Resources: Applying to Graduate School Site
When applying to graduate school, it’s easy to get disorganized. To maximize your chances, you may be applying to a million and one programs, and your advisor may or may not be helpful.
However, a University of Michigan grad student in Psychology has created a Web page that walks grad students through the application process step-by-step. You could print out the front page of this Web site and treat it like a checklist or even a substitute advisor.
Some of the best advice involves the personal statement. The Live Journal site “So you want to go to grad school?” often features students posting their personal statements and asking for feedback. Before you even think of drafting a personal statement, visit the Applying to Graduate School page on the subject, and it will save you a lot of trouble. Here’s a sample tip:
Remember, it’s called a “statement of purpose”, NOT a “personal statement.” This is not an essay about your emotional development. If something in your personal life is integral to your studies, then you should include it. However, most of the time, professors do not want to read about your personal life. The statement of purpose should read more like a professional document.
While we give plenty of advice for the “post-academic” phase, I’m sure plenty of “pre-academics” are visiting this site. If you’re one of them, bookmark this site now.
On Re-Applying to Graduate School Programs
Now that you’ve dusted yourself off after receiving a rejection to grad school, you have two choices: 1) Abandon the plan and go on another career track altogether or 2) Re-apply. Before you re-apply, remember the statistics Arnold offered regarding getting a tenure-track job in the humanities. If you get into a grad school program, it will get tougher. But, there’s no arguing with passion, and becoming a professor of the humanities is a dream you cannot deny, here’s how to apply again.
Tighten your research focus. Despite super scores and references, you may not have gotten in because your research aspirations were vague. What field interests you the most? Is there a subject on which you might want to write a dissertation? Do you want to pursue the implications of your Honors thesis? Make a commitment, and tell the search committee exactly what you can do at their school.
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Please, Please Don’t Take It Personally If You Get Rejected
Judging from the popular message boards such as The Grad Café and So You Want to Go to Grad School, which Arnold’s already covered, this is the time of year when people either get accepted or rejected for grad school. You’re not alone: Aspiring professors are finding out if they got postdocs and tenure-track jobs, too.
One recent poster at So You Want to Go to Grad School wrote about getting rejections and how tough that was since he/she has a strong academic record. The headline was “Rejected and Dejected.”
Do not be dejected. Don’t take it personally if you get rejected for a tenure-track job, grad school or a postdoc. This is one case in which you can rest assured that it’s not you … it’s them. Thanks to this wretched economy, more people are applying for a dwindling number of slots, and some programs are dropping fellowship funding altogether.
If you were rejected in the early stages of all your applications, then maybe you should tweak those applications for another round. But if you are sure that you made it to the later stages and didn’t break through, don’t fret about your talent or give up altogether. Try again next year if it is your true passion, or keep looking for your true passion.
By the time you are a finalist for the job, much of the decision is out of your hands. There are so few slots that, even if you have excellent scores and recommendations, your victory will be a matter of taste. It may also be a matter of office politics, which you cannot escape in academia. (In fact, office politics may be worse in academia, but that’s another matter for discussion …) Keep your skill sets sharp, apply again, and don’t close your eyes to other opportunities.
Image from Wikimedia Commons, screenshot of movie “Cry Havoc” from public domain.
Surviving Grad School: Testing the Atmosphere
To paraphrase a certain rapper who goes by the name of Pitbull, when choosing a grad school, think “MIAMI,” or “Money Is a Major Issue.” But it’s not the only one. The blog Thoughts Arguments and Rants offers smart advice regarding a grad program’s overall atmosphere:
And don’t just look at the individual students – look at the culture. This can be tricky, because cultures can change. But they tend to change slowly. A culture where everyone is competing to be the best student, and denigrating each other along the way, is going to be a bad place to be at grad school, and it will stay that way. On the other hand, a culture where everyone is trying to help everyone out will, in all probability, keep being a fun place to work for many years.
If you really want to get ahead, you may be surprised to discover that you can’t get ahead on your own. Your studying and reading might take place in a single room, but you won’t get anywhere unless someone is challenging, pushing, and even supporting you. You will also need to network and make connections in order to get slots on conference panels, chapters in books, and your first big job.
Speaking of jobs, the same rule goes for that, too. Even if you don’t have many choices for jobs after the MLA, don’t take a job just because it was offered to you. Ask yourself what the atmosphere is like at the school. Sniff out vague statements and faux-chipper attitudes. Talk to as many people as you can to find out the truth. No grad school or department is perfect, but the pros must outweigh the cons. If they don’t, you can do better. Either wait for another market cycle, if possible, or start taking your skill set elsewhere.
Advice for Incoming Grad Students [Thoughts, Arguments, and Rants]
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