I also wanted to mention another aspect of the tournament: the commercials. In my opinion the top three commercial groups or series this year are:

1. The “Be Legendary” commercials that show some of the greatest highlights from years past and dramatize the long term grudges that emerge from them. They’re especially funny because they’re not entirely unbelievable.

2. The “most college athletes will go pro in something else” commercials. I know the concept is old but it’s still a great message and the new ones are aesthetically sharp.

3. The Sonic commercials, and not just because I love Sonic. “Good play everyone!” gets me every time.

I’m just very content right now, lounging on my couch with days of basketball ahead of me. This is way better than writing my thesis.

I still haven’t heard any good news from MAs in my program trying to move into a PhD. I’ve just heard about a number of additional rejections, and those are just the ones people are candid about. “Have you gotten into a PhD program?” is becoming an increasingly undesirable question, so it’s hard to get information. I never ask it and I cringe when I other people do.

I haven’t heard any ambiguous news either, which is interesting. What I mean is, I expected to hear about people getting into PhD programs but with limited funding. Instead, most schools seem to be dealing with the economic crunch by accepting fewer PhD candidates but granting them normal financial packages. I did just hear, however, that Stanford is going a different route. According to my information – let me know if anyone can confirm or deny this – they accepted around 20 candidates… but only funded half of them. I understand that the current climate necessitates creative solutions, but there is no way that this is a good idea. Schools already have to deal with the divisions that can split MAs and PhDs, or the bitterness that can arise when students who received more prestigious scholarships don’t live up to that potential. Believe me, I’ve seen both, even though I think my program deals with those issues better than most. How much worse would it be to have a PhD class split into paying and non-paying, for students on both sides of the divide? Instant camaraderie killer. And how are the unfunded students ever going to climb out of those years of debt? A good job upon graduation is never guaranteed, and even the best ones don’t pay a lot right away. Unless you are already independently wealthy it seems like a horrible idea to go into a PhD program without guarantee of funding. At the same time, I can see why people might decide to go anyway. At least they were admitted, right? And it’s not like they’re passing up on a fantastic current job market. I’m just glad I don’t have to make that decision.

Sorry that my more recent posts are such downers, but that’s what I’m seeing around me.

Back in January, I bemoaned the current state of the job market – and don’t worry, I’m still pretty depressed about it – and wondered if maybe I should have applied to PhD programs after all. Apparently not, judging by the progress of everyone in my program. None of the MA students are getting into PhD programs. I have heard of one, count it one, acceptance so far, and by the student’s own admission it is very much a safety school. A safety school seems better than nothing, but the job market is difficult enough coming out of a top school, so some professors will tell you that it isn’t worth the gamble. The other half dozen students I’ve talked to are all sitting on more than five rejections and only have a few chances left. Most are starting to look for jobs, convinced that the rest will reject them as well. Even if they aren’t rejected they’re afraid that they’ll be accepted without funding – which for most is the same as being rejected – or be waitlisted, strung along for another month or two and possibly rejected later when the good jobs (if they even exist now) have been taken. Basically the plummeting economy is wrecking everything. Based on what I know/assume about them a few of the students being rejected would have struggled any year, but most are really sharp students coming out of a top program that should not be having this much trouble. But when the economy looks shaky more people apply to grad school, and schools don’t have as much money, so taking a few less new students is a way to cut costs without harming people already in the program. I just heard about a top art history program that generally accepts 15 students and this year accepted 2. I don’t know how closely that translates to other programs but it’s a ridiculously depressing indicator nonetheless. It all adds up to incredible competition to get into grad school, which was never an easy task anyway.

I’m trying to look on the bright side, taking solace in the fact that I could be in the midst of my current job search after essentially wasting hundreds of dollars on applications. I feel for all of those prospective grad students though. I hope to hear more success stories soon, from my friends or from Today.com readers who may be having better luck…

I’m fortunate enough to not be carrying student loans right now; I owe my parents money instead but they tend to be more forgiving about interest. I also owe the credit card company money but fortunately it’s nothing exorbitant. Even though I’m better off than most graduating students I’m not financially secure enough to be unemployed upon graduating. Basically I’m scared shitless.

The other day I signed up to be a substitute teacher in the local school district in the hope of gaining experience in the classroom, a line on my resume, and some much needed extra money. After filling out all of the paperwork and paying the fee I discovered that over 650 people are signed up to be substitutes. Great. I can’t wait to compete for teaching jobs in a very limited geographic area.

Maybe I should have applied to PhD programs after all…

There are a number of New Year’s Resolutions that I should be making, but one of the most important and certainly the most grad school related is to work more on my thesis. Seriously, I really need to work more on my thesis. Like right now. Right after I finish this entry and lunch and a workout and a long list of errands and a panic attack and gah I need to work on my thesis!

