Fall 2012 Applicant Chit Chat

[goldielocks]

I keep thinking I'm not too stressed out, but then I'll jump each time I hear my email alert go off. I'd follow the advice to stay away from the boards, but I know that 1. I would be more stressed out not keeping in touch with other people going through the process and 2. I wouldn't be able to "just forget about it" until notifications come.

I vacillate between stress and genuine curiosity. I just want the next month to fly by. I'm sure we all do.

[oseirus]

I was told by my childhood cartoons that we would have flying cars, time machines & house robots by now and yet I can't find out a college application result in a faster manner? Elroy Jetson is dead to me!

PS Goldie the stress part is the worse bit about waiting ... esp when you are being pressed in other directions to make a decision timely

[goldielocks]

PS Goldie the stress part is the worse bit about waiting ... esp when you are being pressed in other directions to make a decision timely

Uh oh, life, work, or school decisions?

[Safferz]

I keep thinking I'm not too stressed out, but then I'll jump each time I hear my email alert go off. I'd follow the advice to stay away from the boards, but I know that 1. I would be more stressed out not keeping in touch with other people going through the process and 2. I wouldn't be able to "just forget about it" until notifications come.

I vacillate between stress and genuine curiosity. I just want the next month to fly by. I'm sure we all do.

I hear you! But there's really no reason to think about *any* school until late January, at earliest. The review process has just started. I've accepted that and it's keeping me sane for now. Yale is a bit of an anomaly because of the interviews that will take place before decisions, but for the most part it's the week of Feb.6-10 that makes me nervous

[crater21]

Thanks for weighing in, everyone! What all of you said makes a lot of sense. I guess I'm just trying to manage my expectations.

[goldielocks]

In an effort to be less neurotic, I am supposed to be taking today (my day off) to do something fun and relaxing. I am also going to attempt to stay away from TGC until at least this evening. Baby steps.

[PhillyPhan896]

Honestly guys, do we even know that Yale will be conducting interviews for history? I mean, the only piece of evidence I've seen is an article in the Yale newspaper noting the resistance of many departments and professors to this new policy that was supposedly mandated by Pollard in recent weeks. Does anyone have a link to the actual policy somewhere on the GSAS or History Dept website? If so, then pardon my skepticism. But if not, I would seriously doubt the policy's viability. Having spent a year in the History Dept at Yale, I can't imagine who would contact me for an interview, and I certainly can't imagine such an interview carrying any weight in the application process whatsoever. That's just my two cents. I still expect to receive a decision the week of Feb. 6, which is precisely when I received my decision from Yale two years ago.

[taybaxter]

Just got a very encouraging email from a POI! Feeling pretty good.

[oseirus]

Honestly guys, do we even know that Yale will be conducting interviews for history? I mean, the only piece of evidence I've seen is an article in the Yale newspaper noting the resistance of many departments and professors to this new policy that was supposedly mandated by Pollard in recent weeks. Does anyone have a link to the actual policy somewhere on the GSAS or History Dept website? If so, then pardon my skepticism. But if not, I would seriously doubt the policy's viability. Having spent a year in the History Dept at Yale, I can't imagine who would contact me for an interview, and I certainly can't imagine such an interview carrying any weight in the application process whatsoever. That's just my two cents. I still expect to receive a decision the week of Feb. 6, which is precisely when I received my decision from Yale two years ago.

Does anyone know if any of the other schools have initiated an interview process? Don't mean to pile on the speculation train here or anything, just trying to get a sense of how things could shake out

[oseirus]

Uh oh, life, work, or school decisions?

Well all the above really ... kinda already quit one job b/c it takes 6 months or so to get out of the job and if I didn't quit now and I got accepted I wouldn't be able to go to school ... so I'm taking a gamble of sorts here

[Kelkel]

Just got a very encouraging email from a POI! Feeling pretty good.

Jealous! I want an encouraging email to get me through this week/month.

But congrats!

[holdon]

Just got a very encouraging email from a POI! Feeling pretty good.

Congrats! Guess you don't want to tell which school, but good to hear some movement! Hope it works out well for you!

[taybaxter]

Jealous! I want an encouraging email to get me through this week/month.

But congrats!

Thanks Kelkel! Here's to hoping you get one too!

[Loimographia]

Man, I keep seeing all these posts about "oh they e-mailed me saying I should apply for a fellowship!" or "POI contacted me!" I feel so very jealous I've just gotten complete dead silence. Meanwhile, if I spend too long thinking about my applications, I begin to feel ill. . .

[crazedandinfused]

Man, I keep seeing all these posts about "oh they e-mailed me saying I should apply for a fellowship!" or "POI contacted me!" I feel so very jealous I've just gotten complete dead silence. Meanwhile, if I spend too long thinking about my applications, I begin to feel ill. . .

I'm right there with ya.... Let's keep in mind that most adcoms have only just begun to meet

[TMP]

Haha. I was thinking about the Jetsons when I really understood what the iPhone/iPad/iTouch really can do. Who needs flying cars and house robots (that self-cleaning vacumm is the closest thing we can get to that) when we have the i-Toys doing literally everything for us?

And in addition to StrangeLight's annual post, I really, really urge you to look for Plans B and C if you are not employed or will be graduating this semester. The job market is still bad out there and it will take weeks for your job application to make through the pile and get a call for an interview. You should be filling your worrying time with this because once you start getting decisions, you'll be too emotionally wrecked (aka in denial) to plan for anything beyond August. Fill out those job applications. Go to the interviews if you get them already- practice makes perfect anyway. I've gone through this "denial" phase twice and kicked myself every single time April 15th rolled around and I still had no place to go.

Job networking takes a freaking amount of time to get you in the door to somewhere.

