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Fall 2012 Applicant Chit Chat


goldielocks

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I just accepted my offer to Binghamton this morning! My happy mood was dampened by bitches at work though.

Still excited!

Bitches at work? Just remember the tried and true method of putting a catty/snarky/mean person in their place ... "[insert whatever color of their outfit] really isn't your color Susanne, really highlights that [insert deformity that they have] of yours"

on an unrelated note, go bearcats!

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Is it wrong that everytime I imagine 20th and 21st century bombings (think Vietnam circa 1960's), I replay this Scrubs scene in my head.

I know how horrible it is, but it makes me laugh every time, and I have little to no regrets.

Edited by Hogs of War
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Can you tell me a bit more about public history opportunities at Yale that you've heard of? I'm actually leaning toward UCLA because of public history-- they have a cluster of courses in public history, a professor who heads the Autry Museum of the American West, and really great link-ups with museums in the LA area, so I'd be able to get some seriously good experience.

As for pros and cons, I love Los Angeles, I had a wonderful time at UCLA when I visited, there's a wide array of professors I could work with (some of which are great fits for me), there are a lot of public history opportunities, and I really felt good about the department and the kind of work I could do. For Yale, the program is obviously great (and higher ranked than UCLA), they gave me a bit more money, my potential adviser is an incredible fit for my interests... but I honestly do not like New Haven, and the city I live in (and the things I would do outside of graduate school itself) is a very important factor to me.

My BA is from UCLA and I loved it. The faculty is top-notch and, in my experience, very helpful (even as an undergrad), the library system at the UC is unmatched (keep in mind you'll have access to the ENTIRE catalog for the UC, including Cal's). It IS possible to live on a meager stipend if you know where to live and are willing to commute... as bad as public transportation is in LA, UCLA is easily reachable from many places.

Downside? The department is HUGE, and depending on the field you may have to fight to get attention from your professors. You'll also have a heavy TA load because the lower division classes are gigantic... I'm talking 300 students gigantic.

Oh, and our athletics programs have been run into the ground. :angry:

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Owls,

Even if you've received a good offer from UCLA, you'll probably also want to ask lots and lots of questions about competitive fellowships that are internal to the UC system (or perhaps specific to UCLA itself). Yale has tons of fellowship grant money available for its graduate students and that money is fairly safe, given their huge endowment... considering the financial difficulties of the UC system, it might be worth ensuring that you'll have comparable access.

Your dislike of New Haven is a significant factor, obviously, but you'll also want to think longterm -- which will offer you the best opportunity as a program to position yourself for the tenure track in six-or-so years? It is, obviously, hard to imagine living somewhere for six years that you don't particularly like, but also consider whether a Ph.D. from UCLA or Yale is more likely to get you a nice TT job somewhere that you'd like to live in the years following your Ph.D. program. I don't know what the answer to this question is -- I merely offer it to you as something to add into the mix of things that you're considering if you haven't already!

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Hi all,

Thanks for the many congrats. Congrats to Kelkel--I saw you accepted Binghampton :). woohoo!

As for Owls, that is a tough predicament (but an awesome one!). Both schools are phenomenal, and a lot of people have mentioned the ups and downs. I would say that you need to be HAPPY (I know, who is actually happy in grad school ;)?), and if you're happy, you'll produce better work. So I wouldn't underestimate the importance of location. Ultimately, Yale is the "top" program by many standards, but I really don't see someone losing out a TT position to a Yale graduate if you still went to a top-15 program and your letters are super strong/you have a great dissertation. In the end, your dissertation is the big deciding point here. When in doubt, go with gut. Seriously, it works.

In other news, my alma mater is in the finals of the NIT tournament. I can't decide what I think of this--do I get excited that they're in a tournament, even if it's the "no one's interested" tournament, or do I protest in disgust that they might be proud of being 69th best in the country? O well, at least the women's team is awesome.

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I'm on my way to Miami today for a visit! I am so excited to visit my new academic home!

Enjoy Sandy ... I will save my libelous material about that part of the world for another day ... try to get to Calle Ocho

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nope. a fellow cat-lady and grad student did research there and told me about the campus's feral cat problem. they're all over the place.

Oh praise be! You're just a cat lady & not a hurricane ... it would've been the biggest bait & switch since the Crying Game

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PS: Congrats to everyone who has been making decisions/getting off of waitlists/etc. I haven't been around. Those of you lurkers on here who are also on friends with me on Facebook will already know that I am in thesis hell. Hell. I know many people reach this point of utter desperation mixed with complete rage, but wow... I never thought this damn thing would make me this crazy. I just want to get drunk and cry.

/rant

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