2020 Applicants

[MichelleObama]

3 hours ago, karamazov said:

Now that we've had a minute to process our decisions, anyone else getting hit with that good ole' impostor syndrome? 

Lil bit! Accidentally devoting way more of my energy into trying to predict what will happen in the fall ?

[cruel optimism]

7 hours ago, karamazov said:

Now that we've had a minute to process our decisions, anyone else getting hit with that good ole' impostor syndrome? 

3 hours ago, MichelleObama said:

Lil bit! Accidentally devoting way more of my energy into trying to predict what will happen in the fall ?

i'm caught somewhere between the two — between feeling like i should be reading/writing more to catch up with everyone else and thinking that i'm way behind in preparing for a future-relocation-that-might-not-happen (not this year anyway). i just wish the latter could be settled as quickly as possible, so i can focus on the former instead. but i doubt that's happening any time soon.

[WanYesOnly]

9 hours ago, karamazov said:

Now that we've had a minute to process our decisions, anyone else getting hit with that good ole' impostor syndrome? 

Yup, that plus I'm constantly anxious that I'll wake up one day and get an email revoking my admission due to budget cuts. The department chair had assured me a few weeks ago that they wouldn't do that to anybody yet I'm still so worried. I don't want to defer, I'm nearly in my 30s so the thought of waiting another year for me is depressing. Damn it, and I thought waiting for an admissions decision was the hard part ?

[onerepublic96]

3 hours ago, WanYesOnly said:

Yup, that plus I'm constantly anxious that I'll wake up one day and get an email revoking my admission due to budget cuts. The department chair had assured me a few weeks ago that they wouldn't do that to anybody yet I'm still so worried. I don't want to defer, I'm nearly in my 30s so the thought of waiting another year for me is depressing. Damn it, and I thought waiting for an admissions decision was the hard part ?

I feel this! Every few days I keep wanting to clean out my PhD docs folder because all those SOP and WS drafts and other clutter are taking up unnecessary space, but I just can’t bring myself to do it because a small paranoid voice in my head whispers ‘are you suuure? what if admissions get revoked, though? what if funding gets cut? you never know what can happennnnn....ssss’. ?

[killerbunny]

14 hours ago, karamazov said:

Now that we've had a minute to process our decisions, anyone else getting hit with that good ole' impostor syndrome? 

Imposter syndrome is real. Remember your programs want you to succeed and are (literally) invested in your doing well. In a way, the adcomm are able to see better than you that you are no imposter. They waded through all those applications of stellar candidates and said "yes" to you, and they likely have the experience of previous cycles to make solid predictions about who will do well in their program. Between their expertise and self-doubt, go with the former. And ultimately, now especially, grad programs need you more than you need them. One other general tidbit I have is don't let imposter syndrome cause you to clam up from fear of looking unknowledgeable. I've seen this in my masters' program: people who I know are capable but too timid to talk in seminars; it's such a lost opportunity because this is the time to ask a million questions so you and your instructors can figure out the gaps in your knowledge. And chances are other graduates have the same questions as you and will be grateful someone has the guts to speak up. 

[snorkles]

1 hour ago, killerbunny said:

Imposter syndrome is real. Remember your programs want you to succeed and are (literally) invested in your doing well. In a way, the adcomm are able to see better than you that you are no imposter. They waded through all those applications of stellar candidates and said "yes" to you, and they likely have the experience of previous cycles to make solid predictions about who will do well in their program. Between their expertise and self-doubt, go with the former. And ultimately, now especially, grad programs need you more than you need them. One other general tidbit I have is don't let imposter syndrome cause you to clam up from fear of looking unknowledgeable. I've seen this in my masters' program: people who I know are capable but too timid to talk in seminars; it's such a lost opportunity because this is the time to ask a million questions so you and your instructors can figure out the gaps in your knowledge. And chances are other graduates have the same questions as you and will be grateful someone has the guts to speak up. 

I like this a lot. I had something longer written out in response, but I decided it was a bit of a bummer. In short, I've learned in my first year the truism that one should not compare oneself to one's peers is crucial for one's mental health in graduate school. Setting your own metrics for success is important, especially for those coming from nontraditional backgrounds. 

 

 

 

[MarsMenagerie]

On 4/16/2020 at 12:04 PM, riverbender said:

Hey! A lurker and a 2021 PhD applicant here. Would anyone be willing to send me an example statement of purpose as I start to work on materials this summer? I would be forever grateful!

I would be willing to send you a copy of mine and answer any questions that you have. Just let me know!

[merry night wanderer]

I'm also happy to send my SoP to anyone who thinks they'd find it useful.

[Hard times!]

Hi! Long time lurker. Thanks so much for this offer. As a/an (potential) applicant from the Global South, I already feel like I am going to the dogs. The whole process seems so gruelling. Any help from any quarter would be lovely! Also, it would be really helpful to get hold of a paper (of course published) or even a skeleton of one that has gotten anyone into grad school. Though I am mostly interested in visual cultures, films, comics studies, affect theory, and a bit of postcolonial/decolonial theory, any written sample would be great! Thanks!

