Imogene

The other thing that I was thinking about this line of discussion since Swagato's question, is this question in response: Say Swagato (or any of the other folks recently out of undergrad) didn't get in this season, then didn't get in the next season, either. Then let's say "Swagato" (used just as an example/name now, not as an actual reference to the person) decides he/she needs to get a job to pay the bills because 9-12 months is a long time to wait between application/enrollment seasons and, hey, a person needs to eat and live under a roof, right? Or let's even say that Swagato decides that he/she is a little burned out by school and applications, and decides maybe a year break to focus on things other than applications might do him/her good. Let's say this person then gets a reasonable job, say at a publishing firm or a nonprofit, doing somewhat interesting stuff -- editing; communications; social media related work. It pays the bills and it's just that far from flipping burgers or making cold-call sales work to be justifiable to existence. So now it's 2-3 years since school, and Swagato has a steady job, no longer has to live off ramen noodles, and starts to get a little comfortable. Swagato still watches films [if this is his/her field], tries to keep up with some of the current discussions and hot topics in his/her field, and satisfies him/herself that they are keeping intellectually satisfied. Another year or 2 passes of steady job, weekend entertainment, and literature/film studies is now a hobby enjoyed in free time and in conversations with friends, and he/she has at the back of his/her head that he/she'll probably return to academia because that's who he/she is deep down, but for now he/she's making money, building a life, and gaining some interesting experience and knowledge -- including about some literature/film that he/she wouldn't probably have delved into if he/she had been within the confines of the degree program topic area he/she had applied for 3-4 years ago. Then say it's somewhere between 5-7 years out of school, and Swagato is starting to feel that the 9-5 thing is just really not for her/him. And there are these new film/literature interests he/she's developed in the last year. Should Swagato consider going back to get his/her PhD? Wait, he/she is now 5-7 years older than other folks who may be applying -- won't that be a hardship for getting accepted? And let's say Swagato *does* get accepted, won't the 5-7 (heck, let's say 10) year difference that there might be between him/her and other folks applying for the tenure-track job once through the PhD program be a challenge to landing the job? Should Swagato give up on his/her preferred career/life choice now, [at age 28-33, say] because of the 5-10 year age difference that might pose a hiring challenge at top schools, and not even try? Keep grinding out at the 9-5 job because, hey, his/her life is basically over now anyway, or at least set in stone now, right? No way academia has a spot for him/her, and he/she should probably just keep going in a direction that won't ever satisfy him/her, right? Wow, that's a crazy question.

I haven't been on gradcafe in a while and missed this, but just wanted to say - yay! happy for you on your decision! So I assume you're not making the rest of your visits you were planning?

congrats, JoshBarblahblah! I'm bummed and a little nervous because I haven't gotten the official offer from the writing program yet . I actually had a really nice conversation with my interviewer, and I have quite a bit of graduate teaching experience, so I can't imagine there was any problem with my application, so I'm wondering if it's more of a funding fit / teaching space thing? It's scary because I really am leaning towards UMass as my ideal place, but obviously that can't happen without funding. I'm resisting the urge to keep virtually knocking on the Writing Program's door every day to check in -- "um, what's the status? why don't you guys like me?" ugh.

ok, phew, I was starting to get worried, and hadn't been on GradCafe in a while, so glad to see y'all haven't heard back about the TOship yet either. I was debating emailing the writing program to see about timing of notification -- maybe I'll still do that this week if I haven't heard anything (since they have spring break next week).

the gods have spoken!! congrats!

YES. Also, what do we think about visits we schedule on our own -- i.e. not part of a departmental "open house" or anything -- just an individual visit with some meetings scheduled with POIs, attending a class, etc.? When I was in grad school previously, I was pretty casual on my "taking classes" days, and more like business-hipster-chic (hate biz caz) on my "teaching days" -- I'm guessing I'll lean more toward my concept of "teaching days" for these visits, but I kinda do want to wear nice jeans so that I blend in with the basic "taking classes" folks. The *worst* outcome would be to wear something I feel foreign in to myself, of course. Thoughts?

I second this question.

Man this funding discussion has been kind of depressing I wanted to share this other online tool that I just found that might be helpful if you're comparing a couple of towns to each other (cost of living, plus other comparisons like crime, climate, etc.): http://www.townhunter.com/townhunter/compare-cities-side-by-side.aspx

I think I'll make a visit in March. And congrats on your growing acceptances!

Oh, phew! I'm glad there's that third option. Thanks for always being fast to answer my questions, ProfLorax -- you're like my go-to! I wonder if this will be the case if we wind up cohort mates, too!

Also, thanks for posting this info, JoshBarBlahBlah. This is good to know -- I had made up a long list of questions and I was just going over it and then thinking that I didn't want to overwhelm them with questions . Good to know that it should be more of a discussion anyway!

Hey fellow-potential-UMies -- I got the official letter from the graduate school in the mail today, and I noticed it says "It is important that you [accept/withdraw] within 15 days of your acceptance." And our acceptance is dated Feb 12 on the letter. Do you guys think there is something to this? I mean, I'm just now planning some travel for some school visits that won't happen until mid-March, so I definitely won't be in a position to make my official choice before then. I was assuming April 15 was universal, but that wording worries me.

Hey guys -- I created an updated spreadsheet based on greekdaph's question list, and was going to upload it/share it here, but I can NOT figure out how to post an attachment -- I found in my profile where to manage attachments that have already been uploaded, and see in the help files directions about uploading (which are not helpful because it starts from "click the button to upload"), but don't see the option to upload files in these posts or on my profile. Sorries. If attachment is a feature still possible on these forums and anyone wants to see my spreadsheet for example and/or to skip the work of creating your own, then please to provide me with some attachment help .

Thanks for the quick reply! and Congrats!

Curious -- is this the order the rest of y'all are placing these things?