love you. In the end, your happiness and success in school will be far better for your relationships with family than staying close and wondering what if. Another way to think about it is that 5 hours by plane is less than 10 hours by car. Both are a flight away. I know the psychic difference can feel bigger than the geographic distance -- especially to family -- but in my experience this is also why it's so important, if you're curious about it, to try living far from home. It allows you to emerge in a new kind of independence and really feel like the author of your own life. 3) Other considerations: definitely, now that you are 'in' at both, reach out and ask questions of the department, peruse the courses, ask to be put in touch with current students and send them your questions or hop on a Zoom. Doing this is so, so important. No matter what 'read' you think you have on a place, you could be really surprised by how you 'gel' with people when you're actually chatting. Be honest with current students about your concerns, whether they are r.e. fluency, affordability, adapting to a new place. They are such a fantastic resource (or if they aren't .. that's good to know, too). I just recently did this and I learned a lot of sort of niche/surprising things about living in the city and affording life there and I also learned a lot about how well I might fit in with the community. Don't be discouraged by the fact that UW hasn't done much to recruit you. I've found this really varies program to program and doesn't necessarily indicate they don't care or aren't an exciting place. I hope some of this is helpful to you!
  3. Venting about ethics of this: I actually find it so concerning that schools are comfortable taking prospective students for a ride, neglecting the labor, cost, and time of applying to their specific program, all in the name of this final-hour decision to support current students. Many, many schools made the decision to suspend admissions in the Fall, and NYU, I am sure, was more than aware of this discourse and demands of their students. And yet somehow they are only now, mid-March, communicating this decision to us. Rather than provide current students and us with the clarity we both needed, they decided to keep everyone in the dark until now (assuming current students didn't know about their funding extensions until last/this month). This is the type of stuff that perpetuates access issues in academia.
  4. Hello! did you inquire or did you get an email? i applied too but didn't hear anything from them along these lines
  5. Haven't heard anything. In my mind I had Jan. 15 as the date after which we could start to hear at any point...which is nerve-wracking because that's tomorrow. It's an insane feeling that, at any moment over the next two months, we will hear hugely consequential news. Like, you could be asleep, in class, shopping for groceries. Wack. R.e. covid, my suspicion is that things may be a bit delayed, so I'll try to keep telling myself that over the next few weeks.
  6. If I were you, I would choose to just be honest. The reality is that a professor has let you down and it is not your fault. I really doubt the new recommender would read that far into it so as to think you are implying she is some last choice. Professors interact with recommendations from a far less grand scale -- many of them write them every season in significant number and while they care, it's less massive than from the applicant perspective -- and they are aware students need to make sometimes arbitrary decisions around whom they ask, and hopefully she sympathizes with your bind. I'd say something along the lines of: "In the interest of being forthcoming, I had a professor agree in MONTH to write this letter who is now entirely unreachable and so I am now a bit stuck. Typically I would never ask for a recommendation on such short notice, and I so apologize for this, but it is looking like my only choice. I would really value a recommendation from you for x, y reasons, and if you are able to swing it, it would mean the world to me. If however for any reason you are unable to, I completely understand."
  7. Nice! And yeah, I don't really know what to expect either, especially with some other fields reporting massive spikes in apps.
  8. @Magic Lantern to my knowledge Oxbridge takes word limits very seriously. I.e. I know that you can and will be marked down for exceeding the word limit on essays at Cambridge for example and you are typically required to include the word count on your cover page. I would very much recommend finding a way to cut the 700 words, even if it feels unimaginable, so that your app doesn't risk being disregarded on that account. Maybe try calling in some outside readers, even if they have no familiarity with your topic, just to identify passages that could go. I find another set of eyes is often far more equipped to help with this because our brains get so wrapped up in our own work. In short, I could be wrong, but based on my knowledge, I don't think this would be a situation where exceeding the limit by that much and writing a note apologizing would bode well. Hope you are able to make it work and best wishes.
  9. hey @theflightattendant just saw your dm and realized you posted - I applied to these ones: Berkeley Toronto Northwestern Wisconsin USC University of Washington
  10. Maybe this is a stupid question, but is it standard when applying to PhD programs to also apply for financial aid? Or are fellowships/teaching assistantships as a rule different and administered separately. Like those things are different from work-study, yes?
  11. I'm in a different field (but humanities) so not sure if there is a stricter standard in History, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it. It's an incredibly hectic time for faculty with many schools preparing to go online after Thanksgiving, recommendation season, and general pandemic craziness. The vast majority of programs don't seem to require faculty contact, and I don't see a world where it would ever hurt you that you reached out but didn't hear back. Maybe your name rings some deep-seated bell when the adcom sits down to review, maybe it doesn't, but I don't think you should worry.
  12. In my opinion those are strong enough scores to make it worth submitting to optional schools (esp if your W score is 4.5+). You went to the trouble of taking it and you never know what might help the committee make a decision in your favor. At any rate, they will definitely not hurt you so I think if you submit them you won't regret it but if you don't, you might wonder what if? Though the expense is unfortunate and maybe not worth it depending on your personal situation.
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