TheMole

Didn't get it. for the second year in a row. The Spanish Fulbright Commission can officially go fuck itself. Best of luck to everyone who is still waiting to hear.

In the Spanish full research grant competition. Didn't get the grant, and am more than a little bit humiliated and crushed. Am now determined to write a truly revolutionary dissertation, and then to ram it into their bloody faces and make them rue the day they chose not to link their name to mine. Best of luck to everyone else in the competition.

A friend of mine, who has a full grant right now told me that he and his fellows are able to leave the country at will, the sole restriction being that they have a cap of days - something on the order of 21 - they can take out of the country. If they exceed this number, then it is their responsibility to remain in-country after the end of the grant period (June 14th, I believe) for the same number of days they exceeded this allotment, thereby making them up.

I think I speak for all full grant applicants when I say the following: GODDAMNITALLTOHELL!!!!!!!!!! I want to know NOW!

Respectfully, I'm not sure if I entirely agree with that, at least inasmuch as my own discipline - History - is concerned. It is certainly true that the volume of information that one can gather during a year's time has increased exponentially thanks to new technology and that, conversely, the amount of time required to gather a specific amount of information (say, the amount necessary in 1959 to produce a dissertation) has decreased. However, standards within the discipline have not remained static either. Over the last few decades, there has been a clearly demonstrable increase in the "burden of proof" on the historian, in great part caused by recognition on the part of graduate committees, degree-granting institutions, and the field as a whole, that what a scholar can realistically accomplish in the course of researching and writing a dissertation has grown. The rise of Cultural History in the last few decades has only exacerbated this trend, as the enormously important and useful sub-discipline (I myself am a culturalist) nevertheless requires a density of evidence that elite political history and intellectual history have not, as a rule, demanded. Certainly, the only cases I know of involving individuals not in need of something resembling a year (9 months or so, if not more) to accomplish their research generally involve circumstances not related to technology: they are either Americanists working on subjects local to them, or, as in the case of one acquaintance, their sources are largely published accounts. It is absolutely true that for some folk, digitization can reduce the burden to travel; however, I don't think it the case, at least in History, that this is sufficiently generalizable to merit alteration of the Fulbright grant.

Probably too soon to tell, but any further news on the Spain competition?

Wait... so are you saying that the three extra grantees who were selected were ETA applicants, not full grant applicants?

To quote Dilbert: Urge to kill...rising... other people who are going absolutely bonkers because of the delay: can I get a hell yeah?

First off, nice username! Second of all, if you're willing to get a roommate, then I would recommend checking out Fort Greene, down in Brooklyn. It's going to be a bit of a haul to Columbia, though. Downtown Brooklyn is nice, too, and the housing market has collapsed some there, since a bunch of developers built these absolutely insanely nice luxury towers and then couldn't sell the properties, leading to renting at cheap rates. I would caution you to not entirely discount Manhattan. The top of the island isn't too shabby - I live in Washington Heights, though currently I'm in Madrid for a few months - and my wife is still there, with no big scares or any incidents whatsoever. Well, there is one exception: the very loud and obnoxious crazy dude who dances outside our apartment building, strutting and (badly) singing Lady GaGa, Michael Jackson, or whatever else has taken his fancy. But New York is quirky like that, and it's still fine. You should also be able to live in a place like Steinway or Astoria in Queens (personally, I think Queens is an ugly shithole, though, so I don't recommend it) for a reasonable price.

