Emilee

Rejection Letter received. :-(. I am doubly disappointed, since I really worked hard on it. FYI: If you want feedback email them directly or call them, they will send you feedback in the mail. I did this last time I applied and was able to get feedback, although it still did not help.

A couple of weeks ago, I received my student evaluations for the semester. I received an average rating of "good" on EVERY category that I was rated on. At this point, I felt good about my evaluations. This was my first semester teaching at this university and I thought I did pretty good given the limited resources I had to work with. Last week, I got an email stating that I urgently needed to meet with my department. I was not on par with the rest of the other TAs, because I had scored a "little bit" under the average for all of the TAs. My total average (literally) was a half point below the average of all the TAs (and my average was within the standard deviation). I do not know what to do at this point. I have a hundred things to do as a grad student. I not only have to teach, but I have to do research for my lab, do my own research, and be a student. Now I have to add "convincing my students to rate me as 'very good' on everything" to my list. This is stressing me out. My class is a requirement for most of the students (so not everyone wants to be there). To make matters worst, summer TAships are very competitive. Now that I have been branded as a "bad" TA, I am doubtful that I will get any summer TAships. Has anyone experienced this before? Any advice?

Have any of you heard of the EntourageEdge? It's similar to an ipad, except it has both an e-reader and LCD screen, and you can write notes on the e-reader side. It just came out a few months ago, and the company is trying to break into the educational market. I have one and love it so far. I was going to originally get the ipad but decided on the Edge because it met my needs better. If you google the name, the main website should pop up and, there are also a lot of reviews (mostly positive) from tech journalists on the internet. You should check it out if you want an e-reader, web browser, and note taker combined for about $500.

Yes, I have. I just emailed the program directly (I used the email from the secretary who notified me that everything was complete). Within in a month, I received my feedback. They sent me several rating sheets they must have had their judges complete. Some of the judges even wrote comments. I would suggest that you do this.

Hi all, I am going to commute via public transportation to my new grad school, so I'll need comfortable walking shoes that look professional. Any suggestions (e.g. brands to look at, stores to try)? Note that I am open to scandals that are closed-toed, but I need high quality shoes since I usually walk holes in cheap shoes after a few weeks. I am also trying to avoid tennis shoes. Thanks in advance!

The only person who can tell you if getting dog is a good idea is you, since it really depends on what type of person you are. Like you, I always had the dream of owning a dog. While finishing my Master's, I acquired both a dog (a month after starting my program) and a cat (a year into my program via a dumpster). I do not regret my decision...not the least bit. That being said, I am also the kind of person who shops at Goodwill, keeps the same cell phone for at least 5 years, and refuses to pay for cable. Most of my extra income after rent, gas, and food go towards my pets. I am single, so all the responsibilities fall on me. I also live in a place where…half the year… the temperature is in the 100s and…the other half of the year… it rains non-stop. Rain or shine (or, in a few cases, haze from a nearby forest fire), I walk my dog religiously twice a day. I also used to have to pay extra pet rent for my dog and had to put a bigger deposit on my former apartment. I even had to sometimes adjust my schedule, so that I can make sure I am home in time to take my dog to go potty. However, I would not have it another way, because I value them over other more material things, like clothes and fancy cell phones, and I feel my extra effort is paid back with their "love". Having them has also led to some positive consequences such as losing weight from all of the walking I have to do each day. Some people can handle this lifestyle. Some cannot, and there is nothing wrong with that. The problem lies when well-meaning people try to take care of animals but cannot handle all of the responsibilities required. So, you have to decide for yourself whether you are willing to deal with all of the responsibilities that come with owning a dog. If you can handle them, go for it. If not, you might want to consider something that requires less responsibility and less money like a hamster or a rat (Don't laugh. I have owned rats before. They are both clean and intelligent. You can even teach them tricks like dogs , but you have to deal with the social stigma attached to them. ) Oh...and, if you do decide to get a dog, DO NOT buy one. Adopt one for three reasons: You are a saving a life, you will be able to find a dog that is already potty-trained (believe me...you do not want to deal with potty-training while in a program), and sometimes (since a lot of dogs in rescues are surrenders) you can learn the dog's history and personality so that you can find one that meets your grad lifestyle.

