Welcome to the 2013-2014 Cycle

[anxious2151]

I have a question for those with families or who are in serious relationships. How is everyone tackling selecting a school while taking in account your partner's needs? Is your partner planning on moving with you no matter what/did you only apply to schools in your current city or are you exploring commuting/splitting time?

 

 

My boyfriend is doing his phD at one of my top choice schools, so obviously getting in there would be an absolute relief. Otherwise...i suppose we'd work out the long distance for the next few years

[veritaserum]

Hope everything works out, IR IR IR PhD!

 

Any thoughts on when MIT might release their results? The results page seems pretty varied between the first week and the last week of Feb - not to mention they seem like true believers in the postal service 

Anyone else find it ironic that MIT, a school with such a strong tech focus, is going so old school with snail mail?

[timeless90]

Hope everything works out, IR IR IR PhD!

 

Anyone else find it ironic that MIT, a school with such a strong tech focus, is going so old school with snail mail?

 

what do you mean??

They are not sending out their decision via email??

BTW having gone through their application page, wholeheartedly agree with the irony. 

[veritaserum]

Currently single, so re-locating isn't really a big concern at the moment.

 

But this reminds me of a piece that Drezner wrote on whether women should get PhDs in IR awhile ago, that touched upon the whole relationship thing. (Less so in relation to starting grad school per se, but more regarding finishing it.) Here's a small snippet:

 

The thing is, most people are between 27-32 years of age when they complete their Ph.D..  This also happens to be the peak demographic of the whole getting married/having children phase of life.  And, women tend to marry men a few years older than them.  The professional difference between 50 and 53 is negligible, but those few years can make a HUGE difference in one's late twenties/early thirties.  It means that, on average and regardless of career choice, the man in the relationship is more firmly embedded down his career path. 

 

For newly-minted women Ph.D.s, this can impose profound constraints on career choices.  Their best job offer might be inconvenient for their spouse's career, and so they pass on it.  I saw this very dynamic play out multiple times with female colleagues when I was in graduate school.  There are a lot of good reasons to subordinate one's first job choice to family considerations, but it has a negative impact on one's long-term career trajectory.

 

[What about you?--ed.  As a man, the age effect was reversed.  My fiancee was younger and therefore at a more embryonic stage of her career, which meant she was more portable.  For the record, I accepted a post-doc that I otherwise wouldn't have taken for her career, but this was a minimal sacrifice.  It only delayed my first job by a year and I got a ton of writing done during those twelve  months.]

 

[veritaserum]

what do you mean??

They are not sending out their decision via email??

BTW having gone through their application page, wholeheartedly agree with the irony. 

 

Gauging from the results page for past years, it looks like they notify applicants via a mix of e-mail, phone and snail mail. (Rejections seem to arrive universally via e-mail though.) 

But yeah, their application form was very straightforward HTML as well!

[TheGnome]

Now, there is about 6,000 miles and 12 hours of time difference in between us. In this light, I'm optimistic: wherever I get accepted - at least we'll end up on the same continent. 

 

Fingers crossed indeed, wish both of you the best. I have been down that road for a while, and will be again depending on the results of this cycle. So, I feel you.

 

BTW having gone through their application page, wholeheartedly agree with the irony. 

But yeah, their application form was very straightforward HTML as well!

 

I think after a certain level of techy-ness, people more and more tend to prefer simpler things. Straightforward HTML codes, analogue stuff, you know, more clunky but sturdy, hard to crash, hard to hack kind of stuff. 

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

I have a question for those with families or who are in serious relationships. How is everyone tackling selecting a school while taking in account your partner's needs? Is your partner planning on moving with you no matter what/did you only apply to schools in your current city or are you exploring commuting/splitting time?

 

My husband and I have about eight different contingency plans in place depending on how the admissions process plays out for me--though I did limit my school search to a reasonable range around our home (thank you, Amtrak). We've been fortunate enough to get lots of great advice from couples who have been through similar situations, and I was just wondering if anyone else was going through the same thought processes and discussions.

 

I've been with my girlfriend for well over three years. We had the misfortune of meeting at college, and are from towns 9 hours apart, so our first taste of long distance was for holidays. Then we both studied abroad, and because our programs weren't at the same time we spent 9 months apart, with under two weeks of visits thrown in. Right now I'm on a Fulbright, and when I get back at the end of 10 months we'll be bumping into year four (though she did come for a month over Christmas). So, we've resolved to make this our final year apart.

 

The good news (for me) is that she will be finishing up her masters and is willing to be flexible for me. I applied to a few schools that were on her "ideal" list (read: Ivy's nearby family... so, yeah, long shot) and I applied to schools that are really great for what I want to do (but she approved all the locations - though she's nervous about the long distance moves). 

 

Of course, I feel guilty because her long term dream is to get a Ph.D. in English Lit, and she will be geographically limited because of me, and then there's the question of whose career takes priority when relocating for a job. But we think we're prepared to deal with these questions and problems as we encounter them. As they say, there ain't no ring on her finger (yet)

[jazzrap]

Hey guys, I am pretty nervous. Wisconsin is probably going to release results in the middle of next week (based on my search for last year's results). 

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Hey guys, I am pretty nervous. Wisconsin is probably going to release results in the middle of next week (based on my search for last year's results). 

 

I'm thinking I'll get some news from at least two schools next Friday or the following Monday. Don't know if I'm ready for it (and at the same time, I can't wait for the waiting period to end).

