Congratulations! I completed the qualifying exams for my program last Spring and I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone describe the process as accurately and eloquently as you just did! It really is such a strange feeling to look back on the months of stress and despair during the exam with the fresh new perspective of how much knowledge and confidence you gained in the process.
I'm an old fart who has been through quals many times, sitting on both sides of the table. (I've always enjoyed that "Qual "is German for "torment".) We do it differently in STEM, so that description of the process was informative.
Congrats! What an achievement! A PhD! As an 1984 East Asian Studies graduate from Colby College (Professors were Lee Feigon and Roger Bowen - oldies but goodies), I'm so happy for you to take flight in that field! You'll be amazing :) Pat yourself on the back and have a wonderful time with your fiance - and if you haven't, try Modern, they're up there in my book!
"despite everything I really do love it. I just love to know things. I love to stare at something I do not understand, and throw my mind at it until it clicks. I love to feel like I am on a dark spinning plane and bright shiny ideas are in orbit around me. I love to sit in a room with smart people and listen to ideas ricochet around the room, transforming, picking up speed. I love leading discussion sections. I love watching my students grow as thinkers over the semester. I love this work we do. "
You used a turn of phrase - "the unworldliness of campus life" that took me back to my own years at uni in the 80's. That description so perfectly summarises that vibe which I used to so love in the 'hallowed halls of knowledge' before, as you said, one has to grow up.
Congratulations! Passed my version of these exams in 2021. It's always to hear the stories of people who made it through! As you mentioned, it can really change you (for the better) if you surrender to the process. Congrats again!
Huge congratulations! I passed my qualifying exams just over 40 years ago and am nearing retirement but still reflect regularly on things I absorbed while working through my (initially overwhelming) reading list. Have a wonderful summer!
I also feel like it’s important to mention how the experience of studying for quals also opened me to how I want to engage with the world, whether that’s inside of academia or not. To have a PhD doesn’t always mean being a professor, or even being an author. It just means five to seven years of allowing yourself to pass through the prism of this wild body of ideas, to slow down enough to pay attention to the ideas you yourself are forming.
It also means kissing your friends and family goodbye for a period of time in so many unexpected ways. I did not really understand my close friends who went through professional licensing exams like the bar or medical exams until I went through this. Holy shit, dude. And coming out on the other side, it’s like, hot damn I am so ready to be present for my favorite people again.
Hi Rebecca. I also passed my qualifying exams in English Literature last month and until coming across this, I hadn’t encountered such a precise rendering of the experience. “It's not about the test, it's about what the test forces you to become.” Every afternoon after the day’s exam was finished, I’d walk through my door, peel back the covers, and wrap myself in darkness for an hour or two. People told me to not look at my written responses for at least three days. The next time I walked into a bookstore, I overheard a stranger and ended up walking around, grabbing boos here and there for her to consider. This has happened a couple more times since then, and each time, I marvel at this new strange ability. The strange freedom in it.
Congratulations PhD candidate! This was an inspirational read as I am in the middle of qualifying exams right now. You have written so eloquently on the QE experience, something that is so niche and at times difficult to explain to people not in academia. I definitely felt the pressure for the past few months preparing but now that I am in the final stretch, it is such a huge relief as things finally are falling into place. Anyways congratulations yet again, you are such an inspiration.
This came to me at the perfect time; I'm just over a month out from my qualifier and really needed the reminder that it's not about the exam itself, it's about what you learn from the process of studying for it. Thank you so much for putting your thoughts into words so beautifully, will be holding onto this as I study.
Congratulations! I completed the qualifying exams for my program last Spring and I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone describe the process as accurately and eloquently as you just did! It really is such a strange feeling to look back on the months of stress and despair during the exam with the fresh new perspective of how much knowledge and confidence you gained in the process.
I'm an old fart who has been through quals many times, sitting on both sides of the table. (I've always enjoyed that "Qual "is German for "torment".) We do it differently in STEM, so that description of the process was informative.
Congrats! What an achievement! A PhD! As an 1984 East Asian Studies graduate from Colby College (Professors were Lee Feigon and Roger Bowen - oldies but goodies), I'm so happy for you to take flight in that field! You'll be amazing :) Pat yourself on the back and have a wonderful time with your fiance - and if you haven't, try Modern, they're up there in my book!
"despite everything I really do love it. I just love to know things. I love to stare at something I do not understand, and throw my mind at it until it clicks. I love to feel like I am on a dark spinning plane and bright shiny ideas are in orbit around me. I love to sit in a room with smart people and listen to ideas ricochet around the room, transforming, picking up speed. I love leading discussion sections. I love watching my students grow as thinkers over the semester. I love this work we do. "
Yup!
As a grad student reading for quals myself (defense in August!) this was a delight to read and I so completely resonated. Congratulations!!
You used a turn of phrase - "the unworldliness of campus life" that took me back to my own years at uni in the 80's. That description so perfectly summarises that vibe which I used to so love in the 'hallowed halls of knowledge' before, as you said, one has to grow up.
Congratulations on your massive accomplishment! You probably feel like you have been birthed into the world (again).
Congratulations! Passed my version of these exams in 2021. It's always to hear the stories of people who made it through! As you mentioned, it can really change you (for the better) if you surrender to the process. Congrats again!
Congratulations! That's such an accomplishment!
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Huge congratulations! I passed my qualifying exams just over 40 years ago and am nearing retirement but still reflect regularly on things I absorbed while working through my (initially overwhelming) reading list. Have a wonderful summer!
I also feel like it’s important to mention how the experience of studying for quals also opened me to how I want to engage with the world, whether that’s inside of academia or not. To have a PhD doesn’t always mean being a professor, or even being an author. It just means five to seven years of allowing yourself to pass through the prism of this wild body of ideas, to slow down enough to pay attention to the ideas you yourself are forming.
It also means kissing your friends and family goodbye for a period of time in so many unexpected ways. I did not really understand my close friends who went through professional licensing exams like the bar or medical exams until I went through this. Holy shit, dude. And coming out on the other side, it’s like, hot damn I am so ready to be present for my favorite people again.
Hi Rebecca. I also passed my qualifying exams in English Literature last month and until coming across this, I hadn’t encountered such a precise rendering of the experience. “It's not about the test, it's about what the test forces you to become.” Every afternoon after the day’s exam was finished, I’d walk through my door, peel back the covers, and wrap myself in darkness for an hour or two. People told me to not look at my written responses for at least three days. The next time I walked into a bookstore, I overheard a stranger and ended up walking around, grabbing boos here and there for her to consider. This has happened a couple more times since then, and each time, I marvel at this new strange ability. The strange freedom in it.
Congratulations 🥳 You are an amazing inspiration ✨️
Congratulations! I am so insanely happy for you! You work so so hard and I just know you must be incredibly proud of yourself right now!
Congratulations PhD candidate! This was an inspirational read as I am in the middle of qualifying exams right now. You have written so eloquently on the QE experience, something that is so niche and at times difficult to explain to people not in academia. I definitely felt the pressure for the past few months preparing but now that I am in the final stretch, it is such a huge relief as things finally are falling into place. Anyways congratulations yet again, you are such an inspiration.
This came to me at the perfect time; I'm just over a month out from my qualifier and really needed the reminder that it's not about the exam itself, it's about what you learn from the process of studying for it. Thank you so much for putting your thoughts into words so beautifully, will be holding onto this as I study.