Post-Acceptance Stress & Misc. Banter

[zielschmerz]

This is exactly my train of thought; I feel that if someone can get into Rutgers, with how competitive it is, there is a good chance that at least some of them are also getting offers from Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, etc. The question seems to be simply numbers; how far up the waitlist am I? Will any af-am people decline? The guy said "close to the top." He also said he'd be calling throughout the month to keep me informed. I mean... that all sounds... promising. At the same time, I really don't want to get my hopes up.

I'm choosing between Rutgers and Cornell myself. Utterly torn. If anyone has insight, do share.

[Porridge]

Petrified:

 

I have to finish my thesis.

I have to prepare visas.

I have to finish somewhere to store everything.

I have to find someway of living when my stipend runs out.

I have to find somewhere to live in US while still abroad.

I have to book tickets and organize my pets to be flown to the US.

I am stressed.

 

I think I know what offer I am going to accept though. Good news. Still bloody stressed!

[yellow.wallpaper]

Petrified:

 

I have to finish my thesis.

I have to prepare visas.

I have to finish somewhere to store everything.

I have to find someway of living when my stipend runs out.

I have to find somewhere to live in US while still abroad.

I have to book tickets and organize my pets to be flown to the US.

I am stressed.

 

I think I know what offer I am going to accept though. Good news. Still bloody stressed!

Good luck!

 

Where are you from?

[champagne]

I'm freaking out, ya'll. I feel so fortunate to have options, but now those options are paralyzing me with uncertainty. What if I make the wrong choice? What if I ruin the great life that my partner and I have here in California? I plan on visiting all the schools to which I've been accepted, and I believe those visits will help clarify where I belong... but what if they don't?! Am I being selfish in relocating my little family across the country to pursue a career I believe, deep down inside, will be challenging and fulfilling in a way no other career could?

 

I'm assuming that you and your partner have had the conversation of the stark realities that come with being in the academic profession. I'm also assuming that since you've (very successfully I might add) survived an entire application season with your partner that they are perfectly aware of the anxieties and uncertainties that come with said profession. With that said, significant others (I feel) should have and be aware of their complete veto power in the decision process. After that, it becomes a grand adventure, one that involves you working in a career that will benefit you in ways that no other could.

 

As long as open communication exists, then you should have no qualms of making the move or your convictions of making the right choice.

[ktwho]

Proflorax,

 

Congratulations!! I bet you'll have a really good handle on your pick once you've visited the departments.

 

What's your partner's profession?

 

(PS. I lived in DC and LOVED it.  It was SO fun on the weekends when all the commuters left.  The museums are awesome and there are lots of fun activities for kids.  And I say this after living IN DC and commuting OUT to MD....Ugh.  The red line was my friend. Traffic is no more a nightmare than it is here in the bay area, but the metro is so easy.)

[ProfLorax]

So, if all of the programs are amazing fits, I would turn to what place would make you happiest. Hope this is just a little bit helpful. Good luck!

Thanks, bfat, for giving me the lowdown on the locations! I think visiting is going to be a huge help, and since all programs rock, I'm going to have to go with where I see myself living for five years. I keep hearing the most awesome things about Amherst and Northampton!

 

 

As long as open communication exists, then you should have no qualms of making the move or your convictions of making the right choice.

Yes, this is really true. Thanks, champagne, for breaking it down when I needed it the most. Fortunately, we've been talking about this potential move and a future academic career for four years now. I just need to keep the faith that our relationship is strong and will thrive wherever life takes us. /cheese

 

 

What's your partner's profession?

 

(PS. I lived in DC and LOVED it.  It was SO fun on the weekends when all the commuters left.  The museums are awesome and there are lots of fun activities for kids.  And I say this after living IN DC and commuting OUT to MD....Ugh.  The red line was my friend. Traffic is no more a nightmare than it is here in the bay area, but the metro is so easy.)

 

Thanks, ktwho! My partner is a software engineer; he currently works for the federal government, so he'd be able to easily find a new job in DC, which is a definite perk. We are considering living in DC if we end up at UMD. But I gotta tell you; I cannot get over the sticker shock for rentals in DC! And this coming from someone who lived in San Francisco for years. Still, I think we'd be much happier in DC. School all week, protests and museums all weekend!

