#Grad school application

[ravingxfxbrickxwall]

As someone who is in their second grad school application cycle, I refuse to look at Reddit, the spreadsheet and gradcafe. I’m not going to dishearten myself

I did the best I could

I applied early

I reached out to PI

I polished it and was happy with what I did

The ball is in their court now

I choose my peace

But I’ll just check my emails and spams whenever I can

[dashcon-two]

did you know you can buy hundreds of live crickets for incredibly cheap? they're meant for feeding pets but they have other uses too

are you trying to get me fired.

[marzipaint]

zzz

[pinkeoni]

Introducing Conversations in Fandom: A Byler Fandom Journal

Title and cover design not final

In my last semester of undergrad, I worked on my school's literary journal. It was a lot of fun working in a group on the project and seeing all of the cool work that went into it, so I wanted to create something like that for the byler fandom.

What I aim to create with this project is a collection of well made fanart, fanfiction, analyses, theories, critiques and other fan creations that showcase unique ideas and promote healthy debate and conversation that pushes the boundaries of fandom work.

With a team of people, these works will be put together in an online journal, creating one piece of art that displays many different fandom voices together.

Below, I have used some of my own work to create an example of what this might look like (click images for better quality):

Does not reflect final layout or journal content

Submissions will open in early November

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, be on the lookout for a post regarding submission rules and guidelines.

If you would like to keep up with this project, I will be using the tag #byler journal for everything related to the journal. You can also follow the official account for this project @bylerjournal for updates and to ask questions.

EDIT: You can now submit to the journal HERE

[astriiformes]

Apparently I have been waitlisted for admission at one of the PhD programs I applied to?? Which isn't an acceptance yet, obviously, but it's not a rejection either, and also speaks to my application being pretty decent, actually.

It sounds like it's a matter of not being sure if there will be space in my specific area of focus, so we'll see what comes of it, but. Send good vibes, I guess!

[tranquilstudy]

january 15th, 2024

which is cooler, the mcgill application being completed or the giant octopus?

I wanna talk more about graduate school… about how, even though I’m applying for something monumental there’s a lot of conflict surrounding it that I’ve been trying to ignore. Mostly that there are some people that don’t see it as a big achievement, or as monumental, unless it’s done their way. I dunno, I’ll get into more detail on it in my next post. But, even though I’m proud of myself I feel like I’m disappointing a lot of people, and I’m carrying a lot of weight on it. It’ll be nice to let some of that go, but it’s tough right now. Just trying to keep my head up, okay? You keep your head up too, okay?

🎧: hey pretty momma — rainbow kitten surprise

🎥: zodiac (rewatch)

🎮: ace attorney investigations: miles edgeworth (turnabout reminiscence) ALSO I haven’t forgotten that @inseparabiles asked me to talk more about my thoughts on this game. Maybe that’ll be my next post instead and we procrastinate talking about the hard stuff?

[babylonqaf]

while we wait for brilliant minds to be renewed with varying levels of impatience, we should talk about when josh realised he actually likes the Actually Insane new head of neuro and do we all agree it’s very early on

i’m thinking it’s like around the time he gets told he has freakishly large hands but i’m not actually sure he’s aware of it until a little while later? idk

what are your thoughts on this

also when did oliver decide he actually likes josh romantically? because he must have had some feelings before he kissed him right? is this just me being very asexual?

[ravingxfxbrickxwall]

This is me towards PhD Admissions Committee

[ladysatoru]

Oh boy i got a packed schedule

[glassofpumpkinjuice]

one minute of pete and patrick giggling over snacks

[camembri]

just had the humbling realisation that, as both an aspiring academic and a fanfiction writer, my literal life's work will always be outstripped by those gay pirates in terms of reach. thank you zosan nation this is objectively the funniest thing that could possibly happen

[helen--richardson]

stickman reaction image i made to send to a friend while reading Gideon the Ninth.

[chaotic-archaeologist]

I'm still a couple years off deciding if I want to go to grad school for real, but every program I've looked into mentions fully funding students. should I still expect debt in that case?

