Grad School is TOUGH...right...

[Soapy Sam]

When I were geology student, us couldn't afford us own rocks!

As for hammer, we used to just use napper! There we were, head-butting quarry face, twenty-six hour a day...und so weiter...

 

[Hyver]

It seems reasonable that a fee of some sort would be involved to cover the costs of processing applications, sorting out applicants and deciding who to accept and who to deny. Those sorts of tasks are not going to be done on their own. The real question is how much money (if any) is the school making from application fees after the administrative costs are factored in. I have no idea what the answer is.

 

[exarch]

On the other hand, you might argue that this administration process is done by the same employees who, later in the year do other types of administrative work. I'm sure their wages are paid somehow, and I can't imagine this bit of extra work to be so time consuming and expensive to warrant asking $100 a paper.
I'm not convinced yet that this amount is nothing more than a means of preventing people who aren't serious from wasting everyone's time. We have a similar thing going with doctor's fees here, where there's a fixed amount of money that's not reimbursed by health care ,which could be translated as "the threshold fee". It prevents hypochondriacs and pansies from going to the doctor too often.

 

[wollery]

Exarch, the key to this is the undergraduate application fee. Darmouth College recieved over 12,500 undergraduate applications for the 2005/2006 academic year. At $40 per application that would be half a million dollars, for doing something they have to do anyway, and certainly doesn't cost anywhere near that much to actually do. It's money for nothing. And Dartmouth is small!

 

[kittynh]

hey...we PAID Dartmouth not only an application fee, we paid a whole heck of a lot of tuition! Ouch!

And trust me, they do NOT need the money. Most of the Ivy Leagues could let their students go for free they are just swimming in money from investments and such.

And they gave Kitten dorm rooms that were unsafe, unsanitary (the bathrooms) and a homeless shelter would turn if offered.

 

[wollery]

And they gave Kitten dorm rooms that were unsafe, unsanitary (the bathrooms) and a homeless shelter would turn if offered.

That's all part of the University experience. Generally speaking the more expensive and prestigious the institution the worse the accomodation they provide. I've spent time in two different Cambridge colleges, and the rooms were cold, drafty & too small with uncomfortable beds and cold uncarpeted floors, and the bathrooms should have been condemned. The University of Westminster (Northwick Park Campus) has warm, spacious, well designed rooms with en suite bathrooms.

If you want a really good education you have to pay through the nose for it and live in discomfort.

 

[Tez]

One of my frustrations in life is that my university, even though was one of the best in the country, was a horrible place. Looked like a Blade Runner scenario.

Hmm - at least there were a few humans there then I see your blade runner architecture, and raise you with York University Canada, one of the most architecturally unappealing and poorly located universities in the world:

http://constructit.constructit.ca/Maintenance/webport/web_upload/portfolio/VBCIENSKCL/EXEKITYB.jpg

 

[Trying2Bopen]

Even the graffitti on the draw bridge is rather tame.

Under the draw bridge does the stop sign still say, “Stop, Hamma time”? Totally one of my favorite parts! They changed the graffiti on the bridge though, I liked it before, something like “not the appropriate nomenclature, dude”. Great stuff. Funny, I was only there a few months ago, it must be a hot spot to put your mark.

 

[Jorghnassen]

Grad school is over for me (almost)! I just submitted my thesis today. Now off to do a postdoc while I wait for defense time (crossing my fingers that it comes just before Xmas so I don't have to travel too much).

 

[wollery]

Way to go Jorghnassen.

The defence is the easy part (so long as your thesis is any good and you actually know all the stuff you put in it, which I assume is the case).

 

[Zbu]

I know relatively little about grad school in the humanities, but I really enjoy being a graduate student. You may not be paid very much, but being able to pursue something you're really passionate about is worth much more than a big bucks salary, in my opinion.

Also, filling out a few applications never hurt anyone. At worst, you will lose a couple of hundred dollars in application fees and a few nights of sleep while fretting about your admissions essays. That's a small price for the opportunity of a lifetime, though... you never know...

For instance, I have a friend pursuing a master's degree in Arabic. She almost didn't apply to graduate school because her GRE scores were low, she struggled a little with the Arabic (it's a tough language), and she started the whole application process late. However, she went ahead and filled out the applications, and now she's studying Arabic at Harvard on a full scholarship! Admittedlly, Arabic is in demand these days so there's more funding for Arabic than other humanities fields. Nonetheless, you never know until you apply!

