NadaJ
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Posts posted by NadaJ
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Applying to TWO UC schools when I know their dire financial situation and my chance of acceptance is minuscule. I could redirect those hefty app fees to at least three (or four) other schools where my chance of acceptance is better (at least I'd like to think so). These two UC schools produce impressive researches, hence I cannot resist applying to them.
It's kind of like buying a lottery ticket. You gotta play to win.
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You'll notice I wrote "if I can get a good education and a good stipend from a school in a place I enjoy living in, why not take advantage of that?"
That is to mean, location was not my only consideration. I applied to all of my "dream schools", and then decided to apply to an additional 3-4 other schools that were not my favorites but were still a good enough fit for me in terms of research. Among those schools, I chose not to apply to schools in locations I didn't think I would enjoy living in. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
I am not starting an argument with you. You can justify your graduate school decisions any way you wish. For me, I need to get over my aversion to snow very quickly, because in my specific field and area of interest, the action is where the snow is, and its more important for me to be with the faculty and advisors that are the movers and shakers in my field, than to be somewhere without snow. Seriously, it's 4-5 years. Perhaps I have a different perspective because I am over 30 and have varied life experiences. Four to five years is a drop in the bucket for me. As your signature says, YMMV....
And just like with shopping at Target, I'm done!
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[After reading my SOP]: "This guy has no idea what he's talking about."
This is how I feel on bad days. On good days I think the adcomm is saying "this is exactly where we see the field headed! Call her right now!"
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"Hmm, interesting musical training, good grades in theory classes and great undergrad thesis paper...oh! and great GRE scores. Oh, but look at this GPA..."
"Yes, yes I agree...it's quite a disappointment indeed."
"But she has quite a bit of experience in the industry."
"It's not enough! To the garbage bin with it! She is a Comm student, not a music student!"
OT--I like your signature! It reminds me of another quote I've picked up along the way: "I am not yet the author of my life, I'm still it's unenlightened protagonist. "--Unknown
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I chose not to apply to schools in places that I would not want to live in precisely because of the TT market -- if I can get a good education and a good stipend from a school in a place I enjoy living in, why not take advantage of that? I probably won't have that kind of choice once I graduate, so choosing grad schools may have been the last time I could afford to be picky in that way. Five years are a lot of time, so if there are schools that are a good fit in areas you prefer living in, I don't see why you should choose a location that will make you unhappy.
We can agree to disagree. I refuse to spend 4-5 years of my academic life in an institution that is not preparing me to be the scholar I want to be. If weather is your biggest concern, then go for it. To-mae-toe, To-mah-toe.
- NadaJ, pangur-ban, StrangeLight and 1 other
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MSW11 and Amaxi, congratulations!!!! How exciting!!
I am interested in a PhD in social welfare (macro social welfare and policy at that), so I have no idea what to expect from an MSW program. I have looked at Hunter, and their faculty seem really interesting and engaged with their students. If you have the resources to apply and the deadline hasn't passed, I say go for it....this, coming from the lady who applied to one program...
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I'm not more moody than usual, but I have a certain annoyance with my last semester of classes in my Masters program. I am so ready to move on! And between checking my email, phone, and Grad Cafe constantly, I have taken up eating pastries and ice cream. Lots of pastries and ice cream unfortunately.....
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Last year I sent emails out to potential POIs. Oddly enough, the school I go the most negative email response from was also the only school that I got anything from. From the schools that expressed exuberant interest by email, I got nothing but a form letter rejection.
This year I sent out no emails and am just going to let the chips fall where they may.Very interesting. I am counting on my POI contact to help the chances of my application being received favorably. Although, I made a point to meet with the POI face-to-face so we could see if this would be a good match. That may be the kicker...
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I think I would go just to add the presentation to my CV, but that's just me.
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Just saw someone post an interview with UPenn! Anyone want to claim this?
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LOL @ Golden Monkey..my preferred adcomm review of my materials are similar:
SOP, LORs, Grad School GPA, CV, and because the aforementioned items are so awesome, not even bother to look at my undergrad GPA and certainly not my GRE scores **shudders**
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On the flip side, I know a gentleman in my current lab- he is probably about 55 years old, and looks it (full gray beard and all). He attended a neurobiology PhD open house at a state university. In a casual sit-down with a professor, he was asked point blank how old he was. When he answered truthfully, the professor said something to the effect of, "You have to be kidding. There is no chance for you to get in here."
