anxiouslurker

@charmsprofI picked up on that message too and appreciated it. I'm sure some departments are genuinely trying to diversify, but white people + men are, of course, still getting the majority of TT jobs in our field to my knowledge. I agreed with most of the post and the overall message except I don't think we're at a point where white males need to be dissuaded from going to grad school because they'll be at a significant disadvantage down the road. I could see how that example could get picked up by bad actors (i.e., more privileged applicants wrongly getting a victim complex). I still think the post seemed to be well-meaning, but thought it was worth pausing to consider the nuance of diversity hiring and how to best discuss it here. Most importantly, I think @TMP deserves to give themselves way more credit for their success at landing a VAP position. Hopefully, that clarifies my previous vagueness

You never know! It's not over until it's over!

It was a hard no, but I expected it as the fit was decent but not great (plus, its harvard lol)

Context to my last post that I failed to add: I'm referring to the (albeit seemingly well-intentioned post) implying that white men are at a significant disadvantage in the academic job market due to a type of unofficial affirmative action. As for everything else, I've said numerous times that I know the risks and that they apply to me. Hence, why that thread isn't worthwhile for me and I'm choosing to let my previous comments speak for themselves. Moving on to applications since that's why we're all here: @CoffeeCatsCorgisI'm an American applicant and got my Harvard decision for the PhD program via the portal last night.

No one in this thread is suggesting I'm "special" or giving me hope of a TT job here, nor am I asking them to. I've already addressed these strawmen and red herrings several times now, and I don't think it's worthwhile for me to continue this conversation. As for my good old boys comment, several of us have expressed frustration today because this forum has been mostly dominated (in often unhealthy ways) by those who have a Ph.D. and "already know" all of the advice. I suggest you listen to the women and people of color who've begun to express how they feel differently about this space. Most importantly, I'm very disturbed by the diversity comment posted today and the initial lack of reaction to it. This forum won't improve if criticism is met with gaslighting, strawmen, etc. I've read about your path to the Ph.D. on this forum, and although I still don't know the intricacies of your personal history beyond what you've already shared here, I know you're a white man with a Ph.D. from an ivy. Like all of us (myself included), you have certain privileges and blind spots. You frequently remind us all that we aren't "special," but that same truth should lead the more seasoned users to act with humility and grace when interacting with others. Moving forward, it seems like many of us who're truly using this platform as it's intended want things to change as far as attitudes and the focus/organization of this forum. We've all read and presumably benefitted from the statistics and experiences shared by the more established users that are meant to warn us, so perhaps starting to share them more on the appropriate threads or websites would be a good first step. There needs to be healthier outlets for those of us who rightly feel burned, bitter, and disappointed due to the state of the academy to work through through issues. As I noted earlier, I'm stepping away from this discussion for now. I hope to see this forum becomes a more positive, balanced, and equitable space

Yes, but I wasn't one of them. My concerns shouldn't be automatically and unfairly lumped in with them and dismissed. It's concerning that the recent race/diversity hiring comment received the least amount of attention and pushback out of all the posts in this particular discussion. In a lot of ways, Grad Cafe often feels like an extension of the old boy's club. I hope we can all work to make this a more fair and equitable space as the academy is already problematic enough as it is. I agree with the other users suggesting that we divide up the forum more neatly.

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.

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'm in the same boat as you and am also unfamiliar with those practices. (RE: the Brown situation and thread you replied to) Schools don't send out acceptances if they haven't reviewed all applications. Although POIs sendioes that actually happen? Woung out unofficial offers at different times, etc. can vary for obvious reasons, it wouldn't be logical for committees to send acceptances if they hadn't reviewed all apps. Even though things can be somewhat divided up by subfield, the entire committee still comes together to make final decisions (and often disagree on how many students each subfield should get) before even unofficial offers are made. This definitely wouldn't happen if the committee was holding off reviewing some apps for random and arbitrary reasons like alphabetical order (especially when there are very usually few spots available for incoming students). Since official offers have to first be rubber stamped by higher ups, all of the programs I'm familiar with all send all of their recommendations to admins at the same time (with obvious exceptions made for waitlists, etc.). Official decisions are typically automated and sent out all at once which is why the results page immediately lights up like a Christmas tree whenever top schools update their portals lol @MatildaMedievalist There might have been a technical glitch on Brown's end, but my guess is that you're being unofficially waitlisted or something of that nature. There's no way of knowing at this point, but I wouldn't reach out unless it starts getting close to ~April 15. Although I share the temptation to reach out and ask programs for an estimated timeline, it is considered best practice to wait for them to reach out since asking for an update could be viewed as an annoyance. Fingers crossed for you!