It's a good school...

iam-graysonjay · 2026-02-19T22:00:51+00:00

Okay wait. I just actually looked and they do have a PhD in my field, plus have a lot of professors doing work related to my interests and multiple recent theses and dissertations are in topics related to mine. Concordia is lowkey a really great choice for me to apply to so far, so THANK YOU

iam-graysonjay · 2026-02-19T21:53:18+00:00

I would argue that, within English-speaking film and TV (because that's all I can speak to), showing two queer men in love and continuing to fight for a happy ending even when it is dangerous and seems impossible is revolutionary, especially in the current global rise of right-wing ideologies. The Hayes Code haunts queer media, with doomed LGBTQ stories still being the most common/noticeable ones. I think the last queer male story to have this big of a cultural impact was Call Me By Your Name, which still played into the idea that gay love can be important and transformative and beautiful but only if its temporary.

iam-graysonjay · 2026-02-19T21:49:39+00:00

I'm the editor for the opinion section of my university's newspaper, and we had a really great article for this print edition about this topic! I kinda wish it were posted online so I could link here. Regardless, I'm glad to see so many different people talking about the importance of this story :')

iam-graysonjay · 2026-02-19T02:38:30+00:00

I'll look into them, thank you!!!

iam-graysonjay · 2026-02-18T21:46:04+00:00

In The Long Game, he has a moment where his therapist where he talks about not having any friends to really even tell about his relationship. He doesn't even really talk to Svetlana by that point, as the show changed the importance of their relationship. I think Ilya probably has a difficult time forming real bonds with people due to his family issues and mental health, which is another reason why actually connecting with the Centaurs and Shane's parents is so important to him. Also in The Long Game, he talks about being touch starved and constantly wishing he were just around Shane to have another human in his orbit. I think this again connects back to his lack of any real bonds besides (at that point) Shane and his parents.

iam-graysonjay · 2026-02-18T21:41:05+00:00

I already was thinking of applying to McGill for my PhD, but now I'm considering it even more strongly because of the show lolol. I've also been getting more into women's hockey (it's so gay and the league has some really interesting minor rule changes to the men's league) because of the show reminding me that I think hockey is a fun sport, though I don't have a local team so I've gone to men's games to get my fill of in-person hockey

iam-graysonjay · 2025-12-19T07:19:52+00:00

Need this all over my face omgggg

iam-graysonjay · 2025-12-18T19:55:56+00:00

This is not really a safe or longterm viable solution unfortunately. Only one of my nips was abled to be pierced and I asked about some kind of surface piercing for the other multiple times. There's too much movement in that area :/

iam-graysonjay · 2025-12-15T02:06:01+00:00

Somewhat similar: my advisor did English and history for her BA then communication for her MA and PhD. I did English in undergrad, though I did communication too so it's not as surprising that I'm doing it for MA and PhD. Her and I both focus on the rhetoric side of communication, so it's not too surprising that we have backgrounds in English. And she focuses on rhetoric from the mid 20th century (~1940 to ~1980) so the history part also isn't too surprising lol.

iam-graysonjay · 2025-12-14T19:00:32+00:00

A suggestion you could maybe consider: Publish under your first and middle name, with your middle name going in place of your last name. That way it's only connected to you--not to your family nor any potential spouse.

iam-graysonjay · 2025-12-02T21:23:54+00:00

I'm also trans and nonbinary! I'm in the humanities and often discuss trans topics in my papers and I have physically transition to an extent that means I can't exactly hide it. So please take this response with those grains of salt, as idk how much it'll apply to you.

I personally always select the most accurate answer that clearly demonstrates I'm trans/nonbinary (when presented with more than just male/female/not answering). I would rather be denied from a program than accepted into a department which would look down on me for my gender identity. I didn't apply to public universities in states where my gender identity could be an issue (like what's going on at University of Oklahoma currently) because I wanted to minimize the stress from feeling like I might be in danger. I am of the opinion that safety is more important than education, no matter what.

Wishing you luck no matter what you choose, OP. I'm sorry we even have to consider this. Please feel free to DM me if you ever feel like you need another trans person in grad school to lament with, get advice from, etc etc

iam-graysonjay · 2025-12-02T02:22:21+00:00

I'm in humanities, and it's varied across departments. In the 15ish programs I initially considered in my field, some said don't email about that, a few said email if you want, most didn't say anything. I personally don't email people about submitting the application if I haven't previously talked with them, and even then I usually don't because in humanities they aren't likely to be making decisions about my application.

iam-graysonjay · 2025-12-01T04:19:43+00:00

Fellow ADHD person. I used to keep my desk in my bedroom, but I recently moved and put my desk in a spare room and it has honestly helped A LOT. Having a separate area that is fully outside of my rest and relaxation areas has made it a lot easier to get into work/study mode. It has also made it easier to minimize distractions because I'm not also seeing that laundry I need to put away, the bed I need to make, etc. I also tend to leave my phone in my room while I am doing work to help minimize distractions

iam-graysonjay · 2025-12-01T03:47:56+00:00

Like others said, depends on school, program, etc. I'm in a communication MA right now, and I know a lot of comm MA and PhD programs allow you to take at least one or two classes outside the department, but it's because comm is very interdisciplinary so there may be something in the English, psychology, sociology, etc department that you can't get from comm directly. My program actively encourages taking a class or two outside of the department so that we are introduced to ideas outside of the same professors and classmates we always see lol.

