Once you get accepted for Fall 2019 what will you do until the August?

[crackademik]

4 minutes ago, historygeek said:

Don't worry, I panicked and added a tenth masters program about a week before their priority funding deadline...

Glad I'm not the only one! Now I just have to decide if I'm going to be pathetic enough to apply to the same schools I applied to for PhDs after they reject me. Most schools I applied to will probably send out decision letters before their Master's deadlines. 

[John Stamos]

2 hours ago, crackademik said:

I highly doubt I'll get accepted anywhere, but if I do, then I'll quit my job in may and do all the travelling I've missed out on from working full time and finishing my masters degree. I have a mutual friend with a graduate admissions committee member at a university who pretty much told me my SOP sucked and no one would take me because of it. It sucks that this person waited until after I submitted all of my apps to tell me this. I pretty much want to go jump off a cliff right now. 

PM me yourSOP. I've already been told by potential advisers that mine is really good. I can read it and give your actual feedback if you like. 

Edited January 30, 2019 by John Stamos

[Ternwild]

4 minutes ago, crackademik said:

Glad I'm not the only one! Now I just have to decide if I'm going to be pathetic enough to apply to the same schools I applied to for PhDs after they reject me. Most schools I applied to will probably send out decision letters before their Master's deadlines. 

Don't make the same mistake I've made.  Don't apply to the same schools twice.  Unless you're making a huge difference in your application, don't bother, you'll get rejected again.  You know they specifically look at some and go "Oh this guy?  He got rejected last time so I'm not gonna bother with it this time."  I've been rejected so many times from the same schools.

Though, it's smart to panic apply to grad schools whose app deadlines haven't finished.  I'm gonna do that too with University of Missouri. =/

[John Stamos]

Well I'm undecided on what to do from April till August. I'm pretty confident I will be accepted to at least 3 programs so I can just work for 5 months and bank some money or quit and do some travelling. Why can't phd programs just start in April! 

Edited January 30, 2019 by John Stamos

[Ternwild]

4 minutes ago, John Stamos said:

PM me yourSOP. I've already been told by potential advisers that mine is really good. I can read it and give your actual feedback if you like. 

Though this is pretty generous, if I were you @crackademik, I'd be cautious sending people my SOP since they are often very very revealing, esp to randos on the internet--no offense. 

[Ternwild]

Just now, John Stamos said:

Well I'm undecided on what to do from April till August. I'm pretty confident I will be accepted to at least 3 programs so I can just work for 5 months and bank some money or wuit and do some travelling. Why can't phd programs just start in April! 

They can.  Most grad schools have fellowships you can apply for to start your research in the summer before.

[crackademik]

1 minute ago, Ternwild said:

Though this is pretty generous, if I were you @crackademik, I'd be cautious sending people my SOP since they are often very very revealing, esp to randos on the internet--no offense. 

This is true, but to be fair I just said I was about to go jump off a cliff so I'm not sure what I have to lose ?

[crackademik]

7 minutes ago, Ternwild said:

Don't make the same mistake I've made.  Don't apply to the same schools twice.  Unless you're making a huge difference in your application, don't bother, you'll get rejected again.  You know they specifically look at some and go "Oh this guy?  He got rejected last time so I'm not gonna bother with it this time."  I've been rejected so many times from the same schools.

Though, it's smart to panic apply to grad schools whose app deadlines haven't finished.  I'm gonna do that too with University of Missouri. =/

See this is why I asked lol. Thanks for saving me money and shame

[Ternwild]

5 minutes ago, crackademik said:

This is true, but to be fair I just said I was about to go jump off a cliff so I'm not sure what I have to lose ?

Ha.  Well, I guess it's a good thing there aren't any major cliffs in DC. lol  I suggest PM'ing some of the English Lit PhD students/candidates.

As for saving your money, I've already wasted over 5k in app fees over the last few years, so I already wasted it for you. You're welcome. lol

[klavierstucke]

i would like to get a part time job maybe

[crackademik]

9 minutes ago, Ternwild said:

Ha.  Well, I guess it's a good thing there aren't any major cliffs in DC. lol  I suggest PM'ing some of the English Lit PhD students/candidates.

As for saving your money, I've already wasted over 5k in app fees over the last few years, so I already wasted it for you. You're welcome. lol

And here I thought my 1k in apps and fees was heinous. Any other pro tips I should know sensei? 

