qbtacoma

Yay I made it! ETA: And it seems I made more than half of my posts ever in this month. Yikes!

Who cares if eyebrows are raised? I am genuinely curious. If I have a baby in grad school or before getting tenure I will cheerfully crush to a pulp anyone who questions me with "oh, but your career!" Withering stares and sarcastic references to 1968 will be heard. So, while I understand concerns about having babies from a logistical standpoint, I don't understand why some folks seem so concerned about colleague reaction. Pretty much they can't hold it against you in any open way without outing themselves as assholes, so what's the problem?

I'm sure that depends on the program. Many Canadian history programs are well-respected int the US. As with most things, it depends on the prestige of the particular program and/or POI. Anyway, I'm in a similar situation, and it is totally appropriate to politely email silent programs to say you have a competitive offer but want to hear back from them before making a decision. Then ask for when decisions may be sent out, and if time is really of the essence say you have a quick deadline. Hopefully that will get them moving. Good luck, and congratulations!

Yep, another Michigan rejection here. However, I am so stoked about UBC that I don't even care. Did 365 seem a little low to anyone? I was expecting an applicant pool there of about 450 - not sure why. Maybe it was on an faq somewhere.

feeling chipper

zero gravity

Psh, that professor was a jerk. S/he can claim that history PhDs are best used for people aiming for the academy alone after s/he gets us all TT jobs. The best thing to do would be to talk to current and former students of this program. Figuring out the placement issue really is important, and if these programs want you to attend (and they do!) then they will help get you in contact with people who can speak to your concerns. Also, you should see how good of a career services office each school has. These offices can make a big difference - sometimes potential employers will list open positions first at a particular school. Good luck!

I often put "Hello from a potential applicant" - stiff, perhaps, but serviceable. I'd wait until late summer to contact folks. That way you still have plenty of time to get back to them with more questions later if you have any and if the exchange went (very) well, and you also have enough time to research better potential fits. It is near enough to application season they will remember you. Plus, I know I procrastinated a lot on doing application things, so setting a goal of emailing all my POIs by THIS date helped me.

I'm in another field, but I think your proposal is spot-on. The SOP is really a document meant to outline your fit and future research plans, and what you propose will work well. However, make sure you have several sets of eyes from people in your field read it over, and they can give you more specific points to address. I'm not sure if this is the case for your field, but some schools may ask for a statement of purpose and a personal statement. The personal statement will be the one more focused on your personality/history in that case, and the SOP research interests, fit, and perhaps mention of some past work. I would only add that it may help to sketch out a methodology for conducting thesis research will be impressive and shows that you have seriously thought about the topic. Try something like, "Part of the difficulty of researching X topic is finding witnesses to interview, but I this problem will be offset by using resources such as A, B, and C."

I sense a difference in field rearing its head. Obviously yours has connections to the business world where looking a certain way is requisite for success. I'm reacting to what you said because you were specifically talking about women being the presentable ones, with physical attraction and makeup being the specific topic. Yeah, you may have meant people in general (when questioned on the issue), but in two comments you talked about women needing to look nice. I saw no call to let a double standard comment slip by. And yes, by not mentioning dudes you upheld a double standard: women's appearance is more important to viewing them as successful, so important that it should be commented upon.

Plus, if it's a PIRG-level organization, there's no way in hell you'd want to work for them in the future. So don't worry about it - they won't seriously be able to influence your future career, especially when you get out of grad school however many years from now that no one remembers you.

Look, when people answer your questions - why are people voting me down? why is it over the top to wear lapel pins? etc. - and then you get all huffy when our answers aren't what you want to hear, that's called not being tied in to social cues. Here is some friendly advice, though I doubt you will take it. When you enter a new environment, you should look around and try to figure out what most people are doing so you don't accidentally step on toes. Take the Grad Cafe: are other people using bold or colored words? No. The reasons are that 1) it is hard on the eyes, and 2) for a forum such as the internet where body language and tone are not conveyed, modifying the text indicates emotion, and your choices indicated aggression to us. This is generally understood for people on the internet, which is why you also read as a troll for apparently not knowing it. Now, I'm not calling you a troll, because I don't think you are (though you teeter on the edge of trolldom), but I'm pointing out that your negative reaction to us explaining the social cues of Grad Cafe is, in fact, troll behavior. Another example: in the experience of many of us, to show school spirit in clothing like you indicated is too enthusiastic to be professional. In our sense of academic culture (in the US), professors would be made more uncomfortable by such behavior than they would be flattered. Clearly that is not your impression, but there's no need to get all outraged when we disagree.

If you were out looking for dates, your preferences about the feminine countenance would matter, but the non-makeup-wearing female members of your cohort will just have to do without your tender attentions I suppose. What a shame for them. I am curious, since you don't mention it - what are your requirements for the dress of men? I trust they are just as exacting, or that men do a better job of following them since you don't include them as members of the school who don't care about appearances.

See if the school takes part in the agreement about the April 15 deadline; if so, then even if you accept their offer you can go back and decline before April 15. They are urging you to tell them early, though, so they can move on to their waitlisted applicants. You should at least let the other schools know and ask when you can expect to hear a decision from them. It doesn't have to be complicated, but something like "I have received an offer from another program but I wanted to know what you think of me before I decide." But make that classier before you send it off. I got the impression that cost isn't an issue for you - that is, that you would be able to go even if this school gave you no funding. If that is the case then it would be best to weigh other aspects of the programs first, cost second. If you can't afford to go without funding, don't accept the offer on the hope they'll give more to you. You don't want to be obligated to go somewhere you can't afford.

treasured items

It is probably a combination of disagreeing with your advice and also a reaction to your bolded words, which look like internet yelling. Wearing the school's colors is fine if you are going to be subtle about it (like, say, wearing a shirt in one solid color), but doing it to show your "reverence" is a bit much. Professors don't want reverence. Academia isn't a religion, but a workplace, and professors are recruiting future colleagues who will hopefully pick up on appropriate social cues. Being extremely flashy with your respect for the program isn't going to help you much - it will say at best that you are trying too hard, rather than dazzling them with your academic abilities alone. For myself, I'd go for the nice khaki pants and sweaters route, and I like jackets for when I get cold. You can actually find some really nice, business casual clothing at bargain stores like Ross or T.J. Maxx (if you live in the US) and even at secondhand stores.

rabbit run

thumper rabbit

bay gelding

secret window

Carnival - quite a release valve!

wireless radio

Whoa, I'm seeing a marked lack of slutting about in this game plan. You might want to think about that. Also, tobacco. Just 'cause it's the first rebellious move of teenagers doesn't mean they're not onto something!

This is the moment before the wave. Right after the water stops sucking at your ankles but before it all whooshes back to the shore.