Gradhorn Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Duke sends me these automatic application status updates every week or two, and it makes me jump every time. I wonder if this will cause a "boy who cried wolf" effect, and when the actual decision from Duke arrives I'll ignore it because I'll just think it's one of those updates. They did the same thing to me last year. Mercifully, they were the first rejection, so the unnerving emails stopped quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balderdash Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) It's good. I'm having a great time - the rest of my cohort is great, as are the professors and administrators. How is your cycle shaping up? Stanford should be soon, right? Glad to hear it has worked out. If I recall, the only worry with Harvard was that the cohort would be a bunch of not-so-nice people, so I'm happy that isn't the case. Cycle is much better this year, I'm certainly better prepared. The stress has been better, too - the benefits of experience, eh? Edited January 21, 2012 by balderdash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tufnel Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Glad to hear it has worked out. If I recall, the only worry with Harvard was that the cohort would be a bunch of not-so-nice people, so I'm happy that isn't the case. Cycle is much better this year, I'm certainly better prepared. The stress has been better, too - the benefits of experience, eh? Good! Harvard definitely picked up that reputation, probably because of some notorious internet feuds among grad students. The department is big, which increases the odds of admitting someone who isn't especially cooperative. However, because the department is big, there are always nice people. Personally, I haven't had a negative interaction with anyone in the department. And since there are plenty of resources, there's no need to be competitive. Though you might get a different response if you ask someone else, I haven't found any of the rumors about a lack of collegiality to be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whirlibird Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I didn't apply to Harvard, but it's really awesome to hear all of that from you, Tufnel. (I'm a big fan of your last year presence and icon choice...just sayin'.) I think that's one of my worries about some programs, particularly those in the top 10. Yeah, maybe the program's exactly what I want, but what if the rest of my cohort are annoyingly pretentious and/or standoffishly competitive? Of course, that I should be so fortunate with admissions offers that there's even a choice, but I've realized, the more I've thought about it, that who my fellow students are really will matter a lot to me. Anyway, I think that especially the HYPS schools have that sort of reputation, maybe, but actual students like you usually have good things to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tufnel Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) I didn't apply to Harvard, but it's really awesome to hear all of that from you, Tufnel. (I'm a big fan of your last year presence and icon choice...just sayin'.) I think that's one of my worries about some programs, particularly those in the top 10. Yeah, maybe the program's exactly what I want, but what if the rest of my cohort are annoyingly pretentious and/or standoffishly competitive? Of course, that I should be so fortunate with admissions offers that there's even a choice, but I've realized, the more I've thought about it, that who my fellow students are really will matter a lot to me. Anyway, I think that especially the HYPS schools have that sort of reputation, maybe, but actual students like you usually have good things to say. Thanks! Your cohort is certainly important. I don't have any cogent thoughts on what separates fun, cohesive cohorts from less enjoyable ones. Some of the cohorts here are incredibly tight-knit, others less so. Frankly, I don't understand why students at HYPS compete with each other. The market can absorb multiple Princeton PhDs if they're good. You don't need to step on people to get a job, just do good research. Why not help each other? Admittedly, I have no firsthand job market experience and could be completely off base. But at the end of the day, I'd rather be nice and underplace than step on people and land my dream job (though that's obviously falsely dichotomous). Edited January 21, 2012 by Tufnel Tufnel and whirlibird 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBG Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Thanks! Your cohort is certainly important. I don't have any cogent thoughts on what separates fun, cohesive cohorts from less enjoyable ones. Some of the cohorts here are incredibly tight-knit, others less so. Frankly, I don't understand why students at HYPS compete with each other. The market can absorb multiple Princeton PhDs if they're good. You don't need to step on people to get a job, just do good research. Why not help each other? Admittedly, I have no firsthand job market experience and could be completely off base. But at the end of the day, I'd rather be nice and underplace than step on people and land my dream job (though that's obviously falsely dichotomous). I think it's also only a small subset of your cohort with whom you're actually in competition for the same jobs; the IR folks aren't really going to be applying for the same jobs as the Americanists. In any event, I think not being an awful person is likely to help you out more in the long-run; political science academia is a small enough field that you're going to be seeing many of these people plenty throughout the rest of your career, and it won't be in your interest to burn bridges. Good to hear things are going well for you, Tufnel! Tufnel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balderdash Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Well, for all of the talk of keeping stress down, I have to say: Here we are at possibly the last week of waiting, and I'm a nervous wreck. Anyone want to suggest some movies to distract? I'll go first. If any of you haven't seen it, "A Separation" is amazeballs. