The Atlantic: The Disciplines Where No Black People Earn Ph.D.s

The Atlantic published a piece about the obstacles in enrolling in doctoral programs in the U.S. The more prestigious Ph.D. programs have more funding, resources, and greater likelihood placing graduates into tenure-track faculty positions. But black doctoral students are few in number. The reason why students from underrepresented backgrounds--black applicants in particular--face obstacles in Ph.D. admission has to do with having the right research topic to having the right social connections.

Before experience becomes a material issue, though, a student must first get into a doctoral program, which can be a chore all its own. It is typically up to departmental faculty to decide who does and who does not get into a Ph.D. program, and “there can be a lot of politics in play that keep black students from being admitted,” Commodore told me. There could be a lack of enthusiasm about an applicant’s topic or research interest, or some students might not come with the same social capital—recommendations from noted or well-connected faculty in the field—that others might.

Once they are admitted into a Ph.D. program, black students are more likely to borrow to finance their graduate education:

Then, after they are admitted, there is the question of cost. Black college students borrow at higher rates than any other racial group, and they are more likely to default on those student loans. “Imagine coming out of school with a bachelor’s degree, with such a debt burden,” Lorelle Espinosa, vice president for research at the American Council on Education (ACE), told me. “Students are thinking, I don’t have a safety net for this debt. Am I really up for going for an advanced degree where I’ll find myself in even more debt?”

In 2017, there were more than a dozen fields in which not a single doctoral degree was awarded to a black person anywhere in the United States. If Ph.D. programs are not admitting black applicants and those who are lucky to attend must borrow to survive, this trend could have repercussions for the future of black faculty in higher education. When minority students are demanding higher education institutions to hire more faculty who share similar cultural experiences, Ph.D. programs are not admitting enough black applicants. This is a lost opportunity for research on issues that could inform and improve the well-being of black communities.

Job Search and Interview Tips for New Graduates

Congratulations new graduates! Whether it is a bachelor's or an advanced degree, this achievement is a major milestone in your life and beyond. The next step that dreads many new graduates is finding a job. Not just any position but one that will launch your career. It can be a stressful experience but it doesn't have to be if you follow the tips below on your job search and interviews.

Unsure on where to begin? Start with these job search tips from Pam Waits at Examiner.com:

1. Create a LinkedIn profile. Make it as complete as possible. LinkedIn.com is a professional networking site used by most organizations. It is free to join.
2. Look at the companies in the states and cities you're targeting and the kinds of jobs they offer.
3. Prepare an elevator speech - a short description of who you are and what you're looking for.
4. Reach out to individuals in your network. Tell them who you are, what you're doing now and ask for advice.

Unsure on how to prepare for an interview? Avoid these unforgivable interview mistakes that will make you lose a job offer by members of the Young Entrepreneur Council:

1. You Constantly Interrupt
2. You Still Behave Like You’re in College
3. You Fail to Acknowledge Weaknesses
4. You Lack Familiarity With the Company or Product
5. You Show Up Late for the Interview
6. You Don’t Clearly Answer the Question at Hand
7. You Speak Poorly of Past Employers
8. You Respond With, “I Don’t Do That”
9. You Are Way Too Nervous
10. You Seem Entitled
11. You Don’t Take Our Mission Seriously
12. You Dress Incorrectly

Student Debt Makes College More Expensive for Women

As a woman of color, I understand how difficult it is to repay student loans. Social workers, on average, earn an average salary of $42,000 (source: Payscale). Yet students are increasingly graduating with $29,000 in student loans (source: The Institute for College Access and Success). This data does NOT include student loan debt accumulated from graduate school. This Bloomberg report reveals women (especially Black and Hispanic women) take longer than men to repay their student loans:

Student debt haunts women for years longer than it stays with men, research suggests. A report from the American Association of University Women shows that women take longer to pay off their education loans, which imposes a heavier burden on their finances years after they graduate. Black and Hispanic women in particular earn much less than other groups over time, and end up struggling the most to get rid of the debt that financed their college educations.

