American Idol and grad-school apps: a comparative study

[ridgey]

So, as I try to distract myself from thinking about getting admission decisions, and procrastinate from writing my thesis, I've been watching more tv than normal. The audition rounds of American Idol have been on (I'm not in America, in case Idol isn't on/is way ahead over there and you're confused), and it reminded me of grad-school applications. NO IDEA why - probably the general large-numbers-of-people-asking-to-be-judged-by-experts-in-the-field-they-hope-to-be-in-ness of it all.

Why I'd rather be an Idol contestant:

[*]The competition is televised!

[*]The other competitors are right there, not an unknown quantity

[*]If I won, I'd get to be famous and popular

Why I'd rather apply to grad school

[*]My rejections won't be harsh and delivered in person, with laughter (hopefully)

[*]If I "won", my status as geek/nerd/eccentric would be official

Other thoughts? They don't have to fit these categories. This could be an important piece of research, potentially leading to those vital publications for many of us!

[dragynally]

I'm applying to an arts program. So like American Idol there is no set criteria...I just have to hope one of the judges likes me!

[gadhelyn]

But unlike grad school, American Idol requires oral exams when you apply, not once you get through the first part.

Edit:

But they're alike in the end: Once you get out of either you are offered a position that might permanently make you well-known, but you first have to actually succeed at it.

[Tritonetelephone]

Dude, if I thought being an academic would make me famous, I would be way less interested.

[miratrix]

Yeah, if it involved being on TV I would definitely be out. I'd much rather be judged by a small group of people I may never meet than, you know, the entire country's viewing public.

[ridgey]

Yeah, if it involved being on TV I would definitely be out. I'd much rather be judged by a small group of people I may never meet than, you know, the entire country's viewing public.

Actually, me too. But it seems that LOTS of people in the world would be excited to be famous, TV/music stars, etc. Another way that academics (and wannabes) are weird, maybe?

[jduds]

As much as it would be great to think that both American Idol and grad school applications are a fair game, they really aren't. Especially American Idol. It's really crazy how "stacked" the competition is with "professionals," especially at the pre-Hollywood stage. Quite a few of these guys have either been on other talent shows, or had record deals with major labels. While, things tend to be more equitable after the Hollywood stage (when the audience starts voting), the initial pool is definitely tainted by the "professional" contestants.

It would be like having a group of applicants who were pre-approved by the committee dumped into the regular application pool. Definitely not fair for the overall pool.

Obviously this post is more about AI than grad school, but it's really the most annoying thing about the show. And something the show isn't overly honest about.

[void]

jduds,

"It would be like having a group of applicants who were pre-approved by the committee dumped into the regular application pool. Definitely not fair for the overall pool."

But isn't applying already a little like that in that it is often unfairly based on who your recommenders know?

[deianira]

AI: If you win (or make the top 10 or something), you get payed $$$ for the tour within the next year ,and possible record deals indefinitely thereafter

Grad School: if you win, you get payed ~$25,000 a year for the next 5+ years to work long hours with no guarantee of success, followed by possible entry into yet another exciting competition for post-doc, which will pay a whopping $35,000 a year!

[classicallynot]

There are definitely some academics out there who toy with the idea of fame, at least in their field or at their university.

or infamy.

[ridgey]

Maybe "celebrity" would be a better word choice than "fame" for differentiating Idols and academics...