Dr._Robotnik's_Shadow

Great idea Drcogsci! Also, in case you haven't taken a chance to look yet, there is always the "Officially Grads" forums for once your in so it never has to stop. But, yeah, the anticipation thing, however nerve-racking, is kinda fun so I'll miss that tension feeling and sharing my pessimisim with others here on gradcafe.

I wish I had free time. I'm in a financial bind and have to work full time so when I'm not applying to better paying jobs I've developed a new hobby: cleaning/organizing EVERYTHING. I've always been a neat freak but now I color code, professionally label and alphabetize everything. I also try to get rid of stuff that make me feel like I'm still in undergrad (i.e. the bobblehead of the University President I won at a basketball game in 2002). I organized my closet, under the stairs--EVERYWHERE. I wipe down everything with Clorox wipes...scary I know. Cleaning/organizing make me feel like I've got control over something, which is a nice feeling to have especially when deep down I know I don't have control over those darn grad apps.

lingerie

I temped in NYC too. I don't think it's a usual route it's probably just pretty common since what else do you do if you don't have a job and are living in expensive NYC? It's a way to temporarily get by. For the most part it would not be enough to support you since temps don't make as much as perms do. There is some freedom with temping in a way and it's a good way to try different things so I think people in every city temp if they just graduated and don't know what to do yet.

I'll probably be at work when I find out. I have tons of time to hang out on the net at work so my order is this: 1) GradCafe results page 2) Email rec writers (after writing 15 recs each they surely deserve to know) 3) Email fav undergrad professor 4) Post on Myspace and Facebook 5) I'll probably see my friends after work so I'll tell them. 6) When I finally get home at the end of the day i'll tell Mom and Dad. I'll never tell anyone at work until it's two weeks before I leave to actually go. When I do tell them I can't wait! I hate my job and telling them "I'm outta here" is going to be better than any PhD acceptance letter.

I'm actually going to call the school and not only confirm but then ask them why'd they pick me? I can't believe it if I get into a school so I'm eager to know their answer.

I applied for a PhD in Rhetoric (film track). I've heard nothing yet. I think something will come in the mail around mid-late February according to last years results posted right here on the gradcafe.

@sugarplumfilmmaker: that last part you said about being looked down on is so very true. In fact, it's my main concern right now. I don't think I can handle being around my more successful friends, my expectant family and everyone who had known me in a previous, more brilliant life. But then I don't know what I would do, put up with them like nothing happened, go into hiding and avoid interactions, or some other strategy? Am I overthinking things? That's why I'm so curious about what happens to across-the-board rejectees socially.

Somewhere there is a threat on this "I got in no where" I think it's called. Anyways... I think not getting into any schools is more common than we think. I seem to know a large handful of applicants who didn't get into a school the first and even second round of apps and a few are even trying for a 3rd orf in some cases a 4th round. Depressions was the biggest thing I saw happen. Losing interest in activities and friends and a sense of hopelessness was common from those rejected from all schools. I happen to work at a school where the students are higly ambitious and motivated so even after multiple years of rejections they kept going--and finally made it by the way...a few are still trying but I think this year will be their year. Basically, these people still had an amazing "can-do" attitude and for them life went on. They tempted for a while, got little jobs, got into substitute teaching. A few lucky ones traveled, went to Japan to teach English etc. Life wasn't what they wanted at the time but they did what they could do to survive and get on with life. I don't have a story of any one who applied four or more times and never got in. Everyone gets in at some point. The main thing is to have a tight group of supportive people, especially professors who were willing to help them a lot with their apps and get them on the right track. For all the applicants I know who had to apply multiple times, the main thing I noticed about them is that their initial apps semed more like an app to get into undergrad rather than grad school. They could've gotten into their top choices the first time around if they understood the app process but they didn't./ Asking for help and realizing that a grad program is a a real academic thing-a professional academic job almost--helped them finally get in. IT wasn't them, it was the app. The app didn't represent them and what they could do. Those who got into no schools the first time around grew a lot during their time off. They will never take grad school for granted if they get in and know exactly what they want to do when they finally get in. If you are rejected from school across the board, my advice is to not let the depression get to you. Get help with apps, apply to a lot more schools, ask professors specific questions about what you can do to improve your app and try to ride out that miserable failure feel. It's unfortunate that so many people really looked down on these people I know who didn't get into any schools. So many people-co-workers, friends, family, random people and in some cases GradCafe forum posters-- told them really negative things that decreased their self esteem. I think many people are just trying to help. They are probably saying "don't apply, you'll never get in if you haven't by now" because they don't want that person to be disappointed, but really, that is ineffective, at east in the cases I see. With the economy going haywire there are lots more applicants and grad programs and especailly PhD programs are harder to get into that ever (300 apply and 2 make it) come on, rejects all around are bound to happen with those stats. Anyways, to summarize, those who were rejected across the bored fell into deep, miserable depression but never gave up and evntually succeeded. There are other ways to reach your goals with out going to grad school. Take your time, choose wisely and be positive.