NYTimes: Why Poor Students Struggle on College Campuses

Policymakers and researchers concentrate so much on increasing college completion rates. However, the discussions rarely focus on what happens to poor and low-income students once they arrive on the college campus. The policy roundtables often ignore the importance of social and cultural capital in determining whether a student will fit in and succeed in college. When a poor student from a rural or inner city neighborhood enters the world of the elite, he or she may not relate to their wealthy peers. It is the little things -- where you went to school, knowledge of current events and high culture, and participation in certain sports or social clubs-- that can isolate a student from the campus community. Furthermore, financial setbacks (particularly the rising cost of tuition, books, housing, and transportation) can increase the likelihood that a poor student struggles and drops out of college.

Kids at the most selective colleges often struggle academically, but they are capable of doing the work. The real key is whether they feel comfortable going to professors to ask for help or teaming up with other students in study groups and to manage the workload. At that school in Brooklyn, I taught history, leading students through writing 10-page position papers with proper citations, as well as presenting and defending their work to a panel of adults. Other teachers did the same in their subjects. Through the college application process, these students had help with every step — including convincing their parents that going away to school would be a good thing.

But once those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds arrive on campus, it’s often the subtler things, the signifiers of who they are and where they come from, that cause the most trouble, challenging their very identity, comfort and right to be on that campus. The more elite the school, the wider that gap. I remember struggling with references to things I’d never heard of, from Homer to the Social Register. I couldn’t read The New York Times — not because the words were too hard, but because I didn’t have enough knowledge of the world to follow the articles. Hardest was the awareness that my own experiences were not only undervalued but often mocked, used to indicate when someone was stupid or low-class: No one at Barnard ate Velveeta or had ever butchered a deer.

Urban students face different slights but ones with a more dangerous edge. One former student was told by multiple people in his small Pennsylvania college town not to wear a hoodie at night, because it made him look “sketchy.” Standing out like that — being himself — could put him at risk.

Another link I recommend on social and cultural capital is Peter Kaufman's Guide to Succeeding in College on Everyday Sociology.

NYTimes: "Class, Cost, and College" and "Who Gets to College?"

Columnists at The New York Times published two well-regarded articles on social class and postsecondary transitions. Both articles examine the barriers to degree completion for low-income students and students of color. Here is the trailer for the documentary, Ivory Tower.

From "Class, Cost, and College" (May 17, 2014):

THE word “crisis” pops up frequently in “Ivory Tower,” a compelling new documentary about the state of higher education in America.

It pops up in regard to the mountains of student debt. It pops up in regard to the steep drop in government funding for public universities, which have been forced to charge higher and higher tuition in response. That price increase is also a “crisis” in the estimation of one of many alarmed educators and experts on camera.

And “crisis” isn’t even their direst appellation. Andrew Delbanco, a Columbia University professor of American studies who functions as the movie’s conscience, notes an “apocalyptic dimension” to today’s discussion of college’s failings. The movie is set on verdant campuses. It’s rife with lecterns, books and graduation gowns. And yet it’s a kind of horror story.

Scheduled for theatrical release next month, “Ivory Tower” does an astonishingly thorough tour of the university landscape in a brisk 90 minutes, touching on the major changes and challenges, each of which could sustain its own documentary.

From "Who Gets to College?" (May 15, 2014):

There are thousands of students like Vanessa at the University of Texas, and millions like her throughout the country — high-achieving students from low-income families who want desperately to earn a four-year degree but who run into trouble along the way. Many are derailed before they ever set foot on a campus, tripped up by complicated financial-aid forms or held back by the powerful tug of family obligations. Some don’t know how to choose the right college, so they drift into a mediocre school that produces more dropouts than graduates. Many are overwhelmed by expenses or take on too many loans. And some do what Vanessa was on the verge of doing: They get to a good college and encounter what should be a minor obstacle, and they freak out. They don’t want to ask for help, or they don’t know how. Things spiral, and before they know it, they’re back at home, resentful, demoralized and in debt.