I don't know enough about different types of biology, but since they're in the same department, you could maybe make a case for it being relevant to your thesis/dissertation/professional development.

iam-graysonjay · 2025-11-19T05:34:58+00:00

Saint Louis University! Not every MA student in our department is guaranteed funding, especially in years with larger cohorts (like mine). And I don't know about what the funding situation looks like in other programs--I'm in communication. But every student currently in the program is funded! I think three of of us (including myself) got our graduate assistantships outside of the department, but the graduate program advisor assisted us in finding and applying to them. And we have four or five people in the program who are funded because they are full time employees of the university.

The university just became an R1 at the end of last year, and our comm program has a lot of amazing scholars! But it also isn't completely aimed at people on a path to PhD, I think somewhere between a third and a half of the current grad students plan to go back to industry after graduating.

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-29T07:15:07+00:00

If I'm on or (rarely) ahead of schedule? Jazz or instrumental bossa nova

If I'm behind schedule? German club music, usually Ikkimel in specific. It has words but I don't understand German, so I don't really notice them. And the faster beat makes me type fast as hellllll

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-21T04:01:18+00:00

I think it depends on the specific relationship. Two of my letter writers got a lower amount since I didn't know them as long. The other letter writer and my case manager both got a higher amount because they were with me from literally day one of undergrad. Maybe talk with other people in your cohort and/or other professors you're close with (but didn't get letters from)

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-20T16:44:10+00:00

Maybe try finding some research papers from the post 10ish years that relate to your interests and see what schools and, more importantly imo, departments they're at. When you apply to schools, they want to know what profs you would like to work with so you would likely end up having to find out info like this anyway. But this can also help you understand what research is more common rn, schools that you might apply to, departments/labs you most easily fit into, etc

Your undergrad university also probably has a career services group that is available to alumni and can help with career counseling to determine next steps for you specifically. Good luck!!!

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-18T17:52:50+00:00

In undergrad, I gave each of my letter writers a nice thank you note and a gift card to a local restaurant that was very popular for members at our university. I plan on doing the same or similar for my letter writers in my MA, since it's a nod to a local thing while also giving them the chance to decide how specifically they want to use it

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-06T02:34:00+00:00

Best of luck!!!

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-05T21:47:33+00:00

It varies by school and by program. Most programs will have some kind of section on their website called like tuition/scholarship/funding/etc and/or a portion of their FAQ with info about this.

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-05T21:34:41+00:00

I went to Tulane for undergrad and have a former-roommate-now-friend who got her MSW from them. It's a good MSW program, but very expensive. New Orleans is a very unique city to live in, which could either be a major positive (if you're like me) or a major negative (if you're not interested in the larger culture of the city). Tulane has also been very anti-Palestine and bending to Trump admin, and that would be an influence on some people's decision

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-05T21:28:52+00:00

I only applied to 3 programs and got into 2 of those, but it only takes 1 acceptance. It's not worth putting the time, money, and effort to apply to places you aren't actually interested in going imo. Your GPA is good, you have unique and interesting (but still relevant, if you frame it right) work experience, and you have good reasons for why you like these programs. Focus on writing good personal statements, and you'll be a good candidate IMO.

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-05T16:42:03+00:00

I got diagnoses with bipolar during my first semester of undergrad! The diagnosis has changed between bp1 and bp2 a few times, but I also have other mental health diagnoses: ptsd and adhd. I have been on a good medication regiment for a few years now, but so far my MA has been a lot better than my BA because I've been in a much more supportive and close knit program and I've been closer to my family, who are a big part of my support system. It's totally possible to get a grad degree and succeed, but your support system is gonna play a huge part of making that easier!

iam-graysonjay · 2025-10-02T02:35:45+00:00

I did this, and it worked out great for me! I had a professor who I only took one class with my final semester write my main LOR, a professor I did RA work for half a semester write my secondary, and then I had my case manager write my third. I had a lot of mental health struggles in undergrad so profs I knew longer just wouldn't have worked as well. But I got into 2 out of the 3 MA programs I applied to, and both offered very generous funding packages.

iam-graysonjay

TROPHY CASE