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackcoffee64 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Anyone want to suggest some movies to distract? I'll go first. If any of you haven't seen it, "A Separation" is amazeballs. Seriously. Balderdash, if we both end up at Princeton/Stanford/Berk/ or Yale...Can we be friends? This is a request based soley on the fact you used the term "amaze balls". Because that's friggen awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balderdash Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Balderdash, if we both end up at Princeton/Stanford/Berk/ or Yale...Can we be friends? This is a request based soley on the fact you used the term "amaze balls". Because that's friggen awesome. The "if" doesn't look likely. But if we do, call it a deal. That is, if I don't have a heart attack by August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantman Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 The "if" doesn't look likely. But if we do, call it a deal. That is, if I don't have a heart attack by August. Keep your chin you, based on my observations you have a better chance at getting in somewhere than I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantman Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Chin up, stupid phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CooCooCachoo Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Well, for all of the talk of keeping stress down, I have to say: Here we are at possibly the last week of waiting, and I'm a nervous wreck. Anyone want to suggest some movies to distract? I'll go first. If any of you haven't seen it, "A Separation" is amazeballs. Seriously. Les Amours Imaginaires, or Heartbeats in English. A brilliant, perhaps unwittingly so, critique of hipsterhood featuring the luscious Xavier Dolan and one of the best soundtracks ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secret Squirrel Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Stanford is the place that's really terrifying me right now. They could call any of us at any moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltlakecity2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Stanford is the place that's really terrifying me right now. They could call any of us at any moment. What's unnerving me slightly is that last year's results show that Columbia notified several people on January 29th, but only a very small number. So I'm not sure if I'm somehow hallucinating and Columbia won't actually notify until mid-February, or if I should in fact be panicking and digging my heels into the sand as time slowly marches towards Sunday... Anyone remember from last year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whirlibird Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Stanford is the place that's really terrifying me right now. They could call any of us at any moment. You guys remember that "board" game Perfection? You do your best to perfectly place a bunch of weirdly-shaped pieces into their weirdly-shaped holes before the timer runs out and the whole board pops out at you with a loud bang? The whole time you were trying to just focus on the game, but you couldn't help the terrible anxiety over when the board would pop. That sort of sums up my emotional state right about now. Secret Squirrel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent09 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 ^ftw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balderdash Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Les Amours Imaginaires, or Heartbeats in English. A brilliant, perhaps unwittingly so, critique of hipsterhood featuring the luscious Xavier Dolan and one of the best soundtracks ever. Watched it last night. The cinematography was good, and the understated tone worked well for what they were trying to accomplish. That said, I didn't like any of the characters (until pretty much the last scene), so I found it hard to really get involved with the storyline. I should also like to recommend Four Lions. Absolutely hilarious. And I might be wrong but I think it is available online with Netflix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantman Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I always felt graduate schools picked their applicants like Madeline Khan selects her escorts in History of the World Part I. Here is the link to the scene if you have never scene it before (you have to go forward a little in the video to get to the scene in question): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CooCooCachoo Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Watched it last night. The cinematography was good, and the understated tone worked well for what they were trying to accomplish. That said, I didn't like any of the characters (until pretty much the last scene), so I found it hard to really get involved with the storyline. I should also like to recommend Four Lions. Absolutely hilarious. And I might be wrong but I think it is available online with Netflix. Yes, when I was speaking about the critique of hipsterhood that is exactly what I meant: the characters have no depth, so you cannot identify with them. But I think it's symbolic of the appearance-obsessed vacuity of hipsters. I really doubt Dolan directed it like that on purpose, but I still think it's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent09 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I think Madison posted decisions on MyUW. "Your program has recommended you for admission. The Graduate School will be reviewing your file. Please refer to this page for updates." lordvader and Tufnel 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBG Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 My application for Madison says the same thing (recommended for admission.) I will remain skeptical until I get more official confirmation. saltlakecity2012 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent09 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 It is official. E-mail coming from Barry Burden (DGS). Full info on funding + recruitment weekend coming later. Congrats, RWBG! saltlakecity2012 and lordvader 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBG Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Yep just got it now. Pretty exciting. balderdash 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBG Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Part of me still thinks this is some kind of computer error. I had resigned myself to applying next year after doing an economics MA. I even had my applications for the year after next year planned. I'm not sure exactly how to adapt to the fact I'm doing a Ph.D next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balderdash Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 I'm in too. Loving it. This feels amazing. RWBG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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