[lisajay]

seconding the DC love. i lived in the logan circle/dupont circle area for a while, & it was fantastic. everything was within easy walking distance or at least accessible by metro. driving on the beltway is no fun, but i think i only did once or twice—seems like an avoidable evil

[Troppman]

Petrified:

 

I have to finish my thesis.

I have to prepare visas.

I have to finish somewhere to store everything.

I have to find someway of living when my stipend runs out.

I have to find somewhere to live in US while still abroad.

I have to book tickets and organize my pets to be flown to the US.

I am stressed.

 

I think I know what offer I am going to accept though. Good news. Still bloody stressed!

Same! 

Happy tuesday to all: may your check lists be checked. 

[jazzyd]

Has anyone reached out to professors at schools after receiving an acceptance? A couple have reached out to me, but there's also other faculty whom I think have interests who fit mine. Should I wait until the visiting days? Or after April 15th? What if my decision more or less rides on who will be able to work with me at a certain school?

[AurantiacaStella]

Has anyone reached out to professors at schools after receiving an acceptance? A couple have reached out to me, but there's also other faculty whom I think have interests who fit mine. Should I wait until the visiting days? Or after April 15th? What if my decision more or less rides on who will be able to work with me at a certain school?

 

I have contacted everyone with similar interests to me at every school I have been accepted to. I think you should definitely do this. It can only be helpful to you to hear as many perspectives as possible when making your decision. Even if they are sort of a secondary POI for you, they can often tell you things you would want to know about your potential advisor, etc.

 

Edit (I realized I didn't answer a main part of the question): I would go ahead and email them beforehand, especially if the visits are late in March. Perhaps you won't write back and forth in as much detail with the ones you will be meeting in person, but if I were you I would want to start gathering as much info as possible as early as possible.

Edited February 26, 2013 by AurantiacaStella

[poetsandwriters]

Has anyone reached out to professors at schools after receiving an acceptance? A couple have reached out to me, but there's also other faculty whom I think have interests who fit mine. Should I wait until the visiting days? Or after April 15th? What if my decision more or less rides on who will be able to work with me at a certain school?

 

I am planning to talk to them at the visiting days and email if they're not there/we don't get to talk that much. But then, I'm likely only visiting one school and am leaning hard toward it. If I had more, like you (!), I might email first.

 

Good luck!!

[nada.am]

I have contacted everyone with similar interests to me at every school I have been accepted to. I think you should definitely do this. It can only be helpful to you to hear as many perspectives as possible when making your decision. Even if they are sort of a secondary POI for you, they can often tell you things you would want to know about your potential advisor, etc.

 

Edit (I realized I didn't answer a main part of the question): I would go ahead and email them beforehand, especially if the visits are late in March. Perhaps you won't write back and forth in as much detail with the ones you will be meeting in person, but if I were you I would want to start gathering as much info as possible as early as possible.

 

What kinds of questions have you been asking? I've had several POIs reach out to me and we've had brief exchanges, but I'm worried about bogging them down with questions about the program that could be answered by a DGS...

Edited February 26, 2013 by nada.am

[ProfLorax]

What kinds of questions have you been asking? I've had several POIs reach out to me and we've had brief exchanges, but I'm worried about bogging them down with questions about the program that could be answered by a DGS...

Some questions I have asked my POIs:

• Which graduate seminars do you teach? 
• How often do you teach a seminar on ________?
• (If they are not teaching a seminar on the topic I want to study with them) Do you work with students through independent study?
• What resources and opportunities are available for students like me who want to pursue ________? 
• How often do students and faculty spend time together socially? Professionally? 
• Are you currently taking on new students to advise?
• Have you advised student dissertations on ________?

My first phone conversation with a POI was wonderfully casual, so we also talked about living in the area, the sense of community between faculty and students, and teaching in other departments. Hope this helps! 

[AurantiacaStella]

What kinds of questions have you been asking? I've had several POIs reach out to me and we've had brief exchanges, but I'm worried about bogging them down with questions about the program that could be answered by a DGS...