[Ternwild]

2 minutes ago, crackademik said:

And here I thought my 1k in apps and fees was heinous. Any other pro tips I should know sensei? 

Ha.  Yeah, don't get caught by your boss while posting on here during work. xD

That said, I can't really teach anyone anything.  The one thing that I seem to be good at is showing people how to get rejected from PhD programmes.

[brightorangesocks]

20 hours ago, magnetite said:

I'm working right now, too, and have also been thinking about this. The project I'm working on would be released about the time classes would start.

Should I get accepted to a grad school, I've considered talking with my boss to see if he would want me to continue working. If I left right away, it could take months to find a replacement, based upon how long it's taken in the past. I don't think I could leave the team in such a bad spot.

On the other hand, I definitely don't think I would want to stay working there until classes started. The lease on my apartment expires in April, so I've thought about extending it a month. I'd then put all of my stuff in storage and take a month or two to travel through Europe. There are so many places I haven't been and it'd be such a great opportunity to go experience them before diving into a graduate program.

Of course, actually getting accepted is the big requirement here. 

I totally understand the feeling.  I feel kind of awful that I'll be leaving my team down a person, but my department is mid-restructure so I'm afraid if I give notice too early I'll be out of a job entirely... which isn't an option for me right now.  And regardless of when I give notice I have no idea if or when they'll be allowed to replace me, let alone actually find a candidate.

I did take about 2 months between my undergrad and starting this job, and as long as you can make it work logistically and financially I highly recommend it.  It's a great way to clear your head and relax before starting the next big thing.  With what you've suggested you could give notice once you have an acceptance (hopefully soon!) with an end date of late spring/early summer, and give your boss plenty of time to find someone.  You might even be able to help train the new person, which can be a huge help to your team.

[brightorangesocks]

54 minutes ago, Ternwild said:

They can.  Most grad schools have fellowships you can apply for to start your research in the summer before.

Oh my god thank you for sharing this.  I had no idea, and that would be just about the greatest thing ever, aside from getting in to the program in the first place!

[TheHoff]

1 hour ago, Ternwild said:

Don't make the same mistake I've made.  Don't apply to the same schools twice.  Unless you're making a huge difference in your application, don't bother, you'll get rejected again.  You know they specifically look at some and go "Oh this guy?  He got rejected last time so I'm not gonna bother with it this time."  I've been rejected so many times from the same schools.

Though, it's smart to panic apply to grad schools whose app deadlines haven't finished.  I'm gonna do that too with University of Missouri. =/

Even though I think this is good advice, I'm applying to UCSB for the 3rd time this year. First time I got rejected, second time accepted without funding, let's see what happens this year.

But I never applied again to the other programs who rejected me in the past 2 cycles.

 

If I manage to get accepted somewhere, I would like to work to save some money to pay for the moving expenses, plane tickets, maybe buy an old grocery-getter car and things like that. Even though a job as an engineer here wouldn't pay me much more than $1k/month

[magnetite]

5 hours ago, brightorangesocks said:

I totally understand the feeling.  I feel kind of awful that I'll be leaving my team down a person, but my department is mid-restructure so I'm afraid if I give notice too early I'll be out of a job entirely... which isn't an option for me right now.  And regardless of when I give notice I have no idea if or when they'll be allowed to replace me, let alone actually find a candidate.

I did take about 2 months between my undergrad and starting this job, and as long as you can make it work logistically and financially I highly recommend it.  It's a great way to clear your head and relax before starting the next big thing.  With what you've suggested you could give notice once you have an acceptance (hopefully soon!) with an end date of late spring/early summer, and give your boss plenty of time to find someone.  You might even be able to help train the new person, which can be a huge help to your team.

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't want to let my boss know unless I was in a good position for him to just terminate me on the spot. But at the same time, I definitely would want to give more than just two weeks notice. A guy on my team left for grad school back in August about a week and a half before the semester started. That terribly inconvenienced us, and we've just recently gotten back to normal. 

[magnetite]

5 hours ago, crackademik said:

See this is why I asked lol. Thanks for saving me money and shame

I don't know if that's always going to be the case, though. My first cycle of applications, I was rejected from a few schools fairly quickly. But I didn't hear anything at all from the others until April 15th. 

