PRguy101

Hey Skiergirl! Glad you have bounced back. I am curious...did you talk to those top schools about why you didn't gain admission? I ask that because your GRE score is competitive. I believe a lot of people are trying to find every way to strengthen their stats, but I think its important to point out that people with "perfect" stats were rejected this year, while others with less than stellar numbers were admitted due to other factors like work experience in the field, etc...I guess what I am saying is why spend time say on your GRE scores when it was perhaps your SOP or something else? I know you will kick butt next year regardless....

Oops and by "financial aid" I mean TAships, fellowships, etc..not student loans.

The Council of Graduate Schools really only covers offers of "financial aid". They DO NOT cover offers of admission. You do not need to ask for a release at all. You owe them nothing except for common professional courtesy (which I recommend you give.) You lost your seat deposit perhaps, but you don't need to "ask" them to do anything. This is a common misconception with the council of graduate schools and offers of admission. Good luck!

The question I would ask myself is if the PHD program that you were accepted to has a history of "placing"/or a history of its students working for public policy think tanks or the private industry. On the other hand, MOST people I know that work for think tanks (I have several years of fed govt experience)have public service experience at some level. In that case, would racking up tons of debt really be the best option for public service? Since, you seem geared toward the private sector, I would ask the first question first!

Well looks like you made your decision according to your signature block. If you haven't made a decision and want help, you might want to remove that. If you HAVE made a decision, lol, then congrats!

I checked them out when I was in town two weeks ago. While I didn't think they were for me, you could do worse (I saw worse downtown and they wanted $800 for it and it was a one bedroom!) I applied as a backup and I was told that demand was high this year. I am not sure which complex is near the workout/gym facility but it was only a walk from that. The Cambus also is a good deal for you. I will have to take the city bus, even though the Cambus goes right past my apartment to get to Hawkeye Court! Booo.

I recently got back from apartment hunting in IC. Slim pickings if you want to live downtown (after looking at some places I decided downtown wasn't for me due to size, cleanliness of places, etc. This also made me happy that I didn't rent sight unseen!)The apartment complexes were quick to inform me that they started renting in Dec and that I was behind the power curve. Ya think? As you make your way toward University Heights (near the law school and hospital) there are tons more options. Much more quiet out there, but not a walk to campus. I ended up getting a nice two bedroom in University Heights not far from Kinnick Stadium for about $600. Happy Apt hunting future Hawkeye family!

Depends....did you get a funding offer or just an admissions offer?

You don't seem too happy about going to UCONN. Are they offering full funding? Regardless, I guess the real question is do you see yourself being there for 4-5 years? Will the department offer you what you need in terms of a positive/productive work environment, research opportunities, more advanced teaching opps (u already have pretty solid teaching experience), and good placement? Go with your heart, but don't settle for significantly less. Especially, when the alternative plan can do nothing but boost your chances of future success. It isn't like you will be working at the GAP! Good luck with your decision.

Congrats Naptown on all of your acceptances. You surely had your pick of the best schools in our field. Good Choice with Ohio State! I hope to see you out and about at conferences etc. I am still deciding between two schools, but I will most likely go with my first choice (I am going back to visit this week, just for peace of mind). @Skiergirl, chin up my friend. Did you get anything saying your file was complete? If not, I'd use that as a pretense to call. If so, heck, I'd still call OU.

I am considering it RoRo. I went for a visit a week ago. I am most likely going back before I make a final determination on my future

Phd in geek, one way to find out what type of graduates they really produce is to do a nice google search or contact them to find where their graduates are teaching right now. Then look at how their graduates describe their research and what types of research interests they list on their faculty profiles. I would also then see if they fall under certain departmental section titles. To me, this is the best way to determine if "cultural studies" is really a strong component of the program. They do offer classes in your area. I didn't mean to imply that you weren't a good fit. My point is "what are they good at?" I think it is the more technological topics under Media and Design and Communication and Computers. They have a critical-cultural background too, but it may not be the strongest component. Plus, also consider what happens if you get into the literature and you want to expand critical cultural understandings outside of the internet and onto other cultural products? At RPI, it is a very narrow focus. That is NOT a bad thing if you know what you want to do. But as you said, you only have a BA and you are entering the program with just that? Most people have a MA in which they were able to explore their interests, read the literature in depth and wrestle with what they want to study at the PHD level (and even then when they get there most change their mind.) You may not have that flexibility at RPI. You will be in this program for 3-6 years. If you are sure about what you want to do and don't anticipate ever leaving the "technology" arena, then go with RPI. It is a solid school.

I assume you are a technology and communication person? Or only rhetoric? It isn't a top program ( I think NCA ranks it #15 for Comm and Technology, I would expect it to be higher given the school, but hey, maybe because it was new in 2004), but I would venture to say that technology and communication is a field with many opportunities. It depends on your future goals and your specialty. The program is very much computer-human interactive, game studies, etc. There is little room for much else outside of the technology umbrella. If that is where you see your future study and scholarship going, then I think it is a good choice. People in Comm know about the program, but I assume most faculty would only look to RPI's graduates if they were looking to feel a very specific niche. The good thing is that niche is on the rise because the place of technology as it relates to comm/mass comm is pretty hot right now. To me the degree is limiting if you want to do more than that, but perfect if all you care about is technology. The question is one of personal taste and future aspirations. Good luck!

