shockwave
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Posts posted by shockwave
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I have some free time and some spare change and am debating whether or not to visit my field site for a short trip. Give the holiday travel costs, it is looking like it will cost about $1,500-$2,000 out of pocket and I am not really sure how much I am going to actually get done. I am planning to spend all of summer 2014 at my field site and will be heading into the field the 2015-2016 academic year. I am just wondering if anyone had any input on this. I feel like I would be wasting my time if I didn't go, but I think going might be too rushed and economically not a great idea. And while I know I will definitely get some good data out of it, I am not sure if it will add a major contribution to me being there for 3 months next summer. Any thoughts? Or any ideas on how I should spend my winter break instead? Beside from reading and writing as much as I possibly can?
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Some of my former classmates and I were discussing the possibility of finding a job on the European job market. I was wondering what the prospects were for a U.S. graduate to obtain a job at a European institution and what criteria needed to be met in order to obtain such a job? I would assume language ability would be important, publications in European conferences, and some networking and contacts within European universities would be a good place to start. My personal interest in possibility working in Europe stems both from my personal interest in the region and the fact that I study migration issues and Europe would be an excellent place to pursue such research.
Thanks everyone.
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Hi all,
I submitted a paper to an article about a month ago. I had heard that this particular journal had a relatively fast response time. I was wondering if/when I should contact to journal to see the status of the article and check the status. I feel it may come off too pushy and eager and just wanted everyone's thoughts.
Thanks
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Be VERY careful with this advice. I'm not sure what is meant here by contacting potential advisors to "explain your situation" but I don't see any good coming of trying to explain that you didn't do well on your thesis (with or without blaming your advisor) and that you don't have LORs from your advisor or other reader, but you still want to go into a PhD program. Any kind of "explanation" about how the advisor wasn't supportive is going to seem like an excuse and will not help. It may even get back to the advisor and actively hurt you. Why would a stranger go out of their way to help someone who in their present state couldn't even get the support of the people who know them? Much stronger applicants get rejected from programs all the time. You should be thinking about getting the support of professors who already know you before you start contacting others. The other reader sounds like the best bet, but maybe there is some other professor you have a relationship with. Seriously, don't send out "dozens, if not hundreds" of emails until you have worked on improving your application, or you may just burn bridges.
Well if they just come out and say "I was bad, people thought I sucked, and now I want to enter a PhD program" that isn't going to sound good. The OP needs to passionately and intellectually express their interest and explain what they have going for them. Perhaps high GRE scores, GPA, TA experience, something like that. When I first received low GRE scores I emailed some professors I'd contacted before and who i wanted to gain admissions into their programs and was frank. I said "my GRE scores are low BUT...." and they gave me an honest reply. I also said "my language experience is this...." and they replied. I didn't mean for the OP to email begging for admissions. Simply say "I am interested in studying with you, I am considering applying" if the prof is interested and replies then the OP can say happy to hear and go into details. If they aren't begging them for admissions I wouldn't say they are burning any bridges since I don't think the OP is going to be applying in the near future
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Well the thing is, these aren't really "undergraduate" concepts. These are deeply theoretical ideas that are targeted for persons in this specific field, not for people who are just aiming to learn something about it and get that deeper level of understanding down. If addition is an undergraduate concept, and decimals are grad level, we are learning the Pythagorean theorem.
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Yes, if I do choose to continue, I need to address the main problems both within my MA program (bad advisor, etc) and myself (not proactive enough). I have been thinking through all of this every single day for the past 2 weeks or so. I'm determined and ready to learn from my mistakes, improve myself, and move forward.
But what really does deter me is that if I cannot get LOR from anyone on my committee, then the chances of my PhD application being successful is low. I need to attend more conferences, try to get articles published and boost my CV. And that's another thing, in grad school you're supposed to learn the ropes of how to get something published. Typically, if a course essay is good enough, a professor will encourage you to send it to journals and try to get it published. And again, students need to be proactive and take the initiative to learn what goes into a publishable paper. I didn't do this, sadly. So without an advisor's guidance and informative suggestions, my work becomes that much more difficult. I would need to learn the ins and outs of publishing on my own.
It has been a huge learning experience. If I do decide to continue with academia, then I need to network and get a lot of allies/ supportive professors on my side. shockwave, you mentioned that perhaps I could try contacting Departments that I want to apply for and explain my situation to professors, but will they be able to do anything? I'd imagine they would simply say that I apply like anyone else and see what happens.
