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Posted

Oh that was about two years ago, so I'm cool with it now. And I've learned a lot more about their process and some of the stuff they do that makes me fairly happy I didn't make the cut. After a year of doing tech support, I eventually landed a teaching job at a middle school. But I quickly found out that middle school was probably not the place for me lol.

Posted

Oh that was about two years ago, so I'm cool with it now. And I've learned a lot more about their process and some of the stuff they do that makes me fairly happy I didn't make the cut. After a year of doing tech support, I eventually landed a teaching job at a middle school. But I quickly found out that middle school was probably not the place for me lol.

I currently work at a middle school. I suppose there must be worse jobs.......

Posted

Oh there's definitely worse jobs hehe. Honestly, I probably would've gone for another year, but there were some serious issues with the administration that I could not stand any longer.

Posted

Are you guys with/against reapplying to one or two of the same list of schools for last year? What do programs think of those who apply once and twice and never takes the hint???

 

They don't even keep track of who has applied before. I re-applied to five schools I had been rejected from the first time around when I had no idea what I was doing, and was admitted to three of those five the second time when I did.

Posted

As someone who just quit TFA, allow me to tell your their application process is 100% objective. If you know the formula before going into the interview, you're in. If you don't, who knows. It was also the worst experience I've ever had. Consider it an excellent use of time that you didn't get in.

 

Teach For America can go reside in the deepest s-bend in the dankest bathroom of the central circles of Hell.

 

 

Sorry. I have a prejudiced opinion of TFA. They exacerbate the problem they purport to help. 

Posted

It's cool. I've had friends who've worked for the org and done good work, and I'm sure most of the individuals involved have the best intentions. Hell, I had great intentions when I tried to get in. But my opinion on those in charge has gone south based on information I've read about them since then.

Posted

I've considered TFA myself, but after reading some feed back from people in the program, I decided I'd be better off selling shoes or smth. I am a researcher at heart, not designed for non-academic stress.

Posted

I currently work in a bookstore during the summer and school breaks and I find that to be a nice change of pace from teaching/grading. Also, the employee discount is pretty handy :D.

Posted (edited)

That'd be pretty awesome.

Edited by Portia
Posted

Just calling for some reassurance on my sanity here. I don't know what it is, but it is literally an hour-by-hour switch on my confidence about this whole process. I might wake up in the morning, have my first cup of coffee, read something that sparks a few ideas, and think, "Holy Hell! I'M THE SMARTEST MOST ABLE ACADEMICIAN IN THE WORLD! EVERY ADCOMM EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD WILL LOVE ME!!!"

 

Then, I have two more cups of coffee, I start to research school to which I might apply, I look at the raw statistics, and I fall into a desperate maelstrom of second-guessing of which Prufrock or The Underground Writer would be proud.

 

Is this happening to anyone else? Or should I really be concerned about my mental health?

 

Sorry for the hyperbole, but it really isn't too far off...

Posted

Just calling for some reassurance on my sanity here. I don't know what it is, but it is literally an hour-by-hour switch on my confidence about this whole process. I might wake up in the morning, have my first cup of coffee, read something that sparks a few ideas, and think, "Holy Hell! I'M THE SMARTEST MOST ABLE ACADEMICIAN IN THE WORLD! EVERY ADCOMM EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD WILL LOVE ME!!!"

 

Then, I have two more cups of coffee, I start to research school to which I might apply, I look at the raw statistics, and I fall into a desperate maelstrom of second-guessing of which Prufrock or The Underground Writer would be proud.

 

Is this happening to anyone else? Or should I really be concerned about my mental health?

 

Sorry for the hyperbole, but it really isn't too far off...

 

It is not just you. I feel this way all the time. I felt this when I applied last time, too. One minute it's "holy crap! I'm going to get into EVERY SCHOOL I applied to" and the next, "Omg, I suck."

 

Unfortunately, this feeling does not go away until you hear back from schools...

Posted

Yeah I think that's fairly normal. I'm mostly optimistic as long as I don't think too hard about the numbers...I hate numbers lol.

Posted (edited)

Hey guys, just wanted to send you all applying next year an FYI. Somewhere earlier this year we had a discussion on whether or not adcoms look up applicants online. Last week, I was visiting a program. As I was walking toward the director of admission's office,  she stopped me in the hall to say hi, and that she recognized me from having looked me up online. I wasn't worried or anything, but I was a little surprised. Just thought you all might like to know!

Edited by sebastiansteddy
Posted

Yeah I think that's fairly normal. I'm mostly optimistic as long as I don't think too hard about the numbers...I hate numbers lol.

 

I think keeping optimistic is the key to avoiding the mood swings. I actually have pictures of the campus and list of reasons to why I want to go to what school on my at all times. I know that might sound a little cheesy, but when I open my laptop and I see a picture of the pretty pretty campus I can't help but feel motivated!

 

Hey guys, just wanted to send you all applying next year an FYI. Somewhere earlier this year we had a discussion on whether or not adcoms look up applicants online. Last week, I was visiting a program. As I was walking toward the director of admission's office,  she stopped me in the hall to say hi, and that she recognized me from having looked me up online. I wasn't worried or anything, but I was a little surprised. Just thought you all might like to know!

 

That is good to know! I just googled myself and all that came up was conference presentations and student orgs--my facebook is under lock and key.

Posted

I think keeping optimistic is the key to avoiding the mood swings. I actually have pictures of the campus and list of reasons to why I want to go to what school on my at all times. I know that might sound a little cheesy, but when I open my laptop and I see a picture of the pretty pretty campus I can't help but feel motivated!

 

 

That is good to know! I just googled myself and all that came up was conference presentations and student orgs--my facebook is under lock and key.

 

Haha I like that. I need to make a collage of all the pretty campuses  B)

 

My Facebook is on lock as well, and most of my social networks don't have my name attached. LinkedIn and Academia.edu are the first sites that come up for me. Then there's all those random sites that collect all your info from the internet for some inexplicable reason. I've already gone to a couple of them and had them delete everything they had about me. I suspect I'll have to visit a few more. The most interesting things that come up about me are from my undergrad years. I appeared in the school newspaper at least a handful of times because I was in Student Government, I ran for Homecoming one year and I was on the executive board of my campus' LGBT group. I had an interview once years ago where the interviewer told me I should obscure my pro-LGBTness for future endeavors, but I'm quite proud of the work I did with that group and those mentions are important to me.

Posted

I had an interview once years ago where the interviewer told me I should obscure my pro-LGBTness for future endeavors, but I'm quite proud of the work I did with that group and those mentions are important to me.

 

If a program looks down upon your LGBT activism, it's a program you probably shouldn't be attending anyways.  So no worries!

 

Unfortunately, this feeling does not go away EVER until you hear back from schools...

 

There, fixed that for you.

Posted

If a program looks down upon your LGBT activism, it's a program you probably shouldn't be attending anyways.  So no worries!

 

That's exactly how I feel about it :D.

Posted

I did that a week ago and I got my first submission accepted. Good luck to you too... :)

 

Ooh thanks! And congrats on being accepted! 

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