It depends. I wish I had a straightforward answer for you, but there are a lot of variables to take into account, including but not limited to:

Master's or PhD? PhDs tend to be fully funded, while master's often are not. Some programs will allow you to get your master's on the way to your PhD, which is the best deal, although they are often more competitive.

How much is the school actually paying you? They love to say "fully funded" when they mean about $25,000 a year, which is far below the living wage for many areas.

How many years will you be funded for? That "fully funded" is usually conditional, and you should read the fine print. Most programs will fund you for X amount of years, after which you will be expected to fund yourself through grants, fellowships, and outside opportunities.

What will you do for work in the summer? That "fully funded" does not cover the summer break in the academic year (at least in the US). There are often pots of money around your department/university, or you can find a summer job inside/outside of academia.

What is the cost of living in your area? Are you someone who can live with roommates, do you have accessibility needs when it comes to housing, do you have a car that would allow you to live further away from campus (where the rent is often cheaper)?

Do they offer health insurance? How good is it and are you someone who has a lot of medical expenses?

When it's time, check out my guide to applying to graduate school. One of the things I mention there is talking to current graduate students. We are the ones who will be honest with you about the financial reality of the program.

Another thing to check is whether the grad students at the university are unionized. A strong union can fight for better contracts for grad students.

But all of this being said—do not go to grad school if it will put you into debt (unless you are in a field where getting the degree will allow you to pay off loans shortly after graduation). A program that will not pay you enough to keep your head above water is not a program worth going to.

-Reid

[sluttynfemme]

lowkey beginning to see getting fired from that firm as a blessing

i got all the important shit like unemployment and health insurance figured out last week but now???? NOW WE WRITE !!!

lovers of dnd and dubious consent, RISE UP!!

[tranquilstudy]

January 22nd, 2024

Thank you guys for all the love on my most recent post! It’s been awesome to interact with so many of you on here :)

I know I said before my next post would be about AA, but today is the day I hand in my last application for graduate school for my top choice school (right here at home), so I thought I’d go into more detail on my graduate school journey.

Last year, I got rejected from grad school and it took a huge toll on my self-esteem. My Dad basically got it in my head that if I wasn’t in grad school or working full time (and by full time, he meant a job that had benefits. I was working 40+ hours a week.), I was being lazy and my efforts weren’t amounting to much. I worked myself into the ground last year and felt awful that I didn’t have anything to show for it, that no matter what I did I wouldn’t be the “glowing graduate student” my Dad wanted me to be.

I’m here to say I beat the odds and applied again, and revisiting even just the application process that gave me such strife last year is a huge accomplishment. I’m glad I had the time to develop my skills and that I get to apply to something I know I’ll enjoy. It’s just been a long process of detaching my worth from my application. The worst part is it made me vicious — angry at the world, stubborn beyond consolation. Defensive. Things I didn’t want to be, and stripping those layers off me is gonna take longer than one application cycle. I’m working on it though, and that progress is what inspired this blog to be restarted.

After this you’ll probably hear less about my grad school journey (not as much about academics in general), but I wanted to say that applying to a program doesn’t define you. It doesn’t. It’s just one part of life and if you see this, you’re more than capable of getting into any program you set your mind to. And if you don’t… that’s okay. It really is okay. It doesn’t define your worth, m’kay?

Now it’s just waiting for admissions, but acknowledging that despite what people say I’m worthy of applying and getting in has changed my view of the application process as a whole. It wasn’t as stressful as last year and my application itself is much stronger. And if I don’t get in… it’ll be okay. (I’d like to get in though, and I have a good feeling about this round hehe)

Anyways, I’ll see you on the other side of admissions. School isn’t your life, folks. School doesn’t define your worth. I’ll parent you on that one.

🎧: damage gets done - hozier. brandi carlisle

📖: mayflies - andrew o’hagan

🎥: pursuit of happyness (2006)

🎮: ace attorney investigations: miles edgeworth (turnabout ablaze)

[study-lizard]

just keep chuggin! (trying to not think about how august is approaching)

I went to a cafe from my bucket list with a friend yesterday and it was lovely! They also serve waffles which I shouldn't eat bc im gluten intolerant... but I might try when I come back. But overall, I am getting my life in order!