runonsentence

The University of Houston's economics Phd program made me an offer of admission. AFTER I HAD ALREADY MOVED TO HOUSTON AND JUST A FEW DAYS BEFORE CLASSES WERE TO START IN FALL 2009 IT REVOKED THE OFFER OF ADMISSION. I COULD NOT START IN FALL 2009 BECAUSE IT REVOKED THE OFFER OF ADMISSION BUT I HAD ALREADY MOVED TO HOUSTON AND PASSED UP OTHER OFFERS.

THE CLAIM WAS THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAD MISUNDERSTOOD THAT I HAD ATTENDED JOHNS HOPKINS ADVANCED STUDIES M.A. IN APPLIED ECONOMICS AS THE DOCTORAL TRACK ECONOMICS PHD COURSES. THE MISTAKE WAS COMPLETELY THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS SINCE I DID NOT MISREPRESENT MYSELF IN THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS. THEY DIDN'T CARE IF THE MISTAKE WAS THEIRS AND THAT I HAD ALREADY MOVED TO HOUSTON.

Someone asked about money earlier, too—check with your program, but I know that at mine we don't get our first pay check until 2-4 weeks into the term. (Have to wait for the pay period to end and for the check to clear.) This is one of those hidden moving expenses (fronting money until your pay kicks in).

You're screwed! I have heard that in Grad school, an A- is an F, which is a load of crap if you ask me. When did grade inflation get this stupid!?!?!?

I've never understood the supposed utility of Uggs.

I got a really trendy, waterproof, warm, and all-around functional pair of snow boots off of Piperlime. I bought them in June, so they were priced 60% off. I recommend trying to shop for snow boots off season!

I'm of the mind that sometimes there is no "wrong" choice, just two different choices. And that we have the ability to make each of them good choices for us and to make ourselves happy wherever we end up.

First of all, sorry you didn't have any success with this year's applications, but glad to see that your'e looking forward to next year's round!


I can't echo this enough. I have to admit my eyes bugged a bit looking at your list. Really great schools—also, really hard to get into! To give yourself a better chance at an acceptance, I'd suggest you spread your application pool evenly along three tiers (almost all of those schools are Tier I). Ditto on going for "fit." Sure it'd be awesome to be at Harvard, but you might find that it's equally awesome to be at a program that is doing exactly the kind of work you want to do and begs you to come work with them!

One of my mentors told me, unequivocally, that the way you get into a PhD program is to demonstrate fit with the department. Why do you need to do your PhD at X school? Why is X school the best possible place for you to be doing your research? These are the questions that adcom will have after reading a strong application, and if your SOP answers them, then by george, you're in!

It sounds like you have a fairly strong background. You did well as an undergrad, you're doing well as a master's student, you're doing a thesis (which you can really play up—PhD programs love to see an MA student already familiar with that process), and you have some teaching experience and some identifiable research interests to articulate. I'm sure that if you find some programs that are a really great fit and diversify your application pool, you'll have some acceptances in hand next year.



Ditto, ditto, ditto! Do you have any presentations on your CV yet? If not, you NEED to do this. The chair of my department once told one of my friends, when he asked about the importance of presenting at conferences as a master's student, that "you may as well not bother applying to PhDs" if you don't have any presentations. Presentations are also a good goal to pursue before trying for publication. The feedback you get at a conference can also help shape a stronger project.

Conferences seem really frightening at first, but they're such a great experience. (I sometimes even use CFPs as an endgoal, as a way of finding a focus or idea for a seminar paper.) Papers needn't be long, either—in fact, you'll want no more than 8 pages worth of material in order to keep within your allotted timeframe.

First of all, sorry you didn't have any success with this year's applications, but glad to see that your'e looking forward to next year's round!


I can't echo this enough. I have to admit my eyes bugged a bit looking at your list. Really great schools—also, really hard to get into! To give yourself a better chance at an acceptance, I'd suggest you spread your application pool evenly along three tiers (almost all of those schools are Tier I). Ditto on going for "fit." Sure it'd be awesome to be at Harvard, but you might find that it's equally awesome to be at a program that is doing exactly the kind of work you want to do and begs you to come work with them!

One of my mentors told me, unequivocally, that the way you get into a PhD program is to demonstrate fit with the department. Why do you need to do your PhD at X school? Why is X school the best possible place for you to be doing your research? These are the questions that adcom will have after reading a strong application, and if your SOP answers them, then by george, you're in!

It sounds like you have a fairly strong background. You did well as an undergrad, you're doing well as a master's student, you're doing a thesis (which you can really play up—PhD programs love to see an MA student already familiar with that process), and you have some teaching experience and some identifiable research interests to articulate. I'm sure that if you find some programs that are a really great fit and diversify your application pool, you'll have some acceptances in hand next year.