I would absolutely recommend you contact some people you want to work with at potential schools. Explain your situation, send out dozens, if not hundreds of emails of people you want to work with in some caliber and get their feedback. Maybe you will be surprised that some of them or incredibly supportive of your work ad give you some excellent advice.
- TwirlingBlades, yatto and gellert
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Also, have you emailed any professors at programs you wish to attend? Explain to them your situation and I am sure some of them will be supportive. I can't possibly imagine anyone being admitted to a PhD program without some degree of contact with some of the professors beforehand. Definitely contact some of them to get their opinions too!
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Interesting thread,
I am very sorry to hear of your very negative experiences. I for one would not push him for an LoR. I would actually go to your second reader for their advice. You can go to tell them your situation honestly (if you trust them) and get their feedback on what your future should entail. IF you are truly motivated to become a PhD student, then I think they will recommend that you build up your CV. Perhaps another MA program attached to a PhD program at a prestigious university? A year off working, presenting at conferences, and preparing for the next application cycle? I am really not sure. I would speak with a faculty member you absolutely trust.
I also think there is a problem somewhere else. Several people here have mentioned that their advisors had told them they were too "ambitious" or that they were getting in for too much, saw someone else say that they were told they didn't know how to write an introduction. This is concerning (but not surprising) because it seems to speak to a declining quality of education academy entirely. If a person can't write something like an introduction they probably shouldn't be in a PhD program. This shows that their undergraduate and/or MA program have failed to address the basics of academic writing. I remember when my classmate and I were meeting with our advisor and he suggested that my classmate 'learn how to write' from me. I was shocked that as a second year graduate student my classmate wasn't able to write a quality paper - he was my senior! It is possible that it this time you don't possess some of the skills needed to get in and if you do get into a program, there is no guarantee you will be a solid candidate for a job when you are done. I remember when I was applying and speaking with faculty about not getting in anywhere they provided me with a number of alternatives of things I could do to better myself for reapply the following year.
Also, ask what you have done wrong and have the explicitly explain how you can learn from it. What you could have done better. What you need to work on. Are you approaching your topic too subjectively? I suspect a great many graduate students approach a topic with an agenda rather than going into a project open minded and when this happens, the results and quality of the writing suck. Do you have a sound understanding of the theories you are referencing? Are these literatures important and relevant? These are thins I would ask.
Most importantly, don't give up (if this is really your dream)! Don't be discouraged and just keep at it.
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Hey,
I am in a class where some of the readings are way to difficult for me to really understand. The readings are very theoretically grounded and this is in a particular area that although I have a deep interest in, I have an extremely limited knowledge of the theoretical practices of it. Therefore, when I read these papers on these abstract ideas referring to historical concepts relative to this area, I don't get much out of it.
I am kind of disappointed because I had really hoped to get a better understanding out of this class but I find myself just reading words on paper.
Can anyone relate? Any suggestions?
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Parking question. I am living about ten minutes from campus by bus, but I would prefer to drive if possible. However, I see that the passes are about $250 - $350 and the commuter lots seem almost comically far from the campus. I was wondering if it even worth it to park in one of these lots or should I just park in the city lot down the street. I will only be on campus probably 2-3 days out of the week and it might be just as expensive and a lot more convenient.
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I will also be attending and would definitely like to meet some like minded and interesting people! Also I am somewhat informed about the city and the area (I spent almost over a week exploring and looking for housing) so I can definitely help out people in that position as well.
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Thank you for the input everyone. I've actually been rented two Thinkpads from my school and while they have been decent they have been heavy, filled with sppyware, and one actually crashed on me - though I was lucky enough to back up my data. I think I will be steering away from a Thinkpad unless I find an awesome deal.
I like the suggestions of the samsung and the toshiba, mainly because those are things I usually wouldn't think of. Has anyone tried the chromebook? The laptop that is like $300?
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I am need to give my current school issued laptop back at the end of the semester, meaning I will have to do what I have been putting off for a few years now, which is buy a new laptop. I am probably one of the least computer-knowledgable people one could find and am looking for advice.
