katanianQ

I work at a college so like some of you guys, I am still technically there.. I miss the freedom of being able to go sulk in the library reading a load of books that are the opposite of what I should be studying..

Although my discipline is Lit, I would be interested in the responses here.. I got my M.Phil from a UK school and luckily secured a fulltime job after a month on the job market back in the US.. I think this might be a fluke though- the college I work at is quite small and the head of my dept travels around Europe all the time so he was quite familiar with my alma mater. I'm applying to some Ph.D programs in the UK as well and wonder if there is any stigma attached since many of the programs don't contain a taught component. Any thoughts??

freaking hilarious!

what about good old fashioned teenage angsty hate the world ness?

paris sounds awesome right about now.. at least if youre going to be depressed in the city of lights, you can wear a black beret and eat a lot of bread and cheese and be hip about it.

according to the results page, apparently someone has heard from Duke. Has anyone else here??

ok back to checking everything neurotically again.

I agree. There are simply too many Ph.Ds on the market (in the humanities anyway). Extremely qualified job candidates are a dime a dozen, and colleges are replacing retired tenure track professors with adjuncts. I don't think it's within the realm of government to fix this problem- maybe professional organizations like the MLA will form some kind of lobby to make grad programs take even less people commensurate with the number of jobs available? Then at least you know your odds of a faculty position are much greater after all of the hard work.

I seriously wish this for you. I had a rough experience in my Masters program because most of the other students all went to Ivy league schools and boarding schools before that, and were for the most part uber competitive and unfriendly. I tell you this because on the off chance that the people in your department are snobby or mean or act too cool for school, PLEASE don't let this ruin your experience the way I let it ruin mine. Don't allow yourself to become intimidated or feel inadequate! You should be proud of all you have accomplished so far and remember that nobody can make you feel inadequate without your permission.

I realize that long distance relationships aren't for everyone, but if both people are committed, you can certainly make it work. My husband and I had one for 2 years while I was finishing my undergrad in the states (he is from the UK). Its also a good lesson in how not to take people for granted.

What do you do for a day job? For now, that is.. until we all become full time students again I teach at a small college on the east coast.. five classes of comp a semester Some days are great and every day is challenging.

yeah, I second! Please give me more websites that I can check neurotically

did anyone notice a few interviews/acceptances up on the results page for northwestern and I think washu? starting to get butterflies..

right on, miratrix.. just a minute or two of reading the chronicle (or worse, the bizarro posts on auto admit) is enough to make me save that crusty dunkin donuts cup for street beggin after the phd. if i get in anywhere.

that's a very good question and I'm looking forward to reading the responses.. From what I noticed of last year's threads, some people weren't notified until may/early june of their acceptance.. yikes!

Rereading various Adrian Mole books for the billionth time. I don't care how 'unscholarly' they are- even upon the billionth reading, something new and hilarious jumps out at me.

So if/when the much anticipated letter of acceptance to your dream school with full funding arrives, what's the first thing you will do? No, I won't go to Disney World (although that new promotion they're running is oh so tempting!) I'll walk over to the crazy lady in my office who tries to make me feel like crap every day, toss my hair, and casually mention, "So, 'Lurlene,' I hope you'll be ok here without me next year because I AM GOING TO DO MY PH.D AT HAAH_VUUHD. Tootles!" Then I will jump on the motorcycle that happened to be idling in the office and speed down the hallway while from some invisible speakers K.T. Tundstull is singing "Suddenly I See." Nevermind that I didn't even apply to Harvard. I just like to imagine the possibilities.

i try.

crap I am really trying to think of one... how about this: the nice Fed Ex lady (after seeing me in there everyday for a week) goes, "aw honey, I'm sure you'll get in." THAT'S PRETTY MUCH A GUARANTEE, NO???

yeah I still check the email 87 times a day and fantasize about getting in somewhere.

I wish I had known that the whole research process was going to take much longer than I thought it would. There's a hell of a lot to consider in deciding where to apply. FIrst thing...ideally the program should be well ranked (or at least well respected). The school should be in an area you would be ok living in- take into account proximity to family/ partner, weather, culture, cost of living etc. Everyone is different but there probably is a place you would be absolutely miserable in due to one of those factors, and you really don't want to spend the next 5+ years of your life with seasonal depression bc you are surrounded by crack dealers tunneling through 12 feet of snow. Of course, some may say that you have to go wherever academia will take you, but some people have these internal 'deal breakers,' and if you are one of those people, lying to yourself probably won't end well. So after you've found a reputable program in an area you have no heinous objection to, you've got to make sure that the department has a few potential suitable advisers for you. What's that? Your very narrow subfield (elderly victorian shoplifters who suffer from gout) has very few professors across a smattering of schools who could advise you? That is often the case, but it just stinks to think about how many things are out of your control in this whole process- Prof A, B, and C could be going on research leave, have too many advisees right now, be planning to leave the school, etc. So you better find lots of these programs to apply to just in case. Then, of course, you need to tailor your SOP and research statement (where applicable) to fit each of the 15 schools you've ended up with. ai ai ai. hope this can help you guys reading this in....the future... give my love to doc brown and marty.

yeah, I'm currently on vacation and instead of making progress on my pile o work or at least giving the apt a good clean, all I do is check these message boards. actually I just took a break to watch that Christian the lion video and bawl my eyes out. it's a good 2 min distraction from all of this.

Oh man, Pete.. I'm sorry to hear that. Of course I can't predict what the department chair will say.. what I would suggest is to email the chair immediately and explain the situation.. then try and contact your old professor overseas.. and while doing this, if you have another professor who you are close with and would understand the situation, ask them for a letter as well. That way, you're not screwed if your overseas prof goes MIA. Just try and cover all your bases.. I had a similar situation last year and because I didn't have a good backup, it set me back a year or so.. I hope it works out for you!

thanks for posting hope this time around is a lot better for you.

All this talk of baking is hilarious, because that is my numero uno procrastination activity. I teach five (yeah i said five) composition classes a semester and what will you find me doing during finals week? baking apple pies and carrot cake. To pass the time this past week... 1. I hosted a Mamma Mia singalong party at my apartment (I love it in an ironic way ok?) 2. read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (I didn't get to it as a kid) 3. thought about scrapping the ivory tower and becoming a milliner 4. have enjoyed the twinkly lights of the Christmas tree (maybe I'll keep it up in a vigil until i get accepted somewhere?) 5. have tried to finish my book that is due in March but then I notice all of the Globetrekker episodes on the dvr waiting to be watched. 6. obsessively looking up all of the schools I applied to on the results page to see when people were notified last year. the waiting is agony!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!