 

In bullet points, because it's easier to read:

• the number of / sense of community among students in my field
• what their students have taught in the past (to find out if I will get be able to get teaching experience in my specialty)
• other faculty members I should consider working with (or at least taking their classes) in other departments because I have interdisciplinary interests
• the placement records of their particular students because often placement varies according to specialty
• frequency of classes in my field, both in the department and in other departments
• what their current projects are; with older profs, they sometimes aren't really working on what they're famous for anymore, although this doesn't mean they wouldn't still be a good advisor if those are your interests

I've asked grad students who are working with my potential advisor what the professor is like as a teacher, as a mentor, etc.; also I've asked them about their teaching experiences and about preparation for going on the job market.

 

I definitely try to avoid asking funding questions, etc., that the DGS could more easily answer, or simple things that I could find out by reading the grad student handbook.

[Two Espressos]

I have contacted everyone with similar interests to me at every school I have been accepted to. I think you should definitely do this. It can only be helpful to you to hear as many perspectives as possible when making your decision. Even if they are sort of a secondary POI for you, they can often tell you things you would want to know about your potential advisor, etc.

 

Edit (I realized I didn't answer a main part of the question): I would go ahead and email them beforehand, especially if the visits are late in March. Perhaps you won't write back and forth in as much detail with the ones you will be meeting in person, but if I were you I would want to start gathering as much info as possible as early as possible.

 

Should I contact POIs at the school in which I'm waitlisted?  UNC handles their waitlisted students differently than most other places in that I've been offered a paid visit to the Prospective Student Open House next month like an outright accepted student; this leads me to believe that my chances of ultimate acceptance are strong, though of course not guaranteed.  It seems to me like the wait list is small enough for it to be hypothetically possible for all of the waitlisted students to be offered admission.

[AurantiacaStella]

Should I contact POIs at the school in which I'm waitlisted?  UNC handles their waitlisted students differently than most other places in that I've been offered a paid visit to the Prospective Student Open House next month like an outright accepted student; this leads me to believe that my chances of ultimate acceptance are strong, though of course not guaranteed.  It seems to me like the wait list is small enough for it to be hypothetically possible for all of the waitlisted students to be offered admission.

 

I don't see why not. It never hurts to make connections with people in your field. And it definitely sounds promising that you're invited to the open house!

[practical cat]

Should I contact POIs at the school in which I'm waitlisted?  UNC handles their waitlisted students differently than most other places in that I've been offered a paid visit to the Prospective Student Open House next month like an outright accepted student; this leads me to believe that my chances of ultimate acceptance are strong, though of course not guaranteed.  It seems to me like the wait list is small enough for it to be hypothetically possible for all of the waitlisted students to be offered admission.

I would like to know this as well. I'm compiling a set of questions for the DGS as I don't want to get caught uninformed about my choice should one arise (especially if it should arise on April 15) but I'm not even sure how fruitful contacting other faculty would be at this point.

[Two Espressos]

I don't see why not. It never hurts to make connections with people in your field. And it definitely sounds promising that you're invited to the open house!

 

Thanks for responding.  Thoughts from others?

 

I must admit to not really reading these POIs' research (bad, I know, though I'm rectifying that now), so I'm guessing I should wait until I've caught up on my reading before contacting them?

[ProfLorax]

Thanks for responding.  Thoughts from others?

 

I must admit to not really reading these POIs' research (bad, I know, though I'm rectifying that now), so I'm guessing I should wait until I've caught up on my reading before contacting them?

I'd say to not worry about it. My POIs have only really wanted to talk about the program and how it will meet my needs. I didn't feel like they expected me to ask questions about their current research. 

[dazedandbemused]

I must admit to not really reading these POIs' research (bad, I know, though I'm rectifying that now), so I'm guessing I should wait until I've caught up on my reading before contacting them?

 

I don't actually have POIs at UT, and I'm pretty familiar with all of the pertinent people at Pitt, but I have been reading work by people that I'd be interested in working with. However, I don't feel like I should have to; I'm going there to learn from them, not about them. And yes, depending on where you're headed your POIs will probably be important names in your field, but I have a hard time believing that they expect you to know all of their work ahead of time. If they do, I'm screwed!

