Fall 2012 Applicant Chit Chat

[CageFree]

I'm a coward. I deleted the bookmark to UW-M's site because I am positive I was rejected. I just don't want to see it.. three in a row.

[TMP]

Oh my god. I just cracked my personal record for my 20 mile training run...finished 7 minutes faster than what i should be finishing. I sure hope that I'll still have energy for my marathon in a month if I keep using it up because I've been so excited! (Not to mention I've lost some weight...haha).

Re: Submitting an article to a journal. Only the top journals. No less than that. As Sparky says, make sure it's in a place where you will still be proud of it when you go on the job market years from now. I considered submitting my airtcle to a mid-tier journal but something happened and it wasn't considered. Then I decided that if my professors from a Top 10 program thought my article deserved to be in a top journal in my subfield, then, dammit, so be it. I used it as my writing sample this year as it was already "revised and resubmitted." To be in a journal with my (more, more senior) colleagues would be a huge privilege. Think really hard when you choose to try and publish. I do think that the process of publishing is more brutal than the PhD admissions. I'm not kidding.

Remember, people still get in without publications or attended conferences. It's a luck of the draw. I swear that this was just a really unlucky year with Indiana but very lucky with UW-M and OSU with my POIs in the right position.

As for Skype interviews, they are great!! I did them with one of my POIs who accepted me and I think just having that face-to-face interaction is just as good as meeting in person. You can see the person's facial emotions and see his/her immediate reactions. For psycholocail reasons, Skype interviews can certainly replace in-person meetings as some POIs can actually develop emotional connections with their prospective students and vice-versa. They do them for the job market as they're just as effective (not only because they save money). If you're offered one and you just can't make it to NYC, take it! (Really, there's that "classic" look that they have on their face when they realize that they really do want you)

[StrangeLight]

i wrote a super-longwinded post about the best times to publish this or that and realized that it's all information you guys don't need yet. but i will third (fourth?) the recommendation to only publish in the best journals in your subfield and to make sure (as much as it is possible at this stage in your career) that the questions you're asking and the arguments you're making are true reflections of your long-term trajectory as a scholar.

more than once i've seen job candidates' suitability questioned based on an early article that wasn't very good (but that the adcom managed to track down on JSTOR). in those instances, not publishing it at all would've been better than putting out a weak piece of work that made professors question the skill and scope of the researcher.

the rule of thumb for me is, don't consider publishing it unless research-oriented professors tell you that you should. don't try to publish it just because you worked on it a long time, or because other people you know published their MAs, or because your super-nice professor that hasn't read a journal in 2 decades said it was great. ask someone who currently publishes work in your field to read the piece and only move forward with journal submissions if they say you should.

[Grimm101]

TMP: Just to get things straight. Are you saying that you made it into OSU and UW-M on the connections of your advisors? I guess it really is who you know!!! Lesson learned for next year's batch of applications. Congrats on your admits. Congrats to everyone else who received admits as well!

Please remember, there are those of us who haven't received good news or any news at all. So, instead of being preachy, try to be sympathetic. Many of you have done this more than once and I think that the experience of being turned down so many times should create a humbling affect, no? I'm not trying to be disagreeable, but in many instances I feel like some of those with multiple acceptances are literally trying to rub it in. Not cool.

[crazedandinfused]

Well, I think that there is definitely pride - much of it well-earned and eminently deserved. This has been a grueling process which has taken up a lot of time for many people and they are understandably euphoric seeing their toil pay off. I don't think that there is any intentional "rubbing it in," people just want to celebrate and be recognized.

Obviously, it stings for those of us who are still on the edge of our seats and seeing people savor their victories could strike us as an affront. But chill, let them have their moment in the sun. We will all be there, either this year or the next. My $.02.....

Now, can I please get a decision????

Edited February 11, 2012 by crazedandinfused

[Grimm101]

Um....the first 2-3 times expressing joy over an acceptance is completely understandable. I've done my share of congratulating and supporting on this forum. I might not be a "regular," but I have participated. What I do think is that after a while, the pride turns into a severe case of cockiness. My only beef is that this doesn't drive other forum participants away. Also, be humble. You never know what could happen to your acceptance or funding. Be thankful you have this opportunity. I know I would be extremely joyful, but a bit tight lipped as you never know who checks these forums.

[Sparky]

TMP: Just to get things straight. Are you saying that you made it into OSU and UW-M on the connections of your advisors? I guess it really is who you know!!!

No. The post points out that it is helpful to make connections with future [potential] advisors. Certainly it can be useful if you have well-connected profs at your MA or BA school, but that was not the issue here. TMP earned those admissions with a badass SOP, a killer writing sample, and FAR more guts and perseverance than I possess.