Ditto, ditto, ditto! Do you have any presentations on your CV yet? If not, you NEED to do this. The chair of my department once told one of my friends, when he asked about the importance of presenting at conferences as a master's student, that "you may as well not bother applying to PhDs" if you don't have any presentations. Presentations are also a good goal to pursue before trying for publication. The feedback you get at a conference can also help shape a stronger project.

Conferences seem really frightening at first, but they're such a great experience. (I sometimes even use CFPs as an endgoal, as a way of finding a focus or idea for a seminar paper.) Papers needn't be long, either—in fact, you'll want no more than 8 pages worth of material in order to keep within your allotted timeframe.

I'm of the mind that sometimes there is no "wrong" choice, just two different choices. And that we have the ability to make each of them good choices for us and to make ourselves happy wherever we end up.

I'm of the mind that sometimes there is no "wrong" choice, just two different choices. And that we have the ability to make each of them good choices for us and to make ourselves happy wherever we end up.

I'm of the mind that sometimes there is no "wrong" choice, just two different choices. And that we have the ability to make each of them good choices for us and to make ourselves happy wherever we end up.

I'm of the mind that sometimes there is no "wrong" choice, just two different choices. And that we have the ability to make each of them good choices for us and to make ourselves happy wherever we end up.

I want that five minutes of my life back.

i agree

our grad courses always fill up before the first-year students are even allowed to register. they just get forced into the class. it's simple bureaucratic procedure.

this time of year, your advisor is probably trying to court the remaining hold-outs for admission, sitting on thesis/comps/overview/dissertation committees, and wading through end-of-the-year grading.

when you're actually IN grad school, it can take your advisor a week to get back to you by email if they're busy enough. calm the eff down.

Wow, they told you you'd get into ALL of your schools? That was kind of an irresponsible thing for them to say to you. Even in good years—even when state budgets aren't in the toilet, when the economy isn't bringing in more applicants than before, yadda yadda yadda—that's just a silly thing to promise you. The PhD process is just full of so many arbitrary decisions and unknowns...applications can get lost, maybe one reviewer's had a bad day, maybe you're a kicka$$ applicant but you aren't as good a fit as the next applicant, even though your GPA was higher.... Basically, if I was an adviser, I'd never tell a student that!

(This is also a really long way of saying that although it's really hard to take rejections personally, try to remember that there are so many weird variables involved with the process and that it may not be the strength of your application involved, here, especially if you applied to really competitive programs. Chin up!)

It is fine (and perhaps admirable) for you to post this warning for the benefit of prospectives who might consider UCI's Comp Lit program unaware of the depth and seriousness of the issues you described, but to use your individual experience in one program at one school as an indicator of the worthiness of the humanities in the entire UC system as you do in your first post is shortsighted and egocentric. As mentioned before in this thread, every school and every department is dealing with the financial situation in its own way, and I can guarantee you that although it does, by your account, sound as if Irvine's Comp Lit program is suffering tremendously, that is most certainly not the case in a lot of other programs at other UCs, many of which are as strong (or nearly as strong) as they have ever been (of course, this would also vary by subfield). Of course, most students (certainly all well-informed ones) are aware that the UC's humanities programs often cannot offer funding on par with other comparable institutions, but many find that it is worth the sacrifice--and you'll find that other Comp Lit programs at UC schools have quite a secure amount of funding and have made their best students generous offers by any standard, not just in comparison to other UC schools. Additionally, your assertion that west coast schools have little knowledge of European history and literature is not only unfounded but also quite insulting to the many fine scholars at those institutions, especially those who are choosing to accept or remain in less lucrative positions out of love of the UC system and/or a commitment to public education. Your opinion and your warning may be quite valid, and if I had been considering Irvine I would definitely be taking a second look, but as it is, your post comes off as a bitter and presumptuous potshot against the UCs motivated by your own personal dissatisfaction in a program that can hardly be considered the sole or even a primary representative of the state of the humanities/Comp Lit in the UC system.

What an odd and unnecessary insult to community college students and UCI students.

jblsmith, if you don't want advice, why did you start this thread? Did you really expect everyone to just say "Oh yeah, borrowing a cumulative total of $200,000 for college is a brilliant idea, go for it?"

If you want real advice from real graduate students/applicants, don't get all pissy when that advice isn't what you want to hear. On the other hand, if you want validation, go ask Stuart Smalley.

I heartily agree that it would be unwise to fund a PhD on your own dime. Even if econ IS the insane holy grail of academic salaries, consider that PhD attrition rates are a testament to how difficult it can become to get a PhD on an intellectual, emotional, and fiscal level. You never know what will happen, and it would really make your life miserable to have to be stuck finishing a degree you no longer want to finish and taking a job you don't want to have to take at the end, just because of your debt. The debt will, in essence, rule your life; taking the funding gives you many more options.

