roarie

The website has a searchable map. http://campus-map.stanford.edu/ When I visited, my host was in EV and she walked to class. I'd guess that walk was some brisk 20 minutes. ----- So, I haven't ridden a bike in a very long time, but plan to get one. Is there a bike that you'd recommend for a beginner, given the campus environment? ----- I also just wanted to say, FREE LAUNDRY.

Hey, I feel you. I spent the last four years wanting to go to a school. During the last two years of my undergrad and the two years since, I worked myself silly to get into this school. And as much as I told people that I would have been happy to attend anywhere that accepted me, I secretly felt that if I didn't get into the school I would have failed. Acceptances came in, but not from that school. I was holding an acceptance letter from the highest ranked program in my field, but not that school's. I felt stupid for some time. Stupid for not getting in, but also stupid for wanting to exchange all my acceptances for this one acceptance. I had one too many conversations with professors, peers, and friends who all said, "Look, I know you wanted to go to that school, but you got into a dream school. I think you're cutting yourself and that school short." I felt both guilty and painful envy as I exchanged messages with people on Grad Forum who had gotten into my dream school, but wanted to be in my position. I spent a lot of time thinking. Some of it was spent hating and berating myself. But at some point, I realized that because I wanted to go to a school for four years, I wasn't being rational, but was instead being rather myopic. Don't get me wrong, the school that I wanted to attend for so long is a fantastic program and undoubtedly top tier. But, because I wanted to go so badly, I wasn't seriously weighing some rather heavy considerations, like funding, average time of graduation, geographic location, job placement, and attrition rate (the school admittedly has a notorious reputation for being an unhappy place). That is to say, I wanted a school so much that I stopped considering what other options were out there. There are moments when I do wonder what would have happened if I had been accepted. But it doesn't really matter anymore, because I'm genuinely happy where I stand. I accepted an offer and had a celebration dinner with lots of champagne. We'll be okay. Why? [deep loud blooming voice] Because we're awesome and nothing can change that. Hang in there.

The grapevine says that Brown only finished their interviews last week, so it's still very likely that they're still deliberating.

Question! Am I also supposed to write something to the graduate student responsible for my visit if I'm declining their offer before I visit?

Heard through the grapevine that Vanderbilt is out.

Everyone I've spoken to has recommended Raines or Escondido Village.

Berkeley AMHA Rejections went out in the beginning of the month. Maybe you're still up for funding offers!

If you mean Washington University in St. Louis and not University of Washington in Seattle, they were out last weekend.

I got accepted into Boulder's MA program, and declined the offer. Hope one of you guys can take my place! Also, Berkeley Classics is out it seems, as well as Penn Archaeology (don't remember the acronym).

I got an unofficial offer from them very recently. They also told me that funding decision comes out in six weeks. It sounds like they're still working out funding, so there's still six weeks of hope!

I didn't have a title in my writing sample. I got into my top choices, and no one has ever mentioned the fact as of yet.

Is that Berkeley funding guaranteed for the full time that you will be a student? I'm not an engineer by any means, but I know with all the financial troubles, Berkeley seems to be having difficulties with funding across the board. Also, what will your teaching responsibilities be like? Can you ask them? It might be a humanities thing, but I know many people at Berkeley seem a bit resentful that they have to TA so many classes and extend their PhD duration so that they can get financed. Cost of living in East Bay is definitely not as bad as SF. You can find cheap housing in Berkeley, it just might not be ... not dilapidated. Or you know, rent out your living room.

I told him where I've been accepted to so far when he asked me. Actually, I should add that it never felt like an interview at all. He told me when I should expect to hear about funding, and he moved straight on to talk about what direction I should take my scholarship and what schools were best for me, including his, of course. From the tone of the conversation, I think he knew that I could afford to go elsewhere, and I think that's why he volunteered to write to School C (an excellent fit, but there had been a glitch in my application). All in all, it sounded like he was excited about my scholarship and wanted me to go a school that would best prepare me for a career. And! When I told him where I got rejected from, he said, "Don't worry. X rejected me too."

That is a toughie. This pretty much describes my professor at my undergraduate institution. He was -- how do I put this-- a monster in his field and arguably the most esteemed professor of his sub-sub-field in America as of now. His name had such value that even though he wasn't quite in my sub-sub-field, I still asked him for a letter of recommendation, because I knew that even a letter that would say "She is a competent historian," with his initials would go a long way. You would not believe how many professors I've talked to since graduating from my undergraduate talk about him with me and am amazed that he volunteered to write me a letter, as he is, as another esteemed professor described, "a mean old grouch." I love him and I'm grateful for what's he's done for me, but I would not go and work with him, even if I were in his sub-sub-field. I've seen him maul graduate students in class, and, more than one professor outside of my undergraduate school has mentioned to me how many careers he's destroyed. Since graduating from my undergrad, I've come to really value support systems that schools provide, and I can't imagine going back to someone like him. Remember that even if you do everything you need to do, there's several things you can't control. What if the book you're about to publish suddenly has its publishers back out on you? It's at those moments you need advisers who can pull strings and work for you [this is a true story from a tenured professor at an Ivy League school who told us his experience to stress the importance of advising].

