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Okay, so not 'EoA', not around Richmond St., where would you Londoners suggest to look? I'm looking at the map here: http://offcampus.uwo.ca/maps.htm How are the 'near south, and 'near west' areas? They seem conveniently close to campus but not around the 'problem areas'. If you can also comment on the public transit services in these areas and in general, that would be great. I don't have a car (actually, I don't even have a valid license), so I will be bussing it everywhere. From my investigating thus far, the transit isn't great; some apts. I've looked at thus far seemed like they were in good locations but required transfers or otherwise very indirect routes to UWO. Thanks for any personal insight you may have.

Yeah, I agree. It's not the content, which may very well be on to something (I'm Canadian, so can't relate), but the form, which is textbook spam.

God, this makes me so sad and, frankly, a little frustrated. The whole "suicide will always be an available option" hits very close to home, but speaks to an already defeated mindset. I'm telling you, as long as you believe that, you'll never have the courage to change. It seems like you're just utterly defeated and unable to see anything beyond that, hoping for some sort of miracle which will take you away. And I have to say, have you considered any of the advice which has been given in this thread? It seems like it's all just passed you by. I literally have no idea what you mean when you say you can't afford to leave home. I think I recall earlier in this thread you did have a job of some sort, so you must have some savings. Even if you don't, I'm sure you have enough resources to take a bus somewhere, anywhere. I'm also curious, as the above reply, to know whereabouts you live, because I can't imagine that there's anywhere in the US where you have absolutely no options. If that's indeed the case, you need to move to where the opportunities are, but you also need to be humble and willing to do hard things and live frugally. It seems to me that, despite the horrible psychological issues, you're fundamentally comfortable where you are and are unwilling to accept 'lower' standards of living. I also don't understand the obsession with six figures. Why, exactly, do you need to make that much, and why is anything less a failure? A tenure track assistant professor's starting salary is in the 50 to 60,000 range. According to a quick check on wikipedia, the median salary for a FULL professor is $98,974. By you or your mother's standards, this is failure. Ridiculous. Again, I have to reiterate my frustration and sadness that you're in such a place as to consider suicide an "always available option". I know how impossible it is for you to see beyond your own circumstances, to get beyond the psychological blocks. But everyone here has given good advice. It's up to you to act on it. Sometimes you just have to take that leap into the unknown.

It's strange I didn't see this thread earlier. I was going to start one for UWO but didn't see anyone else in the last few months even applying to Western. Glad to see some others! I'm excited to start, although, to be really honest, I'm somewhat less excited about the town than the university and my program itself. Not that it looks dreadful, just that, coming from Vancouver, and doing my MA in Montreal, it seems so much more 'small town'-ish. I'm looking for places constantly (btw, I'm having a hard time finding places for August or September - I guess I just have to wait until it gets closer?), but many seem to be in the middle of nowhere, and I've noticed the public transit isn't great. It seems difficult to find places close to bus routes to UWO which are also close to things I need to be within walking distance, since I don't have a car: supermarkets, drugstores, etc. I'm sure I'll learn to love London, and in any case, I'll be spending most of my time at the university anyway, but I just haven't found myself warming to it yet. And poliscijunkie, if you're around, we'll be in the same department! Are you an MA or PhD? What are your interests? PM me if you want to talk, it'd be great to get to know a future colleague.

Gee, when I read the title of this thread, I thought it was going to be about getting a C or something, which would be trouble. What's wrong with an A-? A 3.98 GPA? Are you kidding? I would kill for that. I had a 3.40 GPA in my master's program, and still got in somewhere I'm very happy with. Your GPA should have no effect at all on your chances. I've never been the type to worry about grades, so I can't relate to the emotional reactions you describe, but I think your 'devestation' over this is needless. Good luck!

I can't answer the questions re: experience, since I'm neither American nor at U of T (applied and rejected, actually). I do know that it's certainly possible to become a dual citizen. You may want to broaden your options. U of T is basically the Harvard of Canada (this is contentious, I know; I went to McGill), so you're saying the equivalent of 'I'm looking into US schools, and this Harvard seems like a good fit'. Not saying you won't have a good chance of getting in: I have no idea. But there are many good schools up here.