Consider, also, that your B choice must really want you to come if they funded you. I think it's nice to attend somewhere where you're being courted, where the department believes you'd be a good fit and would do well. They believe in you enough to throw money your way!

I know how awful it can be to feel like your life is on hold. But to reiterate some wise words that have already been said here, do remember that this is all about what will make you happy and what you can live with!

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but it really IS okay if you get to your program and don't like it—nothing has to keep you there for five years, and if you tell yourself the most important thing is to be happy, then it won't be turmoil to decide to do something about it, you simply WILL and you'll be awesome. You should pursue the degree because it makes you happy; if it stops making you happy, that's what leaves of absence and leaving entirely are there for.

Take this one decision at a time. I understand, all of those obstacles and gross feelings are hard to push out of your mind; I also carry the tendency of jumping ahead 18 steps from any decisions I make and worrying about everything I can all at once. But give yourself a bit of a break: don't worry about the LORs now. If you decide you'll reapply, you can worry about that when the time comes.

It sounds to me like the decision in front of you is (a) go to school #2, or ( reapply and get in somewhere compatible with your true, emerging interests. Talk to school #2 again. Send them an email, tell them you're their top choice and that while you know they said they didn't have funding for you, you are really bent on making it work and would welcome any creative solutions they might have up their sleeves or leads on outside sources of funding. Really reasonable email, and I am sure it would be received well, especially since they liked you and your application enough to accept you.

If you choose the reapply next year, remember: this year wasn't a wasted effort. It gave you clarity about your future research, and you'll have an even stronger package next time around.

Most importantly, don't beat yourself up over ANY of this! You did well with your apps, considering that you did a rush job and weren't completely sure of direction. And if one of your research advisors really was annoyed over sending out 15 letters, then you shouldn't feel bad, because what he needs is a reality check and to take another look at his job description. You can do this, and we're all here for you. Feel free to send me a PM anytime you need to talk.

Hmm. Not sure there's too much you can do, but perhaps it can't hurt to treat it like a job interview: remind them you're still interested.

If they sent you an email to inform you of your waitlist status, it would be easy and not very out of line to simply reply back, thanking them for their update on your status and telling them that you are still very interested in going to X school (or that X school is still your top choice).

What would be even better would be if you had any news to report and ask them to add it to your file. For instance, if you've had a manuscript accepted for publication, or a paper accepted to present at a big conference, you could email them to say that you have this new accomplishment to add to your application file, and then also take the opportunity to tell them you're still really interested in the program. OR, even better, if you had another acceptance you could dangle in front of them, you could mention that although you have an offer from Y school you're still very interested in waiting to hear from X before making your decision.

I'm not sure if these kinds of emails are risky to send, but it's one idea.

Exactly my opinion.

The match system is actually currently under a bit of debate, as it means that residents can't negotiate for their pay: they are contractually obligated to attend the university/hospital/program they are matched with. (Now, of course, most doctors will be making high six-figure salaries just a few years down the road, but the point is still there.) We, meanwhile, do have the flexibility to negotiate, to a certain extent.

Further, most universities don't know what their budgets for the next academic year will look like until March or April, making funding something that's impossible to know about during the application process. Much of any applicant's decision rests on whether or not she received funding, and how livable/competitive that funding is. A match system would take away an applicant's ability to take funding into account in her decision-making process.

Hey all. Glad to find a supportive community on this topic. Sorry to hear some of you have had a tough time, though glad to see others are working through it. (Nothing teaches you the true meaning of "compromise" than stuff like your future and career, eh?)

My SO and I met each other a little over a year ago, when I moved to my current institution (Cincy) to pursue a master's degree. My boyfriend is halfway through an MD/PhD, which will probably take him about 8 years, total.

I like the department I'm in now, and they have accepted (and recruited) me for the PhD. But back when I was doing applications, we decided that since we'd been together for barely a year at that point, the most sensible thing to do would be to apply where it was best for my career, and then weigh options once decisions came in. This way no one would feel pressure in case our relationship changed.

Fast forward a few months, and we're still going strong, but now I'm stuck in the position of deciding whether or not he's a reason to stay here for the PhD instead of moving 7 hours north to pursue a tantalizing offer at a more established program. I LOVE my mentor/advisor down here—she's challenging, supportive, concerned about me as a person, and known in the field, to boot—but this program is much smaller in my subfield and only in its first year as an official track. It's not an option for my SO to move, since he's only halfway through his program, and long distance seems really tough/impossible for 4-5 years.

Wish there was a magic bullet for this decisions. It's a lot of pressure on both of us to assess our level of commitment, as I try to make my decision. We've been together only 14 months, but I can't really imagine moving on somewhere else without him.

Also, for anyone else locating here for the first time, this forum might be of general interest: Philadelphia Forum.

I found it really helpful when I was considering a move from my parents house in the 'burbs to the city, to make my work commute easier. The locals on this board are pretty knowledgeable.