I mainly need this for research purposes. Documents, files, writing, etc. I don't play games on it or anything, occassionally will watch a movie if I am on a long trip or something. I am not looking to spend very much at this time and would really prefer something light weight. Ideally I'd have liked a macbook but I think I can get something cheaper (such as chromebook, or a small hp laptop, etc.). I was wondering if anyone could give me some recommendations, advice, things to avoid, etc. because I really have no clue what I am looking for.
Thanks everyone.
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Is Iowa City safe to walk around in at night?
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Me neither. Sometimes I really doubt if I really submitted the application. Anybody got updates from the department?
I still haven't heard anything. Frankly, even if I were given an offer it would have to be great to consider it over what else I have going on, but tomorrow is April 15th and I know nobody who has heard from them about rejections or acceptances.
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So do you think it is wise or not to say that I will be attneding an offer from University of XXXXX ? Especially if the PI's know each other (which I am sure they do to some extent), and within a year they could just google my name and see where I am at via linked in or graduate program page?
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You probably will tick them off and they probably won't stay in touch with you. You will have to rebuild the bridge via productive research output and conference attendance. Just inform them that you have accepted an offer elsewhere but you really appreciate the opportunity as you have a profound respect for them yada yada yada. There's really no sense in anything too sentimental. It's pretty normal to reject offers and speaks well of you that you would bother to forge relationships with potential supervisors before making a decision. It just is what it is. Did you at least try to get more money out of the school by informing them of your competing offer?
No, I didn't because they were pretty clear about their funding situation when I've spoke and visited.
I was wondering whether or not you should mention the school where you are going to to kind of keep them informed of your progress or not? I initally felt this was a bad idea but saw some others of you had done it so I was just wondering your take on that?
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I am going to come to the crushing time when I need to reject an offer from a school that has great faculty and and excellent resources, including some faculty who I've gotten to know and have been quite well. The issue is largely financial and based on quality of life in respective cities. Furthermore, I would not want to severe ties with the faculty or leave a bad taste in their mouth because after all they are very much relevant to my field and it is possibly we will cross paths later down the line.
What is the best way to express my sincerest gratitude for their time and efforts with me, but that I am respectfully declining an offer, and the decision was none at all personal nor do I doubt their capabilities as a program. It's just an offer has come up that I cannot refuse and it would absolutely be foolish to turn it down. Again, since this field is somewhat small, it is plausible that I may come across these faculty in the future and do not want to come off poorly nor burn any bridges.
Does anyone have any advice?
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I am curious what the situation is for 2013, because I have yet to hear anything from them at all.
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Sociology, I just messaged you!
Also if anyone else cares to chime in, I have a few questions from a prospective student:
1.How is traffic in Knoxville? Is it as bad as people say it is? I am from the Northeast where aggressive driving, trafficking congestion, and poorly designed roads and towns are the norm. Would really like to be out of this environment for grad school.
2.Where would be a safe, convenient location to campus with a vehicle, and decent place be to live, with like minded grad students. The eternal frat party "on campus" does not seem like a productive living environment and is one I would highly like to avoid.
3.Are there any dangerous areas in Knoxville that should be absolutely be avoided?
Thanks all!
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I am a Social Science PhD student and have been accepted to two schools and need to decide. I have a Skype meeting with a professor of interest on Thursday and have visited the other school. I am really unsure of which school would be a better fit as they are both better fits for different approaches to my project. The funding situation is the same in both schools so that really isn't an issue at this point. I am just really unsure of which would be better which is why I have set up a Skype meeting.
I have been looking at what past students have done, how long to completion, funding for fieldwork, etc. What else should I be trying to focus on with this meeting that might help me get a better idea of this school and the program that may help me decide?
Thanks all!
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Does anyone have any idea what's goin on with Pittsburgh? I haven't seen any acceptance or rejections from anywhere'.
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I am debating whether I should contact my POI, the grad director, or just the general department email in reference to my application status? Any advice or suggestions?
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NBC- I disagree. Advisers mean everything. I know this from experience. And yes for my specialty my adviser literally wrote the book on it so I'm learning from the best in my field with many connections. And those connections are already paying off for me.
Do you think an adviser with more connections in your area of specialization is essentially better than a prestigious ranked degree with an adviser that isn't as familiar with such an area?
Submit CV instead of resume?
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I would say it was definitely a good idea. Whenever they ask for something you want to be as attentive as possible and provide exactly what they want. Be it in academia or elsewhere.