I think it's certainly possible that if a few of the initial acceptances at those schools had enrolled elsewhere, I could have been accepted instead of a last-minute rejection.

[brighteyes]

21 hours ago, kendalldinniene said:

I'm going to move as soon as I can.  I can get a service job somewhere pretty quickly, I'm sure.  I have to get out of Sacramento (and out of my parents' house! ?).

Hi there, Sacramento friend!

[havemybloodchild]

26 minutes ago, brighteyes said:

Hi there, Sacramento friend!

Hi! ?

[MPA_App]

8 hours ago, crackademik said:

I would definitely pay good money for that as well. I don’t really understand what they are looking for though. my ex was a physics major who was borderline illiterate  (but very talented in math) and managed to get into 3 programs his first try (with funding) with a 3.0 undergrad GPA, a 152/155/2.0 GRE, one year of research, and no pubs. I read his SOP after he submitted and it read like a generic third grade level essay. It’s honestly such a crapshoot that sometimes I feel like I’m just wasting my time. 

I'm 6+ years out of undergrad, but my uGPA is terrible. Like, 2.78 terrible. I'm currently applying for my Masters, and I only applied to two programs, but really only want to attend my top choice, and the other one will be prohibitively expensive without significant funding. I had a really awful time in my undergrad and was able to use a supplemental essay to explain that (I was assaulted in college and struggled with PTSD), and I wound up getting a tutor to help me craft my SOP and (I hope) sell myself and why the program is the perfect fit for me -- and why I'm a great fit for the program. She helped me write the supplemental essay, too, to talk about my experience in a way that reflected how I've overcome it and accomplished a great deal in my field.

I did well on the GRE (165V/162Q/5.5) and have three solid recommendations, plus a lot of very relevant work experience...but I can't move past my uGPA and am sure that I won't get in because of it. It's exhausting and disappointing to know that a terrible experience a decade ago is going to determine my academic future and that no matter how much I do, I won't be able to overcome it. This whole process and the anxiety is just draining.

Edited January 31, 2019 by MPA_App

[battermix]

10 hours ago, Moods said:

I am definitely afraid of this! I thought I was alone in feeling this, so thank you for opening up about this. Undergrad was so rough on me. Not only because it was tough, but because I was so tough on myself for trying to be perfect with my grades and getting internships and yada yada. Now with my gap year, I am learning to take time for myself and not be so hard on myself. However, getting into grad school, I know it is going to be harder than undergrad and I am afraid I am just going to go back to those bad habits, which will lead to major anxiety, panic attacks, and extreme lack of motivation. Hopefully, though, this break has been good for us and prepared us in some way (resting out brains??) for the Mount Everest that is grad school.

oh my god I relate so much!! every semester of undergrad was working my ass off and planning for the next semester and all the semester breaks. Now, I am doing nothing everyday and yet the days pass by so quickly. I can't believe I haven't done anything productive since September and it is going to be February already ? but same, grad school will be tougher and will we be able to cope with it? I guess when we have to, we will. After all, we did manage through undergrad, right? Good luck to us!

[Ternwild]

1 of 12 rejections, down.  The rest of the rejections should start pouring in soon!  Hope you all make the best out of your grad schools. 

[historygeek]

More radio silence. Hoping next week brings some good news. 

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

13 hours ago, battermix said:

oh my god I relate so much!! every semester of undergrad was working my ass off and planning for the next semester and all the semester breaks. Now, I am doing nothing everyday and yet the days pass by so quickly. I can't believe I haven't done anything productive since September and it is going to be February already ? but same, grad school will be tougher and will we be able to cope with it? I guess when we have to, we will. After all, we did manage through undergrad, right? Good luck to us!

I think it will definitely be tough getting back into the groove of work and classes and research, but my plan is to start learning new more about my research interests by reading research papers and watching YouTube videos. I’ve also started a science communication blog and Instagram blog so I can gain some connections and also learn more about the PhD experience so I can mentally prepare myself. But we honestly won’t really know until we start. But I feel like my first years of grad school would have been worse if I started right after undergrad, and it seems like it would have been the same for you. I was so unmotivated by the time I graduated, it would have been so bad to start off a new adventure that way, in my opinion. And yes, we did manage through undergrad, so we can get through grad school! Good luck to us! 

[Ternwild]