I don't know. I'm not sure if I would do it differently. I love what I study (filmmaking and film theory) so I think I chose the right path. Some other things I'm interested in are interior design, linguistics, pyschology, dance, higher education administration, art history, kinesiology, astronomy, performance theory, creative writing, photography, studio art. I don't think I like any of these things enough to major in it though except for dance but I feel like I can do what I want with dance with out the degree.

Originally I wanted to be an actress so after years of successful theater and some film acting I decided to major in film production so I could act in my own movies and learn some behind the scenes stuff as a back up plan. I ended up loving directing, screenwriting and later film history so now that's what I do. The acting bug is long gone but I still act in my own movies.

I study film (production and theory). Who doesn't like movies? Telling stories, acting, pictures, travel, design are all a part of movies. It's fun to make something artistic that people can watch and enjoy. The history and theory behind it all is just as interesting. There are a lot of "secret" messages in films and to decode these and search for meaning in movies is interesting to me. Film studies is something I can talk about with anyone wheter they studied it formally or not. You can talk about it at a casual level with your roomie or get really deep with a theorist as long as you've both seen the same flick. With a degree in film you have a lot of options of where you can work (classroom, set, editing room, office). It's a versatile degree that can transfer to a variety of jobs in different fields.

So nice of you to start a thread about film studies waiting games! I'm not so sure if I have a waiting game, though. I'm just trying not to think about the whole thing...which is hard I know. I take life in 24 hour increments. Every morning I wake up and ask myself, what do I need to do to survive today? What do I need to do to not go crazy today? I just go from there. I repeat the process everyday. Surfing Grad Cafe seems to help but sometimes I suspect it increases my anxiety. I got my apps done the third week of october so I've been waiting for a while. I freaked out a little this month so added Harvard (Ha! As if I'd get in!) to my list of schools I applied to. Anyways, enough of me rambling, here are some topics for us film geeks to discuss. I see film people on these boards a lot and I'm curious about who you all are so let's get chatting while we wait shall we? Here are my 10 questions for you and my answers. 1) MA or PhD? PhD 2) What do you want to do with your degree? I'm not going to tell you my real reason but one of them is to teach of course. 3) What is your undergrad degree in? My BA was in Film (mostly production but some theory). My MA was the same. 4) What topics do you want to study? Girls Media Culture and Self Reflexivity or Memory in film. For this year's apps I wrote to SOP's based on faculty match for my two topics and picked which ones to send to my 15 schools. 5) What's the #1 thing you concentrated on when working on your apps? [ i]SOP 6) What's the thing you fear the most about being accepted and if accepted are you going to pimp up your dorm or apartment like a true movie diva (huge TV screen, dolby surround sound, max out the netflix plan, have milk duds nearby) or just settle for watching flix on your computer...or worse....your iphone (shame on you!) ? I'll go to a school and everyone there is going to be so much "smarter" than me. I'm really a creative type-not so much a theory girl-so I'm paranoid that being a scholarly practitioner like I am will backfire. Maybe I'll fail my quals or get kicked out of the program or something. I'm also paranoid I'll never finish my dissertation or I'll go crazy trying to finish it. I don't have money for a big screen or anything but I always make sure I'm set with a little netflix, nice screen and munchies. 