archanonymous

Hi! First time applying to PhDs!

“Anxious Lurker” here: Yep, my other account had limited action warnings and I assumed it was likely a glitch or restriction by mod. I made a new one and it the merge option during login wouldn’t work. After several attempts my old account was locked (probably because I hadn’t used the same email/passwords like I thought I had? boomer moments on my end). I had a warning on my account and now I’m banned for “abusive behavior.” Feel free to merge them for clarity if that’s in your capability as a mod. As I said, I’ve lurked for a long time and wish I spoke up sooner. I stand by everything I said including that I’m moving to a new platform so this can be banned too if you’d like. I’m using this to give context, not to further engage and won’t be logging back into it. Thanks

New poster here, felt like I had to say something after reading your final response to this thread. Although maybe I'm alone in this, I can't help but feel that you come across as a bit of a bully in this post. I'm sure you have much to share this forum, truly. But I'd much rather have a forum of people anxiously discussing their university prospects than arguing. I hope you agree. 
 

To out myself, I am one of the people that is impacted by the race/diversity comment. I literally had a professor get a tap on the hand and quietly sat out for allowing a bunch of racist shit to happen in a grad seminar for AA history... and he's a professor/scholar of AA history... as a cishet white male. I literally heard that someone said a slur in a grad seminar last night for no reason. Too many institutions have not enough diversity as part of their faculty, and if they do, it's at the expense of people lost in the intersections. As a black femme, I want to see faculty representation reflect the students that they are serving. Especially in light of everything going on right now in the academy.
However, to be quite frank, I think everyone just needs to take a break from this thread for a day... unless you're asking about notifications/application stuff. Message people if you have questions about anything specific that was posted, but it just feels like there's a lot of hostility, and I ... don't come on here for that. I come on here to be surrounded by other anxious people that just want answers about what their trajectory looks like for the future. This isn't to negate advice, demean anyone, however, it is to acknowledge that I think we all just need a break right now. However, I will also echo sentiments that there is a post here that felt really demeaning and reeked of privilege.  
You can't expect for others to give you grace if you are being a butt and giving snarky advice to people who didn't even ask for it. 

So what's the solution? Go back to school for a second bachelor's and more debt? Spend a couple thousand (that I don't have) on a coding course? Attempt to force myself to do something I have no aptitude for? I think my ultimate frustration with this conversation is that time and time again people suggest alternative career tracks that also involve considerable personal sacrifice, investment, and debt. 

It seems that there are competing ideas about what this thread should be used for. Would it be possible to have a thread (this current one or another) devoted simply to people who want to discuss the application process/notifications/decisions and another for people who want to give or solicit advice about whether one should do a PhD vis-a-vis the job market? I think that could diffuse a lot of tension on here. 

If you're a longtime lurker, you have been around long enough to hear three or four PhD-seekers state that they know what they're in for, push on through the advice they get, and then slowly become bitter, regretful, and burnt out. It's hard not to see a repeating pattern of people doing the second meme and thinking they're special.

Funny memes, but those of us who voiced concern weren’t doing so based on a false, naive view of the academy or our trajectories within it. As a longtime lurker, I've seen a lot of patronizing attitudes and what appears to be personal bitterness hidden under the guise of concern. We’ve done our research, accepted the risk, and understand the financial consequences since that seems to be what the forum is most concerned about right now. Still, we've chosen to apply in spite of the academy's dire state (as I’m assuming you also did before choosing to get your Ph.D.). Everyone has a different financial situation and doing a PhD is going to mean different things for different people of different backgrounds. If you're from the upper middle class in Boston where PhDs are a dime a dozen, getting one feels different than if you're from the Imperial Valley of California. Doing one has different financial costs for students with debt/no debt, students at schools with stipends that match the area's cost of living vs low stipend schools, and students in growing fields (i.e., African American history) vs shrinking fields (i.e., medieval history), etc.
Again, this is a website primarily for those currently navigating the application process. Especially as a woman, I don't need another space in academia where a man centers himself when it isn't about him and uses his experience, Ph.D., etc. as an excuse to be dismissive and patronizing. That might sound harsh or like I'm pulling "the woman card," but I'm being 100% genuine when I say that. 

