qbtacoma

Hopefully your metamorphosis works out better than it did for a German wage earner I could name! Apropos of nothing, did anyone else see the Gargoyles episode where they made a Kafka/Sartre/Nietzsche joke?

I'm currently long-distance, which makes the day itself rather unremarkable. However, I will probably go see The Vagina Monologues - sexy, and raising money for sexual assault victims!

SuperPiePie, I think what we are running up against here is an unspoken assumption on your part about what the study of the humanities serves in the end. I see your point about engineering etc. saving lives, being the main force ending physical suffering in the world. That is a point well made, but let's set that aside for now and see what study of being human has to offer. Two examples. When Ann Bannon wrote softcore lesbian pulp fiction in the 1950s, her work was eagerly devoured by women even though the publisher intended the books as porn for straight men. The women who read her books were starving for portrayals of themselves - of women who had deep emotional and sexual connections with other women. Her books were the only contact many women, who were isolated from underground lesbian subcultures (and, for that matter, unexposed to a literary education which would have introduced them to non-normative sexualities that any classics person knows), had. The books were a positive cultural presence for these readers, who knew they were not alone in their feelings, despite the moralizing bad endings. This sense of isolation from peers remains one of the main drivers of queer teen suicide even today with all the unabashedly positive portrayals of all kinds of people available, suggesting how important it is that people see themselves represented. When Alice Walker published The Color Purple in 1982, the presence of black women in popular culture was virtually nonexistent. Whoopi Goldberg, the biggest black female presence in popular culture of the 80s, was pushed into the popular spotlight by that film adaptation. Walker's exploration of black womanhood in general, not to mention the trauma of the aftermath of slavery, male abuse of wives, children, and partners, female sexual choices, mixed feelings of empowerment/colonialism inherent to Christian missionary work in Africa, the legacy of abuse and the struggle to rise above it all - these issues are explosive even thirty years later. Walker introduced to the popular consciousness certain discussions of gender, blackness, and the legacy of history which were incredibly unique and valuable - like Bannon (but better!), her work began a conversation which simply did not exist to the vast majority of people. Like Bannon, Walker gave voice to (in this case) black women in general and black lesbians in particular When are students exposed to ideas like these? In English classes. The study of the humanities can, like you imply, be just about creating art or exploring themes which are of particular interest to only a few. But English, film studies, theatre, history, and other fields all have the task of transmitting and reinterpreting the soul and, dare I say, morality of our day to day lives. YES, absolutely funding vaccine research is important! YES, funding research into making better bridges, better strains of wheat, better energy sources is important! But giving a voice to the voiceless is the reason that I myself research history, and teaching students to be better critical thinkers and writers is why teaching is social justice. YES, there is more than a little selfishness to my area of study - no one's life is going to be saved (directly) from my work. (That's what volunteering is for!) YES, some of my work is masturbatory and not particularly useful even for social justice purposes - they are simply interesting topics to me. But then, some computer scientists end up working for Pixar instead of protecting the nation's defense systems from cyber attacks. Some engineers end up working for SpaceX (a private rocket company which will eventually send tourists into space) instead of designing more effective medical imaging equipment. Most chemistry Ph.Ds will end up making drugs for big pharma which manage symptoms instead of treating underlying causes (oops, did a little bias slip out there?). I'd still fund the education for those non-life-saving science folks. It's still a net gain for society. But humanities research isn't inherently less valuable than anything these folks do.

Well, it is possible then that this person had a spot/funding for a grad student over your other preferred choice.

Somewhere, a professor's heart is warmed to the very cockles.

This professor may be on the admissions committee. Is this someone you have never heard of?

I didn't read comments on the papers themselves my first two years, though I would read the summary comments at the end. I took every note in the margin as a shot to the heart and couldn't handle it, though of course reading them would have made me better. In my last year particularly I did read all the comments, and I wished I started doing that much earlier.

They can, with various legal difficulties depending upon timing (e.g. if no contract has been signed then there are few legal ramifications), but they rarely, rarely would. They probably only would if, like, it comes out that you faked your undergrad degree or something.

For anyone applying to UBC, the graduate secretary told me to ignore the application status on the website - she doesn't control that information. She also said decisions will be sent out sometime in March.

Barricades, you are so lucky! Congratulations! And congratulations also to the person who posted the Brown acceptance!

English professors have the task of teaching students to write well AND, more importantly, they must deal with the students who think that field is the fallback for failure - that they don't have to try, or be interested, or participate or learn and just get through to their degree. English professors are champs.

