Two weeks ago I was contacted by an admissions adviser at Arizona State University who was trying to pare down the priority wait list. As I had not received the fellowship I had been hoping for - the Urban Ecology IGERT - I told her that I, having no funding, thought my name should be removed from that list. She said she understood and that seemed to be that.
I took this all as a sign I should continue on my current nomad path, jumping around from job to job, and make good on my long-time plans of moving to New Zealand. A week and a half passed and I was just starting to feel sure about the next year-or-so when I received an email from admissions at Arizona State. I have been accepted to the Ph.D. program at the School of Sustainability, with the understanding that should I not have luck in coming up with funding for 2009, my acceptance will be defered for Fall of 2010...
The situation is ideal. I still get to work a couple more jobs, live 9 or 10 months in New Zealand, all the while coming up with funding and connections for my doctorate work....
It's too ideal; it makes me nervous, and uncertain. How do I know when I've chosen the right school? I haven't made many connections with researchers, but I've been having difficulty finding someone who does what I am interested in. I didn't even try to get into a more prestigous school...should I have? Prestige doesn't mean much if they don't have a program that's suited to my goals, but after Oregon State, I don't want that question nagging at me. If I'm gonna do it right, this is my opportunity to do so. I've got a lot to think about.
fabulous!!! this is the point at which you commit. once you commit, it becomes a reality. and what a fucking awesome reality! and i think that in all honesty, when people throw around the "prestige" of the school, they're trying to avoid actually examining your work. you can (and will) do quality research anywhere you go, regardless of the program. granted, it will help to have good advisers and connections, but it sounds like you've got a while to figure it all out. i think you should try to find a connection in the washington area sometime in the next year.... :-D
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