shortstack51

I applied January 2nd

On my phone so I can't upvote, so you have this post in lieu of it. "watch out for that first step! It's a dooozy!"

I would also add that some mid level programs have better placement rates than top tier programs. I was told by a hiring department at a liberal arts school that they pass over candidates coming out of top programs because they assume the candidates' goal is to end up at an R1 institution, and that they're just using small liberal arts schools as a way to get experience in the mean time. (Which in fact does happen pretty frequently)

Omg! Congrats!! I am so excited for you!!

Great to know, thanks--I have some education in my background (I took a year of graduate education courses plus ~30 hrs student teaching), so perhaps it could work out if it needs to. I'm thinking about trying to see if I can find some sort of summer position now that I'll have my MA.

Out of curiosity, what made you hate community college? I've thought about teaching CC before, so if it ends up being the pits, I'd like to avoid it! Is the school you're talking about with mediocre placement rates your wait list or your unfunded offer?

I'm sorry you're having such a struggle. This process is terrible--I hope it all works out for you! Are you waiting on anywhere else? Also, just wanted to say that a school ranked in the 60s is hardly a kiss of death--I can name at least 2 that have 80% placement rates. They might not place you at R1 or ivies, but I think people in general can be a bit too picky when contemplating job placement (I knew someone who complained and complained because he got a TT job at williams college...wanted to slap him!).

I actually struggle with the opposite problem. I have the unfortunate combination of a fast metabolism and a minor health issue that makes it so I can't eat a lot of foods (I tend to live on hummus, junk food, guac and spaghetti). I struggle to stay at a healthy weight. People tend to ask why I mind and that I'm lucky, but being at a low weight leaves me pretty susceptible to illness (I caught a regular cold and it lasted two weeks and took me out of class for 3 days-at which point you could see my ribs in my back by my spine). It also makes me tired a lot of the time. I also tend to drop pounds when I'm stressed. Not a fun combo. If anyone has any suggestions for foods that help you gain weight, please let me know (simple carbs get digested too fast and I can't eat red meats very often). Also, maybe we should put some sort of trigger/content warning at the beginning for any folks who might find discussions of weight triggering?

Will do! Early searching says apartments run 750-1100 and you can get a small house for 1000-1200 (I pay 1250 for my apartment so I'm looking for anything cheaper). Prioritizing houses in the search though. Also if I end up there, I need to actually get a car...woof

I'm visiting the 21st/22nd because I'm also attending a conference there at that time, and they said the fact that it was after the 15th was fine. I'm also heading up to the area this weekend to look at rental properties and get a feel for the residential areas. How about you?

For those interested, I posted on the results board about a message I received from CUNY Grad. Basically: "be patient, but have hope." They've apparently made offers as late as April 14th before. My fiancee got invited to an interview at St John's in Queens, so it's a bit stressful! Also, if they wait until April 14th, I might have to decline just because I have another school that wants to hear back earlier than that waiting.

I see there's an unfunded Fordham MA acceptance--if that's anyone here, feel free to message me. I'm finishing an unfunded MA there right now.

I had the same question--WSU is offering almost $14k and the cost of living in Pullman is way cheaper than what it is in Seattle (based on lots of research on rent prices via zillow and Realtor.com, haha). I could be wrong, though, since I'm not that familiar with the west coast outside random internet browsing. I did an unfunded MA so I have tons of debt--definitely not going to take out loans for PhD, especially considering time to completion. I already have one offer in a cheap area for 21k, so right now that seems like the best financial choice (great fit too, of course!). It's funny because people who applied 5-10 years ago are shocked that there are places that don't guarantee funding among the top 50. My professors told me not to apply to schools that don't 100% guarantee it, but it actually seems to be more and more common, which made it difficult to avoid. I think UW was the only place I applied that didn't guarantee it, though (some places also said that funding is "competitive" but only let in as many students as they could fund in the end, like Amherst and CUNY).

I'm not sure if it's expected or not, but I feel that it's usually a good idea to respond and let them know you're excited/etc. about the offer, but you're also waiting on several more schools before you can make a final decision. That's what I've been saying, anyway. Also, it's a good chance to ask them to put you in touch with students/faculty at that school to start finding out information

I'll PM you just so I don't deter from the conversation!

If you have any questions about location for UConn, feel free to PM me. Born and raised in CT- I actually don't mind the location at all (I got accepted and right now they are my top choice). Unless you also are from CT and still don't like it!

Yay!!!!

Well we seem to have made it past the first round. You never know!

Besides my wait list, I'm only waiting to hear back from one school. UDub why must you torture me I'm not expecting anything since they are really selective and having financial issues, but I want to start making more than hypothetical decisions!

I'm waitlisted at CUNY. And me too I thankfully do have one other official offer and one unofficial (the DGS e-mailed me saying they would make me an offer in 3 weeks), so I'm pretty lucky in either case. I'll send my good wait list vibes your way The 21st is only two and a half weeks, which both seems super distant and super close. Aghh

I'm so happy for you!! I know you were upset a few days ago about possibly not getting accepted, so this is great news. I wish you luck!! I am on a wait list and it's so anxiety inducing (especially since most people don't plan on rejecting the offer until they visit the open house on the 21st).

Yeah, that's about right- the MA mostly takes care of some core classes you would need to take your first or second year otherwise (like research, theory, maybe some of the required time periods, etc) but nothing that you would need specifically for the PhD (my current program has PhD students taking a special type of research methods course, for instance). It also doesn't count for the language requirement

All the programs I applied to shortened the time to completion if you enter with an MA. UConn, for instance, knocks a year off. I know Harvard also lets you transfer in 24 credits. Most programs should have a page about it. I didn't apply to programs that didn't accept my MA coursework.

Ah, thanks for the clarity. I'm always in limbo of how much impact grades/classes have on the process (ie, I only took one class in my field because only one was offered while I was an MA student yet I've had reasonable success, though no "top programs").

I haven't heard of it, but perhaps some general advice might help: I was informed by my school's adcomm that conferences (or publications) aren't necessarily going to add anything to your CV eif they're through unknown organizations. It seems like quite a bit of money for something that won't yield many results. If you want to get experience presenting, I agree that clearly your topic is interesting and you can probably find cheaper conferences to attend.