As far as "seeming to gloat" goes...Perhaps those of you with multiple acceptances could employ the Decisions, Decisions board? Maybe start a 'history' thread there if you want collective advice and angst...I don't know, just a thought.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Sparky

[virmundi]

I myself have had very good fortune this year, but I like to emphasize the patient support of my wife and son, the stellar support of my advisor and committee members, and the luck that I happened to apply at a time when, and to schools where, I have been well-received. I've worked incredibly hard to get this point, but I couldn't have done it alone and I, personally, will save all of my self-promotion for grant proposals and the like. I'm personally not comfortable with the "self-made man" narrative that is so prevalent in our society. If I were to subscribe to it, I would be ignoring the importance of those who helped me to get to where I am now.

[virmundi]

As far as "seeming to gloat" goes...Perhaps those of you with multiple acceptances could employ the Decisions, Decisions board? Maybe start a 'history' thread there if you want collective advice and angst...I don't know, just a thought.

This seems like a great idea.

[telemaque]

This seems like a great idea.

Especially now that we've reached 2600+ replies...

[Simple Twist of Fate]

To be honest, I've not noticed any gloating. Those who have shared their good fortune have always seemed to stop short of gloating. That's just my sense, though, as one who has yet to hear any positive news, and is therefore fairly sensitive right now. I know that if I receive an acceptance (or even a wait-list) I won't hesitate to share it here.

[twarod]

Did other Emory applicants receive the FinAid email? I wish schools would coordinate between admissions and FinAid better so their applicants wouldn't have heart attacks finding that school's email address in their inboxes.

I also received the e-mail. I'd rather not receive an e-mail like that haha.

[telemaque]

Yeah...to be honest, I think when most of us have shared news of acceptances, it's been to give everyone else on the board an idea of what kind of timetable these schools are operating on. Personally, I find it helpful to know who's been getting acceptances/waitlists/etc from where just so I know what I should be expecting when I check my inbox

But it's only February 11!! If you look at the results board from last year (and the years before that), most acceptances hadn't happened yet at this point (I seem to recall lots of acceptances on February 17-18ish...obviously now I'm showing how neurotic I've been about searching through the results)! There's a ton of time for everyone here to get acceptances to great programs.

And in the meantime, one of my friends got me two pounds of fudge for my birthday and I've been eating it all day. It solves all problems, I promise. So that's my suggestion

[oseirus]

i wrote a super-longwinded post about the best times to publish this or that and realized that it's all information you guys don't need yet. but i will third (fourth?) the recommendation to only publish in the best journals in your subfield and to make sure (as much as it is possible at this stage in your career) that the questions you're asking and the arguments you're making are true reflections of your long-term trajectory as a scholar.

more than once i've seen job candidates' suitability questioned based on an early article that wasn't very good (but that the adcom managed to track down on JSTOR). in those instances, not publishing it at all would've been better than putting out a weak piece of work that made professors question the skill and scope of the researcher.

the rule of thumb for me is, don't consider publishing it unless research-oriented professors tell you that you should. don't try to publish it just because you worked on it a long time, or because other people you know published their MAs, or because your super-nice professor that hasn't read a journal in 2 decades said it was great. ask someone who currently publishes work in your field to read the piece and only move forward with journal submissions if they say you should.

I think quite honestly that at this stage what ever I decide to do, I will probably hold off on publication but rather pass it amongst advisors and peers to get feedback on. Then look to maybe incorporate it into a later piece of work. Also may I get a copy of the long post you wrote or is it lost to the winds of history?

[oseirus]

To be honest, I've not noticed any gloating. Those who have shared their good fortune have always seemed to stop short of gloating. That's just my sense, though, as one who has yet to hear any positive news, and is therefore fairly sensitive right now. I know that if I receive an acceptance (or even a wait-list) I won't hesitate to share it here.

Yeah...to be honest, I think when most of us have shared news of acceptances, it's been to give everyone else on the board an idea of what kind of timetable these schools are operating on. Personally, I find it helpful to know who's been getting acceptances/waitlists/etc from where just so I know what I should be expecting when I check my inbox

But it's only February 11!! If you look at the results board from last year (and the years before that), most acceptances hadn't happened yet at this point (I seem to recall lots of acceptances on February 17-18ish...obviously now I'm showing how neurotic I've been about searching through the results)! There's a ton of time for everyone here to get acceptances to great programs.