Thanks. I'm going to apply and see what I can do. My main problem is that I'm trying to rationalize my degree in terms of jobs and forgetting that this is something I love. I'm going to see if I can get a job at the uni while going for my doctorate to pay for my schooling (and live on, barely) and go from there. Thanks, Kitten! I feel a bit better now.

 

[curt]

grad school application fees...

They charge you to apply?!?!?!

Exarch, the key to this is the undergraduate application fee. Darmouth College recieved over 12,500 undergraduate applications for the 2005/2006 academic year. At $40 per application that would be half a million dollars, for doing something they have to do anyway, and certainly doesn't cost anywhere near that much to actually do. It's money for nothing. And Dartmouth is small!

There are fees in addition to the application fee too. GRE. Specialized GRE, if required. Copies of transcripts from all schools attended. It adds up!

 

[supercorgi]

Yes, life is really incredible here... when I was given a tour of the building and grounds last week, they showed me my office

They gave you your own office!!? Wow, I guess MIT is the place to go. I didn't get my own office when I was going to grad school at Yale.

 

[supercorgi]

Classes during grad school? I only had a handful spread out over the years (no more than 2 per semester, hence 6 hours a week at most). No labs, TAship every other semester (finances not being a problem for me)...

Anyway, I got a postdoc offer so I better go back to my thesis.

Only 2 classes per semester? Wow, that's a light load. I had 4-5 classes per semester.

 

[supercorgi]

Life is rough.

Did I mention she doesn't have to student teach and she's getting paid?

Aren't stipends great? And when they pay for those research trips during the summer! I got to bum around Europe for 2 months on the university's money.

But, I went to graduate school 8 years after undergrad. I felt really behind in the recent research and out of synch. Originally I was going to go for an archaeology program at an "easy" university -- where do I end up going? Yale! So much for easy.

I'm afraid that I did a Ph.d program for 2 years and then left. I suffer from chronic depression and it took a toll on me (Plus I stink at languages and wasn't able to pass my French evaluation.) Sometimes I'm sorry that I left, but it was a low point in my life and I just couldn't dedicate all my attention to the field. I really enjoy academia. The problem with archaeology is that it's a very interdisciplinary field. In addition to archaeology, you need to know geology, biology, botony, chemistry, physics, statistics, and if studying historical archaeology - history. Didn't leave a lot of free time for persuing other interests.

Oh well, anyway my knees gave out so I wouldn't be able to dig anyway.

 

[Jorghnassen]

Only 2 classes per semester? Wow, that's a light load. I had 4-5 classes per semester.

That's an undergrad's load of courses. What kind of school/program are you in?

/in some places, as soon as you pass your quals, no more classes are required...

 

[supercorgi]

That's an undergrad's load of courses. What kind of school/program are you in?

/in some places, as soon as you pass your quals, no more classes are required...

I was in a combined Masters/Ph.D program in archaeology at Yale. Two years of course work and then research and dissertation.

 

[Jorghnassen]

Ah, I was in Statistics (math/stats department, so the courseload was the same for those in pure or applied math), and the requirements for Masters was 6 courses (actually 24 credits, all classes pretty much being 4), which are taken usually 3 a semester, for a year (normally, the degree takes 2 years to complete). Or if you did a project instead of a master's thesis then it's 8 courses (32 credits). Then you needed another 6 courses for PhD, but those are spread over a longer period by most people (hence the 1-2 class a semester).

 

[supercorgi]

Ah, I was in Statistics (math/stats department, so the courseload was the same for those in pure or applied math), and the requirements for Masters was 6 courses (actually 24 credits, all classes pretty much being 4), which are taken usually 3 a semester, for a year (normally, the degree takes 2 years to complete). Or if you did a project instead of a master's thesis then it's 8 courses (32 credits). Then you needed another 6 courses for PhD, but those are spread over a longer period by most people (hence the 1-2 class a semester).

Ah, that's probably why the discrepancy -- this was a combined program so all the course requirements for both the Masters and the Ph.D were squished into 4 semesters.

 

[Katana]

And Dartmouth is small!

Yes. Yes it is.