 

In other news, my decision just keeps getting increasingly more difficult. I just got offered an amazing three year fellowship that would basically make my financial situation extremely comfortable, and as time passes the scales have been tipping to the point that I'm basically at 50/50 between schools right now. It's an awesome problem to have, but it's also stressing me out. I don't want money to make my choices for me, but moving across the country for an amazing program with little funding is a really daunting possibility.

[AurantiacaStella]

I don't actually have POIs at UT, and I'm pretty familiar with all of the pertinent people at Pitt, but I have been reading work by people that I'd be interested in working with. However, I don't feel like I should have to; I'm going there to learn from them, not about them. And yes, depending on where you're headed your POIs will probably be important names in your field, but I have a hard time believing that they expect you to know all of their work ahead of time .

So I definitely don't think you need to know their work inside and out. But how could you not have at least one POi at a school if it's a good fit for you? I would not underestimate the importance of your ability to get along/communicate well with your potential advisor. The emails should begin to give you a sense of their personality and what it would be like to work with them.

[Deadinthewater]

I'm wondering if anyone can share my experience, or has shared it. I was accepted at Buffalo for a PhD. I was also accepted at my undergraduate institution for an MA (I am also waitlisted at Penn State for an MA, but I consider this to be a consolation prize at this point).

 

Has anyone ever been accepted to a PhD program that they would like to go to but turned it down for a funded MA? I am worried that I'm not ready to jump right into PhD-world just yet. I stress this specifically because Buffalo's program is wildly unstructured. I believe that I really excel at some areas of the discipline, but my "area" or "focus" is a little underdeveloped. I'm worried that if I go into Buffalo's extra-loose program without an exceptionally focused vision of what I want to do, I will get lost.

 

This being said, I haven't visited Buffalo yet, so who knows. I just know that my professors at my undergraduate institution have said that they would be able to guarantee some very close mentoring, and that they would be really commited to getting me into a top PhD program in 2 years.

 

Any thoughts?

[dazedandbemused]

So I definitely don't think you need to know their work inside and out. But how could you not have at least one POi at a school if it's a good fit for you? I would not underestimate the importance of your ability to get along/communicate well with your potential advisor. The emails should begin to give you a sense of their personality and what it would be like to work with them.

 

A lot of people don't have POIs. It's really not something that people consider to be absolutely necessary in the humanities, at least not as far as I can tell. In fact, UT's FAQ says that they discourage potential students and professors from making contact ahead of time so as to keep the playing field level. Besides, as this process has proven for many people, our conception of fit and the school's conception of our fit are often radically different. I think I fit, they think I fit; that's enough for me.

[davidm]

I'm wondering if anyone can share my experience, or has shared it. I was accepted at Buffalo for a PhD. I was also accepted at my undergraduate institution for an MA (I am also waitlisted at Penn State for an MA, but I consider this to be a consolation prize at this point).

 

Has anyone ever been accepted to a PhD program that they would like to go to but turned it down for a funded MA? I am worried that I'm not ready to jump right into PhD-world just yet. I stress this specifically because Buffalo's program is wildly unstructured. I believe that I really excel at some areas of the discipline, but my "area" or "focus" is a little underdeveloped. I'm worried that if I go into Buffalo's extra-loose program without an exceptionally focused vision of what I want to do, I will get lost.

 

This being said, I haven't visited Buffalo yet, so who knows. I just know that my professors at my undergraduate institution have said that they would be able to guarantee some very close mentoring, and that they would be really commited to getting me into a top PhD program in 2 years.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I have a similar circumstance. I am trying to choose between a PhD to pretty good program that I kind of fit into and an MA from a program that I'm a great fit for and could see myself succeeding in and then applying / getting into their PhD program. But of course, getting into a PhD program is never assured; who knows what variables could pop up

 

It seems dumb to turn down a funded PhD for a (better) funded MA, but I think the risk might be worth it if I'm going to like the department a lot more. I don't know how I'm going to decide.

Edited February 27, 2013 by davidm

[AurantiacaStella]

I'm really just curious. I guess because I have a smaller area of focus than many others at this point, I naturally think very specifically about who I will work with. Don't you think about who will direct your dissertation?