Hank Scorpio

Hey, all- I won't be attending NU, but very recently spent several months living in Evanston. Due to my sister and brother-in-law both doing their PhDs at NU, I got to spend quite a bit of time exploring the campus, and the area in general. The campus is abolutely beautiful! Right by the lake, the layout is nice, etc. The NU library is also fantastic...has editions of books you wouldn't even believe. Evanston on the whole is a really nice little town. Living on campus is quite expensive, but living in downtown Evanston isn't too bad, and you'll still be quite close to campus. Rogers Park is the cheaper place to live, but with reason. Some of the accomodations are nice, but the area in general is a little "sketchy." Anyway, I'm jealous of all you who got accepted to NU! It's a fantastic school, and I hope to maybe to my PhD there in two years..

That's a nice list of schools you're applying to! There's a few others in Canada that have good ethics and continental-type departments: Ryerson Univeristy, Memorial U. of Newfoundland, and Guelph are al really excellent schools.

I ended up accepting a really nice offer from Ryerson University. Can't wait to start! This summer is going to draaaaaaaaaaaaag. Congrats on getting in, all!

I was going to lift off some schools with good continental departments, but those links probably cover them all. However, don't forget that Canada has a few great schools with excellent continental philosophy departments: Ryerson University, where I'm headed, has a couple of fantastic cont. scholars. Also, in their department, the continental/analytic division is not a source of contention, as in most places. Anyway, Guelph also has a really good cont. phil. department. John Russon, one of the current top Hegel scholars is there. University of Toronto has probably one of the best continental philosophy departments in Canada or the USA. Plus, being in Toronto is handy too, as you'll be near such great cont. scholars are John Russon, Graeme Nicholson, and others. Anyway, best of luck!

Also, here...a little time-waster for those long shifts at work. http://www.explosm.net/comics

Surefire had some great advice, as did everyone else. Thankfully, I was accepted into 1-year MA programs, and 2-year MA programs as well...so I was able to choose which I preferred. I have two close friends who chose the 1 year MA route, and PhD apps (plus funding apps for SSHRC, etc) just about killed them. Soooo, I went with the 2-year option, not just because I wouldn't have to apply for a PhD right away, but because 2 years means more experience on my CV when I apply to a doctoral program (more courses, more research, more conferences, etc.). Anyway, best of luck with that quick transition. It's good to have to toughen up academically, and will look good on your CV when the time comes to apply for jobs.

Indeed. It's impossible to know what would have been if you'd gone with the other choice. But the best advice I've received when having such doubts is that, going on what you've said, neither choice is a bad one. One may be better for you than the other (though there would be no way to know, as everyone has said), but either way, either one is a good choice.

I know I've already posted in this topic, but I looooove coming back to read the new responses. They make me SO happy to know I'm not alone! Just a long list of things people are doing at work to pass the time until they can march out for the last time. I am super jealous that most of you will be done this month or next, as I'm stuck at my work till the end of August. I had a bit of time off work, and during that time I spent 3 days helping out on a movie set, and was temporarily part of a union. What a difference! Best experience of working ever! Of course, tomorrow I go back to my call centre job, which is going to be even less tolerable because of it. But, just a couple more months and I go flip my work the bird and leave with a big, fat grin on my face. I think the night before I quit I'm going to watch Office Space.

Here, I asked the exact same question in another forum on here. haha. Hope this helps!

Also, remember that life isn't about not having any fear. It's about standing up against your fear whole-heartedly and staring it straight in the face. Push through this and you'll be fine.

I think this is excellent advice. Though you will have to mention that time, you don't need to put the focus on it. The more you focus on it, the more they will. Just talk about how you're moving forward, and where you want to go. Whatever you focus on, they will.

Haha Most people have the opposite to choosing grad school. "You're throwing away your future!" Anyway, when I told people I know reasonably well, I got a lot of "told you so." When I told other people: Me - "I got in to grad school with full funding!" Them - "Congrats, for what?" Me - "Philosophy" Them - "....well, at least you don't have to pay for it."