To the original poster, my main piece of advice would be this: don't worry about walking to campus. The subway is, after all, your friend! Besides, Morningside Heights is nice enough, but you can get a much better deal elsewhere. Here are the things you should keep in mind: 1. expect to have something of a commute. That's just life in NYC. The subway is convenient and will take you virtually anywhere you want to go, but from Morningside down to the Lower East side runs about 30-40 minutes, and that's using the fastest options (express trains, and savvy planning). Even if you live a block away from Columbia, the trade-off will be $$$ and you'll still have the commute to anywhere else you go. And you should go elsewhere - I can think of no greater tragedy than living in New York and not exploring the infinite things the city has to offer you. 2. Consider Washington Heights or Inwood. These are the neighborhoods at the top of the West Side of Manhattan, and at the very top of the island, respectively. The rent is a bit cheaper (though you'll still want a roommate, and that's likely to be true anywhere in the city), and the Heights still has real character - it's heavily Dominican, Mexican and Puerto Rican - but it's not too unsafe. The crime there, my sense is, is the sort that you have to go looking for. Stay aware of your surroundings, walk like a New Yorker (fast), and use some common sense, and nothing will happen to you. These neighborhoods are also the only affordable ones in Manhattan where you're going to have a very quick commute. Crossing Central Park from the East Side is not just a pain (only buses make the trip), but you can forget about being able to afford THAT side of town, unless you want to live in a shoebox. I speak from experience here: I live in Washington Heights, and was cross-enrolled in a language class for three semesters at Columbia. Door to door on the 1 line from 157th street, my commute was regularly 20 minutes. I can bike the trip at a fairly leisurely pace in about that same amount of time, using the very pretty greenway along the Hudson River. Food is also cheaper up there - restaurants are generally expensive in NY, but take-out or delivery from the ethnic dives in the Heights are, I'd say, at least a few dollars cheaper than what you'll find down in the UWS. Oh, as a final point of advice, I'd recommend only taking one or maybe two roommates. I've had friends who went crazy loading up on them, and inevitably they've gotten stir-crazy. Besides, you should be able to get something reasonable. The other neighborhood you could consider, though it's likely to be pricier, and it is absolutely noisier, is Hell's Kitchen. You can't beat that area for ethnic cuisine, and the vibe isn't bad, though it's not the Village. Best of luck!

Yay! UDel is a great place - I strongly considered going there for my M.A. I've never had him in class - after all, I never did go there - but Prof. Jesus Cruz (Spanish History) is an amazing, first-rate scholar and a super-nice guy. Hope you get to work with him in some capacity at some point!

To those seeking housing in NB: Get a roommate. Live in Highland Park, especially if you don't own a car, or Edison, if you do own one and you don't mind having to drive to campus. Pay between $500-700/month plus whatever your share of the utilities are. Yep, that's what you should do. And on the 18k/year fellowship, you will manage this well enough to eat out occasionally and go out for those beers with your colleagues. Oh, word to the wise: Tuesday nights at the Olive Branch (behind the campus center), it's $1.00 Yuengling night, and 50 cent pizza slices until I think 7:45 or so.

To all of you - Enjoy yourselves in fair Amherst! I did my undergrad at Amherst College, and LOVED IT!

More procrastinating... RaoulDuke: I haven't heard of the building you're describing, so I'm guessing it's single student housing. I only know about that type of housing second-hand. My colleague hated it and moved out halfway through the year. I believe his main complaint was the noise. Note that, to the best of my recollection, single student housing is either intermingled with or at least very near undergraduate housing. As for married/family housing, oh, could I tell you stories. Do NOT move into the one-bedroom option. Just...no. There weren't any roaches, and your utility bill is $0, not to mention that the rent is comparatively quite cheap, but other than that, there's pretty much nothing to say about it. Tiny kitchens, crappy appliances, cinderblock walls. All the fun rules and regulations that come with living in U housing, up to and including those rules about halogen lights and people having the right to enter your place at any time. Oh and the cinderblock construction means it's loud as shit, pretty much all the time. That, I suspect, may have been part of my friend's issues. On the plus side, if you find a roommate, housing in the area is quite inexpensive. For nice suburban living (+1 to the previous post on this subject), check out Highland Park. The fact that professors frequently choose to live there should tell you something. Then again, it's also as boring (in my opinion) as that would also suggest. I live in Manhattan for a reason. But then, quiet college town might be your thing. New Brunswick, especially near the Douglass Campus, has some rather nice flats, and not all that pricey. If you get a roommate, expect to pay somewhere between $600-$800/month, plus utilities. It can be lower, especially if you look outside the immediate downtown/highland park area. If you have a car, Edison's not far, nor is North Brunswick, I know a number of people living quite comfortably in both places. Oh, and random note: if you do own a car, you should know that Jersey is weird, and you're not allowed to pump your own gas. By law. Seriously. I never got used to that.