Others will vouch for this, but I've consistently read that grades don't matter on the job market. If you can publish, write a good dissertation, get teaching experience, and present yourself and your work well at job talks, interviews, etc. nobody will care that you got a B instead of an A in coursework. Now, if you truly do consider yourself a 'weak candidate' regardless of the grades, and don't have the passion anymore for academia, by all means, do what you think would make you happier. But if you're still enjoying your academic life, and are funded, I don't see why you should quit now.

My mother is a nurse's aide (or care aide, I think is the actual title), and, yes, you do have to do a lot of 'dirty work', since you basically attend to all the patients' non-medical needs. i guess it also depends on what kind of facility it is; my mom works at a seniors' facility where most of the residents are incapacitated to some extent, and many have alzheimer's, etc. I know you didn't mean to sound condescending, but I consider my mom the hardest working, most dedicated person I know, and hearing about the things she does at work makes me feel a tinge of absurdity every time I complain about the 'difficulty' of academia. I don't know, though, how much such a job is preparation for nursing. They seem like quite different jobs, and I don't believe going from nurse's aide to nursing is common. I guess to the extent that you will simply gain experience being in the healthcare environment, it would be useful.

I know the standard advice is to enjoy the 'summer before grad school', because once you start, you'll never have free time ever again, but I'm finding myself so anxious to get started. Part of it is because I've had 'free time' for months now, only working on and then waiting for applications, and I'm eager to get back to working in an academic environment. It might sound self-aggrandizing and immodest, I don't know, but I truly enjoyed just being a grad student (I did an MA), the 'status', if that's what you want to call it, the collegiality and camaraderie, sitting around the grad lounge and complaining about undergrads, TAing, working on something interesting (almost) every day, and so on. September couldn't come quick enough for me. Anyone else feel that way?

Heh, the table of contents was one of the hardest parts of my MA thesis! Getting the formatting right was a bitch. I know there are ways to do it automatically but I couldn't get them to work properly. Anyway, my contents included both the abstract and the table of contents, as well as acknowledgements, but these should all be in a separate section to the body itself. So, indicate this with roman numerals, then page 1 should be the first page of the paper itself.

I agree with mal83 that those aren't necessarily terrible grades; it also depends on the kinds of courses they were. However, by the tone of the OP, if you're really feeling like you wouldn't succeed in grad school and that you'd rather not attend, I'd take those feelings seriously. There's more to life than grad school, and you don't want to spend time and money doing something miserable. You shouldn't withdraw rashly, but give yourself some time to work through the feelings and see how you are in a few weeks. Whatever you decide, good luck.

Certainly, if you can get a recommendation from a known social science professor, it would help. I have to caution again, though, that grad school admission, as this board attests, is extremely competitive, and, especially if you're thinking about those top-tier schools, you'll be competing with dozens of applicants with 4.0 GPAs, great GREs, recommendations from prestigious poli sci professors, tons of poli sci coursework, and have been thinking about poli sci grad school for many, many years. As for the question of getting a job, I think the rule of thumb is that you will find it difficult, if not nearly impossible, to 'graduate' to a higher-ranked school, but that there are so many schools in the US that, if you're willing to go anywhere, finding some sort of academic job won't pose too much of a problem. On another note, I wonder what it says about the 'progress' of the scientific aspirations of our discipline that an extensive preparation in poli sci isn't necessary for higher work. I certainly think it's reasonable that students of cognate disciplines, e.g., law, history, economics, philosophy, etc., could and do make excellent political scientists. I'm not so sure about others. It would be completely absurd for me to pursue a physics grad program without any formal training, despite, say, a fascination with string theory and astronomy. Unless I were a brilliant autodidact.

Interesting. I applaud your interest in political science and seem to have some notion of what you want to study, which is good. However, I have to say it's really going to work against you that you've done no academic work in the social sciences at all. It's also important, I think, to get academic references. In terms of the writing sample, it will be important, and if it's a requirement, that's exactly what it is: required. Fortunately, there's an easy way to solve this problem, which is to write something! It's going to be what your academic life will entail, you should have experience with it. Usually one gets a lot of practice through taking poli sci and other writing-intensive courses through undergrad. If you want to enter a PhD program in political science, it is imperative to show that you can write. Frankly, I don't think your chances at the top tier of schools is great; the competitiveness of the application process is staggering and many highly qualified candidates are rejected. Your seeming passion for poli sci is great, but your preparation and credentials are not particularly attractive to an adcomm, I'd think. Perhaps there are ways you can bolster your academic credentials: take some poli sci courses, from which you could get recommendations and writing experience. Good luck.