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Man, these boards were hopping yesterday morning. Everyone getting back to real life already? 

[IRToni]

Maybe people realized that most of us won't be hearing back this week in all likelihood, so everyone's off trying to distract themselves from the misery that is waiting... Or yesterday was an anomaly because of all the troll posts?

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Maybe people realized that most of us won't be hearing back this week in all likelihood, so everyone's off trying to distract themselves from the misery that is waiting... Or yesterday was an anomaly because of all the troll posts?

 

I wish I could keep myself off these boards... If I try to do my work, all I can think about is grad school. Not a good dynamic going for me at the moment.

[mv0027]

Hope everything works out, IR IR IR PhD!

 

Anyone else find it ironic that MIT, a school with such a strong tech focus, is going so old school with snail mail?

I went back and forth on how much to judge a school for its application process. Much of it is institutional, but I couldn't help but judge. Having said that, MIT, in my opinion, had by far the best application. It is very simple, open, straight-forward, and flexible. Felt very open-source and I appreciate it. I can still log on and change my SOP! 

 

By far the worst experience was most of the UCs letter recommendations. Again though, that is likely institutional. 

[mv0027]

I wish I could keep myself off these boards... If I try to do my work, all I can think about is grad school. Not a good dynamic going for me at the moment.

At the end of the day, none of us can do anything that will change the amount of time it will take to hear back. Just the physics of it. Frankly, this outlet helps me a lot. It allows me to indulge in conversations and thoughts that would otherwise drive my friends, special friend, family, etc. crazy.

 

Misery loves company. 

[zudei]

For general info: Florida State's committee is due to meet later this week.

[chiz13]

I have this problem too. Although, in my case, any change in my situation will actually be an improvement. I met my boyfriend at another grad program: I was going for master's, he was receiving his doctorate. Now, I got my master's and moved all the way back to the Old World, whereas he got a job and stayed in the US. Now, there is about 6,000 miles and 12 hours of time difference in between us. In this light, I'm optimistic: wherever I get accepted - at least we'll end up on the same continent. 

If I get accepted somewhere... *fingers crossed*

 

*pat on shoulder*

 

Probably different country, but similar situation here. But for us, we are both applying for grad school this cycle, and hopefully we will end up somewhere near. The best situation is of course, attending the same school. But that might be too much to ask for.. so the least I hope for is to get in anywhere at all. At least then we will be in the same country, instead of oceans apart. 

[IRToni]

 

By far the worst experience was most of the UCs letter recommendations. Again though, that is likely institutional.

 

Pretty much all my UK schools were a really bad experience. Not only did they only send out the requests for LoRs after you had submitted your application, they also didn't tell me about it, so my LoR writers asked me about the requests. Many also had two "systems", where I had to submit the supporting documents separately. The follow-up is also often separate, including different log-in details. One school that used a good system (embark) wasn't able to match the documents for some reason (including LoR)... I ended up having to email/call back and forth all the schools at one point or another. 

[7up]

Seriously? I think MIT's system is stupid. I couldn't help but laughed out when I saw the LOR system. Dude, it's 21st century, and we are still emailing links by hand? I just can't believe this is happening. 

Edited January 21, 2014 by 7up

[mv0027]

Seriously? I think MIT's system is stupid. I couldn't help but laughed out when I saw the LOR system. Dude, it's 21st century, and we are still emailing links by hand? I just can't believe this is happening. 

There is a certain amount of beauty in simplicity. 

 

Also, what is better than "hey, prof busy-pants, here is the link?" The auto-generate e-mail was only their recommended language. You could change it. 

 

If I get into MIT, I'm gonna go CrA-cRA!!! Their program seems boss. 

[jazzrap]

Hi guys. I claim the Emory interview. I made a mistake typing the info. It reads "email from an adcom to schedule interview via skype". However, I meant this: "to schedule skype interview". 

I still think they will fly most interviewees over. Skype is an arrangement for people outside the States.

[jazzrap]

There is a certain amount of beauty in simplicity. 

 

Also, what is better than "hey, prof busy-pants, here is the link?" The auto-generate e-mail was only their recommended language. You could change it. 

 

If I get into MIT, I'm gonna go CrA-cRA!!! Their program seems boss. 

It is not bad, although it does not allow us to upload Latex-ed SOP.

[mv0027]

It is not bad, although it does not allow us to upload Latex-ed SOP.

Wow. Latex for the SOP. That is fancy. Didn't think to do that since there I had no formulas or references. Would have been a nice, sublet, touch though. 

[jazzrap]

Wow. Latex for the SOP. That is fancy. Didn't think to do that since there I had no formulas or references. Would have been a nice, sublet, touch though. 

And it also made me feel a little scared to imagine what kind of format MIT adcoms would actually see regarding our statements. 

[gokpinar]

Hi all,

 

So I submitted a research paper to a workshop in which my POI was chair. Today, he let me know that they cannot accept because "it is not the kind of talk we are trying to foster." Of course, this is disappointing but I understand. My question is whether this is going to affect my PhD application? Did any one of you have a similar experience?

 

Thanks.

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Hi all,

 

So I submitted a research paper to a workshop in which my POI was chair. Today, he let me know that they cannot accept because "it is not the kind of talk we are trying to foster." Of course, this is disappointing but I understand. My question is whether this is going to affect my PhD application? Did any one of you have a similar experience?

 

Thanks.

 

As in, the topic you submitted wasn't relevant to the workshop? Or you were using some weird undertones that offended the conversation?