Decisions

[Sigaba]

10 hours ago, aaaddd said:

What would be the dress code for campus visit?

 

10 hours ago, TMP said:

Dressy/business casual. No ties/sports jackets are necessary. Just don't be a slob and do wear comfortable shoes as you'll be walking a bit.

I recommend layers and a light backpack / tote bag into which you can put layers as you shed them to dump heat. (And to store securely your cell phone so that people won't have the experience of seeing you swiping left while they're trying to talk you into accepting the admissions offer.)

I also recommend cash. At least, enough to buy coffee, some mints, hand sanitizer, and parking.

Some writing tools to take some notes the old fashion way (analog).

To belabor the point. When you go on the visit, please consider all the advantages of leaving your phone in the trunk of your car or in airplane mode on your person. No one will ever think less of you for being an attentive listener. (Unless you're my boss or an ex, but I'm not bitter.)

[TMP]

To piggyback @Sigaba's usual wise advice, I completely agree with the phone.  While we all can't stop checking our phones every two minutes or want to hide our nervousness behind the phone, having it out and being on it do send very strong signals to others.  We had an incoming grad student who literally couldn't keep her hands off her phone during visiting weekend andI tell you, no one bothered to interact with her from there on, even though she came in the fall.  My thought was, "So rude. Does she even care about being part of the program and getting to know us?"

[aaaddd]

If the dinner for the admitted students is held at a prof's house, do we need to bring any gift...?

[dr. t]

23 minutes ago, aaaddd said:

If the dinner for the admitted students is held at a prof's house, do we need to bring any gift...?

Absolutely not under any circumstances.

[norellehannah]

This has all been really helpful!

 

I have a question regarding cohort size, specifically if any of you are early modernists (currently attending or otherwise!). What are your thoughts on being one of only a few early modernists in a program (but possibly getting more attention, time, or care from an advisor or department) versus being part of a more robust/larger early modern program (but possibly being in a more competitive environment)? I’ve been hearing a lot of conflicting advice, so would love to hear what you all think. 

[dr. t]

First, smaller cohorts does not mean more attention. A more attentive adviser means more attention. But you can also be the change you want to see in the world. There was not much of a vertical cohort among the medievalists at my school when I showed up; there is now, but it took a lot of work.

[OHSP]

1 hour ago, norellehannah said:

This has all been really helpful!

I have a question regarding cohort size, specifically if any of you are early modernists (currently attending or otherwise!). What are your thoughts on being one of only a few early modernists in a program (but possibly getting more attention, time, or care from an advisor or department) versus being part of a more robust/larger early modern program (but possibly being in a more competitive environment)? I’ve been hearing a lot of conflicting advice, so would love to hear what you all think. 

Seconding @telkanuru. You also can't predict the relationship you'll have with your cohort, no matter its size. I get on well with my cohort but, tbh, rarely see them. Most of the people I consider friends and colleagues (and the people who are doing work that's most closely aligned with my own) are in other cohorts and/or departments. Cohorts also tend to part ways for research, which comes sooner than you realize, and then if you're still hanging about you'll need more of those "vertical" relationships to draw on anyway. 

Edited February 26, 2020 by OHSP

[gsc]

1 hour ago, norellehannah said:

This has all been really helpful!

 

I have a question regarding cohort size, specifically if any of you are early modernists (currently attending or otherwise!). What are your thoughts on being one of only a few early modernists in a program (but possibly getting more attention, time, or care from an advisor or department) versus being part of a more robust/larger early modern program (but possibly being in a more competitive environment)? I’ve been hearing a lot of conflicting advice, so would love to hear what you all think. 

The pros are pretty clear, I think— more classes in your area (which means fewer independent studies), more events/speakers/workshops relevant to your interests, more professors who aren't your advisor to run ideas by, expanded departmental/professional networks (e.g., former students of your advisor or former students of your dissertation committee members; harder to draw on this if your advisor only takes 1 student once every 5 years).

On competition: a larger program with lots of students in your field will force you to keep moving. But academic careers are built on hustle and forward motion, and there are useful lessons to be learned therein. 

20 minutes ago, telkanuru said:

First, smaller cohorts does not mean more attention. A more attentive adviser means more attention. 

100%. If your advisor really isn't hands-on and really want to be involved with his students, it won't matter how many students he has or doesn't. 

And even with an attentive, hands-on advisor, there's still a lot of work you have to do on your own.

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by gsc

[norellehannah]

Thanks everyone! I think what you’re all saying resonates with the senses I’m getting from these different programs but it’s really helpful to see it all laid out like you have here. Thank you thank you!!

[psstein]

7 hours ago, telkanuru said:

There was not much of a vertical cohort among the medievalists at my school when I showed up; there is now, but it took a lot of work.

The entirety of the medieval/early modern history of science in my program was localized in one TA office, largely because the other student and I TAed the same two courses and became friends in the process. To the second half of your comment, if you build a critical mass of students in one area and organize well, the faculty/department is going to have to react to you. It's tough to justify not having a medieval historian of science when you have 4+ students working in topics around that area.

8 hours ago, norellehannah said:

This has all been really helpful!

 

I have a question regarding cohort size, specifically if any of you are early modernists (currently attending or otherwise!). What are your thoughts on being one of only a few early modernists in a program (but possibly getting more attention, time, or care from an advisor or department) versus being part of a more robust/larger early modern program (but possibly being in a more competitive environment)? I’ve been hearing a lot of conflicting advice, so would love to hear what you all think. 

As usual, I'm a bit late to the game, but I'll echo the remarks that a smaller cohort doesn't mean more attention. It's really advisor dependent. From what I know of Hopkins HoS, they're really attentive to their students. I don't know if that's true for HoM, too, but I suspect it is.

[TMP]

9 hours ago, norellehannah said:

This has all been really helpful!

 

I have a question regarding cohort size, specifically if any of you are early modernists (currently attending or otherwise!). What are your thoughts on being one of only a few early modernists in a program (but possibly getting more attention, time, or care from an advisor or department) versus being part of a more robust/larger early modern program (but possibly being in a more competitive environment)? I’ve been hearing a lot of conflicting advice, so would love to hear what you all think. 

Agreed with everyone above. Cohort sizes won't matter too much on the long run. The composition of cohorts' interests and the professors' research agenda usually drive course offerings at a given semester.  If you are going to be the only early modernist, definitely expect to do a lot of learning on your own (even if your adviser is very hands on).  I speak as someone with a field that doesn't offer classes at all and my adviser will do independent study only one semester per year per student/advisee. You can make up for this "isolation" by taking classes in medieval/early modern literature over in the English department or/and find workshops and conferences to connect with other grad students. I studied for my exams with another grad student at a different university in this field as we had a number of books in common and it worked out quite nicely.