Gauche

Thank you both for your feedback! I really like the white board idea. My SO did tell me at one point that she would really like a transparent board to do equations on. I have no idea where I would be able to purchase one though, but I would love to get it for her by the time she starts grad school. And to clarify the periodic table request - I just randomly googled "periodic table posters" and found many different kinds with more details and decorations than others. I just have no idea which one is the "best" or more useful for her work and which ones are just cool for decoration purposes. She would like to get a big size poster to hang on her wall to decorate her room (which she'll be moving out of when she starts grad school), but I'm sure she's going to use it to help her study in the meantime. I guess I just want to know what periodic table would be the most convenient for studying while also making a space fit for a science major?

This is a little unrelated to most topics specifically talking about grad school, but I hope this request is allowed anyway. I'm hoping that some of you in the sciences could recommend a place or a website where I can buy a really awesome periodic table poster for my SO. Since I'm on the humanities side of things, I don't want to screw up and get something that won't be helpful. Would anyone be able to recommend something that they have or would like to have? In addition, if you know any cool websites that sells neat science stuff to decorate my SO's room with, I would really appreciate that as well. Thanks in advance!

You should never care more than your students. That doesn't mean you should shirk your duties or half-ass your lesson planning or grading, but treat all students equally with the average amount of energy for each one. Don't exhaust yourself by responding to every single email as you see them pop up (especially if a student is sending you one of those long grade-grubbing emails or if the same student is making up excuses every time something is due) - don't respond. If you have to, send a quick 1-2 sentence response and invite them to discuss the matter during office hours. Most students take advantage of the immediacy of technology, but most of them don't care enough to come to office hours. I personally grew exhausted last semester because I worried about students who didn't come to class or the students who didn't turn anything in, but at the end of the day, you're not the one being graded. They are. And even if they complain during evaluations about the fact that you didn't hand-hold them all throughout the semester, the higher-ups can tell the difference between an honest critic and a rant anyway.

It's always good to keep in touch with former professors because you never know down the road when they could be of more help to you and vice versa. Example: Before graduating last year, I was aware that my mentor was in the midst of working on a book project that he really didn't know where to take it. I came across a book that I thought might be helpful to him, sent him an email about it, and it turned out it was exactly what he needed. Of course, the frequency of keeping in touch with them depends on how close you were with your professors before you left. I was very close to three professors in particular and pretty close to several others. I visited all of them when I was in town during spring break, and the three professors that I was very close with took me to lunch as we spent an hour catching up. Also, it just all depends on the nature of the department you're from. In both departments from the two universities I've attended, both were naturally communal, so it's no surprise that professors and students keep in contact with each other after students leave.

It's not weird to attend as an independent scholar. The chair of my panel is an independent scholar, and she regularly attends RMMLA.

I was also going to use most of my summer to do research and start writing my thesis before I'm officially enrolled in thesis hours next semester. Right now I'm quite burnt out though, so I could use a couple weeks off before plunging through more work. Although, I'm telling myself that the researching part is the fun part (which it is for me), so it shouldn't feel like the kind of work I've been doing this semester. And to return to the topic - I started a blog last year but never posted in it until my recent post on how to ask for letters of rec since one of my friends had no idea how to go about doing that. I plan to post more helpful (at least I hope they will be) entries for those who apply to grad school. And since I'm working on the thesis over the summer, I'll probably post some interesting findings too.

First off, I know very little about Claremont other than the fact that the campus is beautiful (I've been there during a PAMLA conference one year), but I know a year or two ago they got in trouble for lying about either their SAT or GRE scores so that their ranking could be higher, so that's one thing to keep in mind. The other is that Claremont is in California, which everyone should know isn't the most ideal place to live on a small budget. If I were you, I would look into the cost of living in the area and compare it to the other school that you were accepted at. Be realistic about how much money you could actually make and survive on if you went to Claremont. If the other school allows you to breathe a little easier, you should probably take that one. The other point I wanted to make is that you should never pay to go to grad school in the humanities especially if your sole goal in life is to become a professor. Go where the money is. When a school offers you a fully-funded package, that means they want you. Trust me, you'll thrive in a program that makes it very clear to you that they want you. If you didn't feel that kind of vibe from Claremont (whether during your visit or through other methods of communication), it's best that you let it go.

