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dan0075

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dan0075 last won the day on August 14 2013

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About dan0075

  • Birthday 08/08/1975

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  • Gender
    Not Telling
  • Location
    Santa Barbara, CA
  • Application Season
    2013 Spring
  • Program
    PhD in Theater Studies

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  1. All of these tips are great in terms of teaching. But just as important as managing your teaching load is being vigilant about scheduling time for research and writing and honoring that schedule. In other words, the time you've set aside for writing and research should not be considered any more flexible than your scheduled teaching hours.
  2. Oh, and one other thing. If you don't get a question and you don't know the answer, don't try to fake it. They can see totally see through that. It's perfectly acceptable to say you don't know the answer, but that you'll look into it. They'll appreciate the follow through much more that your winging it and potentially adding to their confusion.
  3. There's a lot of great advice here. The only thing I would add is that I learned that you have to let go of wanting the students to like you. Of course you want them to respect you and to create an environment where they feel safe to express themselves and that they're being evaluated and graded fairly. That said, be careful of trying to be so laid back that they lose sight that the TA/student relationship is a strictly professional one. Be friendly, yes, but make it clear that when in the classroom you are not their peer (despite your being a student as well) but their instructor. I certainly use humor a great deal in my classes, but I work to set a disciplined tone from the beginning. As much as it may seem that they want the freedom from boundaries, I don't believe this to be true. Not that student feedback is the most reliable barometer of one's effectiveness, but I have found I have gotten the best feedback from the classes from whom I least expected it, i.e., the classes where I tended to have to take a more hard line approach. Keep in mind that no matter how affable you try to be and how invested you are in their success, there are going to be students who don't like you. We've all had those teachers that we talked about behind their backs. You're going to be that teacher to at least some of your students. Don't sweat it. It comes with the job.
  4. I did my MA part time (6 credits - two three credit classes) while working a demanding 40 hour a week job and it was of course tremendously challenging and I never felt like I had enough time to get it all done. I'm now working on my PhD (minus the day job, but with a TA position in its place). Time management is still an issue, but I've learned a few important lessons over the last few years... 1. Embrace prioritization and reject multi-tasking. Multi-tasking is overrated and, frankly, impossible. You can only do one thing at a time. Rather than trying to juggle multiple things at the same time, assess what you need to accomplish in a given week or on a given day and prioritize those tasks. Plan your schedule accordingly. When working on a task, work ONLY on THAT task and put all of the others out of mind. 2. Be realistic about what you can accomplish. I learned early on that it was pretty near impossible to read every single word of every page assigned to me every week. The simple fact of the matter is that cutting corners on reading (although never ideal) will almost certainly become necessary once in a while. For example, if you have a paper due Tuesday morning and you still have two forty page articles to read for Tuesday afternoon, you may well have to skimp on the reading that week. I'm not saying this should be the usual state of affairs, but once in a while it happens. So don't beat yourself up when it does. Again it comes down to prioritization. In most cases, there are some readings that are more important than others. Making those distinctions is a talent you'll foster over time. 3. Accept that once or twice a semester you'll have a few miserable nights of working all night long and then having to get through the following day on no sleep. But once you've accepted that, try to make the night as pleasant for yourself as possible. For example, on those nights, I give myself license to eat whatever I want (usually take-out so I don't have to spend time cooking). Buckle down and do the work, but indulge in something along the way. 4. No matter how pressed for time you are, claim at least an hour for yourself every day. You are correct that you could well have a breakdown without any "me" time. The only way to ensure you get that time is to make it as much a priority as your coursework, research, and job. It really is just as important. For me, my "me" time is the gym in the morning and an old rerun of "Law & Order" on Netflix at the end of my day while preparing dinner. And I try as often as possible to take at least the greater part of a weekend day off. But if I find I can't take a full day away from the books on the weekend, I at least spend a good portion of my work time at a coffee shop or in some public space so I don't feel like a total hermit. The bottom line is that being a grad student (especially a grad student with a job) means always having a huge workload and a looming deadline. But there are many little ways to find some relief along the way. BUT you have to figure out what those little ways are and understand that the time set aside for those has to be protected as fiercely as you would protect the time set aside for work or study. Grad school does not have to be a totally stressful and hateful experience. One last thing, when you do find yourself relaxing a bit and not doing any work, DON'T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT IT. A little break once in a while is not only deserved, but it is an absolute necessity for well being and success.
  5. dan0075