So I haven't been checking my application statuses at all because I knew if I got in the habit, it would bug me. After checking Brown, I went ahead and checked them, and lo and behold, UBC says they don't have any of my supplementary materials! I've emailed them about it and I'm sure I did everything right on my end, but it never hurts to check. Eek! Everywhere else has my stuff.

Yup, I checked Brown too and I'm out. I'm not too broken up about it, though. ETA: And now 2 minutes later I got an email from Brown about it.

I wanted to report back. I did the swamp rice method (and I did it with real rice a few times too, and it will now be a regular thing) but I also used broth instead of water when I finally added it. I mixed in chard and mushrooms along with the garlic, and to season it I had a few dashes of seasoning salt and lots of cumin. It was mad delicious.

Aw, I'm flattered! Another Bond film name: "Dr. No Wipe." Congratulations on the admit Paura!

The Star-Spangled Horde! Oh, god, it's coming! Flee! Flee for your lives!

Best Case Scenario - I get accepted with funding into at least three programs, allowing me to choose between them depending upon advisor personality and university culture and no other factors. Oh, and these places all do a great job of mentoring grad students and after I finish my Ph.D I have plenty of job connections and easily find a TT position in my preferred area of the country. Worst Case Scenario - I work for my friends as a live in cook/nanny for the rest of my life, and/or eventually marry some rich person out of desperation, with no job prospects ever again.

What everyone else said. What you need to do is make sure that your GPA is the one and only weak part of your application, which means studying hard for the GRE, improving relationships with former professors, making a high quality writing sample, and all that jazz. Also, if there aren't three professors who gave you As in their courses do try to seek a letter writer from outside academia who might be helpful, namely a supervisor on a history-related project. A friend of mine recently completed an archives internship with the National Park Service - these are Americorps programs that last for about three months each. You could also volunteer at your local historical society or in a library and do some sort of awesome project. Once you've wowed your supervisor with your dedication and ability that person can be one of your three letter writers. Moreover the initiative you took in doing this independent project will help prove that you will be proactive with your studies in the future.

Ooh, I've been targeted by a troll for the first time on the internet! How exciting!

I chose to waive my recommendations because there are only two real reasons to read them: 1) ego-boosting, and 2) surveillance. As gratifying as the ego-boosting would be, that's not enough to overcome the stigma of the second reason. Adcomms have no way to know if I am person with reason 1 or 2. Professors who refuse to write letters to people who don't waive their right to read them are probably protecting themselves from drama later on. Some people can't handle criticism of any sort, and the high stakes of application season can make even sane people a little crazy. Down the road, they probably don't want to see a former student (now colleague) who has been nursing a grudge all those years, especially if the professor wrote something about that person's personality (e.g., good scholar but has boundary issues, etc). I'd like to think that people with Ph.Ds are more mature than the general population, but this is not the case. Adcomms are aware of this and know that professors might not therefore be open with the letters, thus eliminating the letter's usefulness.

I can't speak to the situation in NYC or your field, but here is my take on interning in the US. I feel like unpaid internships in corporate settings are not worth the time. This is mostly because they do not produce skill-building. From the employer's perspective, the unpaid intern may, at any moment, flake out (even if the intern has no intention of doing so) because the consequence/motivation of a paycheck isn't there. Thus the employer is unlikely to risk time/project efficiency by giving the intern significant responsibilities. However, sometimes unpaid internships can be a step in the door. If there is a trial period of, say, three months, after which the employer wants to hire you, then it would be worth it. It *might* also allow for introductions to other people in the industry, but they too will know if you were the unpaid coffee-maker or the paid intern. So, again, this depends. However again! In fields such as the arts, nonprofits, etc volunteers DO get a huge benefit from their activity in the long term. By volunteering (e.g. unpaid interning) you show that you are dedicated to the organization and are reliable, competent, etc. I've been told that I have an in for jobs at several places I volunteered long-term. These were service organizations, though, and if you are looking to get into the corporate/admin side of the arts I think volunteering may not help you. What is most likely is that you will get a part-time internship with a stipend. Especially with this economy, that kind of deal is the best offer I've seen for people with no previous experience/contacts. Don't assume that you won't be able to find paid work (and don't assume that you don't deserve it!), but volunteer somewhere as you are looking for paid work. If nothing comes up, the organization you are with might pull through.

"Stuff changes so there's no use understanding any of it!"

Yes, you've got a chance! How big of a chance is anyone's guess, including the adcomm's since they haven't reviewed everyone yet. Basically right now you are a strong contender - not such a superstar that you definitely need to be interviewed, but pretty good. They're waiting to see if any other superstars show up. Best of luck!

That's roughly my era as well. Sounds like you are going to have an enjoyable choice of schools. Congratulations Rustin and rbatzell!

But hey - think how rarely this happens!