*Walks to my HR soapbox*
I have to brush up on my title 6, but even so, this is utterly ridiculous.
*Steps down from HR soapbox*
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In a lot of ways, this application season was a test run. I didn't even think about applying to any PhD program until July or August, when I told a professor I was communicating with of my plans and she steered me this direction. I had taken the GREs in 2009, but my scores were abysmal. My UG GPA is absymal too, so all I have going for me at the moment is a decent SOP, wonderful LORs, a 3.8 grad GPA, and great communication with a POI at the one school in which I've applied. If I don't get in this year, I will certainly be sad, but it won't be unexpected. And then I will add more tear-jerking statements to my SOP, retake the GRE and have my M.Ed finally under my belt. Next year is looking kinda nice actually....
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Bump....
Yesterday marked 1 month after the application deadline for the on school I applied. I hope this time next month I'll know "something"....
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I am so sick of snow, but I've applied to a program in a city that has snow because it's the best program for what I want to do. And actually, this is good practice for if I actually go on the TT market; when positions become available, you just apply. There's no waiting for the great location to suddenly become available.
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I've only picked up bad habits: nail biting, obsessive email checking, and writing pros and cons lists for why I will/will not be accepted to grad school. I am taking a class over break which helps a little. Before this whole process I used to knit and read for fun...can't wait till after I finally know.
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I have officially missed the MSW application deadline for the other school I was thinking of applying to. It's all or nothing now (well, as far as academia dreams this year).
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"Maybe next year."
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It's frustrating for the administartors too! I know for my dept, we have at least two classes we "think" will have TAs, but we're not sure. Budget issues, combined with unknown numbers of transfer students, and if we'll actually be able to teach the class all must be resolved before we assign TAs, an offer that once extended is a contractual obligation the dept has to pay the salary and fringe (tuition plus health care) for said person. So, yes, it does suck, but this is kind of what goes along with the territory. Not always, but sometimes. GL!
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Actually I LOVE Goodreader. I've used it since the beginning and now that I can annotate pdf's its my go to app for pdfs. But then again, I never liked Evernote, so we may just be in different camps. I'm still trying out apps for taking notes in class. So far, I use a combination of Noterize and Chapters. It's not great, but I have yet to find that magic app that is great for keeping separate notebooks and also add pdfs that I can annotate inside the notebook. Oh to be a software programmer instead of a wanna be social worker....
I also really like Papers for my academic journals, etc. Pages is a must I think--I actually wrote a draft of my SOP on my iPad.
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Then again, when thinking about my reply to this post, I've figured that the worst thing would be no response at all. Just nothing. As in "you're not even worthy of our consideration and you'll never even know what it would take to become one of us" type of thing.
Exactly. The opposite of heaven is not hell--it's nothingness. This is intense!
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i am a scholar and not getting into a phd program will not take that away from me.
Thank you for writing this. I believe I am a scholar at heart and not getting accepted this admission season will not derail me from what I truly am.
As far as my back up plan, I am applying to jobs that will allow me to more actively engage in my field. This is what I want to do with the rest of my life, and if a PhD is not in the plan, I can still be of service.
2011 Applications
in Social Workers Forum
Posted
You know, I keep going back and forth between this being a crazy idea just applying to one program, or the right thing to do. Are you also applying to SW PhD programs? I seriously looked over several programs--WashU, Berkeley, UPenn, UWisc-Madison, and UChicago, but only one stood out. I'm so glad I made contact with the POI, because she was so helpful with my SOP, and giving me some insight into the program, what she's looking for in a PhD student and the important question, if she would advise me. Her research is so interesting and ground breaking, I would be thrilled to be her advisee, but if I don't get accepted, I will still follow her work and apply again next year. Also, I have a 2.5 YO, and if I dont get accepted, I hope to get pregnant again this year, so I'm excited either way (some days, I lean towards starting my PhD in Fall 2011, other days I hope to have a baby in Winter 2011).
In the Decisions, Decisions forum, I think I ruffled someone's feathers about applying to schools based on weather, but I wonder if this is field specific--I honestly cannot see myself getting the same amount of knowledge at various institutions. Maybe in SW they are more differentiated from each other??