    Santa Barbara, CA

    Hi Tangentc, I'm a first year PhD student at UCSB. Rentals (one bedrooms and studios) are certainly expensive in this area. The odds of finding a place without roommates for under $1000 a month are pretty slim. I live in Studio Plaza and really like it a lot. It's in Isla Vista, but it's perfectly quiet; there's no noise from the IV party scene. The apartments are modest to be sure, but it's really the best deal in the area. All utilities (except cable and internet) are included in the rent. There's laundry on site and off street parking (although it does cost $30 a month to park). I tried living with roommates when I first got here to save some money, but after having lived alone for six years, I just couldn't get used to sharing a living space. Fortunately, I had applied to Studio Plaza in the spring of last year, so I was on the top of the waiting list and got an apartment here in December. If you are interested in the place, I'd suggest putting in an application now as it can be tough to get a spot. If you have any questions about the place (or about the area in general) drop me a line and I'd be happy to give you some insight. Where are you coming from? As for the cost of living, your pay quoted above is MUCH higher than mine (I'm studying theater and performance studies; always less money in the humanities!) and I'm doing okay. There's certainly not a lot of money for extras, but you'll manage. If you have any questions about the place, shoot me an email and I'd be happy to answer them for you. Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
  6. I also received my acceptance from University of Maryland today! It made my day, as it is my first choice. Still keeping my fingers crossed on funding. I also have an interview at UC Santa Barbara next month. We'll see how that goes; that's up there at the top of my list with Maryland. Still waiting to hear from University of Washington, Pittsburgh, and UT Austin. Probably not looking good for the latter two, since people have already received word of acceptance and/or interviews. Now I just have to write my thesis and finish my M.A. That's the challenging part, as extreme senioritis begins to set in!
  7. Has anyone on here applied to any of these schools? Know anyone who has? Heard anything back? UT Austin - Performance as Public Practice University of Pittsburgh University of Maryland University of Washington (their deadline isn't until 2/15, so I don't expect to hear from them for a while) It blows my mind that there's so little representation here from the theatre/performance studies realm... I have to say that the waiting is more maddening than I anticipated!
  8. So I got this message today from UC Santa Barbara, where I have applied for the PhD program in their Theatre Department. When she writes that I am on "a waiting list" I'm not sure if it means that (A) I am on the traditional waiting list (i.e., offers have already been extended to the first string and my admittance is dependent upon who accepts or declines) or ( I am in the same pool with all of the potential admits and the amount of funding available will determine which of us gets in. My other question - should I ask for clarification, or just wait to see how it plays out over the next couple of weeks? Anyway, here's the message. I'd be interested to hear from anyone with similar experiences... ************ This is just a quick note to let you know that our Graduate Admissions committee has met recently and that we are interested in your application. However, putting together an incoming class is rather like doing an elaborate jigsaw puzzle, especially since, as you may have heard, funding in the California system this year is very tight. You are on a waiting list right now that contains some very talented young scholars. At present, we are waiting to see if any funding from our program might be available, the better to determine if we are able to offer Teaching Assistantships. Right now, it's difficult for me to estimate when I will have more information for you; but I will certainly keep you posted as things develop. Meanwhile, on March 10th, we are hosting a graduate student conference where our current and prospective students present their work. If you are interested in visiting UCSB to meet our faculty or even wish to present a 15-20 minute paper at the conference, please let me know. Please note that presenting a paper is totally optional, and you are welcome to just visit without presenting anything. At the moment, we do not have a budget to support your travels, but there is a slight chance that we might be able to reimburse portions of your travel later. We will get to know about the situation more in detail after Feb. 24th.
  9. Hi everyone, glad to find some other theatre scholars in the forum. I'm finishing up my MA at Brooklyn College and waiting for decisions from five PhD programs. I've applied to Pitt, UT Austin, UC Santa Barbara, University of Maryland, and University of Washington. Waiting is killing me. I'm spending more time checking my email than working on the first draft of my thesis which is due in a week. Good luck to everyone... Dan
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