If you have a philosopher who happens to have applied to
graduate schools this year, you are likely in thick of waiting. This waiting
period is almost always intensely stressful for both you and your philosopher.
Depression during this waiting period can be exasperated by your
philosopher, especially if they persist in checking their email frequently or
if they insist on monitoring acceptances/rejections on online forums (such as
gradcafe). This is especially dangerous for philosophers who are also working
on MA theses (it’s the worst kind of distraction from work).
So how can you help alleviate the depressive effects of the
application waiting period?
1. Make an alternate
plan.
This may seem rather dreadful, but it will help both you and
your philosopher if you develop a backup plan (what to do if your philosopher
doesn’t get in anywhere). If your philosopher knows that they have alternate
options—even if these aren’t ideal—then it might ease their mind a bit. For
sure, having a backup plan can also do wonders for your mental health.
2. Reassure.
Reassure. Reassure.
You will find yourself having to do lots of reassuring
during this period. Prepare to be patient with your philosopher every time they
descend into the slough of despond. Reassure your philosopher that they are
really intelligent, they haven’t heard from every school yet, just because
someone has been accepted on gradcafe doesn’t mean that all decisions are
final, just because they didn’t get in this year doesn’t mean that they can
never try again, etc. Just because they didn’t get into one of their lower-tier
schools, doesn’t mean that they won’t get into an upper-tier school. Remind
them. Here are two stories that might help your philosopher:
Story 1: A philosopher thought they had received rejections
from every school to which they applied, as they had seen people post on
gradcafe about each of their schools. Well guess what? An oversight had led to
an acceptance letter—from their first school choice—either not being sent or
being lost in the mail.
Story 2: An extremely intelligent philosopher received
rejections from every place they applied one year. Instead of giving up, this
philosopher applied to exactly the same places the next year and got in to
several of them.
3. Bake treats.
This speaks for itself.
4. Distract your
philosopher.
This is a good time to ply your philosopher with
distractions. Help them train for a marathon; make a goal to watch all of the
AFI top 100 movies; encourage them to prepare a paper for publication; refinish
some furniture. Distractions are really necessary to keep your philosopher from
being despondent sometimes.
When all else fails, direct them to Ph.D. comics.
~The Philosiologist
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I work in graduate admissions and I can absolutely verify that some excellent applicants are unlucky one year, reapply the next year, then sail through. For PhDs it can sometimes be the case that there a particular area of research is very oversubscribed one year - often due to considerations of the funding the department has in place, which students it has already admitted, and which staff are able to take on new students - and eases up the next. That said, to next years' applicants, it IS important to apply to a range of different places and to apply early!
ReplyDeleteI should also emphasise your point that, in my institution at least, admissions decisions are sent out over a rather long period (weeks to months) and that just because some have already received offers, there's no reason you won't. Sometimes notifications are done in alphabetical batches, sometimes in order of assessment, sometimes randomly.
Thanks for the reassurance! See, philosophers? :-)
ReplyDeletePlease keep writing more.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will post new update soon.
ReplyDelete