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brinswan

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Everything posted by brinswan

  1. Hmm, that's a tough one. If you want to teach in a philosophy department you're probably better off getting a philosophy degree, but if you disregard that I think doing a PhD in political science (political theory) would be better for you. Another thing to consider - have you considered looking into [intellectual] history programs?
  2. The American Historical Association's website has this dissertation database that's pretty cool to look at. I haven't done it but I'm sure if you were to search for the dissertations from a given school in a given year you'd get a pretty accurate understanding of how may PhDs come on the market from each school. Anyways, I heard that the way the U.S. News university ranking goes is they essentially send letters to 2 department chairs in each school asking them to give their *opinion* over which schools are better. - What the ranking really measures is reputation. It's really no more accurate than that. When the NRC finally gets its act together it should be really interesting to see. Until then . . .
  3. StudyBunny I'm going to reiterate what everyone is saying and tell you that you made the right choice. Also, this guy you are having problems with seems to be a recognized difficult to deal with person so you can't take it personally. Academic life is full of characters like this with their strong opinions about your work and I think having to deal with this guy will be good practice for the rest of your career - this stuff certainly won't end with this guy. But this kind of intellectual conflict builds character - it will teach you how to disagree with someone diplomatically or at the very least to just get along with difficult people. This is certainly not a reason to not go to a place that is without a doubt the better hoice.
  4. The fact that you had such a hard time deciding and still don't know if you made the right choice indicates that both schools were probably good choices. You made a decision that you had to make, and it will turn out fine. If you give a little more info about the choice you had and the program you ended up deciding I can give you my completely objective opinion on the matter. But in this situation I think you were probably in a win-win situation and are having trouble letting go of one of the "wins". It's a natural emotion to have.
  5. It seems to me that you are a very strong candidate. Your first shaky year might raise some concerns but I think strong recs, your strong transcript, and strong GRE scores should dispel those fears. You must already have an idea of where you want to apply? In case you don't, my advice is to look at books you like, that have influenced you and see two things - where these people teach and where they have gone to school. In my opinion those are the places you should apply. I would really recommend applying to a good range of schools though as programs usually admit less than 10% of applicants - a "dream" school or two, a few good solid schools, and a few schools that you think you have a pretty good chance [relatively] of getting into and where you wouldn't mind going (although not necessarily your first choice).
  6. brinswan