I find it hilarious that switch exploded at a posters' not knowing what 'snark' means and then proceeds to go off on something about Enron, Bernie Madoff, blah blah, which has absolutely nothing to do with snark. EDIT: and on the original issue, is this during class? If it is, I don't see why you couldn't politely insist that the class should be focusing on course material. Personally, I don't mind getting to hear profs' unfiltered thoughts about the department, discipline, etc., but not when we're supposed to be covering material.

I'm also confused about the situation, exacerbated by the fact that I'm unfamiliar with the way things work in the sciences. I read it as another student failed the physics part of the exam, and, because the OP had a non-physics background, they refused the lab assignment? Is that right? If so, that just seems patently unfair and rather absurd. What does another student's performance have to do with yours? As an aside, from everything I've read here, I'm quite perplexed by the way things seem to work in the sciences. I mean, I understand the whole labs/PI system, but I'd think being accepted and joining a program means that departments have some responsibility to get their students through. I don't understand how students can just be left out to dry like this, without funding or without a lab, etc. I concede I'm just going by the horror stories here, but it all seems so odd.

I'm not in your field but I'd think the only advantage in doing an MA thesis is that you will (hopefully) have a polished, substantial piece of work which you can use as a writing sample and, perhaps, something to hold up as a starting point for your PhD research which shows a sustained interest in a particular area. If all you've done is various papers for different courses on different subjects, it may be harder to show your passion for and knowledge of a particular research agenda which will drive your PhD work. I don't think it necessarily lowers your chances if you don't do one; if you have a writing sample from elsewhere and can convince an adcomm, through other parts of your application, that you have the focus and interest, I'm sure you'd do fine.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and comments. I think I feel quite a bit more positive now, as I think I have some good ideas for research which I'm excited to start on. I've always wanted a career in academia, and I'm temperamentally an observer rather than an actor, so I think I will just have to get used to this occasional feeling that other people are succeeding in doing things in the world while I 'sit back' and think about it all. (Of course, I'm not saying that being in academia precludes one from activism and whatnot, just that I personally have to accept that I'm not going to make my mark in the 'real world', and that what I hope to do as a career has intrinsic value; I know it does, but it's sometimes hard to remember that.)

So, I've recently learned that a former student of mine (as a TA) is a candidate in the federal election up here, and has some chance of winning and becoming an MP (Member of parliament). Keep in mind, I had him in 09-10 and he's still a student at that university. I have absolutely nothing against the kid; he was one of the better students in the class. But since learning of this, I can't shake the feeling that I've had off and on many times, mostly when hearing about people I knew in school (not close friends but acquaintances) who seem to be working their dream job or succeeding in what they want to do. The feeling essentially is that I'm terribly unsuccessful and going nowhere, always in the process of getting there, but never arriving, that things, events, the world is just passing me by and I've missed whatever opportunities I may have had. I don't think it's jealousy or envy at all, in that I have absolutely no desire to run for office or to do the various other things which have sometimes prompted this feeling. That is, I'm not thinking "I wish I was in their place", but rather something like "I wish I could be succeeding as they seem to be". It is completely irrational and absurd, but it gnaws at me. I know by any standard I'm doing well and doing what I want to do; I have an MA and will be entering a PhD program in the Fall. Still, I've been in post-secondary education now for almost 9 years, will have four or five more, at least, and have not accomplished anything I've wanted to accomplish (at least it feels that way), and seeing people of my age and younger seemingly accomplish so much has this terrible effect on me. Maybe it's also, at least this time, because I've been rather idle and unproductive the past few months while working on and then waiting for applications and results, and so I kind of feel like I'm stuck in mud. Whatever psychological neurosis is screwing with me right now, I really hope I can get over it soon. Anyone had similar feelings? I have acknowledged how ridiculous all this is and completely accept that there are no reasonable grounds for me to feel this way, so there's no need to say it. I guess I'm kind of just hoping for some reassurance that I'm in a good place and really am going somewhere, and that others sometimes experience such absurd feelings in reaction to perceived success of others. However, if you do want to call me a whiner and other, worse, things, have at it. Maybe I do need a kick in the butt to be rid of this.