I planned to get a much larger head start on my thesis this break because I have a very busy spring planned. For all intents and purposes my thesis is due in mid-April. The final copy needs to be turned in weeks later but the mid-April draft is the one that determines whether or not I pass. I completed a proposal for my thesis back in the spring so I have a basic plan and a spiel that I can deliver when people ask about my research topic. Too bad I haven’t even decided which or how many primary works I’m incorporating yet. I haven’t made it the whole way through any secondary sources either, and I have a dauntingly long list to read.

So from my experience so far here is some very simple advice for people writing a thesis:

1) Start early, but then keep working. Starting early isn’t actually very hard, but continuing the work through classes and life when the deadline seems so far away is nigh impossible unless you also…

2) Make a specific plan and stick to it. My problem was making my plan too vague, and then mostly ignoring it. I have a beautifully organized reading list but I barely got anywhere because I didn’t include any deadlines. Starting a year ahead of time, treat your thesis like a class with weekly readings and later on weekly writing sessions.

3) Choose paper topics that will contribute to your thesis research. The majority of your classes will probably be on the same time period or genre as your thesis topic anyway. You can’t have so much overlap that the paper could be part of your thesis, but you can certainly draw on some of the same critics or perspectives or historical events. Essentially make sure some of your research can double for your thesis even though you’re writing on something different. I was able to do some cross-over research for my last paper and it’s the most significant thesis research I’ve done so far.

4) Figure out early on how often your advisor wants to meet. I currently have no idea and we’re both very busy this upcoming semester so I’m interested and apprehensive to see how all of this goes. Also if we had met more regularly in the fall I would be forced to be much farther along on the project.

I’ll be sure to update on everything as the deadline approaches - Yikes!

Good luck on your own projects and have a very happy new year!

An observation/complaint: there are hardly any athletes in my program. I know of ONE other person who really loves sports and plays them whenever possible, and a handful who would play a sport if pressed. The rest look at me like I’m crazy when I return from a bike ride or when I try to organize pickup basketball. A larger number stay in shape at the gym or jogging around campus of course, but that isn’t quite the same, and there’s still an alarming number of completely sedentary people in the grad program. It’s been quite the adjustment for me; in high school I played two school sports, in undergrad I played on a club sports team and participated in three intramural sports, and all along the way my family and the vast majority of my friends were into sports in one way or another. Almost no one here cares about playing sports though. They don’t even want to watch them – I’ve gone to a few school football, basketball, and volleyball games but I have to sit by myself or with my visiting family because my friends would have to be physically dragged along. I realize that stereotypically it makes sense: we’re the nerds who preferred reading and thinking to doing growing up, the ones who would rather curl up with a book than hit the kickball diamond at recess. And that’s fine. But I always loved and balanced both school and sports, and I still do so – last spring I managed to succeed in grad school while playing on a state championship club team (which was of course made up of undergrads). Why are there so few of us? Why are we such a rare breed?

In the past few months I’ve watched my friends who are earning their MAs apply to PhD programs, I’ve helped friends of friends still in college with their first grad school applications, I’ve fielded questions from nervous applicants calling the office about deadlines, forms, and overnight mailings, and I’ve evaluated and reevaluated my own decision to take time of from grad school for now, and maybe for forever. Application season is a crazy time full of overwhelming stress and self-doubt. And it isn’t as if applications are the only thing on people’s minds or plates; there’s school or work taking up tons of time as well, and so many people have to complete applications in less than ideal circumstances. I haven’t met a prospective grad student whom I don’t simultaneously admire and pity. So I just wanted to post a word of encouragement to all the applicants out there. You’re doing this for a reason, and probably a good one, so do your best to soldier on through the stress. This too shall pass, and will, I hope, be worth it. Believe in yourself so that everyone else will believe in you too.

I wish you the best of luck and the happiest of holidays.

If you want to turn in applications early because you have a busy December planned or because you need to get them over with for your own sanity, that’s fine. But don’t submit applications early because you think this will give you an advantage. Unless the school has rolling admissions (such programs do exist but they are very rare and will be sure to publicize this fact) submitting early will not put your file at the top of the pile or impress admissions committees with your punctuality and early bird eagerness. Do you know what happens when your application comes in the mail? A secretary or student assistant (ie someone with no power to get you accepted) opens it, alphabetizes it, and sticks it in a box that no one looks into until the deadline has passed and all the applications are in. Of course you should give yourself enough time so that your application arrives on or before the deadline (generally schools are more forgiving than people suspect, especially about extra materials like rec letters, but it’s simply not worth the risk in my opinion) but by all means spend a lot of time on your application and then overnight the best possible product a few days before the deadline.

As one of those student assistants tasked with opening countless application envelopes I must add that you also don’t need to seal, clasp, and tape your envelope within an inch of its life. The postal service might not handle your application with kid gloves, but they’re not going to bomb it either. I understand the paranoia but I promise you don’t need quite so much tape. If you want to be extra nice to us, seal the envelope with just a clasp and stick it in a priority mail envelope that has the convenient pull tab. Easy open for me, and a reusable manila envelope for a department with an ever tightening budget. But like I said, we’re not the ones with the power…