Thank God that happens so much less often up here in the great white north!

Just a quick thing that came to mind: the more you make it seem like what interests you is the research, and not the academics themselves, the better. But that's just my own opinion. Best of luck!

Given that I'm a lowly MA student, I had to go to a somewhat-external source for a good response for you. I'm blessed enough to have two parents that are among the top academics in their respective fields. My father is one of the most world-renowned writers on Research Ethics Review, and my mother is one of the top gerontologists, who was fortunate enough to study under Howard Becker. Anyway, I read them your question, and their response was to be genuine in your interest. When you write top academics, try not to have the email sound generic. They like it a lot if you've read their work, and can comment on it insightfully. The main thing is to not sound as though you're trying to network. Academic networking is best done in person..going to conferences, presenting papers, and sitting in on the sessions given by those among whom you wish to be know. Also, they mentioned making the email more about interest in the research than what you're currently up to yourself; though it's still good to mention that. Just keep in genuine and research-related and you should be good to go. If they feel like you're doing it for networking, they will feel like a means to an end. Hope this helps.

Oh gosh, the horrors of online dating. I went on a few dates with people I met online...doesn't typically go well. Personally, I'm excited to be surrounded by like-minded people. I'm by no means making dating a priority in grad school, but definitely leaving that option open. I spent some time after my undergrad in the work force, and the only place to really meet people is...well, work. And people who meet in the work place (when we're talking about call centres, restaurants, etc.) are meeting because, for the most part, they're there to make money. It's not usually because of a specific worldview or interest in a certain subject matter. But in grad school, entirely different story. It will be nice to be around dating prospects who not only share interests, but see them as significantly important.

Yea, I'm leaning heavily towards the thesis path. The MRP seems a tad more "relaxed" but I want what's going to look best on a PhD app, and nothing less. So far my parents have been my career counsellors (that's right, 29 years old and still getting their advice). I've been blessed to have two parents who are profs, so they've been able to offer some excellent advice. I just figure the more opinions I get on the matter, the better. Thanks all so much for your input!

What a good thread indeed! Firstly, I'm suuuuuper jealous of all you who get to quit before the end of the summer. I'm stuck at my job until the 3rd week in August. I work a call centre, and spend most of my days secretly hanging out on GC while banging my head off my desk. There was a bit of excitement when I got my acceptance emails, but since then it's back to the grind. I spend my days hating work and slinging Marxist rhetoric at my co-workers (I work for a huge, heartless corporation). Let's put it this way: I hate my job so much that right now I'm recovering from severe abdominal surgery, and I'm happier than when I'm fully healthy at work. How much notice will I give? Well, they are counting most of my surgery recovery days as "personal days" instead of justified absence days. Sooo...I will probably will give them 2 weeks, but I wouldn't feel bad about just leaving at the end of a shift.

I'm going a little crazy trying to pass the time until September. So, I plan on using this time to build a time machine of sorts to send me forward to the fall. Even if I spend my entire summer building it, and it doesn't work, it will still do what it was intended for.

The MA program I'm starting this year offers two paths: writing a 50-ish-page major research paper (a path that requires an additional 7 courses), or writing a 100-ish-page thesis (that requires only 5 courses). Since I plan on going on to do a PhD, the path I obviously want to choose is that one that will look more desirable to PhD programs when the time comes to apply. Just wondering people's thoughts on which one of the two would look better moving forward. Thanks!

Yup! I'm actually looking for a roommate in TO come this fall. I'm going to be going down to Toronto for a week at the end of July to look for a place, so I'm hoping to find someone to live with by then.

Hey, all! Been a while, so I just thought I'd see who all else is Toronto-bound this coming fall. Wondering what kinds of things people are doing to preparing, etc. Cheers!

Screw driver

Going to U of T, eh, Sparrowing? Maybe I'll see you around TO without knowing it's you!

Yup yup! I typically go grocery shopping first thing, get enough food to be good to go, and then deal with the financial consequences later. Also, cooking from scratch is usually cheaper than boxed/pre-made food in the long run.