When you look at the national statistics on college graduation rates, there are two big trends that stand out right away. The first is that there are a whole lot of students who make it to college — who show up on campus and enroll in classes — but never get their degrees. More than 40 percent of American students who start at four-year colleges haven’t earned a degree after six years. If you include community-college students in the tabulation, the dropout rate is more than half, worse than any other country except Hungary.

What Is Graduate School Via Photos

Whether you are pursuing a master's or PhD degree, this is a visual depiction of graduate school:

For those of you currently in graduate school, good luck on your final exams and papers!

NYTimes: A Dangerous ‘New Normal’ in College Debt

New York Times columnist, Charles Blow, released this timely article about the dangerous costs of rising tuition in higher education. This crisis affects both college and advanced degree holders, who struggle to repay their staggering student loans (often higher than their starting salaries!). The higher education system (coupled with the inability to discharge student loans in bankruptcy) will become unsustainable if Congress, state legislators, and higher education administrators don't find a way to reduce the tuition burden on families.

As college tuitions rise and state and local funding for higher education falls — along with median household incomes — students are taking on staggering levels of debt. And many can’t find jobs that pay well enough to quickly pay off the debt. This has long-term implications for our society and our economy, as that debt begins to affect when and if young people start families or enter the housing market.

The student debt crisis may become a dangerous “new normal,” according to a report this week by the nonprofit State Higher Education Executive Officers Association:

“In the ‘new normal,’ retirement and health care costs simultaneously drive up the cost of higher education, and compete with education for limited public resources. The ‘new normal’ no longer expects to see a recovery of state support for higher education such as occurred repeatedly in the last half of the 20th century. The ‘new normal’ expects students and their families to continue to make increasingly greater financial sacrifices in order to complete a postsecondary education. The ‘new normal’ expects schools and colleges to find ways of increasing productivity and absorb ever-larger budget cuts, while increasing degree production without, we hope, compromising quality.”         

Review: The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for First-Time Job Seekers (2008)

The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for First-Time Job Seekers (2008), by Meg Busse with Steven Joiner, is a career guidebook for emerging professionals seeking their first position in the nonprofit sector. Whether you are a college student, recent college graduate, or someone entering the workforce for the first time, this comprehensive resource provides invaluable advice, strategies, and nonprofit-specific resources to guide your job search. Topics include an overview of the nonprofit sector, myths and facts about nonprofit organizations, job search strategies, self and career assessment, networking and interviewing strategies, resume and cover letter writing tips, nonprofit hiring practices, and salary and negotiation tips. It also includes an appendix of common vocabulary terms in the nonprofit sector.

I wished this book was around when I was an undergraduate student! It contacts interesting facts, exercises, and websites for readers to explore on their own time. Unlike the for-profit and public sectors, the nonprofit sector has a decentralized job posting system. This means that you have to be proactive in researching agencies and organizations that fit your interests. Most nonprofit workers found work through word-of-mouth and employee referrals. Therefore, this guidebook is great for those who need guidance and structure in preparing for a competitive job market. Volunteering, internships, and networking (I can't stress this enough) are very important in launching your nonprofit career.

If you enjoy the Idealist.org series, check out the rest of their career books here. Other topics focus on career switch, service corps, and personal profit. The books are also available to download as free PDFs.

NYTimes: For Poor, Leap to College Often Ends in a Hard Fall

As much as policymakers talk about earning a college degree is a great equalizer for upward mobility, it is often not a smooth transition for low-income and first-generation students according to the New York Times. Without proper guidance and support, this group is most likely to drop out of college and face staggering college debts that cripple their lifetime earnings.