Procrastinating... To Rebeccafav: Welcome to the department! Well...that's if you accept the offer I'm a second year, mid-exams. I'm no medievalist - a specialist in Modern Europe, actually, focusing on 20th Century Spain - but I did come in with an MA (hence the mid-exams bit in my second year), and I can probably fill you in a bit on how that works, having already transferred credits, and taken the minor exam. It's actually a lot less complicated than the program statement makes it out to be. As far as finishing on time, I will tell you that you should politely ignore what they'll tell you. Unless your MA was in precisely what you're planning on writing the dissertation on, and your latin is totally fab, you'll probably take longer than 4. This doesn't mean a whole lot to me (again, not being a medievalist), but from what I understand, our medieval section is rather fond of the UToronto latin language exam, so your latin will have to be up to that standard. My roomie is planning on doing a latin boot camp at Toronto this summer with precisely the exam in mind. That said, people are starting to finish relatively quickly, and, if you're smart and cultivate a relationship with the Rutgers-Newark branch campus, you might be able to finagle an adjunctship there after your funding runs dry. Also, the 4 doesn't count any additional, external funding you might win. Our funding office is AWESOME - you might end up spending your dissertation research year abroad on a Fulbright or SSRC fellowship, so there's that. Certainly, that's what I'm hoping for. Just out of curiosity, who would you be working with? Jim Masschaele?

I'll chime in a bit on the CUNY question. Obviously, I'm no authority on the subject of the City University of New York, but I DO know a thing or two about at least one of the other universities in the area. I know of very few (if any) Rutgers grad students teaching in the CUNY system. Put simply, we don't need to - our funding packages get the job done. We get TAships at New Brunswick (though since I live in Manhattan, I try to stay the hell away from those), TAships/Adjunctships/Instructorships at Rutgers-Newark (my current gig, teaching Western Civ II there), one of any number of assistantships at various institutes, and two years of fellowship support. I've seen some adverts for adjunctships passed around the department, but all of them were NJ schools - not once have I seen an announcement, I don't think, for a school in NY. I should also add that we're not really going to be heavy competition in the future for most of those adjunct positions - our funding packages are getting pretty severely limited in order to shove us out the door ASAP (mine is only 4 years long, b/c I came in with the MA). I think Rutgers kids are going to come and go pretty quickly in the future, so we won't be around without funding long enough to need recourse to external teaching opportunities. Dunno, of course what the situation with Columbia or Princeton is, though I will mention this: Princeton's funding is supposed to be stellar, long-lasting and largely independent of teaching. So, unless a Princetonian goes a-searching for a teaching opportunity, you won't have to worry about them. Not to mention that they'd have to be living in NYC. My roommate does the commute to Princeton a few mornings a week, and I cannot imagine going through that hell consistently, only to have to teach at the end of it. It takes me a minimum of 1.5 hours to get to NB, and Princeton's a bit further. Anywho, just hoping for the best for my sweetie. Some people apparently get funding, so I'm just counting on her copious awesomeness getting the recognition it deserves. Luck to you as well, Se

This question is for HighFructose: So, if you don't mind my asking, what subfield are you? I ask because, from what I've heard, different admissions subcommittees meet at different times... On the plus side, mid-March is a week away...

Oi, I do want to ask people, on behalf of my wife, who has also made the terrible life choice that is grad school: Has anyone heard anything about the CUNY Graduate Center? They usually, we think, notify mid-March - anyone heard anything definite on that subject, or on whether decisions are being/have been made?