7) Do you like making movies or just studying the history, theory and criticism of films? Both. 8) Do you even like going to the movies? Not really. I'm sick of annoying people who talk on their cells, stare at me, translate the movie to their friends and the actual movie. It's never enough stimulation for me anymore. I hate it when people talk during the previews and even the commercials and credits. It's all part of the movie watching experience so shhhhhh! 9) When people know you want to study film don't you always hate it when they ask you, "What's your favorite movie?" I feel so pressured to say something "intelligent" like 'Citizen Cane'. What do they mean by favorite movie anyway? Do they mean favorite movie I like to watch or think is good? I enjoy watching "Shakespeare in Love" (this always disappoints people because they think of that crappy Meg Ryan movie 'Kate and Leopold' instead. I think 'Citizen Cane' is well done but...I don't have a favorite movie or a movie I'd highly recommend or anything. 10) Tell me a story about talking to someone about applying and them "not getting you". Here are some real quotes from conversations I've had. College Graduate #1: "You want to study what? Cinema studies? Huh? I've never heard of cinema in my life. What's cinema studies? Is that like theater of something? do you want to be an actress or something? Anonymous Extended Family Member/College Grad: "I didn't even know films had a history" Crazy Floor Mate in Grad Dorm: "Films didn't get startd because of Edweard Muybridge. That whole horse thing is a joke. Movies got started because of porn movies" (Which comes first the chicken or the egg?) Anonymous Family Member: "If you are getting a PhD that means you are going to be a doctor right? So why do you want to study movies? Doctors help people. Watching movies doesn't help people. Society is becoming worse with every movie we make! Do you want to be a part of that? Help someone. If you get into one of these PhD programs I want you to do study something that will help people. Perhaps instead of studying girls in films you should study the disabled. By the way, here's a present for you." I then unwrapped a medical book. Chemistry Professor: "If anyone can tell me the difference between films, cinema and movies I'll give them $100. Likewise, if anyone can tell me the difference between Janet Jackson, Michal Jackson and Britney Spears I'll give them $1,000." Random Person Who Enjoys Trying to Tell Me What I Should Do With My Life: "The economy is bad now. You need something stable that will help you get far in life...something like a college degree. Do you have a valuable college degree?" "Yes, I have a degree--two actually, maybe even a third; a PhD--in film." "I said valuable."

Yeah, I think you are fine. the prof didn't seem upset at all. More like he was trying to help you out so you wouldn't have to go both places if you didn't have to. He said he was still interested in meeting with you anyways. Go visit both and good luck.

Listening to anything distracts me. I need complete silence when working on my apps.

I'll be 26. I already have my masters. I wanted to go straight from my masters into a PhD (I would have started at 24 that way) but it never worked out so I'm hoping this year will be my year.

I'm not feeling lucky at all. I'd say I'm 0 for 14. But maybe...should I have luck, I'd say: 1 waitlist, maybe 1 acceptance (with tuition remissions and stipend) and the rest are rejects.

Rochester was the only free app out of my 14 apps.

I'm an administrative assistant. I never have work to do so I surf this site all day. I tried writing some screenplays, building my own website etc. to keep me busy but there's only so much I can do. I'm going bonkers with bordem staring at this computer screen. I have an MA to boot. This economy sucks!!! I apply to jobs all day with no luck. I'm hoping the PhD thing work out for me so I can focus on that for a loooong time.

I noticed the changes. Very nice and tidy! I forgot to mention music but I saw you caught it and put it in there. Very easy and clean now! Thanks!