Low-income strivers face uphill climbs, especially at Ball High School, where a third of the girls’ class failed to graduate on schedule. But by the time the triplets donned mortarboards in the class of 2008, their story seemed to validate the promise of education as the great equalizer. Angelica, a daughter of a struggling Mexican immigrant, was headed to Emory University. Bianca enrolled in community college, and Melissa left for Texas State University, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s alma mater. “It felt like we were taking off, from one life to another,” Melissa said. “It felt like, ‘Here we go!’ ” Four years later, their story seems less like a tribute to upward mobility than a study of obstacles in an age of soaring economic inequality. Not one of them has a four-year degree. Only one is still studying full time, and two have crushing debts. Angelica, who left Emory owing more than $60,000, is a clerk in a Galveston furniture store. Each showed the ability to do college work, even excel at it. But the need to earn money brought one set of strains, campus alienation brought others, and ties to boyfriends not in school added complications. With little guidance from family or school officials, college became a leap that they braved without a safety net. The story of their lost footing is also the story of something larger — the growing role that education plays in preserving class divisions. Poor students have long trailed affluent peers in school performance, but from grade-school tests to college completion, the gaps are growing. With school success and earning prospects ever more entwined, the consequences carry far: education, a force meant to erode class barriers, appears to be fortifying them.

Census: More young adults live in big cities than suburbs

According to the U.S. Census, for the first time in a century, most of America's largest cities are growing at a faster rate than their surrounding suburbs. In a weak job market, young adults are shunning home-buying and staying put in bustling urban centers.

Driving the resurgence are young adults, who are delaying careers, marriage and having children amid persistently high unemployment. Burdened with college debt or toiling in temporary, lower-wage positions, they are spurning homeownership in the suburbs for shorter-term, no-strings-attached apartment living, public transit and proximity to potential jobs in larger cities.

While economists tend to believe the city boom is temporary, that is not stopping many city planning agencies and apartment developers from seeking to boost their appeal to the sizable demographic of 18-to-29-year olds. They make up roughly 1 in 6 Americans, and some sociologists are calling them "generation rent." The planners and developers are betting on young Americans' continued interest in urban living, sensing that some longer-term changes such as decreased reliance on cars may be afoot.

This is the reality: emerging as a new generation of renters due to stricter mortgage requirements and mounting student loan debt. If you can live in a city with a superior mass transit system, you won't need to heavily rely on a car. Big vibrant cities also have a greater concentration of career-advancing jobs. It is also difficult to qualify for a credit card or line of credit from a financial institution if your debt-to-income ratio is too high. Are we Generation Debt?

NYTimes: Instead of Work, Younger Women Head to School

I know this New York Times article is several months old, but I stumbled upon it during a Google search on graduate education. I wanted to share it to those young women out there who are still struggling to find stable employment in this economy and are seeking refuge in more education and training (whether it be certificates or graduate/professional degrees).

Both men and women are going back to school, but the growth in enrollment is significantly larger for women (who dominated college campuses even before the financial crisis). In the last two years, the number of women ages 18 to 24 in school rose by 130,000, compared with a gain of 53,000 for young men.

The education gap aside, in some ways young women will already have an advantage over men in the coming decade. Many of the occupations expected to have the most growth, like home health aides and dental hygienists, have traditionally been filled by women. That is not to say that men cannot take those positions, but they may not want to.

Crushed by college debt: Massive loan bills hang over graduates, derail life plans

The Detroit Free Press recently published a series about the debilitating consequences of massive student loan debt on college graduates' well-being and job prospects.

• 9 Michigan residents talk about the burden of massive student debt (05/13/2012)
  
• Some students fear even harder times as interest-rate hike looms (05/13/2012)
  
• Graphic: Student debt at Michigan Universities (05/13/2012)
  
• Database: See how many students get federal loans and how much they owe at Michigan colleges (05/13/2012)
  
• Susan Tompor: College aid letters can be confusing (05/13/2012)
  

Meanwhile, the New York Times has their own series, Degrees by Debt: A Generation Hobbled by the Soaring Cost of College, that examines the implications of the student loan debt crisis on students and their families.

• Student Debt at Colleges and Universities Across the Nation (05/12/2012)
  
• Slideshow: Drowning in Debt (05/13/2012)
  
• Room for Debate: Easing the Pain of Student Loans (05/12/2012)
  

Check back for more updates.

