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lk447

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  1. I thought about this a lot when I was applying. Basically, I feel that I could be happy doing any number of things, including getting my PhD and working in academia. At this point in my life, it is more "why not?" than "why?" I really enjoy school, am good at it, and would love to spend more time learning and researching. Crucially, they're paying me. Sure, I'm missing out on other earning potential, but I'm not going into debt, so if I end up not using my PhD, so be it. I think that I will enjoy the experience enough to justify spending the next five/six/however many years of my life in grad school. I've started to become a little worried when I hear other students saying that you really need to know for sure that this is what you want to do, or that a PhD can make you overqualified for things, or that you'll get sucked into the idea that not finishing or not getting a TT job is a failure, even when you're not enjoying it anymore. For me, this was the most attractive of the options I thought about for my life, but not the ONLY place I could see myself. Is that not enough?
  2. Any thoughts on bags? I used shoulder bags all through undergrad, and have a great goldenrod one that is starting to fall apart. I would really like to get a new one, preferably also in a goldenrod-ish color (it has become one of my favorite colors!) or something else that is a little fun but can also go with everything, that also has a zippered top to protect against rain. I've been looking around but haven't found anything I really like. I don't want to switch to a backpack, but I also need something that has room or can grow a bit to accomodate several books, laptop, etc. What do you all plan to carry your stuff around in?
  3. Haven't started my PhD yet, so I can't speak from that experience, but I did make time for TV in undergrad (more than I should have, probably!). I really dislike watching recorded sports events, so I found ways to watch live. I completely agree with Usmivka about making big games a social event, either at your place if you have a tv or at a sports bar. It's actually a great way to meet new people as well, because people seem much more willing to talk to strangers about a game they are watching than they are in other situations (if you can find the right bar). Your university probably has a lounge with a tv tuned to sports, so you can meet other students there (probably mostly undergrads). If you don't want to have a physical tv, ESPN3 (on their website) usually works pretty well, though with a somewhat limited selection of games. There are also illegal sites that stream live games of varying quality. These are great especially if you are moving out of your area, because they have every game. Another way to get in your tv-watching is to do it at the gym. That way you can combine your activities and watch tv without losing any additional time. I find this a better doubling of time than trying to watch while doing work, no matter how light the work. Most have tvs tuned to sports. For regular shows, a friend of mine brought her iPad to the gym and watched from there while she ran, which made the gym more appealing and doubled-up her time, so if you happen to have one you could try that too.
  4. I'm starting a PhD program in history in the fall. When I applied, I had two people in mind for potential advisors (which I wrote in my statement of purpose). One of them contacted me after I got accepted, and we spoke on the phone. I still didn't know which I wanted to advise me until I visited. I met with both (and a couple others), and decided that I wanted to work with the other one. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to go to that program, though, so I didn't say anything on the subject. Now, I want to email the advisor I want and make sure she knows I want to be one of her students. Is there a non-awkward way to do this? I have already emailed her (and met up with her when she came to my UG) and tried to imply it, but I am worried she's not clear on the fact that I want her to advise me. Should I just wait until I get there?
  5. I understand that research interests are more important, and I applied to places that had a good research fit. Now that I have gotten in to a couple, I want to evaluate schools based on a bunch of factors: more specific research fit, advisers, location, atmosphere, etc. I just want to be able to add rankings (or perceptions of how good a school is in African American history) to the list. I feel that, on my own, I am much better able to evaluate how well my research will fit in a given department than I am able to figure out relative rankings.
  6. I'm trying to decide between programs for a PhD in history, and I am very certain that I want to study African American History (20th century). A lot of people reference rankings in making decisions. How can I know what schools are best in African American History? The rankings for just History won't match up exactly with this specific field, but I don't know how to tell which schools are better than others. Should I put any weight on one school being ranked higher in just History, or only look at which is better for African American History, and how can I found out either piece of information? Obviously, this is only one piece of my decision.
  7. I'm trying to decide between programs for a PhD in history, and I am very certain that I want to study African American History (20th century). A lot of people reference rankings in making decisions. How can I know what schools are best in African American History? The rankings for just History won't match up exactly with this specific field, but I don't know how to tell which schools are better than others. Should I put any weight on one school being ranked higher in just History, or only look at which is better for African American History, and how can I found out either piece of information? Obviously, this is only one piece of my decision.
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