Perhaps you'll want to make some catergories and even more sub categories such as: 1. Peforming Arts a. Dance b. Theater c. Vocal Performance Etc. 2. Electronic Arts a. Film and TV Production (I noticed some Film and Media Studies threads were in the arts section and perhaps these could be moved to humanities where there are about three 3 other great film/media studies threads going. The actual film/media production (practice, not study) threads should stay here in the arts area. 3. Visual Arts a. Painting b. Drawing c. Sculpture d. photography Etc. 4. Other a. Poetry c. Dramatic Writing d. Fiction Etc.

It's a good idea to contact professors. Other than making you look like you are serious and devoted to applying to their school it really does give you a good impressions of the program you are appyling to if you can get a good response back from a professor who tells you a lot. You should contact professors when you are ready to apply. For example, I'm applying to Cinema Studies programs and deadlines are December 1st. In late August/early-late September I briefly emailed professors telling them how I was looking forward to applyling to their school, what my reasearch interests were and a few other specific questions about the department that could not be answered by the website. My emails were very short and to the point. I was overwhelmingly pleased with the positive responses I recieved. Also, the professors you contact should be ones who are working on subjects related to your interests. Read some for their stuff and mention that in your short email. I sent in all my applications by the end of October. I made sure to mention in my SOPs and on my app-where permitted- that I contacted these professors. Now, when an admin looks over my app they will see I made contact. Most professors actually save an archive of these types of emails and if need be can rummage it up as a reference during ap descision time. I think if you are to contact professors now it will be fine. Just tell them you are finishing your apps or already sent it in and are glad you applied to the school and tell them about yourself and ask a few good questions and you're set. I think they are too busy to think you are contacting them at the last minute. They don't read that far into the stuff so don't worry. To do it later would be bad timing because they would be too busy going through all the apps. Do it now to make them remember you and "look" for your app. Contacting profesors before sending out your stuff is ideal because if you have a really good conversation with them you can add some of the stuff they told you into your SOP. Some profesors told me really unique things about their program that is not on the website and adding this to the SOP made it seem like I really knew the school, had a great conversation with a prof there and was genrally helpful in helping me decided if I'd want to go to this program. I think most of the time profs are annoyed by applicants emailing them but that's only because I bet those who are emailing them aren't sincere and ask dumb questions. Again, short, simple and intelligent emails are worth while. I did it and I don't regret it at all.

If you have pro experience, published work, etc. of course it helps. More than anything my advice is to concentrate on the Statement of Purpose. Be scholarly and show you are dedicated and focused on research. contact faculty before hand. Leave no part of you ap in the dust. Make sure GRE scores are good, rec come from people in your field who no you and have a pro editor give your writing sample the once over. Apply to a wide range of schools. Leave out the water polo stuff, schools want to know you are into research and are invested in intellectual life.

Having worked a little in admissions my experience has been that applying for early admissions decreases your chances. If you are applying for early admissions you better be the cream of the crop because no one else in the class has been selected yet. The admin committee hasn't even had a chance to look at other apps so you better be good. You have to be exactly what they are looking for. Admissions is weird though so you never know. Kepp looking for a job. I graduated from NYU in 2008. A year from the day I graduated I finally got a job--a crappy one, but a job nonethless. Lot's of people are applying to schools and jobs a like so competition either way is steep this year. Kepp trying and don't give up hope. Anything can happen.

Read the instructions on how to submit letters of rec. Some schools require you send them -online sime by snail mail. read the applcationc arefully to find out and follow the instructions. Have academics write the letters for you unless your employee etc. is highly related to your field in which you plan to pursue your degree.If you do this, don't be afraid to ask an employer. They should be happy you want to pursue highe ed. There a re a lot of people who need jobs now so it wouldn't be a problem for them to find someone to take your place. Send your recommenders some reminders (like a paper you wrote for a class). See them in person or talk to them on the phone. Aske them "Do you think you'd be able to write a letter in ym favor..." and, "what do you think you'd be able to say?". Send them an updated CV. Best of luck.