CHE: From Graduate School to Welfare

The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article about the rising number of graduate students on welfare assistance. In some ways, I think it's horrifying to know that college students may come across instructors with advanced degrees who must rely on food stamps, WIC (known as women, infant and children program), and/or Medicaid.

Ms. Bruninga-Matteau is part of an often overlooked, and growing, subgroup of Ph.D. recipients, adjunct professors, and other Americans with advanced degrees who have had to apply for food stamps or some other form of government aid since late 2007.

Some are struggling to pay back student loans and cover basic living expenses as they submit scores of applications for a limited pool of full-time academic positions. Others are trying to raise families or pay for their children's college expenses on the low and fluctuating pay they receive as professors off the tenure track, a group that now makes up 70 percent of faculties. Many bounce on and off unemployment or welfare during semester breaks. And some adjuncts have found themselves trying to make ends meet by waiting tables or bagging groceries alongside their students.

Of the 22 million Americans with master's degrees or higher in 2010, about 360,000 were receiving some kind of public assistance, according to the latest Current Population Survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau in March 2011. In 2010, a total of 44 million people nationally received food stamps or some other form of public aid, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

New Design

Happy post-Thanksgiving! Recently, I have redesigned the blog to reflect new changes in my life: I finished my master's degree in social work. As a result, this blog needed a fresh layout makeover. I hope this new design is easier for visitors to find and read information.

However, I am not completely done with my education. I will return to graduate school in the fall of 2012! I won't reveal the name of the school until next month, so for now it will remain a secret. Nevertheless, as a Michigan native, I will always represent the Wolverine state and discuss matters related to Metro Detroit. Stay tuned for more blog posts!

MSW Graduation

I have recently earned a Master of Social Work. I am so happy and thrilled to complete another important milestone in my life. School is over, and I will take this time to relax, reflect, and . My next steps are applying for administrative job positions in my practice area and waiting for my limited master social work license. As a future macro social work practitioner, I am proud of my academic accomplishments and look forward to more achievements in the future.

InsideHigherEd: Staying Motivated for Graduate Students

I found this article recently published on InsideHigherEd, and it gives very good advice on how to stay motivated and succeed in graduate school. It is okay to be selfish to a certain degree -- take care of your own needs first and focus on the end prize. (i.e., graduating on-time, accomplishing your goals, etc.). Graduate school is a full-time effort, and it requires full-time concentration.

1. Be as organized as possible. Have a solid game plan for getting through your program. Know what the requirements are for each stage of your program. Find out when these requirements must be accomplished.
   
   
2. Set deadlines for yourself, even if there are no “true” deadlines for you to complete. Let others around you — your peers, family, friends, mentors and advisers — know the deadlines you have set for yourself.
   
   
3. Keep a visual reminder of what you are working on in your office. On a bulletin board keep a section for things you “need to do,” projects you are currently “doing,” and items that are “done.” This visual aid will remind you that you have made progress, finished important projects, and are progressing through current tasks. This will help you avoid feeling bogged down and overwhelmed with the hurdles of graduate school.
   
   
4. Find a topic that you are passionate about -- If you don’t enjoy your work, then you are not going to stay motivated when writing draft after draft after draft. Find a research question that really gets you excited or a substantive area that you feel has an impact on a community, issue, or problem that you feel is important.
   
   
5. Work with other motivated people -- Make sure you work with other motivated students in your program and outside. Find a group of people on campus or in the broader community that shares the same excitement for your topic of interest. Let their interest help motivate you to push forward.
   
   
6. Work toward finding a balance -- Remember what is important to you outside of school, whether it be family and friends, maintaining your physical and mental health, or working on a hobby. Each week set aside a few hours or so to spend time on something other than school work. Remember to set priorities in your life and every now and then check in to see whether you need to adjust how you are allocating your time.
   