+1 to the individual who said that lower-tier schools often end up with faculty from quite prestigious schools. Now, I'm not going to toot my own horn - I spend large portions of every day trying to figure out what sort of ganga the admissions people were smoking when they decided to let me in - but I'm a PhD student at Rutgers, and I can tell you, I'll take the job I get. Period. I've got some amazing colleagues from great places who teach at GSUs (Gigantic State Universities). Example: Scott Eastman from UC Irvine, a really fabulous school for Spanish History, teaching at Creighton, out in Omaha. Should someone go do a graduate degree under him (if that's even possible there), they'd find him really quite wonderful to work under. In other news, y'all, I'll offer a small story about my own experiences applying, which might give you some hope. I did not have my shit together in 2003, when I first applied to grad school. 3 apps, to Columbia, Yale and JHU. Crappy personal statement. Shit writing sample, in my opinion. Predictably, I got the door in my face. The next year, I applied to ELEVEN schools, all top-notch institutions. The least prestigious one was Northwestern. Yeah. Better (but not at all customized) personal statement, same crap writing sample. 10 rejections, one unfunded MAPSS program acceptance at Chicago. Naturally, at 52K+ for the year (and not even a history degree to show for it) I said no. The next year FINALLY I got my shit together, modified each personal statement for each application, and selected some lower-tier schools too. I ran about 50-50 that year, and ultimately went to the University of Georgia. There, I did pretty well, wrote (if I may say so) a damn good MA thesis, exited the PhD program with said MA after two years, and, 9 more applications later, got into a whole slew of great schools, including UCLA, UCSD, UCI, and, of course, Rutgers. So, stick with it, if you don't get accepted anywhere. And if you do get in somewhere that's not quite what you want - don't sweat it. You can always switch institutions, and time in grad school is never a waste. If nothing else, you'll have more of your relevant literature under your belt, right? Plus, I'm increasingly convinced that this is all a numbers game. It's not really about ability, but about playing the system, and knocking on the door over and over and over again, until the admissions folks finally cave.

So here's what I have so far: UCLA, PhD. History - Accepted, nominated for an $18K/year diversity fellowship, the UCLA reputation and top-notch Europeanists. This is a job, I think. UC, Irvine Ph.D. History - Accepted, Chancellor's Fellowship, $18K 1st and 5th years, $15K 2-4th years, and I can TA my last few, guaranteed housing, and they have a great Spanish Historian. Less name across the board though. UCSD - Accepted, $18K 1st year, $15K 2-4th, $8K dissertation fellowship, possibility for future addtl funds., good Spanish Historian, no guaranteed housing, bigger name than Irvine, I think. Arizona - Accepted, no word on funding (though I did get some). Rutgers - Accepted, $18K for four years, 1st two are fellowship, would only take about 4-5 years to finish the Ph.D. since I'd get advanced credit for the M.A. I will have in May, and could use current thesis in place of my minor field exam. Big name, person who does Spanish History but is not a specialist. York University (Canada) - Accepted, C$22K 1st year, $19.4K 2-4th yrs, $18K 5th year, int'l student tuition schlrship $4k. Great spanish Historian, good health care. Know nothing about the school's rep. So what should I do???????

Which leads me to wonder where I stand - after all, I haven't heard in the negative, but I also haven't heard anything positive. And it can't be in the mail, as they let everyone know via email! I even checked the application I submitted, just to make sure that I gave them my correct notification email, and sure enough I had. Perhaps this doesn't mean anything - maybe they just haven't gotten to mine yet. But I can't help but wonder whether, if the were going to accept me, they wouldn't have done so already. I'm probably reading way too much into it all. What do you think?

There was a post elsewhere on this, but it seemed to be about UCSB, not UCI. So, anyone know anything about the OC/Irvine area? I'm scared of it being this commercial/superficial/rich-bitch wasteland where I won't be happy. I'm both a total geek and a bit of a hippie, and I need green around me, and lush green at that. None of this brownish-green crap. I like vibrant art and music scenes and coffee shops that have real local flavor, rather than Starbucks-style glitz. Thanks!

I'm definitely on the freak-out train right now. UCSD let me know a few weeks ago, and that was nice, and I also got into UCLA and UCI. Honestly, I don't know which one to pick - I do Spanish History, and UCLA (obviously the bigger name), has no specialist in Modern Spanish History (though Teo Ruiz is a medievalist...) UCI has guaranteed housing, but UCSD has a bigger all-around name (or am I wrong about this?). Harvard turned me down, but I'm still waiting to hear from Yale...and now Rutgers said yes too! What on Earth do I do? And has anyone started hearing from Yale? Is it bad that it's March and I haven't heard anything?

I saw that one person's been accepted, and a few rejected - I've still heard nothing, and I'm antsy! So - any more news re: Yale?