And in the meantime, one of my friends got me two pounds of fudge for my birthday and I've been eating it all day. It solves all problems, I promise. So that's my suggestion

I think these are all signs of Tuckman's stage of group development ... kind of stuck in that weird norming stage ... nerves are a little bit more frayed ... folks are starting to get tense ... that has been the beauty of this thread ... we've come together into a collective, whereby we share our triumphs and dejections ... it is difficult to celebrate when someone else gets what we wanted but at the end of the day we can learn from those who succeed ... there's no need to start off on another thread I don't think because there is valuable knowledge to be gained from those who are accepted into a school for those who aren't accepted into that school, that they may want to know about ... for what it's worth ...

as for that fudge ... I know I shouldn't do this ... but um ... can we share? I promise I won't eat a lot ... just maybe half?

Edited February 11, 2012 by oseirus

[telemaque]

as for that fudge ... I know I shouldn't do this ... but um ... can we share? I promise I won't eat a lot ... just maybe half?

I wish! Can't. Stop. Eating. It. Ahhhhhh.

[Safferz]

To be honest, I've not noticed any gloating. Those who have shared their good fortune have always seemed to stop short of gloating. That's just my sense, though, as one who has yet to hear any positive news, and is therefore fairly sensitive right now. I know that if I receive an acceptance (or even a wait-list) I won't hesitate to share it here.

I agree, unless sharing an acceptance (and the understandable excitement in that moment) is being construed as gloating/arrogance. I think this thread is a space to share any news we receive as decisions come out, while of course being considerate of others who may be feeling down about their results or are still in that awful limbo of not hearing a word from their schools.

[oseirus]

I wish! Can't. Stop. Eating. It. Ahhhhhh.

you can stop eating it by giving it to me? I promise you I will dispatch it within minutes ... no questions asked ... no judgement passed ... you know it is the right thing to do

[A Finicky Bean]

Mmmm...fudge.

[telemaque]

you can stop eating it by giving it to me? I promise you I will dispatch it within minutes ... no questions asked ... no judgement passed ... you know it is the right thing to do

hahahaha

[Grimm101]

I myself have had very good fortune this year, but I like to emphasize the patient support of my wife and son, the stellar support of my advisor and committee members, and the luck that I happened to apply at a time when, and to schools where, I have been well-received. I've worked incredibly hard to get this point, but I couldn't have done it alone and I, personally, will save all of my self-promotion for grant proposals and the like. I'm personally not comfortable with the "self-made man" narrative that is so prevalent in our society. If I were to subscribe to it, I would be ignoring the importance of those who helped me to get to where I am now.

See. This is wonderful! This is what I was getting at in terms of remaining humble. Virmundi, you rock!!! As for the rest of the folks with acceptanes on the forum, I think it's great and I'm happy for all of you!!! However, posting about the same acceptances (to the same schools, mind you) over and over and over again, does come across as gloating.

[Sparky]

I agree, unless sharing an acceptance (and the understandable excitement in that moment) is being construed as gloating/arrogance. I think this thread is a space to share any news we receive as decisions come out, while of course being considerate of others who may be feeling down about their results or are still in that awful limbo of not hearing a word from their schools.

I think the negative reactions are to posts where people have said something that some others have interpreted as "I have X Dream School and Y Dream School, oh how ever am I going to pick, woe is me, can I have advice."

My suggestion is that everyone's emotions are on edge (whether a good edge or a bad edge) and people are going to misread all sorts of stuff through no one's fault but human emotional excitability--and that angsting about making decisions is a good use of the Decisions, Decisions forum.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Sparky

[always sunny]

I've just received an email from a POI at UC Davis and I'm at a loss for how to respond (try not to judge a newbie too harshly- virtually everything I understand about this process comes from things I've read on Gradcafe). She said my application impressed, that I seem like a very good fit for the department, and to call her if I had questions, but the only question that comes to mind is... does this mean I'm getting accepted? Is there official paperwork that she assumes I've already received but haven't, or is the phone call she's inviting an unofficial interview that I will be judged on? Sorry if this is a silly question, but I've never done this before and don't know what it all means.

[CageFree]

People on here have been so incredibly supportive that I can't help but be thrilled for them.. especially those who're doing this for the second or third time and are finding success. Personally, I am very happy that they have been so successful this year and, in the case of people in my own field, hope to one day come across them. I have not seen anyone "gloating," simply being very happy to be successful, and I don't think it's fair to tell those people to go to "another thread." I WANT to hear their good news, for what it's worth.

[CageFree]

I've just received an email from a POI at UC Davis and I'm at a loss for how to respond (try not to judge a newbie too harshly- virtually everything I understand about this process comes from things I've read on Gradcafe). She said my application impressed, that I seem like a very good fit for the department, and to call her if I had questions, but the only question that comes to mind is... does this mean I'm getting accepted? Is there official paperwork that she assumes I've already received but haven't, or is the phone call she's inviting an unofficial interview that I will be judged on? Sorry if this is a silly question, but I've never done this before and don't know what it all means.

I'm sending you a PM.