   
7. Don’t doubt yourself -- You can complete graduate school because you are well qualified to be here. You are working in your substantive area because there is something about this field that drives your intellectual curiosity. You will finish your thesis and/or dissertation because you are now the expert in that area. Do not waste time wondering whether you are good enough to be here — just know that you are.
   
   
8. Let the guilt go -- Feeling guilty for not finishing a project by a certain deadline, or for not working through the entire weekend, or for not devoting as much time as you feel you should to something outside of your program, will only hold you back. While you should set goals, priorities and deadlines, recognize that you will not always be able to meet them. Let yourself off the hook and let the guilt go. Acknowledge that you are not going to be perfect at everything and that you will never have that perfect balance (no one ever does!), but at least you are trying — and that your persistence will be rewarded.
   

Moving into My Own Apartment

Please excuse my long absence. I am in the process of moving my belongings and furniture into my own new apartment. I have just realized it is an exhausting process. I will update this post with my reflections later this week.

[UPDATE 08/29/09)]: I have finally settled into my own apartment. I am very proud of this accomplishment, because it means (from various theories in emerging adulthood) that I am a self-sufficient adult now. I am living off-campus because the rent is cheaper and housing stock is much nicer. I am also closer to shopping and other amenities. There is an accessible public bus route that will take me directly to campus.

I have a roommate who is also attending U-M for graduate school to help split the costs (utilities, rent, groceries) and housing responsibilities. We both do not come from wealthy backgrounds. She is an out-of-state student, therefore I have been showing her around the city, campus, and metropolitan region. We feel very fortunate that we are beginning the next stage of our lives.

It took several days for all my furniture to arrive. I have living room, bookcase, dining room, and bedroom sets. The place looks like a young professional's home. I wanted it this way because I'll be in graduate school for three years. I did not want cheap quality furniture that won't last a year. My roommate complimented how nice my furniture looks (hehehe!). We get along very well, and that's a good thing!

Orientation will begin in less than five days. I am very excited, that I can't wait!

P.S. Don't forget about purchasing renter's insurance. It's worth it!

Before You Move into Your Apartment

So, you finally found a place to live when you start graduate school. I found an apartment and signed a lease in June. I secured a roommate in July to split housing costs. I officially move into my new apartment in August. The process can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be. Here are some links I recommend for prospective and current students about apartment living:

• 5 Things to Do Before Moving into a New Apartment
  
• Tips for Moving in to Your New Apartment
  
• Back-to-School Tips for College Students: Apartment Living
  
• Choosing/Finding a Roommate | Apartment Living
  

You may also find that you don't need a land-line phone or cable television. Many students are mobile and rely on their cell phones as their primary number. Television can be a waste of money unless you must watch sports and are pursuing a degree in a communications field (i.e. journalism, etc.) High-speed Internet is the most important service you would need in your apartment. Just get a larger monitor (at least 22") and hook it up to your laptop to watch movies. Don't forget the Netflix subscription.

M-Card Discounts, 50 Tips for College Students

I finally received my M-Card, which is the official identification card for U-M students, faculty, and staff. In addition to having access to certain campus buildings and free transportation on city buses, I can also take advantage of student discounts at local Ann Arbor restaurants and services. For example, I discovered I can continue my gym membership at a cheaper monthly rate when I move to Ann Arbor. Sweet savings!

Campus Grotto has a list of 50 tips college students can save money. It includes food, transportation, textbooks, entertainment, finances, and other college expenses. Also check out Why College Students Will Always Be Broke.

Need Advice? Try Helium, Associated Content

Summer is just around the corner (including Father's Day)! Graduate applications are behind me, and I am looking forward to starting at the University of Michigan this fall. If you are interested in applying to graduate school, but are unsure of why you should pursue an advanced degree, read content review sites such as Helium and Associated Content. Readers across the world post their input (with examples and explanations) on why you should pursue an advanced degree (master's, doctoral, etc.). The quick access to such a variety of advices and perspectives really helped me narrow down my academic and professional interests. You may discover that your fears and concerns about the admissions process are very minor.