Do not put yourself in denial right now that "I will get accepted somewhere, I'm not going to worry about it." It will take weeks to recover from the this emotional roller coaster and you need to be able to think clearly when you do the job search, network with others and write that cover letter.

[goldielocks]

That's solid advice. I made a Plan B for myself before sending out any applications. It does help a bit to know I have something to fall back on if (gulp) I don't get any offers.

[goldielocks]

Congrats Tay!

[Loimographia]

Quick, someone reassure me that I shouldn't feel like a horrible person for not applying to Oxbridge MAs. I'm feeling horrible because I was so focused on applying to my US schools that I missed the deadline for international scholarships, but justified it by saying my chances of getting funding were practically nonexistent anyway, and claimed I would apply anyways to the unfunded MAs. . . And now I've missed those too. The truth is, I don't really want to go through the stress of figuring out international funding, visas, the research proposal instead of SOP, etc etc. all just to have to do it again next year, since I don't want a UK PhD (for reasons, look at the thread about teaching in the US with a UK degree).

But my father, an ultra-brilliant guy who doesn't seem to understand why I won't be automatically accepted to every school I apply to (after all, HE got in everywhere he applied!) has been pressuring me to apply for months. Now I feel horribly guilty. But the thought of doing even more applications just made me feel physically ill. Someone tell me I made the right choice, or at the very least, that it's not the end of the world that I didn't.

[goldielocks]

Quick, someone reassure me that I shouldn't feel like a horrible person for not applying to Oxbridge MAs.

You are not a horrible person. I made the same decision. I promise. You said it yourself. You don't want a UK degree. That is more than enough reason and no pressure should make you second guess that.

[oseirus]

Haha. I was thinking about the Jetsons when I really understood what the iPhone/iPad/iTouch really can do. Who needs flying cars and house robots (that self-cleaning vacumm is the closest thing we can get to that) when we have the i-Toys doing literally everything for us?

And in addition to StrangeLight's annual post, I really, really urge you to look for Plans B and C if you are not employed or will be graduating this semester. The job market is still bad out there and it will take weeks for your job application to make through the pile and get a call for an interview. You should be filling your worrying time with this because once you start getting decisions, you'll be too emotionally wrecked (aka in denial) to plan for anything beyond August. Fill out those job applications. Go to the interviews if you get them already- practice makes perfect anyway. I've gone through this "denial" phase twice and kicked myself every single time April 15th rolled around and I still had no place to go.

Job networking takes a freaking amount of time to get you in the door to somewhere.

Do not put yourself in denial right now that "I will get accepted somewhere, I'm not going to worry about it." It will take weeks to recover from the this emotional roller coaster and you need to be able to think clearly when you do the job search, network with others and write that cover letter.

Oh I have made plans all the way through Z, now I just hope I don't have to go that far b/c some of those other plans kind of need an answer now so I can get a jump start on them otherwise I'll be behind the power curve. Well not really but that's the paranoid me speaking but nothing like a little paranoia to get you through the tough times I say!

[oseirus]

Quick, someone reassure me that I shouldn't feel like a horrible person for not applying to Oxbridge MAs. I'm feeling horrible because I was so focused on applying to my US schools that I missed the deadline for international scholarships, but justified it by saying my chances of getting funding were practically nonexistent anyway, and claimed I would apply anyways to the unfunded MAs. . . And now I've missed those too. The truth is, I don't really want to go through the stress of figuring out international funding, visas, the research proposal instead of SOP, etc etc. all just to have to do it again next year, since I don't want a UK PhD (for reasons, look at the thread about teaching in the US with a UK degree).

Well if it makes you feel any better I didn't even realize that int'l MAs were a viable alternative until the beginning of this month. I don't think most people did unless it was something they were looking into long before they applied.

Edited January 20, 2012 by oseirus

[holdon]

Quick, someone reassure me that I shouldn't feel like a horrible person for not applying to Oxbridge MAs. I'm feeling horrible because I was so focused on applying to my US schools that I missed the deadline for international scholarships, but justified it by saying my chances of getting funding were practically nonexistent anyway, and claimed I would apply anyways to the unfunded MAs. . . And now I've missed those too. The truth is, I don't really want to go through the stress of figuring out international funding, visas, the research proposal instead of SOP, etc etc. all just to have to do it again next year, since I don't want a UK PhD (for reasons, look at the thread about teaching in the US with a UK degree).

But my father, an ultra-brilliant guy who doesn't seem to understand why I won't be automatically accepted to every school I apply to (after all, HE got in everywhere he applied!) has been pressuring me to apply for months. Now I feel horribly guilty. But the thought of doing even more applications just made me feel physically ill. Someone tell me I made the right choice, or at the very least, that it's not the end of the world that I didn't.

I'm hearing ya! Some of those British PhDs can be even be applied for up until the summer, I think. For example University of London I think. I haven't even looked into the funding situation though: I'm assuming that as an American, I would have hardly any chance of getting money there.

On the other hand, I think there are a lot of academics at the top US schools with UK PhDs. Though you're less likely to be able to start out your career with one, that's for sure.

[Kelkel]

Quick, someone reassure me that I shouldn't feel like a horrible person for not applying to Oxbridge MAs.

I considered doing this over the summer as well, but I just never fully explored the option (other than browsing the websites once or twice). My boyfriend and I talk about emigrating over there. Oh well! Can't dwell on what ifs now.

[superfluousflo]

On the other hand, I think there are a lot of academics at the top US schools with UK PhDs. Though you're less likely to be able to start out your career with one, that's for sure.

So, I started a different thread on this topic, which was mentioned above. Holdon, can you explain what you mean by the second sentence above? I can't find any reliable information on this.