I messaged you.

I'll be attending RMMLA too. I heard nothing but good things about it. They're very welcoming to grad students for one thing, and it's less intimidating to attend and present unlike the big national conferences.

In my program, most students take 6 hours per semester, but that's because most of them are awarded GTAships (teaching two sections). It's highly discouraged for students to take more than 6 hours while they're teaching, but if they're not, they need to take 9 hours.

I'm presenting at RMMLA this year.

There might be some problems if you don't finish the MA before moving on to a PhD. For example, there are some PhD programs out there that require students to first have their MA before moving onto their doctoral program. If you showed the doctoral program you were accepted to that you were on track to finish your MA, but you end up not finishing, that might be a red flag to the program that you might not be capable of finishing the PhD program or at least completing it in a timely manner. Do whatever you have to do to get done on time. Don't worry about writing a perfect thesis. A done thesis is a good thesis. Make it good enough to satisfy your committee and defend as soon as you're done, even if that means your thesis advisor has to Skype himself into your defense and scan you a copy of his signature on your title page to get it all done.

It really just depends. Typically your classes are transferable from what I've seen and heard from others, but there are exceptions with certain schools. For example, in my program, they require you to have the MA before pursuing a PhD, so in that case you'll have to take a couple years of coursework for both programs.

Most of them are. And if they're not, they should be. If schools really wanted the best, they're going to compete for the best. Keep this in mind: When a school pays you so they can have the chance to woo you, they're not only saying they want you, but they're also saying we have MONEY. While it's always nice to be loved, it's also a universal truth that all god's children need money.

I'm going to chime in with those who have been told by our professors to avoid unpaid grad programs. My post might come off as harsh and brutally honest, so I apologize for that in advance. No, you should never pay a cent for grad school. Even if you got your degree from a high ranked program and that helps you to get into a high ranked PhD program, remember that your debt will not go away the moment you start a new program. The fellowships you may and should receive for the PhD program you enter won't pay off the debt you collected while doing your MA. And we all know what the job market situation looks like. If not, buy a copy of Semenza's Graduate Study for the 21st Century and educate yourself by reading The Chronicle of Higher Education. Besides, think about where you will be attending grad school at least for a couple years (or more if you got your PhD at NYU). New York isn't cheap. The cost of living is high. Do you really want to juggle your coursework, research, possible teaching opportunities with other jobs just to survive off of ramen soup every night? I don't know where you're from, but the winters back east are severe. I wouldn't want to imagine how much heating costs in the winter while I'm trying to find some extra cash to pay rent. Coming from CA and moving to the Midwest for grad school, I have to say it was quite the culture shock. I needed a full blast of AC in the summer and the heater on all throughout the winter, and luckily I have the means to pay for it without losing sleep. Since I assume you've never attended grad school, it's probably hard for you to imagine how much work it is to juggle all the different responsibilities you have to your coursework and research while trying to remain sane. As much as my mentors prepared me for it as an undergrad, I was still shocked at how quickly time flew by whether I was ready for it or not. There's already so many things to worry about while in a grad program like taking the right classes, meeting the right professors, getting along with your peers, contributing to scholarship, etc. that you shouldn't let something like debt distract you from doing what you're supposed to be doing. I would suggest taking the year off to do something outside of academia. Do an internship. Do volunteer work. Do something that you love as well as something that will make your applications stronger even if it means just studying for the GRE. Do research on funded MA programs if you think a year off without classes won't help make your app stronger for a PhD program. Learn a foreign language because it will help fulfill one of the requirements for practically all doctoral programs. Of course, you're going to do what you want. And if you think attending an unfunded MA program at NYU is a viable option, go for it. Just do your research. Consider all your options. Imagine the worst case scenarios and decide for yourself if you can live with them. Just don't go into any program blindly.