This probably says more about my own personal situation than it does any general trend, but I would really love to know where all these supposedly lucrative non-academic jobs are. I've been out of school for three years now and have yet to break $20k/year despite working full-time. If I get into PhD program not only will I have a guaranteed, stable income, but I will also have health insurance. For someone with my background that in and of itself is enough reason to pursue the PhD, putting aside the fact that it is something that I am passionate about. Also, I think for many of us hopefuls it's difficult to swallow this advice from current students because obviously you also disregarded this advice when you were applying. Just some 2¢ from a lurker. 

I agree! Most of us are here to navigate grad admissions, so the balance has felt a little off on this forum. While advice from those who have already been admitted and/or completed grad school is, of course, needed, we don’t need to feel any more stressed or demoralized during the application process. Most of us (myself included) don’t need an extra reminder that we aren’t special or the exception as a lot of the schools we applied for are already letting us know that lol 
As others have noted, we’re adults who’ve done our research. We’ve heard the anecdotal warnings (there’s already been plenty provided on this forum), seen the dire statistics, and have decided to apply anyways for a variety of reasons. The vast majority of users I’ve seen seem realistic and aware of the risks and likely outcomes of getting a Ph.D. I appreciate feeling the need to inform others about the exploitative nature of the academy, but these warnings occasionally have patronizing tones and are often extraneous and/or repetitive. 

I didn't see this! I definitely wanted to post something similar, but didn't feel it was my place. 
Expanding on this though -- I definitely get that the future after a PhD is not that bright. I still want a PhD in spite of that. I'm a first gen low ses college kid, where neither of my parents earned degrees after HS. Yes, I want to have a PhD to be a producer and disseminator of knowledge, to learn and read old documents and spark conversations. I want it for the reasons that most of us want it. However, at the end of the day -- I want it for me. 
We're all too stressed over notifications to deal with the doomsday stuff as well. If someone applied for a PhD without accepting that a TT job/academic job may not be their reality in the future, that's an individual thing. I spent the first semester... year... all of my MA hearing about how bad the job market is and all that. Just let people be happy. 

Okay, so I understand the realities associated with obtaining a history PhD and how it's grueling work for the duration of the program, and then basically impossible to obtain a tenure-track position once you're out. But I do wonder why we constantly talk about how getting a PhD in history is a "bad idea" and the "wrong choice." I can't speak on behalf of other people, but I feel as though we get enough of that from our family and friends.
I just don't understand why forums about getting a PhD in history need to be similarly discouraging. We are all here because we applied to PhD programs and hope to get in. We have already made the decision that it is right for us. Why do we need to be bombarded by kind internet strangers that are concerned for our well-being and decision-making abilities? We are all adults. We have read the statistics and are very much aware of what awaits us. Why can't this be a place where we celebrate each other for wanting to pursue something that we are truly, deeply passionate about?

Much to my surprise, it's starting to look like we're not getting the semifinal notifications today! A watched email never boils I guess. Fingers crossed we hear back soon!

I received my notification last year at 2:35 EST for semifinalist. It could come in later, though, as my alternate announcement was sent at 5:30 pm. 

I'm sure others can provide good advice, but basic recommendations would be summer intensive (some other than CUNY are cheaper, and some are online these days), and funded MA. It's not worthwhile to take out loans to pursue a post-bacc or unfunded MA unless you're independently wealthy. My impression is that funded MA is better than post-bacc in both support and placement too. There are more funded MAs than there used to be. If you're able to do 2 terms' worth for one language over the summer via an intensive and then take it next year, and take the other language your remaining 3 terms (which'd get you to 4 of one and 3 of the other), you should hopefully be competitive for MAs with a good writing sample. Focus on building some solid relationships with professors who can write good letters, and ask their advice about how to proceed.
(PhD programs in Classics tend to really require 3 years/6 terms of each language, I think, or at least it might be tough to be competitive with less.)

How are everyone's applications going? The deadline is so close.

How are everyone's applications going? The deadline is so close.