It was at a Canadian university. That's interesting about the US context, though, I didn't know that. I understand the point behind such a law in terms of privacy, I guess, but I don't really see the necessity.

Well, it's good that you acknowledge yourself how "unreasonable and stupid" you've been in this process, because I would have to say you didn't exactly handle it well. Why did you accept the offers so quickly, without knowing the details first (funding, cost, etc.)? Was there a deadline? Why did you accept at School B knowing you had already accepted at school A? It seems like you were just in a panic or something instead of taking your time and thinking things through. In any case, what's done is done. I agree that you seem to prefer School A, so the only thing you can do is tell B you changed your mind. I wouldn't count on them not being offended, though, or at least rather annoyed. This isn't just a matter of declining an offer; you're backing out of an offer which you had already accepted, knowing at the time that you already committed to another school.

Faculty at the institution where I did my MA have access to students' grades. When I was a TA, and the prof and I were discussing grade alterations, e.g., bumps to the next grade or passing someone if it was really close, the prof pulled up the grades online, which I assume means they have complete access to the records system.

Why exactly do you want to switch? Did something happen between now and then? I agree that it's unlikely that something bad will happen, but you're on dubious ethical grounds, especially your suggestion about e-mailing a copy of your acceptance, pretending you sent it earlier and that it got held up in transit. I'd say that's basically fraudulent, if not legally then certainly ethically.

Since I seemed to have stirred up something, let me try to end it. I certainly agree that, in such a thread as this and anywhere, really, it's nobody's place to tell you how to feel. As I said in my earlier post, you can feel however you want; I couldn't change it if I wanted to. And you're absolutely free to express your frustrations, anger and resentment. But I also don't think it's out of line for others to question the reasons and motivations for those emotions. After all, this is a discussion forum, not a monologue. If I said that I was really angry and felt insulted about not being accepted to School X because my parents were big donors to the school, I think anyone would be perfectly justified in commenting that that was a lousy reason to feel this way, that I had an undue sense of entitlement to an acceptance. Of course, I'm not comparing this example to the Peace Corps; I can certainly see that Peace Corps experience would be a substantial positive in international development programs. And I certainly understand your point that this was a report of your experiences through the process and that you've moved past it. I was only drawn to respond to your comment about 'feeling insulted by not being at least waitlisted'because of your Peace Corps work, especially when you added the part about, as I read it, 'America values us enough to waive our application fees but not to accept us' (which sounded almost like they were being anti-American in doing so), because it read as entitlement, which is one of the things that irks me the most. As I said earlier, if you had some reason to think that your being in the Peace Corps somehow guaranteed admission, then you'd be perfectly justified in being angry at a rejection. Assuming the absence of that reason, I feel it's legitimate to question why you should feel resentment or anger. That's all. I sincerely wish you the best of luck in the program you'll be going to.

I agree with the advice that you needn't worry too much. However, I have read enough horror stories on this board to know that being rejected by the grad school for not meeting requirements does happen. I fervently hope that's not what happens here: all the best.

I didn't say that humility was the exclusive purpose of the peace corps. Of course I know people use it for career advancement, experience, and so on. But I don't get the attitude that it entitles you to being accepted or on the waitlist; your original post certainly made it sound like they owe you something. Now, you're right, I don't know anything about the program. If they say they give 'special consideration' which you feel wasn't extended in your case, then fine. You're entitled to feel however you want. But unless they somehow have a policy of accepting all peace corps volunteers regardless, I don't see, frankly, why you're special. Do you think others, those who got in and others rejected, haven't worked just as hard as you and don't deserve it just as much as you? It's a competitive process. Many of us feel like we've worked hard enough and have received rejections. Again, if the process was arbitrary, that is cause for complaint, but only on that basis and not because of your situation. And I'm sorry if I misread your views; I'm only going by what you've said, and it does seem to me that it boils down to "Hey, I was in the peace corps, now accept me. Anything less is an insult." To me, that is false entitlement.