Just as a follow up, and for future references: I did do the interview, and I'm very glad that I did. Not only was the professor from school E incredibly nice, but he gave me superb advice on the trajectory of my scholarship and academic career. He also gave very sober opinions on schools A,B,C, and D, and where he felt I could best profit in terms of academic training. Also, there had been an iffy situation with one of my top choices, and he even volunteered to write on my behalf to that school. So anyone else in a similar situation, don't be short-sighted, don't be lazy. Do the interview, because maintaining good relations with people in your field is very important.

After the recent financial crisis, several schools now only offer as many acceptances as they have positions, putting everyone else they were still interested in onto their wait-list. I'm not sure what sub-field of history you're in, but I do know of some esteemed history programs that do this, and have taken students off their waiting list the last few years. Did it mention anywhere in the letter of half-acceptance (what are waiting list letters called anyways?) how many offers were made versus how many positions there are? If you're on the wait-list, it means that they're still interested in you, so I would shoot them an email if I were you and ask them for a little more details on the situation. It's always a bit awkward, but you can ask how many people are on the wait-list to get a better sense of where you are. I asked this for the school I got wait-listed in, and they told even told me on which tier of the waiting-list I was (although, my self-doubting nature makes me wonder if they were just being polite and padding my ego to keep me on the hook).

Thanks for all the advice, guys. After emailing with my adviser and hearing her agree with most of what you guys said, I think I will be doing the interview with school E. Thanks, and wish me luck!

What is the reasoning for asking this professor? Is there any other professor in your department whom you can ask? It does sound like he's going to write a lukewarm letter at best. If he's the only person from whom you can get a letter, ask him if you can meet him for office hours (if you're still on the same campus) and explain to him your goals. Also, what information did he ask to be sent over? Perhaps you can ask him if he'd also be interested in a personal statement and a copy of a paper (or whatever graded assignment) you wrote for his class (or a more recent one, if some time has passed) to help him with the writing process.

Thanks for all the advice so far. Neuropsychosocial, I think my situation is very similar to the one you described. School A, the one I've been accepted to, is offering me a very generous offer, one that I don't think School E could possibly match. School A, in addition to being a better fit, also does have better faculty, greater resources, better placement records, and prestige (and is, incidentally, much closer to home as well). But instead of having to pay for my interview, the interview would simply be over the phone, so it would have really no costs for me other than time. I guess what it comes down to is what would be the most polite way to address the situation? While I do think it'd be best if he does interview another candidate who wants to potentially attend there, I don't also want to come off as insulting the program there. It would not hurt me to do the interview, but I feel it wouldn't be sincere and he could afford to use the time much more productively.

Hey folks, [Edit. Sorry for the typo on the heading. I hastily wrote it, and it should have said "Interview OR Withdraw"] I have a bit of a dilemma and would love to hear any opinions on the matter. So, I applied to six Ph.D programs. For clarity sake, let's say A, B, C, D, E, and F. A,B,C, and D were schools that I really wanted to attend if accepted. So far, I have received one acceptance and am on the wait-list for another (and was told by a faculty that I am in a very good position on that wait-list). E and F were schools (for mostly reasons of fit) that I figured that if they were my only acceptances, I would visit first and then make a decision as to accept or to go into a terminal MA program and try next year with A,B,C, and D. Or simply put, A,B,C,D > E, F Now, School E has contacted me for an interview. What would be the best (for me) and the most polite thing to do? 1) Is it better that I do the interview as I do any other interview, as I might find myself really liking the program after visiting? (I find the chances of this, however, very unlikely). 2) Is it more polite to simply decline the interview and withdraw my application and spare everyone involved the hassle? 3) Or should I do the interview for formality sake, but do mention that I've been accepted elsewhere?

Stanford Philosophy recently left a rather sour taste in my mouth.

I think the guy applied to Classics, so can't say. Best of luck!

I know some people have been asking about Brown, so a heads up-- I've been told that Brown has sent out interview invitations.

I made an Edward Said joke completely out of left-field that I immediately regretted. Does that count?

Wait-listed, which, oddly enough, I sort of expected.