New York, that is the very, very strange (in a good and bad way) place that I live in now. During the last couple of weeks, I've had a couple of friends visit me during a blizzard, and followed up with my department's recruitment weekend. Recruitment is when candidates for the post-doc and PhD tracks are invited to come into town for interviews with the faculty and a tour of New York with the graduate students. Comparing this year and last year, I feel like there's a pretty common trend in the candidate's behavior. Something that made me really happy was that the department chose to interview a candidate who was in very much the same position as I was last year (still finishing a BS). Comparing myself to her made me instantly think of my time last year. The whole interview process was just so surreal, and I hope that she gets the same feeling that I got.
When I came in on Thursday night, I was in total shock. I was in New York, by myself! I had a whole world in front of me, but also no one to hold my back. On Friday, I met lots of people, too many to remember. I was finally meeting the professors that made the professors that I had been working with legendary. Talking to the other students, I often felt that I was out of my league; they had so much life experience, and a streak of determination. Extremely tired, I went to bed quite early that night after meeting some of the other graduate students after dinner. I think I reached my defining moment during Saturday Brunch. Even though my potential cohort was so smart and passionate about the work, they wouldn't hesitate for a second to help me. They showed me that an Ivy was not an automatic declaration of arrogance, and false self-efficacy. Now people of the latter type do exist in the Ivies; I have met plenty in my time here, but I wouldn't give up my department for the world. Not to mention, that I had my own contributions to make.
For now, I hope that the candidates that I met find what they're looking for. Whether it be Columbia (I hope so), or not, I wish them the best of luck.
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