miratrix

zygomatic, which UMass did you apply to? And congrats on the acceptances

I think it sounds like a smart idea. The possible benefit: you get ahead on grad classes, at least one professor there gets to know you and your work, and it helps your admission the following year. The possible risk: if you don't get in, you wasted some time. So really, why not?

Some friends came from out of town this weekend, so that was really distracting Otherwise, apart from work, I'm cooking a lot, watching a lot of movies with one of my roommates, and writing cover letters for stuff unrelated to grad school (I wish I was done with all that!). Keeps me busy enough.

I feel this way too, if I had to choose between having a family and having the perfect job I'd choose family. (Ideally we shouldn't have to choose if we want both, of course, but life doesn't often work out ideally.) I've done the being far away from everyone you love for the sake of research thing, and while it was awesome despite the difficulty, I don't want to set up my life that way when I'm older. But I'll deal with that problem when I come to it, right now I have no partner Moving back to my hometown is not an option because it's a tiny town with almost no employers. Moving back to my current city after grad school (if I move out, that is) might be neat. I'm pretty resigned to having to start over somewhere new after finishing, though.

Thanks, that's a pretty good list.

You could say something really vague but value-neutral, like "Due to a change of plans/logistical reasons, Professor X will not be writing a letter; please consider the other 3 when reviewing my application."

I calculate that I can't realistically expect results for another 2.5 weeks, so it's just a lack of patience right now...the moment we hit Monday, Feb. 23, I will probably fall into an anxious, frustrated depression just like you guys even though that's an arbitrary approximation of the earliest date I might possibly hear. This waiting for months thing is awful - so much worse than job applications, where if you don't hear anything for a couple weeks you probably just need to move on!

Yeah, I called too just now. I got through a prerecorded menu to a message that they're not doing status reports on applications right now due to volume, and we need to wait at least 10 working days and check online again before calling. That actually makes me feel better...if things are missing, there's nothing I can do about it right now!

University of Maryland notifies by postal mail only. I know a couple other schools that don't have status check websites, but they could still email or call, I guess.

I think faculty fit, as well - I applied to a program that funds 2 students a year, but accepts around 10, and part of what decides who gets funded is whether the faculty they'd be working with is available to take on more students that year. A professor explained to me that if you're a great candidate, but there are already several students partway through the program in your subfield or the key faculty member is going on sabbatical the next year, you're not likely to get an assistantship. I've heard rumors that the person who works in my subfield at this program is probably going on sabbatical next spring, so I am guessing my chances for funding (and therefore the chances that I will go at all) are pretty much nil. I hope your luck is better!

I don't think I would reapply, at least not without doing something else for a few years in the meantime. I applied to a wide enough range of programs in a small enough field (i.e. not clinical psychology or something) that if I get rejected everywhere, that's probably a sign that I shouldn't be doing this.

I need to call one of my schools tomorrow or Monday to ask if they got my transcripts...the deadline was Feb. 1, so they may not have been sorting materials for long, but the post office says were delivered December 22 so if they're lost in the office by this point, they may be REALLY lost.

I don't think the job market issues are just about the economy right now, though...they existed before this fall, the economy's just making them worse. I'm not going to grad school just to get a job, but I also don't want to graduate at 30 and find myself less employable than I was at 23. Maybe it seems mercenary, but I can't go into this and not think about jobs at ALL, since I'm not counting on large inheritances or rich suitors, so I'll have to support myself somehow. Is nobody else worrying about this? As for interviews, I was also under the impression that anthro doesn't generally involve interviews. Hopefully we'll just get our "yes" or "no" faster!

I haven't applied to any of these schools...just saw on the results page that at one school, "faculty has not met yet." It's going to be a loooong wait. I'm starting to wonder about the PhD thing in general. The more I read about the job market, the more I think I might be better off getting an MA and trying to work for the government or CRM or something and just forgetting about the PhD because it might price me out of any jobs that are not academic. What do you guys think about employment prospects?

For organizing applications, I made one excel spreadsheet to help me decide between schools (categories: location, suitability for main interests A,B, and C, funding, and competitiveness...color coded, it was fun!), and one to keep track of each element of the application and when I'd sent it. I kept track of overall costs as part of the same program I use to keep track of all my spending.

I try to divide my leisure reading so it's half "serious" literature and nonfiction and half fun, lightweight literature and nonfiction...but I definitely end up reading more of the fun, lightweight stuff. But that's what's great about not being in school! I can DO that!

I was actually warned about this at one of my schools - apparently the fees there amount to the price of in-state tuition. So if you get a half assistantship, you still have half the bill to pay in fees, if you get a full assistantship it covers both, and if you are from out of state, well, you're getting a bill no matter what.

It's not shameful, guys...it's a tight-knit community

I would guess that $40K is closer to average in disciplines and at schools where you're not likely to get a $30K stipend, so whichever end of the spectrum you're on, grad school pays a lot less than a TT job. I know that at my undergrad, the highest paid professors were people in computer science and economics, because the school needed to make it worth their while to give up far more lucrative jobs and prospects outside of academia. On the other hand, the opportunity cost wasn't as high for people in the humanities, so their salaries tended to be lower. It also looks like stipends tend to be lower in the humanities than sciences, although this varies as much by school as by discipline.

I wouldn't count tuition as part of salary, though....

What's wrong with $40K? Okay, if that's the single income you're trying to raise a family on that's tough, but most of us on this forum aren't single parents or supporting partners who don't work.

$770, for 7 schools. Main costs were also ETS and application fees, with two different study abroad transcripts coming in third and postage coming in last. Seems a little excessive, doesn't it?

And I'd been looking at my "double shot" status and thinking, "stop posting so much! you probably look like an obsessive dork!" I'm not even on the list, so thanks for making me feel in good company, guys!

Oh man, I finally got an envelope from one of my schools Saturday...and it was a paper copy of the 'your online application has been received, make sure your other materials are in' message. I'd already received this in TWO emails since the due date a month ago, established that their office had lost my other materials three weeks ago, and sent new copies straight to the department at that point because they said they were making decisions, so I was really hoping it would be a decision letter. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

I've heard of grad program chairs wanting to admit someone but the professor with the relevant work not wanting to advise them...in that situation, I'd rather not be admitted to end up with a reluctant advisor!