Kansas has a 2-2 teaching load with a cap of 20 students per class. We also teach the same class for both sections, which is actually better, in my opinion (especially when you're a first year and you're just experimenting different things to see what works). We're also required to take two additional classes.

Do it. They are happy to give you feedback if you ask for something. At least that was my experience last year. You should also consider that they might (and probably will) tell you to contact them later after they've accepted everyone and are sure of who is in just because they're super busy right now. Contacting them about feedback in around mid-April is probably the best time.

This is probably going to be very unorganized, but this is the way I understand it. An MA is a program that gives you a little taste of what graduate school is like. Many people who go for the MA are interested in staying in school because a) they love their area of study; are afraid to leave academia and go out on the job market directly out of school; c) both a and b; d) some other reason. Many MA programs are offered at universities, but not all universities offer PhD programs. Many if not all teaching intensive universities do not offer PhD programs. As you mentioned, it's not always a "bad thing" for students to start with the MA first since there are a handful of programs that are looking for students to be "trained" in MA programs before they can enter PhD programs. The thing is, undergraduates are just not trained to enter PhD work right away. But because grad school has become super competitive nowadays, many universities prefer taking in the *best* students straight from undergrad so they can train them themselves. Besides, if you're someone who isn't ready for grad school, you're most likely not going to jump into the PhD program right away but maybe the MA instead. Let's say someone decides to go ahead and apply for the MA program at a university who accepts MA and PhD students but doesn't have a set amount for each track. If you're the school, and you receive this application from a prospective MA student when you already have an application from a prospective PhD student, who would you choose? The student who may or may not stay for the PhD program when everything is said or done or the other student who seems dedicated enough to stay during the five years and hopefully get done in that amount of time? I hope any of that makes sense. I know there are flaws to some points I made, but I don't really have time to work them out right now. I just wanted a break from writing something for one of my deadlines.

If you're referring to the panel The Other Detective, the chair is a friend of mine too and the professor who came up with the panel is one of my mentors. I'd love to be at PAMLA, but I'm swamped with lots of projects and grading. Maybe next year!

My house is 3-4 miles from campus. Since it took me 45 min to an hour to drive to my undergrad institution, this is definitely a great improvement. Besides, I don't feel comfortable living too close to campus where all the students are, and I plan to drive anyway.

Sending you good thoughts! I just bought a house, so I'm in the middle of the packing process. It's not going so well seeing as I spend more time looking at my books than I spend time packing them.

Does anyone know of any good rolling crates (something like what Staples and Office Depot have but maybe fancier) or perhaps bags that are fairly durable and lightweight (when they're empty)? I'm going to be teaching two classes next year, and I'd like to have something to carry my students' papers and perhaps some books for my research, so anything waterproof would be preferable. I've been using a messenger bag for the last four years, and I noticed it took a toll on my back since I like to carry all of my supplies and books and articles for my research.

In order to satisfy the language requirement for my program, I just need two years of a language in college, and I've already taken two and a half years of Japanese as an undergrad. I'd like to brush up on my Spanish as well as learn German and French too though.

Ideally, programs want you to be done in 5, maybe 6 years tops. Realistically? The average seems to be 9 years now, which I guess is better than not getting your PhD at all seeing as many (about half the students in PhD programs) drop out by the dissertation stage. That's why you need to be careful about what programs you choose because most of them offer fellowships for 5-6 years, but if it takes you longer, you better hope there's some competitive funding you can apply for. Anyway, if the statistics have really shocked you, I suggest that you do more research about the rigors of a PhD program and what the job market looks like after graduation. It isn't pretty at all. And I don't mean to sound like a jerk or anything if my post comes across that way. I just think everyone should be aware of the rigors of doctoral programs and the bleak job market for those in the humanities because unfortunately not all professors are honest with their students about these things.

Either one would be fine depending on your preference. If you want to make it more personal, write a thank you note. If you prefer to buy a simple (or fancy) card and just sign it, go for it. There's nothing wrong with either option.