I feel your pain all too well. Your story reminds me of when I went apartment hunting while I was getting my Master's. When I was discussing my sources of income with the agent, she proceeded to tell that I could not use the money from my fellowship stipend to pay rent, since she had heard that money could only be used for tuition. When I assured her that money was for living expenses, she continued to insist the I was wrong. She was basing this on hearsay, while I heard straight from my grad program that this money was for living expenses. So, who is probably wrong here? Anyway, it turned out that I could not rent from the complex because my credit was too good. Yes, too GOOD! I did not make enough money to sign the lease by myself, so my mom would have to co-sign. However, according to their policy, I could only have a co-signer if I had a bad credit score (below 500). My credit is above 700, since I pay my bills on time. I ended up going elsewhere to another apartment that understood my plight as a grad student a little bit better. I hope you don't continue to encounter less than smart leasing agents. Good luck with your search!

Same here, too. I got honorable mention last year and this year it was a straight rejection. I thought I had improved my application. I even asked for and received feedback directly from them, and I tried to address the weaknesses that were stated. Oh well...looks like I will be applying again next time. I'm glad it's a free application

I was in the same situation this application season (I just finished my Master's). My Master's advisor was actually the one that made the suggestion to get a letter from a undergrad professor, so that schools' have some perspective on how I have done in the past. Plus, the undergrad professor knew me longer than the other professors and, as a result, was able to write a strong letter. I think it worked in my favor, and I was very successful in getting into a competitive program. That being said, I did have an extra LOR (4 total). Three were from graduate level professors and one from undergrad level. So, assuming all four people will write awesome letters for you, why not ask all four and send them all in? Unless schools explicitly say do not send extra letters, it really shouldn't hurt your chances and it serve as "insurance", in case one of the letters goes missing. Good luck.

At my Master's program, I was MY responsibility to report any financial aid that I received from the department to the finanical aid office. My grad coordinator made it very clear that I needed to report it ASAP or I could end up getting screwed in the end. (If they found out I got too much aid, I would owe any money above my cost of attendance immediately). So I would talk to the financial aid office and/or your grad coordinator to see what you need to do. My program allowed me to report it online via the student services website. Hope this helps.

More proof that the AW is not heavily weighted (at least for some programs): I scored a 3.5 on the AW section (and I am a native English speaker). Yet, I was still able to gain admission to a highly competitive PhD program that is ranked within the top 5 in my field and has less than a 2% acceptance rate. Strangely, I minored in English Writing in undegraduate, and several past professors have remarked that I write well (some of which probably mentioned this in their LORs). I do not think two 20 min essays accurately reflect everyone's writing skills or critical thinking skills and a lot of ad comm recognize this.

It's funny how applications make you dread things that you used to cherish (e.g. winter break, weekends, spring break). I used to love these breaks because they meant that I got to finally relax a bit. Now, they mean I have to wait extra days before I can anticipate getting a response from an adcomm.

I feel your pain. Last year I was waitlisted THREE times. In addition, I was also waitlisted for a national fellowship. By the end, I did not even want to hear the word waitlist and ended up being rejected by all of the programs. The economy definitely affected (and continues to) affect schools ability to accepted the same number of students that they would have in the past (plus I am in clinical psychology which is super competitive). As result, a lot of good students end up on waitlists. After cursing academia for a year and calming down enough to reapply, I am happy to report that I have gained admission to a program that is considered among the top 5. I hope you story ends well this year. Just remember that being on a waitlist does not reflect your worth as a candidate. There are just so many good candidates for so few spots. Good Luck

Hang in there. I got rejected to all the schools I applied to last year(and I applied to eleven ). This time around I was accepted to a top program in my field. So there is always hope for next year.