[haleydanielle]

On 5/2/2020 at 1:22 PM, merry night wanderer said:

I'm also happy to send my SoP to anyone who thinks they'd find it useful.

That would be so useful! I'm really worried about my SoP because there are so many components. I feel particularly weird about the ratio of discussing my background to future goals. I was a pretty terrible student throughout my undergraduate years, but really stepped up in my master's program so it's hard for me not to default to explain all of that away. I think seeing a successful would be so helpful! Thank you for offering!

[onerepublic96]

I just got an email from a professor who was on the adcom at my program, reaching out... just because? This isn’t someone I mentioned as a POI but it seems they just wanted to reach out as a friendly contact of sorts in the program, and I’m a bit confused as to how to respond to this... any tips? 

[MichelleObama]

15 hours ago, onerepublic96 said:

I just got an email from a professor who was on the adcom at my program, reaching out... just because? This isn’t someone I mentioned as a POI but it seems they just wanted to reach out as a friendly contact of sorts in the program, and I’m a bit confused as to how to respond to this... any tips? 

Follow the protocol you would normally follow for responding to any professional email! You know how to do this, it's just a little/lotta bit more intimidating. You're already in the program, someone in your department wanted to say hi and welcome you...very cool. Be coooool, baby. 

[cassidyaxx]

I'm not sure if people are still visiting this thread now and then, but if those who were willing to share SOP's would be also willing to forward them to me as well, that would be amazing! I am starting my applications for the fall in the coming weeks, and the SOP's for each school are what I struggle with the most. Thank you!!

[cruel optimism]

as fall semester approaches and everyone begins to plan for their relocation, are any international students still stuck in a limbo and considering a deferment like myself? if so, how are you managing things? (i'm feeling rather stressed at the moment, being pressed to make concrete decisions about visa applications/accommodation/etc with everything still up in the air.) 

[WanYesOnly]

On 6/1/2020 at 6:43 PM, cruel optimism said:

as fall semester approaches and everyone begins to plan for their relocation, are any international students still stuck in a limbo and considering a deferment like myself? if so, how are you managing things? (i'm feeling rather stressed at the moment, being pressed to make concrete decisions about visa applications/accommodation/etc with everything still up in the air.) 

This is rather late, but I'm thinking of starting remotely since things are still bad and international travel is risky imo. However, my school won't be paying the stipends which makes things hard for me so I might reconsider and defer to Spring '21. 

[cruel optimism]

7 hours ago, WanYesOnly said:

This is rather late, but I'm thinking of starting remotely since things are still bad and international travel is risky imo. However, my school won't be paying the stipends which makes things hard for me so I might reconsider and defer to Spring '21. 

These are the options that my school's offering too — remote learning with no stipend, or a deferral until Spring/Fall '21 based on what my program sees fit. I'm gravitating towards the latter seeing as I'm not particularly keen on the online format (not to mention that the 12 hour time difference between my country and Durham entails that I'll have to take classes late into the night), but should I take up that option, I'd also be slightly dismayed about having to postpone my studies. I don't suppose there's a good way out of our current situation though, given the panoply of dilemmas that everyone's facing now. I suppose we'll just have to make the best of our circumstances now. ? 

[WanYesOnly]

4 hours ago, cruel optimism said:

These are the options that my school's offering too — remote learning with no stipend, or a deferral until Spring/Fall '21 based on what my program sees fit. I'm gravitating towards the latter seeing as I'm not particularly keen on the online format (not to mention that the 12 hour time difference between my country and Durham entails that I'll have to take classes late into the night), but should I take up that option, I'd also be slightly dismayed about having to postpone my studies. I don't suppose there's a good way out of our current situation though, given the panoply of dilemmas that everyone's facing now. I suppose we'll just have to make the best of our circumstances now. ? 

Yeah, things are so disheartening. I was excited to at least start remotely since I'm not happy about having to defer, but now I'm just learning about other fees I might have to pay in order to start learning remotely and deferring to Spring '21 looks like my best option. Converting those unmentioned fees to my country's currency (not South Korea though) is a lot of money, can't afford it. Certainly not in these times.  I have a time difference of 8 hours which isn't as bad as yours. This sucks! ?

[cruel optimism]

On 7/2/2020 at 4:45 AM, WanYesOnly said:

Yeah, things are so disheartening. I was excited to at least start remotely since I'm not happy about having to defer, but now I'm just learning about other fees I might have to pay in order to start learning remotely and deferring to Spring '21 looks like my best option. Converting those unmentioned fees to my country's currency (not South Korea though) is a lot of money, can't afford it. Certainly not in these times.  I have a time difference of 8 hours which isn't as bad as yours. This sucks! ?

Yikes. I haven't even asked about the additional fees, since I don't think I'd like to start my program remotely. I'll have to clarify if a semester-long deferral's still possible though, because I might've received conflicting messages from my program and my school. (There are so many updates and changes to policies that it's so hard to keep up!! ?) 
Anyway, solidarity to all other international students currently facing the same dilemmas. We'll get through this... hopefully unscathed.  ✊?