    Brandeis

    Did you get your official acceptance letter in the mail yet? If you did there's something at the top left - "SAGE student ID" use that
  7. That was hilarious - thank you!
  8. No I don't, sorry. My field isn't English and I'm not familiar with the University itself, all I know about it is just from having visited Thessaloniki (and also the unfortunate fact that the University stands on the ruins of Salonica's old Jewish cemetery). Is there no one at the department you can ask about this? Intuitively speaking it seems more likely that you'd have better luck using a PhD from a European country at other countries where English is not the official language. So if you're intent on moving back to the USA upon completion I could imagine it would be difficult to find a job, considering the abundance of PhDs in English literature here in the USA, where there is the significant advantage of it simply being an Anglophone country. But I could see something like that being useful in other countries. Or again, in a prep school (these schools really do seem to pay well, from what I've heard, and I think a "tenure" kind of deal is also relatively common) where the name of the institution probably doesn't matter as much. Maybe if you could somehow make the Greek ties an advantage to a US institution that might hire you not so much for the English literature but for the Greek connection. I'm not sure how that would work but maybe you could figure it out - like talking about English writers romanticizing Greece? Just a thought. That might put an interesting twist on it. But really I know absolutely nothing about the field. Are you familiar with the chronicle forums? You might have better luck there, as the people who post there are largely faculty members.
  9. That would be a lovely place to spend 3 years and if it really is completely free then maybe it wouldn't be such a bad decision, but I don't know about finding a job, what about getting an MA there and using it to jump off to a funded usa phd? or do you already have an ma. I think if you have some sort of back up plan in case you can't find an academic position, then it would work. A PhD in English literature certainly wouldn't be a black spot on your resume. Just a thought, although I know nothing - how would you feel about potentially teaching at a prep school? To me this seems more feasible. But then again I know nothing.
  10. Hmm. Interesting dilemma. How do the programs compare in terms of ranking, location, job placement, etc? It's possible the professor is just a morose or un-expressive person. If her other students absolutely love her I really wouldn't worry - her behavior could have been anything - she could have had a bad day, been tired, or maybe that's just how she is and it's not personal. If that's the only reason holding you back from school A I would go there. If you're really unhappy you can transfer. I think the fact that her interests line up with yours is extremely important.
  11. OK so what do I do if April 15 comes and the school that wait listed me still won't give me any information (none at all) about my status? Just accept the school I'll accept if I don't get in (and maybe even if I do)? What if I hear from this school after April 15 that I was miraculously accepted? Even if it turns out I'd rather go there, wouldn't it be bad form to break a commitment?
  12. Does anyone know how the wait lists at NYU GSAS work? Or are they different for each field? I'm wait listed and no one will tell me anything - not where I stand, not how many people are on the wait list, not how many students were accepted, not how many slots need to be filled, nada. Anybody have any information they could share?
  13. I'm not sure about either of these programs but there are two things you can consider - one being the cost of the program, two being if you can find any statistics about past participants and what they have gone on to do - choose the program with the most successful alumni or the alumni doing things that are most compatible with your interests.
  14. Wow, thanks Sgt. Pepper! That was a very entertaining and I think helpful read. Everyone keeps talking about "feel" from the department and I have a very different opinion about this sort of thing. I don't think gut feeling can necessarily be trusted. I've had this uneasiness about department number 1 for a long time and I only just realized why, and it's not logical or based on reality, whatsoever. Similarly the "nice" feeling I had about number 2 was not based on anything I can put my finger on, so why should I trust it? I'm not saying you should never pay attention to it but I do think sometimes gut feelings can be misleading.
  15. OK, I'll chime in with advice for "reallywantcolumbia" - btw, Sgt. Pepper that was some great advice you gave already. You wouldn't perhaps care to do the same for my dilemma? Anyways, since it's always easier to tell other people what to do than make decisions ourselves . .. "reallywantcolumbia" I'll play Devil's Advocate to some other advice. First of all, placement is really strong in both schools you say, but is it equally strong in your specific subfield? I've heard similar rumors about school 1's disaffection, disagreements, etc., but I think if people who come out of that program still are able to find good jobs - how harmful can it be? Similarly for the fear of disinterested professors - if the professors are interested enough to help students produce dissertations strong enough to get them good jobs - I wouldn't worry *too* much about it, I think. Some advice I got, which doesn't really help me in my decision, but may in yours - is that more than the department or even the subfield, you should look at how a specific potential *advisor* has done placing his or her students - apparently this matters a lot too. So is there any way you can find out the info about specific former students of said professors? Anyways, my vote is for school 1 because I think you'd be so much happier living in that city, it's always been your dream school, etc. No place is going to be perfect but this sounds like it's worth the risk of some internal departmental friction. However, if you end up not getting accepted off the waitlist it sounds like your school number 2 option is just as fantastic (if not more, as some people would argue). So, congratulations! Either way you're going to be going to a fantastic school.
  16. Thanks for the advice guys . . . As far as which place "feels" better this is where the problem is - when I think about where I'll be happiest logically school #1 makes the most sense, but for some reason emotionally it's the opposite experience. Part of it might just be my visit to #2 was more elaborate, more money was thrown at me, etc., and I wonder if I'd had a similar opportunity of visiting school #1 it wouldn't be the same. sra2008 - I have talked to current students at each school, although talked to more at #2 than at #1. They all seem pretty happy with their programs - it's hard to really quantify based on that, especially since I just met more from school 2 than school 1. The difference in type of degrees really is a curious issue for me. I can't even figure out which one is necessarily better. Earlier I was thinking the fact that I wanted a history degree was a dealbreaker, but now I'm starting to think maybe interdisciplinary is the way to go, considering the terrible academic history job market - people at school #1 seem to also get very cool jobs doing non-academic things, which I like. So . . . I suppose I am leaning towards school 1, but this time last week I was positive I was going to school 2. Which is why I'm so confused. It just seems whichever school I seem to have more contact with at the time is the school I want to go to. Is that crazy? I just wish someone would tell me where to go! Do you guys have opinions about language issues? If my program of study is language intensive - is there any way to evaluate which program would be better at giving me the resources in this way? I've asked and gotten "assurances" from both places about this, but I can't seem to figure out exactly how that would work. This matters a lot to me, if for no other reason because I love languages and want to go to a program that will support me in that. Are there ways to figure this out?
  17. I'll bite . . . I'll ask for advice where to go. Choice is between two schools: school 1: Not history but area/ethnic studies in a program incredibly prestigious for this one tiny piece of academia - history of great scholars, good placement, etc. Nice city near friends and family. Good fellowship but high cost of living (but enough). A few rather eminent professors who seem attentive and helpful but not the *best* intellectual fit. Also having trouble figuring out exactly how everything is structure - I get this *feeling* that things might be pretty disorganized there and I might have to work hard to figure things out for myself. school 2: history phd, top 20, good reputation but not necessarily "prestigious"; placement is relatively good but nowhere near school #1 in having a history of producing well-known scholars. nobody with exact interests but several faculty who have related, peripheral interests and who also seem attentive and kind, although nobody as eminent as at school #1. Fellowship is good - less money but with cost of living being lower may be worth more in real terms. Nice enough town but isolated from loved ones. God a really good "feeling" when I visited - program seems well-organized, well-structured, and competent. OK, any takers? I literally change my mind every day.
  18. As long as it's a *good* program - as in it would meet your needs and you would get more out of it than you would not going to school at all, I think you should take it. Maybe you would get into your dream schools next year, maybe not. Is it really worth the gamble? Have you visited this school - maybe you'll end up liking it a lot more than you had anticipated.
  19. http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/CGS ... ch2009.pdf there's a better list, sorry.
  20. I believe if your school is on this list http://www.cgsnet.org/Default.aspx?tabi ... &VALUE=ALL then what they're asking you to do is illegal. If not it may be a little trickier.
  21. What do you mean, how should anyone on here know? How do you know anyone on here shouldn't know? In lots of other programs - such as law and other professional degrees - there's a tendency for schools to place within their geographical area. It's not "absurd" of me to wonder if there isn't a similar phenomenon within PhD programs as well. So you don't know the answer to my question, or you think it's irrelevant - maybe somebody else has a different opinion on the issue.
  22. Don't worry, in the end I think everyone will understand that you need to do what's best for you. Since it's not even April 15 you're perfectly within your rights to rescind. I think you can just apologize for the inconvenience, that you've realized school B is a better fit for you, and thank them for all your help. Just remember, in the end what's a minor inconvenience for them is your entire life. It'll be all right.
  23. I say go with your gut. If the only reason not to go to UVA is because some people say you shouldn't go to the same place for undergrad, well you should try to find out if that's actually true. I've heard that too but I can't figure out logically why it would be such a problem. You'd obviously rather stay at UVA so just go ahead and follow your heart, I think.
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