I was warned by my future adviser to stay away from downtown if I want peace and quiet. When I visited, I stayed in a hotel downtown and my word can those "kids" party!! It was a Wed night! It was pretty loud. On the other hand, downtown living is convenient and a walk to campus. I am thinking about getting something on the west side of the campus near the law school and UI hospital. Btw, I checked out the graduate housing and yeah.....pretty shabby and small. Looked like a bomb shelter. It is pretty inexpensive though, so that is a plus. It isn't near campus (close but not a walk) so you have to take the bus. If I have to take the bus anyway, why stay in graduate housing?? Apartments are filling up fast already for the Fall 2010 season. I plan on taking a spring break trip to look around, but this time just for housing. Maybe we can all have a gradcafe drink in August! Nice to meet new colleagues and friends in other departments A couple Apartment links http://www.barkalowhomes.com/properties.php http://www.aptsdowntown.com/

Is anyone else considering the University of Iowa? I went to an admitted students day for my department and I fell in love with Iowa City. I am typically a big city kind of person, but I never felt out of place in Iowa City. Trendy, rolling hills, beautiful campus...I was pretty impressed.

Hey vit1825 A few questions may help others respond to your post with more insight: Are you definitely looking to stay in the U.S. and apply for a PHD program after your master's degree studies? Or are you looking to go back to Thailand? Do you want to experience a bigger U.S. city or a smaller college town? What do you wish to gain from your masters study? Research? Professional skills? Contacts in the industry? On a more personal note, I am going through the whole "university of..." and "[insert state] State University" too and I have heard the same arguments. I am not sure how much I will put into that, but I am finding choosing between these two schools to be difficult. Of course in my case the "university of" is considered to have a stronger reputation, but it doesn't fit my research interests as much as "state University" does....in YOUR case, you can't really go wrong with Penn State, it is a top public school (but then again so is Purdue and yet you didn't choose that over Penn State.) It depends on what you are looking for out of a master's degree program. Georgetown's program is pretty cutting edge. One of my professors got his master's degree from there, but his PHD is from U of Minn. We never hear about his master's degree, just his PHD. So go figure. Good luck! I hope others on this board can help you.

This is a difficult question Sputnik. There are different rankings out there but nothing like US News and World Report. Also, by Journalism, I assume you mean PHD programs in Mass Comm? For both communication and mass comm you could possibly use the National Communication Association Rankings, but I don't put too much credence in those because some of the most well-regarded programs in the U.S. refused to take part in the NCA study. Along the same lines, different programs are known for different areas. For example, if you are interested in Media and Politics you would probably want to look at Ohio State, Penn State, LSU, and some others. Those same programs, however, may not rank as high if one is interested in say, Civic Journalism, Online Media, or Media Law. It is VERY difficult to rank programs in Mass Comm.

That program is crazy competitive...I hope things turn out well for you skiergirl!

Oh Skiergirl, sorry, I forgot to add, she got put on the waitlist for funding!!!! so there is already a waitlist for that..I swear this year is really crazy. On another note, I got into another Mass Comm program with full funding and I am being flown out next week to check out the place. Just last week I visited what was my first choice, but now this new admittance is starting to weigh on me because it is a better research fit for me and is VERY WELL KNOWN for my particular area. To be honest, I thought I would have trouble getting into this particular program because its one of those "we only pick 4-6 people and everyone gets funding" type of programs. But my first choice school has a better overall reputation...but isn't known AT ALL for my research area (they have professors who could help me with the general topic area and I would still be able to manage but it isn't the better fit)...ughhhhhh...I guess I shouldn't complain, since I have options. So forgive me! This will be a tough decision for me. I hope the visit next week confirms the situation (not to mention a serious side by side comparison of the funding offers). Anyway, good luck Skiergirl and tell that last LOR to get with the program, because the money is going fast!!

Skiergirl, I hope you get into Georgia State! My friend just heard back today. Fingers crossed for you!

Curious, is anyone claiming the Penn State College of Communications (Mass Comm) acceptance? Anyone else hear back from them?

Skiergirl, I was going to apply there and two people from my program who are into media studies/critical-cultural and gender studies applied to the program (which is why I didn't apply..three people from one school is too much) Here is the advice I received on the program Pros: Awesome faculty, diverse classes, interesting research topic areas (audience studies etc), up and coming program, if u are interested in NEWS/Media CNN is right there, pretty cool city. Cons: new program so not many PHDs out there and the graduates get dwarfed by graduates from bigger name/"established" programs when competing for faculty positions (this wont always be the case, but it will take years to get there), commuter campus downtown and little school spirit or community, "4th tier" school so other programs not as strong which means possible average interdisciplinary opportunities Hope this helps!

Good to know about UCONN. I was considering them but I was warned away by several professors who said the exact same thing you mentioned: the completion rate of the PHD but also the lack of solid placement within mass comm departments across the U.S. I refuse to spend 7 years getting a PHD. I am early 30's I need to start getting on a tenure track lol, not hanging out in graduate school. We both are qualitative and its hard to find a mass comm program geared toward that type of research without going to a comm program in media studies. Btw, is it Ohio University Comm/Journalism/media studies you are applying to? There is an interesting article about some faculty drama there. Weird lesson in tenure shenanigans! http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/01/22/tenure

WHOOOHOOOO!!! Kick a$$ Skiergirl!!